Funding Your Criminal Defence
If you have been arrested or charged with a criminal offence, it is understandable to be worried about how much legal representation will cost and how you will pay for the services of an expert criminal defence lawyer.
State funding (‘legal aid’) is available to cover the cost of police station representation and, depending on the circumstances, it can cover some or all of the cost of your legal representation during any subsequent prosecution.
This guide to funding your criminal defence gives a basic overview of how legal aid works for police station representation and proceedings in Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court. For more information and to find out whether you may be entitled to legal aid for your defence, please get in touch with a member of our team.
Get in touch
Why choose JD Spicer Zeb?
- 1000's Cases Dropped
- 24/7 Emergency Phonelines
- 100's Years Combined Experience
- Read all Reviews
Recent Cases
There is limited recourse for you if you are falsely accused. Click a selection of the cases we have covered. The best thing you can do is to instruct an excellent solicitor from the outset.
For a free initial consultation on your legal position and funding options, contact our local offices in London, Birmingham or Manchester.
If you have been arrested or charged with a criminal offence, you can contact us 24 hours a day, seven days a week for immediate expert advice and representation.
How can we help?
Common questions
We always work with the most experienced and best leading UK barristers, KCs (Kings Counsel). We cover all criminal cases 24/7 at the police station and court. Offices in London, Birmingham, and Manchester cover cases across England and Wales. We can offer Legal Aid and affordable Private fee agreements. We can see you the same day, including virtually. Our Senior Partners supervise all of our cases.
How quickly do you respond?
We respond quickly even during out of hours. We do not get our work by paying for online adverts but based on the fact that few criminal law firms can match our 45 years of experience. Most of our cases are still from word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied clients. We are called daily by dissatisfied clients from firms with less experience than us. We respond very quickly to new enquiries. We know what clients seek and so we update clients rapidly.
Can you get cases dropped?
Yes, read about the recent cases we've helped our clients with here.
We always keep you updated and give straightforward advice. We will get cases dropped early where the case is weak or should not be prosecuted. We will be upfront with you about where you can benefit from a good result with an early guilty plea, such as a discount on your sentence. As we work on cases across all levels with clients from all walks of life, we are excellent at giving clear, spot-on advice. As an established firm, we can allocate a whole team to your case often at short notice to secure evidence to minimise the damage to you.
Have you won any awards?
OUR PROFESSIONAL BODY THE LAW SOCIETY AWARDED US IN OCTOBER 2020 WITH THE EXCELLENCE IN CLIENT SERVICE AWARD AND STATED -
"JD Spicer Zeb demonstrated a clear commitment to client service through their work with vulnerable and diverse individuals in what can be severely traumatic circumstances".
Do you offer free consultations?
Where it is possible, we aim to provide an initial consultation to you. If we can speak to you, we can if required inform you about –
- Whether we can take the case on and our relevant experience.
- Public and private funding benefits.
- Assistance in applying for legal aid where we are likely to accept instructions.
- An outline of options in police interview only. We will not advise you on which option to adopt.
- Providing our free written guide explaining the police station process.
- The gravity of routine and day-to-day offences you face.
- Consequences of not attending the court or police station.
- Consequences of interfering with any witnesses.
- Retaining any evidence in support of your case.
- If possible an outline of the elements of the offence that the police or CPS must prove.
- This consultation will normally be by telephone or email and will only be for as long as we deem necessary to establish if we can act for you. If we cannot usefully give you any advice in this manner then we will not continue with the consultation. We will not discuss the case in depth for you to be able to decide on your plea or any significant aspect of the case, as this cannot be undertaken informally.
- Referring you, if possible, to other firms for matters out of our specialism or if we cannot help.
Consultations do not apply to the following cases –
- If we do not intend to take the case on.
- Road Traffic cases, drink driving, drug driving, driving bans, speeding, no insurance, mobile phone use, points etc.
- In all cases where we do not have the capacity to take your case or the availability of suitably qualified staff to provide an initial free consultation. This is applicable in all cases but especially where a more senior lawyer is required because of your personal needs or the complexity of the case.
- Harassment/stalking/ coercive behaviour/malicious communications or road traffic cases and most sensitive cases. These cases are often too complicated to assess in short consultations.
- The locations concerned may be too distant to represent you adequately or it may not be cost-effective for you or us.
- The case is too complicated to assess or raises various charges or facts, complexity, or history to be considered informally or in a short consultation.
- In most Legal aid transfers where legal aid is granted to another firm except in very grave cases, we may assess the case and merits for a transfer.
- If your relationship has broken down with your existing solicitor or several solicitors.
- If you have been released under investigation and have already had a police station attendance.
- If you hold legal aid with another firm and seek a second opinion.
