Other Public Law – the Legal Aid Agency defines this as: any public law children cases other than those under S31 Care Proceedings. These can include child assessment orders, emergency protection orders, secure accommodation orders, other proceedings under parts IV & V of the Children Act 1989 and related adoption proceedings.
When it comes to billing these matters and file openings we see a number of common mistakes made, applying the incorrect rate, ticking the incorrect options on the FAS form, a classic example we see, Discharge of Care Order, the case type ticked is “Care” rather than “Other Public”, this is incorrect and the Legal Aid Agency will reject a claim for payment on this basis, this means having to get the FAS form amended and re-sealed with the correct case type which causes further delays to your billing and cash flow.
We have therefore created a handy flowchart detailing the most common Other Public Law matters and applicable hourly rate to use to assist with file openings and billing. Download now for free by clicking here.