Key messages for legal suppliers - July 2019

The LSA has issued the key messages for suppliers for July 2019.

• It is important to direct users to the Contact Centre if they experience problems using LAMS.  Our LAMS support arrangements are predicated on external and internal users raising faults, issues and queries through the telephone help desk.  The help desk function is to resolve straight forward issues, point the caller to other sources of assistance including user manuals, videos etc and to triage unresolved calls before escalating them to either the NIDA support team or the LAMS support team. The triage function is critical as it helps the LAMS support team to prioritise and focus attention on where is it most needed.  The Contact Centre is available Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm. We have asked the Contact Centre if it can provide an out-of-hours email facility for reporting issues but currently it cannot provide this service.

• The Agency has responded to reports of errors and to difficulties experienced by users quickly and positively to find resolution and have worked collaboratively with the system suppliers and with NI Assist to ensure continuous service availability.

• None of the errors encountered in week 1 related to the system’s capacity.  The Agency has provided assurance to the Law Society in relation to the current capacity of the system and that it has also been futureproofed to manage an increase in both the number of users and volume of transactions.

• Work is scheduled this evening (10 July) attempting to resolve the problem of users being ejected from the system – this is an issue related to the IT Assist firewall.   

• Attaching barristers: Barristers should continue to complete forms and submit to solicitors. 

• Recognise that the profession has adapted quickly to the new digital-only legal aid system, with over half of registered suppliers using LAMS in Week 1, and successfully making 2000+ applications and 2000+ payment requests. This has continued into Week 2 (a four-day week), with around 40% of suppliers using the system and around 1,400 applications and 1,400 payment requests being made.

• The Contact Centre received significantly fewer calls in Week 2. However, the LAMS Support Team continues to receive a large volume of direct emails, bypassing the Contact Centre. This prevents proper triage, prioritisation and logging of issues. Users should log calls directly with the Contact Centre on 028 9040 8888.

• Need to continue to promote the attach-barrister exercise: activity remains quiet. 

• From Monday 29 July the LAMS Support Team will no longer be responding to issues raised directly with them by email. All issues must be logged by telephoning 028 9040 8888 to facilitate adequate triage, prioritisation, recording and reporting.

• When uploading a document in support of a request, please give the document an appropriate name that makes its content and purpose clear and obvious.

• If you are retrospectively entering a case critical request (i.e. a case or authority that was granted during the transitional period via the ‘case critical’ mailbox), please make sure that you upload with it the grant or authority that you received at the time.

• Requests for Payment on LAMS in Criminal Cases where the supplier has received a Certificate of Exceptionality:

1.         When making a request for Payment of the Standard Fee please submit the request as Primary Type-Payment: Secondary Type: Report on Case

2.         When submitting request for payment of the Exceptional Preparation hours, please submit the request as Primary Type: Payment, Secondary Type: Contemporaneous Records

3.         When requesting an Interim Payment under Certificate of Exceptionality, please submit request as Primary Type: Payment, Secondary Type: Contemporaneous Record Drawdown

• From Monday 29 July the LAMS Support Team will no longer be responding to issues raised directly with them by email. All issues must be logged by telephoning 02890408888 to facilitate adequate triage, prioritisation, recording and reporting.

• Do not share passwords and log-in credentials. 

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