Joining the Solicitors’ Panel
The National Centre for Domestic Violence provides support to domestic abuse victims across England by specifically focusing on the legal protection that a court order can provide.
We have our own in-house legal department, National Legal Service, which supports the work that we do but we also rely on a national solicitors’ panel for complete coverage.
Law firms are invited to apply to join our panel in areas where our existing coverage is not satisfying the demand for our service.
We are not government funded and we do not accept donations. We create our own income by providing solicitors with an optional document drafting service if they so require. We are proud of the quality of our work and we only succeed to thrive and therefore support vulnerable victims irrespective of their financial position if we give exceptional service.
In 2018 we provided over 2000 victims that could not afford legal aid or a solicitor with support to get a protective injunction, no other organisation provided this volume of support for free.
We had thought for a long time for a phrase that sums up everything we do which could instantly be recognised by anyone as to what our fundamental principle is.
We care for our clients, referrers, employees, solicitors’ panel, the police and the courts, but what we really care about above all is the victim – our client. We exist to provide service on a level that cannot be matched and what makes us strive to achieve such a high service level is the core principle that if we don’t then we will let our vulnerable clients down.
Of course we care about our income stream, without that we do not exist and we care about our taxes and our creditors which means we have to run our organisation with a business head. We have to have Managers, Directors, HR, Supervisors, Investors, fee earners, help line advisers, admin, accountants and many more and these have to be good people and we need to pay for them.
We try as hard as possible to deliver the best care we can for the income we receive. For us at NCDV– Every Client Matters
Solicitors that join our panel need to be hard working, compassionate, conform with all regulations, preferably have special skills in the domestic abuse and violence sector, have experience in helping vulnerable people and last but not least understand what we do and why we do it.
To help us understand you we have developed a questionnaire for you to complete which enables us to learn about you and your business, we need to thoroughly trust you with our clients and to do that we need to know you are able provide the necessary support. We also want you to completely understand us, how NCDV works and the dedication we commit to every client. So we invite you as part of our application process to spend a day discovering how we do this.
The Legal Aid Agency have issued a statement in relation to the arrangements for legal aid firms to be on a NCDV panel which you can download via the link at the bottom of this letter.
Please complete the application form which you can download below, return to me and I will then liaise with you to make arrangements for your visit.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to call me.
Every client matters.
Yours faithfully
National Centre for Domestic Violence
Mark Groves
Chief Executive Officer
Download the Application pack
Legal Aid Agency Statement link
We are currently accepting applications for areas covered by the following courts;
| Court name | Date closed for applications |
| Accrington County Court | |
| Aldershot Justice Centre | 26/02/2019 |
| Barnet Civil and Family Courts Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Barnsley Law Courts | |
| Barnstaple County Court | |
| Barrow-in-Furness County Court | |
| Basingstoke County Court | 01/03/2019 |
| Bath County Court | |
| Bedford and Mid Beds Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Bedford County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Birkenhead County Court | |
| Birmingham Civil and Family Justice Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Blackburn Family Court | |
| Blackpool County Court | |
| Blackwood Civil and Family Court | |
| Boston County Court and Family Court | |
| Bournemouth and Poole County Court | 18/02/2019 |
| Bradford Combined Court Centre | |
| Brentford County Court | 19/02/2019 |
| Brighton Family Court | |
| Brighton Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Bristol Civil and Family Justice Centre | |
| Bromley County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Burnley Combined CC | |
| Bury St Edmunds County Court and Family Court | 01/03/2019 |
| Bury St Edmunds Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 01/03/2019 |
| Cambridge County Court and Family Court | |
| Canterbury Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Canterbury Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Carlisle Combined Court Centre | |
| Central Family Court ( PRFD ) | 13/02/2019 |
| Chatham Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Chester Civil Justice Centre | |
| Chesterfield County Court and Family Court | |
| Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Chichester Combined Court Centre | |
| Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Colchester County Court and Family Court | |
| Coventry Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Crewe County Court and Family Court | |
| Croydon County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Darlington County Court | |
| Dartford County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Dartford Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Derby Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Doncaster County Court | |
| Durham County Court | 05/03/2019 |
| East London Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Edmonton County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Exeter Combined Court Centre | |
| Gateshead County Court | 05/03/2019 |
| Gloucester and Cheltenham County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Great Grimsby Combined Court Centre | |
| Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Guildford County Court and Family Court | 01/03/2019 |
| Guildford Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Halifax County Court | |
| Harrogate County Court | |
| Hastings County Court and Family Court | |
| Hastings Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Hereford County Court and Family Court | |
| Hertford Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Horsham County Court and Family Court | |
| Horsham Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Huddersfield County Court | |
| Ipswich County Court and Family Court | |
| Ipswich Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Isle of Wight Combined Court | |
| King’s Lynn County Court and Family Court | |
| King’s Lynn Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Kingston-upon-Hull Combined Court Centre | |
| Kingston-upon-Thames County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Lancaster County Court | |
| Leeds Combined Court Centre | |
| Leicester County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Lincoln County Court and Family Court | |
| Liverpool Civil and Family Court | |
| Lowestoft County Court and Family Court | |
| Lowestoft Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Ludlow County Court | 01/07/2019 |
| Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Luton County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Macclesfield County Court | |
| Maidstone Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Maidstone Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Manchester County Court | 20/06/2019 |
| Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, County Court and Family Court | |
| Margate Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Medway Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Merthyr Tydfil Combined Court Centre | |
| Middlesbrough County Court | |
| Milton Keynes County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Newark County Court | |
| Newcastle upon Tyne Combined Court Centre | 05/03/2019 |
| North Shields County Court | 05/03/2019 |
| North Somerset Court House | |
| Northampton Crown Court, County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Norwich Combined Court Centre | |
| Norwich Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Nottingham County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Oxford and Southern Oxfordshire Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Oxford Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Peterborough Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Peterborough Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Plymouth Combined Court | |
| Portsmouth Combined Court Centre | |
| Preston Combined Court Centre | |
| Rawtenstall County Court | |
| Reading County Court and Family Court | 01/03/2019 |
| Reading Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Romford County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Salisbury County court | |
| Scarborough Justice Centre | |
| Scunthorpe County Court | |
| Sheffield Combined CC | |
| Slough County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| South Shields County Court | 05/03/2019 |
| Southampton Combined Court Centre | 18/02/2019 |
| Southend County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| St Helens County Court | |
| Stafford Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Staines County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Staines Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Stoke-on-Trent Combined Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Sunderland County Court | 05/03/2019 |
| Swindon Combined Court | |
| Tameside County Court (Manchester) | 20/06/2019 |
| Taunton County Court | |
| Teesside Combined Court Centre | |
| Telford County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Thanet County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Torquay and Newton Abbot County Court | |
| Truro County Court | |
| Uxbridge County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Wakefield Civil Justice Centre | |
| Watford County Court and Family Court | 13/02/2019 |
| West Cumbria Court House | |
| West London County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Weymouth and Dorchester Combined Court Centre | 18/02/2019 |
| Wigan County Court | |
| Willesden County Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Winchester Combined Court Centre | |
| Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre | 13/02/2019 |
| Worcester Combined Court | 13/02/2019 |
| Worthing County Court and Family Court | |
| Worthing Magistrates’ Court and Family Court | |
| Yeovil County Court | |
| York County Court | |