CRIMINAL defence lawyers have for months been warning of the dire consequences to their firms – and the wider legal profession – of controversial changes to legal aid.
Lawyers in district courts say that fees for most cases have fallen from £500 to £300, while in sheriff courts they are down from £680 to about £500 per case.
The Scottish Government says the changes are needed to ensure the taxpayer receives v
alue for money in a criminal justice system that has been overhauled in recent years.
More cases are being resolved before they go to court, with fewer being stretched over numerous hearings and many months. Ministers say the legal aid changes reflect these reforms.
When the changes were introduced in spring, lawyers warned that hundreds of jobs could potentially be lost. In protest, they imposed a work-to-rule policy when dealing with accused people appearing from custody.
Now, Scotland's largest solicitors' association has called a special meeting of the Law Society for Scotland to discuss what defence lawyers are calling the biggest crisis to hit the profession.
The Glasgow Bar Association, which represents a third of the country's 1,400 criminal lawyers, is reporting that jobs are already being axed at criminal defence firms.
One senior association figure told The Scotsman: "We are aware of jobs being cut. The consequences on the wider legal profession could be disastrous.
"We are staring at a situation where there will be no career for the next generation of defence lawyers.
"We are seriously concerned about the situation and we can't wait for several months to talk about this and do something."
The latter remark is in response to the Law Society's more cautious stance on the issue. It is said to be "perplexed" by the Glasgow Bar Association's move to requisition a meeting at the society's Drumsheugh Gardens offices, in Edinburgh, next Friday.
While the new legal aid regime will be top of the agenda, solicitors will also discuss wide criminal justice reforms, including more cases being "diverted" from prosecution through greater use of fiscal fines and warning letters.
A law society source said it has already set up a review committee to collect feedback from lawyers on the impact of the legal aid changes.
The source added: "We are going back to the Scottish Government with that at the end of the year."
The full article contains 401 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
