Unit 1
P5 M3 D3
The Legal Advice Charity
1 Smith Road
Woking
Surrey
GU12 3AB
14/01/2020
Miss Jenson
2 Main Street
Woking
Surrey
GU45 6CD
Dear Miss Jenson,
Thank you for your letter. Throughout this letter I will be writing about the different legal funding,
advice and representation options that are available to you, both free and fee paying.
Legal aid - Legal aid can only be obtained in certain cases. For example, it is not used for prison law,
judicial review, family law unless there is proof of domestic violence, it will not be obtained for
housing and benefit issues unless it results in the client becoming homeless. To qualify for legal aid,
you will have to provide evidence that you are a UK citizen and you have lived in the UK for a year. A
benefit of legal aid is that you will receive a good barrister, however it is a long and complex process.
Citizens Advice Bureau – This service provides free legal advice to anyone in 2,500 different
locations in England, on a variety of matters such as family issues and debt. Advice can be given face
to face, email, webcam, or over the phone. They can provide information on which solicitors to use
and ones that are cheaper. Solicitors might go to the CAB once a week to a fortnight to provide the
client with more legal advice. Advantage of CAB are that it is great if you are looking for free general
advice on a variety of issues. Furthermore, 45% of appointment issues are solved by phone calls to
the CAB and 71% by email/webcam meaning it is accessible. However, it is difficult to get an
appointment and the legal professional will not be able to represent the client and advice may not
be delivered in time before the court hearing. The advice offered is reliable, but it can only be used
in civil cases. The CAB may not be an effective choice for your case as it is time consuming and your
case needs to be decided on quickly
Pro Bono Services - Pro bono refers to the provision of free legal services to people who cannot
afford to pay for legal aid. Legal professionals offer their advice free of charge for the public. It is
provided voluntarily, by a trained solicitor/barrister of their law firm. There are many advantages to
using pro bono, for example, it is free, provided by legal professionals and it deals with either civil or
criminal cases. On the other hand, it is hard to get as most people only qualify for pro bone if they
have a very low income, elderly, disabled or any other special circumstances. Pro bono would be a
very effective method of legal aid; this is because of your current income difficulty.
Law Centres - These provide advice and support to local communities and individuals in the area.
They offer free legal advice in places where there is a lack of solicitors or barristers. Law centres can
provide advice on any issue but they usually focus on matters in the local area. It is staffed by
volunteers, legal trainees, law students and some legal professionals. Benefits of law centres is they
offer free, non-means tested legal services to people in the local area as it will be hard for them to
P5 M3 D3
The Legal Advice Charity
1 Smith Road
Woking
Surrey
GU12 3AB
14/01/2020
Miss Jenson
2 Main Street
Woking
Surrey
GU45 6CD
Dear Miss Jenson,
Thank you for your letter. Throughout this letter I will be writing about the different legal funding,
advice and representation options that are available to you, both free and fee paying.
Legal aid - Legal aid can only be obtained in certain cases. For example, it is not used for prison law,
judicial review, family law unless there is proof of domestic violence, it will not be obtained for
housing and benefit issues unless it results in the client becoming homeless. To qualify for legal aid,
you will have to provide evidence that you are a UK citizen and you have lived in the UK for a year. A
benefit of legal aid is that you will receive a good barrister, however it is a long and complex process.
Citizens Advice Bureau – This service provides free legal advice to anyone in 2,500 different
locations in England, on a variety of matters such as family issues and debt. Advice can be given face
to face, email, webcam, or over the phone. They can provide information on which solicitors to use
and ones that are cheaper. Solicitors might go to the CAB once a week to a fortnight to provide the
client with more legal advice. Advantage of CAB are that it is great if you are looking for free general
advice on a variety of issues. Furthermore, 45% of appointment issues are solved by phone calls to
the CAB and 71% by email/webcam meaning it is accessible. However, it is difficult to get an
appointment and the legal professional will not be able to represent the client and advice may not
be delivered in time before the court hearing. The advice offered is reliable, but it can only be used
in civil cases. The CAB may not be an effective choice for your case as it is time consuming and your
case needs to be decided on quickly
Pro Bono Services - Pro bono refers to the provision of free legal services to people who cannot
afford to pay for legal aid. Legal professionals offer their advice free of charge for the public. It is
provided voluntarily, by a trained solicitor/barrister of their law firm. There are many advantages to
using pro bono, for example, it is free, provided by legal professionals and it deals with either civil or
criminal cases. On the other hand, it is hard to get as most people only qualify for pro bone if they
have a very low income, elderly, disabled or any other special circumstances. Pro bono would be a
very effective method of legal aid; this is because of your current income difficulty.
Law Centres - These provide advice and support to local communities and individuals in the area.
They offer free legal advice in places where there is a lack of solicitors or barristers. Law centres can
provide advice on any issue but they usually focus on matters in the local area. It is staffed by
volunteers, legal trainees, law students and some legal professionals. Benefits of law centres is they
offer free, non-means tested legal services to people in the local area as it will be hard for them to
