In April 2020, as the coronavirus lockdown entered its second
month, lawyers began feeling a tight financial squeeze. Compared
with the figures for the first quarter in 2019, their caseload in
Crown Courts, magistrates’ courts and police stations was slashed
by over 40%. By May 1, over 60% of High Street solicitors who
answered a Law Society survey said cash flow pressures could put
them out of business by Autumn 2020.
These stark numbers are in a report published by the Justice
Committee, Coronavirus (Covid-19): The impact on the legal
professions in England and Wales.
The report documents how, due to social distancing and other
safety measures, fewer cases have come to court, trials have been
suspended and the incomes of legal services providers
dramatically cut. The income effect has been hardest on young
solicitors and barristers, and on Black, Asian and Minority
Ethnic lawyers – all of whom tend to be disproportionately
represented in the publicly-funded Legal Aid sector already
cash-starved before Covid-19 hit.
The Chair of the Justice Committee,
, said:
“Let’s be honest about this. I know some people won’t have a lot
of sympathy for lawyers who dress up in fancy gowns and speak a
language of their own. People are under the misapprehension they
are all on comfortable incomes. Some are, but very many,
especially given their recent big drop in workload, are not.
The Ministry of Justice needs to consider further grants for
those working in Law Centres and others in the not-for-profit
Legal Aid sector. Otherwise, the next time a victim of a crime or
a defendant – both of whom may be on modest incomes - has a brush
with the legal system, they may find they have no access to real
justice.”
The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, QC said:
“I am working very hard, not just with the Treasury but
internally, to see what more can be done to help the flow of
regular income to the professions, particularly those at the
sharp end of legal aid.”
The pandemic has affected the way lawyers work as well as the
amount of work they have. Video interviews and hearings have
become much more common.
The Committee recommended in the report that the Ministry of
Justice sets out how it is ensuring that lay parties to hearings
(for example witnesses and defendants) have access to the
technology they need so they can communicate well and
confidentially with their lawyers. The Committee also recommended
that the Ministry reviews how well remote hearings have worked
for all participants in all jurisdictions before rolling them out
further.
added:
“Self-employed lawyers and those working in publicly-funded areas
are of great concern in these financially-strapped times. But I
would go further. During the crisis, it is especially important
that the legal professions properly represent the society they
serve. The Ministry of Justice should set out how it will make
sure that this pandemic does not disproportionately affect the
incomes of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or state-educated,
legal professionals.”
FURTHER INFORMATION
Committee Membership:
(Conservative, Bromley and Chislehurst) (Chair);
(Labour, Liverpool Wavertree); (Labour, Leeds East); (Conservative, Aylesbury); (Conservative, Bury North); (Conservative, Derbyshire Dales); (Labour,
Garston and Halewood);
(Conservative, Henley); (Scottish
National Party, East Lothian); (Conservative, Crewe and Nantwich); Andy Slaughter
(Labour, Hammersmith).
