“Low rates for criminal legal aid and the growing share of work taken by solicitor advocates are contributing to a decline in advocacy standards that is harming the administration of justice, according to a survey by the Bar Standards Board. The report, Perceptions of Criminal Advocacy, showed that over three-quarters (78%) of the 762 practitioners who completed an online survey felt that standards of advocacy have declined over the past five years. However, Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson today condemned the study as ‘deeply flawed’ and ‘self serving’.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 19th April 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
