tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post115476476257767364..comments2024-03-28T05:06:03.458+00:00Comments on Diary of a Criminal Solicitor: CarterGavinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08500048413933214232noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1164492265862674722006-11-25T22:04:00.000+00:002006-11-25T22:04:00.000+00:00Anon said: "Do you think that it might be time for...Anon said: "Do you think that it might be time for the solicitors firms to treat police station attendances as a loss leader and give 75% of the fee to the solicitor/rep. The main bulk of the fees comes from the actual casework, so in order to provide an incentive for a person to attend the police station, the remuneration has to be proportionate."<BR/><BR/>It would be madness to suggest that Police Station work is simply a loss leader. At present the rates for some Police Station cases, such as serious offences dealt with as Duty Solicitor, pay better than rates of advocacy.<BR/><BR/>My local Police force has a tendancy to arrest people on the weakest evidence and many of the cases are not proceeded with due to lack of evidence.<BR/><BR/>It is still a massive problem to find a solution that will remunerate employees/agents for Police Station work in the post-Carter era.<BR/><BR/>If you want to have a serious discussion on this point I suggest you get over to <A HREF="www.criminalsolicitor.net" REL="nofollow">the Criminal Solicitor Dot Net web site</A> and start posting in the forums.Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500048413933214232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1164464883566362682006-11-25T14:28:00.000+00:002006-11-25T14:28:00.000+00:00Do you think that it might be time for the solicit...Do you think that it might be time for the solicitors firms to treat police station attendances as a loss leader and give 75% of the fee to the solicitor/rep. The main bulk of the fees comes from the actual casework, so in order to provide an incentive for a person to attend the police station, the remuneration has to be proportionate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155986803244974852006-08-19T12:26:00.000+01:002006-08-19T12:26:00.000+01:00I work in a big station with 30+ cells. Surely the...I work in a big station with 30+ cells. Surely the local firms should get together, pay the station for some office space and simply come up with a rota. Advanatges, no travel time-already there, somewhere to wait and actively get on with other work, pay the rep per shift thus allowing him to plan him income and time. An idea?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155591095608617592006-08-14T22:31:00.000+01:002006-08-14T22:31:00.000+01:00Carter is going to shift the established heirarchy...Carter is going to shift the established heirarchy. Duty Solicitors will no longer sit at the top of the pile for lower Courts work. Firms will be able to bid for more work at the Police Station instead of needing Duty Solicitors to get more business in.<BR/><BR/>The crime market is going to be in 'flux' for the next five years, then it will get back to some level or normality. The only question is whether or not it still needs young dynamic solicitors? Or will Carter mean that less qualified staff are going to be running the majority of cases instead of solicitors?Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500048413933214232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155572269651468742006-08-14T17:17:00.000+01:002006-08-14T17:17:00.000+01:00There is no sense in that! although more people wi...There is no sense in that! although more people will have to utilise higher rights to start making any sort of profit from crime.<BR/>As a young solicitor it does make you wonder whether now is the time for a change.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155560905251156682006-08-14T14:08:00.000+01:002006-08-14T14:08:00.000+01:00"There are slightly older members of the professio..."There are slightly older members of the profession who would not think twice about ignoring a call for what would be something like £55 after tax."<BR/><BR/>Yes, and some rather younger members as well!<BR/><BR/>The other big problem with Carter is that it will remove the bar on duty solicitors only performing certain tasks. My boss is already wondering whether it's worth employing any solicitors at all!! Although, I should say that I don't think even he would go that far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155200136478488782006-08-10T09:55:00.000+01:002006-08-10T09:55:00.000+01:00LJA,Yes VAT is inclusive for solicitors figures in...LJA,<BR/><BR/>Yes VAT is inclusive for solicitors figures in Carter, but exclusive for Counsels fees. Where is the sense in that?Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500048413933214232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1155127932656561832006-08-09T13:52:00.000+01:002006-08-09T13:52:00.000+01:00I assume you are aware but the fixed fees quoted i...I assume you are aware but the fixed fees quoted in Carter are inclusive of VAT.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1154816461071552152006-08-05T23:21:00.000+01:002006-08-05T23:21:00.000+01:00£11 An hour may seem alright for a daily rate, but...£11 An hour may seem alright for a daily rate, but think about £11 an hour for out of hours work, that is in addition to your full days work. A plumber gets paid a small fortune for just a call out fee. Also you have to think that sometimes you might be paid £11 an hour for a murder case where the advice given could either land someone a life sentence or set them free.<BR/><BR/>4-5 Hours may seem long, but when you factor in travel and waiting most attendances would not be far short of 4 hours.<BR/><BR/>Public Defender Service! The government ran a public called the Public Defender Service and this pilot was supposed to run over three years. During the time the pilot has run the Public Defender Service has worked out to be far more expensive than us privately employed solicitors doing work on legal aid. In fact the government had failed to publish the results of the Public Defendner Service for the last 12 months, probably because it knows the conclusion will be solicitors were right, we do the work for a cost effective price, and government meddling would just increase running costs.Gavinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08500048413933214232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12900311.post-1154815317150716312006-08-05T23:01:00.000+01:002006-08-05T23:01:00.000+01:00£11 per hour seems decent enough to me. Most case...£11 per hour seems decent enough to me. Most cases I get involved in mean that night time attendances by solicitors are very rare as interview waits until the morning. Most cases also take a lot less than 4-5 hours. 2 seems the usual.<BR/>And lets remember that by forcing pyou out of the market the government increases the strength of the argument for a Public Defence Service !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com