The first morning got off to a quiet start. I was talking to a new prospect on the telephone when I heard the sound of slightly raised voices in reception. It was one of those ‘You have not got up-to-date proof of eligibility’ type conversations, sadly all too common these days. The client wanted to see a solicitor under the Legal Help scheme but his bank statements were hopelessly out of date.

Voices became louder. The client, frustrated about being unable to see a solicitor, started shouting at my receptionist demanding that he be seen. Other members of staff close by looked worried. Desperately trying to draw my own conversation to a close, I suddenly realised things were deteriorating badly. The client had picked up a leaflet stand and thrown it at my receptionist, slightly injuring his shoulder.

At that point, and in accordance with our policy, the police were summoned and the client asked to leave. Fortunately he did. I finally managed to draw my conversation to a close and give my receptionist some support and counselling over a rather frightening experience. Not, however, a one-off or exceptional experience. Clients are frequently very upset about being unable to see a solicitor just because their eligibility documentation is out of date.

Hopefully the day would get better: it did not. One of our childcare solicitors received the appalling news that her client of some eight years standing had died in mysterious circumstances the night before. The client, just 36 years old, had been a frequent visitor. She knew the receptionist very well and several solicitors had acted for her in relation to a number of matters. It is fair to say that she was a popular client for whom we had done rather well over the years, and now she was dead.

That can be quite challenging to come to terms with. But, sadly, in a legal aid practice dealing with vulnerable, mentally ill and, often, clients at the edge, we have to come to terms with the fact that life can be painfully cut short. It was another blow for the firm, but we will come to terms with it and carry on.

Legal aid lawyers are used to taking the punches and dealing with ‘the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’. But this does come at something of a price. We forget that this can have a real effect on our staff. It is a struggle and one that takes its toll.

My team all have a vocation: we want to help others. We do not get paid like ‘fat-cat’ lawyers but we have to deal with difficult situations, angry clients and unexpected deaths. One day the government may come to realise exactly what it is they are trying to abolish.