Proposed cuts to the legal aid system could leave over half of the UK law firms at present involved in publicly funded cases at risk of going out of business; according to research commissioned by the Law Society. The knock-on effect to private investigation agencies that currently specialise in legal aid support investigation work will be astronomical.
Consultants Andrew Otterburn and Vicky Ling surveyed 163 civil and criminal law firms in order to measure the impact of the Ministry of Justice proposals, which will cut fee rates and remove large areas of civil work from legal aid scope.
Otterburn said: ‘We may see a 50% reduction in the supplier base [if the proposals go ahead] and an end to the large firm model because the volume of work, except in public law family and crime, will no longer exist.’
He advises law firms to start down-sizing their operations now, and to begin reducing their capacity and payroll in a controlled way in order to remain a presence within the market place.
It goes without saying that those PIs that specialise in legal aid support work may wish to do the same and cast their net into a different market segment in order to protect their business interests.
Source: www.pi-telegraph.com
