The APPG on Legal Aid was delighted to host Jelena Lentzos, Head of Criminal Legal Aid Policy and Sustainable Markets at the Ministry of Justice, who heads up the review, Richard Atkins QC, Chair of The Bar Council, Simon Davis, Vice-President of The Law Society, Greg Powell, immediate past President of the London Criminal Courts Solicitor Association and Emma Fenn, a junior criminal barrister from Garden Court Chambers. They all spoke passionately about the changes that the review needed to make to the system in order for it to be fit for purpose,

with Greg Powell citing from his history of the legal aid system and Emma Fenn highlighting the unnecessary fights faced by barristers every day, such as the time spent simply getting through security and court buildings She also highlighted the problems that legal aid barristers face at the end of a case in getting paid by the Legal Aid Agency. Minutes of the meeting can be found here. Please also see Greg Powell’s excellent history of legal aid, which can be found here (on the Secret Barrister’s blog which is also well worth a read if you are interested in these issues).