As MPs prepare to consider the coalition's plans to cut £350m a year from the legal aid budget next week, Lib Dem MPs Tom Brake and Mike Crockart have put down a series of amendments attempting to challenge the Bill.
The Ministry of Justice maintains that the most “serious cases” - where protection against domestic violence, child abuse, child abduction and forced marriage is sought - will continue to receive legal aid. Officials have emphasised they are increasing the budget for separating families going through mediation.
But despite the reassurances, campaigners, human rights organisations and activists have been lobbying the government hard ahead of the changes - and some backbench Tory MPs have spoken to HuffPost UK recently about their concerns
Lib Dem peer Floella Benjamin has also warned "vulnerable families and children" will be hit by the government's legal aid reforms.
So what are the issues with the Legal Aid and Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill?
Huff Post UK spoke to former Solicitor General Vera Baird QC about the main concerns she has - and about the “personal grief” that removing some rights of families and women to get legal aid could cause.
The Definition Of Domestic Violence
“None of the liberal democrat amendments are about domestic violence. There is an amendment about domestic violence which I’ve had a part on, which is proposed by Labour but has come from an organisation called Rights of Women.
“The rights of women amendment is to broaden the definition of domestic violence, currently the criteria to show you've suffered from domestic violence are very narrow indeed.
“When they leave their violent partners, they need rights to the house when they've made that decision. The most dangerous time for a domestic violence victim is when she makes or tries to make the break, the violent partner has to reassert his domination and violence escalates dramatically, often then women need protection of an injunction. To take legal aid away then is particularly dangerous.
“Often to reassert their domination the men will make an application for custody or rights to children... of course a woman needs legal aid to help her with that.”
Alleged perpetrators of domestic abuse cross examining women.
Under the changes, says Baird, alleged victims of domestic violence will be cross-examined by their former partners, who will also be denied access to legal aid.
“He will represent himself in court and if he does that, the only way he can put his case is if he cross examines her.
“It's ghastly... it clearly is revisiting all the oppression and suffering on them. This man who has been very violent to her, if she is telling the truth, will have to cross examine her personally and there will be no other way he can put his case.
“She will be rendered completely helpless. It's like the state sanctioning her re-victimisation.”
Family law
“The same points all work again. Whatever the break up has been about they are highly emotional situations, the notion of people being unrepresented is going to make matters worse it will inevitably involve judges in very protracted proceedings because there's anger, or one of them breaks down.
“I think the judges are going to find it really quite horrifying.”
Cost-effectiveness
“There has never been any, the impact assessments that they've done on it say that it is likely to make cases longer, then a judge is going to have to go through an awful lot to try to get to the core of the issue.
“What evidence is there that this is going to save a penny, really?
“I am pretty doubtful that there's any more cutbacks to be made for legal aid - this is an area, the horrors of it are evident as soon as you look.”
Amendments
“There are an awful lot of Liberal Democrat amendments, they passed a resolution against legal aid cuts during their conference. Tom Brake has put all these amendments forward and it just depends on what extent the Tories compromise.
“The next battle ground for the Tories is in the Lords. The women peers in the Lords are likely to vote against this.
“Labour is totally opposed to these measures. They suggested that the cuts proposed in this area are likely to make matters worse.”
Vulnerable families
“That's the point - where else can you go? A very large proportion of family law cases get solved by mediation, it's the thorniest that don't. There is nowhere else for any of them to go.”