University News Last updated 13 May 2013
Students from Birmingham City University have been voicing their opinions on the controversial cuts to criminal legal aid, for a feature on the BBC’s Sunday Politics West Midlands show.
Under pressure to make spending cuts, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling plans to introduce fixed fees to pay solicitors, take away the suspects right in choosing their own legal representative and instead allocate a firm to the suspect from what will be an even smaller list of accredited legal aid practices.
Timothy James, Senior Lecturer in Law at Birmingham City University, said: “It’s right that the government should control the money spent on legal aid, but people's rights to justice have to be protected.
“Speaking as an academic I’m concerned for the lack of opportunity there will be for idealistic and talented students looking to enter the field of criminal law. If students are unable to get the start they need through publically funded work then those professions will struggle.”
While at the University, the BBC crew sat in on a mock murder hearing, led by law students Joshua Longhorne, Oliver Woodhouse and Seyi Fowles. The students were honing in the art of mooting - the use of simulated court proceedings to help students develop practical skills and prepare them for careers in law.
Second year LLB (Hons) Law student Seyi Fowles said: “Even before these reforms are going to come into effect I’m already competing for a job with the students who will graduate with me, as well as from the years before me. If you add these numbers to all the pending redundancies and the drop in the number of accredited legal aid firms, the hope of getting more experience under my belt is looking more difficult.”
Budding barrister and second year Law student Joshua Longhorne said: “The new payment structure will not only deter people entering this profession, it will also affect justice, as a flat-rate fee could effectively result in lawyers wanting to get cases over with as soon as possible, in order to keep their own costs down.”