The criminal justice system in England and Wales is at risk of being paralyzed next month after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) announced an indefinite strike from September 5th.

The criminal defense lawyers complain that wages are far too low and are demanding a 25 percent increase.

Philip Pickert

Business correspondent based in London.

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Hundreds of lawyers in their black robes and white horsehair wigs gathered in front of Parliament in London over the weekend.

"Junior lawyers earn less than minimum wage," read placards.

The 2,400 members of the CBA voted by a large majority for an "indefinite" permanent strike.

Courts will probably not be able to work for weeks.

This means that the mountain of unprocessed criminal cases in Great Britain threatens to continue to grow.

It has already risen from 40,000 cases during the pandemic to just over 60,000 most recently.

These include thousands of cases of theft, robbery, assault and rape.

Former Manchester Police Commissioner Sir Peter Fahy warned that the high number of procrastination cases was threatening public safety.

Criminals often go months or years without being brought to justice.

"Justice Held Hostage"

The criminal defense lawyers had already started their first strike days in June.

Jo Sidhu, chairman of the Bar Association, has now warned the government that the long-term strike will have a "devastating effect" on the functioning of the Crown Courts.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab criticized the barristers for taking "justice hostage".

Secretary of State Sarah Dines called the strike irresponsible.

Newspapers like the Daily Mail quote outraged victims and their families.

A trial against several stabbers has already been postponed.

The mother of the murder victim, Jasna Badzak, is now complaining that her nightmare is being prolonged because of the strike.

From the lawyers' point of view, however, it is the state that has led to a fundamental crisis in the judiciary.

Unlike corporate lawyers, who can easily make six-figure salaries in the City of London, criminal defense lawyers are considered the poor church mice of lawyers.

The government has announced an increase in the fees paid by the state for public defender mandates.

From October onwards, the fee rates are to increase by 15 percent.

That's £7,000 more in earnings for the average lawyer, the government claims.

"We dispute those numbers, it's total fiction," said James Rossiter, CBA's defense attorney and press secretary.

In truth, public defender attorneys - the lion's share of their work - would make much less.

At most, the promised increase brings the average barrister £1,000 – and it does not apply to the old cases, the processing of which will probably take two years.

Hourly wages of 5 pounds

“The state has set rates so unbelievably low that they sometimes amount to £5 an hour,” Rossiter laments.

“You get £88 to £160 for preparing a hearing, say in a rape case, which takes at least 12 to 15 hours, plus travel time to court.” The lawyers get nothing for their lengthy written submissions.

"In real life, many lawyers often do 20 hours a week without pay."

The government refers to a study according to which criminal lawyers earn an average of £65,000 a year.

But this only applies to experienced lawyers who deal with difficult cases that are better paid.

It is very different for beginners.

"In the first three years of practice, many young lawyers earn an average of £12,200, which is below minimum wage," says CBA chief Sidhu.

40 percent of the young lawyers left the profession as a result.

The mood at the protests in courts such as the Old Bailey in London and the Crown Courts in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol and Cardiff vacillated between anger and frustration.

One of the young lawyers is Zayd Ahmad, who is involved in the strikes in London.

He has been in practice for four years, primarily representing the accused in minor theft or assault trials.

Sometimes he also acts as a prosecutor for the crown.

Studying and training at the Bar Association took five years.

“Then I made £16,000 in my first year as a solicitor, now £19,000.

And that for an average of 55 to 60 working hours per week,” he says.

"I can't live on that."

To supplement his salary, he sits several days a week as an on-call lawyer in a police station, which brings in £75 an evening.

An immediate 15 per cent increase in fees would cost the state around £30m, according to the CBA calculation.

"That's a tiny amount," says Ahmad.

Otherwise there will be a long strike, he says.

"Our strike will make the government give in, otherwise the system will collapse."