A bond obliging the surety to pay the beneficiary a specified sum provided that certain specified conditions are met—normally the employer is required to establish breach by the contractor as well as the loss it has incurred.

This Checklist sets out points to consider when drafting and agreeing a conditional bond for a construction project. For more on bonds, see Practice Note: Performance bonds—construction projects. • Parties—a party with a registered office outside of England and Wales may be required to specify an address for service within England and Wales. Think carefully before accepting a surety based outside the UK and (where appropriate) check that the surety is duly authorised to issue bonds in the UK. Always insert company registration numbers so companies can be identified in the future. • Maximum bond amount—consider whether this should be reduced

A conditional caution is a prosecution led tool whereby a person admits the offence and agrees to abide by certain conditions in return for not being prosecuted for that offence.

Where the SPA/APA includes conditions (known as conditions precedent (CPs)) which need to be satisfied (or waived) prior to completion of the purchase of the target company/target business taking place.

Contracts are often drafted on the basis that one or more conditions must be satisfied before completion takes place or before the relevant agreement comes into effect (a condition precedent). Common conditions are: • obtaining planning permission • obtaining a third party’s consent (for example superior landlord’s consent) • carrying out works • a viability or site assembly condition It is crucial that the terms of the condition are clear and that the contract addresses how, when and by whom the condition should be satisfied. In addition, the contract should state whether a party has the ability to waive the condition and should also contain termination rights if the condition is not satisfied by a specified date. Certainty If the condition is so vague or indefinite that the intention of the parties’ cannot be ascertained with reasonable certainty, the condition is void for uncertainty: see Lee-Parker v Izzet, (where the contract provided that a sale was subject to the buyer obtaining a satisfactory mortgage). Fulfilment If fulfilment of the condition is the sole responsibility

A court may decide that it is inexpedient to impose a punishment upon an offender, and so discharge that offender on condition that he does not reoffend during a specified period.

An agreement between legal representatives and a party that costs will only be payable in the event that a claim succeeds.

Conditional fee agreement for use with an insolvency office-holder on or after 6 April 2016 This Agreement is made on [date] Parties: 1 [Company Name] [(in liquidation, etc)] [(the ‘Company’) acting through] [name(s) of insolvency practitioner(s)] [(the ‘Liquidator’), (the ‘Administrator’), etc] [(and all successors in title)] [acting as agent of the Company, save as provided for in this Agreement] ([together] the ‘Client’) [both] of [address]; 2 [Firm Name and Address] (the ‘Firm’). It is hereby agreed as follows: 1 Definitions 1.1 In this Agreement: Appeal • means any application for permission to appeal and/or appeal to the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court from a decision of a lower court, or to a Judge from a decision of a District Judge, Master or Insolvency and Companies Court Judge, in relation to the Claim Basic Costs • means the fees of the Firm for the work done by the Firm for the Client in relation to the Claim on an hourly rate basis from [date of

This Practice Note explains how the conditional fee regime operates for personal injury and clinical negligence matters including: • what a conditional fee agreement (CFA) is • the regulatory requirements when entering into a CFA • when success fees and insurance premiums are recoverable inter partes • exceptions • grey areas The Jackson costs reforms were implemented on 1 April 2013 including the removal of the winning party’s right to recover additional liabilities from the losing party, ie success fees and after the event (ATE) insurance premiums. There are limited exceptions which are explained below. The regime is the product of sections 44–48 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) which amended section 58 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (CLSA 1990). There are no Conditional Fee regulations but CLSA 1990, s 58 should be read in conjunction with: • Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 (CFA Order 2013), SI 2013/689 • Recovery of Costs Insurance Premiums in Clinical Negligence

There are a number of situations in which a party to a conditional fee agreement (CFA) may wish the rights and obligations under the CFA to be transferred to a third party (usually a new firm of solicitors). These include where: • a CFA has been entered into between a client and a firm of solicitors in relation to a particular matter. The individual fee-earner dealing with the matter moves to another firm and the client wishes them to continue dealing with the matter at their new firm • a CFA has been entered into between a client and a firm of solicitors in relation to a particular matter. The client loses confidence in the firm and wishes a new firm to deal with the matter • a CFA has been entered into between a client and a firm of solicitors which subsequently goes out of business or otherwise changes its status • a CFA has been entered into between a client and a firm of solicitors which subsequently ceases to deal with work

What is a CFA? A CFA is defined as: ‘An agreement with a person providing advocacy or litigation services which provides for his fees and expenses, or any part of them, to be payable only in specified circumstances.’ CFAs typically make provision for the payment of a success fee. This is defined as follows: ‘A conditional fee agreement provides for a success fee if it provides for the amount of any fees to which it applies to be increased, in specified circumstances, above the amount which would be payable if it were not payable only in specified circumstances.’ For discussion of success fees, see the section ‘Success fees’ below and Practice Note: Conditional fee agreements—success fees. Note, there are specific provisions (including in relation to success fees) applying to a CFA in the context of personal injury, clinical negligence and mesothelioma cases, which are not dealt with in this Practice Note. For these provisions, see: PI and clinical negligence developments—overview and Practice Note: Conditional fee agreements after 1 April 2013—personal

This Practice Note considers success fees, a form of fee which may be payable as a consequence of a successful claim where that claim has been funded by the use of a conditional fee agreement (CFA). This Practice Note considers the following issues: • what is meant by the term ‘success fee’? • are success fees recoverable? • what constitutes a 'success' to trigger payment of the success fee? • what requirements are to be satisfied if including a success fee in a CFA? • what is an appropriate success fee percentage? • appeals against decisions in respect of success fee percentages • is the success fee under the funding agreement payable by the other side as costs? • transitional arrangements or exceptions which apply post-1 April 2013 For further guidance on dealing with CFAs, see Practice Notes: • Conditional fee agreements—definition and requirements • Types of conditional fee agreements • Conditional fee agreements—assignment of a CFA What are success fees? A CFA is an agreement between a client and solicitor which provides