Nearly a third of 'trusted' immigration firms in the UK could face closure following the outcome of the Legal Services Commission's (LSC) bid round last week, solicitors' groups have warned.

A Law Gazette report notes that lawyers also foresaw more bad news for civil legal aid practices as firms await the 'crunch date' of the family and social welfare tender result, expected and predicted by some to be 'the blackest day in legal aid history'. Applicants for immigration and asylum contracts were notified of the result of the tender exercise last week. Contracts were awarded to 252 of the 410 individual offices that bid, with 73% of firms winning some work. Legal Aid Practitioners Group director Carol Storer said the LSC's selection criteria were not robust enough and had failed to recognise quality providers. An LSC spokesperson said the immigration and asylum tender process had been robust and transparent, and would ensure high quality advice for clients. He said the tender had been oversubscribed but the number of cases had not been cut.
Full Law Gazette report