Mr Kobayashi
Well-Known Member
This is broadly correct, although inevitably a bit more nuanced. Legal aid money is divvied up to the legal representatives when the case resolves: guilty verdict; acquittal; dismissal of case; prosecution offering no evidence (PONE) etc. The bulk of the fee for the advocates sits in the brief, with a much lower daily figure for the trial (the refresher). At the bottom and middle of the profession the biggest billers are the ones who are adept at ‘cracking’ their punters i.e.persuading them to plead guilty at an early stage in proceedings. That means the brief fee is theirs and they can move on to the next case, and so on. Because of the systems of returns, this is frequently the next day and so can prove to be a relatively lucrative MO. Trials are time consuming and relatively poorly paid.
The biggest billing juniors in crime are frequently not the best advocates, but those who can churn clients like this. It’s not a case of getting people to plead guilty when they are not, but rather getting people to see sense because they are fucked. It’s a form of sales, as much as being an effective advocate is about being a good salesman. Tell someone they are fucked with authority means it is more likely they will see sense.
But in some circumstances it isn't a case of seeing sense as there's a compelling defence to the charges but it needs the legwork which some firms would rather not do. E.g. getting mental health evidence (I'm not talking about serious crimes like murder which you have already covered below).
And the worst churners are inevitably the same personality of people who pressure sell to grannies and churn more often than not, and not only when people are "fucked".
At the top of the profession there is an entirely different metric. People who are accused of murder, rape and huge frauds rarely plead guilty. There are various reasons for this, some practical, others societal but that is the reality. And so once you are operating at that level, the ability to crack your punter loses its impact on your earnings, because they are usually not for cracking, no matter how persuasive you are.