The Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2012

Criteria for determinations for legal representation in relation to legal persons

75.—(1) A legal person may qualify for legal representation only if the Director is satisfied that the following criteria are met—

(a) the case is unsuitable for a conditional fee agreement;

(b) the legal person has exhausted all reasonable alternatives to bringing proceedings including any complaints system, ombudsman scheme or other form of alternative dispute resolution; and

(c) the proceedings are not likely to be allocated to the small claims track.

(2) A legal person may qualify for investigative representation only if the Director is satisfied that —

(a) the criteria in paragraph (1) are met;

(b) the prospects of success of the case are unclear and substantial investigative work is required before those prospects can be determined; and

(c) the Director has reasonable grounds for believing that once the investigative work to be carried out under investigative representation is completed the case will satisfy the criteria in paragraph (3)(b) and (c).

(3) A legal person may qualify for full representation only if the Director is satisfied that—

(a) the criteria in paragraph (1) are met;

(b) the likely benefit of the proceedings to the legal person and others justify the likely costs, having regard to the prospects of success and all the other circumstances of the case; and

(c) prospects of success of the case are—

(i) very good, good or moderate; or

(ii) borderline and the case is of significant wider public interest.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, regulations 4 (prospects of success) and 5 (prospects of success test) apply as if the references in them to individuals were references to legal persons.