Rich lawyers may be forced to pay more as MPs eye new justice tax

MPs will explore taxing top law firms to rescue Britain’s crumbling justice system and legal aid chaos

Westminster is bracing for a legal sector showdown as MPs announce a sweeping new inquiry into Britain’s faltering justice system—raising the prospect of a controversial “justice levy” that could see top lawyers footing the bill for public legal services.

Labour MP Andrew Slaughter, chair of the House of Commons justice select committee, revealed the inquiry on Wednesday, describing access to justice as a “fundamental right” under threat. He pointed to long-standing challenges across the legal sector, including dwindling legal aid, growing reliance on unpaid pro bono work, and systemic underfunding.

At the centre of the inquiry is the possibility of an “access to justice fund levy”—a charge aimed at the wealthiest players in the legal world. The idea? Tax big law to bankroll support for those unable to afford it.

The proposal isn’t new. Former Tory Lord Chancellor Michael Gove floated the notion back in 2015, insisting the “very richest in the justice system” should contribute more. His Conservative successor, Alex Chalk, also examined a City-based levy to boost legal aid in 2020. But until now, the idea has never made it off the shelf.

That could be about to change.

The committee has issued a call for written evidence, with a wide remit that includes the state of legal services, the role of regulators, data transparency, and funding innovations such as third-party litigation funding and conditional fee arrangements.

The inquiry will also place the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) recent cyber-attack under the microscope, questioning how the Ministry of Justice responded and whether regulators are meeting their duty to expand access to justice.

The committee’s scrutiny of legal service regulators will include whether they are doing enough to meet their legal obligations to improve public access to representation and advice.

Law Society president Richard Atkinson welcomed the inquiry, saying urgent reforms are needed to prevent the system from collapsing further.

He pointed to the Society’s “21st Century Justice” report, which proposes practical steps to modernise legal support, including a free artificial intelligence-powered tool to help people identify legal issues and connect with support services.

“Legal aid plays an essential role in allowing people to access justice, but like all vital public services it needs to be funded,” Atkinson said. “The committee’s report on the county courts is the latest of a number of documents to shine a light on the need for investment across the entire creaking justice system.”

Slaughter’s committee has already been critical of centralisation efforts in county courts, describing them as disastrous, and accused the Ministry of Justice of being “troublingly slow” in modernising legal aid infrastructure.

Now, with the spotlight on legal regulators, cyber-security, and funding models, pressure is mounting on the government—and the legal sector—to come up with answers.

Though still in early stages, the inquiry’s revival of the justice levy proposal signals that MPs are no longer content to let underfunded public services limp along. If implemented, the levy could force a major redistribution of legal wealth, turning high-end law firms into reluctant funders of grassroots justice.

Whether the City’s elite lawyers will accept such a tax without protest remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the fight for Britain’s justice system is far from over.