National Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce has welcomed the Government’s proposal to increase legal aid rates but said more must be done to stop the exodus of criminal law practitioners in the South West.
Miss Boyce, on a visit to Plymouth and Exeter, revealed that there are now only 12 duty solicitors left working in Devon and Somerset combined - and most of them are in the latter stages of their career.
“We are hoping to stop the exodus of criminal defence practitioners leaving the judicial system,” she said.
