KEY POINTS:
Law firms have claimed almost $100 million in legal aid in a year, with the 10 biggest earners collecting $8.9 million.
Figures released under the Official Information Act show $96,046,000 was paid to about 1400 legal firms in the 12 months June 30 last year.
The payout is the third successive increase in annual legal aid payments to practitioners, up from $84,953,000 in 2003-04, and $92,895,000 in 2004-05.
The figures - obtained by the legal website LawFuel.com and made available to the Herald - show Wellington firm Kensington Swan topped the list to June last year, claiming $2.2 million for the year.
Wellington lawyer Sonja Cooper came second with $950,388, pipping Auckland-based barrister Charl Hirschfeld on $936,625.
The top 20 legal aid lawyers earned an average $650,000 in the period.
David Collins, QC, now the Solicitor-General, earned $408,623. He was appointed to the post last August.
Law Society president Chris Darlow said lawyers had to work hard to earn the money. "Thresholds imposed by Legal Services are now so tough that you have to be doing a huge amount of legal aid work to be able to qualify for those payments."
Lawyers are paid between $95 and $165 an hour by the Government for legal aid cases. But that rate does not attract many experienced lawyers, who usually earn two to three times that amount.
Mr Darlow said last week that there was a national shortage of lawyers prepared to do legal aid Family Court work, and the Family Court system was in danger of grinding to a halt.
He said lawyers could not afford to undertake the work, because pay rates had not changed for 11 years.
The Government has promised an investigation into the legal aid rates, but Mr Darlow said the heavily bureaucratic process might not be completed before the system fell over.
Justice Minister Mark Burton said Legal Services had begun investigating "the methodology for the review of remuneration rates and begun consultation with the Law Society".
"Legal aid rates were last reviewed in 1999 under the then-National Government, which reduced the rates to 1996 levels," he said.
"The Government ... is introducing a process to ensure rates are reviewed more regularly in the future."
The top 10
* Kensington Swan, Wellington $2,268,066
* Sonja Cooper, Wellington $950,388
* Charl Hirschfeld,Auckland $936,625
* Rangitaura & Co, Rotorua $880,245
* Rainey Collins, Wellington $862,969
* Powell, Webber & Assoc, Auckland $768,141
* John Miller Law, Wellington $694,392
* Thomson Wilson Solicitors, Whangarei $612,464
* Ron Mansfield, Auckland $508,369
* McCaw Lewis Chapman, Hamilton $499,325
- additional reporting: NZPA
