https://www.slab.org.uk/faqs/peer-review/
https://www.slab.org.uk/faqs/peer-review/
All solicitors registered to provide children’s legal assistance are subject to peer review.
The peer review process is administered by our Children’s Quality Assurance Committee (CHQAC), under section 25c of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.
The Committee comprises three members appointed by us, three members appointed by the Law Society of Scotland and three independent or lay members appointed by us in consultation with the Society.
The Committee members’ role is to:
Peer reviewers are appointed by the CHQAC. They are currently practising and registered children’s solicitors who are experienced in this field.
Purpose of reviews: To examine the quality of the work carried out on behalf of the client based on the evidence contained within the case file.
Review criteria: Files are assessed against set peer review criteria for advice and assistance, assistance by way of representation (ABWOR), Automatic Legal Aid for duty scheme work and legal aid for Sheriff Court proceedings, and Appeals to the Sheriff Appeal Court and/or Court of Session.
The criteria cover issues including:
The criteria was developed in consultation with the Law Society of Scotland and peer reviewers.
Deregistration: The children’s scheme allows us to take action against both the individual solicitor and the firm.
The firm would be deregistered where all solicitors within that firm have failed the children’s peer review process.
However, the whole process is designed to provide assistance so that the end result, where possible, is not deregistration but to assist solicitors and firms in improving their standards.
A compliance partner may not always be directly affected, however they would still be collectively affected if action was taken against the firm.