Transfer of claims assessed at court to the Legal Aid Agency
This page contains guidance for firms to submit court assessed claims to the Legal Aid Agency's civil finance team.
From 15 January 2021 you will have the choice of submitting your civil court assessed claims for assessment by the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) civil finance team or the courts.
Guidance
Previously, civil proceedings that were issued and concluded in a court higher than the magistrates’ court and, where costs incurred were over £2,500, the court would conduct the assessment. You may now choose to continue to follow this process or have your claim assessed by an LAA caseworker.
The following guidance can be used to help you claim. The interactive module will show you how to answer the relevant questions in the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) to help LAA process your claim first time.
Reviewing LAA assessment
Where you have had a claim reduced on assessment that would previously have been assessed at court, but was sent to the LAA for assessment following the transfer of assessments, your claim may be reconsidered by the court.
The LAA’s assessment will be set aside and your claim will be considered de novo by the court.
The guidance below will help you create your claim in CCMS.
Inter partes
Where there is an ‘inter partes’ element to your claim, the court will retain the right of assessment. These claims should continue to be prepared as normal. For reporting these cases to the LAA, you can refer to the CCMS Interactive Module ‘Cost Award Interactive’.
Contact us
If you have questions, you can contact us:
- for any claims in CCMS, submit a Billing Enquiry
- for any claims on paper, email contactcivil@justice.gov.uk
Updates to this page
Last updated 12 April 2022 + show all updates
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Guidance updated to reflect amended questions in the Client and Cost Management System from 11 April 2022.
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Guidance for voluntary LAA Assessment updated to align with the current process for submission of paper-based claims.
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References to time windows for de novo assessments removed from the guidance.
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Transfer of Court Assessed Bills Guidance updated.
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Edited to reflect new voluntary process for submission.
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Email address corrected
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Mandatory transfer date from HMCTS to LAA confirmed as 17 August. Transfer of Court Assessed Bills Guidance updated in line with the date change.
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New version of guidance uploaded.
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Clarification this guidance is for firms wishing to submit claims ahead of the consultation closing.
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First published.