By Gabriel Princewill–
A rising legal aid solicitor has been compelled to leave the United Kingdom and return to Ghana after discovering that her salary did not meet the minimum income requirement for a UK skilled worker visa.
The decision, rooted in the financial pressures faced by many public-sector lawyers, has highlighted deepening concerns over remuneration within the legal aid sector in England and Wales a profession critical to access to justice, yet one that often struggles with low pay and limited career progression.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
Hilda Kwoffie,(pictured) who specialised in mental health law, trained and worked in the UK legal system for nearly a decade before being forced to leave in August 2025 because her income fell short of the £41,700 threshold required to secure a skilled worker visa.
Kwoffie’s move back to Ghana underscores the growing strain in the UK legal aid profession, where many practitioners find it difficult to sustain long-term careers under current pay structures. The situation also reflects broader challenges in attracting and retaining talent in legal areas that serve the most vulnerable in society.
Her departure comes amid ongoing debates about the future of legal aid in the UK, the sustainability of public-interest law careers, and the balance between remuneration and social impact in the justice system. Legal aid work in England and Wales is funded at fixed rates set by the government. Over the past three decades, rates have struggled to keep pace with cost-of-living increases and the financial demands placed on legal professionals.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
While firms outside the public sector may pay qualified solicitors widely varying salaries with private practice and corporate law roles frequently offering six-figure packages those specialising in legal aid often earn much less.
Average solicitors outside legal aid fields in the UK typically earn between £30,000 and £60,000, depending on experience and location. Salaries can climb significantly for corporate roles, with private practice solicitors in London often exceeding £80,000 and even reaching £100,000 or more.
In stark contrast, many legal aid practitioners report earnings at the lower end of the solicitor pay scale. Data from a sector census indicates that more than half of legal aid practitioners earn £49,999 or less, and a substantial minority make significantly less, sometimes under £20,000. These figures paint a vivid picture of the financial pressures inherent in the sector.
The mismatch between legal aid pay and the skilled worker visa requirement has become a structural barrier for overseas lawyers who qualify in the UK. Kwoffie, who arrived in England in 2016 to study law and later completed her training contract, found that her salary was simply not high enough to meet the Home Office’s income threshold despite years of experience and accreditation.
Her situation was compounded by the fact that many legal aid roles are funded at fixed, statutory rates, with little flexibility to negotiate higher earnings even for experienced specialists.
Legal aid fees themselves, which are paid to law firms for specific types of work, are often criticized for being too low to support sustainable practice. They also question the level of commitment lawyers on legal aid will give to their clients, although the general official position and assumption is that their commitment remains steadfastly high.
Fixed hourly rates and outdated fee structures have discouraged some lawyers from taking on legal aid work at all, contributing to a decline in available services in areas such as mental health, housing, immigration and family law legal aid.
The Law Society today confirmed its stance on legal aid to The Eye Of Media.Com, that ‘years of underinvestment have brought the justice system to its knees.
‘Victims, defendants and witnesses are suffering the consequences while hardworking solicitors are forced out of the sector. We’re fighting for properly funded legal aid and investment in a justice system that is available for all’.
These issues have prompted calls for reform and increases in legal aid fees, with recent consultations seeking to raise rates in some areas by at least 10 percent. The Uk government has promised to increase legal aid rates from December 22, this year, but whether this rise measures up to that expected by its lawyers, is another matter entirely.
The loss of trained and passionate lawyers like Kwoffie weakens the legal aid infrastructure, particularly for clients who cannot afford private representation. Her experience adds to growing evidence that low salaries deter skilled professionals from continuing in the sector, even as demand for legal aid remains high.
Pay and Professional Opportunity
Ghana’s legal landscape, while very different from that of the UK, offers a contrasting context where a returning solicitor can pursue opportunities without being constrained by visa thresholds and fixed public-sector pay. I
Salary expectations for lawyers in Ghana vary widely depending on experience, area of practice and the type of employer. Data suggests that junior lawyers may earn between approximately GH₵2,218 and GH₵7,216 per month, roughly equivalent to £160 to £520 monthly with senior lawyers earning more as experience grows. More experienced lawyers earn in the region of £4,000 a month in Ghana, as more established solicitors also base the calculation of their pay on their pay on the business pull being a solicitor in the Uk pulls.
Other sources estimate that typical law-and-legislation salaries in Ghana range from around 2,818 GHS to 7,626 GHS per month for many legal roles, though skilled practitioners or those in specialized niches may command higher pay. Legal roles include legal administrators and other miscellaneous legal posts , including paralegal jobs.
However, Wages for barristers can be competitive with western numbers because of targeted market of the affluent in countries like Ghana.
Qualified solicitors with significant PQE are likely to command salaries at the very top end of the local scale or be offered expat-style packages by international firms and multinational corporations, which can be significantly higher than the average local range and potentially closer to international standards, depending on the role and benefits .
Corporate and commercial law typically offers the highest earning potential. Also, international firms are often forming alliances with Ghanian legal firms, particularly in oil and gas, or
In more established African markets, with experience can earn significantly more depending on sector and client base, but general practice salaries remain modest compared with many Western jurisdictions.
Although these figures may appear low in absolute terms when compared with legal salaries in the UK, the relative cost of living, economic structures, and professional expectations differ substantially. Many Ghanaian lawyers operate in environments where legal fees and client capacity are shaped by local economic realities, and law remains an essential service often underwritten by passion and public commitment.
Kwoffie’s relocation back to Ghana reflects both a personal and professional recalibration. After years of navigating a UK system that ultimately required a salary level she could not achieve within the constraints of legal aid pay, returning to Ghana allows her to pursue legal work without payment boundaries, while also potentially supporting access to justice in her home country.
Her departure has reignited debates within the UK legal community about how legal aid remuneration intersects with workforce sustainability.
Many argue that unless legal aid salaries become more competitive and aligned with visa requirements, the sector will continue to lose talented individuals just as demand for their services grows.
The structural issues Kwoffie encountered in the UK legal aid system also mirror broader international discussions about how societies fund and value legal assistance for vulnerable populations. Legal aid remains fundamental to access to justice, yet practitioners argue that rates and working conditions need to be more attractive to ensure they can serve effectively and stay in the profession.
Critics note that the cost of legal education, long hours and fixed fees create a profession riddled with financial uncertainty, particularly in public interest fields. These pressures have led some lawyers to pursue private practice, alternative careers, or, in cases like Kwoffie’s, to leave the country entirely.
The contrast between legal aid pay in England and potential earnings and opportunities elsewhere highlights a dilemma facing modern legal systems: how to balance fair compensation for those serving the public good with sustainable funding mechanisms that support access to justice for all.
Kwoffie’s move to Ghana is both a symptom and a catalyst for ongoing debates about the future of legal aid. The broader implications of her story raise critical questions. Whether current salary thresholds inadvertently hinder the very diversity and depth legal systems claim to value, and how legal sectors can evolve to retain dedicated practitioners.
Ultimately, her journey may encourage policymakers and legal institutions to reconsider how legal aid lawyers are paid and supported, ensuring that those drawn to law by a desire to help the most vulnerable can build long-term careers without being pushed out by financial and immigration constraints.
Her experience underpins a global truth that legal professionals committed to social justice face a complex interplay of economics, immigration policy and public funding challenges that require thoughtful solutions if legal systems are to remain both equitable and resilient.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar