Law Society says legal aid system is ‘collapsing’

Law Society president Tiana Epati. (Photo: Supplied)

Thu, 11 Nov 2021

The largest-ever survey of New Zealand lawyers on “access to justice” has revealed the legal aid system is fast approaching a crisis point with providers overworked, underpaid and some planning to stop the work altogether.Carried out by Kantar Public (formally Colmar Brunton) on behalf of the New Zealand Law Society (NZLS), the survey was sent to 14,628 lawyers and received 2,989 responses from August to Sept 21. It found over 20,000 people have been turned away from legal aid services in the past year with 75% of legal aid law...

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