YLAL statement on the recent Legal Aid Agency Data Breach
Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) is deeply concerned by the recent cyber-attack on the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) online digital services.
It is clear that the LAA’s IT infrastructure is overdue for modernisation. Outdated systems not only leave client data at risk but generate additional work for junior members of the profession through inadequate systems. We call on the Ministry of Justice to commit immediately to:
- A full IT security audit;
- An actionable timetable for upgrading digital platforms; and
- Sustained investment to ensure resilience against future attacks.
Junior members of the profession already face significant financial pressures. With the LAA portal offline, it is unclear at this stage the full impact on those junior members. This week’s payments, often vital to those at the start of their careers, must not be jeopardised. We urge:
- Supervisors and senior practitioners to support junior members in managing any administrative burdens arising from system downtime;
- Law firms and chambers to monitor cash-flow closely and, where necessary, advance fees to junior colleagues; and
- The LAA to confirm in writing that all outstanding payments will be processed without interruption.
It is not yet clear how, or if at all, this attack has impacted practitioners and whether such details have similarly been breached. We would ask that the Ministry of Justice make clear the full nature of those who have been impacted by the breach.
YLAL calls on the Ministry of Justice, the LAA, and the wider profession to ensure that justice remains both accessible and secure and that clients and the profession are as minimally impacted by this significant breach as possible. We will continue to press for the reforms, resources and accountability measures necessary to protect practitioners, especially those at the start of their careers, and the clients they serve.
If impacted by delayed payments, junior barristers may be able to seek support from their Inn, Circuit or Bar Association and junior solicitors, CILex and other practitioners may be able to access support via the Law Society or Practitioner Associations.
As always, please reach out to YLAL if you need support.
Young Legal Aid Lawyers
19 May 2025