The Ministry of Justice has raised the idea of taking client account interest from all law firms to generate extra cash for access to justice, the Gazette has learned.

The department has held a series of roundtables this month with legal aid providers on the possibility of an Interest on Lawyers' Client Account (ILCA) scheme. It has also spoken to regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

One roundtable attendee told the Gazette that the ministry suggested taking the full benefit from client account interest from all firms, which might be fed back into legal aid work.

However, the ministry’s thinking appears to have raised more questions than answers. The solicitor remained unclear about who would be in charge of the scheme, whether the MoJ would run the client account, whether the ministry would take all the interest or pay a fair sum to clients as law firms are expected to, where the interest would be used - and which legal services would benefit.

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The solicitor said many firms rely on the interest to assist cashflow, while some use it to cover general overheads and training, and some firms would fold immediately without it. 

The MoJ told the Gazette that no decisions have made been on the scope of the scheme but noted that in other jurisdictions, similar schemes take interest on money lawyers hold for clients in areas of work such as conveyancing and probate.

A ministry spokesperson said: ‘This government is committed to improving access to justice for those that need it. We are exploring the possibility of an Interest on Lawyers’ Client Account scheme and will provide an update in due course.’