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This information applies to England and Wales
Legal aid
If you need help with legal costs, you may get Legal Aid. Legal Aid is organised by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). It is provided in the following ways:-
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Legal Help
Legal Help allows people with a low income to get free legal advice and help from a solicitor or an experienced legal adviser. The solicitor or adviser must have a contract with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to be able to provide Legal Help.
What does Legal Help cover
Legal Help covers all the help you might need from a solicitor or legal adviser in preparing a case to go to court. This may include getting general advice on any legal problems, It may also include your solicitor or adviser writing letters, negotiating, getting a barrister's opinion and preparing a written case for a tribunal. Legal Help could also cover the costs of mediation in non-family cases. Mediation is a way of negotiating, where the parties are helped by a neutral mediator to find a solution acceptable to them both.
Legal Help won't pay for the costs of starting or taking a court case. Also, it won't pay for a lawyer to represent you in court or at a tribunal. However, you may be able to get help for this under Help at Court (see under heading Help at Court), Controlled Legal Representation (see under heading Controlled Legal Representation) or Legal Representation (see under heading Legal Representation).
Legal problems covered by Legal Help
Legal Help covers advice on general legal problems including advice about:
- housing law, for example, if you're in arrears and your landlord wants to evict you
- consumer law, for example, if you've bought faulty goods
- court procedures, for example, if someone is taking you to court because you owe them money
- family law such as financial support after marriage or disputes about children. You could also get advice about undefended divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership
- the buying and selling of your home, but only if this is needed to carry out a court order or if it's the result of a divorce, legal separation or dissolved civil partnership
- an adoption, but only if there's a dispute about adoption
- how to prepare for a tribunal hearing, for example, an employment tribunal in an unfair dismissal case or a unified appeal tribunal in a benefits appeals case. Legal help doesn't cover representation at the tribunal itself
- medical negligence cases
- personal injury cases, but only when the injury is the result of an assault or deliberate abuse.
You might be able to get advice about making a will, but only in certain circumstances, for example, if you're 70 or over, if you're disabled, or if you're a parent making provision for a disabled child.
To qualify for Legal Help, there are financial conditions - see under What are the financial conditions for legal help, below. If you meet the financial conditions, you'll normally get Legal Help for as long as the solicitor or adviser agrees there is 'sufficient benefit' in continuing with the case. 'Sufficient benefit' means that the case has to be one that has a chance of success. Also if it's a case where money is involved, there has to be a clear cost benefit to you. This is designed to weed out hopeless and non-legal matters. Once you've been granted Legal Help, your case will be regularly reviewed to make sure that these conditions continue to be met.
You may stop getting Legal Help if you become entitled to a different sort of legal aid. For example, if your case needs to go to court, you may qualify for Help at Court instead of Legal help (see under heading Help at Court).
What are the financial conditions for Legal Help
Legal Help if you're getting benefits
If you’re getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, you’ll automatically qualify for Legal Help. Also, you'll automatically qualify for Legal Help for asylum and immigration matters if you're an asylum seeker getting government asylum support. Otherwise you have to meet both income and capital conditions.
Legal Help if you have income
If your gross monthly income is over £2,530 you won't get Legal Help. 'Gross income' means before tax and national insurance are taken off and it excludes certain social security benefits. If you have more than four children, this limit goes up by £211 for the fifth and each additional child. You have to include your partner's income unless your partner is the person who you are in dispute with.
If your gross monthly income is £2,530 or less, your solicitor or adviser will then check out what is your disposable income. 'Disposable income' is the amount of income you have left after deductions have been made for national insurance, child support and tax. Also, if you have a partner who isn't earning or if you have children, a certain amount of your income won't be taken into account. If your partner is earning, their income will be taken into account, unless your partner is the person who you are in dispute with.
To qualify for Legal Help, your disposable monthly income can't be more than £698. If you are within this limit, you don't have to pay anything towards Legal Help.
Legal Help if you have capital
If you have disposable capital (savings) of over £8,000, you won't get Legal Help. Disposable capital includes:
- money in the bank
- valuable items
- the value of your home (if you own it). This depends on how much the property is worth and how much your mortgage is.
You have to include your partner's capital unless your partner is the person who you are in dispute with.
If you're getting Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, you'll automatically get Legal Help regardless of the value of your home or of any other capital you have.
More information about financial eligibility for Legal Help
For more information about whether you qualify for Legal Help, visit the Community Legal Advice website at: www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk.
What you may have to pay towards Legal Help
You may have to pay towards Legal Help if you win or keep money or property in:
- a family case
- a medical negligence case
- a personal injury case.
