Threat: temporarily withdrawing from police station work could lead to contract termination


The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has started clamping down on solicitors who take action temporarily to withdraw from police station work in protest at the government's proposed legal aid reforms, the Gazette learnt last week.

Exeter firms that took a sabbatical from their duty solicitor slots from 22 December to 2 January have been threatened with contract termination if they repeat their action.



In a letter seen by the Gazette, the LSC has warned the firms that 'contract sanctions' will be implemented 'should there be any further failure to cover [the] allocated slots, for whatever reason'. It also warned that 'the option of issuing a formal contract notice' will also be considered.



One Exeter solicitor who received the letter said: 'Our contracts say we have the right to take up to three months' sabbatical without notice, and we were simply exercising that right.' He added: 'We wanted to cause maximum disruption and hoped it might make people take notice and stir other practitioners into action.'



Ian Kelcey, chairman of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA), said the LSC's approach risked 'alienating' practitioners. An LSC spokesman said: 'We are just ensuring that all firms that hold a general criminal contract adhere to it.'

Around 400 solicitors attended a national CLSA meeting last week to discuss the legal aid reforms. In Leeds, all criminal law solicitors bar those on the duty solicitor rota declined to attend police stations and magistrates' courts on the day of the meeting.



Mr Kelcey said he understood the anger that had driven some solicitors across the country to take action, but stressed that any decision to do so had to be a matter of individual choice. He said the CLSA had obtained competition law advice from City firm Linklaters indicating that any firm or representative body that encouraged or organised action that would restrict the supply of criminal defence services would be liable to an Office of Fair Trading investigation, and could be fined up to 10% of turnover.



However, given the speed of change in legal aid, solicitors express-ed interest in local training days to be held at the end of January to keep them informed of developments.



Delegates at the CLSA meeting criticised the Law Society for its stance on the Carter reforms. Southampton solicitor Roger Peach, who has successfully petitioned the Society for a special general meeting on legal aid to be held this week, said: 'Politicians assess the opponents by crude means; they understand power. We have shown no fight, and we have been a soft touch. We need to demonstrate to the government that we are no longer a soft touch.



'It is not good enough to urge a tactical war - the Law Society needs to take a principled position. As [Law Society vice-president] Andrew Holroyd has said that the reforms present a direct threat to justice, I can't see why the Society has a problem opposing them directly.'



Mr Holroyd said: 'The Law Society's objective is to secure a sustainable future for legal aid. The government's current proposals threaten the viability of an already economically fragile sector and so access to justice. We are gathering economic evidence and have commissioned legal advice to equip us in our continuing negotiations with government and the LSC to get a genuinely workable solution. We are also working closely with Parliamentarians.'



Catherine Baksi and Rachel Rothwell