ACCESS: groups fear minority ethnic firms will go bust


Human rights group Liberty is the latest high-profile organisation to back a legal challenge to the Carter reforms launched by the Black Solicitors Network (BSN) and Society of Asian Lawyers.



Anna Fairclough, legal officer at Liberty, told the Gazette: 'The Carter reforms have glaring implications not only for the future diversity of the profession and the judiciary, but also for the ability of individuals to instruct a solicitor of their choice.



'The... failure to conduct a proper race impact assessment or to give proper effect to their positive duties to promote equality of opportunity demonstrates their insistence on pursuing cost-cutting measures at the expense of access to justice.'



She confirmed that Liberty will not intervene in the action immediately but will do so if it reaches the Court of Appeal.



The BSN/SAL action has already received backing from the Commission for Racial Equality and the Law Society. The groups believe black and minority ethnic firms (BME) will be disproportionately affected by the introduction of fixed fees and competitive tendering, and claim many will be forced out of business altogether. BSN chairman Stephen Friday said, 'It's a signal of the strength of feeling on the ground. Our action is specifically on the lack of a race impact assessment but there are general grounds for opposition across the board.'



A Legal Services Commission spokeswoman said the reforms were vital to the future of legal aid. 'We want a system that is fair for the vulnerable, defendants, providers and the taxpayer,' she said.



Anita Rice