Your solicitor or adviser must use this money to pay their bill. You'll get what's left. For example, if you win £750 as a result of the case, and the solicitor's bill is £100, you'll actually get £650. This deduction is called the statutory charge.
However, you won't have to pay the statutory charge if your solicitor believes:
- this would cause you serious hardship or distress; or
- it would be too difficult to get you to pay up.
If you do have to pay the statutory charge, you can postpone payment if:-
- the property you won or kept is your home or the home of your dependants; or
- the money you won or kept is to be used to buy a home for yourself or your dependants.
Your solicitor or adviser will give you more information about the statutory charge before you decide to go ahead with your case.
How to apply for Legal Help
If you qualify for Legal Help, you'll need to see a solicitor, or an adviser with a contract to provide this type of legal aid. The solicitor or adviser will ask you to fill in an application form at the start of the interview. They will use the information you give on the form to decide whether you qualify.
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Help at Court
In some cases, you can get help from the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to pay for a solicitor or adviser to speak for you in court. Examples of cases where you might get Help at Court include:
- where you have agreed you owe money to someone but need to sort out when and how the debt is to be paid
- where you disagree about the amount of rent or mortgage arrears you owe and your lender or landlord has taken legal action to repossess the property.
You must meet certain financial conditions to get Help at Court. These conditions are the same as for Legal Help scheme - see under heading Legal Help. There are also other conditions that must be met. You can get Help at Court only:
- where it can be shown that having someone to speak on your behalf is appropriate and of real benefit to you
- if it's reasonable for Help at Court to be provided
- if it's considered to be cost-effective to attend a hearing, rather than simply writing a letter on your behalf.
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Family Help
If you have a serious family dispute, you may be entitled to Family Help. Family Help helps you to sort out your dispute. This could be through negotiation or some other means. Family Help covers all forms of legal help or representation other than representation at a defended final court hearing or appeal.
It can also cover help with mediation in a family dispute, for example, it can help you draw up the agreement you reached with the other party in the dispute.
In most cases, you must meet certain financial conditions to qualify for Family Help. These are the same as for Legal Help - see under heading Legal Help. However, if you're a parent, expectant parent or person with parental responsibility, you don't have to meet these financial qualifications to qualify for advice where the local authority is intending to start care or supervision proceedings.
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Family Mediation
If you are involved in a family dispute, for example, about contact with your children after you're relationship has broken down, you might find it helpful to go to mediation. This is where an independent mediator helps you to reach an agreement without you needing to go to court. The mediator does not make any decisions for you but helps you and the other party to make your own decisions. If you decide to go to mediation, you may be able to get help under Family mediation to pay for the mediator. You must meet certain financial conditions. These are the same for Legal Help – see What are the financial conditions for Legal Help, under heading Legal Help.
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Legal Representation
Legal Representation helps with all the costs of taking certain types of non-criminal (civil) cases to court. It includes representation by a solicitor or barrister. To get Legal Representation, you must meet certain financial conditions - see What are the financial conditions for Legal Representation, below. Your case also has to meet certain other conditions, for example, whether the Legal Services Commission (LSC) considers it reasonable to fund your case.
Also, you might only get Legal Representation for as long as it takes a solicitor to look into your case. If the solicitor doesn't think your case is strong enough, Legal Representation might be stopped.
The types of case that you might be able to get help with under Legal Representation include:
- a housing case, including eviction, repairs and rent arrears
- a debt case
- consumer problems, for example, if you were claiming compensation for faulty goods or services
- an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (but not for representation at an Employment Tribunal)
- a judicial review case in the High Court
- a case at a mental Health Review Tribunal
- an immigration or asylum case before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and in some High Court cases.
- the costs of mediation in non-family cases. For more information about Family Mediation, see under heading Family Mediation.
Legal Representation will not usually pay for the costs of taking a personal injury case to court.
For more information about taking a personal injury case to court, see Personal injuries. See also, Claiming compensation for personal injury - no win, no fee agreements in Legal fact sheets.
What are the financial conditions for Legal Representation
Legal Representation if you are getting benefits
If you are getting Income Support, the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you will qualify for Legal Representation. Also you will qualify for Legal Representation for asylum and immigration cases if you get government asylum support. If you are not getting these benefits or government asylum support, you have to meet both the capital and income conditions.
Legal Representation if you have income
If your gross monthly income is over £2,530, you will not get Legal Representation. 'Gross income' means your income before tax and national insurance have been deducted. If you have a partner, your partner's income will also be taken into account except if your partner is the person you are in dispute with.
If your gross monthly income is £2,530 or less, your disposable income will be assessed. 'Disposable income' is the amount that you have after deductions have been made for national insurance, tax, housing costs and certain other necessary expenses. If you have a partner who isn't earning or if you have children, a certain amount of your income won't be taken into account. If your partner is earning, their income will be taken into account except if they are the person you are in dispute with.
