Escalation of services withdrawal commences

From today Criminal Bar Association (CBA) members have withdrawn from appearing in all legally aided Crown Court cases listed up to 31st January 2025. This action takes place in addition to a continuing withdrawal of services in certain categories of criminal cases, which commenced in November 2024.

At a meeting of the CBA in December, a majority of members indicated their support for an extended withdrawal of services, expressing a view that such action was a necessary and proportionate response to the relentless expectation for criminal barristers to do significantly more while earning significantly less.

Bar Council Chair Donal Lunny KC has described the Criminal Bar Association’s escalation of withdrawal of services in all legally aided Crown Court cases as “regrettable but inevitable” given the context where, despite increased workload and complexity, fees have not been increased for 20 years.

He continued:” This action was not undertaken lightly. The Department of Justice has received independent advice on actions that would help to address the unsustainable crisis in the Crown Court. It has chosen instead to select proposed reforms which will exacerbate these intolerable pressures. We urge the Department to address the issues that have prompted the escalation and to re-evaluate the direction of its Legal Aid reform programme.”