Society warning on legal aid
27 Oct 06
Executive must invest to secure viability of private practice, Adair claims
Significant reforms of the legal aid system in Scotland will only stop legal aid deserts if there is a long term investment in solicitors already providing these services, the Law Society of Scotland has warned.
Speaking ahead of the annual Legal Aid Conference which opens today, Oliver Adair, Convener of the Society’s Legal Aid Solicitors Committee said: “Solicitors engaged in civil business are having to make difficult decisions every day about the viability of continuing to work in some areas of legally-aided work. We are told that is now spreading to other areas of work."
Commenting on the announcement last week that the number of Public Defence Solicitors' Offices in Scotland is to rise from three to nine, he said that there had never been a proper debate about the necessity, advisability or cost effectiveness of a mixed provision model.
“In criminal legal aid, if the Scottish Executive’s answer is to invest in solicitors funded directly by them through the Scottish Legal Aid Board, then they must carry out a full evaluation of the existing pilot schemes before committing valuable resources to such a major expansion."
“We are frequently told that there is no new blood coming into this area of the profession. You only have to look at the number of trainees at legal aid firms to know that there will not be enough to replace the retiring solicitors in the foreseeable future."
The Society, he said, would continue to press the Scottish Executive for fair remuneration for all solicitors providing legal advice under the legal aid scheme and ensure that the profession’s voice is heard during forthcoming reforms.
“To secure the future of legal aid provision in Scotland, the Society strongly believes that the Scottish Executive’s priority now should be investment in the long term viability of private solicitors providing an independent, value for money service,” he concluded.