Legal Aid Fees Dispute: “we cannot guarantee that they receive a fair trial”

Over 140 defendants in criminal cases are now reported to be without legal representation in the ongoing legal aid fees dispute.  From the BBC report Solicitors have refused to take on more than three quarters of criminal legal aid cases due to start in NI during the past six weeks. More than 140 defendants have been left without legal representation because of the protest over lower legal fees. “We don’t want to be on strike. We don’t want to be withdrawing …

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Legal Aid Fees Dispute: “the Law Society takes the view that this matter should receive early and urgent priority”

As the BBC report, the President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Brian Speers, has called on the NI Justice Minister to make the resolution of the legal aid fees dispute  “the day one priority for the minister when the assembly is reconvened.”  The report also notes The Northern Ireland Court Service confirmed that 36 solicitors’ firms in Northern Ireland have stopped work on 60 cases in the past three weeks. And from the UTV report Mr Speers added: “The Minister needs …

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