Adam Makepeace explains how his firm is using freelance solicitors to expand into the legal aid void


Reforms in the publicly funded sector have been a battleground between the government and the legal profession over the last few years. Notwithstanding the Law Society’s occasional success, overall the tide of reform has followed the agenda set out by the Legal Services Commission.



The profession has been told for years that firms need to be run as businesses – not least by the Law Society itself. When it comes to running a business, you need to look into the future and construct a clear vision of what you hope to achieve. This is particularly important when faced with something like the Carter reform programme, which obviously has the potential to dramatically erode margins in undertaking criminal work.



As some firms abandon criminal work, a natural consequence is scope for expansion in crime work for others. The gateway to this new work is guarded by those who hold coveted duty solicitor spots in police stations around the country. Firms interested in maintaining a criminal practice have had their work cut out in either retaining or wooing these power brokers – who are able to operate on a freelance basis and offer their services to the highest bidder.



To attract freelance duty solicitors, Duncan Lewis has offered aggressively attractive commission rates to get them to come on board. The hope is to increase the volume of criminal work, particularly Crown Court work, and seek to make the work profitable through efficient office structures and the use of in-house Crown Court advocates. In addition, by opening new offices in the areas where freelance duty solicitors have been engaged, we hope to open up new areas of expansion for other areas of publicly funded work – and then develop a broader practice in these locations.



Successful expansion of the business requires more than just a kamikaze penchant to take on low-paid work. The cost structure of the business does need to be extremely carefully planned. Even though Duncan Lewis is less than ten years old, the infrastructure is in place for a modern low-margin legal business. The company partners closely with the providers of its digital dictation system. This is supported by a secretarial network provided by a third-party supplier based in India. This helps the company attract the very best lawyers who share the vision of undertaking social welfare law to aid the most vulnerable in society – while remaining financially viable.



It is a difficult balance to strike. Duncan Lewis has no desire to be out of step with firms that oppose reforms which put them in obvious financial difficulty. However, the needs of its existing publicly funded clients (around 15,000 cases a year) already require the firm to balance this with the necessity for a lean business model supported by a blend of highly trained solicitors and closely supervised junior staff. This year will be another tough one – but Duncan Lewis & Co remains committed to successfully delivering social welfare work.



Adam Makepeace is practice manager of Duncan Lewis & Co in Harrow, north London