I first wrote this last year before the full extent
of the legal aid cuts was known.
Since LASPO received Royal Assent the Law Society
has called upon all layers to increase the amount of Pro Bono work that they
do.
This is of course nothing to do with any U2 fan club.
In simple terms pro bono refers to
the provision of free legal services by the legal profession. Last year
Michael Napier QC talked about setting aspirational hours of pro bono work. He
says that his own firm Irwin Mitchell encourages its lawyers to do 14 hours of
pro bono work a year.
Most lawyers I know, will probably
do more than that per month. Much of the work done in preparation for public
funding in a clinical negligence in the case is done at no charge. This can
involve anything from the screening of new matters to initial investigation
work in order to establish whether or not this is a potentially viable the
case. How often do we advise potential clients in person and by telephone of the
alternatives to litigation and to set them on the right path? This is
often also the case in employment and criminal injuries cases.
In addition to this and many
lawyers do huge amounts of voluntary work; attending advice sessions at
citizens advice bureaux and law centres. Many Courts also have a resource for
free legal advice manned by volunteers.
What concerns me here is that the
politicians could use up all of this talk about pro bono work as an excuse to
justify cuts in public funding. The reality is that lawyers will always do
their bit ; in fact they do a lot more than a bit!
This should not be seen as a
replacement for a properly funded legal aid scheme giving equal access to
justice to all citizens.
Of course it might be necessary
for lawyers to do even more free work if this is the only alternative to a
total collapse of our court system. With this in mind it is interesting to note
the comments from Lady Hale of the Supreme Court indicating that these
cuts are a false economy.
So I think we should expect the
amount of unpaid work done by lawyers to increase but this should not deflect
us from the tireless and continuing opposition to the cuts.
www.eadsolicitors.co.uk
www.eadsolicitors.co.uk
