Thumbs up for LSC support

Legal aid firms have welcomed a Legal Services Commission (LSC) initiative aimed at giving them expert advice and support on unfamiliar points of law, and are urging more firms to make use of the service.

The support pilot - part of the LSC's investigations into modes of delivery - was set up in 2000 and involves law firms, barristers' chambers, law centres and organisations such as the charities Mind and Shelter providing lawyers and other legal aid workers with telephone advice.

They also perform a supported casework function - giving back-up for each stage of a case - and run training seminars.

An LSC survey of 170 users of the service found that nine out of ten rated the helpfulness and quality of advice they received as excellent or good.

Nearly all - 97% - said the support received proved useful to their clients.

The level of satisfaction was high among both private practice and the not-for-profit sector.

Service providers take out specialist contracts with the LSC to cover costs and fees, while users can bill for time spent as preparation.

The firms involved are Balsara & Co, Scott-Moncrieff Harbour & Sinclair, and Christian Fisher Khan in London, Sheffield-based Howells, Tyndallwoods in Birmingham, and Welsh firm Morgans.

The service is open to all LSC contract holders and covers areas including employment, welfare benefits, housing, mental health, human rights and debt.

Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, partner in London firm Scott-Moncrieff Harbour & Sinclair - which provides mental health advice on the pilot - said the scheme was an excellent way for solicitors to provide guidance for peers who were not as familiar with a particular area of law.

'It is not often the LSC does something which is free to the profession, is simple and has no bureaucracy,' she added.

'Some people think there is a catch - but there isn't.'

An LSC spokesman said it would be making a continued effort to publicise the service, especially among those working within tolerances.

A full evaluation of the service will take place at the end of 2003, he added.

Paula Rohan