Policies
12. Representation: Allocating Legal Work
12.1. Introduction
Section 11 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW) (the Act) allows Legal Aid NSW to provide legal aid by such means as it determines including by allocating matters to its in-house legal practitioners or when appropriate to a public defender or by assigning matters to private legal practitioners.
Section 12 of the Act allows Legal Aid NSW to develop policies in relation to the allocation of legal work between in-house legal practitioners and private legal practitioners.
Legal Aid NSW policy for representation in civil, criminal and family law matters sets out when matters can and should be assigned to private legal practitioners.
12.1.1 Who is responsible for conducting legal aid matters?
In-house matters
The legal practitioner on record is Richard Funston but the matter can be conducted by any legal practitioner employed by Legal Aid NSW.
Matters assigned to private legal practitioners
If the matter is assigned to a legal practitioner on a Legal Aid NSW panel, it must be conducted by the panel legal practitioner. If the matter is assigned to a non-panel legal practitioner on the basis of exceptional circumstances, it may be conducted by any principal or employed legal practitioner in that firm.
Date Last Published: 23/12/2016