Court Duty Solicitor Hourly Rates| Lawsyst

What are the Legal aid court duty solicitor hourly rates

Court duty solicitor hourly rates are set by Legal Aid regulations and depend on the type of offence and location (London vs. National), with specific rates for standard and "unsocial hours" or serious offences. For example, in the period covered by the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2022, the "unsocial hours" rate for duty solicitors was £72.46 nationally, whereas a "serious offence rate" was lower at £62.96.

Here's a breakdown of the rates and factors influencing them:

Factors influencing rates

Location:There are different rates for London and the rest of the country.
Type of Offence:"Serious offence rates" are higher than standard rates, reflecting the greater complexity of these cases.
Time of Attendance:"Unsocial hours" for a duty solicitor attract a higher rate than standard daytime hours.

Examples of rates from the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations

National Duty Solicitor (Unsocial Hours): £72.46 per hour
National Duty Solicitor – Serious Offence Rate: £62.96 per hour
National Duty Solicitor – Serious Offence Rate (Unsocial Hours): £83.95 per hour
London Duty Solicitor (Unsocial Hours): £72.46 per hour
London Duty Solicitor – Serious Offence Rate: £68.21 per hour

How it works

Duty solicitors provide free representation to those who don't have a solicitor and meet eligibility criteria.
Fees are paid by the government through Legal Aid, which can be a fixed fee for some services at the police station.
The firm receives the fee, and the solicitor's salary is paid from that amount, after overhead costs.

Where to find the most up-to-date rates

You can find the official rates on the Legislation.gov.uk website. These are the most reliable sources for the exact rates and regulations that govern them.

Lawsyst case management system comes with prepopulated LAA rates for various types of LAA contracts and type of work. For more information, please contact our LAA Billing Help Desk or contact your legal aid accounts manager at the LAA.