England: Criminal bar on verge of collapse as barristers go broke

England: Criminal bar on verge of collapse as barristers go broke

Numerous criminal barristers are going broke as a result of the shrinking legal aid budget, The Times reports.

The Bar Council, which represents more than 15,000 barristers, has told the UK government that the profession is “at a pivotal point”.

In a response to the consultation launched by the Ministry of Justice on a possible new pay scheme for Crown Court work, the council said: “Many advocates now seriously question whether there is a financially viable future career at the criminal bar.

“We believe that the MoJ has started to recognise this danger and the review is a step in the right direction.”

Barristers suspended strike action earlier this year after the government offered to raise the money in their paypot by £15 million, a deal supported by the Criminal Bar Association.

The council said yesterday, however, that “the fee levels the bar suggested were not adopted by the MoJ.

“It is the lack of adequate funding, and in particular its inability to deal with much higher end paper-heavy cases, that will see [the scheme] fail to adequately remunerate advocates”.

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