Representatives from the Society appeared before the Justice Committee to provide evidence on the Sentencing Bill and to highlight the urgent need to protect solicitors from threats, abuse and attacks while carrying out their professional duties.
The Society called on elected representatives to introduce a statutory presumption that an offender found guilty of assaulting an officer of the court should receive a custodial sentence, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
In a recent survey conducted by the Society, 66% of respondents said they had been subjected to some form of threat or abuse in the course of their work, ranging from online harassment to physical attacks. During its evidence, the Society expressed concern about this growing trend, as well as the lack of a joined-up response across the criminal justice system to incidents and stressed that a stronger and more consistent response is required. It warned that attacks on solicitors not only harm individual practitioners, but also risk undermining access to justice, the rule of law and public confidence in the justice system.
The Society welcomed the introduction of the Sentencing Bill, including the provision which creates a new criminal offence of assaulting a person delivering a public service. However, the Society urged that the Bill must be strengthened further to ensure that penalties are sufficiently robust to reflect the seriousness of such offending and to provide an effective deterrent against future attacks.
The Society’s appearance before the Committee forms part of its wider ongoing campaign calling for a zero-tolerance approach to threats, abuse and violence against solicitors and other legal professionals.
Members who have experienced an incident are encouraged to contact the Law Society confidentially by completing a Solicitor Safety Incident Report Form. If you would like to speak to someone about your experience or discuss anything further, please feel free to contact our Member Services team. They are here to listen and help you access the appropriate support. You can find out more about our Solicitor Safety campaign here.
