New Generation Lawyers aims to save criminal bar
A group of new and aspiring criminal defence lawyers have launched a new organisation dedicated to ensuring a future for their branch of the profession, now facing an existential crisis due to underfunding.
The seven founders of New Generation Lawyers have published a mission statement setting out their objectives as:
- To campaign for a sustainable legal aid system which allows all members of society, regardless of wealth, status or power, to have access to expert criminal legal assistance.
- To promote the interests of new and aspiring criminal lawyers and to increase diversity within the criminal bar.
- To provide a network for lawyers beginning their careers in criminal law.
Their move comes at a time when a sector already able to afford very few traineeship places due to the declining value in real terms of legal aid rates, has seen a severe drop in income due to halted court business during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some firms fearing they will have to close as a result. The Law Society of Scotland has appealed to the Scottish Government for additional financial support for legal aid lawyers, but a decision is still awaited.
As well as a lack of openings, too few lawyers choose to remain at the criminal bar after qualifying, the group say, due to lack of proper career structure or career development. “We have witnessed the vast majority of our generation leave the sector to obtain employment which offers better pay, benefits and career development opportunities.”
The founders are Matthew McGovern of McGovern Reid, Wishaw, Lauren Ram Sangray of MTM, Falkirk, Kevin Corr of Graham Walker, Glasgow, Gemma Elder of The Robert Kerr Partnership, Paisley, Heather Morrison of Paterson Bell, Edinburgh, and Maureen Duffy and Connor Ledger, both law graduates seeking traineeships in criminal law.
Their mission statement declares that Scottish Government policy on criminal legal aid fails to live up to the Government's commitment to equality and diversity. Good quality, publicly funded criminal legal assistance “is essential to protecting the rule of law and ensuring that the most vulnerable in our society are not subject to miscarriages of justice”.
They conclude: “Whilst we enjoy our work, and recognise the importance of our role within society, we are of the view that the status quo is not sustainable and will result in a generation of the most vulnerable people in our society being denied access to justice.”
Support for the group has been expressed via Twitter by lawyers including Dean of Faculty Roddy Dunlop QC, who described it as “an excellent initiative”, campaigning solicitor Aamer Anwar, and Scot Dignan of HM Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland, who tweeted: “This is an incredibly important group and their mission is an essential one. The bleak reality is: short of the essential reform that this group are fighting for, the future of an independent Scottish criminal bar is at stake.”
Mr McGovern told the Journal: "I'm delighted to be part of this new group and look forward to ensuring that the voices of new and aspiring criminal lawyers are heard during the ongoing debate about the sustainability of criminal legal aid. An independent and diverse criminal bar is an essential pillar of any democratic society and we are in danger of losing this vital component of our democracy. The Scottish Government and the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) are complacent about the consequences that their policy will have on the sustainability of criminal legal aid in the medium term. We will be looking to meet with both SLAB and the Law Society of Scotland to discuss our concerns in more detail."