I find it strange that the government and Legal Services Commission should be so intent on pushing through the legal aid reforms they advocate with little or no regard to the views of both sides of the profession. Could there be a hidden agenda?


What if the real intention behind the changes is to force out of business as many legal aid firms as possible? A void would thereby be created into which large commercial companies, such as Tesco, could step. To capture market share, these companies may well be prepared to cross-subsidise their legal operations with free rent and other overheads, and to operate them as a loss leader. The contribution made out of the public purse would then fall. An intriguing thought.



John Roney, Lee & Pembertons, London