THE best-earning advocates lost one-sixth of their earnings last year as the legal aid bill was slashed.

The 20 best-paid advocates, led by former Labour MSP Gordon Jackson, QC, saw their incomes drop 16 per cent in 2013-2014, according to new figures.

Mr Jackson personally saw his income from legal aid fall to £298,500, from £323,100 in 2012-13 and £407,600 in 2011-12, while former Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay, QC, made £277,900 in the financial year, down from £299,800 in the same 12 months a year before.

Ian Duguid, QC, currently representing Angus Sinclair in the World's End murder trial, was the third best paid advocate while Brian McConnachie, QC, who was second in 2012-13, fell to seventh position with his income down one-quarter.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (Slab) made efficiency savings of about £20 million in 2013-14, but its chairman Iain Robertson said continuing pressure on the public purse meant more would be needed.

He spoke out as the Slab annual report revealed £94m had been spent on criminal legal assistance last year - a drop of £800,000 from 2012-13. Spending on civil legal assistance fell by £1.2m to £47.8m in 2013-14. Legal aid payments to solicitors last year amounted to £117.1m - an increase of £2m on the previous year.

Last year was the third consecutive year the board has seen a reduction in its core administrative funding, and Mr Robertson said: "This is by far the most challenging time for legal aid in Scotland since my appointment. The need to find savings in legal aid expenditure means that businesses have to work with us to achieve efficiencies.

"Where legal aid reforms are required to deliver savings and also enhance the long-term sustainability of legal aid then they must be considered, even if they are deemed radical or unpopular by business."

Mr Robertson went on to state that 2014-15 will "bring continued challenges", adding: "Maintaining and developing constructive relationships with the legal profession and other stakeholders will be crucial."

Slab chief executive Lindsay Montgomery said: "We are fortunate in Scotland to have a legal aid system which is demand-led and not cash-limited.

"This means that the Scottish Government is duty-bound to fund the cost of cases which meet the statutory tests.

"The scope of legal aid in Scotland covers a wide range of legal issues and has not been cut as in many other jurisdictions, thus providing wide access to justice for those who otherwise could not afford it."

The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, James Wolffe, QC, said: "I want to focus on the big picture, which is that the board remains committed to maintaining the scope of legal aid in Scotland.

"This position - which contrasts markedly with England and Wales - is one which all of us who are interested in access to justice in Scotland should support.

"It is imperative that skilled legal advice and representation should continue to be available in Scotland to all who need these services."

Glasgow's Livingstone Brown had the biggest legal aid income of any Scottish firm for the third year in a row, at £1.9m.

Iain Paterson of Paterson Bell billed the most legal aid of any solicitor advocate for the third year running, at £279,300.