Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) Legal Aid
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What is the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) for Legal Aid?
The Client and Cost Management System (CCMS) is an online platform which allows fee earners, costs draftsmen, costs lawyers, and handlers from the Legal Aid Agency to organise, and work on, their caseload.
Throughout the duration of the matter the CCMS can be utilized. For example, it is necessary for certificated civil and family legal aid work as well as the submission of legal aid applications.
Submissions on the CCMS
Previously, the Legal Aid Agency operated their matters on paper. As this method is outdated, the agency now utilizes the CCMS login for all of their cases.
Once a matter has settled and costs are being dealt with, fixed costs claims can be submitted to the CCMS. A costs draftsman will be able to complete this task easily, treating each matter separately on a case-by-case basis. It should also be noted that when recovering legal aid costs via the Family Advocacy Scheme (FAS), claims for fees and disbursements can be submitted under any certificate.
Can the CCMS be used for submission of exceptional legal aid matters?
Whilst the CCMS login allows the submission of exceptional cases, it can often be a difficult task to submit an interim/final claim for costs on a certificate.
Instead of submitting exceptional cases this way, we recommend using a third party software to compile an hourly rates exceptional costs claim. Software’s which specialise in the production of these documents are much more efficient and allow the task to be completed swiftly.
The CCMS login can be returned to once the documents have been drafted, and the claims can be uploaded in the XML format. To ensure that the document is correct and has been submitted properly, the test upload option can be used in the ‘Pricing Upload’ section of the CCMS. It is important to use the test upload facility as it ensures that any errors are rectified prior to the official upload. Similarly to when errors are made during court proceedings, sanctions can be given if this test is not completed and marks may be suffered against your Legal Aid Agency contract.
Subsequent to the test upload, the formal submission of the exceptional costs claim can be uploaded to the CCMS login. Generally, the Legal Aid Agency will process the exceptional costs claim within a timeframe of 1-2 weeks.
What are the benefits of using an online platform?
When compared to the previous paper method, the online CCMS login has numerous benefits.
As a secure platform, it allows the details of each case to remain safe. Alongside this, due to the lack of mountains of paper files, fee earners can remain organised. This organisation facilitates fee earners in more effective management of their time. In turn, this will reduce legal costs.
How does the CCMS differ from the LAA Online Portal?
The Legal Aid Agency Online Portal is specific to Legal Aid matters, including family or criminal legal aid cases. In contrast, the CCMS can be utilized across all types of cases. Whilst the CCMS is used to submit certificates and costs applications, the LAA Online Portal is more specific and can only be accessed by Legal Aid providers. Contrastingly, the CCMS can be accessed by a variety of fee earners.
On the LAA Online Portal fee earners have access to 7 applications. Each application offers a different service, with the Management Information (MI) application allowing handlers to view their financial details. Another service on the LAA Online Portal is the Contracted Work and Administration (CWA) application which facilitates the acceptance of Legal Aid contracts.
How can ARC Costs assist?
The team of expert Costs Lawyers and Costs Draftsman at ARC Costs can be relied upon to provide excellent legal costs advice, alongside producing outstanding costing instruments.
Due to our team’s variety of experience, we work on cases from solicitors’ firms alongside costs applications from litigants in person. Generally, on these cases, we prepare comprehensive Bills of Costs and Costs Budgets.
Alongside this, we work on Legal Aid costs. Therefore, our team can be on hand to upload the relevant documents to the CCMS alongside preparing exceptional costs claims on third party software.
Our 5 working day SLA turnaround enables our clients to receive their required documents swiftly. This allows matters to be finalised quickly and reduces incurred costs.
To find out more about how we can help you, please contact us on 01204 387302. Alternatively, contact an expert directly at info@arccosts.co.uk.
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