By Catherine Baksi


The Legal Services Commission (LSC) was on the receiving end of yet another legal challenge to its controversial legal aid reforms this week, with ethnic minority lawyers' groups the latest to threaten judicial review proceedings.



The Society of Asian Lawyers (SAL) and the Black Solicitors Network (BSN) have sent the LSC a letter before action, challenging its alleged failure to carry out a full race equality impact assessment of changes implementing Lord Carter's proposals on the funding of criminal defence services.



Representatives of the groups claimed this amounts to a breach of the government's statutory duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.



The LSC's proposals make arrangements for the staged introduction of best value tendering, which will reduce the number of law firms providing criminal defence services. The SAL and the BSN said black and minority ethnic (BME) firms will be disproportionately affected because they are over-represented among small practices, which will be most affected by closures.



LSC legal director Ruth Wayte said BME lawyers have an important place in the future of legal aid, but the commission did not believe litigation was in the interests of clients.



The LSC has meanwhile extended its consultation on last minute changes to the allocation of duty solicitor work, backing down after the Law Society threatened judicial review over the original time-scale.



Law Society Vice-President Andrew Holroyd said: 'This is yet further proof that the LSC are attempting to push through their so-called reforms far too quickly.'



Chancery Lane has also issued proceedings against the LSC in relation to the unified civil legal aid contract, which it claims does not comply with UK and EU legislation on public service contracts.



Ms Wayte said the LSC was disappointed at the Society's response.