Criminal defence solicitors have warned that they are fed up with the 'old fashioned' view that they deserve less than barristers when it comes to respect and funding, and said they will impose a 'no money, no work' rule if the government continues its current policy towards legal aid.


Speaking at the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) annual conference in Nottingham, chairwoman Helen Cousins told delegates that its members are 'at the bottom of the profession' when it comes to government esteem and complained that programmes such as the Public Defender Service were only making matters worse.



CDS Direct, the telephone advice service set up by the government to deal with police station advice, was also causing morale and financial problems, Ms Cousins argued, while rows over the very high cost cases scheme had only served to prove that 'the bar are worthy, as of right, of more money simply because they are barristers and we are solicitors'.



Ms Cousins warned that defence solicitors were bubbling with 'discontent, distrust and disillusionment', and threatened that the system would 'grind to a halt' if they pulled out. She added: 'Maybe we have been pushed as far as we can take.'



Also speaking at the conference, the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith, admitted that the role of the defence lawyer was not currently appreciated as much as it should be, but he argued that the government had 'come a long way' in understanding their work in the last year. He also acknowledged that there was a recruitment problem and urged more 'bright young people' to enter the criminal legal profession.