CBA offers pro bono assistance

Criminal law solicitors have warned they cannot be used by the courts as ‘a sticking plaster’ as the Bar prepares to step up its protest against legal aid fees.

The Criminal Bar, where about 100 chambers have been refusing new cases since 1 April, has confirmed it is advising chambers to operate a ‘no returns’ policy from 25 May. This means barristers will refuse to appear at hearings on behalf of an instructed barrister who has to appear in court somewhere else.

Barristers are protesting the Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), which represent a significant cut to counsel’s fees. An attempt by shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon to derail the scheme was defeated in the House of Commons last week.

Bill Waddington, chairman of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said: ‘The practical effect of [the Bar action] is to cause significant difficulties for solicitors and clients.

‘That situation is getting worse daily, and there are worrying reports of cases in recent days and weeks of unreasonable pressure being placed on firms and defendants in cases where solicitors have been unable to find counsel.’

He said that while many solicitors applauded what the Bar was doing ‘our members and their clients who are our lifeblood are the collateral damage’. He welcomed the Criminal Bar Association (CBA)’s pledge this week to give pro bono assistance to any solicitors who find themselves in difficult circumstances.

CBA Chair Angela Rafferty QC said the Bar’s action ‘places heavy burdens on our solicitor colleagues, some of whom have been subjected to pressure and to very difficult situations’.

‘Reports have been coming in from Wales that a solicitors’ firm has been treated badly,’ she said.

‘In another case it appears that a very junior employee was given rights of audience in a case; we are investigating this. In the first case a judge reportedly described a Chartered Legal Executive who had been sent at short notice as ‘cannon fodder’ and proceeded to lambast her firm. We are seeking a transcript of this hearing and working closely with our solicitor colleagues how to deal with this.’