Charity-owned law firm launches 'access to justice' package

Castle Park Solicitors, the first charity-owned law firm which opened for business in Leicester in May, has launched an 'access to justice' package for clients on benefits.

Set up by Community Advice and Law Service (CALS) - formerly Leicester Money Advice, which was wound up in 2005 after public funding was withdrawn - the new firm aims to provide low-cost legal services for clients ineligible for legal aid across family, employment and immigration law.

Partner Christine Palmer (pictured) said the firm looked at various eligibility criteria, including means-testing similar to legal aid, but that these would be too cumbersome to administer. Instead, the firm will only ask to see evidence that clients are in receipt of a so-called passported benefit.

The new package is one of several initiatives that not-for-profit agencies are experimenting with in the aftermath of the legal aid cuts, including the decision by some law centres to start charging for services.

It will be offered to clients receiving jobseekers allowance, income support, or pensions credit, who will be able to buy legal advice at half the firm's standard rates, including an initial one-hour interview for £48 plus VAT.

Palmer, who has more than 20 years' experience as an employment law solicitor, said low prices was essential to making the service accessible, "especially for people who have just lost their jobs and are on £71 a week".

Clients eligible for the 'access to justice' package can also pay fees over time. They must agree to set up a standing order for £55 per month.

Solicitor Jusleen Arora, who specialises in family law, said the repayment rate was set at a level that seemed reasonable but accepted it could nonetheless be difficult for some clients on benefits to arrange a standing order for that amount. "We will keep that under review," she said.

She also said the firm faced competition from online legal services, who offered much lower prices for legal documents. "People are more technically savvy and will be tempted to use online documents, but this is no substitute for face-to-face advice," she said, suggesting that such websites gave users false expectations that they could expedite a divorce without warning them about legal requirement such as the need to be separated for two years.

The firm does not offer a free half-hour meeting, as many firms do, but in the first consultation the lawyers will consider funding options, including legal aid or legal expenses insurance.

It is also experimenting with fixed fees and offers unbundling in family cases.

Castle Park Solicitors incorporated as a community interest company on 25 April 2012 and was authorised as an alternative business structure on 28 March 2013.

Palmer said she and other colleagues at CALS initially considered setting up as a trading arm of the CALS, which is registered as a charity, but that this was too complicated for their purposes.

"Now the Charity Commission can issue a waiver allowing charities to charge for their services, but at the time this was not available, so the ABS option looked right to us," she said.

Palmer is one of three directors. The other two are Stephen Lock, a non-lawyer who is also director of CALS, and James Munton, also a non-lawyer, director of CALS and director of anti-poverty organisation Leicester Charity Link.

Any surplus income generated by the firm will go to fund the work of its owner, which provides legal advice and representation for clients with debt and housing problems.