Coronavirus: Emergency payments for lawyers being considered
- Published
An emergency payment scheme for law firms and barristers dependant on legal aid money is under consideration by the Department of Justice.
A pause in most court cases in NI has left them facing cash-flow problems.
The assembly’s Justice Committee was told some are facing a fight for survival.
Under what is being proposed, lawyers would get an advance payment of part of the fee they normally get at the end of a case.
Department of Justice official Eamon O’Connor told committee members: “This is not new money. It is an advance on what they will be due.”
The interim part-payment would then be deducted from the final bill once things return to normal.
Reliance on legal aid
Justice Minister Naomi Long is currently deciding whether to introduce the scheme, which would last between three and six months.
The legal aid network in Northern Ireland involves 600 barristers and 400 law firms.
Legal aid makes up 80% of the income of half the firms.
The committee was told that there have been “difficulties” in firms accessing other emergency payment schemes.
There could be an additional £1m cost to the department if a significant number of firms go bust and cases need to be transferred to others.