Addleshaw Goddard senior partner Monica Burch has reaffirmed the firm's commitment to offering conditional fee agreements (CFAs) for litigation work, despite a number of high-profile losses.

Speaking to Legal Week, Burch said that the net benefit of using CFAs had topped seven figures annually a number of times since the firm first started pushing the arrangements in 2008. She added that additional fee income had also been generated through gaining and retaining work that the firm would otherwise have missed out on without offering a CFA.

"[CFAs] have been a real positive for us overall," Burch (pictured) said. "There have been one or two occasions when we have had to write down a bad debt but overall they have been good for us."

Addleshaws notably took a hit when it represented late Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky in his dispute with Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. The firm is thought to have taken the work on a conditional fee basis, acting for 50% of its usual rate for the duration of the dispute but missing out on a 100% uplift when Berezovsky lost the case.

While the firm itself has never confirmed or commented on its fees, it has previously been reported by Legal Week that the firm picked up a £15m success fee for a related case involving Berezovsky as part of its earnings from the oligarch's case, after Berezovsky issued proceedings in relation to claims that the family of former friend Badri Patarkatsishvili, who died in 2008, kept assets in which he had an interest. 

Acting on a conditional fee basis, Addleshaws picked up more than £50m in total from the two Berezovsky cases.

In 2012, Addleshaws also won a £100m High Court case for Standard Life, representing the pensions and savings firm on a conditional fee basis.

Burch said that the firm also uses CFAs for a number of other clients.

"We have been able to retain some great work as a result of acting on CFAs," Burch said. "We were also able to have positive discussions with clients about funding which in litigation isn't always the case."

She added that the firm will continue to be innovative when it comes to litigation charges.

"We continue to think about our fees and how we can be more imaginative and commercial with our clients in terms of legal costs."

In 2008, Addleshaws launched Contro£, an initiative designed to lower the cost of litigation for clients through CFAs, third party funding and after-the-event insurance.

Addleshaws' committment to CFAs comes as Nabarro plans to offer fixed-fee arrangements for most of its commercial disputes work. The litigation practice is offering a fixed price for an entire dispute, as well as the option of set costs for specific stages or individual elements of the dispute.

The initiative, which is being led by Nabarro's head of disputes Jonathan Warne, marks a step away from hourly billing rates. Clients opting for a fixed fee package would agree a scheme for monthly payments in relation to the agreed fee.

Separately, Andrew Smith has become Addleshaws new head of business support and restructuring after former practice leader John Joyce was elected managing partner in May.

Related: Can Addleshaws regain old polish?