Courses in Manchester

The LAA operates a strict compliance regime when it comes to auditing family controlled work matters, and mistakes can often result in a Contract Notice, corrective action, and further follow-up activity within 6 months. This course will discuss the various aspects of family controlled work billing, with discussions on topics such as how to bill private law, public law, and help with mediation matters; how to evidence whether substantive negotiations and a settlement have taken place in private law matters; how do the LAA audit travel and other disbursement claims; what evidence must be present on files to avoid any issues on audit – including scope, gateway evidence, and forms/evidence of means (rules on evidence of means will be included in brief, however, a separate, more in-depth Civil Means Assessment Guidance Course is available); and the rules on claiming separate matters and escape fees. Key aspects of the Civil Contract and associated LAA Guidance (including the Codes Guidance) will be included, along with a discussion of common errors that are made. Target Audience This online course is aimed at anyone involved in billing Family Controlled Work matters or managing an LAA Family Contract. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Steve Keeling, Consultant, DG Legal Steve joined DG Legal after leaving the Legal Aid Agency in August 2016. In his 17 years at the LAA, he worked in the audit team as both auditor and manager and was a Contract Manager for several years. Steve is also a certified SQM auditor and undertakes audits on behalf of Recognising Excellence as well as running training sessions for the SQM Audit Team periodically.

This course satisfies the supervision requirements in the LAA Standard Contract & covers the key skills needed to ensure compliance with the LAA Contract.

Understanding and applying the rules on means assessment and providing the right evidence can be difficult given the many various circumstances that must be accounted for with each client. This course will discuss the key aspects of the LAA’s Means Assessment guidance, with discussions on topics such as whose resources should be considered; rules on income, deductions, and capital; evidence requirements - and common errors that are made; rules on allowances (e.g. subject matter of dispute; and how to find and interpret guidance for less common circumstances (e.g. self-employed clients). Means Assessment Guidance is often the same for controlled work and licensed work, but there are some subtle differences on occasion, and the course will highlight some of the main differences in rules. Target Audience This course is aimed at anyone involved in making civil legal aid applications or assessing civil legal help work for financial eligibility. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Steve Keeling, Consultant, DG Legal Steve joined DG Legal after leaving the Legal Aid Agency in August 2016. In his 17 years at the LAA, he worked in the audit team as both auditor and manager and was a Contract Manager for several years. Steve is also a certified SQM auditor and undertakes audits on behalf of Recognising Excellence as well as running training sessions for the SQM Audit Team periodically.

The LAA operates a strict compliance regime when it comes to auditing crime lower bills, and mistakes can often result in a Contract Notice, corrective action, and further follow-up activity within 6 months. This course will take you through the various aspects of crime lower billing, with discussions on topics such as what is and is not claimable; how you apply series of offences guidance; what evidence is required to claim a trial fee when a matter is discontinued; how do the LAA audit travel and other disbursement claims (including the rules when instructing an agent); and what evidence must be present on files to avoid any issues on audit. Key aspects of the Crime Contract, Criminal Bills Assessment Manual and Codes Guidance will be included, along with a discussion of common errors that are made; and how to claim non-standard and escape fee matters. Target Audience This online course is aimed at anyone involved in billing Legal Aid Police Station and Magistrates Court matters or managing an LAA Crime Contract. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Steve Keeling, Consultant, DG Legal Steve joined DG Legal after leaving the Legal Aid Agency in August 2016. In his 17 years at the LAA, he worked in the audit team as both auditor and manager and was a Contract Manager for several years. Steve is also a certified SQM auditor and undertakes audits on behalf of Recognising Excellence as well as running training sessions for the SQM Audit Team periodically.

This half day online course will assist candidates in preparing for the forthcoming initial Casework Assistant exam.

