FAQs: Start and Stop times – civil and children’s accounts

No.

Start and stop times are only required for any time-based work carried out on the case on or after the 17 December 2024. Time-based work means any work for which the fee payable is based on the time engaged, which have always required the supply of time detail.

Yes.

You will need to insert start and stop times for any time-based work items for accounts submitted on paper or submitted from your case management system.

We only highlighted the system changes required in our earlier communication because most solicitors submit their accounts using LAOL and we had to adapt some work items on our systems to accommodate this change.

No.

You only need to record the start and stop times for any time-based work that is not covered by a block fee. Time-based work commonly includes:

• telephone calls of any duration
• meetings
• perusals
• preparation
• Travel time
• time engaged at court/tribunal (waiting time, meetings, time in attendance at the hearing)
• any other time-based work activity.

You do not need to record the time spent drafting a letter or framing a court document, where the table of fees makes provision to charge based on a page or a sheet, respectively.

Yes.

Telephone calls are time-based work items and therefore you must accurately record the start and stop times no matter how long the call took.

You should record the start and stop times in your account for any chargeable time-based work activities that relate to the legal services you are providing to your client.

For example, if you received a telephone call when travelling that relates to a different case, which lasted say from 10:30am – 10:40am, you must record this break in your travel time. You should not charge for any work that relates to another matter that is unconnected to your client’s case against their grant of legal aid.

Generally, no.

However, for statements/precognitions taken in immigration and asylum related matters requiring more than one meeting with the client, it is preferable to include the start and stop times of any meetings, as this will help to verify the dates and times of any outlays claimed for interpreting services.

You should claim for the meetings at £0.00, as the time spent taking the statement is included in the block precognition fee.

You should insert the block precognition fee in your account at the date the precognition was in its final form.

No.

If the start and stop times have not been recorded on the file, then you will need to revert to the solicitor for this information.

The start and stop times replace the option to insert the number of minutes.

The benefit of submitting your accounts using LAOL means that the system will correctly calculate the fee for you.