Panel System to Ensure Representation by Specialist Criminal Lawyers
In "The Bulletin" published by the Law Society of the South Australia, the President states the following in relation to specialist criminal lawyers.
"Whilst no practitioner should be discouraged from undertaking criminal law, there should be an appreciation that it is an area of specialist practice."
This was behind the decision of the Law Society of SA in 2014 to establish a panel system for lawyers seeking to receive work from the Legal Services Commission. The concern was that some practitioners were undertaking criminal law work outside of their expertise.
It is intended that this panel system will be extended to address the same issue in other areas of law.