Civil legal aid accounts: summary of settlement provisions and when chargeable

The Table of Fees makes specific provision for payment of work in connection with settlement prior to an action being raised or prior to the allowance of a proof or debate, or other court hearing fixed for the purpose of settlement .

Several miscellaneous fees are also payable in connection with:

Restricting the issues to proceed to proof.
Attempting to achieve settlement.
Work done after the allowance of a proof, debate or other hearing fixed for the purpose of settlement.

Some of these are effectively alternative fees or are subject to vouching. We summarise below what fees are chargeable in the different circumstances.

In connection with the narrowing down of issues, fees are chargeable in all cases for a Notice to Admit, fee 4(c) [of Chapter 2 of Schedule 6 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Regulations 1989], a Joint Minute of Admissions, fee 4(d) and, in family cases, for work undertaken to agree Contact Arrangements, fee 4(b).
For work in connection with the settlement of a case, there is a specific fee for Settlement Conference/Negotiation, fee 4(e), on the instructions of the client, the purpose being to seek to achieve a settlement. This fee is subject to vouching of the work and the circumstances in which it was done. You cannot charge fee 4(f) having charged fee 4(e).
The fee chargeable for an Extra-Judicial Settlement is for all work to formalise a settlement. It anticipates that it will lead to the discharge or cancellation of the proof diet. It is, therefore, payable in addition to the lowest preparation fee, but not in addition to the higher preparation fees, which include attendance at the proof diet.

Civil legal aid block fee accounts: list of miscellaneous fees

Civil legal aid block fee accounts: fees for preparation