ABSTRACT

In this chapter, we will consider the how the legal profession developed into a divided one in which barristers were the specialist advocates who, acting on the instructions of a solicitor, prepared opinions, drafted court documents and, if necessary, represented the lay client in court. The solicitor was the general practitioner who met the lay client, offered advice, drafted documents, such as contracts and wills, and if the law was in dispute referred the matter to counsel, the barrister, for an opinion on the law and the chances of success if the matter went to court. We will also consider the fundamental changes coming about in the profession as a result of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and the Access to Justice Act 1999, in particular the breaking of the Bar’s monopoly on advocacy. Other providers of legal services will be considered, including ‘administrative agencies’ such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux and the changes which will come about as a result of the Access to Justice Act 1999 to provide an integrated scheme, rather than the piecemeal one which has developed over the years. Of major concern has been the rapid increase in the costs of funding legal services and we will look at the present schemes available and how the vision for change of Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, will change the system of funding. The drive towards the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) (see Chapter 5) and insurance provision and the use of ‘no win, no fee’ agreements will all have an impact on a person’s access to legal services and it is certain that, in future, the State will not be responsible for funding legal services to the extent it has done in the recent past. Despite vast sums having gone into funding legal services, an unmet need was recognised to exist. Unless the 1999 Act provisions for change prove to be effective in ensuring that those with legal problems can solve them by seeking advice or information or ultimately going to court, this unmet need will only increase. As was said in R v Lord Chancellor ex p Witham (1997), it is essential in a civilised society for people to have access to legal services.