This article explores the effect that austerity-oriented public policy has had on access to justice in England and Wales, specifically in regard to the way in which legal aid is administered in criminal cases following the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The purpose of this paper is to explore the view, now, that only those with the means to fund their own legal representation are recipients of ‘true’ justice. While others, who would have previously relied on legal aid to pay for representation, are now having to represent themselves in court.