Law change stops lawyers' big payouts from public purse

David Bain listens to his counsel during his retrial. Photo / APN

Radical changes to the legal aid system will put an end to defence lawyers being paid up to $900,000 a year from the public purse.

Accused criminals whose legal bills are paid by the taxpayer will no longer be able to choose who represents them in court.

Instead, lawyers - paid between $105 and $182 an hour - will be put on a roster to be assigned cases.

A scathing report by Dame Margaret Bazley, which led to the changes, criticised barristers for taking on too many cases.

The policy changes come as Justice Minister Simon Power has predicted the legal aid bill will top $200 million.

Several lawyers made more than $500,000 from legal aid in the year to June.

They include Shane Tait from Manukau ($906,843.71) and Aucklanders Maria Pecotic ($711,823.71), Chris Wilkinson-Smith ($519,327.38) and Barry Hart ($540,657.13).

Jeremy Sutton, from Manukau, was paid $454,497.25 by the Legal Services Agency and another $101,961.37 by the Justice Ministry - a total of $556,458.62 of taxpayers' money.

The defence lawyer who took on the most legal aid cases last year - 599 at $431,527.35 - failed in a court bid to stop the amendments.

Auckland lawyer Tudor Clee sought an injunction against the Government, arguing the changes breached the Bill of Rights and Commerce Act and that defendants should be able to choose who represents them.

Justice Rebecca Ellis refused to grant the injunction, as legal aid recipients did not have the right to pick their lawyer.

"To the extent success is measured in client numbers, Clee is a very successful legal aid lawyer," she said.

"I accept that, because Clee's business as a criminal defence lawyer appears to be heavily (if not wholly) dependent on legal aid cases, his income is likely to drop unless he changes the way he operates."

LSA general manager Stuart White said Auckland lawyers would receive an average of about 66 summary cases a year under the new system.

"Two key aims of these changes are to ensure that New Zealand has a legal aid system that is efficient and fair," he said.

"Dame Margaret Bazley's review of the legal aid system reported on problems caused by the preferred lawyer policy, including allowing some lawyers to take on too many cases.

"The new system will address problems with the current system and ensure that legal aid lawyers will have a manageable workload through a fairer allocation of cases."

Figures released to the Herald reveal the most expensive criminal and civil legal aid cases.

David Bain, found not guilty last year of murdering his family after a second trial, is the most expensive at $2.3 million. Another $455,737.76 was paid for his appeals, including to the Privy Council which quashed his original convictions.

Second on the criminal list was Murray Foreman, found not guilty in 2008 of the murder of farmer Jack Nicklaus, with $731,014.40.