GREECE Law and Practice Contributed by: Vassilios Moussas, Charalampos Kondis, Christina Grigoriadou and Konstantina Margariti, Moussas & Partners
mentioned on the judgment to be issued by the court.
attorneys may – by specific written agreement – take cases on a contingency basis. A contin- gency fee may not exceed 20% of the value of the case. If a client is represented by more than one lawyer in a single case, the aggregate con- tingency fees payable to all attorneys may not exceed 30% of the value of the case. 2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding No time limits apply to obtaining third-party funding. Law 4640/2019, regulating mediation proce- dures in national and cross-border civil and commercial matters, introduced an obligation whereby – prior to the filing of any legal action – an attorney must inform their client of the option to resort to mediation for the resolution of the dispute (effective as of 30 November 2019). The acknowledgment of this notification must be filed before the competent court, together with the writ initiating proceedings or the plead- ings – otherwise the hearing shall be considered inadmissible. 3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct Pre-trial Mediation The aforementioned notification requirements and the consequences in case of non-compli- ance are burdensome, have received criticism from both scholars and practitioners and have been already held as unconstitutional by several courts. Furthermore, a mandatory preliminary mediation session is provided – prior to their referral to the competent court – for: • certain family law disputes (for lawsuits filed after 15 January 2020);
2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding The notion of litigation funding by a third party is not conceived of – or structured by – any specific legislation, although certain insurance compa- nies offer legal-expenses protection covering the costs of litigation. There are no rules for restric- tions on funders, however. A litigation funding arrangement could currently take the form of a loan combined with the assignment of future proceeds from litigation. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits In the absence of a legal framework regulating third-party litigation funding, there is no restric- tion as to the type of lawsuit that could be fund- ed. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Third-party litigation funding could be made available to both the plaintiff and defendant. 2.4 Minimum and Maximum Amounts of Third-Party Funding There is no minimum and maximum amount a third-party funder will fund. 2.5 Types of Costs Considered Under Third-Party Funding Costs that third-party funders will consider could include all fees and expenses (eg, costs for legal representation, court fees and expert fees). 2.6 Contingency Fees The Lawyers’ Code (ie, the rules of professional conduct and ethics for lawyers) provides that
500 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook