Law Society and LSC reach civil legal aid agreement

THE LAW Society has agreed to drop judicial review proceedings against the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) over an earlier judgment of the Court of Appeal in relation to the civil legal aid contract

In a joint statement, the three organisations said the agreement was designed to bring “tangible benefits for legal aid practitioners” and pave the way for a “a closer and more constructive relationship between the parties in the future”.

The agreement means the LSC will not now terminate the new unified contract for legal aid as previously suggested, but will instead comply with the Court of Appeal ruling limiting its power to amend the existing contract.

The contract will run until 2010. Negotiations also secured an increase of two per cent on legal aid fixed fees from July 2008, and the postponement of best value tendering (BVT) for criminal legal-aid work until at least July 2009. In the case of civil or family work, BVT will not come into force before 2013.

Law Society chief executive Des Hudson said the talks showed the bodies could “work together in an effort to establish a more balanced system that is workable and accessible”.

He added, however, that the Law Society continued to have certain reservations about the legal aid reforms and access to justice, including BVT.

Andrew Holroyd, president of the Law Society, said: “We could see a situation where the tendering process is so competitive firms have no choice but to abandon what is one of the most important elements of legal-aid practice – the training of the next generation.

“Numbers of new legal-aid lawyers are already dangerously low and with the number of people being arrested and brought to justice rising, the need for these practitioners is high.”

LSC chief executive Carolyn Regan commented: “The Court of Appeal’s judgment will affect the contractual relationship between the LSC and providers in future. Contracts need to be clear about the conditions that will apply throughout the term of the contract and amendment clauses cannot be too wide.”

She added, however, that contracts were “likely to be for shorter periods in future”, while the procurement process for new contracts would also be open to new bidders.

The Law Society and LSC will also work together on a five-year “route map” concerning civil legal aid reform in general.