The MoJ has launched a consultation on changes to advocacy fees for Crown Court work. The changes are designed to be cost neutral across the budget as a whole, but both shift payments around between case types and break down the single case fees into fees based on stages of the case. The paper proposes a return to individual fees for individual hearings. It also, in most cases, moves away from using pages of prosecution evidence (PPE) as a proxy for case complexity, relying more on the nature and classification of the offence; there are more classes proposed than currently.
The proposals have been welcomed by the Bar Council, but criticised by the Law Society as effectively removing money from junior practitioners to increase pay for more senior ones.
Criminal practitioners will want to consider the proposals carefully, especially the potential impacts on their own practice. The consultation closes on 2 March.
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