Legal Aid Solicitors
Nationwide Legal Aid solicitors for family law, prison law and mental health law.
Get in touch with our experienced legal professionals by filling out the contact form to the right or by giving us a call on 033 33 582 582.
What is Legal Aid?
Legal Aid is a scheme that is available for those who may not be able to afford legal representation. Legal Aid can help a person to meet the costs of legal advice, family mediation and representation in court or tribunal.
To be able to claim Legal Aid work, you’ll usually need to be able to show the following:
- Your case is eligible for legal aid
- The problem is serious or urgent
- You cannot afford to pay for legal costs
Common examples for when legal aid is used are:
- You or your family are at risk of abuse or serious harm, for example domestic violence
- You’re at risk of homelessness or losing your home
- You’ve been accused of a crime, face prison or detention
- You’re being discriminated against
- You need family mediation
- You’re adding legal arguments or bringing a case under the Human Rights Act
Please note: You will usually need to show that you’re unable to afford legal advice or representation. You may have to pay some money towards the legal cost of course case or pay costs back later.
You can check your eligibly for legal aid support on the government website.
What Can I get Legal Aid Support for?
If you qualify for legal aid, the next thing you will need to do is find a legal aid solicitor who can support you with your case.
Under legal aid, that solicitor will be able to:
- Give you legal advice on your rights and options
- Help with any negotiations and paperwork
- Help you if you’re accused of a crime
- You can also get a solicitor or barrister to get your case prepared for court and speak on behalf of you in and court case and some tribunals
Legal Aid work is only available for certain areas of law, deemed important. You are not able to claim legal aid for things such as conveyancing or will writing.
Eligibility
Eligibility for legal aid usually depends on two things:
- The type of case and whether it is eligible for legal aid
- Your financial circumstances
This will include sharing information on your income, benefits, any savings you have or property you own and those of any partners. For those who are under 18, you may be required to give the outlined information for your parents or guardian in order to qualify.
Financial situation is not taken into account for:
- Mental Health cases
- Children in care
- Your child being abducted
Legal Aid work is only available for certain areas of law, deemed important. You are not able to claim legal aid for things such as conveyancing or will writing.
Our Legal Aid Services
The Law Society’s website lists all areas of law where legal aid may be available. You can see a full list of all the legal aid services we can support you with below:
- Family mediation to resolve disputes about children and finance on a relationship breakdown
- Social services being involved with your children
- Injunctions against a violent or abusive partner or family member
- Other family problems if you or your child have suffered or are at risk of violence or abuse
- Forced marriages
- If your child has been or is about to be taken out of the country without your consent
- Some High Court proceedings about the welfare of your child
- If you have been served with proceedings under the Hague Convention
Please note: To be eligible for legal aid you must have evidence of domestic abuse AND meet the financial criteria. If you do not have evidence of domestic abuse that meets the requirements of the Legal Aid Agency, then you will not qualify for legal aid.
If you are on benefits but do not have evidence of domestic abuse this does not make you eligible for legal aid for private family law matters.
If you have evidence of domestic abuse and are working, then we will need to assess your income. If your gross income is £2657 or more then you will not qualify. If you have more than £8000 capital then you may not qualify. We will need to carry out an assessment in respect of your income and capital, but will not be able to do so without evidence of domestic abuse.
- Appeals
- Parole
- Recall
- Re-categorisation
- Governor Adjudications
- Independent Adjudications
- Assaults
- Healthcare issues
- Mental health issues
- Resettlement issues
- Sentence calculation
- Sentence progression
- Transfer
- Lifer issues
- Licence issues
- Segregation
- Judicial review
- Personal injury
- Medical negligence
- SOPOs
- Home Detention Curfews
- Representation at the mental health tribunals if you are detained in hospital
- Advice if you have been sectioned, Court of Protection cases and appeals against deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS)
Proof of income for Legal Aid
To apply for legal aid, you will need to provide us with information about your income.
In cases where you cannot afford to pay for legal services yourself, you can receive legal aid.
To qualify for this you must be able to prove you’re on a low income, have no savings or have savings below £8,000.
You can still qualify for legal aid if you receive the following:
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
- Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
- State pension
If you do not receive any of the above benefits, but your monthly income before tax is below £2,657 you can still be eligible. You will need to provide documents to confirm your income.
In support of your application to receive legal aid you may have to provide:
- Bank statements
- Wage slips
- Student grant/loan letter
- Pension statements
- Tenancy/mortgage agreement
- Tax credit awards
- Letter from NASS or local authority stating asylum receives support (Immigration only)
These are not required where an application for legal aid relates to care proceedings.
About us
We are a Law Society Lexcel accredited firm which indicates our high standards of practice and advice. Our expertise lie in the Legal Aid work under the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) Public Funding Schemes.
We have been helping people with legal aid work since 1815 with experienced and dedicated legal aid solicitors for family law, including child care, prison law and mental health law.
We offer legal aid nationwide and have offices based in Southampton, Havant, Liverpool, Stoke On-Trent and Newcastle Under-Lyme.
If you’d like to speak with one of our legal aid solicitors you can fill out the contact form on this page, call us or send us a message using WhatsApp.
Our Legal Aid Services
Family Law
Prison Law
Mental Health Law
Our Accreditations
Common FAQs
What is Legal Aid?
Legal Aid is a service to help those who cannot afford a solicitor to get help with legal matters. You will normally need to provide evidence to show you cannot cover the legal costs on your own and that you require legal assistance.
Can I get Legal Aid for all legal services?
No, Legal Aid is only available for certain areas of law. It is commonly used for family law matters, to help support parents with their children and can also be used for prison law and mental health.
You might be able to get legal aid for problems like:
- homelessness or losing your home, or if it’s in serious disrepair
- protecting yourself or your child from abuse or harassment, for example domestic violence or forced marriage
- poor quality care you or a family member are getting due to age, disability or special educational needs
- needing advice on finances, children or divorce if you’ve been in an abusive relationship
- a child in your family being at risk of being taken into care
- family mediation, for example if you’re separating or getting a divorce
- discrimination
- challenging the way the government has made a decision about you
- seeking asylum or if you’ve been the victim of human trafficking
- being arrested, charged or questioned by the police
- needing advice if a family member’s death is going to a coroner’s inquest
- appealing a decision made by the social security tribunal about your benefits to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court
How do I find out if I'm eligible for Legal Aid?
Legal aid is generally dependent on your financial position and also the strength of your case. However, if you are a parent who is currently within the Social Services PLO process or within, or are about to be within, Court proceedings between you and the Local Authority regarding your child or children (even if the child is as yet unborn), you are automatically entitled, as that Parent, to non-means, non-merits (FREE) Legal Aid for the entire course of your PLO process/Court Proceedings.
Feel free to talk to us to ascertain if you’re eligible.