The ‘hidden costs’ of delivering legal aid – LAPG’s new report

The Legal Aid Practitioners Group has published stark new findings on the hidden costs of legal aid, with legal aid lawyers spending around a quarter of their working day on unpaid tasks. From billing and audits to compliance and client enquiries, this “non-chargeable time” keeps the system afloat, but practitioners cannot claim for it.

As with many issues impacting legal aid and the justice sector, this is particularly felt most acutely by junior lawyers and those starting out in legal aid who are already under immense pressure, balancing long hours, emotionally demanding client work, and the expectation to go the extra mile. The significant amounts of unpaid administrative work likely trickle down to this end of the profession creating a pressing burden and risking driving out the next generation of the profession altogether.

This research confirms what many of us have long known, that the legal aid scheme runs on unpaid labour, overtime, and the goodwill of practitioners who are already stretched thin. The toll is not only financial, but also personal, with risks of burnout and unsustainable practice being rife at a time when the system cannot afford to lose any more legal aid lawyers.

Alongside this report, legal aid lawyers are still waiting to be paid for work already done over the previous six months. The fallout from the LAA cyberattack has left many conducting their practices in uncertainty, with cashflow disrupted, no clear timeline for resolution, and a lack of information or communication from the agencies involved.

Together, these realities paint a troubling picture of a justice system dependent on lawyers, especially those at the junior end, working for free, whilst continually failing to provide adequately for the work that is done, and lacking the basic decency to openly communicate with those at the coalface of this crisis.

As always, please reach out to YLAL if you are impacted by this issue.

Read the full report or a short summary here: https://lapg.co.uk/lapg-research-on-the-hidden-costs-of-delivering-legal-aid/