Jo Renshaw outlines the effect LASPO 2012 will have on those doing publicly funded work
On 1 April 2013 the changes, which all those undertaking publicly funded work hoped would never see the light of day, will be implemented. This was described at a recent Legal Services Commission training event as the “Go Live” date. Given that most of us will be savouring a much-needed Bank Holiday lie-in on that day, the “Go Live” date (also coinciding with April Fools’ Day) is not without a certain irony and the reality is that the radical reshaping of access to justice will hit most of us when we crawl into work the following morning.
It is likely there will be a continuing exodus of those currently undertaking publicly funded work. The way the recent tenders were structured has resulted in many firms being allocated even fewer cases (matter starts) than their worst-case scenario envisaged and this, combined with the very low rates of pay and the severe restrictions on scope, is in danger of making publicly funded work so unprofitable as to constitute
