Legal Services and Professional Conduct Flashcards
What is a damages based fee agreement and what is the maximum?
Fee is % of damages received and capped at 50%.
25% for personal injury.
35% for employment.
What is a no-win, no-fee ‘conditional fee’ agreement?
Capped at 100% of hourly rate.
Does a fee agreement need to stipulate that it is a contentious business agreement?
Yes.
What must be satisfied for someone to receive legal aid?
Merits test
Means test - how poor they are.
Interests of justice test.
If a defendant pleads guilty, are they still eligible for legal aid?
Yes.
Which factors are relevant to the interests of justice test?
Likelihood of jail.
Amount of law in trial.
If witnesses will be cross-examined.
Whether someone besides family has interest in the individual being represented.
In the context of legal aid, when is the interests of justice test automatically satisfied?
In a crown court trial.
What are the income bands for the means test?
Less than 12.7k - automatically eligible.
What is the threshold for satisfying the merits test in civil proceedings?
Around 50% chance of success.
Can a fixed fee be increased halfway through work?
Only if the client agrees. If the client doesn’t agree, solicitor must finish the work.
Which fee agreements can the court assess and set aside?
Contentious agreements only.
When can a solicitor commence claims to recover costs?
One month after invoice.
When will a spouse’s income not be taken into account for the means test?
When the spouse has a contrary interest - eg they want the person to go to jail.
When is a freelance solicitor exempt from having to be authorised as a sole practice?
All legal work is outside reserved activities.
Are in-house solicitors authorised to give legal advice to people outside their company?
Yes as long as there is insurance.
Do non-profit orgs providing legal advice need to be authorised?
No because legal advice is not reserved.
Is professional indemnity insurance required of law firms?
Yes at 3 million minimum.
What are the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010?
Race
Sex
Religion
Age
Sexuality
Disability
Marriage
Pregnancy
What is the employment exception to discrimination?
Only people with a particular protected characteristic can perform the job.
What is the prohibited conduct under the Equality Act?
Direct discrimination
Indirect discrimination.
Victimisation: harming someone for doing a ‘protected act’ like filing proceedings.
Sexual harassment.
Can failure to make adjustments amount to discrimination under the Equality Act?
Yes.
Is practicising as a solicitor without being certified a crime?
Yes.
Is it discrimination if a law firm hires people with a protected characteristic that are disproportionately under-represented?
No.