I have always found John M Hayes to be reliable, efficient and accurate.
Ryan Reed, Director, H.F.T. Gough & Co Ltd
Yesterday we received a standard notice from Leeds County Court confirming that they will be charging a fee of £140 whenever bills are amended and then relodged following a rejection by the LSC.
Anecdotal evidence from Court staff suggests that the number of requests for EX80As and bills to be amended has increased significantly in recent months. It is, perhaps, no surprise that some Courts will wish to ensure that the costs of doing so are covered by the Legal Aid provider.
In our experience, the most common reasons for having to amend a legal aid bill as a result of a rejection by the LSC are where an expert has charged above the LSC’s prescribed rates; and where Counsel has had an FGF fee reduced by the LSC but has failed to reflect these reductions in their fee note.
Rejections by the LSC are harmful to legal aid providers in terms of achieving KPIs; however, the added financial penalty which is being imposed by Leeds County Court means that practitioners – whether they are Legal Aid solicitors or Costs Lawyers or Draftsmen – need to be aware of the LSC’s frequently-changing policies on items that are claimed within bills.
Simple checks - such as ensuring that Counsel’s fees have been paid in the amounts claimed before lodging bills - can help reduce rejections.
Often, though, factors outside of the control of the Legal Aid provider and the Costs Lawyer or Draftsman need to be dealt with. Recently we have encountered a small number of experts who have refused to provide broken-down fee notes – notwithstanding the fact that failure to provide such a fee note will prevent the Legal Aid provider being paid.
In addition, a number of barristers appear reticent to raise fee notes for work that they have done! Under the FGF scheme, solicitors are unable to bill for their work until Counsel has been paid; and if Counsel delays in submitting their claim by more than three months the consequent delay in submitting a bill to Court or the LSC can lead to financial penalties being imposed on the solicitor.
There is no doubt that the forthcoming changes to the Legal Aid system are going to place significant pressures on solicitors who undertake such work. It is essential that such solicitors’ positions are not further-prejudiced by problems created by third parties. Perhaps it is now time for Legal Aid solicitors to ensure that they only instruct third parties who play by the rules?
Friday 20th July 2012