In almost all circumstances, contributions paid from income will be refunded and this is a factor to consider when deciding whether private or public funding is appropriate. If you pay privately and you are found not guilty, you can only apply for the return of costs at legal aid rates. However, funding your defence with a legal aid certificate has implications for the level of available representation and other factors will influence the decision. We, therefore, find that clients appreciate a face to face meeting to discuss funding issues as well as case objectives.

The full details are beyond the scope of this section but, in general terms, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) will assess your financial means and, if your disposable household income reaches a certain level, they may require you to make five or six monthly payments from your income at the start of the case. At the end of the case, the LAA will calculate the total defence costs incurred by your representatives (at legal aid rates) and if the payments from income are insufficient to cover those costs, the LAA may require you make a payment from your capital (after disregarding the first £30,000 of capital). This claim against capital can apply to equity in a property, certain savings or investments etc. The LAA can apply to register a charge against property and it is therefore important to obtain early detailed advice on how a legal aid order operates at the end of a case. This can influence a client’s funding choices from the very beginning.

The Crown Court has the power to apportion defence costs between counts on the indictment, and your representatives should make the appropriate application to the court at the end of the case if you are acquitted of one or more counts. This can make a huge difference to the amount of income or capital recovered by the LAA and many solicitors are unaware of the facility. There are strict time limits and the applications are sometimes quite complex. Pro-active advice is, therefore, necessary to protect a client’s costs position.

This is dependent on the level of service you choose, as well as the level of legal aid contributions from income/capital that you may have been asked to pay. The nature and length of the case, together with your intended plea, will also be important. From our side, we are able to provide the relevant figures and explain what you can expect from your defence team - both in legal aid and privately funded scenarios - to help you make fully informed choices.

A Legal Aid certificate is not designed to provide the levels of service ordinarily provided in privately-funded cases. The hourly rates paid to defence solicitors under a criminal Legal Aid certificate average between one-eighth to one-quarter of the hourly rates charged on a private basis. Many Legal Aid cases are paid as 'graduated' or 'standard' fees, as opposed to payment at an hourly rate. In other words, no matter how many hours are spent preparing the case, the same fee is paid.

All of this means that work undertaken in Legal Aid cases will usually be carried out by a junior lawyer, while some firms use clerks without legal qualifications. Where senior lawyers or partners become involve, it will usually be in a supervisory capacity or in specific aspects of the case. In order to make a profit, work needs to be carried out very efficiently and firms that cut corners to turn a profit are easy to spot. JMW benefits from 35 years of experience in criminal defence and we have successfully migrated into an award-winning full-service law firm.

Although Legal Aid cases at JMW must be resourced by staff of an appropriate level, and we are not involved in the high volume, low-cost aspects of criminal defence. We will agree to act with the benefit of a Legal Aid certificate where we believe that we can use our private client services without compromising quality. We do not offer 'two-tier' representation and this means that we may decline to act in some cases where clients wish to apply for Legal Aid.

Representation in criminal matters during an interview at a police station can be free of charge, although this usually results in very junior representation.

Criminal Legal Aid is available for cases at the Magistrates Court when the charge is sufficiently serious and the applicant passes a means test. Legal Aid is available at the Crown Court, but is subject to a means test and sometimes requires the applicant to pay:

• (i) contributions from income during the case
• (ii) a contribution from capital at the end of the case.

We can advise on eligibility and assist with making the application.

We often receive enquiries from defendants who are represented by other firms, but who wish to transfer their publicly funded case to us. Sometimes, it is better to resolve the problem with existing representatives, rather than apply to transfer. In other cases, the existing representatives may have encountered a professional conflict of interest preventing them from acting, or there could be other circumstances in which it would be in the interests of justice to transfer the Legal Aid certificate. Whatever the reason, we will provide objective advice on whether an application to transfer is in your best interests.

In a small number of cases, discharging the Legal Aid certificate might be the better option. An application to transfer is first served upon existing representatives so that they can agree or disagree. It is then sent to the judge, who applies some fairly strict criteria to whether the Legal Aid should be transferred. We can advise on whether an application is likely to be granted.

In most circumstances, acquitted defendants are entitled to the return of defence costs. Following changes to the law in October 2012, defence costs are returned at legal aid rates - and these can be lower than private rates.

Assuming that defence costs are not covered by a policy of insurance, you will need to apply for legal aid at the start of the case in order to stand a chance of recovering any defence costs at the Crown Court. This applies even if you know that you are ineligible. If legal aid is refused and you are found not guilty (or if the case is discontinued prior to trial), you can apply for the return of defence costs at the prevailing legal aid rates.

There may be prosecution costs, compensation and/or a financial penalty to pay if you are found guilty. It is also possible that you will be required to pay disbursements, although these can usually be anticipated and calculated as part of the costs estimate or fixed-fee. These disbursements can include experts' reports or counsels' fees, depending on the nature and requirements of your defence.

There is a possibility you will be able to make a fresh application for legal aid using evidence of the revised income and relevant living expenses. You should bear in mind, however, that legal aid does not always represent the most cost-effective approach - and we can assist with the calculations so that you can make the best decision.

During an initial call, it is often difficult to accurately predict final costs. This is usually the case in complex litigation or where we need to speak with various parties to determine what needs to be done. The case may not be suitable for a fixed fee or it may not be possible to offer a fixed fee until some initial enquiries are undertaken. We therefore often take cases in stages. The first stage involves – taking more detailed instructions, obtaining or considering papers and providing advice on prospects of success, including advice on anticipated costs for the subsequent stage (if required). This enables clients to decide whether they want to continue and on what basis we carry out the required tasks. In order to work through the first stage, we ask for a payment in advance; usually in a sum of £900 + VAT. If it is possible to complete the whole case without incurring the full £900 + VAT (by reference to the relevant hourly rate), the balance will be returned to you unless the first stage has been agreed as a fixed fee. Our individual terms of business letter will set out what we will do during the first stage in your particular case. Due to the number of enquiries we receive in our department each day, it is simply not possible to complete the first stage free of charge, especially if we have to be ‘on the record’ to obtain the details we need from courts and other agencies. This is why we ask for a payment on account to cover the work clients ask us to undertake beyond the initial call. We electronically record the work we do (preparation / calls / letters etc.), so you can see what we have done and when it was carried out. This ‘billing guide’ accompanies the invoice we produce at the end of each month or stage.