# The Advice and Assistance (Scotland) (Consolidation and Amendment) Regulations 1996, Regulation 17: Fees and outlays of solicitors


(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, fees and outlays allowable to the solicitor upon any assessment or taxation mentioned in regulations 18 and 19 in respect of advice or assistance shall, and shall only, be–
(a) fees for work actually, necessarily and reasonably done in connection with the matter upon which advice and assistance was given, due regard being had to economy, calculated—
(i) in the case of assistance by way of representation, in accordance with the table of fees in Part I of schedule 3; and
(ii) in any other case, in accordance with the table of fees in Part II of schedule 3; and
(b) outlays actually, necessarily and reasonably incurred in connection with that matter, due regard being had to economy, provided that, without prejudice to any other claims for outlays, there shall not be allowed to a solicitor outlays representing posts and incidents.
(1A) In the application of paragraph (1)(a) above to fees for work actually, necessarily and reasonably done in connection those matters described in—
(a) Part III of Schedule 3, the reference to Part I of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) above should be read as a reference to Part III of schedule 3;
(b) Part IV of Schedule 3, the reference to Part II of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) should be read as a reference to Part IV of schedule 3;
(c) Part V of schedule 3, the reference to Part I of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) above should be read as a reference to Part V of schedule 3;
(d) Part VI of schedule 3, the reference to Part II of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) above should be read as a reference to Part VI of schedule 3;
(e) Part VII of schedule 3, the reference to Part I of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) above should be read as a reference to Part VII of schedule 3,
(f) Part VIII of schedule 3, the reference to Part II of schedule 3 in paragraph (1)(a) above should be read as a reference to Part VIII of schedule 3.
(1B) An inclusive fee of £646.36 is payable, subject to paragraph (1C), instead of any fee that would otherwise be payable under paragraph (1)(a)(ii) where—
(a) one solicitor represents a client and—
(i) the solicitor was appointed by the client;
(ii) a decision has been made to prosecute the matter in respect of which the solicitor has been appointed in the sheriff court;
(iii) the solicitor has submitted a letter of engagement to the procurator fiscal;
(iv) a copy of the complaint has been issued to the solicitor by the procurator fiscal; and
(v) the case is resolved and concluded prior to proceedings commencing;
(b) one solicitor represents two or more clients in the same case and the requirements in heads (i) to (v) of sub-paragraph (a) are met in respect of each of those clients;
(c) more than one solicitor acts for a client in the same case and—
(i) each solicitor was appointed by the client;
(ii) a decision has been made to prosecute the matter in respect of which each solicitor has been appointed in the sheriff court;
(iii) each of the solicitors has submitted a letter of engagement to the procurator fiscal;
(iv) a copy of the complaint has been issued to each of the solicitors by the procurator fiscal; and
(v) the case is resolved and concluded prior to proceedings commencing.
(1C) Where an inclusive fee is payable under paragraph (1B) in the circumstances where—
(a) sub-paragraph (b) applies, the solicitor is to be paid—
(i) 100% of the inclusive fee in respect of the first client;
(ii) 40% of the inclusive fee in respect of a second client; and
(iii) 20% of the inclusive fee in respect of each subsequent client;
(b) sub-paragraph (c) applies, each solicitor is to be paid an equal share of the total amount payable.
(2) The fees and outlays allowable to the solicitor under paragraph (1) above shall not exceed the limit applicable under section 10 of the Act as read with regulation 12.
(3) In the application of paragraph (1) above so far as concerning assistance by way of representation in relation to a summary criminal matter, there is to be taken into account time necessarily spent in travelling to and from the relevant court (other than one in the town or other place where the solicitor has a place of business) or any other place visited for the purpose of preparing or conducting the defence.
(4) Paragraph (3) above does not apply if it would have been more economical to use a local solicitor (where that would have been reasonable in the interests of the client).
(4A) In the application of paragraph (1) above to recovery proceedings, the fees allowable to the solicitor shall be assessed as if the advice or assistance was a criminal matter.
(4B) In paragraph (4A), “recovery proceedings” means proceedings relating to an application for an order for recovery of documents, in connection with criminal proceedings, in which—
(a) the documents sought include medical or other sensitive documents relating to a client;
(b) the application has been intimated to the client; and
(c) the client wishes to oppose recovery of the documents on the basis that the granting of the order would infringe their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
(5) This regulation (so far as concerning criminal matters) is subject to the Criminal Legal Aid (Fixed Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1999.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2447/regulation/17 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/advice-and-assistance-scotland-consolidation-and-amendment-regulations-1996/regulation-17
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.