Lawyers Unite for Minute of Action against Legal Aid Cuts

Solicitors and barristers across England and Wales will pause for a minute of unity at 9.59 am on June 4, to express their concern and alarm at the Government's plan to cut criminal legal aid.

Supported by the Law Society and organised by Rachel Bentley, a duty solicitor and partner with Exeter-based law firm Trinity Advocates, the minute of unity is intended to draw attention to the long-term effects of the Government's cuts, which will result in an inevitable reduction in the quality of legal services in England and Wales.

Criminal legal aid lawyers also met with Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling yesterday to express their opposition to the Government's proposals for price-competitive tendering (PCT), a system of tendering based on price, along with the planned removal of choice of lawyer for defendants.

Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson has commented that he believes the Government's plans to cut legal aid ‘are unworkable, and possibly unlawful'.