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NLJ this week: Rich lawyer, poor lawyer—do some lawyers charge too much?

07 July 2023
Issue: 8032 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal aid focus
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Some lawyers earn millions. Others struggle to get by on modest incomes. In this week’s NLJ, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC takes issue with this imbalance of riches.

‘It has harmful consequences,’ Bindman writes. ‘The starvation of legal aid and the underfunding of the courts and their administration undermines the rule of law and the citizen’s fundamental right of equal access to justice.’

The imbalance complicates litigation costs, spinning off a whole separate sector of specialist expertise. It has been the subject of judicial concern. And no doubt clients have a view too.

Bindman explores why some lawyers bill such hefty sums, and whether they charge too much. He asks whether Michael Gove’s suggestion of a levy on City firms to help pay for legal aid should be revisited: maybe it’s time to share the proceeds? After all, high-rolling lawyers derive their status from the integrity of the profession as a whole, and without the input of the legal aid and social justice lawyer, there would be less integrity on which to base their lucrative fee. 

Read more from Bindman here.

Issue: 8032 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal aid focus
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NEWS
In a very special tribute in this week's NLJ, David Burrows reflects on the retirement of Patrick Allen, co-founder of Hodge Jones & Allen, whose career epitomised the heyday of legal aid
Writing in NLJ this week, Kelvin Rutledge KC of Cornerstone Barristers and Genevieve Screeche-Powell of Field Court Chambers examine the Court of Appeal’s rejection of a discrimination challenge to Tower Hamlets’ housing database
Michael Zander KC, Emeritus Professor at LSE, tracks the turbulent passage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill through the House of Lords in this week's issue of NLJ. Two marathon debates drew contributions from nearly 200 peers, split between support, opposition and conditional approval
Alistair Mills of Landmark Chambers reflects on the Human Rights Act 1998 a quarter-century after it came into force, in this week's issue of NLJ
In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ, Stephen Gold surveys a raft of procedural changes and quirky disputes shaping civil practice. His message is clear: civil practitioners must brace for continual tweaks, unexpected contentions and rising costs in everyday litigation
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