Legal aid case management software for UK solicitors.
OrdoLux handles the full legal aid workflow — certificate tracking, escape fee threshold alerts, CIV/CRM/CCLF claim generation, disbursement handling, LAA fee rate tables and CWA bulk export — built directly into the matter workspace. £50 + VAT per user. No module fee.
No separate module. No per-matter charge. Legal aid sits alongside private billing in the same matter.
The legal aid billing problem OrdoLux solves
- Certificates expire without warning — work after expiry goes unpaid.
- Fixed fee thresholds get missed — firms lose thousands billing at fixed fee when they could escape to hourly.
- Disbursements tracked separately from time — manual spreadsheets, double entry.
- Monthly CWA submissions compiled by hand from dozens of matter records.
- LAA payments arrive in bulk with no clear match to individual claims.
How OrdoLux supports legal aid workflows
Legal aid is unlike private billing. You don't invoice the client — you claim from the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). The rules are strict: certificates have scope limits and expiry dates, fees are fixed by category and region, disbursements are claimed separately from profit costs, and monthly submissions must follow a specific format.
OrdoLux sits inside your existing matter workspace. When you set a matter's billing type to "Legal Aid", the legal aid fields appear — certificate details, cost limits, contribution tracking — and the billing workflow switches from private invoicing to LAA claim generation. Time is recorded exactly as normal; the difference is how that time gets billed.
Civil and criminal legal aid have different billing processes. OrdoLux handles both: CIV/CRM forms for civil claims (family, housing, immigration) and CCLF forms for criminal claims (police station, magistrates' court, Crown Court). Each matter type has its own stage tracker so you always know where the matter is in the process.
Key features for legal aid solicitors
Certificate tracking
Track every legal aid certificate — number, type (emergency or substantive), status, scope, issue date, expiry date, cost limit and LAA reference. Visual warnings when certificates are within 30 days of expiry. Never lose revenue because a certificate lapsed mid-matter.
Escape fee threshold engine
Legal aid fixed fees have an escape threshold — typically 3x the fixed fee. If your recorded time exceeds it, you can switch to hourly billing. OrdoLux monitors WIP in real time and alerts you at 90% (amber) and 100% (red) of the threshold. Stop losing money by staying on a fixed fee when you've earned the right to escape it.
LAA fee rate tables
Current LAA fee schedules pre-loaded by category, subcategory and region. Hourly rates for Grade A–D fee earners, fixed fees, and escape threshold multipliers. When you create a legal aid matter, the correct fee rates auto-populate — no manual lookup, no outdated rates.
CIV, CRM & CCLF claim generation
Generate civil claim forms (CIV/CRM) and criminal claim forms (CCLF) directly from your recorded time. Select a matter and billing period, and OrdoLux drafts the claim — profit costs from time entries, disbursements listed separately, VAT calculated automatically. Submit manually or export via CWA/SaBC bulk CSV.
Disbursement handling
Track expert fees, court fees, travel, photocopying and medical reports separately from profit costs. Each disbursement records the supplier, invoice date, VAT treatment and claim status (pending, claimed, paid by LAA, written off). Disbursements feed directly into your claim forms — no double entry.
CWA/SaBC bulk export
Most civil legal aid work is billed via a single monthly CSV upload to the LAA portal. OrdoLux generates the CWA/SaBC export file from all draft and submitted claims for your selected billing period — correctly formatted, with each claim marked as exported so it's never included twice.
LAA remittance reconciliation
When the LAA pays, they send a bulk BACS payment that doesn't match individual claim amounts. OrdoLux's reconciliation tool lets you enter the remittance reference and total, then auto-matches against submitted claims — exact matches first, then partial. Confirm or adjust matches, and claims are updated with payment status automatically.
Cost limit monitoring
Every legal aid certificate has a cost limit — the maximum the LAA will pay. OrdoLux shows a real-time progress bar of recorded time against the cost limit. Go over and the firm absorbs the cost. The dashboard flags matters approaching their limit so you can apply for an amendment before it's too late.
Matter stage tracking
Default stage sequences for civil legal aid (instruction → means test → merits test → certificate application → work → billing → claim → payment) and criminal legal aid (instruction → representation order → hearings → trial → sentencing → appeal). Track where each matter is and report on your pipeline.
Legal aid reporting
Reports that answer the questions legal aid firms actually ask: How much is the LAA owing us? Which certificates expire this quarter? Which matters are approaching cost limits? What contributions are outstanding? Export clean data for your finance team or LAA audit.
Contribution tracking
Some legal aid clients must pay a contribution to the LAA based on their means assessment. OrdoLux tracks whether a contribution is required, the amount, frequency (one-off or monthly), and whether it has been collected — with ledger entries to match.
Attendance note generation
Tick a box on any time entry and OrdoLux generates a formal attendance note (Word document) from the time entry narrative, saved directly to the matter's SharePoint folder. Perfect for legal aid audit trails — no duplicate typing.
Civil vs criminal legal aid in OrdoLux
Civil legal aid
For family, housing, immigration, mental health and public law matters:
- Emergency and substantive certificate tracking
- CIV (Claim for Payment) and CRM (Claim Control and Management) form generation
- CWA/SaBC monthly bulk CSV export
- Contribution order tracking and reconciliation
- Stage tracker: instruction → means test → merits test → certificate → work → claim → payment
Criminal legal aid
For police station advice, magistrates' court and Crown Court representation:
- Representation order tracking linked to legal aid certificate
- CCLF (Claim for Costs — Litigator Fee) form generation
- Custody time limit monitoring with deadline warnings
- Dedicated criminal case fields with offence details, disclosure tracker, PTPH dates, sentencing outcomes
- Stage tracker: instruction → representation order → hearings → trial → sentencing → appeal
Why legal aid firms choose OrdoLux
One platform, not two
Legal aid billing sits alongside private billing in the same matter. Record time once — bill it to the LAA or to the client depending on the fee basis. No separate legal aid module to buy, learn or maintain.
Stop losing money on fixed fees
The escape fee threshold engine is the feature legal aid firms ask for most. Automated alerts at 90% and 100% of the threshold mean you never miss the opportunity to switch to hourly billing again. On a £500 fixed fee, that's the difference between billing £500 and billing £1,500+.
Built for audit
The LAA can audit any legal aid file at any time. OrdoLux keeps a complete record: certificate details, time entries, disbursements, claim submissions, payment records, and attendance notes — all on the matter file, all exportable.
No module fee
£50 + VAT per user per month. That's it. Legal aid, conveyancing, probate, private client, employment, civil litigation, immigration — all included. Competitors charge £150–£300+ per user for legal aid modules on top of their base price.
See legal aid in action
Book a demo and we'll walk you through the legal aid workflow — from certificate setup to claim submission to payment reconciliation.
Looking for legal aid case management software for UK solicitors? Learn more about our legal case management software for UK law firms or explore our conveyancing and private client solutions.