Too many forms to fill in for the $350,000

I am sure many readers will sympathise about how awful it is to have to fill in some forms to get paid $350,000 a year.

The Dom Post reports:

Delays in legal aid payments because of new computer procedures are causing problems for lawyers unable to pay their bills or further their clients’ cases.

Wellington specialist civil liberties lawyer Michael Bott said complicated new computer procedures and new forms that had to be filled in were delaying the payout of fees to lawyers, who were struggling to pay their own bills.

“Lawyers have rent or mortgages and they have to pay staff and sometimes the payments have been delayed weeks.”

The forms had become so complicated that the amount of time spent filling them in might not be worth the payment a lawyer ultimately got, he said.

Mr Bott earned more than $348,000 in legal aid for the July 2009 to June 2010 year.

I actually had some sympathy for legal aid lawyers up until Mr Bott implied that the amount they earn is so trifling it is not worth the time to fill in the forms.

The Legal Services Agency is obviously having some transition issues, and they should be able to process and pay promptly. But lawyers don’t do their case any good, by complaining that the amount they earn may not be worth the paperwork, when their earnings (just from legal aid) was $348,000.