Just gave legal advice to a defendant awaiting hearing at magistrates’ court who indicated guilty plea to usher but said he didn’t want a duty solicitor

‘Speak to the duty’ (me)

He and usher both spoke English as second language, he didn’t know what solicitor or duty means

How many people in 21st century London are familiar with the concept of a ‘duty solicitor’? Let alone foreigners?

I’d suggest: ‘you want a free lawyer?’

Yesterday I saw a self-representing woman get a four month driving ban, for a collision she didn’t realise she’d had

It seems like the concept and benefits of free legal advice could be more clearly explained at courts

Yesterday a lawyer court told me the majority of his cases are crown court appeals in traffic cases for clients who self-repped at mags court and got a harsh/wrong decision