The final countdown

There was an air of defiance hanging over this year's instalment of the infectiously right-on Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards (LALYs).

Not-quite-champagne was quaffed righteously amid a constant chatter of spending cuts, with wide-eyed nominees hungrily dissecting the coalition's plan of attack that had been conveniently unveiled by the Queen on the eve of the ceremony.

Once the pained Shakespeare similes were put to bed, the stage at the South Bank's Globe Theatre became a conveyor belt of tub-thumping acceptance speeches, with winner after winner using the opportunity to remind their peers that the 'fourth pillar' of the welfare state was now on the critical list.

Kicking off the chorus of discontent was Kat Craig, whose work with Christian Khan earned her the young legal aid solicitor gong. She later explained: 'The new government must recognise the true value of legal aid. At its inception 61 years ago legal aid was envisaged as a pillar of the welfare state.

'Not only does the government have a moral obligation to ensure access to justice does not become the privilege of the rich, it needs to realise that a sustainably funded system is an investment, as the cost of unmet legal need in this country far outstrips spending on legal aid.

'The message is simple '“ legal aid cannot, and must not, be cut any further if we are to maintain our claim to being a democratic society.'

These views of a 29 year old remain roundly undisputed by her elders. A consensus weighs on the shoulders of these campaigning professionals that after the slow-puncture that was New Labour their number is up unless a drastic revolution in funding is devised.

England and Wales' legal aid budget has been frozen at just over £2bn since 2003 and with the new government's looming £325m Ministry of Justice cuts there is little hope that figure will be shifted in anywhere near the right direction.

Coalition fears

The latest crisis in the sector surfaced just last week, with fears that key player Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) could be forced to close its doors because of a crippling number of pay cheques still stuck in the proverbial post.

The Law Society chief executive Des Hudson declared a serious reform of pay structures could not wait for the new government to find its feet, saying: 'The closure of RMJ could have serious consequences for its clients, who may struggle to find alternative representation, and for the principle of access to justice irrespective of the means to pay.

'The Law Society calls upon the new government and the LSC to urgently review the payment system to ensure that all providers can rely on being paid promptly for the work they have done, so that the essential legal aid work for vulnerable clients provided by RMJ and other providers is able to continue.'

Meanwhile, in a document dubbed an 'agenda for the new coalition', civil legal aid giant Duncan Lewis has also nudged the coalition into coughing up its plans sooner rather than later. Practice director Adam Makepeace writes: 'Put simply '“ the future of legal aid is that the legal aid budget will face further cuts. This is a time of considerable uncertainty for legal aid lawyers. The only certainty seems to be that there will be more tough times ahead in the provision of services to their clients.'

Duncan Lewis is one firm which has tried to beat the clock by inventing a new model for legal aid firms. A limited company bank-rolled by a £7.9m overdraft, manned by paralegals and run by 'solicitor managers',

in one decade Duncan Lewis has become the country's largest civil aid firm '“ albeit to the distaste of its more traditional sector-sisters.

But it still fears the coalition's next move. Discussing the promised 'fundamental review' of legal aid, Makepeace continued: 'At least such a review is to include an investigation of alternative models of funding of legal aid '“ and this would obviously be welcomed. However, the reality is that any cuts will bite sooner than any alternative funding models can be brought into operation.'

Back in the bosom of the LALYs, it took the closest thing the legal aid family has to a godfather, the mighty Michael Mansfield QC, to haul his heirs up by their bootstraps. Accepting an award for outstanding achievement from Cherie Booth QC, he scorned those who rested on their defeatist laurels, rallying the crowd never to let the powers that be have the final word. In front of a whooping crowd, Mansfield echoed their despair at the coalition rhetoric, demanding: 'There is no sense in government talking about reinstatement of civil rights if at the same time they are not going to provide adequate resources for the public to access those rights.'

With the Ministry of Justice still keeping mum, all eyes are now on 22 June, when the emergency budget might shed some light on the level of cuts to come. But, regardless of the outcome, there is a mood among the frontline that the era of 'make-do and mend' is here to stay until someone comes up with an alternative to the government breadline.

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