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23 September 2010 / Linda Lee
Issue: 7434 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Family
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Unhappy families

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The LSC has narrowed the options for access to justice. Linda Lee explains why the profession must fight back

In late August the Law Society formally commenced judicial review proceedings of the Legal Services Commission’s (LSC’s) recent family tender exercise, which cut the number of firms able to do family law legal aid work from 2,400 to 1,300 and severely threatens access to justice.

The society was forced to take these steps because the LSC has brought about a situation where there is likely to be inadequate availability of lawyers for care proceedings, and where in future many people, including the victims of domestic violence, will be unable to find a lawyer close enough to them who is willing and able to take on their case. In addition, the clients of around 1,000 firms face serious disruption, and the LSC appears to have no measures in place to handle the transitional chaos.

The LSC still seems to be in denial about the severity of the implications for vulnerable clients, which has left them unable

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