$3.5m legal aid paid in city

Wanganui lawyers were paid out nearly $3.5 million for legal aid work in the year to July 2010.
Figures released to the Chronicle show the five who received the most were Debbie Goodlet ($535,667.64), Roger Crowley ($514,756.72), Stephen Ross and Associates ($337,243.03), Jacinda Younger ($307,135.59), and Peter Brosnahan ($274,514.27).
In all, $3,446,876.55 of government legal aid was paid out to 18 lawyers in Wanganui between June 30, 2009 to July 1 last year.
The Chronicle tried to contact the top-ranking lawyers for comment but was told by office staff that they did not talk to media.
New rules have been implemented for assigning legal aid cases, which could affect the earning power of those lawyers who do legal aid work.
Since November 28, the Legal Aid Agency for Wanganui, based in New Plymouth, has assigned cases on a rotational basis.
This effectively means those who stand accused and whose legal bills are paid by the taxpayer will no longer be able to choose who represents them in court.
The Legal Aid agency assigns categories 1 and 2 (or proceedings 1 and 2) criminal cases to lawyers using a computer-based system.
Category or proceedings 1 include cases heard in either a district court or the High Court before a judge that are not jury trials, such as driving offences. In 2009-10, category 1 cases made up 92 per cent of all criminal cases, with the average cost of legal aid for each case $700.
Category 2 cases include jury trials in any court or before a district court or High Court judge alone, where the most serious charge carries a maximum penalty of not more than 10 years' prison.
In 2009-10, category 2 cases were 4 per cent of all criminal cases.
One of the aims of the change to the legal aid system was to help towards more effective management of court processes, particularly the criminal summary list.
This list is held every Tuesday in the Wanganui District Court.
In the first rotation list (November 2010 to February 2011) in category 1 cases, 15 Wanganui lawyers were assigned an average of two assignments each.
Six Wanganui lawyers were assigned category 2 (including jury trials) cases. They included Mark Bullock (1), Roger Crowley (3), Debbie Goodlet (3), Fenella Devlin (2), Richard Leith (1) and Raukawa Simons (1).
Once a lawyer has received an assigned case, their name goes to the bottom of the assignment list.
People who, if convicted, face a jail sentence of more than 10 years can continue to choose their lawyer.
The policy was changed last year when Justice Minister Simon Power predicted the legal aid bill would top $200 million and go over budget by $69 million in 2011-12.
Law Society communications manager Geoff Adlam said yesterday that the New Zealand Law Society was in the process of collecting comments from all of their branches throughout the country.
"So we can report to the Legal Services Agency on any operational issues relating to rotational assignments at both national and local levels," he said.
 
WHO EARNED WHAT
- Debbie Goodlet.....2009-2010.....$535,667.64
- Roger Crowley.....2009-2010.....$514,756.72
- Stephen Ross & Associates.....2009-2010.....$337,243.03
- Jacinda Younger.....2009-2010.....$307,135.59
- Peter Brosnahan.....2009-2010.....$274,514.27
- Mark Bullock.....2009-2010.....$273,520.31
- Treadwell Gordon.....2009-2010.....$195,545.93
- Fenella Devlin.....2009-2010.....$184,834.01
- Graham Takarangi.....2009-2010.....$180,114.01
 - Richard Leith.....2009-2010.....$151,115.58