75% OF THE POPULATION OF NORTHERN IRELAND WANT ACCESS TO A LOCAL SOLICITOR

Law Society Chief Executive Alan Hunter said:

“The results of this recent research indicate that the population in Northern Ireland want to have access to their local solicitor.  It is important that the network of solicitors firms is sustained to ensure that such access remains available.

These figures show that the strong network of solicitors offices with 570 firms in 74 geographical locations provides a strong community legal service to which the whole population in Northern Ireland can have ready access to help them through their life challenging situations as well as helping to find business solutions in this economic climate. 

The current cuts proposed by the Department of Justice to legal aid will seriously undermine the network of solicitors’ practices. 

It is fundamental that an adequate budget for legal aid provision is made available in this jurisdiction which is more heavily dependent upon benefits generally and therefore there is a higher dependence on legal aid”. 

ENDS