Unified Contract for the Provision of Public-Funded Legal Services

We sign the new Unified Contract for the provision of Public-Funded legal services ('Legal Aid') despite guidance from our various professional bodies to the effect that the terms of the contract are unlawful and in the face of pending judicial review proceedings to be brought by the Law Society against the Legal Services Commission. The alternative, had we not signed and returned the contract by 30 March, was that we would be unable to carry on doing Legal Aid work. Our reasons for signing were set out in a letter sent to our Account Manager and a copy of that letter is available here.

Legal Aid Letter