Abstract
Linda Lee* a solicitor and former President of the Law Society of England and Wales, comments on the government proposals to reduce the number of firms offering criminal legal aid from over a thousand to around three hundred. Fee rates for legal aid have not been increased for over 20 years and last year some of the rates were cut. The government is proposing further cuts of 17.5%. Early plans to prevent client choice seem unlikely to proceed but given that the majority of work is acquired in the police station at the time of arrest it is unlikely that a sustainable business can be built on an existing client base. “Day 19, I have successfully conditioned my master to smile and write in his book every time I drool.” — Pavlov’s Dog
If we look at the proposed “reforms” to criminal legal aid this is certainly true. The government have a very simplistic view, budgets have to be cut, money has to be saved and whenever “costs savings” have been implemented in the past, somehow or other a dwindling number of firms have managed to deliver a service and in fact deliver a very good service despite limited resources.
Smaller firms fear that the reduced number of contracts on offer will lead to sudden death if they are offered by means of price competitive tendering or a lingering death if they are allowed to continue to do own client work. Larger firms initially thought that the proposals might be an opportunity for them to expand and to do the work more cost effectively but even the largest of firms must be hard put to come up with a business plan that can deliver against government proposals.
Certainly the regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, thinks so. At their first conference for compliance officers on the 16th of October, a presentation by members of the policy teams suggested that neither large nor small firms would survive the new terms and 17.5% cuts.
The public for the most part have very little interest in this debate; some would even question whether criminals should be offered a defence at all.
The majority of lawyers reading this will never have practised legal aid and for many it is a dim and distant memory that causes a vague shudder when the constant form filling and bureaucracy that accompanied some very worthwhile work is recalled. But we are lawyers first and foremost and we should remember that this is not really about business models or unappealing clients it is about the proper administration of justice and those lawyers who have stuck with this work because they thought it was the right thing to do. I would urge every lawyer and non-lawyer to stand shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues and offer whatever support they require of us.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.”
*Linda Lee is a Consultant at Radcliffes LeBrasseur practising Regulatory and Disciplinary law.