Scottish Legal Aid Board Online


	ALL SOLICITORS - important notice switch off from paper to online will happen in March 2011 - get ready now more info
	Legal aid help for mortgage arrears cases Legal aid helps many people with mortgage arrears and repossession cases, even if they go to court, and it's not true that you always have to pay for this - read more.

	Legal Aid Online User login NEW - Legal Aid Online is now available for all your civil and criminal legal aid applications – even existing paper ones. Go to our new Legal Aid Online website to find out more and to use the new mandate forms. Not using Legal Aid Online? Did you know that most applications for advice and assistance/ABWOR are now submitted online? Read more about the service and find out why you should join the hundreds of solicitor firms benefiting from our online service.

	Jobs Board vacancies There are no current vacancies. We welcome speculative applications,

	Current tenders No current tenders


	News 15 December 2009 Satisfaction with civil legal aid high and improved 29 September 2009 Grant funding programme 2009-2011 - successful projects announced 24 September 2009 Annual Report 2008-2009 published 13 July 2009 Disability involvement project launched 18 May 2009 Corporate Plan 2009-2011 published 6 May 2009 Legal advice for people facing repossession and debt 7 April 2009 Legal support for middle-income households - issued by the Scottish Government 24 March 2009 Glasgow duty plan interim interdict decision

	Annual report 2008-2009 To read about the Board's annual report, including statistics and information for the media, go to the Annual Report section of our website. Or if you'd like to know more about how we plan to work with others to improve legal aid over the next three years read more in our Corporate plan 2009-2011.

	Most adults now financially eligible for civil legal aid Even if you didn’t qualify for civil legal aid before April this year, that may well have changed. Around three quarters of Scottish adults are likely to be financially eligible for civil legal aid from 7 April, as part of a move to increase access to justice. If your income, after paying essential expenses such as your mortgage, tax and childcare, is £25,000 or less, you may qualify. To read more, click here. You can also use our civil legal aid online calculator to see if you may qualify financially.

	Vision To provide access to justice for those eligible and in need of it, in a cost-effective manner. Legal aid allows people who would not otherwise be able to afford it to get help for their legal problems. The Scottish Legal Aid Board was set up in 1987 to manage legal aid in Scotland. Read more about our work in the about us section.

Getting legal help

Civil or criminal legal assistance helps people to get legal advice and "representation", which means a solicitor to put their case in court. Find out more about legal assistance, if you may be eligible and how to apply.

Solicitors who provide legal assistance are registered with us. You can search to find your nearest solicitor.

For civil cases, find out how opponents have the right to object to an application for, or grant of, civil legal aid.

Legal profession

This section provides solicitors and advocates with the latest news and a wide range of useful legal aid resources, including:

forms
the Scottish Legal Aid Handbook
mailshots and guidance publications, including information about our civil simplification project
information about summary criminal legal assistance reform - visit our special criminal reform section to read more including previous mailings.

LEGAL AID HELPLINE

To find out more about legal aid and if you may qualify, or where to find a legal aid solicitor or order our leaflets you can also call our Legal Aid Helpline on 0845 122 8686. It is open 7 days a week 7am to 11pm. (Please note that we do not provide legal advice. Calls are charged at local rate.)

Access to information
We are committed to openness. Under the Freedom of Information laws, you can read our Publications Scheme and access materials we regularly publish - find out more.

You can use Browsealoud on this site. Browsealoud reads web pages aloud for people who find it difficult to read online - download the free service to let you listen.