Solicitors may bring legal action against MoJ

Criminal practitioner groups, who staged a two-day walkout this week, could bring legal action against the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) over its planned cuts to legal aid.

The action would be brought by the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association and the London Criminal Court Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA), both of whom have played a prominent role in the protests.

Last week the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) dropped out of the planned direct action after the MoJ agreed a deal to postpone a 6% cut for Crown Court work by a year.

Nicola Hill, LCCSA president described Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s decision “to divide and rule the legal profession” as “a desperate move”.

CBA chair, Nigel Lithman QC says: “This gives 89% of the Criminal Bar (those that do not do very high cost cases) what they have demanded and has been achieved by their resolve.”