I have spoken to various people from different organisations about the current asylum application process and when I ask interviewees why they think the system is unfair and inhumane, they quite often blame the legal profession.
What they mean is the apparent lack of quality solicitors who are willing to set aside some time, probably longer than the four to five hours allocated to them through legal aid, and investigate the case thoroughly and with the rigour that asylum cases need.
One lawyer admitted that it would actually take up to 20 hours for a solicitor to properly research and prepare an asylum seeker case.
Furthermore, the existence of 'Key Performance Indicators' mean law firms have to reach a certain level of successful appeals and if they fall below those quotas, they could lose the funding all together.
This results in more and more law firms who are reluctant to take on cases which they think have less than a 50% chance in winning.
Coupled with the fact that funding for legal aid on the whole has been reduced, it's no wonder that I only managed to find a small majority of law firms in the South which dealt with asylum law.
What this means is that if an asylum seeker is awarded controlled legal funding or legal aid, they only have a few precious hours with their solicitors.
The situation is complicated further when there are cultural and language difficulties to overcome. When the asylum seeker's case is finally relayed, recorded and fought out in court to be only dismissed, the lengthly process of appeal is yet another ring of fire to jump through.
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