Legal Aid Agency reminds providers to bill inactive cases

In January 2024, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) conducted an exercise to ensure cases marked as inactive in its Client and Case Management System (CCMS) were updated and billed promptly. This exercise has identified around 7,000 cases where providers have confirmed work has been completed but no claims for payment have been submitted yet. To resolve this, the LAA will send reminders in January 2025 to firms with such cases, encouraging them to submit their claims.

These cases are flagged as inactive because there has been no significant activity recorded in the system over the past 12 months. This lack of activity includes a range of actions such as the submission of bills, applications, amendments, or very high-cost case plans. “We are aware of around 7,000 cases where work has completed and the provider intends to bill, but no bill has yet been paid,” stated the LAA.

Providers who have one or more cases in this group will receive an email in January 2025, which will include a spreadsheet detailing these cases. The LAA asks providers to focus on submitting their claims for payment and closing these cases. No response is required unless the provider is no longer planning to claim, in which case they should notify the LAA to allow the case to be closed, any outstanding Payments on Account (POA) to be recovered, and the case archived.

For the LAA, ensuring that only genuinely ongoing cases remain in the system helps predict future legal aid expenditures and manage financial risks. For providers, submitting bills promptly ensures timely payment for work already completed. If no action is taken, the LAA will send one final reminder before considering steps to close the case and recover any POA.