- If you are calling on behalf of the client as a friend or family member unless you have full authority and full facts.
- To businesses.
- Advising whether you were given good advice by your other solicitor.
- Whether to decide to plead guilty or not guilty.
- Whether you have an arguable defence in law or factually complicated defences.
- Any advice you have had after your first court appearance.
- Any advice on appeal on conviction or sentence.
- If we feel we are unable to communicate with you.
- If we are likely to be conflicted or breach our professional rules.
Funding for police station representation
Everyone is entitled to free legal advice at a police station when arrested or interviewed under caution. This also applies if you are detained by HM Revenue and Customs or the National Crime Agency.
You can choose to be represented by whichever duty solicitor is available or request your own legal adviser.
How to fund your defence for Magistrates’ Court prosecutions
If you are due to be prosecuted in a Magistrates’ Court, you can apply for a Representation Order to cover some or all of the cost of your defence. This is commonly referred to as ‘legal aid’.
To qualify for a Representation Order for a Magistrates’ Court prosecution, you will need to pass a means test and a merit test. The means test is designed to establish whether you genuinely need help funding the cost of your defence and, if so, how much financial assistance you can receive. The merit test is used to determine whether your defence is “in the interests of justice” and therefore whether you should receive funding at all.
How to fund your defence for Crown Court prosecutions
If you are prosecuted in Crown Court, you generally only have to pass a means test to qualify for a Representation Order. This is because your defence will automatically be considered in the interests of justice because only more serious cases are heard in Crown Court.
For Crown Court prosecutions, you will normally be required to fund at least some of your legal defence costs yourself. However, if you are found not guilty, any payments you have made towards your defence costs will be refunded with interest.
Transferring a Representation Order to a new solicitor
If you are unhappy with your current legal representation and wish to be represented by a new solicitor, you are free to make that decision at any time. However, you will only be allowed to transfer a Representation Order to a new solicitor under exceptional circumstances.
This means if you wish to change legal team, you may be forced to cover the cost of your new legal representative yourself. This highlights the importance of making sure you choose the best possible criminal defence lawyer to handle your case from the outset.
Circumstances where you may be able to transfer a Representation Order to a new defence lawyer include:
- If your existing defence solicitor has to withdraw from the case e.g. due to illness or professional reasons, such as a conflict of interest.
- Where your relationship with your current legal team has broken down e.g. because they have given you negligent advice that has harmed your defence.
- Where there is another “substantial compelling reason” that you need to change your legal representation, which is considered acceptable by the judge dealing with your case.
Contact our expert criminal defence lawyers now
For urgent specialist advice, immediate representation or to speak to us confidentially about any type of criminal offence, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
You can contact a member of our dedicated team of criminal defence lawyers in London, Birmingham, and Manchester by telephone on:
Brent & Camden London Office: 020 7624 7771
Manchester Office: 0161 835 1638
Birmingham Office: 0121 614 3333
City of London: 0207 624 7771 – our senior Solicitors and Partners can meet by appointment in the City.
Or email: solicitors@jdspicer.co.uk
Alternatively, you can fill out our quick online enquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
24/7 criminal defence representation
If you have been arrested or charged with a criminal offence, you can contact our Emergency Number: 07836 577 556, and we will provide you with the urgent assistance you need.
How can we help?
Useful Information
- How can I get the CPS to drop the charges against me?
- How can I get the police to drop charges against me?
- How can I get the police to caution me?
- Police Stop and Search UK
- Pre-charge bail - What You Need to Know
- Read our Police Station Advice Guide
- Recovering Your Property From The Police
- Released Under Investigation - What You Need to Know
- Types of Evidence used in Law
- Voluntary Police Interview - What You Need to Know
- What is a 'No further action' letter?
- What to expect in Police Custody
- Why Choose a Private Solicitor for a Magistrates' or Crown Court Case?
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- Umar Zeb
- Senior Partner - Head of Private Client Crime
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- Lisa Nicol
- Managing Partner - Head of Crime & Serious Cases
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- James O'Donnell
- Partner Crime - Serious Cases
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- Sanjay Cholera
- Partner Crime Advocacy
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- Peter Mulhearn
- Consultant Crime Solicitor
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- John Geraghty
- Consultant Crime Solicitor
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- Danny Parkash
- Crime Solicitor
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- Mimma Sabato
- Barrister
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- Richard Souper
- Consultant Crime Solicitor
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- Jonathan Lynn
- Solicitor
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- Samuel Oduntan
- Solicitor
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- Barry Linnane
- Crime and Extradition Solicitor
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- Stuart Lloyd
- Solicitor
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- Robert Wong
- Crime and Extradition Solicitor
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- Rebecca Forbes
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