Legal aid rates are pathetic, the days of well off legal aid lawyers has long gone. To put it in perspective, the care rate at the moment is 52.57 per hour, it was 64.90 more than a decade ago. This is cases where you may very well be dealing with children who are the victims of sexual abuse, physical abuse and in some cases death.
That rate is for a fee earner who has been through college, university and then further legal training. It includes insurance, running an office and clerical support. How much does a plumber or mechanic charge per hour?
With regard to criminal solicitors, you need to look to government for perspective. As has been mentioned, many of the people going through the court criminal system are there because of government and they will be there again because of government.
The whole court system is creaking, the prisons are full, the funding isn’t there for other interventions. Government guidelines currently are that unless it is a particularly violent crime, the likelihood is that you won’t be going to prison.
everyone deserves representation. It’s a corner stone of justice. Lawyers will just do the best with a poor hand in most cases. The addict who is back before the court for the latest case of shoplifting, an excuse will be made and a sentence handed down. What the lawyer says will have no bearing on the sentence, the judge knows it, the defence lawyer knows it.
Government decide the sentence protocol. “Justice” through the courts in most cases is simply an administrative exercise to ensure that the correct procedures are followed.
Stating Lawyers are scum is a very lazy and poorly informed view and smacks of ignorance.