Law Society president celebrates work of students and practitioners in closing access to justice gap

Christine McLintock, president of the Law Society of Scotland delivered the Aberdeen Law Project’s Annual Lecture last month on “Access to justice in the 21st century”.

She began by praising the ALP’s work, saying: “I was privileged to visit those involved in the Aberdeen Law Project recently. The project, which provides pro bono legal assistance, has made a significant contribution to access to justice, helping over 1000 people since it was established in 2009.

“The project is just one example of the amazing work that many law students do even before they qualify as solicitors. The level of commitment, professionalism, innovation and enthusiasm shown by those who are involved in the law clinics at our universities is something I have reflected on many times during my year as president of the Law Society.”

She went on to discuss Scotland’s shrinking legal aid budget which went from £161.4m in 2010/2011 to £138m in 2014/15. The target budget for 2016/17 sees another steep drop – to £126.4m.

“This will be less in cash terms than 20 years ago and, accounting for inflation, represents around a 50 per cent cut in real terms over those two decades,” she said.

“Scotland’s legal aid budget cannot continue to be squeezed. While Scotland’s legal aid system is designed to meet the costs of legal aid on a case-by-case basis for all eligible cases, there are fees for particular types of work which were set in 1992 and have not been revised, with some of the1992 rates having been halved. Additional cuts would be extremely challenging for firms which are already struggling. Many cannot afford to take on trainee solicitors. This presents a threat to the future of access to justice in a country committed to improving social justice and equality.”

The Law Society president also discussed the use of new technologies by lawyers, such as text chat on websites and videoconferencing but noted that new technologies help those who are already able to help themselves and that vulnerable groups who cannot avail themselves of these changes “should not be deprived of access to legal advice.”

Ms McLintock added that access to justice should be about early prevention rather than late intervention.

She said: “In England and Wales research by Citizens Advice in 2010, has shown the scale of the potential benefits of funding early intervention. For every £1 of legal aid expenditure on advice on housing, debt, benefits or employment issues there could be savings of up to £8.80 in public sector spend at a later stage.

“Early intervention can also help prevent homelessness, family separation, damage to future employability, community disruption, healthcare costs and other demands on public services.”

Finally, she said it was the responsibility of a “humane society” to ensure access to justice for everyone and that “the future of access to justice in Scotland will be about how we close that gap by helping to deliver better legal services to communities.”

“I’m optimistic, not least because of the work that LLB students and our members carry out on behalf of clients, demonstrating the skills, commitment and professionalism that are the hallmarks of Scottish solicitors.”