EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Back on topicish.. is there a shortage of criminal case barristers because of legal aid cuts (in ref to a post above re lawyers)?

Without wishing to dodge the question, I've no idea from personal experience. The last criminal case I did was over 20 years ago, and the best I can claim is that I didn't make my client's position any worse. I haven't done a legal aid funded case in nearly 20 years - it's just not available for the work I do. I either do privately-funded work or pro bono cases. Legal aid cuts in my line of work meant it wasn't available, at all, a long, long time ago. In a galaxy, far, far away.

Anecdotally, I don't think there's a shortage of criminal barristers. There are a sufficient number who consider it a vocation, and so who are prepared to work for considerably less than the minimum wage, and a sufficient number of independently wealthy people who consider the social cachet of being a barrister a fair trade for being paid less than the minimum wage. I do know that senior members of the criminal bar are concerned that it's becoming no more than a hobby for people who have a private income and so don't actually need to work to pay for rent, food and other expenses. And then there's the problem of the endemic institutional racism of the legal system, which is another story entirely, albeit an extremely important one.

The more pressing problem, I understand, is the lack of criminal law solicitors. No-one is ever going to become a criminal solicitor for the social cachet. No wigs, for starters. And if you can't get a decent solicitor, then getting a brief to represent you is the least of your problems.

If you haven't read The Secret Barrister then I'd urge you to do so. It is a damning indictment on the current criminal legal system in the UK. It's becoming like the US - if you can afford a decent legal team, then as a criminal defendant you have a fighting chance. If you're left to legal aid representation, then you're best relying on a sympathetic jury.