Law Society wants talks to resolve solicitors’ payments row before legal year opens Monday

The Law Society wants the Minister for Justice to take part in last-minute talks aimed at resolving the criminal legal aid payments dispute before the new legal year opens next week.In a letter to Jim O’Callaghan, society president Rosemarie Loftus said it believes “meaningful” discussions “must take place” before Monday to help ensure the effective functioning of the courts system.She said the society is available “at any time” to meet the Minister and his officials.Loftus said the society and legal practitioners were “deeply disappointed” with his response to their previous call for the appointment of an independent mediator. READ MOREIn a September 15th letter declining that offer, O’Callaghan wrote that he was awaiting an October 13th judgment on a judicial review challenge by solicitor John Quinn to the new legal aid payment model for the District Courts. Introduced on July 1st, the model provides for a flat €520 fee irrespective of the number of clients or appearances. It led to a widespread withdrawal of services by criminal defence solicitors, leading to thousands of case adjournments. In the letter sent this weekend, Loftus wrote that the society does not believe the judgment on the Quinn challenge is a reason to delay meaningful engagement, with the society believing there is “no legal impediment” to engagement.Concern about sustainability and access to justice are at the heart of the ongoing legal aid dispute, she said.The Courts Service has referred to the dispute having “widespread impact across the criminal system”, she said, and the society is “hugely concerned” about the impact “on victims of crimes, those accused of crime, the general public and all court users”. [ Judgment expected in October on challenge to new legal aid payment modelOpens in new window ]The short-term impact of the revised system is already evident with delays and growing backlogs; the long-term impact, based on what happened when a similar model was introduced for civil legal aid in family law cases, will be the loss of skilled practitioners, Loftus said. The society believes the two core issues outstanding in the dispute can be resolved, she said. Those relate to solicitors’ concerns that the new model, based on an average five appearances, takes “a one size fits all” approach.Solicitors participating in the dispute have argued that the model expects them to work for free in more complex cases involving multiple appearances, including those involving vulnerable clients, children and people with addiction and mental health issues.Noting that the Minister had referred to early operational outcomes of the new scheme, Loftus said there remained “a lack of clarity and transparency” around the data analysed. She said the society’s repeated efforts to access that data “have been unsuccessful”. O’Callaghan has repeatedly said the new system was introduced with a view to achieving cost savings and efficiencies, with criminal legal aid costs having risen from €19 million in 2015 to more than €41 million last year despite criminal case volumes in the District Courts having fallen. In recent written answers to parliamentary questions, the Minister said 75 per cent (1,350 in 1,800) of cases dealt with under the new scheme required one court appearance and 99 per cent concluded within five.