Duty solicitor generational mismatch risks eroding trust in the criminal justice system, study warns

The growing age imbalance in the duty solicitor scheme in England and Wales risks eroding trust in the criminal justice system, a new study warns.

Most duty solicitors are aged 45 and over, putting at risk the ability of vulnerable suspects to access timely and effective legal representation at the police station.

The study says the Ministry of Justice’s failure to offer training grants to criminal law firms to support trainee solicitors with Solicitors Qualifying Examination fees is likely to contribute to the growing shortage of younger duty solicitors. Without the financial capacity to attract and support the next generation, criminal legal aid firms will be left unable to replenish the duty solicitor workforce that is ageing rapidly.

This will have serious implications for the future sustainability of the duty solicitor scheme. As senior practitioners near retirement, the declining number of younger solicitors threatens the scheme’s long-term viability.

Dr Susan Rockey, from the University of Exeter Law School, surveyed 193 aspiring solicitors about whether the cost of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination is acting as a financial barrier to specialisation in criminal legal aid.

She found a link between the level of SQE fee funding and the perceived ease of entering the CLA sector. Full or substantial funding was widely viewed as an enabler, while lack of funding was consistently identified as a barrier, particularly among working-class respondents and those most committed to specialising in criminal legal aid.

Dr Rockey said: “The current age imbalance threatens the sustainability of criminal defence provision in England and Wales. With younger solicitors believing entry into the sector as difficult, due in large part to the financial burden of self-funding the SQE, the profession faces a looming generational crisis. At the same time, demand for police station advice continues to rise, compounding the strain on an already overstretched and ageing workforce.

“There is an urgent need for systemic reform. The Ministry of Justice must consider committing to fully funding training for aspiring CLA solicitors. Failure to act risks entrenching the current trajectory toward collapse, with serious consequences for access to justice, the rule of law, and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.

“Restoring generational diversity within the duty solicitor workforce is not merely a workforce issue; it is fundamental to safeguarding the future integrity and fairness of the criminal justice system itself.

“The Ministry of Justice’s failure to address the barriers firms face in funding trainees SQE fees has left them with even fewer tools to attract and recruit the next generation of duty solicitors, thereby exacerbating the systemic age imbalance.”

The majority of respondents said they believed full funding would make it easier to specialise in criminal legal aid, with similarly strong support for 75 per cent funding. However, this support declined substantially as the proportion of funding decreased, with less than half of the respondents stating that 25 per cent funding would ease specialisation, and almost all reporting that no funding would make entry more difficult. This trend was even more pronounced among the subset of respondents who definitely or probably intended to become CLA solicitors.

Dr Rockey said: “The burden of having to self-fund SQE fees presents a genuine barrier to entry, while full or substantial coverage of SQE fees appear to serve as an important enabler, potentially lowering a major economic barrier to entry into the profession.

“Some regions in England and Wales already face duty solicitor shortages and demand for police station advice continues to grow. Public confidence in the fairness and accessibility of the criminal justice system is at stake.

“Duty solicitors form a crucial link between communities and the justice system, yet a stark demographic imbalance persists. A generational mismatch risks eroding trust, particularly among younger and more diverse communities, who may feel poorly represented by a workforce that does not reflect their lived experiences.”

When asked whether full funding of their SQE fees by criminal legal aid firms would make specialisation easier or more difficult, 183 respondents (95 per cent) stated it would make it easier. At a 75 per cent contribution level, support remained high: 175 respondents (91 per cent) said this would make specialisation easier.