Immigration Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is receiving significant press coverage following the recent landmark decision by the Lord Chancellor to increase legal aid hourly rates to £69 per hour in London and £65 per hour outside London, along with a proportional increase to standard (fixed) fees. This decision follows a judicial review claim brought by Duncan Lewis, which challenged the failure to raise legal aid rates since 1996.

Since 2021, Duncan Lewis has turned away 87% of referrals that come through our website and switchboard and many referrals received from NGOs, as the financial challenges of stagnant legal aid fees—remaining at £52 for over 25 years—made it unsustainable to take on these cases.

The decision marks a significant step forward in addressing the longstanding funding crisis in immigration and asylum legal aid. Outlets such as The Guardian, Law Gazette, and Big Issue have highlighted the impact of this reform and the critical role played by Duncan Lewis in advocating for this change.

Jeremy Bloom, a solicitor at Duncan Lewis, has been at the forefront of these discussions, with media emphasising his call for the government to introduce an annual review mechanism for legal aid rates. In his statement, Jeremy said:

“We welcome the commitment that the Lord Chancellor has shown to resolving the crisis in legal aid with her proposal to implement a long overdue increase to immigration and asylum, and housing and debt legal aid rates. With the increases proposed in response to the judicial review claim brought by Duncan Lewis, legal aid in these areas is put on a far more sustainable footing and those in need of representation will be far more likely to be able to get it when they need it most. 

We look forward to receiving full details of the proposed increases when the Government consults on these changes in January 2025, and urge the Government to put in place an annual review mechanism for legal aid rates of pay so that litigation like this is not necessary in the future to ensure that people can exercise their right to access justice.”

The increased rates proposed by the Lord Chancellor may offer a lifeline to the sector. For Duncan Lewis, the uplift means the firm can once again make this critical work sustainable, enabling us to increase the number of cases we handle and expand our capacity to support individuals in need of legal assistance. We remain hopeful that other providers will also be in a position to do the same, ensuring greater access to justice for vulnerable individuals across the country.

This decision has not only secured an immediate improvement in legal aid funding but also reignited the conversation about long-term sustainability in the sector.

Read the full media coverage here:

Legal aid fees to rise by at least 10% for immigration and housing work | The Guardian

Reaction: extra £20m a year for civil legal aid 'encouraging' | Law Gazette

Asylum legal aid rates set to increase for first time in almost 30 years | Big Issue

Immigration legal aid fees to rise for first time in almost thirty years, Government announces

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.

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.

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.