Swings and roundabouts: do changes to the structure of legal aid remuneration make a real difference to criminal case management and case outcomes?

Reports on research commissioned by the Scottish Executive Department of Justice into the impact of the introduction of fixed fees, on solicitors' income, and the preparation and outcome of cases. Examines the use of precognitions, factors influencing pleading decisions, the mandatory intermediate diet, sentencing discounts for early guilty pleas, and whether fixed fees act as a disincentive to advising clients to enter an early guilty plea.