REGISTRATION

Every solicitor, firm of solicitors, or barrister wishing to provide publicly funded criminal and/or civil legal services in Northern Ireland must be registered with the Department of Justice's Registration Scheme. To be entered and retained on the Register, firms, solicitors and barristers must:
  • conform to a Code of Practice
  • commit to a minimum standard of service delivery and record keeping; and
  • certify that they are compliant with the conditions for registration.

FOR HELP WITH THE PROCESS... 

REGISTRATION ASSISTANCE

Once the Register is established, any legal professional in Northern Ireland wishing to provide publicly funded legal services must be registered. This includes the continuation of work certified prior to the introduction of the Scheme.

Applications to the Register must be made annually, in the format determined by the Legal Services Agency, and satisfy the conditions detailed in the Code of Practice. A fee is payable with the application, and will be based on your firm's net legal aid earnings in the previous financial year. Any firm which does not register on time will be precluded from commencing new, or continuing with existing, publicly funded work.

​LEGALASSISTNI can educate:
  • you on the firm's conditions for registration;
  • your fee-earning staff on the solicitor's conditions for registration together with:
    • ​​the Standards of Professional Conduct for Solicitors
    • the Standards of Service for Solicitors and
    • the Systems of Management and Administration for Solicitors.
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To fully appraise you and all your staff on the requirements of the Scheme, to avoid the risk of not being registered in time and to make the transition stress-free, contact LEGALASSISTNI now.