A legal aid firm has succeeded in its appeal – in part – against payments over the number of pages of prosecution evidence. DPP Law Ltd, which has offices in Liverpool and Manchester, was instructed to represent an individual charged, along with another, with attempted murder, GBH and possessing a firearm and ammunition.

A total of 1,549 paper and 556 electronic pages prosecution evidence (PPE) was allowed by the Legal Aid Agency’s determining officer. However the firm contested the electronic pages figure and appealed. The judgment in R v Chapman said that the LAA had agreed to increase the number: ‘First, it is said that the determining officer’s calculations went awry and that in fact the figure should be 766 pages based on her calculations. Secondly, the LAA have conceded a further 865 pages which brings the total figure to 3,000 pages.’

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The firm argued that the correct figure was 4,281 pages, based on the conversion of spreadsheets to PDF versions. Finding in favour of the firm, Costs judge Rowley said: ‘The original calculation of the PPE was 2,115 pages and as such the appeal process, which has been going on for some considerable time, has been at least partially successful.’

The judge ordered the appropriate additional payment, £1,250 costs and the £100 paid on appeal to be paid to DPP Law Ltd.