Scotland's legal aid bill cost the public purse more than £150 million last year, figures revealed today.
Criminal cases accounted for nearly two thirds of the total, but the cost of civil legal aid also increased for the first time in three years.
Last year's total legal aid bill was 2% up on the previous year, and brought spending to the second highest ever level.
Donald Findlay QC topped the list for legal aid payments made to advocates, for the second year in a row, receiving £358,400 including VAT.
Glasgow-based law firm Ross Harper topped the solicitors' legal aid earnings list, also for the second year in a row, at £1.732 million including VAT - and 11 other firms of solicitors were paid more than £1 million each.
Top-earning solicitor advocate was Iain Paterson of Paterson Bell Solicitors, who received £219,300 including VAT.
Last year's increased costs came despite a fall in the number of solicitors providing legal aid.
The figures were disclosed in the annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board, published today.
The report coincided with new proposals from the board and the Scottish Government to change the way solicitors are paid for legal aid in summary or less serious cases.
Under the proposals there will be a "substantial" increase in payments to lawyers in the early stages of a case, with lesser increases for cases going to trial.
This is intended to save money overall, as the present system is said to favour "not guilty" pleas which are changed at a later stage.
The £150 million cost to the taxpayer last year was made up of £106.6 million on criminal cases, £39 million on civil cases, and £4.5 million on children's legal assistance and contempt of court cases.
Over the last five years, total spending has gone up by 11% or £15 million, mostly because of a £13.6 million rise in the cost of criminal legal aid.
Last year's increase in the cost of criminal legal aid was said to be due to higher numbers of cases, and in particular a higher number of costly serious cases.
Legal aid was granted in 13,898 serious and 82,686 less serious cases, the highest ever numbers, and broadly in line with an increase in the number of people prosecuted by the courts.
Out of last year's legal aid total, £122 million went to solicitors, mostly for criminal cases, while £20.8 million went to advocates and solicitor advocates.
But the number of solicitor firms registered for civil legal aid work went down by 8%, and by 4% for criminal legal aid.
Board chairman Iain Robertson said: "To ensure that there is adequate access to justice, it is essential that there are sufficient good quality practitioners available and that they are fairly rewarded.
"Where there are gaps in private sector provision, we and the Scottish Government need to look at the best and most cost effective ways of filling these gaps."
Today's report also discloses that the board de-registered two solicitors and two firms from the legal aid register.
A binding legal agreement had also been reached to recover £1.8 million of payment fraudulently obtained by one solicitor.
The lawyer, who died in 2005, had "fabricated" documents to obtain that sum from children's legal aid, said the report.
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