£150 per hour - not enough?

[Master Yoda]

Heard on the radio this morning that some barristers are not taking legal aid cases anymore because the £150 per hour that they get paid by the tax payer is not enough.
Nice work if you can get it.

[From the Bunker]

Not standing up for the sh1tes but you have to remember that they usually have a team of people, overheads, etc working for them so that amount does not go straight into their pockets.

[sammymaguire]

its €350 per hour in Dublin   

[tyrone girl]

Not standing up for the sh1tes but you have to remember that they usually have a team of people, overheads, etc working for them so that amount does not go straight into their pockets.

They wouldnt have a lot of overheads. Lots of Barristers do their own typing , chase up their own work etc. Lots of them have secretarys , lots dont. But either way there wouldnt be a massive outlay in comparison to the money they would receive.

[EC Unique]

They worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. I say fair play to them. They will pay a large amount back in tax anyway.

[orangeman]

They worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. I say fair play to them. They will pay a large amount back in tax anyway.

Yes they worked hard and fair dues to them but surely it has to be proportionate ?.

Example,

£150 an hour for barristers.

£25 an hour for doctors

£12/14 an hour for nurses.


Doesn't seem right.

[Franko]

They worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. I say fair play to them. They will pay a large amount back in tax anyway.

Balls.  They will have worked no harder than any doctor or chartered accountant/architect/engineer who would never dream of charging anything like that. (Never mind 'withdraw services' because you were 'only' getting this)

Rough calculation for Joe Bloggs QC/SC etc...

40 hrs/week, 52 wks/year

3 x Secretaries @ £12/hour
Office Building Rent @ £6.25/hour (£12k per annum)
Heat/Light/Office Sundries @ £10/hour
Other Expenses that I dont know about £10/hour

Total Expenses therefore £62.25/hour.

This leaves said c**t to complain that he is only earning the guts of £90/hour.  Or approx £185k per year before tax. Catch yourself on.  Have these t**sers got any grip on reality?

[tyrone girl]

They worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. I say fair play to them. They will pay a large amount back in tax anyway.

How much harder did they work than anyone else ? They went through university and then did a year and half course in the institute to qualify. Not taking anything away from them - anyone that works hard to get to where they are deserve a decent wage - but theres a decent wage and theres taking the piss - and i dont think they worked any harder than a lot of others in lower paid jobs

[longrunsthefox]

They also drag cases out for more money and appearances, get defendants to plead at the very last minute with juries already sworn in and do all they can to prolong court appearances and create extra ones. It is a very cynical business.

[tyrone girl]

They worked extremely hard to get to where they are today. I say fair play to them. They will pay a large amount back in tax anyway.

Balls.  They will have worked no harder than any doctor/ or chartered accountant/architect/engineer who would would never dream of charging anything like that. (Never mind 'withdraw services' because you were 'only' getting this.

Rough calculation for Joe Bloggs QC/SC etc...

40 hrs/week, 52 wks/ye

3 x Secretaries @ £12/hour
Office Building Rent @ £6.25/hour (£12k per annum)
Heat/Light/Office Sundries @ £10/hour
Other Expenses that I dont know about £10/hour

Total Expenses therefore £62.25/hour.

This leaves said c**t to complain that he is only earning the guts of £90/hour.  Or approx £185k per year before tax. Catch yourself on.  Have these t**sers got any grip on reality?

You can bet your life there isnt 3 secretaries - nor do any of them earn £12 an hour - plus most of them work from home - or the Bar Library - im sure they pay something minimal for their office space in Bar Library

[Minder]

I think EC Unique should apologise for his ill advised post.

They pay £7k ish per year for the bar library.

[Rois]

But not every hour of their day is chargeable.

[thebigfella]

Heard on the radio this morning that some barristers are not taking legal aid cases anymore because the £150 per hour that they get paid by the tax payer is not enough. Nice work if you can get it.

I don't see what your issue is, you stated they are not taking "your money"  as they can get more lucrative work elsewhere. Why should they work for less than they can get elsewhere, I'm sure you wouldn't. Why don't you post of the full story from BBC and then we'll discuss the real issues and implications of this story.

Also would you be giving out if it was nurse moving from the NHS to private healthcare for higher rates?

[haranguerer]

Supply and demand; those who have turned down the £150 per hour obviously are confident of getting it elsewhere, thats their perogative.

It should mean that other cheaper barristers will get the work, but settle in for the debate of how unfair it is that those on legal aid are not getting the 'best' barristers, so the system is weighted against them, etc.

So what if the top barristers are earning big bucks. As someone said, they're contributing plenty to tax. And any doctor/chartered accountant/architect, etc would charge whatever the hell they could get away with.

[The Real Laoislad]

I wouldn't get out of bed for €150/hr