Our transition to the Legal Aid Agency on 1 April 2013 means that we have to review the branding used by the LSC.

That is the date we become an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice as a result of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012.
Providers will be given until 30 June 2013 to phase out and stop using old names and associated logos on items such as letterheads, promotional material and websites.

Community Legal Service

Community Legal Service (CLS) will be referred to as civil legal aid from 1 April 2013. This will ensure consistency with the LASPO Act which moves responsibility for securing civil legal aid services from CLS to the Lord Chancellor.

Civil legal aid will not have a new logo but providers will be permitted to use the text strapline 'Contracted with the Legal Aid Agency' instead.

Criminal Defence Service

Criminal Defence Service (CDS) will be referred to as criminal legal aid from 1 April 2013. This will ensure consistency with the LASPO Act which moves responsibility for securing criminal legal aid services from CDS to the Lord Chancellor.

Criminal legal aid will not have a new logo but, again,  providers will be permitted to use the text strapline 'Contracted with the Legal Aid Agency' where required.

Community Legal Advice

Community Legal Advice will be renamed as Civil Legal Advice from 1 April 2013 but will not have a new logo.

The following strapline that will be used to describe the service in general communication - 'Civil Legal Advice, a national adviceline for England & Wales, paid for by Legal Aid'.

As outlined in the 2013 CLA Contract, providers will be required to describe the service they provide as 'Advice given by [specify name of organisation] as part of Civil Legal Advice, a national adviceline for England & Wales, paid for by Legal Aid.'

CDS Direct

CDS Direct will be renamed as Criminal Defence Direct (CDD) from 1 April 2013.

Non-contracted Specialist Quality Mark Holders

Providers who hold the Specialist Quality Mark but are not contracted with the Legal Aid Agency will be able to use the strapline 'Specialist Quality Mark Holder' where required.

Further information

If you have any questions, please email the Executive Agency Transition Programme team.