More advocacy rights? Solicitors 'already stretched to breaking point'

Solicitors doing criminal legal aid work are already stretched to breaking point in the police station and magistrates’ court, the Law Society has said in response to reports that the justice secretary is considering granting them rights to appear in the Crown court.

Dominic Raab is reportedly considering plans to grant more solicitors advocacy rights, undermining the criminal bar’s strike action.

However, Society vice-president Lubna Shuja said that extending solicitors’ rights will not necessarily mean that large numbers of solicitors will immediately be available to undertake complex advocacy in the most serious cases.

‘Solicitors are already stretched to breaking point with police station and magistrates’ court work, and Crown Court litigation. Any change would therefore need to be accompanied by the full implementation of the Bellamy report’s minimum recommendations for solicitors’ remuneration – namely a package worth 15% overall - to have any prospect of unlocking additional capacity,' she said.

A government source also told the Daily Mail that it is looking to expand the Public Defender Service.

Shuja said: ‘The Public Defender Service is significantly less cost-effective than private practice – even if private practice rates are increased as necessary to make the work economically viable.

‘It makes no sense to expand a more expensive system as a solution to the government’s choice not to adequately fund criminal legal aid solicitors who provide a more cost-effective option. This is similarly unlikely to be an answer to the criminal bar’s protest action because it is not increasing the pool of advocates, it is simply rearranging the same people.’

According to the Mail, the Ministry of Justice wants to expand the role of legal executives to allow them to take on work performed by other types of lawyers.

The government said in its response to the Bellamy review, published in March, that it wanted to remove barriers to CILEx professionals working within the criminal justice system.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) declined to comment.

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