With access to Legal Aid for family law restricted, what are the available alternatives?
Data breaches seem to be everywhere at the moment, and it feels like no one is untouchable, including the Legal Aid Agency.
The Legal aid Agency has been the victim of a huge cyber-attack, leaking personal and sensitive data, and bringing the entire system to a halt. The attack has led to an inquiry by MPs due to the damage it has caused to the legal system as a whole, as well as individual users.
The agency failed to investigate how the system was attacked and as a result, has spent months re-building the system from scratch.
During this time, legal aid has been inaccessible, meaning that thousands of potentially eligible clients may have been denied access to justice. Even when the system is back up and running, there will be a backlog that will take months, if not years, to catch up with.
Its assumed that the most vulnerable and urgent cases will take priority. In most Children Act cases, delays can be damaging to both parents and children. It is essential that if you have to make an application through the court, then you should have the correct legal advice from the start, as well as the ability to make an application promptly.
The same applies to Family Law Act applications. Non-molestation orders and occupation orders are time sensitive and in most cases an urgent application is needed to prevent abuse from escalating.
While the legal aid system is compromised, it is important for clients to consider the impact that the delay in obtaining specialist legal advice could have on their case.
If you are currently prevented from making a Children Act, a Family Law Act application, or a divorce application due to the suspension of the Legal Aid Agency – we can help.
While we do not offer legal aid for family law, we do provide free initial consultations and a range of funding options including fixed fees. We also provide monthly updates on your costs and options for you to undertake some of the work yourself to help keeps the costs down where possible.
Feel free to contact our friendly and helpful family team for guidance.
