LEGAL AID

Legal Aid may available for the costs of representing some clients in court, whether it be Criminal Defence or pursuing or defending a Civil case such as a Family Law matter (for example, disputes over Contact and Residence of children).

There is also Legal Advice and Assistance (different from Legal Aid),  which covers the cost of meetings in the office and correspondence, short of the costs of actually appearing on behalf of a client in Court. For representation in Court full Legal Aid or Representation cover may be put in place .

Legal Aid in Criminal cases, as in Civil cases, is means tested and proof of income and expenditure must be detailed and vouched. The main difference between Legal Aid in Criminal cases from that in Civil matters is that in Criminal matters it is either granted or refused; in Civil cases it can be granted subject to a sliding scale of contributions payable over a set period.  Contributions are assessed dependent on disposable income.

Whatever a client's enquiry may be, they should clarify at an early stage whether they qualify for Legal Advice and Assistance or Legal Aid.

Clients should bear in mind the "Clawback" provisions in civil matters whereby any money or property recovered or preserved is the first source of payment of legal fees, unless  "grave hardship"  applies although there are certain exemptions and excluded property. One example is that any award in an Employment case is exempt from the clawback provisions.  

For furhter information of to find out if you qualify for legal aid or legal advice & assistance contact Barbara Black on 01294 278306 or Gordon Ghee on 01294 464341.