Our Financial Compliance and Legal Aid Payments Course provides a brief overview of historical changes and the current regulations. The course will cover what VAT regulations and the SRA Accounts Rules say on legal aid payments and will provide practical advice and tips on how to account for these payments so you adhere to the rules and regulations of the profession. Target Audience This online course is suitable for those in the legal profession who oversees, or is responsible for or involved in accounting for legal aid funds, including, costs lawyers, legal cashiers, COFA, those supporting the COFA, account managers, etc. Resources An information pack including the course slides will be provided to all delegates after the course, which may be useful for ongoing reference. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Sarah Charlton, Consultant, DG Legal Sarah has a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting and is a Fellow member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants. Her career spans over 35 years working within the legal sector, fulfilling roles from COFA through to CEO. During her career she has worked with a number of legal regulators, professional bodies and government organisations. Sarah has been a member of the Institute of Legal Finance and Management throughout her career, qualifying as a Fellow member in 2005. Sarah also served as chairperson between 2010-2012 and continues to serve as an Executive Council Member.

This one day online course will assist candidates in preparing for the forthcoming initial Senior Caseworker exam.

The professional working world has changed more rapidly than could have been envisaged at the time of the introduction of GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. With more people working from home post-Covid and the ever increasing risk of cyber-attacks, this short course is aimed at taking stock of current practice and risk, as well as considering ICO enforcement action and the implications of hybrid working. It is also a great recap on the rules as they stand and what you need to know to comply. The course will cover: UK GDPR - A timely reminder of the rules ICO enforcement action and what we can learn Data Protection Impact Assessments - when and how to do them Hybrid working and UK GDPR Managing cyber attacks from a UK GDPR perspective Target Audience The online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Matthew Howgate, Consultant, DG Legal Matt is a non-practising solicitor who has considerable experience in regulatory issues and advising on complex issues of compliance and ethics. He is also an expert in data protection, UK GDPR and on the civil legal aid scheme. Matthew is a lead trainer on and co-developed the LAPG Certificate in Practice Management (a training programme for legal managers and law firm owners) as well as regularly providing training on legal aid Supervision, costs maximisation, data protection and security and on general SRA compliance.

Managing people and teams is consistently the biggest challenge raised by new managers (and even many experienced managers). This 3 hour course is aimed at introducing new and existing supervisors and managers to key supervisory skills, allowing them to develop their competence as supervisors. The course covers: Understanding your role as a supervisor SRA obligations and competence expectations Setting expectations and effective delegation Monitoring progress and quality Managing performance in difficult situations Top tips for impactful feedback By the end of this course participants will have had an opportunity to consider their current skills; develop new skills; and think about further development needs. Target Audience This online course is aimed at managers, team leaders and other supervisors. Please note that this course does NOT meet the LAA requirements as a Supervisor Course. If you need a Legal Aid Supervisor course, then please check out our Supervision & Managing Performance Course. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Matthew Howgate, Consultant, DG Legal Matt is a non-practising solicitor who has considerable experience in regulatory issues and advising on complex issues of compliance and ethics. He is also an expert in data protection, UK GDPR and on the civil legal aid scheme. Matthew is a lead trainer on and co-developed the LAPG Certificate in Practice Management (a training programme for legal managers and law firm owners) as well as regularly providing training on legal aid Supervision, costs maximisation, data protection and security and on general SRA compliance.

This training is for lawyers who may come into contact with vulnerable people through their work. In particular, it is aimed at those who hold legal aid contracts and must meet the requirements of the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM) standard in respect of safeguarding. Everyone has the right to be kept safe from harm, abuse or neglect. We all have obligations to ensure that vulnerable people are protected and that we have appropriate procedures in place to ensure that abuse is identified and reported.  We will help you to understand the following; What is safeguarding? The different types of abuse Example signs of abuse, harm and neglect What action should be taken if abuse is suspected The SQM requirements What a Safeguarding Policy should include Target Audience The online course is suitable for staff of all levels, from support staff to senior partners and is aimed at firms maintaining or wishing to obtain the Specialist Quality Mark. Resources Comprehensive and up to date course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Amie Higgins, Consultant, DG Legal Amie is a Senior Solicitor, qualified under the Law Society’s Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme (IAAS) as an Advanced Caseworker and Supervisor. Amie specialises in all aspects of Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights work, with a specialism in human trafficking/modern slavery cases and working with vulnerable clients. Amie is an experienced trainer, delivering a range of training on both legal and practice management topics.