Police are investigating two of the three Auckland lawyers who have been barred from providing legal aid services.
The Legal Services Agency (LSA) yesterday said it had cancelled approvals for Iuni Sapolu, Josie Fuimaono-Sapolu and Brett Ravelich to provide legal aid services for failing "to meet the standards and obligations required".
LSA spokeswoman Bronwyn Bannister refused to go into specifics about which standards were breached, but said the Law Society had been informed.
Police today confirmed the LSA had filed complaints against two of the lawyers.
Counties Manukau acting communications manager Andy Wallace said police would not name the two lawyers or comment on the nature of the complaints.
Law Society president Jonathan Temm today said its lawyers standards committee would fully investigate the complaints against the lawyers.
He said he agreed with the LSA's decision to publish their names.
"Disclosing the identity of legal aid lawyers whose approvals have been cancelled will help maintain confidence in the vast majority of lawyers providing legal aid and who abide by the rules and provide good service," he said.
Mr Temm also welcomed the LSA's decision to keep the Law Society informed whenever a lawyer's legal aid listing was cancelled.
The LSA yesterday said the three lawyers' legal aid clients had been notified and would be reassigned to other lawyers unless it was impractical.
General manager Stuart White it was working to improve the quality of legal aid representation following Dame Margaret Bazley's review of the legal aid system, which found significant issues with the quality of services and with the mechanisms to manage the quality and efficiency of services.
"Legal aid is publicly funded and the public need to have confidence in the quality and professional integrity of the services provided by legal aid lawyers," Mr White said.
By far the majority of the 3000 legal aid lawyers provided very good service, and acted with integrity, he said.
"However, we inform the public which lawyers can do legal aid work, so we should also ensure the public knows which lawyers cannot."
In future the names of legal aid lawyers whose listings were cancelled for failing to meet the standards and obligations required would be published on the LSA website.
NZPA