Access to justice & funding in the civil system Flashcards
4 sources of general legal advice
- help lines
- Citizens’ Advice Bureaux
- Law centres
- Trade Unions
example of help line + explain
Civil legal advice (CLA) - government funded scheme which provides telephone advice for problems e.g. debt + domestic abuse
what does Citizens’ Advice Bureaux deal with
free-matters, e.g. housing, welfare benefits, debt. many have contacts with solicitors willing to give cheap or free advice
in 2016 how many law centres were there in E+W - explain
44 - in poor areas. they employ qualified solicitors + barristers to deal with mainly housing, employment, welfare + immigration problems
what do trade unions provide
advice + legal representation to their members in disputes e.g. employment - unfair dismissal, as well as free legal advice e.g. personal injury
4 sources of funding legal advice
- private funding
- private legal insurance
- public funding
- conditional fee agreements (CFA)
explain private funding
use own money. some have free half-hour interviews, or pro-bono in certain areas
explain private legal insurance
most motor + house insurance policies will provide help with legal fees for road accident cases/ injury arising from house accident e.g. falling tile hits passerby
explain public funding
very limited - N/A for tort/ contract cases. only for children’s rights/ asylum issues - means tested
what is the main type of funding in civil case
conditional fee agreements (CFA)
Under a CFA scheme, why do solicitors + barristers raise their fee to maximum - sometimes double usual rate
as money only paid if their case is successful
what is the cap on the success fee in personal injury cases
25% of damages
if a case is lost under CFA what does ‘after-the-event’ insurance scheme ensure
money available to pay for other side’s legal costs. this is a small amount merely to ensure C’s liability for such costs is covered
