legal aid lawyers paid less than sewage workers

As new report finds legal aid lawyers paid less than sewage workers, Law Society says NO to more fee cuts

Date Published: 19-11-2009
As new report finds legal aid lawyers paid less than sewage workers, Law Society says NO to more fee cuts.

Solicitors who provide legal aid services are among the worst paid in the public sector according to a recent survey.

The average salary of a legal aid solicitor is £25,000, less than a prison officer or sewage plant worker. It is also well below police officer, nurse and secondary school teacher according to figures compiled by the Guardian newspaper.

In light of the recent Ministry of Justice Consultation that plans to slash fees for legal aid, the Law Society says ‘enough is enough’.

The Law Society has expressed grave concern over the ‘Legal Aid Funding Reforms’ consultation paper, slamming its absence of economic rationale or analysis behind the proposals. The Law Society believes this is yet another onslaught on a fragile legal aid system, already subject to countless cuts, and another nail in the coffin of access to justice.

Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson says:

"There is no scope left for cutting fees. These figures show that solicitors undertaking legal aid earn well below the average for professional salaries, and considering solicitors can amass significant student debts and work very long hours, the pay is very far from fat cat territory."

Solicitors undertaking legal aid work show commitment to providing access to justice for those that need it most, and many more offer up a great deal of their time working for free with pro bono work for those who are ineligible for legal aid."

Thread-bare

The Law Society believes any cuts to this thread-bare system will see firms no longer able to undertake this work, civil provision in mixed practices being hit, and the most vulnerable clients unable to obtain the assistance they need.

Notably, the salary of senior civil servants is nearing £70,000- almost three times higher than a legal aid solicitor while the median public sector pay is almost £3,000 higher at £27,686.

Read the Law Society's response to the Ministry of Justice Consultation here.

Ends
Notes to editors
Journalists can contact the Law Society of England & Wales Press Office on +44 (0) 20 7320 5764.
www.lawsociety.org.uk/mediacentre

The Guardian's statistical breakdown can be found here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=tD4F8x73jNXTW3Q-uhrRm9g

A full public sector pay scale report from the ONS can be viewed here:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1944