Legal aid troubles hit family law cases
Solicitors quitting publicly-funded work that no longer pays
People seeking legal advice on difficult family situations are finding it increasingly difficult to get a solicitor to take on their case under legal aid, according to a survey by the Family Law Association (FLA).
Since a new block payment structure was introduced in civil cases in 2003, family lawyers have felt themselves at a particular disadvantage as the payments do not recognise the amount of work they have to do at the outset before reaching the stage of court proceedings.
The FLA survey revealed that more than half of law firms who responded have reduced the amount of publicly-funded family law work they offer by at least 50%. Firms that still take on new cases cannot cope with the numbers seeking advice.
Solicitors admit that in areas such as Edinburgh, there is a serious difficulty with many people struggling to find a solicitor to take on their case if they are not an established client.
The FLA has been in talks for some time with the Scottish Legal Aid Board, which admits that more flexibility in the payment structure is needed but has yet to offer firm proposals.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Executive said that monitoring of the 2003 changes to legal aid payments was continuing and any necessary changes to the regulations were being considered.
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