Process for granting free legal advice/aid

Hopefully someone can help clarify some questions that I can't find clear answers to on the legal aid board's website.

A family member is a defendant in a civil case. She was paying her own legal costs but then she lost her job and couldn't afford to pay future costs so she applied for free legal aid. She was informed some time ago that she met the financial criteria and the file was given to the legal aid office. She has now been sent a first consultation appointment with a solicitor and a Letter of Engagement. The letter also mentions the legal aid contribution she would have to pay on top of the legal advice fee. Does this mean she has been awarded legal advice (which I understand excludes court representation?) but still needs to satisfy the merit test for the awarding of legal aid? Or has she been granted legal aid? She has not received any certificate (are these usually issued by post?).

Any help at all would be most appreciated as the time this process is taking is causing much distress and she finds it difficult to get any information from the office.

Hi there - you might check out the FLAC guide to the civil legal aid system at their website flac DOT ie FORWARDSLASH publications FORWARDSLASH civil-legal-aid-flacsheet (I cannot post URLs apparently!)

Might be of some use in explaining how the civil legal aid system works.

You should also note that civil legal aid and advice, unlike criminal legal aid, is not free. There is always a contribution. Also, you will only get a certificate when you pass the means and merits tests, and it is likely that this consultation with the solicitor will be where her case's merits will be fully examined.

All the best

Thanks for that link Silvertree. It appears to say that if you are given an appointment with a solicitor you have passed the merit test but given she hasn't got a certificate we won't get too excited just yet. She's waited so long at this stage it won't kill her to wait until her appointment to get further information.