Access to justice is a fundamental right in a free society, but for a number of years now, there have been dire warnings from the legal profession in Scotland that this access may soon be a luxury only the rich can afford.
Legal aid is in crisis and it is the least advantaged in our communities who are suffering.
Next week, The Herald will spend three days exploring the impact of underfunding on criminal legal aid.
We will talk to solicitors, their clients and victims of crime. We will speak to politicians about what needs to happen to make sure every Scot can defend themselves when the state or others act against them.
The right to free legal aid in criminal cases in Scotland is centuries old but with solicitors leaving the profession, even if you are eligible, you may struggle to find representation.
There are currently 911 solicitors in Scotland on the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s criminal register.
The number of solicitors over the age of 50 outnumber those under 30, by a ratio of two to one.
There is already a crisis in legal aid, but the next five to ten years could be catastrophic.
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Roddy Dunlop KC, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, told The Herald the Scottish Government could not be “unaware of the concerns” from lawyers, “given how often they have been expressed.”
“But they are not acting on those concerns, and doubtless, because they don't feel they have the money to do so, and that they think other matters need to be prioritised.
“And I readily understand the financial pressures that they're under at the moment, but the simple fact of the matter is that criminal legal aid at a solicitor level has been in crisis for years now and you've got what's looking like an imminent wasteland in terms of criminal solicitors.”
And the future looks bleak for civil legal aid too.
According to Law Society research, the most deprived 100,000 people in Scotland are covered by just 29 civil legal aid firms, and nearly 90,000 have no local access at all.
People who want custody of their children, seek compensation from an employer, or take an interdict out against an abusive ex, may need to choose between representing themselves or giving up on their fight.
Beyond Breaking Point: Scotland’s Legal Aid Crisis is the latest deep dive from The Herald, following on from our groundbreaking investigations into the Glasgow School of Arts fires, heat pumps, the housing emergency and most recently, the future of fishing on the Clyde.
Join us next week in The Herald. Subscribe here to read the series in full.
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