The Bar Association (CBA) is voting with more than 2,400 criminal lawyers in England and Wales for action options, including rejecting new defense directives and possible departures. A vote on further action is likely to increase the backlog of 58,271 cases in the crown courts. Lawyers say the criminal justice system is in crisis after a 43% drop in real terms in the legal aid budget from 2004-05. Ministers unveiled a proposed package of reforms and salary increases following an independent hearing by former judge Sir Christopher Bellamy, but lawyers say there should be an immediate increase in their salaries. The CBA says many of its members have been forced to leave the penal bar after revenue fell by almost 30% over the past two decades. He says specialist criminal lawyers have an average annual income after spending 12 12,200 in the first three years of internship. Justice Department figures reveal that 567 court cases were postponed shortly last year because attorneys or defense attorneys did not appear or were involved in another case. This compares with 114 cases postponed for the same reasons in 2011. Officials say absences from Covid-19 have worsened the numbers, but Chief Justice Lord Burnett of Maldon told the House of Lords constitutional committee last month that the judiciary was struggling with declining numbers. advocates of criminals. He said: “More and more cases are not progressing because either the prosecution or the defense could not find a lawyer to deal with the case. He said one factor was “the serious reduction in remuneration that came through legal aid”. Criminal lawyers began action in April on legal aid rates, refusing to cover their colleagues in cases that had caused a calendar conflict or exceeded it. They are outraged that the government’s proposals to increase their fees by 15% will only apply to new cases from October 2022 and not to pending litigation that will take years to clear. Jo Sidhu QC, president of the Criminal Bar Association, said: “Our action is aimed at repairing the shortfall in the supply of criminal lawyers to help address the crisis in our courts. “We just need more criminal lawyers to manage the unprecedented accumulation that is paralyzing the courts and our judicial system.” The ballot box is expected to open later on Saturday and close next Sunday. Industrial action is likely to escalate later this month if further action is supported. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST The Law Society, the professional body for lawyers, also said the government’s proposals for legal aid reform were “sadly inadequate” and would not reverse the damage to the criminal justice system or allow court delays to be rectified. Lubna Soutza, the company’s vice president, said immediate salary increases were needed to hire and retain criminal lawyers. “There are already counties in this country that do not have criminal lawyers under the age of 35. Lawyers are tired of the ‘tomorrow jam’ promises that are never fulfilled,” he said. The Law Firm states that the total package for lawyers amounts to a 9% salary increase compared to the 15% recommendation. Its figures show that the number of criminal law firms in England and Wales has fallen from 1,861 in 2010 to 1,090 in 2021. The Department of Justice says it is increasing investment in criminal justice by εκατο 135 million a year, the largest increase in a decade, according to a Bellamy review. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “The backlog of the crown court has been reduced thanks to our decisive action and the hard work of legal professionals, including criminal lawyers, who as a result of our reforms will earn almost 7. 7,000 extra a year.”
