hey all, this is for the AS AQA law retake on thurs- 14th. The topic is legal aid!
the 1st Q of this past paper was about barristers, I didn't have a problem with that, so I haven't typed it on here, although I wasn't sure about the b and c question, please read it and give feedback, thankyou!

please also note, the b question took me 10 minutes exact to write.. whereas the c question took me 13, rather than 10.. unlucky...
I did a quick 5 min plan with all the key points and here goes..
7b) Paveen has been injured in an accident. Explain from whom she could get advice about a possible claim for damages (10 marks)- so i spent 10 minutes.
c) Briefly explain the advantages
and disadvantages of both private funding and of "no win- no fee" agreements in a civil claim. (10 marks)- so 10mins
b) Paveen could contact many people for getting advice about a possible claim for damages. Solicitors could be contacted for advice and assistance under legal funding. They could also represent their clients case in court. However, a means and merits test would have to be carried out to determine whether the client is eligible for legal funding. Means test is divided into income and capital. Income looks at the savings, shares, valuable jewellery and the value of a house. Capital is how likely the case is to be won.
Parveen could also sue whoever was responsible for her accident. She would have to contact trade unions and explain her situation, or she could get advice from Law Centres, or the Citizen's Advice Bureaux. She can't use Conditional fee agreements, as these are not allowed for personal injury cases or negligent ones. Parveen could contact the Community Legal Service which is for civil cases, where money for funding can be given, depending on the clients income which is assessed taking out essentials.
The Community legal service was started by the Access to Justice Act 1999. Previously, legal aid was said to be demand led, which meant that alot of tax payer's money went into the system. This also meant that not well deserved cases recieved funding which didn't seem fair. However, the system now is budgetted well.
c) There are many advantages and disadvantages. The advantages in a civil claim are that the client has enough money to pay the lawyers (solicitors), to start a court case in the first place, so it is seen as not expensive. Private funding is also quicker because legal aid which is help from the government isn't needed. Solicitors may choose to do the work properly because they have been paid more money by their clients. Their is also tenchical expertise (I realised now that this point isn't even relevant and I haven't even explained it!)

and the client can sue against his/her company with private funding.
The disadvantages however are that; the government sometimes sets "claw backs", which simply mean that if the client loses, they still have to pay the solicitors money, than the winning parties costs.
The Community Legal Service, which was set up by the Access to Justice Act 1999, now has a set budget for civil cases, so that even if the client is legible for legal aid, they don't recieve it because the budget has ran out.
Personal injury/ negligence cases can't be used for civil claims. There is also a "success" or "uplift" fee which means the same thing. In addition, this is agreed before the solicitor represents the client in court. It also means that if the case is lost, the client won't have to pay the solicitor although they will still pay the winning party's costs.
FINISHED! PHEWW

thankyou to anyone who finished reading!!
please comment and tell me what's good or bad about it, even if you critise it ( within reason), I really don't mind, as long as I know what to improve on and pass my exam!!!
