Category: budgets

Costs budgeting: Proportionality is trumps – New Law Journal

Posted May 7th, 2013 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, judiciary, news, proportionality by sally

“‘The budgeting of multi-track litigation is the most important of costs reforms that lawyers should prepare for’ advises Professor Dominic Regan, the leading expert in civil litigation (‘Not the end of the story?’). So, how should we—judges and professional civil litigators— ‘prepare’ now that the Jackson reforms are a reality? The short answer is CPD Training: Chapter 40 and Recommendations 89 and 90 of the Jackson Report (Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report, December 2009).”

Full story

New Law Journal, 2nd May 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

High court rejects legal challenge to Barnet’s ‘easyCouncil’ plans – The Guardian

Posted April 29th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, consultations, contracting out, equality, fiduciary duty, judicial review, local government, news, time limits by tracey

“Campaigners against Barnet council’s radical plan to outsource hundreds of millions of pounds worth of services, dubbed easyCouncil, are to take their case to the appeal court after a judge ruled their objection to a £320m contract had come too late.”

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The Guardian, 29th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal aid: Lawyers in Wales agree strike action – BBC News

Posted April 29th, 2013 in barristers, budgets, consultations, industrial action, legal aid, news, Wales by tracey

“Lawyers in Wales have agreed to strike over UK government proposals to reform criminal legal aid. The Wales and Chester Circuit of Barristers has voted unanimously to refuse to sign up to a new system regulating the quality of criminal lawyers in England and Wales.”

Full story

BBC News, 28th April 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New legal aid reforms end ‘justice for all’, lawyers warn – The Independent

Posted April 29th, 2013 in budgets, fees, guilty pleas, legal aid, legal representation, miscarriage of justice, news, solicitors by tracey

“England’s 800-year-old tradition of fair and open access to justice for all will
be destroyed by sweeping Government plans to reform criminal legal aid, senior
judges and magistrates warn today.”

Full story

The Independent, 28th April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

McNally: ‘Access to justice’ doesn’t mean access to a lawyer – LegalVoice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, competition, human rights, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

“It was time to ‘move on’ from the ‘bruising’ LASPO debate, the Lord McNally said yesterday. The legal aid minister told delegates at an event organised by the Westminster Legal Policy Forum that this month’s cuts would save £180m per annum alone. ‘Yet on the criminal side, we’re still spending £1 billion every year. A significant proportion of this spending is swallowed up by a few very high cost cases,’ the legal aid minister added.”

Full story

LegalVoice, 24th April 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

The Future of Legal Aid – Why we Need to Act Now – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, legal aid, legal representation, news by sally

“Connor Johnston, co-chair of the Young Legal Aid Lawyers, discusses the latest threats to legal aid.”

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 24th April 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Five disabled people lose challenge over scrapped scheme that gave them independence – The Independent

Posted April 24th, 2013 in benefits, budgets, consultations, disabled persons, judicial review, news by sally

“Five disabled people have lost their High Court challenge over the Government’s decision to abolish a scheme that helps them live independently.”

Full story

The Independent, 24th April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Implementing a new framework for legal aid – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in advocacy, budgets, competition, legal aid, news by sally

“The Government wants to reduce unnecessary costs and make sure that legal aid helps those who need it the most.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Action on time-wasting judicial reviews – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, fees, judicial review, news, time limits by sally

“New controls will tackle the soaring number of judicial review applications being made in England and Wales.”

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Ministry of Justice, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Government pressing ahead with (most of) its proposals to restrict access to judicial review – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 24th, 2013 in budgets, consultations, fees, judicial review, news, time limits by sally

“The Ministry of Justice has released its response to the comments generated by the consultation paper on judicial review that was published in December. Unsurprisingly, the Government has signalled that it intends to press ahead with most of the proposals upon which it consulted.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Revealed: George Osborne’s secret veto on fraud inquiries – The Independent

Posted April 24th, 2013 in banking, budgets, compensation, conflict of interest, fraud, inquiries, news, veto by sally

“George Osborne has a secret veto over large and potentially politically sensitive fraud investigations, The Independent has learnt.”

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The Independent, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cost budget revisions to fix mistakes unlikely to be allowed, says judge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in budgets, costs, mistake, news by sally

“Parties to civil litigation must be able to properly justify the need to make any changes to an approved costs budget, a High Court judge has warned.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

The end of late chopping and changing – New Law Journal

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in amendments, budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, news, pleadings, trials by sally

“‘We will amend at trial’ was one of the most common phrases in legal parlance. No more. It is evident on several fronts that the days of belated change, even well before trial, are over. I would go so far as to say that a practitioner failing to act at the earliest possible opportunity is now looking at a potential negligence claim. The robust new attitude demonstrated by Lord Justice Jackson and his cohorts has been applied to pleadings, experts and joinder.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 18th April 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Criminal legal aid cuts prompt protest by northern lawyers – The Guardian

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in barristers, budgets, consultations, criminal justice, demonstrations, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

“Hundreds of barristers and solicitors are holding an all-day protest meeting against government plans to cut criminal legal aid and end defendants’ right to choose their lawyer.”

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The new model – New Law Journal

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in budgets, internet, legal aid, legal representation, litigants in person, news by sally

“Labour’s Lord Bach fought a good deal harder in the House of Lords to defend legal aid from the coalition’s cuts than many of his colleagues. But, the key provisions of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 are now in force. Civil legal aid will never again have the comprehensive coverage that once it did: in particular, partners whose relationships break down are going to have a particularly hard time. No government, realistically, is going to restart funding at past levels. What can be done to assist the women who are most likely to be the major victims of these cuts?”

Full story

New Law Journal, 18th April 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

High Court issues strong warning over costs budget mistakes – Litigation Futures

Posted April 18th, 2013 in budgets, costs, news by sally

“It will usually be ‘extremely difficult’ to persuade a court to revise a costs budget that contains mistakes, even if the other party has not been misled or suffered prejudice, the High Court has warned.”

Full story

Litigation Futures, 18th April 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Fourth pillar of the welfare state – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted April 17th, 2013 in benefits, budgets, legal aid, news by sally

“On April 1 cuts of £350 million from the legal aid budget of £2.1 billion came into effect.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog, 16th April 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

MoJ unveils tendering plans for criminal defence – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 10th, 2013 in budgets, competition, consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, legal representation, news, tenders by sally

“Defendants will lose the right to choose their lawyer and instead be allocated a representative, under government plans to introduce price-competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal defence services.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th April 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law Society president on legal aid change – BBC News

Posted April 10th, 2013 in budgets, immigration, legal aid, news, prisons by sally

“The government has proposed cutting legal aid for prisoners, newly-arrived immigrants and people with incomes of more £37,500 to reduce the overall bill.”

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BBC News, 9th April 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Making legal aid fairer for taxpayers – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 10th, 2013 in budgets, consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, legal representation, news by sally

“Plans to boost public confidence in the legal aid system and tackle towering bills have today been put out to consultation by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.”

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Ministry of Justice, 9th April 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk