Legaleagle Training
CRIMINAL LEGAL AID WORK –THE BILLING OF LOWER CRIME CASES – POLICE STATION WORK – MAGISTRATES’ COURT WORK – CRM 1 AND 2 WORK – CRM 3 WORK – WEDNESDAY 14TH DECEMBER 2022 – 16:00 – 17.00: - COST - £60 (INCLUSIVE OF VAT)
DO YOU HAVE THAT NAGGING FEELING THAT YOU MAY BE UNDER-CLAIMING???
During this 1-hour ZOOM presentation Colin Beaumont will bring you up to speed with the things that you may claim for when Billing your Lower Crime cases i.e., your non-Crown Court work.
The relevant Statutory Instruments will be part of the notes, as will the very latest Specification document under your Crime Contract
HAVE A LOOK AT THE 20 BILLING QUESTIONS BELOW AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE ANSWERS AT YOUR FINGER-TIPS!
JUST THINK OF IT AS A PUB QUIZ FOR LAWYERS!
DON’T WORRY IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THE ACTUAL PRESENTATION (OR NEVER INTENDED TO ATTEND) – YOU WILL STILL GET THE NOTES AND THE RECORDING WHICH YOU CAN SAVE TO A DEVICE OR WATCH AT YOUR LEISURE ON OUR YouTube CHANNEL
Anyone wishing to attend the session (or wishing to have the full set of notes and the recording afterwards without ever attending) should simply click here: mailto: colin@thelegaleagle.org or ring me (or send me a text) – (07887) 842985 and book a place.
The following 20 Questions will be considered:
1 – You represent 4 clients in the Magistrate’s Court all charged with offences relating to the supply of Class A drugs – 2 clients plead guilty in the Magistrate’s Court and are COMMITTED FOR SENTENCE to the Crown Court – the other 2 are SENT to the Crown Court FOR TRIAL under Section 51 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 – how many Fees are claimable in this scenario and what types of Fee are they?
2 – The client is SENT to the Crown Court on a number of offences which are all related – at the Crown Court one of the offences is remitted back to the Magistrates’ Court in order to be dealt with there by way of a trial – is there a Category 2 Magistrate’s Court claim in such circumstances in addition to the Crown Court claim?
3 – You represent a client at the Police Station who is charged with one offence and bailed to return in relation to another offence – in what circumstances may you claim 2 Police Station Fees?
4 – Can you claim 2 Police Station Fees when acting for the same client at the Police Station who has genuinely separate legal problems requiring genuinely separate legal advice?
5 – You have a very ‘active’ client and have 4 distinct and separate files for him (when I say distinct and separate, I mean that the offences were not charged on the same occasion, are not charged on separate occasions but arising out of the same circumstances, are not offences that could be deemed to be ‘a series of offences’) – post conviction on the various offences, all are joined together at the one sentencing hearing – how many cases do you have when you come to bill your Magistrate’s Court claim?
6 – You have been asked to bill a case concerning the variation of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order where the hearing took place in the Crown Court – this is billed as part of Lower Court Work i.e. it is not a Crown Court Fee – how much can you claim?
7 – You are asked to represent 5 clients at the Police Station who have all been arrested in relation to an allegation of criminal damage – in what circumstances may you claim 5 Fees?
8 – Your office is in a Designated Area whereby you are not allowed to claim hourly rates for travel or waiting on your Magistrates’ Court claims – are you, however, entitled to claim your disbursements – Mileage? – Parking?
9 – Your office is in an Undesignated Area but the case is being dealt with in a Court in a Designated Area – in such circumstances do you take your Fee from the Undesignated Area Standard Fees Table or the Designated Area Standard Fees Table?
10 – Is the contested Newton hearing in the Magistrates’ Court a Category 1 claim (i.e. a Guilty Plea claim) or is it a Category 2 claim (i.e. a Trial claim).
11 – In what circumstances in your latest Standard Crime Contract Specification document are you entitled to switch from a Category 2 Fee to a Category 1 Fee if, in so doing, your Category 1 Fee would be higher than your Category 2 Fee?
12 – In what circumstances OTHER THAN your claim being above the Higher Standard Fee Limit is your claim made using the CRM 7 form?
13 – We know that Statutory Instrument 2022 No. 848 increased the Fees by 15% where the determination is made on or after 30th September 2022 – We then had Statutory Instrument 2022 No.1035 which said that the 15% Fee increase also applied where the determination was made on or after 17th September 2020 but before 30th September 2022 where the MAIN HEARING takes place on or after 31st October 2022 – does Statutory Instrument 2022 No.1035 increase the Fees for Lower Crime Work?
14 – Your client pleads Guilty to driving with excess alcohol (the reading is 150 in breath and that is why your client has the benefit of a rep order!) and Not Guilty to driving without insurance – the Crown offer no evidence on the insurance as they are happy with the document that you have shown them – is this a Category 1 claim or a Category 2 claim?
15 – You have a client who is paying you privately and, following a Newton hearing, the facts are found in his favour – can you, in these circumstances, apply for a Defendant’s Costs Order under Section 16 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985?
16 – In what circumstances may you claim ENHANCEMENTS on the hourly rates for the work that you have done on a Magistrate’s Court file? – If you never try then you will never be paid ENHANCEMENTS!
17 – A person rings you from prison (not, thankfully, on an illegally held mobile!) and tells you that he is deeply dissatisfied with the service he had from his previous lawyers and that his conviction is flawed – can you represent the client in these circumstances and how are you going to be paid for any initial advice?
18 – The client today pleads Guilty to theft by way of low-value shoplifting – we know from Section 22A of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 that theft by way of low-value shoplifting is a summary offence – is it a Category 1A claim or a Category 1B claim?
19 – Your client pleads Not Guilty in the Magistrate’s Court and you are fully prepared for trial but successfully manage to get the proceedings ‘stayed as an abuse of process’– what effect, if any, does this have on your Category or your claim?
20 – You receive a phone call that a person would like to receive advice from you albeit he is about to be charged at the Police Station with the offence – what is the best advice to give to this particular client and, if you attend, can you make a Police Station claim?
It will be a 1- hour live and interactive session conducted via ZOOM. There is absolutely no requirement for any attendee to have purchased ZOOM. We just send you an email and you click on the link. It could not be simpler.
IMPORTANT
PLEASE LET US KNOW THE EMAIL ADDRESS OF THE PERSON TO WHOM WE SHOULD SEND THE INVOICE IF IT IS TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF
Invoices will be sent after the presentation and our normal terms of business apply i.e. PAYMENT WITHIN 14 DAYS – the cost for each person attending or purchasing the recording is £60 (inclusive of VAT) – if you have attended the presentation there will be no additional charge for a copy of the recording