The Courts Service has issued a reminder that solicitors who want their name placed on the Criminal Legal Aid Panel must apply in writing to avoid their membership lapsing.

Since November 2022, court offices have no longer had to set up and maintain the legal-aid panels for their county.

Solicitors can apply to be placed on panels in any county using a single form, which will be processed by the centralised office in Castlebar.

New email address

The centralised office will generate the legal-aid panels for all counties, and provide regular updates to the County Registrar in each county.

The updated panels will be forwarded to Department of Justice to allow for payments to be processed.

Any queries in relation to the panels from that date should be directed to a new email address: legalaidpanel@courts.ie.

Queries on legal certificates and appearances will continue to be dealt with by the local court office dealing with a particular case.