Continuing pain in the high street

The past ten years have been the most traumatic in the legal aid system's 50-plus years of existence.

First, Tory Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay slashed eligibility levels; then Labour Lord Chancellor Lord Irvine comprehensively overhauled the means by which legal aid is delivered.The impact of those policies has had a profound effect on solicitors, as the results of our survey published this week graphically illustrate.

With co-operation from the leading specialist practitioner groups, we surveyed a cross-section of solicitors' practices at the grass roots of legal aid provision.

The message back was clear: nearly 60% had given up some aspect of legal aid work or were considering dropping existing contracts; and more than 80% had no intention of taking on new areas of legal aid work.

The reason? More than half said legal aid is now unprofitable, with many also claiming that it is overly bureaucratic.

That combination has meant that more than 50% of the responding firms had experienced significant difficulties in recruiting qualified and administrative staff.A sea-change continues in legal aid provision, and it is likely to result in far fewer solicitors offering the service.

It has long been speculated that just such a result is the government's ultimate goal, with ministers driven by the view that fewer, more specialist providers translates to better quality and higher efficiency.

That clearly remains to be seen; but in the interim expect more pain in the high street along the way.