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David Cowan
Home Affairs Correspondent
BBC
The girl, who didn’t wish to be recognized, outdoors Lochaber Women’s Aid – which has been making an attempt to assist her discover a lawyer
A lady who was assaulted by her husband was unable to discover a authorized assist lawyer to deal with her divorce – regardless of asking greater than 116 legislation corporations to tackle the case.
The mother-of-two, from the Highlands, mentioned not one of the firms was prepared or in a position to work together with her.
Her wrestle highlights the challenges dealing with the system, with the Law Society of Scotland claiming a 3rd of authorized assist legal professionals are on account of retire over the subsequent decade.
The Scottish authorities minister accountable for authorized assist described her plight as “unacceptable” and promised reforms have been on the best way.
The girl, who requested to not be named, certified for state help as a result of she was on common credit score and readily admits her case concerned advanced points which might take time to resolve.
She says some corporations turned her down as a result of she lives within the Highlands, whereas others mentioned they have been not taking civil authorized assist circumstances. Some didn’t reply or give a purpose.
“It made an extremely difficult, traumatic experience that much harder to deal with,” the lady advised BBC Scotland News.
“To get constant rejections just left me in an even deeper pit of despair and despondency.”
The girl contacted 116 solicitors, who have been listed on the Scottish Legal Aid Board web site, by telephone and e mail whereas a buddy approached others on her behalf.
Applications for authorized assist are made by means of solicitors. Her lack of ability to discover a lawyer meant she couldn’t ask for the assistance she was entitled to obtain.
After weeks of getting nowhere, the lady was in a position to appoint a lawyer because of donations from associates – however her monetary place stays precarious and her future removed from sure.
“I’m still not out of the woods yet and it might come to the point where I won’t have any representation and I don’t know what I’ll do,” she mentioned.
Lochaber Women’s Aid in Fort William says it is common for native survivors of home abuse to have issue securing civil authorized assist.
The company’s deputy supervisor Donna Campbell mentioned: “Some of them are being told they’ll have to represent themselves in family court.
“The ladies I take care of are scared. They’re scared for themselves, they’re scared for his or her youngsters.
“It’s incredibly important to them that this gets addressed.”
‘Trauma and security issues’
According to the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre, survivors usually contact between 30 and 50 solicitors earlier than they safe illustration.
The centre’s senior affiliate Lyndsay Fleming says that is inflicting “trauma and safety concerns”.
“Survivors are being told by police, you need to go and get a civil protective order, like a non-harassment order against the perpetrator.
“If they do not have that safety from the prison justice system and so they do not have a civil protecting order, they’re left alone and at severe threat of damage and hurt.”
In Orkney, the number of lawyers registered for civil aid cases is said to have fallen from nine in 2000 to just one in 2025.
Michelle Ward from Women’s Aid Orkney says some women are forced to stay in harmful situations because they have no way of getting out of them.
“It’s an enormous situation in rural areas,” she said. “Of the 152 ladies we supported final yr, 24 left as a result of they did not really feel protected in their very own neighborhood.”
She believes issue in securing civil authorized assist was a think about half of these circumstances.
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Government minister Siobhian Brown mentioned she was conscious that there gaps in some elements of Scotland
Discontent over legal aid has been building in the profession for many years.
The Law Society of Scotland claims there is a real possibility the system could face “full collapse” because payments are too low.
The convenor of the society’s civil legal aid committee, Pat Thom, said: “The solicitors who’ve been doing it for 20 years are dropping out as a result of it isn’t financially sustainable and the youthful solicitors aren’t going into it as a result of it isn’t very interesting.
“It’s not that they want to drive about in Jaguars; they need to make enough to run their office and pay their staff.”
The minister for victims and neighborhood security, Siobhian Brown MSP, mentioned she was “really sorry” to listen to concerning the girl’s wrestle to discover a lawyer.
“That’s why we need to make sure people can access justice,” she mentioned.
“I’m aware that there are gaps geographically around Scotland.”
Ms Brown mentioned Scottish authorized assist was “one of the most generous systems in the world” with charges reaching a document £171m this yr – though she accepted that had been induced partly by a rise within the variety of circumstances going by means of the courts.
“There has been a 25% uplift in fees since 2019 and it doesn’t seem to be alleviating the problem of solicitors not wanting to take up legal aid,” she mentioned.
“It’s not just about throwing money at it because we’ve been doing that the last couple of years.”
‘Potential for change’
She mentioned the Scottish authorities was making ready to suggest reforms which could possibly be introduced in earlier than the subsequent Holyrood elections in 2026, whereas within the longer-term laws could be required to modernise the system.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board says a whole lot of legal professionals are working in prison and civil authorized assist nationwide however there could also be “pockets” the place they’re more durable to entry.
Chief govt Colin Lancaster mentioned there have been particular points which required options and there could be “real benefits” in simplifying and streamlining a posh system.
“I don’t think the evidence suggests there’s an overall crisis,” he mentioned.
“The system is not as flexible as we would like it to be. The traditional method of delivering legal aid is very much rooted in the 1950s.
“There’s undoubtedly potential for change that might enhance the best way the system can reply to modifications in want.”
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