Multiple grants of advice and assistance

Your client may consult you about several different matters, either at the time of the initial grant or subsequently.  You must decide whether the advice and assistance relates to one or more distinct matters in accordance with Regulation 8(2) (b) of the 1996 Regulations and our guidance.

You should generally make a single grant of advice and assistance, if necessary seeking an appropriate increase in authorised expenditure.

If you are acting for a relevant person in the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 proceedings and they have more than one child who is the subject of proceedings you only need to make one grant of advice and assistance to your one client.

You must charge for all work carried out for your client in respect of their children under one advice and assistance account only.

Occasionally there can be some exceptions to this general rule – for example, where a client’s children attend entirely separate hearings on separate dates and have different care concerns.

Separate grants are required in situations where:

Where:

• you have been appointed as a curator ad litem to more than one child and have decided to act in a dual capacity as both curator and nominated solicitor; or
• you have been appointed as a curator ad litem to more than one child and you have instructed a separate nominated solicitor to act for the children; or
• you have been appointed as a safeguarder to more than one child and the children have authorised you to instruct a separate nominated solicitor to apply for advice and assistance on their behalf; or
• a relevant person to more than one child or another representative who is not a solicitor instructs you as nominated solicitor to make an application on behalf of the children

the nominated solicitor giving the advice and assistance must make separate grants of advice and assistance in respect of each child as each separate child will be the solicitor’s client and therefore the named applicant (the relevant person or other non-solicitor representative will be making the advice and assistance application on behalf of the children and in a representative capacity but the advice and assistance given by the nominated solicitor will be to each child).