PRIVATE CRIMINAL solicitors in Dundee have expressed their concern about the public defenders office soon opening in the city, claiming the new government-backed organisation is being given unfair advantage.

The Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) was set up to provide state-funded legal assistance in a different way.

From an initial pilot scheme in Edinburgh, it expanded to Glasgow and Inverness, with offices in Dundee, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Ayr, Dumfries and Kirkwall due to open this year.

Public defence solicitors are paid an annual salary while private solicitors are paid for the amount of time spent on a case-by-case basis.

Anyone who is involved in a criminal case who is eligible for criminal legal aid can use the PDSO. Public defence solicitors have to follow the same rules as private solicitors.

However, members of the Faculty of Solicitors and Procurators in Dundee believe that the PDSO, run by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), does not have to observe the same regulations as they do.

Solicitor George Donnelly, in one of his last acts before demitting office as dean, wrote to SLAB advising them of the faculty’s concerns, regarding what is known as the Duty Scheme.

This is a system at each court whereby solicitors are available to act free of charge for people making an initial appearance, from custody or on an under- taking to appear.

Duty agents are generally allocated around a week or 10 days, on a firm-by-firm rota basis, during which they will carry out this function.

The Dundee PDSO, which opens on April 23, is asking to be considered for the Forfar, Arbroath and Perth duty schemes, but the Dundee faculty says this is “a clear breach of regulations which state that to appear on duty schemes one must have an office in the jurisdiction of the court.”

They say private firms could not open an office in Dundee and expect to get on the Forfar, Arbroath and Perth schemes.

The Law Society code of conduct states that clients can only be seen at court, office or prison, and faculty members are questioning the practicality of asking a client from outwith the area who is legally aided to travel to a Dundee office for preparation.

“It appears to the profession here in Dundee that favourable and uncompetitive arrangements are being made for the PDSO simply because they have been established under the auspices of the Scottish Executive/SLAB and we are not prepared to allow this to happen without comment.”

The Dundee office is to be staffed by Nicola Brown, a former depute fiscal and currently Dundee District Court manager, and David Sinclair, a staff member of Bruce Short & Co., Dundee.

SLAB has not publicly announced the staff for the office, which opens in just over a week, refusing to do so when requested by The Courier after the appointments became public knowledge.

The Dundee Faculty is also concerned about the registration of PDSO employees.

To be registered with SLAB to provide criminal legally-aided assistance, a solicitor would usually have to satisfy the board that management and training systems were in place and that they have conducted a certain number of trials within the past 12 months.

“We are not satisfied as a profession that this is the case with the Dundee PDSO.”

The duty scheme list for 2007 would normally have been issued before the end of 2006, but this year, “purely to accommodate the PDSO, it is being issued in instalments,” said Mr Donnelly.

The faculty received a letter of reply from SLAB which Mr Donnelly said did not address their points and he has written again.