The Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013

CHAPTER 8 Legal persons

Criteria for determinations in relation to legal persons

73.  For the purposes of a determination in relation to an application for civil legal services by a legal person—

(a) to the extent that it relates to legal help, regulation 32 (criteria for determinations for legal help) does not apply and the criteria in regulation 74 apply;

(b) to the extent that it relates to legal representation, regulations 39 (standard criteria for legal representation), 40 (criteria for determinations for investigative representation) and 41 to 44 (criteria for determinations for full representation) do not apply and the criteria in regulations 74 and 75 apply.

Standard criteria for legal help and legal representation in relation to legal persons

74.—(1) A legal person may qualify for legal help or legal representation only if the Director is satisfied that it is reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for the legal person to be provided with legal help or legal representation.

(2) It is reasonable for the legal person to be provided with legal help or legal representation only if the Director is satisfied that—

(a) the legal person does not have access to other potential sources of funding (other than a conditional fee agreement) from which it would be reasonable to fund the provision of legal help or legal representation, including, but not limited to, taking into account the financial capacity of the legal person’s shareholders, partners or members;

(b) there are no other persons, other than the legal person, including those who might benefit from the provision of legal help or the proceedings, who can reasonably be expected to be provided with legal help or to bring the case;

(c) there is a need for legal help or legal representation in all the circumstances of the case; and

(d) there is sufficient benefit to the legal person, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, to justify the provision of legal help or legal representation.

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.