If you have a monthly disposable income of £698 or less, you will qualify for Legal Representation. However, if your monthly disposable income is over £300, you will have to pay a monthly contribution. This has to be paid for as long as you're getting Legal Representation. The amount of the contribution depends on your income.
Legal Representation if you have capital
In most cases, you will qualify for Legal Representation if you have disposable capital (savings) of under £8,000 (and also meet the income conditions - see above).
If you have a partner, your partner's capital will also be taken into account when working out what your capital is (unless your partner is the person you are in dispute with).
Disposable capital includes:
- money in the bank
- valuable items
- the value of your home (if you own it). This depends on how much your home is worth and how much your mortgage is.
If your disposable capital is under £3,000 or if you are getting one of the benefits mentioned earlier, you won't have to pay a contribution to the costs of your case. If you have more than £3,000 of disposable capital, you will have to pay a contribution towards the costs of your case. This contribution has to be paid straight away and it will be all of the capital you have over £3,000.
For more information about the financial conditions for Legal Representation, go to the Community Legal Advice website at: www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk. The website also has an on-line calculator which can help you work out if you may be entitled to Legal Representation.
Extra costs you may have to pay towards Legal Representation
If you win your case
If you get money or property as a result of work carried out through Legal Representation, your solicitor will use this money to pay their bill and you will get what's left. This deduction is called the statutory charge.
In some cases, payment of the statutory charge can be postponed if:
- the property you won in the case is your home or the home of your dependants
- the money you won in the case is to be used to buy a home for yourself or your dependants.
Make sure your solicitor or adviser gives you full details about the effects of the statutory charge before you decide to go ahead with your case.
If you lose your case
If you lose your case, you may be ordered to pay the legal costs of the other side if the court considers this would be reasonable.
How to apply for Legal Representation
You should apply for Legal Representation through a solicitor or adviser who has a contract with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to provide this type of legal aid. The solicitor or adviser will help you to fill out an application form along with a financial assessment form on which you must put details of your income and capital. The LSC will use these forms to decide whether you are entitled to Legal Representation.
To find a solicitor who does legal aid work, go to the website of Community Legal Advice at: www.communityleagaladvice.org.uk.
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Community Legal Advice helpline
If you live on a low income or get benefits, you may be able to get help from the Community Legal Advice helpline. The Community Legal Advice helpline can give you free, independent and confidential advice about:
- education
- benefits and tax credits
- employment
- housing.
The helpline number is: 0845 345 4 345. It is open from 9am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday. Calls cost no more than 4p a minute from a BT landline. Calls from mobiles are usually more.
If you're worried about the cost of the phone-call, you can ask an adviser to call you back. You can text 'legalaid' and your name to 80010 and an adviser will call you back within 24 hours.
The helpline has a translation service if you would like advice in a language other than English or Welsh.
There is also a minicom service for people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing or speech-impaired and a type-talk service for people with hearing difficulties.
For more information about the helpline, go to www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk.
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Controlled Legal Representation
Controlled Legal Representation gives you free representation if you are:
- appearing before a Mental Health Review Tribunal
- appearing before an Asylum and Immigration Tribunal.
You must meet certain conditions to qualify for Controlled Legal Representation. These will depend on what sort of case it is.
If you are appearing before a Mental Health Review Tribunal or receive government asylum support, you don't have to meet any financial conditions to qualify for Controlled Legal Representation.
In other asylum cases, you must meet the same financial conditions as for Legal Representation (see under heading Legal Representation).
In immigration cases, you must meet the same financial conditions as for Legal Representation, except that you must have disposable capital of under £3,000 to qualify.
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Legal aid for criminal cases
Legal aid in criminal cases is organised by the Criminal Defence Service (CDS). There are different types of help you might be able to get, depending on your circumstances.
Free legal advice at the police station
If you are at the police station, you have the right to free independent legal advice from a duty solicitor. This does not depend on your financial circumstances. You can also choose your own solicitor and won't have to pay for advice if they have a contract with the CDS.
If you're under arrest, you have the right to consult a solicitor at any time unless it is a serious case when this right can be postponed. You must be given an information sheet explaining how to get legal help.
For more information about your right to legal advice at the police station, see Your rights on arrest in Police Powers.
Help before you're charged with a criminal offence.
You could get help with a criminal case even if you haven't been charged with a criminal offence. For example, a solicitor could give general advice, write letters or get a barrister's opinion. This type of help is called Advice and Assistance.
