It comes as a great shock, however, to see that many other leading local legal aid practices have been unsuccessful in their bids and to them we offer our sympathy and support. Whilst it was always inevitable that there would be winners and losers in what was a competitive process, many of these firms have offered generations of clients much-needed help and support and they will be missed by their local communities.
Prior to this bid round, there were 2,400 firms contracted to carry out Legal Aid family work and this is to be reduced to 1,300 from October. The Legal Services Commission, who run the scheme, state that the process has achieved their aim of ensuring that only the providers of the highest quality remain.
