Criminal Legal Aid
If you’ve been charged with an offence but can’t afford a lawyer, your legal fees may be paid through criminal legal aid. Legal aid covers your lawyer’s fees and all other fees and expenses of your court case. But you may have to pay some of it back.
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You and Your Legal Aid Lawyer
Can I choose my legal aid lawyer?
How do I find a legal aid lawyer?
Will my legal aid lawyer contact me?
What if I’m already receiving legal aid?
What if I have problems with my legal aid lawyer?
Can I change my lawyer?
Can I choose my legal aid lawyer?
Yes, if the lawyer you choose –
- has a contract with the Legal Services Agency to do legal aid work for your type of case, and
- can be at court when necessary.
You can check if your lawyer has a contract with the Agency.
The Agency will decide who your lawyer will be if you don’t have a lawyer or if your lawyer isn’t suitable for your case.
How do I find a legal aid lawyer?
- use the find a lawyer tool on this site
- asking friends or family to recommend someone
- asking your local community law centre or Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
- going to www.lawyers.org.nz/hmdlsocieties.asp for contact details for District Law Societies
- looking in the Yellow Pages under “Barristers and Solicitors” and “Lawyers”.
Will my legal aid lawyer contact me?
No, you’ll have to make the first contact. The Agency will give you the lawyer’s contact details when they tell you you’ve been granted legal aid. Try to make an appointment with the lawyer well before you go back to court.
What if I’m already receiving legal aid?
If you’re already receiving legal aid for an ongoing court case, the lawyer who has been representing you will usually continue to represent you on any new charges.
What if I have problems with my legal aid lawyer?
If you’re unhappy about your legal aid lawyer, you should first try to sort out the problem with him or her directly.
If that doesn’t solve the problem, write to the Agency staff you’ve been dealing with. The Agency will first consider whether it can deal with your complaint informally with the lawyer.
If your complaint can’t be dealt with informally, and there’s a good reason for the complaint, the Agency will formally investigate it.
Can I change my lawyer?
If you have good reasons, and the Agency agrees, you can change your lawyer. But this doesn’t happen very often. Contact the Agency office about this as soon as you think you have a serious problem.
