Legal aid cuts start to bite

Legal professionals have been assessing the implications of the government’s consultation on legal aid.

James Stark, of Garden Court North, who specialises in housing law cases, described the proposals as “vague” and “worrying”.

“What they have said is that certain claims will continue to be funded, including where there is a risk of loss of someone’s home. It is not clear what has been taken out of scope. Where do you draw the line in a housing disrepair case? Is a faulty electric socket that could cause a fire serious enough?

“I can’t see anything in the 224-page document about mixed cases. What will happen where part of the claim is in scope but other parts aren’t?”
Stark said he was concerned about the proposal to extend “risk rates” to all cases where a costs order is expected. This is where the Legal Services Commission pays a reduced hourly rate, £50 instead of £120 for junior counsel, and the practitioner retrieves his full rate from the costs award.
“It will be difficult to get people to take on these cases because of the risk they won’t be able to recover their costs, and because these cases can sometimes involve huge quantities of work,” he said. “It amounts to a thumping great cut to fees.”

David Allison, chairman of family lawyers’ group, Resolution, said he was “deeply worried” that mediation was being seen as a “universal panacea”.
Legal aid is to be removed from private family law cases other than those involving domestic violence or forced marriage, but mediation for separating or divorcing couples will remain available.

While 90% of couples already reached agreement out of court, “those that do need legal aid usually do so for good reason—intimidation by one partner over another, or an imbalance of financial power in the relationship,” Allison said.

The Law Society is asking solicitors for evidence and case studies of how the cuts will impact on justice, to help it put forward its case to the Ministry of Justice. The consultation, “Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales”, is due to end on Valentine’s Day.