"Dream job" lawyer posts video on quitting defence work

A solicitor who travelled the length of Scotland to secure a criminal defence traineeship and what was then her dream job, is quitting the profession because of the pressures and poor conditions now facing the defence sector.

Lawyers from across the profession have offered support and sympathy to Lyndsey Barber, while using her story to highlight the critical situation of the defence bar and the Scottish Government's lack of response to recent appeals for increased support.

In 2013 Ms Barber embarked on a well publicised road trip "from Wick to Wigtown", lining up interviews with solicitor practices in the hope of being offered a traineeship. The ploy succeeded and she was able to qualify in 2015, since when she has practised in courts all round the country.

In a video posted on YouTube over the weekend, however, she explains how the pressures of the job today, with not enough solicitors to cover all the work as colleagues leave, and low salaries compared to those offered by the prosecution service, have taken their toll.

"Criminal defence is all that I ever wanted to do, and it's really upsetting me that I feel the way I feel", she says. But she finds herself fighting anxiety and depression every day, witnesses others being physically affected by the rigours of the job, and has to face sheriffs who are unduly critical despite being aware of the problems defence solicitors face. "There are bits of the job that I love, but they are usurped every day by the kickings, the lack of prep, the lateness in disclosure, the additional procedure that we have to do for the same money".

Dozens of solicitors on Twitter and LinkedIn have voiced their support, describing her view as "very brave", "brutally honest" and similar. She was "doing the right thing", and it was "very sad that no one felt able to try and persuade her to stay". 

Ms Barber's message comes as the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association renews its warning that the entire criminal justice system is "in imminent danger of collapse" because of an impasse on legal aid payments which has led to a mass boycott of the duty solicitor scheme, criticising ministers for failing to engage with the profession over legal aid rates that for most cases are only 10% higher than 1990s levels.

Last month Finance Secretary Kate Forbes announced a freeze on the justice budget until 2027.