How to claim Legal Aid

Please note that as a firm we offer legal aid in 2 service areas, below follow some basic guidance to the way legal aid operates, however please check the Legal Services Commissions Website for more information on how to claim for legal aid and where you will find a useful calculator to help assess if you are eligible.

• Clinical negligence and legal aid
• Family law and legal aid

Clinical Negligence and legal aid

Public Funding from the Legal Services Commission (Legal Aid) is still available in relation to claims in clinical negligence.

In order to qualify for this type of funding you need to meet two tests set by the Legal Services Commission.  These are:-

• The merits test.
• The financial eligibility test.

Financial eligibility

If you are directly or indirectly in receipt of one of the following qualifying benefits you will automatically be entitled to Public Funding from the Legal Services Commission without any further investigation into your financial eligibility.  The qualifying benefits are:-

• Income Support.
• Income based Job Seekers Allowance.
• Income based Employment and Support Allowance.
• Pension Guarantee Credit.

If you are not in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits then the assessment is divided into two categories.  First, your capital.  Second, your income.  If you have a Partner, your Partner’s capital and income will usually be taken into consideration when working out your financial eligibility.

Capital limits

The first question you will probably be asked is whether you own your property and whether your equity in your home is above £100,000 (after allowing up to £100,000 for any mortgage outstanding).  It is likely that you will also be asked about your other savings, investments, valuable items and other capital that you hold.  If your disposable capital is less than £8,000 then you will meet the capital limits.  However, if your capital is above £3,000 you may be asked to make a contribution towards towards your Legal Aid Certificate.

Income limits

If your gross income is not more than £2,530 per month then you may qualify for Public Funding due to the level of income you have.  However, your disposable income must be no more than £698 per month. The Legal Services Commission defines “disposable income” in a very specific way and therefore this is not discussed in any further detail in this information sheet.

If you or your Partner are over the age 60 then your disposable capital, if it is over £8,000 may be disregarded but this is based on a sliding scale.  At one end of the scale if you have a monthly disposable income of up to £25 an additional £100,000 of your capital will be disregarded (ignored) by the Legal Services Commission.  At the other end of the scale if your monthly disposable income is between £226 to £300 per month then only £10,000 will be disregarded by the Legal Services Commission.

For more information on financial eligibility please telephone us or use the Legal Services Commission’s Financial Eligibility Calculator at

www.legalservices.gov.uk/civil/guidance/elibility-calculator.asp

LSC funding works like a loan and if you recover or preserve property or money the LSC recovers what it has paid from that. If you are sucessful then you may be able to recover your costs from your opponent. The details of how Legal Aid works and your position in relation to costs will be explained to you by your solicitor.

Family Law and Legal Aid

We are committed to publicly funded legal services. We hold a Legal Services Commission (LSC) franchise in family law and have been assessed by the LSC as providing a quality assured service.

What this means to our clients is:

• We can provide you with Legal Help at no cost to you if you are financially eligible.
• If you are eligible for LSC funding for family mediation we can advise you free of charge.
• If you need an emergency order and are financially eligible we can grant ourselves funding to cover your costs and go straight to court for you.
• If you need representation in court and are financially eligible we can represent you in court in any family law matter at no cost or subject to a monthly contribution towards the cost.
• If we do represent you under LSC funding and you are liable to pay the LSC back you pay your fees at a rate significantly lower than you would pay a solicitor privately. However you get the same quality assured service that we give all our clients.
• At the start of the case we give you an estimate of the costs and throughout the case keep you informed on those costs.

LSC funding works like a loan and if you recover or preserve property or money the LSC recovers what it pays us from that. However if you preserve your home then the recovery can be delayed until you sell the house.