ABSTRACT
To understand the work of refugee lawyers – i.e. solicitors, accredited caseworkers and immigration barristers – it is essential to understand how an asylum claim is taken, translated, prepared and litigated. Their work is made possible by the government’s provision of legal aid, a fund managed by the Legal Services Commission (LSC), which pays a lawyer for a pre-defined number of hours to take and make an asylum claim (with assistance from an interpreter). If a claim is refused by the HO, legal aid is also available to pay an advocate/barrister to argue the appeal before the Tribunal/CoA.
