Legal funding and advice agencies (A03)

Question 1

PROBLEMS WITH LEGAL FUNDING IN CRIMINAL CASES

Answer 1

• lack of funding
• fixed fee
• means test is unfair
• repeat offenders could benefit
• limitations on the duty solicitor

Question 2

lack of funding

Answer 2

in 2014 ministry of justice cut by 320million. less gov contracts available. different regions = different allocated funding

meaning poorer cities such as liverpool will suffer. advice deserts.

Question 3

fixed fee

Answer 3

resulted in fewer solicitors taking gov funded work, advice deserts. crim lawyers walked out in protest

limited access to justice, good lawyers will no longer take on publicly funded cases

Question 4

means test is unfair

Answer 4

levels are so low only very low levels of income qualify, only very poorest have access to justice.

so those if modest means will be denied access to justice if cant afford case.

Question 5

limitations on duty solicitor

Answer 5

attendance by DS has been limited so only go hen its shown to materially progress.

been critisised as it may not get access to full justice, eg thru relationship w solicitor or relationship.

but does save $ so good for financial struggle.

Question 6

may benefit repeat offenders

Answer 6

passing means test has to be in the 5 interests of justice, hard to pass unless liberty issue.

has to be real risk of imprisonment which applies to repeat offenders so have increased chance of getting legal funding.

Question 7

ADVANTAGES OF OBTAINING CIVIL ADVICE

Answer 7

• accessibility
• cost
• less intimidating

Question 8

accessibility (civil advice)

Answer 8

variety of different agencies available to public
CABx operates in most towns at 2.5k so people can access easily

CABx workers have comprehensive info and many will become experts in certain fields. qual solicitors are there to give advice

Question 9

cost (civil advice)

Answer 9

other advice agencies such as trade unions and law centers provide free assistance

improving access to justice for those who may not be able to afford initial interview with a solicitor.

Question 10

less intimidating (civil advice)

Answer 10

for advice agencies selling point is that theyre non intimidating and provide free service

initially likened to family doctors who ppl can go and feel comfortable. has websites so even more accessible.

Question 11

DISADVANTAGES OF CIVIL ADVICE

Answer 11

• lack of legal training
• lack of funding
• lack of knowledge
• schemes run by lawyers are limited.

Question 12

lack of legal training

Answer 12

agencies like CABx are limited as workers arent legally qualified

quality of advice could be inconsistent. individuals usually left to decide what the problem is and where to go

Question 13

lack of funding

Answer 13

benson commitee reccommended CABx recieve more government funding in 1979. yet to happen

law centers rely on local authority funding and as a result of lack of funding some are forced to close down. many areas dont have law centers.

Question 14

lack of knowledge

Answer 14

very few people are aware of funding agencies other than CABx.

if unaware of services available, they may be denied justice/far from nearest agency which is discouraging. some dont have computers available.

Question 15

schemes run by lawyers are limited

Answer 15

only for a short session of free advice. half an hour isnt long enough for a complicated case.

bar pro bono unit offers advice on any area of law but scheme is small and only available in london so isnt easy to access.

Question 16

ADVANTAGES OF OBTAINING FUNDING FOR CIVIL CASES

Answer 16

• expert representation
• means and merit tested
• passion to win (CONDITIONAL FEE)

Question 17

expert representation

Answer 17

experts in particular areas of law. can choose solicitor from wide range so can get one they need.

means client is satisfied and confident with their representation.

Question 18

means and merit tested

Answer 18

strict but means those who fully cant afford rep will be eligble.
funding only given if warrant public money being spent which means justice is created as everyone has access

Question 19

passion to win (conditional fee arrangements)

Answer 19

solicitor will be keen to win so they dont loose money.

means solicitor will perform well and client will be satisfied w service

Question 20

DISADVANTAGES OF FUNDING FOR CIVIL CASES

Answer 20

• low budget
• eligibility
• lack of availablility
• people will have to represent themselves

Question 21

low budget

Answer 21

ministry of justice ting

creates injustice and stops ppl going to courts that need to. also could mean clients dont get high standards of representation due to cost implications.

Question 22

eligibilty

Answer 22

only ppl with extremely low levels of income can qualify for help - ppl with moderate income are denied justice.

gotten worse as house prices have increased and therefor less people qualify

Question 23

lack of availability (advice deserts)

Answer 23

large parts of the country in which there arent enough firms with public funding contracts as different cities get diff sums

those in poorer cities such as liverpool suffer and can pt clients off pursuing civil cases and result in advice deserts.

Question 24

people may have to rep. themselves

Answer 24

due to lack of legal funding. at distinct disadvantage when faced with a qualified lawyer and makes case slow and costly to loosing party

however for many civil matters there are conditional fee agreements.

Question 25

ADVANTAGES OF CONDITIONAL FEES

Answer 25

• passion to win

* ensures access to justice

Question 26

passion to win

Answer 26

solicitor will be keen to win so they dont loose money.

means solicitor will perform well and client will be satisfied w service

Question 27

ensures access to justice

Answer 27

CFA’s have helped thousands of people bring cases to court and obtain justice

very useful in defamation as legal aid has never been available for this and only rich ppl could. CFA has enabled ordinary people to take on such claims

Question 28

DISADVANTAGES OF CONDITIONAL FEES

Answer 28

• hard to find solicitors for risky cases
• insurance costs are very high
• disadvantages large firms
• cost

Question 29

hard to find solicitors for risky cases

Answer 29

low value cases arent attractive to solicitors as no protection against having to pay other sides fees.

only likely to take on cases which are high value and with a high chance of success which doesnt provide justice for all.

Question 30

insurance costs are high

Answer 30

poorest clients cant afford insurance fees which makes it risky going to court as no protection against paying other sides costs if loose the case

LASPO has made CFA less attractive as cost of “after the event insurance” can no longer be claimed back from defendant by claimant who wins the case.

Question 31

disadvantaging large firms

Answer 31

some large firms who deal with CFAs have gone into liquidation which shows risk of making profit from the scheme. means many firms screen their cases and only accept those with high success chance.

also disadvantage the client as compensation ageed with the client is likely to be lower than level offered by independent law firms.

Question 32

cost

Answer 32

LASPO now means that success fees are no longer claimable from the loser of the case which means successful claimant will have to give up large portion of compensation

problem with cost for firms themselves as struggle to estimate their fee for complicated work and may end up out of pocket.