A friend of mine needs to take an important case to the courts in the near future,she has an unhelpful solicitor who she feels has judged her and seems not to be interested in the case.My question is..could it be that solicitors that take free legal aid cases are new in the business or bottom of the heap solicitors(no offence )or is legal aid assigned to all solicitors. thanks
free legal aid?
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eileen alana
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The citizens advise centre will advise you about obtaining Free Legal Aid, I don't think that solicitors working in this area are inexperienced, I would imagine they would have to have considerable experience considering the complexity of cases they are presented with, but I am open to correction on that.
A person who qualifies for legal aid can be assigned or choose a solicitor on the legal aid panel. Most of these solicitors would be regularly in court and well known and its up to the client to choose which one they want in most cases
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Did they go through the Legal Aid Board which is the statutory body with responsibility for providing legal aid to those who can't afford it or the Free Legal Advice Centre which is a voluntary/charitable service?
It's a bit like saying that only new/bottom of the heap doctors take on Medical Card patients! It's the bread and butter! I know of one judge who goes slightly redder when someone mentions "free" legal aid. We're all paying for it. Rant over.
Civil or criminal case? Legal Aid Board only deal with the former. Another option for somebody who cannot afford significant legal fees is to get legal representation on a pro bono basis but I would imagine that this might be more applicable to groundbreaking or contentious cases.
It's a bit like saying that only new/bottom of the heap doctors take on Medical Card patients! It's the bread and butter! I know of one judge who goes slightly redder when someone mentions "free" legal aid. We're all paying for it. Rant over.
Not really, because afaik all doctors take medical cards.my question is do all solicitors take legal aid cases if requested or can a top firm decline my friend because she cannot afford their hugh fees
You have to be on the legal aid panel to take on cases. For example I am not on the panel so if the judge is looking for a solicitor to represent someone in the district court they can't ask me to do it which is deliberate on my part. Many firms just do not go on the panel. However many of the solicitors ON the panel are the best and most experienced in family law or criminal law.
You should definitely consider the Legal Aid Board as long they pass the means test. The Board will consider any case no matter how odd (save for those types listed below), and at the very least get a Counsel’s opinion on it.
- defamation claims (i.e., where a person's reputation has been damaged as a result of libel or slander)
- land disputes (i.e., disputes concerning rights and interests in or over land)
- civil matters covered by the small claims procedure
- licensing (publicans' licenses)
- conveyancing (i.e., the legal transfer of a property from one party to another)
- election petitions
- claims made in a representative, fiduciary or official capacity
- claims brought by a person on behalf of a group of persons to establish a precedent on a particular point of law ("test cases")
- any other group or representative action ("class actions")
"A friend of mine needs to take an important case to the courts in the near future,she has an unhelpful solicitor who she feels has judged her and seems not to be interested in the case."
This is the bit that interests me!
Many of my clients think that their cases are matters of great importance - sometimes they are - sometimes they're not. Many of my clients would like me to carry the expense of them running their important case - I am not a charity. Many of my clients regard me as deeply unhelpful when I tell them I don't believe that they have a winnable/arguable case and that, amazingly, no, I am not interested in running the case, losing it and then carrying the costs.
Most of the legal aid solicitors that I know are operating at the coal face, so to speak, are in court on a regular basis but are even less likely to take on a hopeless case than I am!
mf
This is the bit that interests me!
Many of my clients think that their cases are matters of great importance - sometimes they are - sometimes they're not. Many of my clients would like me to carry the expense of them running their important case - I am not a charity. Many of my clients regard me as deeply unhelpful when I tell them I don't believe that they have a winnable/arguable case and that, amazingly, no, I am not interested in running the case, losing it and then carrying the costs.
Most of the legal aid solicitors that I know are operating at the coal face, so to speak, are in court on a regular basis but are even less likely to take on a hopeless case than I am!
mf
Nothing implied here. Just making the point that a solicitor being on the legal aid panel or not doesn't reflect on their abilities. They wouldn't be practicing if they weren't capable.
mf1 makes an excellent point. His/her solicitor may be objective rather than judgemental.
It's a bit like saying that only new/bottom of the heap doctors take on Medical Card patients! It's the bread and butter! I know of one judge who goes slightly redder when someone mentions "free" legal aid. We're all paying for it. Rant over.
Not all GP's have medical card lists. This may be because they do not want them or because they are not vocationally trained as a GP (this is a bit of a closed shop/ old boy set-up and it can be very hard to get onto the course but said GP may have completed all of the required rotations, i.e. worked in an A&E, a psychiatric hospital, a paediatric ward, a geriatric ward etc). Therefore a large proportion of new GP's do not take medical card patients. Therefore accusing solicitors of elitism (or whatever) by use of such comparisons is spurious.
Whoooooaahh there horsey. Lets back up a little. Read again - I just made the point that a solicitors position on the legal aid panel is no reflection on their abilities. Likewise the same applies for doctors and medical cards. No accusations of elitism whatsoever. A we bit quick off the mark, there Purple.
It's really kind of ironic and quite amusing that you should ask Purple to read your post again.
Sorry, Vanilla, I'm not following you there. I wouldn't be accused of being the brightest spark, though.It's really kind of ironic and quite amusing that you should ask Purple to read your post again.
Might have been a bit quick off the mark myself, actually. Vanlla pointed out the error of my ways. I may have misread Purple on this one. I think we're all making the same point, more or less.
Are you saying that a GP in Ireland can refuse a medical card holder treatment?
Yes. If the medical card holder wants medical card treatment they go to a medical card GP. If they go to a non medical card GP, they pay like everyone else.
mf
PS - what is the nature of the "important" case?