One Counsel / SCIP & Bar interventions — the hidden help few LiPs know about
REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-28
This helps vulnerable litigants who can't afford representation
Two little-known schemes put a free or low-cost barrister into family cases where it would otherwise be unsafe or grossly unfair for a party to go unrepresented. Few self-representing parents know they exist — this page changes that.
One Counsel (CCMS/SIP direct representation)
In some care proceedings, legal aid may not cover full representation but the court or a solicitor can apply for "One Counsel"/Direct Representation — a barrister funded to take the case where there's a real prospect of it being withdrawn without representation (often supporting litigants with significant welfare implications). Route: via your local family legal aid solicitor or the LAA. Impact: keeps vulnerable people represented where the justice system otherwise couldn't.
The Bar's "Litigants in Person" pro bono schemes (via Advocate)
Advocate (the Bar's pro bono charity — see our pro bono page) matches family cases to barristers who give free advice and sometimes representation. Advocates serve on Advocate's advice panels and its family panel; requests are means/merits-assessed. This is the single most effective way a deserving LiP can get a barrister cheaply or free.
SCIP — public-law scheme for special advocates
Less relevant to private parents, but: where a parent or party poses a security risk, the Special Advocates Support Office (SASO)/SCIP can appoint a special advocate to protect the party's interests in closed proceedings. Practical route if it ever applies: your legal-aid solicitor raises it with the tribunal; the Lord Chancellor appoints.
How to access these
1. Advocate: apply online (weareadvocate.org.uk) — explain your case, finances, and that you're a LiP; describe how representation would change the outcome 2. One Counsel/family legal aid: ask your legal-aid solicitor whether direct representation can be funded in your care case 3. Mention the scheme in your position statement when factors point to you needing representation
The honest caveat
These are discretionary and scarce — places are won by meritorious cases, clear framing, and early application. They are not an automatic right, but trying costs nothing and the upside (a free barrister) is transformative.
Official links
- Advocate: https://weareadvocate.org.uk
- LAA family legal aid: https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
This page is general information, not legal advice. YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory and is not affiliated with Advocate, the LAA or gov.uk.
Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.