A whistlestop tour of Family Mediation Legal Aid contracts

With that in mind, here are some hints and tips that will help family mediation legal aiders (it is very much akin to first aid in many ways) in getting through their monthly returns and audits. It’s also useful for family law professionals to know what is available and how it works, and it makes mediation much more affordable for clients.

Starting with the basics, if you hold a contract or have recently applied for one it’s unlikely that you’re unaware of what you’ll be paid. I’ve set the fees out below so that readers know what we are dealing with:

Given the paucity of the fees, if you are a family law professional recommending mediation, and there is a likelihood of legal aid, please, please impress upon your clients the need for them to come prepared. It makes our day when clients have the paperwork they need, and send it to us in advance!

Legal aid mediators can’t simply mediate from any address – your main or Head Office will be the first address. If you are thinking of expanding, or offering legal aid from a different address, you must apply for that. Second and subsequent offices are called “outreach” offices. Your contract will also specify how many remote mediations are permitted, as a percentage. This can be modified with the agreement of your contract manager up to 100%, but this seems to be different in different areas. However you MUST be able to offer in-person mediation, and it is the client who may choose online or in person, not the mediator.

For clients to be “within scope” there must be a dispute within a family setting, and that dispute must be able to be litigated. It is not enough for there just to be a problem. As well as financial remedy and child arrangements, this includes SGO/kinship cases, cohabitation problems, but not things like cohabitation agreements or poor co-parenting communication. This seems to be at odds with the drive to move away from court – thinking about the future when you start a relationship could well help avoid later problems.

When assessing financial eligibility, capital must be assessed first. Gross income can’t exceed £2,657 per month and “disposable income” (using only allowable deductions) must be less than £733 per month. Some benefits will passport clients through, but capital must still be assessed. If you are wondering whether your clients might qualify for legally aided mediation there is a new eligibility calculator which is really helpful. Although the proposed changes arising from the Means Test Review won’t be implemented until September 2026, passporting for Universal Credit will stay in place until then.

It’s important to choose a mediator well – only accredited mediators (FMCA) can offer legally aided mediation, although mediators working towards accreditation can observe or co-mediate cases with an FMCA mediator. It can be frustrating for clients to attend an initial meeting with a mediator only to find that they may be eligible and have to start again with someone else. It’s frustrating for mediators too.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) set KPIs for each contract holder, and quarterly updates are provided to identify whether targets are being met. The most important KPI is the conversion rate – individual firm KPIs will be shared and must be met or exceeded, for example 40% conversion rate from MIAM to mediation.

Every month, contract holders must submit a monthly return that sets out how many assessments and how many sessions have taken place. Providers are paid monthly in arrears for assessments and closed cases. On the return, when a case is closed, you are asked to select the “outcome code” which determines the fee rate, from:

• Agreement reached but no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/Parenting Plan (PP) required
• All Issues Mediation but agreement reached only on Property and Finances, and MoU prepared
• All Issues Mediation but agreement reached only on children, and PP prepared
• Mediation successful and MoU/PP prepared
• Mediation broke down
• Case didn’t proceed to mediation (no fee other than the assessments)

Your monthly “bulk upload” must include information as to age, disability, ethnic origin, number of sessions and outcome. It’s crucial to obtain that information when you onboard clients, as cases can’t be processed without it. Again, if you’re recommending clients attend an assessment, please let them know what to prepare. From experience, I can confirm that asking clients after their cases have closed is a steep learning curve when it leads to no fees being paid!

We all have “frequent flyers”. With legal aid, new files for the same case can only be opened three full months after the previous has been closed, assuming the clients are still eligible. If clients need to return to mediation before the three months is up, the previous case must be re-opened, and the claim associated with that has to be withdrawn. Unsurprisingly, the administration is laborious. The best advice is that if you complete a mediation, close your file swiftly. It’ll help with cashflow, and the three months start to run immediately.

If you have carried out a MIAM, then there is no further legal aid funding for a subsequent MIAM within four months of the first/last one.

It’s not a very sexy subject but it is hugely important to clients, who are being asked to consider a different approach. I very much hope that sometime soon, I will be able to write about exciting and positive changes to our contracts, as well as about a shakeup (and increase) of fees. Watch this space.

rebecca@familysolutionsnow.co.uk