Something very odd is going in the UK. In the civil sphere, sharply rising court fees (70%) or so, insistence on pre-action mediation, front-loading, erosion of legal aid, disproportionately draconian interpretation of procedural rules and rises in small claims thresholds have all operated to deter the use of the courts. Now, due to drastic cuts in public funding, a serious fraud trial has been halted because the defendants cannot find barristers willing to defend them at public expense. Criminal barristers and solicitors fees have been radically cut beyond the point at which it is possible to make a decent living. The governments spin and propaganda suggests these dedicated and essential professionals are fat cats living high off public money. Nothing could be further from the truth. I picked these figures up from the web: Crime - Earnings (Year 1): £10,000 - £30,000 - Earnings (Year 5): £40,000 - £70,000 These are gross figures from which tax, pension contributions, chambers rent, indemnity insurance and the like must be deducted. The point has been reached at which the fine people working in this field should say enough! Injustice can be the only outcome of such unmerited and excessive cuts. bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27238201
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 12:34:02 +0000