Criminal barristers in England and Wales have reported that they feel overworked and underpaid and would be willing to take direct action.

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has unanimously passed a motion proposing strike action if the government implements further criminal legal aid cuts.

Criminal barristers are voting on whether to stage a one-day walk-out as their dispute with the Ministry of Justice over fees continues.

The number of barristers leaving the criminal court for higher paying corporate positions poses a risk of further crisis to the court system, according to Criminal Bar Association Chair Mary Prior KC.

The government has defeated an opposition attempt to reverse reforms to the way that criminal defence barristers are paid for legal aid work, with barristers vowing to step up their strike action in response.

Following a vote to join the criminal Bar in protest action, more than 100 criminal defence solicitors will stop taking on low-paid work in response to the government’s criminal legal aid reforms.

The CICA, or Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, is an official executive agency of the UK Government and was originally known as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board when it was set up in 1964.

Following a morning walk-out in protest at the proposed cuts to legal aid earlier this month, criminal lawyers are planning to stage a full day of protest if the government’s planned cuts go ahead.

The Ministry of Justice has revealed plans to fast-track legislation that will see barristers receive increased legal aid fees at a faster rate. The announcement follows the start of a series of strikes at the Bar that started on Monday and are set to continue for four weeks. 

Criminal legal aid fees are set to increase by the end of September, as the government revealed plans to “lay a statutory instrument in parliament before 21 July, to begin the process of implementing increases to fees”. 

The lord chancellor has announced that criminal legal aid solicitors working in police stations and youth courts are due to receive a pay increase to reflect the “critical role” they play in “ensuring access to justice”. 

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has warned the government that work as a criminal legal aid lawyer no longer represents a viable career path, due to a desperate resource crisis in the sector that “threatens the stability of the entire system” at the cost of justice to the consumer.

Full-service law firm Cripps Pemberton Greenish has appointed leading training provider BPP University to deliver Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) preparation courses to its future trainees.

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Jonathan Smithers, president of the Law Society, said: “Law can be a demanding career. Many of us are drawn to the intellectual challenge and thrive on the high pressure our work entails, but with this high pressure can come stress.”