Crime news: Crown Court fees now paid directly to trial advocates
Payments are now being made to advocates attending the main hearing in Crown Court cases.
‘Trial advocates’ attending the main hearing in a criminal case are now able to make the claim for the legal aid fee under changes introduced on 5 May 2015.
The claim can be made on the new AF1 form, which is available to download on GOV.UK – see below.
This amendment was made in response to Sir Brian Leveson’s Review of Efficiency in Criminal Proceedings.
This recommended that, for case ownership to work in practice, the fee should go to the advocate or solicitor-advocate who conducts the main hearing.
Guidance on our Crown Court fee page will be updated by June 2015 to give providers more detail about this change.
Further information
AF1: claim for advocate graduated fees – to download AF1 form
The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 – see 282
Crown Court fee guidance – to be updated by June 2015