Advocates should “adapt to realities” of criminal legal aid cuts, Lord Neuberger says

Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court, has said that advocates "should be able to adapt to realities" and live through the "vicissitudes" of the criminal legal aid cuts.

He said the lord chancellor, Chris Grayling, was facing a "strong reaction from the Bar, even strikes because of the cuts he is making as a result of the reduction in his department's budget".

Lord Neuberger went on: "He has made it clear that he will happily listen to alternative proposals, and I hope that it will be possible for advocates to come up with some suggestions.

"I appreciate that many may feel that the irreducible minimum is fast approaching or has even been reached, but, rather than talking about the end of the bar, barristers and other advocates should be working out how to ensure it survives.

"Of all professions, advocates should be able to adapt to realities, and to live through the present vicissitudes, so that, when the financial situation improves, advocates will be able to say, like Abbé Sieyes, when asked what he had done during the French Revolution: 'J'ai vécu' - I survived."

Delivering the first Harbour Litigation Funding annual lecture, Lord Neuberger warned that there remained a risk that litigation funding could be used "as a means to promote unmeritorious claims", in the expectation that, once the other side is aware of the existence of funding, they are more likely to settle.

"The problems which arose after the 1999 Act's amendments to CFAs could be replicated if less than scrupulous funders provide funding."

The president of the Supreme Court said the government's further cuts in civil legal aid "could give rise to a real problem in terms of access of justice, because CFAs, DBAs and third party funding are fine where there is a reasonably sizeable claim or lots of little claims.

"And there are plenty of claims which are small and important to the citizen concerned, and there are even quite a few claims which are small but important to society.

"In a sense, every genuine claim is important, because every citizen should be able to bring his or her case to court, and without legal aid many people are prevented from doing so, or seriously disadvantaged when they do so.

"I appreciate that pressures on government finances are very great, but access to justice is of the essence in a civilised society."