“The UK’s top judge has acknowledged that the senior judiciary is monolithic and there are not enough members of ethnic minorities represented.”
The Independent, 18th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Only 9.4% of equity partners in law firms are women, despite equal numbers of men and women entering the profession.”
The Guardian, 18th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“‘This is a derisory document’. Thus, Professor Roger Smith described the MoJ’s paper on Transforming Legal Aid, when he gave evidence to the Select Committee for Justice last Tuesday. The most senior members of the legal profession gave evidence about the potential impact of the proposals. The President of the Law Society, and the chairs of the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association, and Criminal Law Solicitors Association all agreed that, if the Minister has his way, the criminal justice system will be irreparably harmed. The MoJ plans to introduce these changes by secondary legislation, although more than 90,000 signatories to an e-petition (Save UK Justice) have now called for a full debate in Parliament.”
LegalVoice, 17th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“Court staff are being called out on strike on Monday amid growing opposition to the Ministry of Justice’s proposals to contract out services, cut legal aid and limit the use of judicial review.”
The Guardian, 13th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Lawyers waving placards and chanting blocked the road outside the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday evening in protest over proposals to slice a further £220m out of criminal legal aid and remove defendants’ ability to choose a solicitor.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A growing amount of legal work could be ‘de-lawyered’ and provided by organisations that offer a wide range of legal and non-legal services, the strategy director of the Legal Services Board (LSB) has suggested.”
Legal Futures, 4th June 2013
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
“Solicitors and barristers will have to adjust to ‘the new circumstances’ they are facing as a result of legal aid and other reforms ‘if they are going to survive’, justice minister Lord McNally said yesterday.”
Legal Futures, 4th June 2013
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
“Middle class families face bankruptcy and miscarriages of justice under reforms which threaten to undermine the Britain’s legal system, one of the country’s most senior lawyers has warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 31st May 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“City lawyers have warned that London’s status as an international litigation centre will come under threat should the Government push ahead with proposals to privatise the courts service.”
Legal Week, 31st May 2013
Source: www.legalweek.com
“Ninety leading barristers have urged the government to withdraw ‘unjust proposals’ to restrict legal aid for people demanding judicial reviews.”
BBC News, 29th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“‘Unity is our secret weapon’ was the key message that emerged from this week’s unprecedented meeting of 1,000 defence lawyers who voted unanimously backing a motion that price competitive tendering was ‘not the way forward’, writes Jon Robins.”
LegalVoice, 24th May 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
“Hundreds, some wearing wigs and gowns, demonstrate against justice secretary’s plans, which they say undermine UK justice.”
The Guardian, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Representatives of the Law Society and the Bar Council have joined forces with wider practitioner bodies to oppose the Ministry of Justice Consultation on proposed savage cuts to the funding of the Criminal Legal Aid Budget, the introduction of Price Competitive Tendering and other changes to the criminal justice system.”
The Bar Council, 14th May 2013
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
“Now top legal talent will find the prospect of working in criminal courts less attractive.”
The Independent, 14th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Recently an article in the Guardian described family law as a ‘time-consuming and morally shadowy activity’ and suggested that family lawyers ‘sleep in a bed that has been paid for by the unhappiness of others’. This was an article on ‘gold diggers’, a group hardly representative of the general population. But if ever a profession needed good PR, it’s family lawyers. The legal profession as a whole gets a pretty bad press, making it a fairly easy task for the government to promote other methods of obtaining legal advice and dispute resolution, as if entering the office of a lawyer who works with individual clients is something to be avoided, an easy way to empty your wallet with no obvious benefits.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 14th May 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
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