WordPress.com



c/o St Ives Chambers, 1-3 Whittall Street, Birmingham B4 6DHDX: 16072 Fountain Court Birminghamsecretary@wmflba.co.uk | wmflba.co.ukSUGGESTED RECITALS FOR LEGAL AID CASES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC (Version 2 – 7th May 2020)In light of the guidance issued by the Legal Aid Agency on 25th March and 15th April 2020, the following recitals are suggested as a means of recording all of the relevant information on draft orders to ensure that advocates are properly remunerated. Please adapt as you see fit and remember that the Court will have the final say over any wording. These recitals have not been approved by the LAA. Family Advocacy Scheme (FAS) CasesUPON the Court recording that:in the exceptional circumstances of the current national public health emergency, this case was listed for a remote hearing by means of [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other];the hearing was listed as a [insert hearing type, e.g. further case management hearing];the advocates conducted pre-hearing discussions by email from [start time] until [end time] today;the advocates met for pre-hearing discussions via [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other] from [start time] until [end time] today, which shall be recorded as the time the hearing started;during the time listed at paragraphs (iii) and (iv) above, the advocates also took instructions remotely from their respective clients;the advocates appeared in court remotely today from [time the judge joined the remote hearing] until [time the judge left the remote hearing]; [the Court allowed the advocates further time to finalise the draft order, which was agreed and sent to the Court at [time], which shall be recorded as the time the hearing ended] or [the Court allowed the advocates an additional hour to finalise the draft order, such that the hearing ended at [time]];it was [possible / not possible] for the Court to endorse Family Advocacy Scheme Advocates’ Attendance Forms (‘FAS’ forms) at this hearing;in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 and section 7 of the 2013 Standard Civil Contract:the total attendance time of the advocates was [time in hours and minutes]; the advocates bundle was [between 350 and 700 pages / over 700 pages / over 1400 pages];the advocate for [party] was representing a client who is facing allegations that they have caused significant harm to a child [which have been made or adopted by the local authority] and are a live issue in proceedings;the advocate for [party] was representing a person who has difficulty in giving instructions or understanding advice;an independent expert witness was cross-examined and substantially challenged by a party at the hearing; andthe case settled [at or before FDR/IRH]NB: In respect of (vii) above, please be sensible about this time. If the order is submitted many hours (or even days) later, you won’t be able to claim all of that time. Unless there is substantial work to be done on the draft order, you should only really be claiming up to an hour. It is important not to overclaim these times – not only because it would be wrong, but also these orders are evidence of the actual time spent working, which can then be used by the FLBA to demonstrate this to the LAA. VHCC Cases (‘Events’)UPON the Court recording that:in the exceptional circumstances of the current national public health emergency, this case was listed for a remote hearing by means of [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other];the hearing was listed as a [insert hearing type, e.g. further case management hearing];the advocates conducted their pre-hearing discussions by email from [start time] until [end time] today;the advocates met for pre-hearing discussions via [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other] from [start time] until [end time] today, which shall be recorded as the time the hearing started;during the time listed at paragraphs (iii) and (iv) above, the advocates also took instructions remotely from their respective clients;the advocates appeared in court remotely today from [time the judge joined the remote hearing] until [time the judge left the remote hearing]; and[the Court allowed the advocates further time to finalise the draft order, which was agreed and sent to the Court at [time], which shall be recorded as the time the hearing ended] or [the Court allowed the advocates an additional hour to finalise the draft order, such that the hearing ended at [time]]NB: The Court cannot “deem” that the advocates should be paid an event, as this is a contractual matter between the advocates and the LAA. Therefore, it is worth ensuring that an advocates’ meeting or a remote hearing takes place. At the moment, the number of advocates’ meetings and conferences continue to be limited in VHCC cases, but this is subject to ongoing negotiation between the FLBA and the LAA. Cases that fall outside of FAS, e.g. representing a 16.4 guardianUPON the Court recording that:in the exceptional circumstances of the current national public health emergency, this case was listed for a remote hearing by means of [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other];the hearing was listed as a [insert hearing type, e.g. further case management hearing];the advocates conducted their pre-hearing discussions by email from [start time] until [end time] today;the advocates met for pre-hearing discussions via [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other] from [start time] until [end time] today, which shall be recorded as the time the hearing started;during the time listed at paragraphs (iii) and (iv) above, the advocates also took instructions remotely from their respective clients;the advocates appeared in court remotely today from [time the judge joined the remote hearing] until [time the judge left the remote hearing]; and[the Court allowed the advocates further time to finalise the draft order, which was agreed and sent to the Court at [time], which shall be recorded as the time the hearing ended] or [the Court allowed the advocates an additional hour to finalise the draft order, such that the hearing ended at [time]]NB: For these cases, advocates can continue to self-certify their times for preparation, negotiation and advocacy, along with any uplift that is claimed. But the above wording may assist in confirming what happened during the hearing at court. Cases where a consent order is lodged without a hearingUPON the Court recording that:in the exceptional circumstances of the current national public health emergency, this case was listed for a remote hearing by means of [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other];the hearing was listed as a [insert hearing type, e.g. further case management hearing];the advocates conducted their pre-hearing discussions by email from [start time] until [end time] on [date(s)];the advocates met for [pre-hearing] discussions via [telephone/Skype/Zoom/other] from [start time] until [end time] on [date];the advocates’ submitted a draft consent order to the Court at [time] on [date];the Court approved the draft order such that there was no need for a hearing to take place; andthe advocates spent a total of [time in hours and minutes] discussing the case and preparing the draft orderNotes:If these cases fall under FAS, you can still include recitals dealing with bundle payments, bolt-ons, etc. which are included in the template for FAS cases above. Please note the following from paragraph 12 of v2 the LAA’s FAQs document dated 15th April 2020:“If the advocates meeting leads to an agreed order, with no need for a hearing and a self-employed advocate has undertaken at least 30 minutes of preparation for the hearing, they are entitled to claim a payment for a one-hour hearing (hearing unit 1) if the cancelled hearing was an interim hearing, or half of the final hearing fee if the cancelled hearing was a final hearing.”Therefore, even though the total times of discussions are recorded, please note that you will only be remunerated for a one-hour hearing. Furthermore, please note that this is only for self-employed advocates. This provision continues to be the subject of further negotiation with the LAA. Further GuidanceThe order MUST name all of the advocates who attended the hearing. As a general rule, allow an hour for pre-hearing discussions and a further hour for perfecting the order. Remember, an Advocates’ Meeting is something prescribed by the PLO and attracts its own fixed payment. Please refer to the LAA’s rules and recent guidance in this respect. In short, as long as an Advocates’ Meeting has been directed by the court you should get paid for it. They can also be directed retrospectively.These suggested recitals are not set in stone and should adapted to suit the needs of each case: feel free to amend them as necessary. 25th March 2020Updated 7th May 2020 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download