Legal aid cuts will see hundreds of law firm close if the Ministry of Justice does not delay fee cuts and postpone changes to criminal legla aid contracts, the new president of the Law Society of England and Wales has warned, Andrew Caplen wrote to criminal law firms, calling for a second round of fee cuts to be reassessed. He also asked that reductions in the number of duty legal aid contracts for solicitors to cover police stations and magistrates courts be stalled, The nunmber of contracts is to be reduced from 1600 to 525, Mr Caplan said falling crime rates and more people getting police cautions had already reduced the money being spent on legal aid. Source: The Guardian