EDWARDS VAZIRANEY are very pleased to represent both legally aided and privately paying Clients.
Police Station Representation
If you are attending a Police Station either under arrest or as a volunteer for questioning, we can represent you free of charge. This is because you are entitled to free and independent legal advice and representation and the police are required to contact us if you give them our name EDWARDS VAZIRANEY.
It does not matter what your income or capital is. Police Station representation is not means-tested.
We operate a dedicated 24 hour police station emergency arrest line. Please call us on 020 8676 5626. It is manned 365 days a year.
If you wish to pay for your Police Station representation privately because you would prefer to instruct a very senior Solicitor (Mr Tim Edwards and Miss Karmenah Vaziraney have over forty years of Criminal Defence experience between them) or if the police station is a considerable distance from where our office is based, we can arrange this for you.
Magistrates Court Representation
Magistrates Court representation is means-tested. Generally speaking, if you earn more than £21,000 a year you will not qualify for Legal Aid in the Magistrates Court.
If you qualify for Legal Aid, we can help you complete the Legal Aid forms and submit them to the Court on your behalf. You will need to provide us with proof of your means because this will need to be attached to the Legal Aid forms.
If you do not qualify for Legal Aid or if you would prefer to instruct a Solicitor privately, we can advise you of the likely costs of your representation by discussing your case with you and estimating the amount of time that will need to be undertaken to properly and effectively represent you.
We always aim to provide value for money for the service we provide.
Crown Court Representation
Crown Court representation is means-tested but Legal Aid will normally be granted more easily than in the Magistrates Court because the cases tend to be more serious. However, the Legal Aid Agency who determine who is eligible for Legal Aid may order you to pay monthly contributions.
You can provide us with proof of your means in order to assess your entitlement to Legal Aid and any contributions that you may be required to pay.
From 27th January 2014 if a Client’s joint household disposable income is over £37,500, Legal Aid will not be available. This can be appealed against if there are grounds of hardship which could result in Legal Aid being granted but with a contribution.
In many cases, however, if our Client is required to make a monthly contribution, our Client would end up paying the Court more money than what our Client would have paid us on a privately paying basis.
This means it is sometimes in our Client’s best interests to not apply for Legal Aid.
Again, we can discuss all the funding options with you, always aiming to provide value for money for the service we provide.