The Legal Aid (Notification of Very High Cost Cases) Regulations 2000

• Citation: S.I. 2000/1801
• Sections: 3

Section 1 Citation and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Notification of Very High Cost Cases) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 1st August 2000.

Section 2 Interpretation

In these Regulations:

“costs” means, in the case of a solicitor, the fees and disbursements payable under section 25 of the Legal Aid Act 1988 and, in the case of counsel, the fees payable under that section; and

“the Legal Services Commission” means the Legal Services Commission established under section 1 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 .

Section 3 Notification of Very High Cost Cases

(1) This regulation applies to Very High Cost Cases where representation is provided under Part V of the Legal Aid Act 1988.

(2) A Very High Cost Case is a case with regard to which:

(a) if the case proceeds to trial, that trial would be likely to last for 25 days or longer; or

(b) the defence costs with regard to any one defendant (or group of defendants represented by the same firm of solicitors) are likely to amount to £150,000 or greater (such sum to include the solicitor’s costs and counsel’s fees and VAT ).

(3) Any solicitor who has conduct of a case which is a Very High Cost Case shall notify the Legal Services Commission in writing accordingly as soon as is practicable.