Emergency meetings of the Law Society’s legal affairs and policy board and governing council have been convened in anticipation of the imminent announcement of the government’s final plans for criminal legal aid.

The Society has also organised meetings with the five largest law societies, specialist groups representing criminal law solicitors and its criminal law and access to justice committees.

Chancery Lane said it is seeking views from the profession to inform its response to the Ministry of Justice’s final announcement, which is expected before the end of the month. It follows last week's event hosted by the Law Society at which the justice secretary Chris Grayling (pictured) said the announcement would be made ‘pretty quickly’.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: ‘We have consistently opposed cuts to fees which risk the livelihoods of committed criminal law solicitors who are at the heart of the criminal justice system defending and upholding the rule of law.’

He said: ‘The Society is keen to ensure it consults our membership as widely as possible before following our internal governance procedures to reach a decision on how to respond to the government’s final announcement, which will include recalling council to an emergency meeting.’

The MoJ could not confirm the date of the announcement, but a spokeswoman said it would be made ‘shortly’.