On receipt of an application at the Unit
All applications are acknowledged by the Unit in writing to the referring agency or solicitor, normally within 7 days.
The Unit will request any further information it may need. Please send this promptly: the most common reason for delays in processing an application is that the Unit does not have all the necessary information and documentation.
Applications are then considered by one of the Unit’s reviewing panel of barristers, who will form a view whether the application meets the Unit’s criteria for acceptance. It may be necessary as part of the review for the Unit to request further information before a decision can be reached.
The Unit will then decide whether or not to try to find a volunteer barrister to assist.
The Unit decides to try to find a volunteer barrister
The Unit will inform the referring agency or solicitor that it is trying to find a barrister to give some assistance in the case. This will be in writing, and wherever possible within three weeks of receipt of all necessary information at the Unit.
The Unit will do its best to find a volunteer barrister. However, no barrister is obliged to take on any particular case, and we cannot always find a volunteer available to assist.
If a barrister is found who is willing to accept the case, a letter will be sent to the agency giving details of who the volunteer barrister is, and the piece of work that they have been asked to do. The applicant, the referring agency or the solicitor should make contact with the barrister to organise details.
If the referring agency or solicitor is able to remain involved after the initial contact, they are asked to get in touch with the barrister and liaise with them direct.
The Unit decides not to try to find a volunteer barrister
A letter will be sent to the referring agency or solicitor to say that the Unit will be unable to assist, wherever possible within three weeks of receipt of all necessary information at the Unit.
A brief sentence will be included giving the ground for our decision. We regret that we cannot enter into further correspondence about the decision. This is because we are a charity with limited resources.
Once a barrister is involved
The applicant (or referring agency or solicitor where they remain involved) must deal with the barrister direct, and the Unit will cease to be actively involved unless there are unexpected difficulties.
The applicant (or referring agency or solicitor) must be prepared to provide promptly any further information / documents which the barrister requires, and attend any meetings.
Once a case is accepted, the barrister will deal with it like any other professional case. Occasionally, a court hearing is arranged at a time when he/she is already committed to another case, and the hearing date cannot be changed. In such a case, every effort will be made to arrange to find a replacement, but the Unit can give no absolute guarantee that this will be possible. A barrister may also have to give up the case if ordinary professional rules prohibit him / her from acting.
If further help is required following the piece of work which the Unit initially approves, the referring agency or solicitor must make a request in writing to the Unit. This must specify the help requested and all developments in the case. It must be sent with copies of any new documents to the Unit as soon as possible. The file will need to be re-reviewed by the Unit to see whether any further assistance can be offered. The Unit usually needs a minimum of three weeks to process a further request for help. If the deadline is tighter than this, please contact the Unit to see whether, exceptionally, the application can be processed nonetheless.