A north-east solicitor has invited the country’s new justice secretary to Peterhead for talks about the profession.
Iain Jane wants Humza Yousaf to come to Buchan for discussions on the future of legal aid.
He is also concerned about the policy of switching all jury trials from Peterhead to Aberdeen, a decision taken by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) last year.
It means jurors face a 60-mile round trip to see justice done.
Mr Jane, who works as a defence agent at Peterhead Sheriff Court, said 98% of his cases reach him through the legal aid system.
He is urging Mr Yousaf, who was appointed to the justice brief last month, to “engage” with north-east solicitors and believes a trip to Peterhead would help.
Mr Jane said: “One of things that annoys me in terms of what is happening just now is there is a lot of centralisation going on.
“All of our jury trials are now dealt with in Aberdeen and it has been like that for over a year now.
“For example, I have got a Peterhead case that is due to start in Aberdeen on Monday and it could run for three days.
“I have cleared my diary on Monday, but I’ve got a busy day in Peterhead on Tuesday.
“I am a sole practitioner and I don’t see how I can cover trials in Aberdeen and cover my business in Peterhead.
“In an ideal world, I would hire a second solicitor to come in and cover my Peterhead cases, but the legal aid rate hasn’t increased.
“The hourly rate for a legal aid solicitor is £42.20 and it has been fixed since 1992.
“But because the rate hasn’t increased, it makes it impossible for me to take on someone else.
“For myself working I can keep overheads pretty low, but in terms of employing other people, I am just not in a position to do that without an increase in legal aid.”
The latter system is used by those unable to pay their own legal costs and can be employed in criminal and civil cases.
