BARRISTERS and solicitors who specialise in family litigation are not charities and should not be expected to work for nothing, a High Court judge has said.
Mr Justice Cobb, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court, said more family lawyers were working "pro bono" - for free - because people could no longer get legal aid for some types of family court litigation.
He said the practice was "commendable" - but suggested that expecting lawyers to work without being paid up front was unfair and unreasonable.
A year ago a group of more than 100 law professionals said Conservative government legal aid cuts had forced people who could not afford advice to endure ''sheer human misery''.
The group said in a letter to a newspaper that legal aid reforms had affected prisons, the legal profession and created ''disarray'' in courts.
People who signed the letter included former Court of Appeal judge Sir Alan Moses and human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti.
Ministers have argued the cuts are necessary, claiming the system needs to be ''sustainable''.
Earlier this year ministers described the legal aid system as one of the ''most generous in the world'' after concerns about the knock-on effects of cuts were raised by another High Court judge who specialises in cases involving families.
Do you think parents should get legal aid for family court cases?
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