England: Liverpool lawyers threaten to refuse cases over legal aid cuts

More than 100 of Liverpool’s criminal solicitors and barristers met this week to discuss their response to UK government legal aid cuts.

The lawyers have threatened to refuse to take on new criminal cases from 1 July in protest of the fresh cuts.

All of the city’s barristers’ chambers and a majority of solicitors were represented at the meeting, called after the announcement of a planned 8.75 per cent reduction of the criminal legal aid budget from the start of next month.

In a speech on Tuesday, Justice Secretary Michael Gove said the UK was spending too much on legal aid compared to other European countries and urged lawyers to take on more pro bono work instead.

However, local law figures believe the cuts will cause “huge problems with access to justice”.

A joint statement issued after the Liverpool meeting said: “If the cut is to be implemented then solicitors will have sustained a 17.5% cut over a 15-month period in a profession that has not seen an increase to rates in over 20 years.

“The government recognise that the profession is fragile and yet continue to take grave risks with the stability of the criminal justice system.”

Zoe Gascoyne, who chairs Liverpool Law Society’s Criminal Practice Committee, told the Liverpool Echo: “We have decided that we cannot allow the continued assault by the government upon access to justice and so individual firms are currently deciding whether they are in a position to take on any new cases on and after July 1.

“Locally the criminal bar have decided that they will not take on any new case charged after July 1.

“This is a controversial move but criminal legal aid affects the most vulnerable in society, whether victims or defendants, and while they might not have the ability to make themselves heard, lawyers do.

“It is hoped that the Lord Chancellor will consider what we have said and we invite open and honest discourse with him.”