Solicitors criticise the criminal advocacy fees proposals welcomed by barristers

Responses to the Ministry of Justice’s latest proposals to reform advocacy fees have shown a divide in opinion between solicitors and barristers.

Although the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association (CBA) and Young Barristers’ Committee have cautiously welcomed the proposals as a way to ensure fairer pay for barristers who take on publicly funded criminal cases, the Criminal Law Solicitors' Association (CLSA) and the Law Society have criticised the plans. As the Law Gazette reports, the CLSA has raised several concerns about the scheme, including allocation guidelines which it says would result in less work for solicitor advocates in the crown court. The CLSA also questioned the supposed cost neutrality of the proposals, given that they include a 10% pay increase for QCs.

The London Criminal Courts Association has also come out against the proposals, saying in a statement: “Fiddling with the fees is simply the orchestra playing on the deck of a sinking ship. To make matters worse a lifeboat is to be removed from junior advocates to be given to the QCs who will get a rise.”

However, Francis FitzGibbon QC, chair of the CBA, has maintained that the plans merit a “cautious welcome”.