On 31 January, the High Court ruled in favour of the Law Society in its battle against the government over criminal legal aid fees.
This important decision marks a crucial development in the profession’s drive to secure a sustainable settlement for publicly funded criminal defence services.
The Law Society contested the government's implementation of the Bellamy review on criminal legal aid funding, which recommended a minimum cash injection of £100 million into the system, which roughly translated as a 15% fee increase to all legal aid fees. Despite this recommendation, the government opted for a funding settlement below the suggested minimum.
Due to the significant impact on criminal solicitors, the LCCSA (London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association, a professional association that represents over 800 members, mainly criminal defence solicitors based in London) and its sister organisation the CLSA joined the litigation as interested parties.
Lord Justice Singh and Mr Justice Jay ruled in favour of The Law Society on key aspects of its claim. Their judgment declared that the government's approach to its latest funding settlement was so fundamentally flawed as to be deemed "irrational" and, consequently, unlawful.
Edward Jones is Senior Associate at Kingsley Napley and the current President of the LCCSA. He played a central role in this appeal, orchestrating the LCCSA's litigation, compiling the association's evidence, submitting it to the court, and advocating the matter on behalf of the association in the media.
Edward told The Law Society Gazette that he hopes the government
‘takes this opportunity to seriously address the crisis that is currently enveloping legal aid criminal defence firms and provide a new funding settlement that seeks to properly address the magnitude of the problem’.
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