Legal Aid: The 10 Highest Billers

The annual list of the highest paid solicitors firms and barristers from legal aid during the year ending 31 March 2008 has been published on the Ministry of Justice website.

On its 60th anniversary, legal aid continues to help more than 2 million people each year. The UK spends more per head on legal aid than any other country.

Legal aid has been one of the fastest growing areas of public sector spending over the last 25 years, increasing at an annual average rate of 5.7% to around £2 billion today (as much as is spent on the Prison Service). This rate of increase in spending is not sustainable

The three biggest bills from firms/organisations providing Civil Legal Aid were:

1. Contract funding to the not-for-profit Immigration Advisory Service – £14,134,000;
2. Contract funding to the not-for-profit Refugee Legal Centre – £13,092,000, and;
3. Duncan Lewis Solicitors – £6,182,000

The three biggest bills from firms/organisations providing Criminal Legal Aid were:

1. Tuckers Solicitors – £9,302,000;
2. The Johnson Partnership -£6,192,000, and;
3. Forbes Solicitors – £4,654,000.

View Press Release.

A breakdown of the 10 highest paid criminal and civil barristers from legal aid and 10 highest paid criminal and civil solicitor firms from legal aid in 2007/08 can be downloaded as PDF (0.05mb 10 pages).

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