Solicitors have demanded tougher action to force the government to renegotiate its criminal legal aid offer – telling legal chiefs a 'gently gently approach' will have limited impact.
Dozens of London criminal defence practitioners have begun a boycott of low-paid work, starting with burglary cases. However, solicitors told a London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association meeting last night that the action does not go far enough.
One solicitor said: ‘My concern is we’re being too fair, too kind, too gentle about it. It’s going to be an incredibly slow-burner and we’re the ones who are going to suffer… I find domestics and neighbour disputes far more time-consuming. Burglaries seem like an odd target.’ Another pointed out that ‘no one likes burglars’ in terms of gaining public sympathy.
One solicitor suggested the scope of refusals be widened to domestic abuse cases as that would likely have the most impact. ‘We’re dying slowly anyway. If we down tools, it’s going to be huge. But we’re at a stage where there’s no gain without pain.’
During the hour-long meeting, practitioners heard from Darryl Lovie, a solicitor in Scotland, who explained the action being taken by the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association. Solicitors north of the border are refusing to take on poorly paid work and escalated the action this month to include complex domestic abuse cases. ‘Whilst we were reluctant to disengage from the system in sensitive cases like domestic abuse, we have deliberately chosen them because we know that pressure will be brought to bear on the government as a consequence,’ he said.
The meeting heard that a fixed fee paid for summary work in Scotland was introduced in 1999. ‘The Scottish government claim with increases it’s now 7% higher. The reality is, if we factor in inflation and other stealth cuts, the work we’re doing now is paid less than it was in 1999.'
Lovie said solicitors in Scotland have been 'very good at demonstrating our passion for the work that we do and giving a voice to those who are vulnerable, but we have been very poor at speaking out on our own behalf.’ The pressure 'has become unbearable and the pace unrelenting'.
Puri told the Gazette today that there was a clear appetite to escalate the action. The association will now take stock and decide action plans going forward.
On the situation in Scotland, Puri said: ‘What really hit home from the Scottish experience is how unbearable on a human level the pressure is for solicitors propping up a broken justice system. We heard of defence solicitors in Scotland taking their own lives due to stress.’
He stressed that the door remains open to the Ministry of Justice to talk. But 'we can’t stand by and let hard-working professionals’ mental health and wellbeing be destroyed'.
Meanwhile the Criminal Bar Association is preparing to ballot members - who are currently refusing to take on 'returned' cases - on further action.
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