Access to justice
Supporting those in need by reconfirming our commitment to legal aid
Reconfirming our commitment to Legal Aid
This year, Russell-Cooke successfully obtained a new legal aid contract. Children Law and Diversity and Inclusion partner Sarah Richardson reflects on our commitment to legal aid, how the provision of legal aid supports those most in need to access justice, and why she is proud of the work we do.
What does it mean to have reconfirmed our commitment to legal aid?
Every firm that wishes to provide legal aid services has to bid for a contract from the Legal Aid Agency to obtain verification to continue to offer these services. In order to bid, there is a rigorous set of criteria we must first satisfy. This includes everything from the number of lawyers we have and their level of experience, to the need for a formal complaints procedure and proof of indemnity insurance. We must show we continue to be Lexcel-accredited, belong to a certain number of industry and professional bodies such as Resolution, and generally be able to demonstrate we have the skills to do the work and enough lawyers experienced enough to supervise. On top of that, every individual partner must agree to the application, not just those practising in legal aid areas. It is a contract and a commitment that every partner signs up to – regardless of what area of law they practice.
Why have we decided to do this?
Russell-Cooke has been recognised for its principled approach to the practice of law from the very beginning of the firm over 140 years ago. A lot has changed since the firm was founded in 1880, but our commitment to serving our communities is a long-held one.
Our 2023-2024 Responsible Business Report confirms that approximately 13,000 hours of legal aid work was provided to clients in that financial year. Those at the firm who handle this work do so because they wholeheartedly believe in the right to have access to justice. It is one thing to say that we do the right thing, and another to actually do it – and one way of taking real action is to provide legal aid.
It is one thing to say that we do the right thing, and another to actually do it – and one way of taking real action is to provide legal aid.
This year, you were recognised as a Chambers DEI Champion for the first time, which recognises lawyers who provide advice with an altruistic element to it. You are described as “representing people who wouldn't ordinarily have a voice.” What kind of legal aid work do you undertake, and who do you give a voice to?
We provide legal aid work in areas of law where we view access to justice to be vital to those seeking it, and where fewer and fewer firms are able to afford to provide legal aid advice.
In my team, we carry out public law work on behalf of children and their families, which can range from domestic disputes through to child abductions and the state removing children from the care of their parents. The government recognises that if the state is going to intervene in family life in a way that is disruptive to children, the children and families they are assessing need proper legal representation.
We are also highly active in housing legal aid, supporting individuals with homelessness appeals and in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster. We also represent individuals looking to bring clinical negligence claims.
What makes our lawyers well-placed to provide legal aid?
Most in the children team here at Russell-Cooke have additional qualifications in children law. We train our lawyers to be able to undertake advocacy themselves, enabling them to do court hearings without the need to instruct a barrister. Our lawyers are experts in the truest sense of the word; they don’t just have the technical knowledge and the accreditations to evidence that, they have the experience to support clients in the way they need to be supported.
This experience tells us that our clients often need to see us in their homes and at weekends, and that to know a family’s crisis you really have to get to know the family in that crisis. It is as much this as our legal expertise that qualifies us to do such important work.
To represent individuals in these legal aid cases is to represent people in crisis. Whether it is your home or your family that you face losing, it is deeply and urgently personal – and doesn’t get any worse.
Are there specific skills needed to do this kind of work?
To represent individuals in these legal aid cases is to represent people in crisis. Whether it is your home or your family that you face losing, it is deeply and urgently personal – and doesn’t get any worse.
A large part of my job involves making sure that my team is coping with what is essentially constant crisis management. To handle this work, you need a certain level of emotional resilience. You are not only exposed to other peoples’ harrowing circumstances; you are often their only hope at a time they feel hopeless, which is of itself no small amount of pressure.
In order to navigate this, we work adaptively, ensuring we talk to each other and share the load where we can.
We are one of a small number of top 100 law firms to provide publicly funded legal services. Why is this something to be proud of?
Our commitment to access to justice is in our DNA. Undertaking legal aid work enables us to pave the way for those in our communities who have not been dealt the best cards in life.
As former Senior Partner and Chair John Gould said in an interview in The Times this year, there is a danger of being too culturally focused on money to properly commit to legal aid.
We are proud that this is an identifying – and differentiating - characteristic of Russell-Cooke. It is a privileged position to be able to change lives and give those most vulnerable a voice they otherwise may lack.
Legal services are more costly than ever and legal aid funding is diminishing all the time. Why is it important we continue to provide it?
My daily experience in the family courts is that legal aid and access to justice is at a critical point in England and Wales. Those in our communities who are often the most vulnerable are left on their own trying to navigate a system which is under pressure, and often, no longer fit for purpose.
Earlier this year, we published an article that explored the impact of the Government’s management of spending on legal aid, which has fallen significantly in the last decade, with there having been no increase in fees paid for such services for nearly three decades. As such, more and more lawyers and law firms are simply unable to provide legal aid as to do so isn’t sustainable. In turn, the huge reduction in the number of lawyers taking on legal aid cases has meant greater pressure on the courts, judges and the public sector. By squeezing legal aid, the public sector is placed under additional pressure and inequalities grow ever wider.
Those in desperate circumstances deserve to be seen, heard and given expert legal representation. It is a huge positive and badge of honour that the firm remains supportive of our commitment to legal aid despite the growing financial challenges to providing it.
What supporting access to justice means to me
Tom Cunild
Trainee
I feel proud that I am working for a business which is striving to make meaningful positive change through its work.
Sophie Zonfrillo
Learning and development assistant
As a company who has a large influence on our society in the fact of being a law firm, I think it is very important to respect the world that we can make change within.
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