Can you live as a Legal Aid Solicitor?
In short … Not very comfortably, but it could get better (hopefully). This house of cards can be easily brought down if the people lower down the legal food chain are not taken care of soon.
This, along with the light being shown on the poor state of legal aid funding that had lead to the barristers strike. This raises a important question “What about everyone else?”.
Many people know that you have the right to repetition at the police station if you are "picked up" for a criminal offence. The police normally offer a solicitor to an individual after they have been arrested, and before they are to be been questioned in interview. However what you are not told is the number of unpaid hours that is worked by solicitors and police stations reps, to ensure the best outcome for their clients.
With the average legal aid solicitors salary in the United Kingdom is £32,500 per year (£16.67 per hour).however this is not where a number of current legal aid assisted firm earnings, with some entry level positions starting at £29,875 per year. While more experienced workers can make up to £42,500 per year. Although the upper end may seem high this is not often seen by Solicitors who have not been working in the field for a large number of years. In 2022 the average Legal Aid Agency salary had fallen to approximately £23,205 per year for a Caseworker to £23,205 per year for a Caseworker.
Compared to the average salary for a Solicitor who works in private sector being £55,200 gross per year (£3,380 net per month), which is £25,600 (+86%) higher than the UK's national average salary. A Solicitor in another sector (for example: Conveyancing or Corporate lawyers) can expect an average starting salary of £34,700 with the highest salaries can exceed £140,000.
Even as a Trainee solicitors your salary will depend on the training contract offered by your employer. Unfortunately there is no fixed amount that your employer must pay you. Yet it is recommend a minimum of £23,700 in London and £21,020 outside London. On the other hand these figures may not always be attainable. This is due the cost of living going up and the fact that there is a surplus in the number of graduates, meaning that most trainee will find that they are unable to find work in the first place. As a result the average is more along the line of £18,000 for the first few years.
The market has also been affected by the number of “self-representation” as the limits on eligibility for legal aid have become more stringent, and it could be very difficult for someone who is working a lower income job to also pay for legal fees/ contributions. The individual will have to have a gross income of no more than £2,657 and disposable income of no more than £733 a month. Plus, anyone with a disposable income over £315 a month is expected to make some contribution towards legal costs.
This is not very fair as people who do not work and are receiving benefits may be entitled to legal aid. This penalized those who are in employment and are trying to better themselves, but may have made a mistake and need the support of a legal professional. Also this will not allow the solicitors to act on behalf of them, as there is little way they can afford the services, seeing another form of income being lost by firms.
We at Wainwright and Cummins have been open for over 30 years and have done our best for our clients. The firm has done a number of cases pro-bono or at a rate cut price to ensure that our clients get the best outcome for their matters.
This is not the most sustainable business model and the firm is doing our best the find the middle ground, allowing both our legal aid funded and private clients a reasonable price for an excellent service, even if that means we don’t get rich, we feel we are doing the right thing.
If you are in need of private or assisted legal advice at a price that you can afford please give us a call today on 0207 737 9339 Or email info@wainwrightcummins.co.uk
