Criminal legal aid lawyers face being wiped out

Criminal legal aid lawyers face extinction if best value tendering (BVT) is introduced the Law Society says. On average only one new duty solicitor for ever y four criminal legal aid law firms was recruited last year, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The society fears a worsening crisis as legal aid practitioners will become even fewer under BVT.

Law Society president, Andrew Holroyd, says:

“We could see a situation where the tendering process is so competitive firms have no choice but to abandon what is one of the most important elements of legal aid practice—the training of the next generation. Even where training is maintained, there will be little in the pot to pay trainees. Numbers of new legal aid lawyers is already dangerously low and with the number of people being arrested and brought to justice rising, the need for these practitioners is high.”

Katherine Gibson, president of the society’s Junior Lawyers Division, adds:

“Many young lawyers enter the profession because they want to work in legal aid. These plans will effectively wipe out opportunities to train and work in legal aid and will deter many from entering the profession.” The society says BVT also threatens existing practitioners. Holroyd says: “There is already a battle for talent in the legal profession. Legal aid practices will struggle to hold onto their staff and put in a competitive enough tender at the same time. It could easily be a choice between one or the other.”