Solicitors
On this page:
Contract objectives
This section is for providers holding a Solicitors General Civil Contract.
The contract is under the Access to Justice Act 1999. The contract covers only civil work. Contract work may comprise either Controlled Work or Licensed Work or both.
Controlled Work comprises Legal Help, Help at Court, and Controlled Legal Representation before the Mental Health Review Tribunal and before the Immigration Appeal Tribunal and immigration adjudicators. These levels of service are defined in the Funding Code and in the Contract Specification (available below).
Licensed Work comprises all certificated work, which is governed by Part C of the Funding Code procedures. Licensed Work does not include Controlled Legal Representation or Individual Case Contracts as defined in the Funding Code.
We want to encourage committed, high quality providers of legal services to become contracted providers. We want to establish and develop long-term relationships with these providers to ensure that those eligible to receive publicly funded legal assistance have access to competent, appropriate, quality assured and value for money services that meet their needs.The objective of this contract is to secure the provision of competent, quality assured, best value contract work in specified categories of work and from specified offices.
Contract documents
The contract for signature is only one page long and specifies the duration of the contract and incorporates by reference the documents that set out the terms of the contract. The contract documents are:
- One-Year or Three-Year Contract – this is the contract for signature
- Schedule – this is a key document as it contains provisions specific to your individual contract e.g. categories of law and numbers of authorised matter starts and the amount of your Schedule Payment Limit and Standard Monthly Payment
- Contract Standard Terms – these are general terms common to all contracts
- Contract Specification – sets out the rules and guidance that are concerned with how you perform contract work and with what work you may perform
- Specialist Quality Mark – is the quality assurance standard that is a pre-requisite to holding a General Civil Contract
- your bid documents (if any).
Applications for extensions to the Upper Financial Limit
The Solicitors General Civil Contract Specification Rule 3.6 provides for an Upper Financial Limit to the amount of Legal Help (and Help at Court) you can provide in a case.
Rule 5.5 provides for an Upper Financial Limit to the amount of Controlled Legal Representation you can provide in a case.
Our Regional Directors can vary these limits for individual contractors, in which case you will have been notified of the revised limit(s) in writing. Different rules apply in immigration cases.
You must contact us before you reach the relevant limit. Retrospective authority to exceed the limit will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. The costs included in the limit are profit costs and disbursements (excluding VAT).
Last updated: 07 December 2007