Incentives for firms to take on immigration specialists

LEGAL AID: as practitioners highlight their concerns over pay, immigration firms are offered money to take on more staff

Law firms specialising in immigration work could receive up to 45,000 a year to take on new staff, according to detailed proposals put forward by the Legal Services Commission this week.

The Commission's package - which regional directors will be able to offer from next week - has been designed to encourage contracted firms to expand.

It is aimed particularly at areas where government dispersal policies have caused a shortage of suitably qualified legal advisers.Firms will be offered one-off grants of 2,000 for each externally recruited new member of staff and 1,000 for internal recruits.

They will also receive help with training and supervision costs.

The Commission also intends to increase firm's scheduled payments by 45,000 a year for three years for each new recruit, to be offset against bills.

The Commission will guarantee the three-year payment and will take into account other contracted work done if billable targets in immigration work do not materialise.

There are also plans to introduce staged billing to help firm's cash flow.A Law Society spokeswoman said it was a 'very welcome package' which contained the sort of approach that the Society had been pressing for.

'The Commission has certainly listened and this is a much more creative package than we have previously seen,' she added.

Sue Allen