Legal Services Commission (LSC) plans to set up a bidding round to cut the number of criminal law specialist firms operating in big cities are floundering in the face of opposition from the profession.

The LSC had hoped to set up a competitive tendering scheme by July next year, beginning with a pilot in London, with a view to cutting the number of contract holders by more than 50%. However, representatives from practitioner groups and the Law Society warned there would be 'a lot of problems' in the capital if the project went wrong.


They fear that small firms would be forced out of business by the planned rationalisation if there is no rescue package in place. The LSC's plans have now been put on hold until the problems are thrashed out.


Warren: restrictive contracting
A meeting with the Department for Constitutional Affairs has also been proposed amid concerns that it may not have grasped the depth of feeling among practitioners.


An LSC spokesman said it recognised the concerns and was planning comprehensive consultation on the matter. 'We will write to all the firms contracted by us to carry out criminal defence work as soon as a final timetable has been established,' he said.


Criminal Law Solicitors Association director Rodney Warren said the LSC could not create an open market with the restrictive contracting conditions it imposed. 'We cannot comprehend that the inevitable savings the LSC has in mind will actually happen if its plans went ahead,' he said. 'It has an obligation to safeguard the profession that it is contracting with - even if that means putting its ideas on the back-burner.'


Brian Craig, practice manager at national firm Tuckers, said: 'It is all well and good talking about reducing the number of suppliers, but those who are left have to be able to deal with the [advice] shortfall. Hopefully, the LSC is slowly cottoning on to that.'