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Defending legal aid

Monday 27 October 2008

The Law Society's objective is to persuade the government to guarantee an adequately funded legal aid system ensuring quality representation and access to justice for all. Our What Price Justice campaign is supported by many of the most influential lobbying organisations in the country.

Latest news

Society vows to continue fight for extra funding

The government has announced that the top hourly rate for very high cost cases (VHCCs) will increase to £152.50, and fees for both advocates and litigators will increase proportionately. Commenting on this, Law Society president Paul Marsh said:

'While this announcement contains good news for solicitors undertaking VHCC work, we are disappointed that the ministry has given such high priority to the concerns of senior barristers at a time when solicitors' firms working at the coal-face are worried about their very survival.'

'Our repeated request for extra funding for solicitors working in the magistrates courts was rejected outright. We will continue to make the argument to government that these lawyers are in urgent need of extra funding, if they are to remain viable. Although overall, no solicitor is worse off, we are disappointed that more money was not made available to the majority of hard working but much lower paid criminal legal aid lawyers.'

CDS Direct: Society calls for full review

The Society is calling on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to undertake a full and independent review of the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) Direct scheme, after a new report echoed many of our concerns about the expansion of the CDS Direct and Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) schemes.
Read more and view the report

Develop your legal aid practice: free toolkit

The Law Society's Law Management Section has a launched a free toolkit to help legal aid firms develop and expand their practices. The 'Merger, Acquisition and Organic Growth Toolkit' provides valuable advice on opportunities for growth, different business models, and the implications of the Legal Services Commission's proposals.
Find out more and download the toolkit

2010 civil contract consultation delayed

The LSC's consultation on their proposals for the 2010 civil and family contracts has been delayed. Ministerial changes at the MoJ partly led to the delay because the paper must now be signed off by the new legal aid minister, Lord Bach. Law Society president Paul Marsh has been assured by the new minister that this issue will be treated as a priority.

Expressing interest in virtual courts pilot: practice note

The Legal Services Commission has invited some firms to register their interest in the virtual court pilot duty solicitor scheme, before the details of the scheme, including fee levels, have been finalised and before a consultation on implementation is complete. We have issued a practice note detailing the issues you should consider in deciding whether to register your interest. It has been endorsed by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, the Criminal Law Solicitors' Association and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association.
Read the practice note

Barristers cost more in care cases despite providing same service as solicitors

The Law Society is supporting moves to harmonise fees paid to solicitors and barristers for family legal aid cases.
Read more

Virtual court pilot: Society rejects proposed fees

The Law Society has condemned the proposed fees for the virtual court pilot as unacceptably low. The pilot scheme will see defendants in appropriate cases appear before magistrates' courts via video link from police stations. Solicitors taking part in the scheme would suffer a large cut in the fees they receive for those cases.
Read more

Society calls on Bar to agree VHCC rates

'One part of the profession appears to put money before the system' , said Law Society president Paul Marsh as he called on barristers to accept the fixed fee scheme for very high cost cases (VHCCs). In an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, Marsh said that, 'in the context of a restricted budget for legal aid, their return is disproportionate to others in the system'. He pointed out that solicitors' firms that do legal aid have had to take a significant cut in income at a time when overheads were rising. Marsh added that although the Law Society and Bar are united in wanting to secure more funding for legal aid, the Bar 'must realise that, given the government's current position, any increase in one area of legal aid provision causes an equal cut somewhere else.'
Read the full interview - Telegraph.co.uk

Society reacts strongly to Jack Straw's 'attack' on legal aid and fees

The Law Society issued a swift response to Justice Secretary Jack Straw's Labour Party conference speech on legal aid and conditional fee arrangements. The Society says that legal aid budgets since Labour came to power work out as decreases in real terms, and that plans to reform the 'no win, no fee' could deny people access to justice.
Read the full article – Timesonline

Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards

The Law Society is delighted to be the principal sponsor of the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards 2008, which celebrate the vital work of publicly funded lawyers. Nominations are now open and we urge practitioners to consider those legal aid lawyer colleagues who give unfailing commitment to the most vulnerable people in our society. The awards are organised by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group.
Full details and nomination form - closing date: 31 October

Richard Miller: Society will continue to lobby for change

Law Society head of legal aid, Richard Miller, discusses the key developments since his appointment one year ago, and how the Society will continue to represent practitioners' concerns in the future.
Read more

Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme: survey results

Our recent online survey found that seventy five per cent of respondents are encountering problems with the new Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme, which was introduced by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in January 2008. Our survey of 137 solicitors has highlighted a number of problems with the scheme.
Read more and download the survey results

More legal aid information

E-mail updates

Useful resources

Community Legal Advice Centre tender process - consultants directory

Principal Registry and family courts key contacts

Legal aid toolkit

VAT on legal aid practice note

Best value tendering

Society opposition to BVT causes LSC to think again

17 July 2008
Following strong opposition from the Law Society and its members, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has announced it may reconsider plans to introduce best value tendering (BVT) for criminal defence services.
Read the full press release

BVT could result in a shortage of criminal lawyers

17 April 2008
Criminal legal aid lawyers will be at risk of extinction if best value tendering (BVT) is introduced as law firms abandon training programmes to cut costs, says the Law Society.
Read the full press release

Society says current proposals for BVT are unworkable

10 March 2008
The Law Society is calling on the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to reassess their plans to introduce best value tendering (BVT) into criminal legal aid procurement, warning that the current plans could put many firms out of business.
Read the full press release
Read the Law Society's response to the LSC's consultation on BVT
Society survey shows lack of support for BVT proposals (PDF, 92kb)

Unified Contract

Unified contract settlement

3 April 2008
The Law Society has agreed a settlement to our judicial review proceedings with the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). It gives vital financial support to legal aid, and creates a much needed period of stability and certainty in which to prepare for the long term.
Read more
Summary of the settlement (PDF, 64kb)
Full settlement deed (PDF, 404kb)

Working groups

A number of working groups were set up under the Law Society's unified contract settlement with the LSC:

Quality Assurance Joint Working Group
This group will look at peer review and other quality assurance processes and procedures. It is jointly chaired by the Society and the LSC. Other participants include the SRA, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Advice Services Alliance, the Ministry of Justice and Resolution.
Read the minutes of the meetings – LSC website

Contract Compliance Joint Working Group
This working group was set up to undertake a review of contract compliance audit (CCA) processes. It includes the Law Society, the LSC and the Advice Services Alliance, with input from the National Audit Office (NAO).
Read the latest minutes of the meetings

VHCC Panel

A working group comprising the Bar Council, Law Society, Legal Services Commission and Ministry of Justice has been meeting to design a new VHCC Panel scheme to replace the current scheme. An oversight group has also been established which will be chaired by Peter Handcock and will include Carolyn Regan, chief executive of the Legal Services Commission, Timothy Dutton QC, chairman of the Bar, and Andrew Holroyd, president of the Law Society.
Read the minutes