Lawyers rapped for not taking tribunals seriously

CRIMINAL COMPENSATION: 'ill-prepared' solicitors face wrath

The solicitor chairman of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (CICAP) has spoken out against lawyers for their failure to treat tribunals seriously enough and said their performance before the panel is sometimes embarrassing.

Roger Goodier, a former partner at trade union firm Rowley Ashworth and now CICAP chairman until 2006, called the quality of legal representation at panel hearings 'variable' and said 'the impression given is that representation or conduct on behalf of applicants is sometimes done by staff members who are not of the highest quality'.

'Members of the legal profession need to work out whether they are going to engage with tribunals,' he said.

'There are 70 tribunals operating in the UK, affecting about one million people a year - there is little doubt that the use and importance of tribunals is growing.

'The quality of representation at CICAP hearings is sometimes excellent, sometimes mediocre and occasionally an embarrassment.'

Mr Goodier made clear that 'legal professionals who are ill-prepared or who believe appeals can be handled by untrained junior members of staff' would be dealt with 'robustly'.

The CICAP has the power to withhold or reduce compensation if an applicant or representative does not give 'reasonable assistance'.

The CICAP hears appeals against decisions by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, where all applications are processed on paper.

The authority is expected to receive 80,000 applications this year, while in the next six months it is scheduled to sit for 565 hearing days.

A three-strong panel drawn from a membership consisting of 24 medical experts, 39 lay persons and 49 lawyers takes each CICAP hearing.

Andrew Towler