Edinburgh bar pulls out of JP court duty scheme

Criminal lawyers of the Edinburgh Bar Association will no longer take part in the justice of the peace court duty legal aid scheme, the Herald reports today.

The withdrawal of its 91 solicitors from 35 legal practices leaves only four solicitors from priovate practice in the scheme, along with the Public Defence Solicitors' Office. 

Robert More, EBA vice president, said the decision had been taken due to dwindling numbers of members, allied with ongoing concerns about low levels of legal aid fees. Between a quarter and a third of the bar had left since 2011, including "an alarming number of young people".

Earlier this year the EBA was one of the bar associations in parts of Scotland that came out of the police station duty scheme due to the anticipated demands of new legislation.

The Scottish Government has still to respond to the independent review of legal aid by Martyn Evans, which reported in February. It failed to support the case for an immediate rise in legal aid rates – to the deep disappointment of many practitioners – but called for an independent study of the issue to be set up by the end of this year, with all sides bound to accept the outcome.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board said the number of cases going through the JP court was small, but the EBA is considering whether to withdraw completely from the Board's rotas. Separate plans cover the sheriff court, domestic abuse custody court and extradition cases.

A spokesperson for the Board commented: "The EBA didn’t raise concerns about the sustainability of the JP plan with us before making this decision. We are happy to discuss ideas for changing the way the plan operates in Edinburgh, as we do in all areas, to design duty services that balance the interests of local solicitors, accused and the courts.

"The number of cases in the JP court is small and will be covered by those solicitors remaining on the plan and our PDSO solicitors."