The Law Society has used Labor’s party conference to renew calls for the government to commit to funding to restore legal aid for early advice.

Society vice-president Lubna Shuja told a Society of Labor Lawyers fringe event, which was attended by shadow justice secretary Steve Reed MP, that solicitors are the ‘silent backbone’ of the justice system and economy.

‘They help small firms with their transactions and contracts. They advise clients going through a divorce, they deal with immigration and asylum cases, they support people going through court generally. The work we are doing impacts everyone in this room,’ Shuja said.

‘Access to justice is a foundational part of the justice system… If you cannot access legal help, you are not equal before the law. If you cannot access legal advice, you are not getting access to justice. The situation is pretty dire. There are large areas in England and Wales where people cannot access free, legal advice when they are entitled to it.’

In the civil sphere, Shuja urged the government to commit to funding to restore legal aid for early advice ‘so solicitors can be involved early in the client’s journey’. She also called for an urgent review of the sustainability of legal aid, which must cover fees, the provider base and geographical demands of the system.

The availability of criminal legal aid had been severely restricted as a result of systemic underfunding, Shuja said – telling the event the number of criminal legal aid firms has fallen by 43% over the past 12 years.

Labor delegates heard that Chancery Lane was recently contacted by a criminal defense solicitor in his sixties who is about to retire. ‘Because criminal legal aid work is unviable, there is no young solicitor willing to come in and take over his practice.