NAO: claims one-third of firms overcharge by 20%The National Audit Office (NAO) has called on the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to blacklist more law firms after revealing that a third of solicitors doing civil legal aid work are overcharging by more than 20%.

The claim was swiftly criticised by both the Law Society and the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) who accused the NAO of failing to understand the civil legal aid system.

In the report, reported on www.legalweek.net (28 November), the NAO found that 35% of English and Welsh solicitors doing civil legal aid work sent in inflated claims, with the figure rising to 45% in London.