Do you want a good lawyer, or the cheapest one?
The government’s plans for criminal legal aid envisage just this scenario, with ever increasing volumes of work being channelled to the cheapest bidder. Heralding the demise of the high street law firm, these proposals will result in discrimination against minority groups; the undermining of the independence of the lawyer from the state and an irreversible and dangerous shift of balance in the criminal justice system towards one weighted heavily in favour of the state and against the individual.
The proposals are designed to bring about cost savings to the budget. In truth the statistics misrepresent the current position and, hampered by chronically limited research, may bring chaos to a system admired throughout the world.