Lawyers face payment delays following LAA cyber attack

A clearer picture of the fallout from a cyber attack on the Legal Aid Agency is starting to emerge – with legal aid lawyers, already operating on the edges of financial viability, facing delays in getting paid.

After discovering that ‘significant amounts’ of legal aid applicants’ personal data may have been accessed during a cyber attack on the LAA, the Ministry of Justice yesterday said it had taken the LAA Online Portal offline.

LAA chief executive Jane Harbottle said contingency plans were in place ‘to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time’.

However, one solicitor who runs a legal aid firm told the Gazette all they had been told was that when they can access the portal again, they will be able to backdate legal aid orders. But the solicitor said that until an application is processed, they have no idea if they will get legal aid.

‘We currently have no idea when the portal will be back up and so are unlikely to represent unless we have that guarantee of legal aid to avoid the risk of doing (even more) work for free,’ the solicitor said.

The Gazette understands that the online portal will remain offline until a replacement service is in place, which could take weeks. Providers have been given phone numbers and emails to contact the agency about applications and bills.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice said those behind the cyber-attack may have accessed personal data of applicants who have used the digital service since 2010. The data may have included contact details and addresses, date of birth, national insurance numbers, criminal history, employment status and financial data.

Legal aid applicants have been urged to stay alert for any suspicious activity, such as unknown messages and phone calls.

A solicitor told the Gazette they were particularly concerned about family cases, as case details, as well as bank statements, mortgage and car documents, are uploaded, so anyone who accessed the LAA's systems would know a client's vulnerabilities.

Law firm Kingsley Napley said higher net worth individuals who initially used a duty solicitor before switching to privately funded advice are at risk of being blackmailed.

Helen Morris, Kingsley Napley’s head of reputation management, said people may have been interviewed by police but never charged, with the investigation never entering the public domain.

‘The possession of this highly sensitive information in the wrong hands could make any individual subject to blackmail threats but high net worth individuals or those who otherwise have a public profile are obviously particularly vulnerable to be targeted.

'The right to privacy in a police investigation was firmly established in the Supreme Court case of ZXC v Bloomberg. The law recognises how damaging reputationally it is to be subject to police investigation and injunctive relief can be sought to stop the spread of such information particularly where blackmail is involved,' Morris said.