How do you find a solicitor doing legal aid for Family cases?

[Jiddle]

That's it, really. I have a friend who needs to find one. I thought you could search for this on the Law Society website but "legal aid" isn't one of the filters.

Not many do legal aid for family matters any more.

If you list the solicitors in your area on the law society website, when you click on them usually they say whether they accept legal aid.

Failing that I'd ring up and ask them.

I'd suggest you go on the website www.resolution.org.uk. All decent family lawyers are members of resolution. I think (haven't been on the site since I retired from Family) that there is a Public Funding indicator.

OP, your friend needs to get her skates on as funding will stop from April, and most PF lawyers have massively long waiting lists, as very few people still do it (it isn't worth it financially).

If you have no luck with that website, CAB should be able to give you a list of local-ish ones.

Thanks all. Mumblechum my friend knows about the April cut off but I hadn't realised it was a case of waiting lists for legal aid before then. She has recently had another application (against different father of the other child) dealt with by her legal aid solicitor but as this solicitor acted for the father of the first child in their divorce I think they are conflicted and won't be able to act for her against the same bloke in relation to their child. Would you agree? My friend seems to think the solicitor has said she will act, but I just can't see how this is possible. The father is privately funded and I expect will complain to SRA if he finds he can't use his family solicitor because his exW has got in there first, so I've said to friend she'd do better to find herself a different firm.

Just guessing here , but you might not be doing your friend a favour telling her not to use the legally-aided solicitor who's said she/he is prepared to act for them.
The previous case is finished, and I doubt your friend's partner has this solicitor on some sort of retainer.
I'm sure someone with practical experience of this will correct me if I'm wrong, but surely if the sol says it's okay then it's okay?
And the SRA, should they become involved, would have an axe to grind with the sol not your friend?

Conflict of interest. The solicitor can't act.

What Collaborate said. The solicitor will have all sorts of privileged information on file.

Shotgun, I am a solicitor myself so I understand the conflict rules. The other party doesn't have to have the firm on a retainer for there to be a conflict. These 2 individuals are clearly at loggerheads over their child and their disputes over that child have already formed an important part of the divorce proceedings. The firm should not act for my friend in these circumstance, as Collaborate and Mumblechum seem to agree.

I am just concerned that the individual solicitor my friend's been dealing with is incompetent and therefore not sticking to the Code of Conduct and will cause my friend to miss out on legally aided advice if her exH complains to the SRA and the solicitors then stop acting for her.

Thanks Collaborate and Mumblechum

< shoots self >