Solicitors are gearing up for a wave of major reforms after Lord Carter unveiled his eagerly anticipated review of legal aid procurement last week following the largest ever investigation into the ailing system.
The independent report, which follows 12 months of talks with practitioners, funders and frontline regulators such as the Law Society, includes 62 recommendations for a new regime designed to strip back the UK’s £2.1bn legal aid budget. Key elements of the report include plans to force lawyers to bid in competitive tenders to win contracts to supply all the legal aid advice in a specific region.
