| Accounts |
Guideline: State
Number: 1 Effective Date: 6/96 |
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| 1.1 | Interim Payment | ||
| Solicitors are expected to return certified pro forma invoices as soon as the work to which they relate has been completed. Interim payments will also be authorised for disbursements exceeding $100.00 in total; subject to production of the necessary verifications of the claimed expenditure. |
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| 1.2 | Examination of Solicitor's Files | ||
| The Legal Aid Commission reserves the right to call for a solicitor's file on a legally aided matter in relation to any account rendered for payment and to ensure compliance with Commission Audit policies regarding applications for aid. | |||
| 1.3 | Fees Recoverable on Legally Aided Matters | ||
| A solicitor or a barrister shall not accept any payment from a legally aided person (or from any other person on their behalf) in relation to a legally aided matter other than those payments which may be authorised by the Legal Aid Commission. A solicitor who does so may face sanction under Section 22(3)(b) of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990. | |||
| 1.4 | Retrospective Grants of Aid | ||
| The Commission will not pay a solicitor for work done prior to the grant of aid. A grant will be effective from the date an application is received by the Commission unless a solicitor can establish that an earlier date is appropriate by reason of a nexus between the matter for which aid is sought and work done prior to the date the application is received by the Commission. | |||
| 1.5 | Correspondence with the Commission | ||
| 1.5.1 | The Commission will not accept liability to pay any fee charged in respect of any or all of the following: | ||
| a. | Assisting an applicant to complete an Application Form as required by the Commission; | ||
| b. | Interviews, letter and communications with the client and/or the Commission for the purpose of an application for legal assistance or concerning the grant or refusal of an Application for Assistance; or | ||
| c. | Preparation of and work done in connection with any itemised bill which it may require. | ||
| d. | A report, even if requested by the Commission, where such report should have accompanied the application for aid. | ||
| 1.5.2 | The Commission will however pay a fee in respect of the preparation and supply of a report to it where such report is requested by the Commission prior to completion of the matter for which aid has been granted, such fee to be at the rate applicable for an ordinary letter under the Legal Aid Commission Scale of Fees (Appendix A). | ||
| 1.6 | Counsel | ||
| 1.6.1 | Counsel shall not be briefed in any matter without the approval of the Commission in writing. | ||
| 1.6.2 | Where approval is given, counsel shall not be briefed except upon the terms notified to the solicitor by the Commission. | ||
| 1.6.3 | It is the responsibility of a solicitor to notify counsel of the terms of such approval. | ||
| 1.6.4 | The Commission will usually pay counsel his/her fee direct upon presentation of counsel's account to the Commission but it must accompany the solicitors bill of costs. | ||
| 1.7 | Disbursements | ||
| 1.7.1 | The Commission will not reimburse any disbursement or fee for the payment of which the practitioner could have obtained an exemption pursuant to Section 51 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1990. | ||
| 1.7.2 | A practitioner must obtain approval in writing prior to the expenditure of any amount in excess of $100.00 except in the case of medical reports where the limits prescribed in Appendix B apply. | ||
| 1.7.3 | A solicitor is permitted to render a bill to the recipient of legal aid for F.I.D. tax on monies that are to be disbursed to the client where those monies can only properly be disbursed through the solicitors trust account and in no other way. | ||
| 1.7.4 | The Commission reserves the right to charge interest to successful litigants on out of pocket expenses incurred by the Commission in the course of litigation. | ||
| 1.8 | Finalisation of Matter | ||
| On completion of a matter practitioners shall forward a report which shall include full details of all monies recovered or to be recovered; and shall further provide the following information: | |||
| a. | The result of the action, including details of orders made, and or penalties imposed. | ||
| b. | Particulars of any orders for costs. | ||
| c. | A certified pro forma invoice | ||
| d. | Vouchers in support of all disbursements which exceed $30.00 . | ||
| 1.9 | Waiting Time | ||
| 1.9.1 | Waiting time is paid for at the normal rate payable to solicitors. | ||
| 1.9.2 | Any period claimed for a waiting period which exceeds 30 minutes will not be paid for unless there is a written explanation by the practitioner with the account justifying the need for the wait. | ||
| 1.9.3 | The Commission has a discretion in respect of the issue of waiting time and will only accept as being waiting time those matters which in the exercise of that discretion it regards as reasonable. | ||
| 1.9.4 | Waiting time is to be equally divided among the number of matters still to be dealt with. | ||
| 1.10 | Faxes | ||
| Faxes will only be entitled to a reimbursement for transmission costs at the normal S.T.D. rate. | |||
| 1.11 | Transcripts | ||
| The cost of transcripts will not be met as a disbursement by the Commission unless the assigned solicitor has received previous authorisation to apply for the transcript from the file manager. | |||
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Practitioners will not be paid for work undertaken without authorisation.
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