Leveson: Government should work with profession on future of the market
The “sheer number” of criminal legal aid firms is “unsustainable” and there is merit in “some form of consolidation”, Sir Brian Leveson has recommended.
In the second part of his government-commissioned review of the criminal courts, he also called for CILEX to train duty solicitors and “ease the burden of shortages”.
In a section of the report on the legal workforce, Sir Brian raised the question of whether there should be consolidation in the criminal legal aid market, as the “the sheer number of law firms operating in this space”, at 1,150 in 2023-2024, was “unsustainable”.
“Working in this way will not allow the workforce to grow and adapt, limiting the ability to take advantage of technological advances, consider different models of pay or implement changes to improve the working conditions to improve retention…
“To achieve a sustainable market, I can certainly see the merit in some form of consolidation, whether this be of work or the firms themselves.”
He went on: “I know that there is appetite for wider reform in the workforce, with proposals focused on market consolidation or moving to remote models, which could involve solicitors providing remote advice in the police station [as put forward elsewhere in the report].”
He recommended that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) “works with the legal professions to determine the best operating model of the legal aid market in the light of current conditions”, adding that he was “aware that any changes of this kind need to be considered very carefully and in collaboration with those practising in the market itself”.
Sir Brian recommended that CILEX “enhances its training to allow lawyers to be formally recognised as duty solicitors upon qualification”.
He noted that in his Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, Lord Bellamy KC had urged the Legal Aid Agency and MoJ to review the provisions on accepting CILEX members as duty solicitors.
Sir Brian said the barrier to CILEX members becoming duty solicitors was the training they currently received, which was “not sufficient to allow them to work in a police station”.
Improving the training and allowing CILEX members “to be formally accepted as duty solicitors through their own accreditation, with appropriate quality standard checks and monitoring as is the case of solicitors, will further build the capacity of duty solicitors within the system and ease the burden of solicitor shortages”.
Sir Brian said he was “keen to promote the cautious and principled use” of AI tools in the day-to-day running of the courts,
He recommended the “continued development and broad adoption” of AI-enabled operational knowledge tools, searchable platforms that enabled users “instantly to improve” their understanding of operational procedures.
“To be crystal clear, I am not suggesting replacing any judicial decision-making in relation to cases by an AI tool.”
He also said the MoJ and Legal Aid Agency should commit to reviewing legal aid fees every year from 2027, arguing that “the legal profession should not have a real-term reduction to their salary, through freezing fees”.
Elsewhere in his proposals for the legal workforce and judiciary, Sir Brian called for HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) to establish “clearer career paths and development opportunities for legal advisers”, including by providing pupillages.
He also recommended that HMCTS implement “pay parity with Crown Prosecution Service lawyers to support the retention of legal advisers”.
He said the MoJ should match-fund the police station qualification and magistrates’ court qualification training for duty solicitors and provide training grants for criminal legal aid law firms “to fund training contracts for junior criminal lawyers”, as recommended by Lord Bellamy.
“From my engagement with the sector, I understand that there are financial concerns amongst many criminal legal aid firms that they cannot afford to take on trainees. This is affecting the sustainability of the market and is a concern, especially with data pointing towards the trend of an ageing profession.”