Policies and guidance published on the preparation and assessment of solicitors’ legal assistance accounts

Comprehensive accounts guidance is now available to solicitors, or those involved in the framing of legal aid accounts, for all types of advice and assistance and legal aid accounts chargeable on a detailed fees basis.

The new content is part of our GALA project and has our policies, decision-makers’ guidance (DMG) and legal aid guidance for solicitors on the preparation and assessment of accounts for all aid types.

Our existing legal aid guidance for solicitors on the SLAB website has been reviewed and updated, as appropriate.

Separate legal aid guidance is available for:

• Children’s legal assistance accounts
• Civil legal assistance accounts
• Criminal legal assistance accounts
• Contempt of Court accounts

This remains the primary legal aid reference for solicitors and has links to published policy statements or decision-makers’ guidance, should you need that at any time.

What does the new GALA content cover?

The new policy statements and DMG cover a wide range of specific work activities as well as explaining our approach to reasonableness and how we apply the taxation standard applicable to legal aid and advice and assistance accounts.

The DMG in relation to reasonableness also sets out how we approach assessment for those work activities which do not have their own separate policy statement or decision makers’ guidance.

The following policy statements are now available on the GALA website:

• Admin work and expenses
• Aggregation
• Apportionment
• Couriers
• Framing
• Letters
• Meetings
• Outlays
• Perusal
• Precognitions
• Preparation
• Printing & Photocopying
• Reasonableness
• Research
• Travel
• Waiting and travel when court has risen for lunch
• Waiting
• Written representations where they replace the requirement for an oral hearing

More information

Please contact:

• Alan Spence, Accounts Specialist T: 0131 240 1921 E: spenceal@slab.org.uk or
• Iain Baptie, Accounts Specialist T: 0131 240 2056 E: baptieia@slab.org.uk