https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/solicitors-clerks-the-unqualified-fee-2/
https://www.slab.org.uk/guidance/solicitors-clerks-the-unqualified-fee-2/
| Advice & Assistance | Schedule 3, Part II | A(ii) |
| ABWOR |
Schedule 3, Part I
|
2(ii) |
| Legal Aid |
Schedule 1A, Part 1 – Summary and Solemn
|
9(b) |
This fee is payable for each quarter hour where there is no other fee prescribed in the respective Tables of Fees when you delegate appropriate work to an unqualified person.
It is only possible to pay for work done by a fee earner.
The most obvious fee-earners are solicitors and counsel.
The classification of fee earner does not so much depend on the individual’s status or qualifications but the actual task being undertaken and the competency of the person doing it.
If the task is not that of a fee-earner it is not remunerated under the regulations because it is, correctly, part of the firm’s overheads.
The term “solicitor’s clerk” used in the Tables of Fees is somewhat antiquated and implies the use of a member of staff skilled in certain areas of expertise as distinct from a secretary or receptionist.
We recognise, however, that a modern office does not necessarily conform to this model, with its rigid distinction between fee-earners and non-fee-earners.
Chargeable work appropriately undertaken by a solicitor can be delegated to a person who is not legally qualified, but who is suitably trained and supervised.
Indeed such work may more appropriately be undertaken by an unqualified person in line with a standard of taxation requiring work to be undertaken with due regard to economy.
The fee is sufficiently flexible that it can be applied to any work activity, both at court and elsewhere, that is done that meets the statutory tests of taxation where there is no other prescribed fee.
When assessing work of this nature we will apply the commentary in relation to “non-advocacy” fees.
In assessing an account, we will consider:
The Act states that it is a solicitor who provides advice and assistance, and is clearly the recognised fee-earner under the scheme, but the Tables of Fees prescribe fees for unqualified (non-legally qualified) staff.
An unqualified member of staff may not give advice:
An unqualified member of staff should not generally provide advice to a client at an initial meeting without your involvement.
An unqualified person cannot charge for:
These issues may arise in the context of a tribunal where an unqualified person has a right of audience, attending a hearing and purporting to provide advice before and after a hearing.
This goes beyond the issue of the use of unqualified staff. This is representation in both the narrow and wider senses.
The attendance at the hearing and the giving of advice in this context are steps in conducting a hearing, and are not chargeable.
We will question any account entry which indicates that an unqualified member of staff, has attended a hearing for which no advocacy charge has been made, and will challenge the costs incurred by an unqualified person in attending at the tribunal.
While there is an equivalent “unqualified” fee under advice and assistance this is unlikely to ever be payable for time engaged at court (or a tribunal) as that work would generally be directly related to a step in proceedings (ie the court/tribunal attendance itself) and considered to be representation.