Legal Services Commission

Family disputes that are resolved through mediation are cheaper, quicker and, according to academic research, less acrimonious than those that are settled through the courts. Despite these advantages, only some 20 per cent of people who are funded by legal aid for family breakdown cases (excluding those involving domestic violence) currently opt for mediation. Following on from a NAO report on this topic (HCP 256, session 2006-07; ISBN 9780102944525), the Committee's report examines the shortcomings of the current system for referring clients to mediation, and the actions the Legal Services Commission has in train to increase referrals to and take-up of mediation services, to improve the quality of mediation offered, and to strengthen the Commission's oversight of solicitors and mediation providers.

Lord Justice Jackson was required: to review the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation and to make recommendations in order to promote access to justice at proportionate cost; to review case management procedures; to have regard to research into costs and funding; to consult widely; to compare our costs regime with those of other jurisdictions; and to prepare a report setting out recommendations with supporting evidence by 31st December 2009. A preliminary report was issued in May 2009 and is also published alongside this final report (ISBN 9780117064034). Major recommendations cover: conditional fee agreements, of which "no win, no fee" agreements are the most common species, and which have been the major contributor to disproportionate costs; success fees and ATE (after-the-event) insurance premiums should cease to be recoverable from unsuccessful opponents in civil litigation; success fees should come out of the damages awarded to the client; awards of general damages should be increased by 10 per cent, and the maximum amount of damages that lawyers may deduct for success fees be capped at 25 per cent of damages; lawyers should not be permitted to pay referral fees in respect of personal injury cases; qualified one way costs shifting, taking away the need for ATE insurance; fixed costs in fast track litigation; establishment of a Costs Council. Other sections of the report deal with: other funding issues; personal injuries litigation; some specific types of litigation; and controlling the costs - including pre-action protocols, greater use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), disclosure, case and costs management by the judiciary.

The Access to Justice Act 1999 has brought about wide-reaching changes to the Legal Aid system. This looseleaf has been produced in conjunction with the Legal Services Commission to ensure that franchises have the relevant material to effectively maintain their franchise. It is a requirement of LAFQAS that organizations have a copy of the relevant volumes of the Legal Services Commission Manual at each office for which a franchise is held, or that they have effective and auditable access to all the material in the publication.

Dated June 2007. Only available as part of one of the LSC Manual 2007 subscriptions. For further details and guidance on setting up your subscription, please contact the TSO Subscriptions Department

This edited collection brings together a selection of papers originally presented at the Legal Services Research Centre's seventh international research conference held at the Royal Naval Academy, Greenwich, London, 18 - 20 June 2008. The papers, drawn from three continents, shed light on how major legal aid jusrisdictions are facing the challenge of providing, shaping and extending the reach of legal aid in the face of increasing pressure on resources. The papers give an insight into the role of research in the development of legal aid and are linked in their focus on innovations: from schemes to encourage the next generation of legal aid lawyers, to services built around needs of users and communities, to methods for ensuring quality of services and mechanisms to deliver services for, and engage, "hard-to-reach" and disadvantaged groups.