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Call now - As the UK government prepares to shake up criminal legal aid further, more firms appear to be collapsing under the growing financial pressure. Yesterday, a leading criminal defence firm voluntarily applied for administration. Carney Solicitors, based in Stoke-on-Trent closed its offices earlier last week and announced yesterday that they would be voluntarily entering administration; after 15 years of acting as a leading criminal defence firm.
The firm went on to say that the primary cause behind this decision were the changes in legal aid. However, a spokesman for the Legal Aid Agency went on to say, “Our priority is to work with the firm to ensure its small number of client cases are passed onto one of the many local criminal legal aid solicitor firms.”
The recent closure of such a prominent firm highlights the pressure that legal aid cuts are putting on the legal industry. In an attempt to save money throughout the government and UK legal system extreme cuts have been made, however, many believe that the affect will be negative in the long term with many national firms facing closure as the sector dries up with fewer options for legal aid support.
If you would like to know how recent and future legal aid cuts affect you, the client, please read our dedicated blog post highlighting the upcoming legal aid strains.
Ashton Hudson, Online Marketing Executive
