By JO-MARIE BAKER
Bay lawyers received over $4.3 million in legal aid payments in the past 18 months but say their hourly rate must increase if people are to get competent legal advice.
Legal aid is approved by the Legal Services Agency for those who cannot afford a lawyer. The hourly
rate varies from $95 to $160 and depends on the seriousness of the case and how experienced the lawyer is.
But local lawyers say the pay was "out of whack" with market rates and senior counsel would avoid taking on legal aid cases in future if it wasn't improved.
Lawyers had to pay expert witnesses, travel costs and private investigators out of their payments.
Craig Tuck - who was given $480,360 in legal aid between July 2006 and December last year - said such cases were run on tight budgets.
"We have to justify all our expenditure. Police and the Crown have unlimited resources really. Unless we are challenging, searching and are actively involved in that process then democracy and a right to a fair trial gets eaten away."
Defence lawyer Bill Nabney, who earned the second-highest legal aid payment in the Bay, said not all of that money went directly into his pocket.
In one of Mr Nabney's most recent cases, the Legal Services Agency paid for a scientist to fly from Christchurch to Tauranga to challenge ESR evidence provided by the Crown.
"Prior to that he provided me with a report which also had to be paid for," Mr Nabney explained.
It was up to the agency to approve legal aid payments and it was out of a lawyer's hands. Overall, Mr Nabney thought the system worked well.
"It provides legal assistance to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to have it and that's important for someone who is accused of serious crimes. They're entitled to representation."
Mr Nabney said the hourly rates and standard preparation time allowed by the Legal Services Agency should be increased as he felt the Crown was often at an advantage in this respect.
Rachael Adams, of law firm Adams and Horsley, agreed the hourly rate needed to rise.
The commercial reality was senior lawyers could command up to $300 an hour for other work and undertook legal aid cases as a social service.
She warned that if rates were not lifted, "you'll end up with having inexperienced or not enormously competent counsel doing it".
"I've had significant criminal cases involving expert evidence where those witnesses have been paid more than we have received in fees. Out of a $50,000 fee, witnesses could be paid $30,000 of that."
The Legal Services Agency confirmed to the Bay of Plenty Times that a recommendation to increase the hourly rate paid to lawyers by 15.9 per cent was made to the Government late last year. It was now up to the Minister of Justice to decide.
Sensible Sentencing Trust's Tauranga spokesman, Ken Evans, said legal aid was a good concept but he was concerned recidivist offenders were taking advantage of the system.
"If offenders were locked up for their full sentence then the pressure on the legal aid system would drop."
Mr Evans thought lawyers were already being paid too much. "Why should a lawyer get twice the amount other professionals get?"
Legal aid top 10: Craig Tuck - $480,360; Bill Nabney - $419,216; Adams & Horsley - $315,301; Paul Mabey QC - $307,786; Mount Law - $306,377; Nicholas Dutch - $287,160; Tony Balme - $285,99;0 MaryAnn McCarty - $282,521; Glenn Dixon - $281,264; Holland Beckett - $263,221. (Totals for 18 months from 1 July 2006 to 31 December 2007).