‘Criminal defence solicitors have called for expedited legal aid payments and an extension of the business rate holiday to law firms with contracts to combat the impact of Covid-19.’
Legal Futures, 17th March 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Almost four out of 10 legal aid firms do not use the LASPO ‘safety net’ and make exceptional case funding applications, according to a new study by the Public Law Project – reported on the Justice Gap (here). More then three-quarters believed the scheme was not effective. The PLP survey by Professor Joe Tomlinson and Emma Marshall drew on responses between from 89 legal aid providers and other groups providing legal advice and was conducted in October/ November last year. The aim was to engage with providers working in four areas – immigration, family, housing and welfare benefits. Researchers identified 1,276 organisations with a legal aid contract working across these four areas.’
Legal Voice, 21st February 2020
Source: legalvoice.org.uk
‘A young solicitor who botched the backdating of legal aid forms and then lied about it to his employer has agreed to leave the profession.’
Legal Futures, 24th February 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘We saw the High Court in this case take an incredibly strict approach to homelessness section 204 appeal timescales (our report), deciding that seeking legal aid representation could not be a good reason for filing an appeal out of time because, well, the substance of any appeal should be obvious to an unrepresented homeless applicant. We expressed considerable doubts about the realism of this decision at the time. Now, as it turns out, the Court of Appeal has had similar doubts.’
Nearly Legal, 2nd February 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that the fact a homeless applicant was unrepresented and seeking legal aid was not a “good reason” for delay in bringing an appeal under s.204 of the Housing Act 1996 against an adverse review decision under the homelessness provisions of that Act.’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st January 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A solicitor has been struck off after nearly 40 years in practice after admitting that the difficulties of relying on payment from criminal legal aid work overwhelmed him.’
Legal Futures, 21st January 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A woman who lost her soldier sister in the Guildford pub bombings has said her family are “never going to get justice” even though the inquest has resumed.’
BBC News, 18th December 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘There is no basis for a law firm’s challenge to a Legal Aid Agency (LAA) decision to reject its tender for a legal aid contract, the High Court has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 9th December 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A new breed of untrained legal advocates who are ripping off the public with “flawed” and “dangerous” legal advice should be banned, lawyers’ leaders and politicians have urged ministers.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The number of unrepresented defendants in crown courts is rising sharply, the head of the Criminal Bar Association has warned, as cuts to legal aid increasingly affect the criminal justice system.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Litigants in person and solicitors should go through the Legal Aid Agency, not the High Court, for public funding in civil contempt proceedings, a judge has said in a bid to clear up confusion over who has the power to grant legal aid.’
Law Society's Gazette, 15th November 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Denying access to justice risks creating fresh conflicts at a time when the international rule of law is under threat, the Commonwealth secretary general has warned ahead of a meeting of the organisation’s law enforcement officers.’
The Guardian, 5th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2020