The other side of the coin

There are at least two sides to every story, and in the case of the labyrinthine issues surrounding state funded legal work, two sides are probably not even the half of it.

Our report last week on the findings of the National Audit Office and the subsequent fall out this week at the Public Accounts Committee, have illustrated one side of the story.

The watchdogs of the public purse are right to press the Community Legal Service to get value for money out of its contracted solicitors' firms.

It is absolutely right and proper that bills be monitored and that overcharging be penalised.

But as our recent postbag illustrates, the issue of value of money and working practices in the civil legal aid field are far from black and white.

Firstly, while the CLS regulations have been drafted in the sanitised environment of theory, solicitors on the ground are working the mucky world of reality.

And the reality is that family law issues, housing and other social depravation matters usually will not conform to the clinical precision envisaged in bureaucratic offices.

Secondly, it is no secret that legal aid practitioners operate on low fees and even thinner margins and profitability.

In general, there has been almost no upward movement in rates during the past eight years, which translates to a considerable loss in real terms.

Overcharging could never be justified.

However, the allegations need to be viewed against a backdrop of poor remuneration and at times inflexible rules.