| Sir, Like NHS dentists, legal aid lawyers will soon be a thing of the past. The Government's proposals for the reform of legal aid, dressed up as progressive market reform, are an unprecedented threat to social justice in this country.
It is ironic that a Labour government which trumpets its credentials on ending social exclusion is railroading through changes that will leave the most socially excluded and needy families without representation before the courts.
Fixed fees will mean those with difficult and complex cases will not be able to find lawyers to take on their case. How would the couple recently found innocent of harming their child after over a year's struggle through the court system fare under these proposals? The Government's reforms will lead to the collapse of publicly funded legal services, leaving the most vulnerable members of society without their own legal support when the State turns its unwavering gaze upon them.
Caroline Little
Alistair Macdonald
Joint Chairs, Association of Lawyers for Children
Karen Mackay
Chief Executive, Resolution
Richard Miller
Director, Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Greg Powell
President, London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association
Rodney Warren
Director, Criminal Law Solicitors Association
Vivien Gambling
Chair, Housing Law Practitioners Association
Brian Craig
Chairman, Association of Major Criminal Law Firms
Anselm Eldergill
President, Mental Health Lawyers Association
Chris Randall
Immigration Law Practitioners' Association
Avtar Bhatoa
Chair, Solicitors Association Higher Court Advocates
Steve Hynes
Director, Law Centres Federation
Richard Jenner
Director, Advice Services Alliance
Anthony J. N. Kirk QC
Chairman of the Family Law Bar Association
Laura Janes
Chair, Young Legal Aid Lawyers
Frances Crook
Director, Howard League for Penal Reform
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