An early no win, no fee landmark

The Swynfen Will Case was one of the first notable instances of a no win, no fee claim in British legal history.

The case arose after a very wealthy man called Samuel Swynfen died in 1854. In his will he left £60,000 (equivalent to around £5 million in today's money) to Patience Swynfen, his widowed daughter-in-law. The dispute centred on the issue of another substantial estate that had not been bequeathed to anyone in the terms of Swynfen's will, with both Patience and Samuel Swynfen's nephew, F.H Swynfen, each claiming it as theirs.

Since the two both made full claims on the estate, a mediated settlement proved impossible. As a result, litigation followed. Both claimants sought the very best lawyers available. Sir Alexander Cockburn was recruited to represent F.H Swynfen, while Patience chose to employ Sir Frederick Thesiger to argue on her account.

Further problems arose when Thesiger, against Patience's instructions, negotiated an out-of-court settlement with the nephew's lawyer. Infuriated by this, Patience terminated Thesiger's employ and immediately set about organising a new trial.

In a move that confounded many legal minds of the time, Patience then instructed a virtually unheard of lawyer called Charles Rann Kennedy to represent her on a no win, no fee basis. She assured him that if he was successful in arguing her interests, she would pay him £20,000 (around £1.5 million in today's money). By this stage the case had gained a very high media profile, and in a surprise to many, Kennedy succeeded in winning his client's claim.

Clearly not as virtuous as her name would suggest, Patience then reneged on her promise and told Kennedy that she would not be paying him a penny. Understandably furious, Kennedy then sued Patience for breach-of-promise, won, but then had his success overturned in the appeal courts.

At this point, Patience, buoyed by her success and feeling invincible in the courts, decided to sue her original lawyer for professional misconduct, but for once met with an unsuccessful outcome.

Making a no win, no fee compensation claim with the UK experts
Whether you have suffered personal injury in a work accident, car crash, botched operation or holiday mishap, YouClaim's personal injury lawyers are among the very best working in the UK today.

Unlike those of Charles Rann Kennedy, their services are available to you at absolutely no cost, whether you win or lose. This is because we never charge our clients any costs or fees and never take a cut ensuring all our winning clients 100% compensation.

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