I am due to start a new job in next few days -the firm has a new contract in immigration and licensed work but they have not taken on any new clients at all. I am due to start work taking on new legal aid clients. The firm has never undertaken legal aid immigration work. Would there be a requirement to "activate" the contract or do i just start signing up clients and working?
Post by Colin Henderson on Feb 13, 2012 14:01:22 GMT
Hi Mucha - welcome to ilegal
It would certainly be worth dropping your Contract Manager an email just confirming that that you had started taking clients and would be submitting online returns from this month. Does your firm already have the SQM/work in another legal aid category?
Your question does raise one point which is often overlooked by providers. Whenever a new solicitor/caseworker/fee-earner/sausage-machine operator starts work on an LSC contract they have to fill-in and submit to their LSC office Status Enquiry Forms 0SS1, 2 or 3 which basically declare that they have no fitness to practise issues and that the LSC have permission to check that fact.
The form is named after the old Office for Supervision of Solicitors which used to hold such data in times gone by. Because of its name I always assumed that it was only for solicitors, but the LSC actually insist on ALL caseworkers completing it.
