Criminal lawyers are to escalate their protest against cuts to legal aid and stage a full-day walkout from trials across England and Wales next month. Solicitors and barristers are expected to withdraw from criminal cases in magistrates and crown courts on Friday 7 March. It is the profession's second co-ordinated direct action; last month they refused to attend hearings for a morning.

Lawyers have been careful to avoid describing the action as a strike because that would raise complex questions over their contractual obligations to the Legal Aid Agency.

The walkout is in protest at the decision by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, to make savings of £220m from the annual criminal legal aid budget. Some fees will be cut by up to 30%.

There is mounting resentment among criminal lawyers at the Ministry of Justice's policies. The lawyers say they have endured successive reductions in legal aid since 1997 which already amount to cuts of 40% in fees for criminal cases.

The decision to scale up the protests was taken by criminal barristers and solicitors on Tuesday night. Among the organisations who will take part in the action are the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), whose chairman is Nigel Lithman QC, and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association (LCCSA), whose president is Nicola Hill.

Earlier in the day, solicitors from legal bodies held an hour-long meeting with Grayling, hosted by the Law Society, in an attempt to persuade the justice secretary to revise his plans.

The choice of a Friday for a walkout, when courts are sometimes quieter, suggests that barristers and solicitors are trying to avoid inflicting maximum disruption on the criminal justice system. The advance notice is likely to mean that many cases will be rescheduled.

The MoJ argues that many barristers earn six-figure salaries. Barristers, however, point out that an income of £100,000 translates into a salary equivalent of about £50,000 after chambers fees, VAT, travel expenses and other costs have been deducted.

The department is due to give its final response to its consultation on cutting legal aid later this month. It maintains that Britain has one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world and that savings are required to meet spending commitments.