https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/employment-of-counsel-expert-witness-unusual-work-or-unusually-large-expenditure-3/
https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/employment-of-counsel-expert-witness-unusual-work-or-unusually-large-expenditure-3/
The employment of junior counsel is automatic but you must obtain our approval for the employment of senior counsel or of more than one junior counsel.
Where you are instructing counsel in the Court of Session both advocates and solicitor advocates can be paid as counsel.
You must obtain our approval for the employment of counsel in the sheriff court. Counsel must be a member of the Faculty of Advocates.
It is important that you are aware that there is no provision to instruct a solicitor advocate in any civil proceedings before the Sheriff Court.
If you instruct a solicitor advocate in that court we can only make payment at the prescribed legal aid rates for a solicitor and only where they are registered to provide civil legal assistance.
We cannot make payment in accordance with the prescribed rates for counsel.
You must obtain our prior approval for the employment of counsel in the Sheriff Appeal Court.
Where you are instructing counsel in the Sheriff Appeal Court both advocates and solicitor advocates can be paid as counsel.
You cannot simply delegate work to counsel within the authorised limit of expenditure where you find yourself with sufficient funds.
However, you may apply for an increase in authorised expenditure to cover the cost of counsel for work such as:
It is important to be aware that where you have obtained the prior approval to employ counsel the work must be undertaken by a member of the Faculty of Advocates as a solicitor advocate cannot exercise their extended rights of audience in the context of work being done under advice and assistance.
Where you instruct a solicitor advocate we will disallow any outlay that you incur.
You cannot simply delegate work to counsel within the authorised limit of expenditure where you find yourself with sufficient funds.
However, you may apply for an increase in authorised expenditure to cover the cost of counsel for work such as:
It is important to be aware that where you have obtained the prior approval to employ counsel the work must be undertaken by a member of the Faculty of Advocates as a solicitor advocate cannot exercise their extended rights of audience in the context of work being done under advice and assistance.
Where you instruct a solicitor advocate we will disallow any outlay that you incur.
We will challenge any account entry which indicates that you have instructed counsel in circumstances where our prior approval is required for their employment.
Where unauthorised counsel has been employed we will not pay for any of the costs of counsel, including:
You must obtain our prior approval for the employment of any expert witness and for work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure (eg where the work is likely to exceed £3,000).
You cannot simply instruct an expert or undertake unusual work or work unusually large in expenditure within the authorised limit of expenditure where you find yourself with sufficient funds.
You must obtain an increase in authorised expenditure to employ an expert witness, and for work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure.
An application can be made for retrospective approval for the employment of counsel, an expert witness, for work of an unusual nature or, as the case may be, work likely to involve unusually large expenditure in circumstances where that employment or work would have been approved had it been applied for timeously and there was special reason why prior approval was not applied for.
You should refer to the Applications guidance for more information.
There is no scope for any retrospective increases in relation to the employment of counsel, an expert witness, for work of an unusual nature or likely to involve unusually large expenditure in the event that you have not obtained an increase prior to the work having been done.