Preparation and submission of your account

Contempt of Court proceedings tend to be of short duration. They normally consist of one or two hearings and the proceedings are frequently concluded very quickly.

It is therefore very unusual for an interim claim to be submitted in such cases.

However, a claim for interim payment can, where appropriate, be submitted under regulation 33ZB of The Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

• the first interim claim may be submitted no earlier than the date three months following the date on which we gave notice in writing of the grant of legal aid
• a second or subsequent interim claim may be submitted at intervals of not less than three months after the date of the immediately preceding claim in that case.

In cases of exceptional hardship we can also consider a claim, on cause shown.

The manner in which fees are to be submitted and paid is covered in the protocol between the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Faculty of Advocates, effective from 1 October 2022.

Although solicitor-advocates are not members of the Faculty of Advocates, the same rules apply to ensure consistency of approach in how all “counsel” for the purposes of the fees regulations are dealt with.

Where you accept an offer of payment, either through negotiation with your clerk or following taxation, which is less than the payment we have made as an interim payment you must make the necessary repayment to the Legal Aid Fund.

33ZC(2) of The Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 states:

“Where the sum paid out of the Fund exceeds the sum that would, but for section 33(6), be payable under section 4(2)(a) in connection with the provision of the legal aid or advice and assistance, the solicitor or (as the case may be) counsel is liable to the Board for the difference between the sums”.

As the vast majority of grants of contempt of court legal aid arise in relation to criminal proceedings we would expect you to submit your final claim via email at faculty@slab.org.uk within four months of:

• the date of conclusion of the case; or
• the date of conclusion of counsel’s involvement in the case where the proceedings have not concluded.

When you are submitting an account you should always ensure:

• that the correct Table of Fees has been charged relative to the type of account that you are submitting
• the correct fee rates have been charged relative to the date that the work has been done
• only charge for work activities that have been properly incurred and fall within the scope of legal aid which has been made available; and
• that you have the necessary prior approval for work items where appropriate.

Your account should:

• be typed and not handwritten
• be in chronological date order
• show charges for each item of work (where appropriate) separately
• provide the status in which you have acted.

Your account should also record:

• the name of the solicitor who has instructed you to act
• the name of any client or witness in support of charges
• details of any identifier (if appropriate) to link to the relevant case file
• a narrative of the nature of the work done (e.g. you should not simply state “consultation” or “preparation” you must include a description of the work that has been undertaken; and
• sub-total each separate fee invoice.

You are not entitled to make any charge for preparing, submitting or negotiating a legal aid account.

As the third party paying, we are entitled to free accounting.

There is no time limit for submitting counsel’s fees in contempt of court legal aid cases although we would still expect you to submit your final claim as soon as possible after the conclusion of the proceedings.

Where work done by counsel constitutes a supply of services in respect of which value-added tax is chargeable, we will add to the amount of fees allowable an amount equal to the amount of value-added tax chargeable.

You should refer to our separate policy and guidance in relation to the application of VAT on counsel’s fees and outlays.

That guidance is of particular importance to counsel who accept instructions and provide legal services to clients who have not been granted a right or permission to remain in the UK.