Hanne & Co’s Child Care team are available to meet with clients both in person and virtually. Prior to the pandemic, we would invite clients to attend our offices in Battersea to meet with a child care solicitor. The pandemic has shifted the way our clients think, with many now preferring to liaise with their solicitor by phone, video call or email. This is often more convenient for many of the clients we work with, who sometimes find travelling difficult due to financial constraints, health problems, anxieties, or childcare responsibilities. Meanwhile, other clients are more reassured by meeting with their solicitor in person.
We have embraced this at Hanne & Co and are pleased to offer advice and appointments to suit our clients’ needs.
When choosing a child care solicitor, it is important to find someone who is able to communicate with you in a way that works for you. Proximity to you is no longer the most important consideration.
Legal Aid
Sometimes your child care solicitor will need to check your eligibility for Legal Aid. If you are a parent or someone with parental responsibility for a child, and the local authority has issued care proceedings or commenced the pre-proceeding ‘PLO’ process, you will likely be automatically eligible for non-means non-merits tested Legal Aid. This means we will not need to see evidence of your financial circumstances and we should be able to obtain a copy of the necessary paperwork from the local authority directly by email.
In other circumstances, you may be eligible for means and merits-tested Legal Aid, or advice under the Legal Help scheme. In those circumstances, your child care solicitor will need to assess your eligibility for Legal Aid. The evidence that the Legal Aid Agency requires us to obtain from you depends on your circumstances, but we must see evidence that is sufficient to calculate whether you are financially eligible. We would usually ask you to provide copies of three months’ bank statements for every bank account you have (even if it is empty or overdrawn), as well as evidence of your benefit entitlement or income. We can accept copies of these documents by email, post, or you can bring them to an in-person appointment.
The Legal Aid Agency now accept digital signatures as well as ‘wet’ signatures on all applications for Legal Aid and Legal Help. Hanne & Co are able to request a secure digital signature from you or advise you how to digitally sign something based on your circumstances.
Remote Hearings
Since the coronavirus pandemic, Court hearings and PLO meetings often take place virtually. If you are in difficulties attending a remote hearing or meeting, it is possible that you could attend from our offices in Battersea. In the alternative, we can assist you in making arrangements for a hearing or meeting to be held in-person, or ‘hybrid’, which means that some people attend in-person and some people attend remotely.
It may also be the case that you need to meet with an expert during the course of the proceedings for the purposes of an assessment. Again, this is something that we can offer support with.
Key Considerations When Choosing a Child Care Solicitor
- How do you prefer to communicate – can they accommodate this?
- Do you need a local solicitor?
- Is your solicitor accredited and registered with the SRA?
- Do they have expertise in Child Care Law?
All of Hanne & Co’s solicitors within the Child Care team are specialists, regulated by the SRA, and can offer a flexible approach to suit your needs wherever you are based. You can contact the team here or call us on 0207 288 0017 to discuss your matter further.
Contact our property team today to discuss any of the above in more detail by submitting the
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