ABUSE: law firms fear proposals will encourage negligence


Proposed reforms to legal aid will destroy specialist civil liberties teams, practitioners have warned.



In a letter to the Legal Services Commision (LSC), a group of high-profile firms - including Bindman & Partners and Christian Khan - said plans to introduce fixed and graduated fees as a precursor to price competitive tendering, combined with the abolition of payment for travel and new geographic boundary limitations, will lead to the 'immediate dismantlement' of specialist teams.



Cases dealt with by specialist providers tend to be more complex and time-consuming, and are likely to be unprofitable under the fixed fee scheme, they said.



Niche civil liberties cases should be taken out of the standard criminal contract, in the same way that very high-cost cases have been, the firms suggested, with the creation of a panel of firms that have a track record in dealing with such matters.



In terms of payment, the practitioners said there should be a system of fixed fees with an escape mechanism of three or four times the fixed fee for particularly long or complex cases.



Michael Schwarz, partner at Bindman & Partners, said: 'Clients will not have access to specialist lawyers and their human rights will be at risk - it will be an encouragement for negligence or abuse by state officials in and is a recipe for injustice.'



Firms in the group have been involved in wrongful conviction cases such as the Guildford Four, the Birmingham Six, and Sion Jenkins.



An LSC spokesman said the comments would be considered, but he added: 'The legal aid reforms are specifically about maximising access to legal aid for the future.



'By achieving best value for money and rebalancing the overall budget to provide more funding for civil work, we can continue to increase the numbers of people helped.'



Catherine Baksi