Our business has a number of sub-offices. Do we need to register each one separately?
Not necessarily.
You will only need to register each office as a separate entity if each office has a separate bank account.
If all offices use the same bank account, you can add additional office addresses to the one LAMS business account.
You will need to provide the existing LSA firm code for each office to enable the data migration of all existing legal aid cases assigned to the separate offices.
Our business has a number of offices trading with separate bank accounts. Do we need to create a separate account for each entity?
Yes.
Each business account on LAMS may only have one bank account associated with it.
If you have sub-offices you will be able to add these to your business account, providing payments relating to the sub-offices are paid into the same bank account.
Otherwise, you will need to create a separate business account for each office. This applies equally to offices still trading and offices that have closed but have ‘live’ legal aid cases associated with them. In all cases, you will need to provide the existing LSA firm code for each office.
What information and documentation is required to create a digital account?
You will need to upload a digital copy of your practising certificate. You will also be required to provide your date of qualification, date of taking silk (if applicable), Law Society Roll Number and Bar ID.
Registered European Lawyers will need to provide the Law Society's verification.
When creating your business account, if you are VAT registered you will need to upload your VAT registration certificate and self-billing agreement (if applicable, see LSA Circular 01/19).
If you are accessing legal aid under a Law Society waiver (Voluntary Sector organisation), you will need to upload your waiver document. You will also need your existing LSA firm code and counsel account number.