Rule change hits legal aid payouts

Northland taxpayers have paid just over $6 million in legal aid payments to lawyers

Taxpayers forked out just over $6 million in legal aid payments to Northland lawyers in the year to June 2014, with 27 individuals or firms receiving a six-figure sum for their work.

Figures released by the Legal Services Agency, which oversees the legal aid system, show the $6.1 million paid between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014 represents a decrease of about $1.2 million compared with the previous year's payout of $7.3 million.

Legal aid payments to Northland lawyers have declined since the agency made changes in March 2012 on how they were being paid.

Whangarei law firm Cook Westenra received the highest payout in the year to June 2014, at $433,762, followed by Kaikohe lawyer Doug Blaikie, $406,913, Ross Burns of Mangawhai, $312,905, Kerikeri's Moana Tuwhare, $288,619, Thomson Wilson, $280,077, and Family Law Centre in Whangarei, $252,312.

Cook Westenra is now known as Wills Westenra Lawyers and specialises in the areas of family law, conveyancing, commercial law and trusts. While some of the amounts are made to an individual lawyer the payments may be claimed by others in the same practice.

Wills Westenra Lawyers office manager Wendy Johnson said the bulk of its payments would have gone towards family law work.

"We also work closely with the Women's Refuge in securing things like protection orders but, in the main, our work involves family work which is handled by two lawyers."

Ms Tuwhare said most of her payments were for Waitangi Tribunal matters which she predominantly dealt with.

"The payment doesn't reflect my own work only but there's a couple of people who work under me. I am a barrister who doesn't run a firm but I have arrangements with other lawyers."

Instead of receiving an hourly rate, legal aid lawyers are now paid fixed amounts for completing stages within each case.

There are 10 fixed-fee schedules which set out the applicable fixed fees for cases, ranging from those with a maximum penalty of fewer than two years to proceedings before the Supreme Court.

There is no cap on the amount paid to legal aid lawyers for their services.

Legal aid is for people who cannot afford a lawyer who are facing criminal charges, civil legal problems, family disputes and Waitangi Tribunal matters.