by Kyle Scott, manager of CAS Strong Communities team.

This article was first published in The Herald on 18 July 2026.

I’ve been fortunate enough throughout my life that I haven’t required the use of a solicitor and, touch wood, the only time I’ll need one is when I buy my first home. But you don’t always know when you might need a solicitor and you can almost never plan for an event that would require one.  

Solicitors can be expensive, and the events that would require one can be sudden, complicated and traumatic. So people need to be able to access justice without cost as a barrier, and that’s why Legal Aid exists. To help pay solicitor’s fees for those who can’t afford to do so on their own.  

And it is a vital service. Citizens Advice Bureaux throughout Scotland spend a lot of time helping people find Legal Aid solicitors locally. The uncapped and demand-led nature of the Scottish Legal Aid system has many merits. However, our network continues to see too many people for whom the current system is not working. 

We hear of people having to represent themselves in court or at a tribunal, and people unable to seek justice at all and forced to suffer breaches of their rights. All because there are not enough Legal Aid solicitors throughout Scotland.  

We see it in people facing homelessness, women and children experiencing domestic abuse, people working in exploitative conditions or living in unsafe homes and people seeking support with their immigration and asylum status. Situations like these are tough to experience even with the help of a solicitor, but to be left to deal with them on your own can be devastating.  

Take Mhari (not her real name), who came to her local CAB after leaving her abusive partner and is trying to end the marriage. Mhari is a full-time carer and her only income is from social security, which qualifies her for Legal Aid support. But Mhari can’t find a Legal Aid solicitor in her area that can assist her in beginning divorce proceeding, causing her to feel trapped and unable to move on with her life.  

Mhari is a perfect example of why Legal Aid exists. But if the system doesn’t have enough solicitors then the laudable theory behind it isn’t working properly in practice, and people like her go without. 

No-one should be excluded from accessing justice on the grounds of who they are, cost, geography, or legal specialism. The Legal Aid system should ensure that everyone who has a legal problem is able to access help to resolve it. 

We’ve long demanded reform to Legal Aid in Scotland and we’re pleased to see the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce a Legal Aid Reform Bill in this parliamentary year.  

But for that bill to really make a difference, resources must be shifted towards prevention of Legal Aid ‘deserts.’ The interests of people who need access to legal advice and representation must be at its heart.

So while local CAB advisers will continue to do their upmost for people like Mhari, we will also continue to demand a Legal Aid system that truly delivers proper access to justice for anyone in Scotland who needs it.