Who are we?

Duncan Lewis is the largest provider of legal aid services in the UK. We represent clients in all areas which remain in scope for legal aid.

The challenge

The current rules for legal aid funding create a totally unacceptable obstacle to access to justice for the most vulnerable individuals, regardless of the merit of their claims.

Our clients need us to act immediately to protect their legal interests. The current rules, as interpreted by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), don’t allow us to help these clients until the LAA have made a positive decision on funding.

One example of many that is being put to the Court is a case concerning an elderly, suicidal woman who instructed Duncan Lewis on a Sunday to obtain an injunction against her removal the next morning. We took the case on, in the knowledge that the LAA would not cover this urgent work.

What do we want to achieve?

We want the LAA to recognise that the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012, (the Procedure Regulations) do not prohibit the backdating of funding to the date of an initial application. If necessary, we want to see the Regulations amended. This will help vulnerable clients to access legal representation when they most need it.

We have been granted permission in a claim for judicial review to challenge the lawfulness of the Procedure Regulations and the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) interpretation of these regulations. (R (on the application of Duncan Lewis Solicitors) v the Legal Aid Agency and the Lord Chancellor)

The LAA’s position is that the Procedure Regulations do not allow it to make legal aid payments for work undertaken before it grants funding. This means that legal aid providers are not paid for work that they do before the LAA is able to consider an application and grant funding, even if a delay in funding occurs because the LAA’s initial decision to refuse funding is changed on review or appeal. Following a recent judgment, delays in obtaining legal aid funding will also not be accepted as a reason for bringing proceedings out of time.

We need your support

We are committed to covering our own costs in the litigation. However, if we are not successful, we might also be required to pay the Defendant’s costs. We are therefore seeking contributions to a fighting fund which will be used to pay the costs of the Defendants in the event that we are not successful. We understand that the other side’s costs in the case could be around £100,000 - £120,000.

We are aiming to raise at least £30,000. Please contribute and share this page now! 

If we cannot raise this fighting fund, we may not be able to bring the challenge at all, so please dig deep and help us share the risk of taking on this challenge. If we win, your contributions will be donated to the Access to Justice Foundation.

Next steps

We are currently collecting evidence for this challenge and would love to hear from firms who have not been paid by the LAA for work properly undertaken. A date for the substantive hearing has not been set, but is likely to take place towards the end of 2018.