The profession has a major stake in this issue. The absence of proper legal aid funding brings the justice system into disrepute and reflects on us all. There is also the fact that the private profession makes a very substantial contribution to the legal aid system in a number of ways and that the lawyers employed by the Legal Aid Commission who are directly affected by the cuts are members of the Society.
Solicitors make a financial contribution by accepting legal aid level fees.
Solicitors who undertake work referred from the Legal Aid Commission on a private basis do so at 80 per cent of the approved scales. In addition the scale fee is well below the market. There is also the compliance costs carried by solicitors in order to maintain trust accounts that deliver the interest payments that are, in part, paid to the Legal Aid Commission for its work. Neither the State nor the Federal Government has performed with distinction in the debate. The cuts are disproportionate to the cuts imposed on the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department overall.