Law Gazette Highlights Duncan Lewis Call for Stronger Legal Aid Reform (8 July 2025)

Duncan Lewis Solicitors has been featured in the Law Gazette’s coverage of the government’s recent announcement confirming an increase in legal aid fees for housing and immigration work, insisting that the government must go further.

The Ministry of Justice’ confirmation of a 30% increase in civil legal aid fees for immigration and asylum controlled work, followed its consultation titled “Civil Legal Aid: Towards a Sustainable Future”. The decision comes directly in response to a legal claim brought by Duncan Lewis Solicitors against the Lord Chancellor, challenging the government's failure to review rates that had remained unchanged since 1996.

The case, R (Duncan Lewis) v Lord Chancellor (AC-2024-LON-001935), was settled in September 2024, on the basis that a formal consultation and decision on rates would follow.

While the increase represents a step in the right direction toward ensuring access to legal representation, Duncan Lewis has stressed that much more needs to be done. Speaking to the Law Gazette, Duncan Lewis Consultant Solicitor Jeremy Bloom said that these increases for licensed work were “not enough” to ensure people can find representation due to the need for qualified solicitors to have conduct of and close management of licensed work.

The Law Society has echoed these concerns, with President Richard Atkinson noting that fees would require a 95% increase to return to 1996 levels in real terms.

The firm stands alongside other sector bodies, including the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association and the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, in calling for more ambitious reforms to ensure sustainability, retention, and proper recognition of the essential work done by publicly funded lawyers.

The full article can be read here: Legal aid fee uplifts 'not high enough' to rebuild sector | The Law Gazette

Duncan Lewis Solicitors was represented by Toufique Hossain, Jeremy Bloom, Nina Kamp and Elizabeth Cole, and instructed Chris Buttler KC, Eleanor Mitchell and Jack Boswell at Matrix Chambers as counsel in the Claim.

About Duncan Lewis and its Public Law Team

Duncan Lewis’ award-winning public law team holds top tier rankings in the Legal 500 and Chambers directories and has been involved in high-profile cases such as the Rwanda challenge, Manston House, and the Brook House detention centre inquiry. The company is currently the LexisNexis Law Firm of the Year 2024.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is renowned for its exceptional legal services and commitment to justice. The company employs a team of highly skilled solicitors offering top-tier representation in 25 fields of law, and ranked as top tier by the Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 legal guides, and as one of the top 250 law firms in the country by the Times. The company was recently crowned Law Firm of the Year 2024 at the LexisNexis awards, and noted for its commitment to providing justice for all.