Members of LAPG receive regular updates about developments in the operation of the legal aid scheme and policy issues. Members have access to discounted training courses and events such as our well-regarded annual conference. Legal aid is help for people who can’t afford to pay for legal advice or representation in court by a solicitor or barrister. There are three different schemes that pay legal aid for people needing legal advice and representation if a case goes to court. If you need legal assistance but cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, Legal Aid helps meet the costs of legal advice, family mediation and representation in a court or tribunal. A person being interviewed by the police about criminal charges is entitled to free legal aid for police station advice.
- If you don’t have a solicitor, check the Law Society’s list of solicitors.
- If you are eligible for legal aid find out how to claim here.
- Unions can sometimes offer free legal help such as finding and paying for a solicitor – and not just for work problems.
- If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices.
- 31 events across the 5 days of the conference – attended by over 800 practitioners and others with a keen interest in access to justice and legal aid.
Barristers and solicitors use a different process to create their nidirect account. A local Law Centre may be able to provide free legal advice. Law Centres are staffed by solicitors and specialist case workers.
For Solicitors
Help with the costs of legal advice and representation in court if you can’t afford it. Who can help you if you need advice about a legal problem, such as debt, housing, benefits, employment, divorce or claims for money. Your solicitor will decide if you meet the financial eligibility limits under the advice and assistance scheme. Depending on your financial circumstances, you may have to pay something towards your advice and assistance in civil matters. Advocate only helps people who cannot afford to pay and cannot get legal aid.
It’s important to check your agreement carefully before you sign it. If you win the case, the solicitor’s fees and expenses you agreed to will be taken from your compensation. You’ll usually be able to recover some costs from your opponent. View information about payment dates over the Easter, May Day and Platinum Jubilee public holidays 2022 and office opening hours.
For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency. You must log in to your nidirect account before you can create your LAMS account. Your case must be referred to the Advoate by a solicitor or advice agency such as a Citizens Advice, law centre or MP.
Call the solicitor’s office to find out if they want you to bring any particular documents, such as a passport. You should make a note beforehand of what you need to say and find out. You could speak to an adviser at your nearest Citizens Advice to help you decide what questions to ask the solicitor. You can find out how to apply for exceptional case funding without using a legal professional on the Public Law Project website. If your case is going to court or a tribunal, you might get a volunteer barrister to represent you for free through Advocate.
We Offer
Some solicitors offer ‘no win, no fee’ as a way of paying for civil cases, such as personal injury. A no win, no fee agreement is sometimes known as a ‘conditional fee agreement’ . You must log in to your nidirect account and enter your personal identification number to see cases and requests or to send new applications or requests for legal aid.
Citizens Advice provide free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of issues including money, benefit, housing or employment problems. Citizens Advice can provide support you if you are facing a crisis, or just considering your options. If you’ve joined an organisation like a trade union, they might offer you free legal help. Or you might get help with legal expenses as part of another subscription, insurance policy or credit card agreement. We offer services across a broad range of legal matters, with niche expertise in areas including Islamic law, Actions against the Police and Inquests.
Advocate provides people with free legal advice and representation in court and tribunal cases from volunteer barristers. Some offer a fixed fee – that way you’ll know in advance what the advice will cost. You can call a solicitor’s office and ask if they offer a free half hour or a fixed fee. If you’ve been arrested and you’re going to be questioned at a police station, you can find out about your right to free legal advice on GOV.UK – it doesn’t matter what your income is.
If you’ve been charged with a crime, ask your solicitor or barrister if you’re able to get criminal legal aid. Under Article 6 ECHR everyone has the general right is ‘to a fair … hearing’ in the determination of civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge. This implies an appropriate degree of ‘equality of arms’. Criminal legal aid helps people charged with a criminal offence. Civil legal assistance helps people to get legal advice and representation in civil cases. The clinics are for people who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.