INADEQUATE: LAPG questions legality of plan, which it says could be indirectly discriminatory


The Legal Services Commission (LSC) could face a further legal challenge if it proceeds with its proposed litigator graduated fee scheme, the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) has warned.



Responding to the LSC's consultation on the plan to replace the current after-the-event determination of solicitors' bills with a graduated fee, the LAPG suggested that to proceed with it in its present form would be unlawful.



It questioned the legality of the scheme, which it said had been devised without adequate data - a fact acknowledged by the LSC in parts of its consultation paper - and which failed to take any or sufficient account of relevant information on its likely impact, and which had failed to take into account changes in law and procedure.



The LAPG said the scheme may also be indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of race and disability, and had been prepared without an adequate race impact assessment.



LAPG chairman Roy Morgan said: 'The LSC has failed to take account of the impact on the supplier base having regard to all the other proposed changes, and to proceed with a scheme that clearly seems to be unlawful leaves the LSC open to challenge.'



The scheme, which aims to cut the Crown Court spend by £28 million, is based on indicators of complexity such as offence type, trial length and the amount of documentary evidence served by the Crown, with an uplift for multiple defendants.



The LSC put forward two further options to enhance payment - the addition of further uplifts to the scheme, or an increased initial fee for each case.



In its response, the Law Society heavily criticised the scheme and called for a delay in its introduction or a phased implementation. It said it was difficult to prefer either option as neither would adequately reward solicitors.



Elsewhere, following requests from representative bodies concerning the proposed alterations to the operation of the duty solicitor scheme, the LSC has agreed to extend the period 'own solicitors' have to respond to a client's request for representation before a duty solicitor takes on the case from 30 minutes to two hours.



Catherine Baksi