Legal aid may have largely disappeared for advice from family solicitors but it still largely exists for family mediation. Unfortunately, many thousands of people not only misunderstand how mediation works and the benefits of it but also the fact that for many it will be free.

Not only this, but if a person qualifies for free family mediation they will also qualify for free help from a family solicitor with a legal aid contract while the person is going through mediation.

So, how can we all help? I have an Google advertisement that advertises the availability of legal aid and a free first consultation. This draws a fair amount of attention.

My website firmly signposts people on the front page to the legal aid online calculator.

In my first phone call i check that the person is aware of legal aid for mediation to which I often receive the reply; ‘Oh, i didn’t realise that legal aid still exists’. I refer them to my website and the online legal aid calculator.

I also have a downloadable legal aid guide for people visiting my website. i know it is downloaded quite often because i am notified each time by email.

I provide clients with a tick list of legal aid financial documents to produce if they want to be assessed for legal aid. They can get this from my website or, more often from me by email.

Before they arrive for their first meeting with me, I will have emailed/written to them and texted a reminder to bring with them all the necessary documentation to prove they are eligible for legal aid.

So, there is a lot we can all be doing to support our clients, combat the lack of awareness and misinformation out there about legal aid and, as mediators work more closely with those family solicitors who wish to offer our clients advice on the free family legal help service.