Chancery Lane’s decision-making council took the vote at a meeting last week, after claiming the LSC had failed to negotiate adequately with the Law Society over new ‘unified’ civil legal aid contracts, which come into force on 1 April.
It is understood the LSC has until today (5 April) to respond to the society’s threat to apply for a judicial review.
The Law Society has also complained that no member of the Government would agree to meet with the organisation to discuss its concerns.
The society has conducted a survey that suggested more than half of
According to the study of almost 450 UK practices, 11% will cease legal aid work if Whitehall and the LSC introduce the new-look
legal aid contract, while a further 47% are currently ‘considering’ not signing the contract and withdrawing from the sector.
The contract is a key plank of the Government’s planned reforms of the
In the run-up to the deadline for the contracts to be signed 25 firms said they would not sign it. However, the LSC said 94% of firms had signed it.
Last month the Law Society sent a letter to the LSC and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, calling for the new contract to be delayed in the wake of mounting opposition.
Law Society chief executive Des Hudson said: “A harsh choice lies ahead for civil legal aid practitioners [who] are being forced to either
sign the contract by 1 April or stop doing legal aid work.”
