*/
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs observed the diamond anniversary of legal aid by posing the question, “Is there a future for the publicly funded practitioner?”
The only speaker to address the question head on was Desmond Browne QC, Chairman of the Bar, who reported that that part of the Bar was “totally demoralised”; bright and diverse BVC students are being advised not to aim for publicly funded work (with downstream consequences for the future judiciary); and the legal market overall was being distorted by the use of in-house advocates on spurious grounds of money-saving, by the use of referral fees between solicitors, and by the Legal Services Commission (“LSC”) breaching their duty to promote equality and conducting “Dutch auction” negotiations with solicitors alone.
The legal aid minister, Lord Bach, praised the successes of the scheme (which no one disputed) but repeated the need for change. There will always be a cap on the budget and “all change is difficult” but he asserted his pride in introducing “a market based approach” for police station and magistrates’ court work and also means testing in the Crown Court (letting the convicted contribute towards their defence but not reimbursing at higher than legal aid rates those who are acquitted but who paid their lawyers privately). “Embracing change and making some pretty hard choices” he summed up. He praised the commitment of publicly funded practitioners but did not prognosticate on their future.
The only speaker to address the question head on was Desmond Browne QC, Chairman of the Bar, who reported that that part of the Bar was “totally demoralised”; bright and diverse BVC students are being advised not to aim for publicly funded work (with downstream consequences for the future judiciary); and the legal market overall was being distorted by the use of in-house advocates on spurious grounds of money-saving, by the use of referral fees between solicitors, and by the Legal Services Commission (“LSC”) breaching their duty to promote equality and conducting “Dutch auction” negotiations with solicitors alone.
The legal aid minister, Lord Bach, praised the successes of the scheme (which no one disputed) but repeated the need for change. There will always be a cap on the budget and “all change is difficult” but he asserted his pride in introducing “a market based approach” for police station and magistrates’ court work and also means testing in the Crown Court (letting the convicted contribute towards their defence but not reimbursing at higher than legal aid rates those who are acquitted but who paid their lawyers privately). “Embracing change and making some pretty hard choices” he summed up. He praised the commitment of publicly funded practitioners but did not prognosticate on their future.
The All Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs observed the diamond anniversary of legal aid by posing the question, “Is there a future for the publicly funded practitioner?”
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group
Modernising communication and collaboration at a leading Chancery set. A Zexi case study
How to build profile without compromising professional duties. By Naumaan Farooq, Co-Founder of Inked PR
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the role of cut-off levels, and the wider range of factors that must be considered when interpreting results for family court proceedings
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
The case against judge-only justice – and why efficiency is not enough. By Professor Leslie Thomas KC
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Lauren Fullerton examines the how, what and why of setting up a second chambers base
