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So what are #legalaidhero & #notafatcat all about?
Posted on1 Day Ago by legalaidhero
We are trying to show you that criminal lawyers have a human face.
We want you to realise that we actually care very deeply about the people we encounter every day. That these people are often victims themselves, or vulnerable, scared & alone. And when no-one else is there for them, the lawyers are there. Helping them.
The #savelegalaid campaign has been running for many months now, but activity has increased since 1 July when direct action was started by criminal solicitors following savage cuts to legal aid rates. There has been little public interest in this issue to date as criminal lawyers really don’t always inspire public sympathy. We hope that through this campaign we can show the public that we care about them deeply, that we will be there for them if they need us & that we are people with hearts too.
#legalaidhero highlights the everyday things that are done by criminal lawyers that are just part of our jobs but that actually make a huge difference. The cases where, for example, someone acting in self defence in an unprovoked attack isn’t the first to phone the police and so is the one arrested as an aggressor. They are the one placed in a cell & then charged with assault. Perhaps they are a junior doctor or a soldier. Perhaps this arrest will halt their career. Our job is not all about career criminals or ‘the bad guys’. Often we deal with those facing life altering criminal prosecutions by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We will be there. We have been there. We want to always be there.
Simultaneously running is #notafatcat though which we are trying to get over a very different message. We have all heard the press tell the public that we have the most expensive legal system in the world & share stories of the £1million earning lawyers. The reality is very different. With rates and fee’s as they are there are criminal lawyers working for hours on rates so below the national minimum as to be unbelievable. This hashtag hopes to highlight the truth of the situation to the public and explain how we cannot cope with more cuts after 20 years of no increase in rates.
Both campaigns run together and under the joint and ongoing #savelegalaid because ultimately that is what we are trying to achieve. We want there to be legal aid to help you if you need us. We want to keep our small (or large) businesses going – to pay our staff, pay our rents and our tax.
But most importantly we want to save you – if you ever need us.
Finally, solicitors are not fighting this alone. Our sister profession of the criminal bar stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Official action at the bar starts today, but many have stood with us since 1 July. Most criminal barristers prosecute as well as defend, and many of them have stories to share that show very real protection of victims as well as actions to save the innocent.
#savelegalaid #notafatcat #legalaidhero
RF: If you are on Twitter, would you please look for the hashtags and tweet and retweet! Thanks
So what are #legalaidhero & #notafatcat all about?
Posted on1 Day Ago by legalaidhero
We are trying to show you that criminal lawyers have a human face.
We want you to realise that we actually care very deeply about the people we encounter every day. That these people are often victims themselves, or vulnerable, scared & alone. And when no-one else is there for them, the lawyers are there. Helping them.
The #savelegalaid campaign has been running for many months now, but activity has increased since 1 July when direct action was started by criminal solicitors following savage cuts to legal aid rates. There has been little public interest in this issue to date as criminal lawyers really don’t always inspire public sympathy. We hope that through this campaign we can show the public that we care about them deeply, that we will be there for them if they need us & that we are people with hearts too.
#legalaidhero highlights the everyday things that are done by criminal lawyers that are just part of our jobs but that actually make a huge difference. The cases where, for example, someone acting in self defence in an unprovoked attack isn’t the first to phone the police and so is the one arrested as an aggressor. They are the one placed in a cell & then charged with assault. Perhaps they are a junior doctor or a soldier. Perhaps this arrest will halt their career. Our job is not all about career criminals or ‘the bad guys’. Often we deal with those facing life altering criminal prosecutions by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We will be there. We have been there. We want to always be there.
Simultaneously running is #notafatcat though which we are trying to get over a very different message. We have all heard the press tell the public that we have the most expensive legal system in the world & share stories of the £1million earning lawyers. The reality is very different. With rates and fee’s as they are there are criminal lawyers working for hours on rates so below the national minimum as to be unbelievable. This hashtag hopes to highlight the truth of the situation to the public and explain how we cannot cope with more cuts after 20 years of no increase in rates.
Both campaigns run together and under the joint and ongoing #savelegalaid because ultimately that is what we are trying to achieve. We want there to be legal aid to help you if you need us. We want to keep our small (or large) businesses going – to pay our staff, pay our rents and our tax.
But most importantly we want to save you – if you ever need us.
Finally, solicitors are not fighting this alone. Our sister profession of the criminal bar stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Official action at the bar starts today, but many have stood with us since 1 July. Most criminal barristers prosecute as well as defend, and many of them have stories to share that show very real protection of victims as well as actions to save the innocent.
#savelegalaid #notafatcat #legalaidhero
RF: If you are on Twitter, would you please look for the hashtags and tweet and retweet! Thanks