Understanding Legal Aid funding in Public Law
At Creighton & Partners, we have extensive experience in assisting parties involved in care proceedings. These are proceedings that are started when a Local Authority has concerns about the welfare of a child and then applies to court for orders to allow them to protect the child.
With expertise in this area of law, our solicitors and paralegals are practiced in obtaining legal aid funding for clients.
What is legal aid funding?
Legal aid is public funding that many people are entitled to, and which can cover the costs of legal proceedings. Public funding is administered by the Legal Aid Agency and for public law cases, clients can receive funding for legal help or legal representation.
Legal help covers legal advice, whereas legal representation covers preparation of a client’s case and the client’s legal representation at court.
Legal aid in care proceedings?
If you are a parent (or party with parental responsibility) of the child made subject to the care proceedings legal aid is not means tested. This means your income and capital assets will not be taken into consideration when an application for legal aid is made on your behalf.
However, for other parties joined to the proceedings, income and other finances are taken into consideration when a legal aid application is made.
Applying for legal aid funding
Our solicitors will help you to apply for legal aid funding; the application will be completed by us on your behalf.
If the application is approved, the Legal Aid Agency will then issue a legal aid certificate outlining the amount of money that can be spent on the case and the type of legal aid the client has been granted.
If you have any questions please contact us on 020 7976 2233.
