Criminal defence solicitors are set to orchestrate a national 'quiet day' every month in protest at legal aid cuts following unanimous support for the idea at the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) annual conference last week.


The move will mean a nationwide extension of the monthly protest held for the second time last week by more than 40 criminal defence firms in Cardiff (see [2004] Gazette, 30 September, 4).



Under the protest, which aims to minimise any difficulties for clients, solicitors will seek to ensure that adjournments or bail hearings are not set for the quiet day. They will still deal with trial work.



LAPG chairman Roy Morgan said: 'New legislation on domestic violence, money-laundering regulations, the Mental Health Bill, anti-social behaviour orders, the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as well as new initiatives such as the effective trial management programme, have all placed demands on the criminal legal aid budget. But not one penny has been put into the budget to accommodate these.



'Instead, there have been two major cuts to the income of criminal practitioners since February and the spectre of further cuts as a result of CDS Direct.'



He added: 'The LAPG endorses and supports the action taken by Cardiff solicitors and there has been unanimous support from the committee and members for a national quiet day.'



Mr Morgan hinted that the Cardiff protest had already proved effective, saying he had been approached to attend a meeting next week to discuss the issue with 'the powers-that-be'.



He added that he would be seeking support for the initiative from the Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) at its forthcoming annual conference.



CLSA director Rodney Warren said: 'A number of people have asked whether there will be an opportunity to discuss [a national quiet day] at our conference and that will happen during the course of the programme. There appears to be a lot of support for the idea among criminal practitioners.'



A spokesman for the Legal Services Commission said it had not yet been informed of a national day of action.



For details of the CLSA conference on 12 November, e-mail: Sue@clsa.co.uk.