Legal services “gateway’ to affordable justice

Monday 11 August 2014

Islanders’ access to legal aid could be radically overhauled by handing it over to the Jersey’s Citizen Advice Bureau.

Advocate Barbara Corbett, whose experience of the citizen advice bureau in the UK - as a volunteer and also a trainer for the National Association of CABx - goes back more than 20 years, suggests that instead of the legal profession running the system, the Island’s bureau should expand to become a “gateway” to legal services.

At present those who cannot afford legal fees have to apply for legal aid to the Acting Bâtonnier who appoints a lawyer to represent them. It is funded by the local legal profession but has been criticised as not all lawyers take on their fair share of legal aid work.

In a response to the Access to Justice Review, Advocate Corbett wrote: “Unlike lawyers, the CAB is popular with States members and the public alike. It is held in high regard, rightly so. It is not difficult to raise funds for such a worthy cause which provides free, confidential and impartial advice to anyone, nothing is too big or too small for the CAB advisors to hear about and they are able to signpost people to specialist agencies.”

Under her proposal, Jersey’s Citizen Advice Bureau would have an in-house Jersey-qualified lawyer able to deal with a large number of cases and to give advice on a range of legal matters, heading a skilled team to deal with minor issues.  Team members would also decide if a matter should be referred to a lawyer in private practice with the relevant experience and expertise, or dealt with in-house.

If CAB became a gateway to legal services, Advocate Corbett believes the number of legal aid cases reaching court would be reduced - and the legal aid process made more efficient and quicker.

She sees the CAB gateway being primarily funded by the States, but with legal firms still making a financial contribution.

“It may be that some of the funding is from the law firms themselves, in recognition of the lifting of the burden legal aid otherwise imposes,” she wrote.