Legal Aid Handbook 2020/21

Comprehensive

THIS LAG HANDBOOK REMAINS THE ONLY ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE SHORT GUIDE TO THE LEGAL AID SCHEME

An appreciation by Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, "The Barrister", and Mediator


We all owe the Legal Action Group a debt of gratitude for production of their first-class law books which are so useful for us as practitioners in the courts. Legal aid remains a serious problem area for the practitioner and the applicant because of the massive budget constraints so we welcome the new "Legal Aid Handbook" for 2020-2021. It has been edited this year by Vicky Ling, Sue James, and Carol Storer, with Anthony Edwards assisting with this edition together with a further ten contributors.


The title continues to grow as the legal aid scheme becomes ever more complicated and it is a tool which we continue to use to support our legal aid cases. LAG describe the work as "the only comprehensive guide to the legal aid scheme" which it is! They continue saying that it is "the one book no legal aid lawyer can afford to be without". How right they are for it reviews the legal framework of the scheme which can be so confusing to many people at all levels.

We are given a full discussion of civil, criminal, and family legal aid, and analysis of the leading case-law since the advent of the controversial LASPO which is in urgent need of further revision for the 2020s. There are two new chapters this year: a public law chapter edited by Silvia Nicolaou Garcia plus a chapter on costs appeals written by Paul Keeley.

Other experts called in to assist this edition are Polly Brendon on exceptional case funding, Samantha Little on advocacy in family cases, Simon Mullings on housing, and a chapter on immigration from Hilton von Herbert and Daniel M Grutters.

This year's book gives us useful practical, step by step guidance on conducting cases, getting paid, advocacy, and financial and contract management. There is also comprehensive guidance on performance monitoring and quality standards.

We found the specialist chapters on family, immigration, mental health, community care, housing, crime and new chapters on exceptional case funding and public law extremely helpful and of use to both new and seasoned practitioners.


And for those who still find wading through the LAA online portal difficult, there is a section on tactics and tips on how to use the CCMS, "with useful workarounds" as the editors put it!

The in-depth guidance on costs does make the understanding of the system easier to understand, and there is a new chapter on IFA and ICA cost appeals, plus all the latest policy developments although the work appeared before the full horror of the Covid-19 pandemic hit all of us at the beginning of 2020.

The book contains most useful case studies, checklists, and practical tips very much in the house-style of all LAG publications. It provides clear guidance on the ever more complex legal aid system and remains essential reading for everyone involved in legal aid from new caseworkers to experienced lawyers and managers - at a reasonable price.

The editors state that they have endeavoured to give as complete an account of the legal aid scheme as at 1st January 2020. The publication date of this paperback edition is cited as at 18th February 2020.