*/
The Bar Council backed the government’s plan to restructure payments to Crown court advocates while the Law Society warned it will cause bankruptcies, market failure and advice deserts.
Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation, Reforming the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), the Bar Council said it ‘supports’ the new structure, which will introduce a categorised system for payments rather than relying on the number of pages of prosecution evidence, and increase QCs’ fees by 10%.
But, it criticised the ‘inadequate’ rates and warned that years of falling fees had created an ‘unsustainable situation’ that ‘needs urgently rectifying’.
Many chambers, it said, had calculated that the changes will result in cuts to their income. It suggested running the old and new scheme in parallel for six to 12 months and called for ongoing reviews and adjustments.
The Bar Council also proposed index-linking payments to prevent future erosion by inflation and called for the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS) to be ‘rebalanced’ to reward litigators properly for case preparation.
But, in its response, the Law Society said the changes would make junior barristers and solicitor advocates ‘considerably worse off’ and warned they will cause firms to ‘go bankrupt, risking localised market failure and advice deserts, and jeopardising the administration of justice’.
Meanwhile, solicitors threatened strike action in protest over planned cuts to the LGFS that will reduce payments for preparation and slash the fees paid to court-appointed advocates by at least 75%.
The Bar Council backed the government’s plan to restructure payments to Crown court advocates while the Law Society warned it will cause bankruptcies, market failure and advice deserts.
Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation, Reforming the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), the Bar Council said it ‘supports’ the new structure, which will introduce a categorised system for payments rather than relying on the number of pages of prosecution evidence, and increase QCs’ fees by 10%.
But, it criticised the ‘inadequate’ rates and warned that years of falling fees had created an ‘unsustainable situation’ that ‘needs urgently rectifying’.
Many chambers, it said, had calculated that the changes will result in cuts to their income. It suggested running the old and new scheme in parallel for six to 12 months and called for ongoing reviews and adjustments.
The Bar Council also proposed index-linking payments to prevent future erosion by inflation and called for the Litigators’ Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS) to be ‘rebalanced’ to reward litigators properly for case preparation.
But, in its response, the Law Society said the changes would make junior barristers and solicitor advocates ‘considerably worse off’ and warned they will cause firms to ‘go bankrupt, risking localised market failure and advice deserts, and jeopardising the administration of justice’.
Meanwhile, solicitors threatened strike action in protest over planned cuts to the LGFS that will reduce payments for preparation and slash the fees paid to court-appointed advocates by at least 75%.
Chair of the Bar sets out a busy calendar for the rest of the year
By Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management
Examined by Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
Time is precious for barristers. Every moment spent chasing paperwork, organising diaries, or managing admin is time taken away from what matters most: preparation, advocacy and your clients. That’s where Eden Assistants step in
AlphaBiolabs has announced its latest Giving Back donation to RAY Ceredigion, a grassroots West Wales charity that provides play, learning and community opportunities for families across Ceredigion County
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, outlines why barristers, solicitors, judges, social workers and local authorities across the UK trust AlphaBiolabs for court-admissible testing
Through small but meaningful efforts, we can restore the sense of collegiality that has been so sorely eroded, says Baldip Singh
Come in with your eyes open, but don’t let fear cloud the prospect. A view from practice by John Dove
Looking to develop a specialist practice? Mariya Peykova discusses the benefits of secondments and her placement at the Information Commissioner’s Office
Anon Academic explains why he’s leaving the world of English literature for the Bar – after all, the two are not as far apart as they may first seem...
Review by Stephen Cragg KC
