For many providers delivering legal aid services in Yorkshire and Humberside, contract managers Karen Firth and Phil Hanson are the face of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).
As well as helping to ensure the smooth running of legal aid contracts they are often the first port of call when providers need support.
What is a typical day?
Karen said:
There’s a lot more emphasis on home-working because of coronavirus (COVID-19). But we are fortunate at the LAA to be well-equipped for remote working. Working from my home in Wakefield isn’t a problem for me although I think we both miss seeing colleagues in the office.
I think a lot of the job satisfaction comes from partnering with so many other people in the justice setting and getting things done efficiently through working together.
I also like the challenges of working with providers, being involved in so many areas of legal aid work and the flexibility of managing my own diary.
Today, I’ll be meeting with the Criminal Justice Board and conducting a virtual annual review with a legal aid firm. I’ll also be talking with partners and fee-earners and looking at contract compliance. My job is to help make sure providers understand the regulations and get things right.
Guidance updates are often asked for and I’ll be looking at some work later on for the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme.
I think a lot of the job satisfaction comes from partnering with so many other people in the justice setting and getting things done efficiently through working together.
Phil said:
I have a young family and normally start work early so I have quality time with the children later in the day. I live in Bradford and, like Karen, I’m much more home-based, at the moment. I have about 40 providers in my portfolio and I like to schedule face-to-face visits. But, unfortunately, COVID-19 makes that difficult.
Today, I’ve been dealing with getting a duty solicitor out to a client. It was frustrating for the client and the police. I’ll be fact-finding to understand what happened.
A large part of the role is managing relationships and helping everyone work together more effectively. I sometimes sit on local improvement groups with judges, barristers, and defence lawyers. Like Karen, I see the job as a partnership.
Another issue I’m looking at today is the accuracy of some family legal aid claims. I’m also doing preparatory work on a provider audit.
Part of my job is helping to ensure access to justice is maintained and public money is spent effectively. It’s important as mistakes can damage the legal aid fund and we need to satisfy the National Audit Office that the claims we process are accurate.
A large part of the role is managing relationships and helping everyone work together more effectively. I sometimes sit on local improvement groups with judges, barristers, and defence lawyers. Like Karen, I see the job as a partnership.
What about the impact of COVID-19?
Karen said:
It has been huge. We are all having to adapt to alternative ways of working. There has been a lot of hard work with justice partners to ensure an understanding of the way ahead.
My meeting with the Criminal Justice Board will be focusing on virtual hearings. There’s been some confusion about what solicitors can and can’t do.
I’ll be talking to representatives from the police, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, the Crown Prosecution Service and other stakeholders. It typifies the shared approaches which are so valuable to the way we work.
Phil said:
Our providers deserve a lot of credit for their dedicated efforts in maintaining access to justice while adapting to new procedures during COVID-19.
Some firms are going through challenging redundancy exercises. They have seen big drops in income.
For our part, we have been flexible with our contingency arrangements and provided feedback to the Treasury on how providers are experiencing COVID-19. The vast majority of providers have been really helpful in that respect.
Each legal aid provider has a contract manager and should be regularly in-touch with their LAA contract manager to discuss any matters arising from the standard operating contracts.
Get in touch via our customer services team on 0300 200 2020.
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