Getting a grip on the new legal landscape

In the first in a new series of monthly columns, Richard Miller provides answers to some of the common questions raised by legal aid practitionersAround six thousand firms operate under a Legal Services Commission (LSC) contract in either civil or criminal law.

The change from the previous demand-led scheme to the contracted scheme has been traumatic for many practitioners.

Civil contracts have just reached the end of their first schedules, so firms have had to deal with revised levels of matter starts and standard monthly payments, reconciliation of payments made under the first schedule, and contract compliance audits.Criminal practitioners are having to adapt to a contract covering a much broader range of work than the civil contract, which has revolutionised the structure of payment for such work.Not surprisingly, given the scale of the changes, many solicitors have questions about how aspects of the contract operate.

Q What has happened to the mileage rate for civil and criminal work?A As reported earlier this year, the mileage rate for civil work has been increased from 36p to 45p as from the beginning of April 2001 (see [2001] Gazette, 22 March, 4). In the criminal field, the issue is more complex.

The rate of 36p per mile is specified in the contract.

Therefore, this rate still applies to all magistrates' court work.

However, it appears anomalous to have a different rate for the reimbursement of an expense for different types of work, and the position is being reviewed. Crown Court work is not under contract.

Mileage rates are not prescribed.

Instead, practitioners are entitled to claim 'reasonable' mileage rates.

The guidance from the Lord Chancellor's Department is that a 'reasonable' rate is that prescribed for civil work.

Therefore, it would appear that the rate of 45p per mile can be claimed for Crown Court work.Q Do I have to send out feedback questionnaires to my clients?A The gathering of feedback from Community Legal Service clients is requirement AA under the legal aid franchise quality assurance standard (LAFQAS), which can be found in the CLS publication The Quality Mark under the heading 'The quality framework - specialist help'.

This can be downloaded from the LSC Web site at: http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/Unlike the requirement to have a referral system in place, which was announced at the same time, the requirement to obtain feedback is not yet fully auditable.

It will be audited from April 2002. There is no requirement to send out a questionnaire.

Terms of the relevant section of LAFQAS require solicitors to have a documented procedure to get feedback from clients that covers the following questions: l Was the service approachable and friendly? l Was the client kept informed? l Were matters managed in a competent and timely manner? l Was the information and advice explained sufficiently? l Whatever the outcome, did the solicitor or adviser appear to have worked diligently and with concern for the client? The method of obtaining this feedback, the frequency of doing so and the numbers of clients to be asked for feedback are not prescribed, but must all be set out in the written procedures along with details of how the firm uses the feedback.

A questionnaire is only one possible option.

Solicitors might prefer to seek feedback by speaking to clients.

Feedback can be taken constantly or on a sample basis, for example, one week every two months, or one month in the year.

If you already have your own method of seeking feedback, you should discuss with your contract manager whether your existing scheme is sufficient or whether it can be made to comply with LAFQAS with minor changes. The LSC is piloting a questionnaire, which will be optional for firms as a means of complying with this requirement.

The final questionnaire with guidance for its use is expected to be available from October 2001.

Solicitors will be allowed to adapt the questionnaire to their specific requirements so long as the matters listed earlier are still covered.

Q How do I claim for file reviews?A In April, the LSC announced that payments would henceforth be made for file reviews under both civil and criminal contracts. Under a criminal contract, 50% of all file reviews must be face to face.

The supervisor can now claim for the time spent on these reviews at advocacy rates. Under a civil contract, the supervisor can claim a fixed payment of 18 for each file reviewed.

This has been calculated on the assumption that the file review takes an average of 18 minutes, with a nominal hourly rate of 60 being applied. The number of reviews to be carried out must be agreed with your contract manager.

It will depend on the seniority and experience of the fee earners involved.

More guidance on the appropriate number of files to be reviewed for different levels of fee earner is expected from the LSC later this year. Under both types of contract, payment for the reviews is made through the standard monthly payment.

The claim is made by one single line bill on the October or November matter report form.

Q Should I get involved with my local Community Legal Service partnership?A If you are a civil practitioner, then the answer is unequivocally yes.

The Community Legal Service Partnership (CLSP) is an important part of the new legal landscape.

Its work is too significant to future decisions on the provision and funding of advice in your local area for you to ignore. Many CLSPs are drawing up local directories.

If you fail to give the partnership the information needed, other organisations may not know to refer clients to you with problems in your specialist field. Your local CLSP will be developing a referral protocol.

Subscribing to it will save solicitors from having to devise their own systems to comply with the LAFQAS requirement.

But if you do not contribute at all to the protocol, you may find the final version unsuitable for your organisation. The partnership will also be carrying out an assessment of the need for particular types of legal advice in your local area.

The input from solicitors can be vital in bridging the gap between statistics and theory, and the reality on the ground.

Since this needs assessment will be used to determine what services are to be prioritised in the future, it is important that it is as accurate as possible.

If you do not participate in these discussions, you may find your specialist field being given a low priority. CLSPs have a central role in deciding which projects should be awarded money out of the partnership innovation budget (PIB).

The PIB is a new initiative set up by the government to provide seedcorn funding to innovative projects aimed at plugging gaps in the provision of advice identified by the partnership.

Solicitors as well as advice agencies can bid for this money, either alone or in conjunction with other providers.

But if you do not know what the CLSP's priorities are, you may miss an obvious opportunity to gain a new source of funding.l Questions for this column should be sent to Richard Miller at 93 Turnmill Street, London EC1M 5TQ, DX 53339 Clerkenwell ore-mail: richard@lapg.co.ukMr Miller cannot answer questions other than through this column, unless they are from members of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group.Richard Miller is Director of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group.

He was previously the franchise liaison officer for a small firm of solicitors that had franchises in crime, family, welfare benefits and personal injury