Family Cases and Legal Aid

We think of barristers as fat cats, in beautiful suits with polished shoes, who swan in and out of court and then go off to fashionable wine bars, whether they have won the case or lost it.

The reality for Legal Aid barristers, especially on family cases, is quite different. Some work 70 hours a week and one calculated she was earning £7 per hour, below the minimum wage.

Court conditions have deteriorated with dispensing machines that do not work, lack of drinking water, heating or wheelchair access.

The result is a huge number of litigants in person who, unless they have the help of an experienced paid McKenzie Friend or similar support, clog up the courts with incorrect documents, lengthy incoherent diatribes and sometimes even threats of violent to the other party or the judge.

The solution is to pay people properly and pay to update the court systems and buildings, but it will not happen.

December 2025
Rodney Hylton-Potts