Legal funding and advice agencies (A03) Flashcards
PROBLEMS WITH LEGAL FUNDING IN CRIMINAL CASES
- lack of funding
- fixed fee
- means test is unfair
- repeat offenders could benefit
- limitations on the duty solicitor
lack of funding
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.
fixed fee
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
means test is unfair
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.
limitations on duty solicitor
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.
may benefit repeat offenders
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.
ADVANTAGES OF OBTAINING CIVIL ADVICE
- accessibility
- cost
- less intimidating
accessibility (civil advice)
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
cost (civil advice)
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.
less intimidating (civil advice)
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.
DISADVANTAGES OF CIVIL ADVICE
- lack of legal training
- lack of funding
- lack of knowledge
- schemes run by lawyers are limited.
lack of legal training
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
lack of funding
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.
lack of knowledge
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.
schemes run by lawyers are limited
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.
ADVANTAGES OF OBTAINING FUNDING FOR CIVIL CASES
- expert representation
- means and merit tested
- passion to win (CONDITIONAL FEE)
expert representation
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.
means and merit tested
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
passion to win (conditional fee arrangements)
solicitor will be keen to win so they dont loose money.
means solicitor will perform well and client will be satisfied w service
DISADVANTAGES OF FUNDING FOR CIVIL CASES
- low budget
- eligibility
- lack of availablility
- people will have to represent themselves
low budget
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.
eligibilty
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
lack of availability (advice deserts)
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.
people may have to rep. themselves
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.
ADVANTAGES OF CONDITIONAL FEES
- passion to win
* ensures access to justice
passion to win
solicitor will be keen to win so they dont loose money.
means solicitor will perform well and client will be satisfied w service
ensures access to justice
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
DISADVANTAGES OF CONDITIONAL FEES
- hard to find solicitors for risky cases
- insurance costs are very high
- disadvantages large firms
- cost
hard to find solicitors for risky cases
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.
insurance costs are high
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.
disadvantaging large firms
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.
cost
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.
