Nevertheless, potential clients will still find that our fees are extremely competitive but as always, we aim to provide best value for service, not deliberately to be the cheapest; we do not wish to compromise our service standards.  On occasion, however, clients still find that we are considerably cheaper than our competition due to the high costs charged by some organisations.  For more information about JL Solicitors, appointments and costs please see our About Us section.

To be assessed for legal aid, you will need to produce the following original documents:

1. A photographic form of identity (if possible);
2. A proof of address, and
3. Proof of income and savings for both you and your partner (if applicable).

If you are supported and accommodated by someone else then you will need to produce a signed and dated letter by that person to confirm what support they give you.  They also need to produce the documents listed in points 1,2 and 3 above.

The family law legal aid tender process has been ruled unlawful by the High Court and the tender results in relation to family law has been quashed.  There has not yet been any announcement by the LSC as to whether they will appeal the decision or what they will do concerning the family law legal aid tender process.  There is a little good news, however, in that the LSC appears to have indicated that they will still allow legal aid contracts not associated with the family law tender to start on the 15 November 2010.

This means that if there are no further delays, JL Solicitors will finally be able to offer legal aid immigration work in Luton and Bedfordshire on the 15 November 2010.

This means that we will be able to offer legally aided immigration advice and assistance to those who qualify when the new legal aid contracts start.  They are currently scheduled to start in October 2010, provided this date is not delayed again for any reason.  This will benefit not just those who live in Luton, where JL Solicitors is based, but anyone who needs immigration advice and assistance in Bedfordshire, including Bedford, Dunstable, Leagrave, Biggleswade, Leighton Buzzard, Toddington and Woburn.

We will provide a further update once the contract start date is confirmed.

As a part of our commitment to serving the local community and in particular our dedicated and hard working NHS staff, JL Solicitors is now a member of the NHS247 Staff Discounts Scheme.  This means that upon proof of NHS membership, our current offers entitle NHS staff and their immediate family members to free initial consultations as well as discounted hourly rates and agreed fees.  For more information about JL Solicitors, appointments and costs please see our About Us section.

JL Solicitors would like to offer the community a Legal Aid Immigration service right now but unfortunately is prevented from doing so due to the way the Legal Aid Schemes are operated by the Legal Services Commission (LSC).

A firm can only offer Legal Aid services when it has a ‘Legal Aid contract’ (formerly known as a ‘Legal Aid franchise’) with the LSC.  Such contracts currently run for 3 years after which the LSC holds ‘bid rounds’ when firms who wish to offer Legal Aid services apply to the LSC for a Legal Aid contract in the subject areas it wishes to offer Legal Aid services.  Until a bid round takes place a firm that wishes to enter the Legal Aid market to offer Legal Aid services is prevented from doing so.  JL Solicitors intends to apply for a Legal Aid contract to offer Legal Aid Immigration services at the next bid round.

We at JL Solicitors do not agree with such a system as we feel it is anti-competitive, as firms are prevented from entering the market until a bid round takes place (however many Legal Aid firms may give up their Legal Aid contract in the interim period and stop offering a Legal Aid service), and also severely restricts freedom of choice and access to justice, as people who cannot afford to pay for a solicitor of their choosing are limited to using firms who hold an LSC contract specifically in the subject area in which they require legal services.  Needless to say, firms who hold a Legal Aid contract are in a position of a virtual monopoly for at least 3 years with all the potential problems that can cause.  However, the issues of Legal Aid, its regulation and provision are subjects for public debate.

If you are interested in learning more then I would urge you to research the subject and help educate the general public of the issues involved, as we at JL Solicitors endeavour to do.  Unfortunately, it is only when people find themselves in need of Legal Aid services that they discover just how limited and restricted their choices are and what Legal Aid services they can obtain, if at all (for more information please keep an eye on our Legal Aid News section).

If you are having problems finding suitable Legal Aid assistance then please feel free to contact us as we are happy to help you in your search.  Alternatively, you may contact the LSC’s Community Legal Advice helpline on 0845 345 4345.

It was originally called Legal Aid but you may have come across such terms as Public Funding, Community Funding and Community Funding Certificates, which in general all refer to the same thing.  Here at JL Solicitors we believe in calling things what they are to avoid confusion so that people can easily understand us.  We therefore use the term Legal Aid to refer to all forms of Legal Aid.

Unfortunately, JL Solicitors do not currently offer Legal Aid services.  However, we do intend to offer a Legal Aid service in the field of Immigration Law in the near future (for more information please keep an eye on our Legal Aid posts in our News section).

In the meantime, if you are having problems finding suitable Legal Aid assistance then please feel free to contact us as we are happy to help you in your search.  Alternatively, you may contact the LSC’s Community Legal Advice helpline on 0845 345 4345.

Seriously though, the solicitors’ profession has sadly suffered a decline in reputation over the years but we ask you to bear in mind that many of those who have caused this decline are not in fact qualified solicitors.  Some are unqualified legal advisers and some operate from ‘consultancy’ firms that are not law firms and are therefore not regulated as law firms are.

They trade on the good reputation of solicitors by allowing clients to mistakenly believe they are qualified solicitors as the public not unreasonably assumes that the person they consult for legal advice is a qualified solicitor unless they are told otherwise, and they are not.

More alarmingly, some even claim to be qualified solicitors when they are not.  By trading on the good reputation of solicitors in this way, these same individuals have damaged the reputation of the solicitors’ profession that they have hijacked.

All qualified lawyers in the UK hold a practising certificate issued by their regulating body.  For instance, solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which is the regulatory arm of The Law Society.  Most importantly for consumers, this practising certificate must be displayed in the office where it can be viewed by the public.  If the advisor you consult does not have such a certificate on display where you can view it, that advisor is not a qualified solicitor in the UK.

Also of importance to consumers, the regulating body of a fully qualified lawyer in the UK maintains a register of all qualified members of that regulating body.  For instance, The Law Society website has a Find a Solicitor function where you can search for the name of a firm or individual solicitor.  Again, if the firm or advisor you consult is not on the register then that firm is not a firm of solicitors and that individual is not a solicitor.