Criminal barristers are not paid for all the work involved in preparing a case for trial under the current legal aid system, an influential group of MPs has been told – as pressure mounts on the new justice secretary to reopen negotiations over funding reforms.

Alejandra Llorente Tascon, co-chair of the Criminal Bar Association’s young bar sub-committee, told the House of Commons justice select committee yesterday that in her first year of practice, she earned £12,000 before expenses. Expenses include the daily cost of travelling to court, which could range from £8 for a travelcard to £200 to travel ‘to the other side of the UK’, practising certificate fees, indemnity insurance, subscriptions to keep up to date with the law and chambers’ fees.

The committee heard that barristers do not get paid until a case concludes. Llorente Tascon had a case this week that has been adjourned until next July. However, the government’s 15% fee uplift will only apply to new cases from 30 September.

Asked what a ‘reasonable amount’ in terms of remuneration would be, Llorente Tascon said: ‘A reasonable amount would be an amount that pays for the work we put into a case. Many of us will pick up a case, and we will do defence statements, skeleton arguments, position statements, whatever it be by way of written work, we will do conferences, we will have telephone calls with solicitors. We won’t get paid for any of that because none of that work is billable under the current legal aid scheme. It’s not about putting a magic number to say this is what a fair figure is, it’s getting fairly remunerated for the work you’re putting in.’

She added that what she earned in her first year was ‘significantly less’ than what she paid for her bar course, which cost £18,000. ‘I paid more to get to the point where I could have the privilege of being a barrister than what I earned by being a barrister.’

CBA chair Kirsty Brimelow QC said the association’s demand of a 25% fee uplift would not reverse the 28% decrease in incomes.

Brimelow told the committee that the criminal bar’s action was about the junior bar, including the ‘mid level’ range of juniors whose earnings were poor, prompting them to quit at a point where they could be a part-time judge or recorder.

She said there had been no engagement with Dominic Raab to discuss the CBA's demands, despite pushing for meetings with him. The CBA has requested a meeting with the new justice secretary this week.

On what would be enough to end the strike, Brimelow said the action is decided by CBA members and a 'substantial positive movement from the government', which includes applying the 15% fee uplift to cases in the backlog, would be put to them.

The evidence session ended shortly before Downing Street announced that barrister and former Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis had been appointed to succeed Raab.