The scandalous remuneration rates under the litigator graduated fee scheme (LGFS) have prompted this letter.


We represented a youth under the old scheme who pleaded guilty to four offences of robbery. The court accepted that an intensive supervision and surveillance programme (ISSP) was the appropriate sentence. Two weeks later, that youth received an eight-month detention and training order for a further offence of robbery; he had breached his ISSP and is facing a substantial sentence.



The Legal Services Commission (LSC) advised that the fee payable was £86 plus VAT for attending on client, including hearing. This £86 was payable because the case started under the old scheme and therefore under the new scheme nothing would be payable.



The obscenity of this situation was conveyed to the LSC in respect of how a youth's rights and expectations within the criminal justice system were being treated. The commission sympathised with our concerns and said they had received similar complaints.



We requested details of the Law Society representatives who were involved in negotiations about the LGFS. We are still awaiting these details.



How can the standards expected under the legal aid umbrella reflect justice when the fees paid are less than those paid to a plumber to fix a leaking tap?



Harris Cuffaro & Nichols, Old Harlow, Essex