You will get Advice and Assistance if you get Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit. If you get Working Tax Credit, you might get Advice and Assistance depending on your income and personal circumstances.
If you are not getting one of these benefits or Working Tax Credit, you will only get Advice and Assistance if your income and savings are below a certain amount.
Help with representation at court
There are three ways you could be helped if you need to be represented in court for a criminal offence.
A Representation Order
A Representation Order covers representation by a solicitor and, if necessary, by a barrister in criminal cases.
To qualify for a Representation Order in the magistrate's court, you must meet certain financial conditions. You'll automatically meet these conditions if you're under 18. Also you'll automatically meet the conditions if you’re getting Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit. Otherwise, the financial conditions depend on your gross income and how many dependent children you have. If you have no children, you won't get criminal legal aid in the magistrates' court if you have a gross income of more than £22,325.
If you do meet the financial conditions, you'll usually get help with representation in a criminal case in the magistrates' court, as long as it's in the interests of justice that you are legally represented. This means, for example, if you are likely to go to prison or lose your job if you are convicted.
There are no financial conditions to get a Representation Order in the Crown Court. It must be in the interests of justice that you are legally represented in the Crown Court.
Representation Orders don't cover minor offences such as motoring offences.
To apply for a Representation Order, ask for an application form at the court dealing with your case.
Advocacy Assistance
Advocacy Assistance covers the costs of a solicitor preparing your case and initial representation in certain cases such as:
- prisoners facing disciplinary charges
- prisoners with a life sentence who are referred to the Parole Board
- warrants of further detention.
You don't have to meet any financial conditions to qualify for Advocacy Assistance, except if it's a prison hearing.
Free advice and representation at the magistrates' court
If you didn't get legal advice before your case comes up at the magistrates' court, you can get free legal advice and representation by the court duty solicitor. This does not apply to less serious cases such as minor driving offences but it could cover cases of non-payment of council tax.
You do not have to meet any financial conditions to get free advice and representation at the magistrates' court.
The court staff will tell you how to find the duty solicitor.
More information about legal aid in criminal cases
For more information about legal aid in criminal cases, visit the Legal Services Commission website, where there is a leaflet called A practical guide to Criminal Defence Services.
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Other types of legal help
Depending on the nature of your problem, you may be able to get legal help from other sources. Some of these are listed below.
Fixed fee interview
Some solicitors may give up to half an hour's legal advice for a pre-agreed or fixed fee. Some schemes may offer a certain amount of free advice. This can be useful if you want to get an idea of whether you have a case which is worth defending or pursuing.
The fixed fee interview scheme does not depend on your income or savings - the charge will be the same for everyone.
Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can refer you to solicitors who can offer this service. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
Trade unions
Trade unions may provide free legal representation for a variety of problems, not just work-related issues. Free union representation may be more suitable for you than Legal Representation because you won't have to make a financial contribution towards legal help from your union.
Motoring organisations
Motoring organisations may offer a cheap or free legal advisory service if you are a member.
Legal expenses insurance
Some insurance companies offer policies which cover the expenses of certain legal matters, for example, consumer disputes, personal injuries, employment problems and motoring offences. It is important for you to consider carefully what the policy offers. Many policies will exclude certain kinds of legal expenses or may not meet the total cost of the case.
Other organisations like Which? offer a legal advisory service if you pay a subscription.
You may have an insurance policy or credit card which offers you legal advice as an extra. It's worth checking your insurance policies and credit card agreements if you have a legal problem.
For more information about Which? see Further help in Buying services - your rights.
Law centres
In some areas, there are law centres which give free legal advice. They tend to specialise in are housing, employment, immigration, juvenile crime and welfare benefit cases. A law centre may take up a case where legal aid is not available, although it may also have a contract to provide legal aid.
You can get the address of your local law centre from the Law Centres Federation. The address of the Law Centres Federation is:-
Third Floor
293-299 Kentish Town Road
London
NW5 2TJ
Tel: 020 7428 4400
Fax: 020 7428 4401
E-mail: info@lawcentres.org.uk
Website: www.lawcentres.org.uk
Conditional fee agreements
In all civil non-family cases you may be able to enter into a conditional fee agreement with a solicitor. This means that if you lose the case, you will only have to pay the costs of the other side and, depending on the agreement, the expenses that the solicitor has to pay our, including any barrister's fees. If you win the case, you will pay your solicitor a higher fee. In certain cases, you can take out a special insurance policy which can cover your costs if you lose the case.
In England and Wales, for more information about conditional fee agreements, see Claiming compensation for personal injury - no win, no fee agreements, in Legal fact sheets.
If you are thinking about signing up to a conditional fee agreement, you should read the conditions of the agreement very carefully. You might want to get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.
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