$6m paid for Hawke's Bay's legal aid

More than $6 million of legal aid was paid out to Hawke's Bay law firms during the last financial year, with some firms claiming in excess of $500,000.
Figures released to Hawke's Bay Today by the Legal Services Agency, follow comments by Justice Minister Simon Power last month that the legal aid system needs tighter controls.
Last year $128 million was spent on legal aid, with $6,261,351.55 spent within Hawke's Bay alone. Hastings barrister Eric Forster topped the Hawke's Bay list, earning $579,350.21 in legal-aid payments from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
Hastings-based firm Gresson Grayson was second with $464,808.56 while another Hastings firm Bate Hallett was third with payments of $451,684.02.
Speaking to an Otago University moot court, Mr Power said legal aid continued to rise - by 2011/2012 it was expected to be $69m over budget - and he was considering spending caps, eligibility restrictions and fixed fees to keep spending under control.
Mr Power said he would report to Cabinet with options to bring spending under control but spoke of expanding the public defence service and bulk funding firms.
However, Mr Forster said most lawyers who take on legal aid cases performed to a good standard and were paid rates half that of privately funded cases.
Legal aid work often had an element of "public service behind it" and legal-aid lawyers often performed services that were not covered by legal aid because they do not want to see their clients' cases undermined.
"A perception some lawyers are creaming it has been brought about by reporting revenue as if it was the lawyer's personal income," he said. "It does not take into account how many lawyers are being paid for under the same name, substantial costs such as expert witnesses' expenses, legal resources, rent, phone, GST etc."
By introducing spending caps and budget controls, the Government risked discouraging talented young barristers from getting involved in legal-aid work, Mr Forster said.
"Many legal-aid lawyers are starting off their careers with inadequate support because it is largely uneconomic for firms to do legal-aid work.
"The Government seems to be favouring, at least in the immediate future, increasing the bureaucratic administration - some of the changes actually look like they will add to the time and expense of resolving cases."