The position of “electronic” material remains far and away the most contentious issue in relation to criminal legal aid billing. Some aspects of electronic material can be quite tricky and technical and can be left until the case is concluded (e.g. working out the true page count). However, one issue that must be addressed before conclusion of the case is service of the electronic material. When electronic material is served on a defence team, it is essential that its status is clarified immediately.
In many cases, that is not an issue – the Prosecution may send a letter saying “Attached the disc AB/1 which will be evidence in the case” or they may serve it as unused material. However, in any case where it is an issue, you need to get confirmation in writing from the CPS as to its status. Once the case is concluded it is (generally) too late to get the CPS to do anything vis a vis the material. Relying on the SVS case (http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2017/1045.html) to persuade the LAA (or indeed a Costs Judge) that the material was in fact used is somewhere between optimistic and very, very, very optimistic.
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