THE LAW SOCIETY will meet with Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan today as the two sides seek to resolve the ongoing dispute over reforms to how solicitors are paid under the free legal aid scheme.

It will be the first direct engagement between the two parties since July. 

Criminal defence solicitors are seeking two changes to the flat-fee model being pursued by O’Callaghan, to ensure that they can get paid double for certain complex cases that last beyond ten court appearances.

The other change being sought by solicitors is for multiple payments of €520 where a client has multiple charges levelled against them by the state.

Under the new payment model, a solicitor receives a flat €520 fee when a case concludes with up to five court appearances, compared with €240 per appearance under the old model.

Under the terms being sought by solicitors, the Law Society is seeking a second payment of €520 if there are more than 10 appearances by an accused client.

“Solicitors have been calling for direct engagement for months and they believe a resolution is within reach,” the Law Society said in a statement on Monday. 

“For that to happen, Wednesday’s meeting must be a genuine negotiation and not just a listening exercise.”

Today’s meeting will be the first between the two sides since 31 July, and comes a week after O’Callaghan claimed that cases involving allegations of rape had been deliberately affected by the withdrawal of solicitor services, which deepened the row.

Over the weekend, The Journal’s FactCheck team examined the minister’s claim and found that the suggestion that rape cases were specifically singled out for disruption was misleading.

The dispute has caused considerable disruption to the day-to-day operations of the courts. 

In some cases, alleged offenders have been released from custody after it was found their bail hearings were flawed due to a lack of legal representation.

With reporting from Eoghan Dalton