The government faces a ‘catastrophic loss’ of lawyers to help bring down the Crown court backlog after a national survey found that one in three criminal barristers intends to quit.
The Criminal Bar Association received 1,717 responses to its latest national survey, ‘well above that of nationally representative surveys which are relied upon by government’.
One in three criminal barristers is actively considering moving their practice into another discipline while only 44% remain committed to primarily doing publicly funded criminal work.
The CBA said remuneration fails to reflect the hours of work involved.
Some 77% of barristers prepare their cases pretty much every weekend, 35% work Saturday and Sunday, over 80% work more than 50 hours a week, 50% work over 60 hours a week and 20% work over 70 hours a week. Eight in 10 barristers with children under 18 have missed family and personal events while seven in 10 have experienced stressful childcare issues.
Top ‘work stressors and strains’ included exasperation at doing large amounts of administrative work previously done by the Crown Prosecution Service and instructing solicitors, the listing of ineffective cases and working in crumbling courts.
Nine in 10 barristers said the CBA must focus on adequate and fair remuneration. Nearly all respondents want an independent national pay review body that sets annual fee increases, which are accepted by government.
Nine in 10 want to see broadly equal prosecution and defence fees and 87% want a one-off fee increase ‘to reflect the fact that the criminal bar has not been treated like other key workers in the last 20 years’.
The CBA said statistics on criminal barristers walking away from RASSO work, problems with listing, crumbling buildings, administrative support, working relationships with the CPS, the courts, defence solicitors and the judiciary, wellbeing, working stressors and bullying will follow shortly.
The criminal bar is not the only branch of the justice system facing a looming retention crisis: according to the latest Judicial Attitude Survey, 790 full-time judges are expected to leave the judiciary in the next five years but 588 fee-paid judicial office-holders are currently considering applying to work full time.
Sir Brian Leveson will shortly be handing to the lord chancellor his recommendations to cut the Crown court backlog – which will undoubtedly require a healthy pipeline of lawyers and judges.
