Funding Services:
Private Fees
Many people continue to qualify for Legal Aid. However, in order to ensure you have secured yourself the most 'tailored' representation for your case you may wish to consider instructing ourselves on a private basis.
Despite our total commitment to every case in which we act it has to be recognised that greater resources, and greater expertise, are made available in privately funded cases, especially at the outset when thorough and considered advice is most needed.
Under the Legal Aid Scheme there are restrictions upon how long Solicitors can spend working on a case, and attending upon their clients and/or families discussing the correct approach to the case. This is particularly true at the crucial early stages of a case.
In addition to restrictions on Solicitors, there are limits to what can be paid to Defence Expert Witnesses and Barristers.
A number of leading experts no longer accept instructions under the Legal Aid Scheme, and those who do have seen their rates reduced dramatically. Some suggest Legal Aid work is now ancillary to their caseload rather than the main focus of it.
These restrictions can sometimes lead to a lack of continuity. By way of example, if a Barrister becomes unavoidably double booked on a given hearing date, it is almost always the private case that takes priority, whilst a last minute replacement is found for the Legal Aid case.
The private costs of representation can be estimated at an early stage, and if agreed and a payment on account made, we can ensure the appropriate level of work commences on your case immediately.