Solicitors call for legal aid special meeting
8 May 06
Society moved to shun Executive over legal aid rates of pay
The Law Society of Scotland is to hold a special general meeting on 19 May as called for by legal aid practitioners who believe that the Scottish Executive has failed to meet promises made on legal aid.
The requisition for the meeting received by the Society last week is on the motion: "The Scottish Executive having failed to honour the commitments to properly remunerate solicitors engaged in solemn work, the Society should withdraw all co-operation in criminal matters from the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Legal Aid Board."
Under the Society's constitution, 20 solicitors can requisition a special general meeting. All 10,000 practising solicitors in Scotland are entitled to attend.
If the motion is passed at the meeting, it will be considered by the Society's council. If the council supports the motion it will decide on how the Society's policy should change and the course of action to be taken.
Caroline Flanagan, President of the Society, said: "The Society worked closely with the Scottish Executive to ensure that the changes to the High Court system were effective. Solicitors played an important part in ensuring those changes worked. That work involved tremendous time and commitment and is producing results, particularly in improving the efficiency of the courts.
"The Executive said it would look at fair remuneration for solicitors working in the High Court and sheriff court once a new system for solemn fees was in place. Savings made from a more efficient justice system should be reinvested into legal aid so that solicitors can continue to offer this important service for people in need of legal advice.
"It is disappointing that two years later, the new system is not in place and we are told that it will be at least a further year before the new block fee system linked with quality assurance is introduced. The interim increase offered is much less than anticipated and I can understand why there is so much concern in the profession."
Oliver Adair, convener of the Legal Aid Solicitors Committee, said: "The Society shares the profession's disappointment at the lack of progress on this matter. However, we are still hopeful that the Executive can produce a package that the Society could put to the special general meeting with a positive recommendation which would be acceptable to the profession."