Reasonableness of switching from Legal Aid to a CFA
This is one to keep an eye out for in 2020. The above case was initially funded by legal aid. However, there was a decision that, as the limit of the High Costs Contract had been reached, and that a further increase in costs was unlikely to be approved, the Claimant’s Solicitors applied to the LSC for the legal aid certificate to be discharged so that alternative means of funding, namely a CFA, could be adopted.
In this matter it appears that the Litigation Friend was not informed or consented to switch. Ultimately the decision to switch was considered unreasonable and an initial appeal was rejected. This resulted in the Claimant’s Solicitors not being able to recover the success fee or the ATE premium.
However, permission to appeal this decision has been granted so watch this space.
The full judgement can be read here
If you have any questions regarding this summary case law please contact Kris Kilsby here