Blue Skies thinking? Can an ILCA scheme be designed to meet the needs of the free legal advice sector?
The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies and the Access to Justice Foundation are organising a conference to discuss a recent report issued by the Ministry of Justice which seeks views on the possible introduction of an Interest on Lawyer Client Accounts (ILCA) scheme in England and Wales. ILCA schemes already operate successfully in 77 countries across the world. These programmes collect together very small amounts of interest generated when lawyers hold funds for their client. While the individual amounts collected are often not worth passing on to consumers, when pooled together and invested they can generate significant funds. In 2023 a scheme in British Columbia generated the equivalent of £125,497,213 in income. In international schemes these funds are used to support free legal advice and representation for those who could not otherwise afford it, and other access to justice initiatives.
The Ministry of Justice proposals are proving controversial within the legal services sector because of the suggestion that the money collected is used to fund a range of unidentified justice initiatives. This conference will provide delegates from the legal services sector, regulators and academics the chance to address the question of whether an ILCA scheme be designed to meet the needs of the free legal advice sector in England and Wales?
The conference is free and is being held on Friday 13th March 2026 at Dechert LLP, 25 Cannon Street, London, EC4M 5UB from 9am to 5pm. Presentations will be given by a research team headed by Professor Linda Mulcahy of the Oxford Law Faculty, who will discuss the results of their Nuffield Foundation funded research into a large number of international ILCA schemes. It will also enable delegates to hear about the experiences of two guest speakers from the United States with considerable experience of managing ILCA schemes. Further details of the programme can be found below.
| 9-9.30 | Registration and coffee |
| 9.30-10 | Welcome – Marion Edge, Pro Bono Counsel, Decherts Goals of the conference – Professor Linda Mulcahy, Oxford University and Clare Carter, Access to Justice Foundation |
| 10-11 | What is the problem we are trying to solve? The Crisis in unmet legal need Chair: Professor Chris Decker, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University Speaker: Dr Jo Wilding, Sussex University Discussion |
| 11-11.30 | Coffee |
| 11.30 -12.30 | What is the problem we are trying to solve? Who benefits from interest on pooled client accounts? Chair: Clare Carter Speaker: Professor Linda Mulcahy, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University Discussion |
| 12.30-1.30 | Lunch |
| 1.30-2.30 | The ILCA option: The Characteristics of ILCA schemes Chair: Professor Neil Rickman, Surrey University Speaker: Dr Matthew Nesvet, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University Discussion |
| 2.30-4 | Designing and running an ILCA programme – Views from the coalface Chair: Professor Linda Mulcahy, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University
Judge Amy Dunn Moore, Chair, American Bar Association Commission on IOLTA Mark Marquard, Executive Director Lawyers Trust Fund of Illinois Discussion (30 mins) |
| 4-4.30 | Coffee |
| 4.30-5.30 | Discussion panel: What would it take to make an ILCA programme work in England and Wales? Chair: Martha de la Roche Discussants – Rohini Jana (Legal Aid Practitioners Group) and Julie Bishop (Law Centres Network) Discussion |