With the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist with completing tasks we understand that Solicitor firms are using this to help with tasks in some of their Legal Aid work.
A reminder is given that the work that is billed to the Legal Aid Agency must be a true reflection of the work that was undertaken and time should not be billed for what it would have taken the solicitor when AI was utilised instead.
Claims for work undertaken must be compliant with the provisions and terms of the Standard Civil Contract, Standard Crime Contract, and supporting guidance. You may only claim for work that was actually and reasonably done in accordance with the provisions of the Standard Contracts. There must also be evidence to support the time being claimed. (Standard Civil Contract 6.54 / Standard Crime Contract 8.32).
When AI is used to summarise documents, then the time claimed must reflect this and you should not claim a time for reviewing the documents yourself. You can claim reasonable time to read the summary produced by AI and re-examine documents to verify the information.
If this would take longer than reviewing the documents individually then this would not be considered as reasonable to use of your time. The time allowed would be based upon what would be reasonable and proportionate (Civil Cost Assessment Guidance section 1.22 / Crime Bill Assessment Manual section 3.3.3). The same would apply to producing non-routine letters. Time should only be claimed for the actual time you are involved in the substantive content.