Scottish Government legal aid fee review: your views

The Scottish Government have established a Legal Aid Payment Advisory panel to look at how fees might be reviewed in the future.

The panel, which has been set up in response to Martyn Evans’ independent review of legal aid, is a cross-section of the legal profession and includes academics, members of the Faculty of Advocates, the Society of Solicitor Advocates, the Law Society and the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

The practitioner members of the panel are acutely aware of the potential impact the review work will have on firms and access to justice as a whole and are keen to hear the views of legal aid solicitors from across the country.

Ian Moir, convener of the Law Society of Scotland Legal Aid Committee, said: “Before the 3% increase earlier this year, most fees had not been increased in a decade and some in a generation and it is important that the views of Scottish solicitors are represented in this important review. I would encourage my legal aid colleagues to take the time to their share their experiences in this evidence based review.”

Members of the legal profession wishing to contribute to the review should view and details of their experiences to legalaid@lawscot.org.uk