Legal Aid

Hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants in England and Wales have had their personal data stolen in a cyber-attack. The Ministry of Justice today announced that hackers had "accessed and downloaded a significant amount of personal data from those who applied for legal aid through our digital s

Calls for the establishment of a civil legal assistance office and a university law clinic in the Forth Valley will not be enough to solve the region's "legal aid desert", Scottish Legal News has been told. Earlier this week, a new report from Stirling District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) raised co

A charity has called for the urgent establishment of a civil legal assistance office and a university law clinic in the Forth Valley after concluding that people in Stirling, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire are living in a "legal aid desert". A new report from Stirling District Citizens Advice Bureau (

Lawyers have accused the Scottish government of intentionally delaying action on legal aid until after next year's Holyrood election. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) said the profession was being treated with contempt as it confirmed it will escalate its boycott of the government's su

Family members involved in deaths in custody fatal accident inquiries (FAI) are to have immediate, free access to legal aid support and advice. Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirmed that she is using existing ministerial powers to remove means-testing for legal aid in such cases, so that from

Defence solicitors are to boycott the Scottish government’s new Summary Case Management scheme in protest over legal aid fees. In the face of the Scottish government’s continued refusal to engage in meaningful talks with the profession, the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) "has

Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee has today launched a new call for views into civil legal assistance, covering civil legal aid and advice and assistance for civil issues, and grant funding for advice organisations. The call for views is part of a new inquiry whic

Lawyers have threatened to boycott the Scottish government's new swifter justice scheme unless legal aid fees are increased. Members of the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association (SSBA) will not take part in summary cases heard as part of the new Summary Case Management (SCM) initiative.

Reforms to legal aid have been set out to make the system simpler and easier for both solicitors and those who need legal assistance – along with longer-term proposals for funding and improving the delivery of services. Actions set out in a discussion paper aim to simplify the funding system a

A woman who was assaulted by her husband was unable to secure civil legal aid for her divorce, despite contacting more than 116 law firms. The mother-of-two from the Highlands qualified for legal aid due to being on universal credit but said no firms were willing or able to take on her case. Some re

Scotland's legal aid crisis looks like it could be "unsolvable" as more than a third of legal aid lawyers are set to retire in the next decade. There are currently 911 solicitors registered for legal aid – down from 1,084 in 2020, a drop of 16 per cent.

Tony Lenehan KC remains the top earner of legal aid fees, new figures from the Scottish Legal Aid Board show. In 2023-24, Mr Lenehan's fees were £450,000, an increase of £50,000 on the previous year.

Criminal lawyers south of the border are to withdraw from legal aid work over a pay dispute with ministers. The Law Society is to advise its members to consider withdrawing from legal aid work or scaling it back until the UK government provides a "meaningful response" to lawyers' demands.

Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk is being taken to the High Court by lawyers who say legal aid fees are so low they cannot provide representation to thousands of people. The case revolves around access to legal aid for immigration and asylum lawyers and is being brought by Duncan Lewis solicitors.

The Law Society of Scotland is to withdraw from discussions on the creation of a review mechanism for legal aid fees, stating it had "lost confidence" in the Scottish government project following a lack of progress in two years. The Legal Aid Remuneration Project and Research Analysis Group were set