Now is the time for a total review – The Bar Council

“Barristers are such an easy target. Trite sneers are instantly available to the disappointed litigant, failed pupil or populist politician. We are ‘fat cats’ sitting in ‘Georgian terraces’ bleating about the ‘racket’ coming to an end. The natural response of the practitioner to these comments is anger and frustration.”

Full story (PDF)

The Bar Council, July 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

The Judicial Working Group on Litigants in Person – Judiciary of England and Wales

“The Judicial Working Group on Litigants in Person – Report, July 2013.”

Full report

Judiciary of England and Wales, 5th July 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Small law firms may be forced to merge under legal aid plans – The Guardian

Posted July 4th, 2013 in law firms, legal aid, legal representation, mergers, news, select committees by sally

“Small law firms reliant upon legal aid will be forced to amalgamate under plans being examined by the Ministry of Justice to save £220m a year.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Miscarriages of justice body to receive increased funds after applications rise – The Guardian

“The 10% increase comes amid cuts to criminal legal aid, leading lawyers to ask whether a better funded CCRC will address the problem of lack of legal representation.”

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Quick, intuitive thinking drives decisions on whether to use a lawyer – Legal Services Board

Posted July 3rd, 2013 in costs, legal representation, legal services, news, proportionality by sally

“The Legal Services Board publishes today three reports which together deliver new insight into consumers’ behaviour when deciding whether or not to seek legal advice and into the proportionality of regulation.”

Full story (PDF)

Legal services Board, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

Will Article 6 come to the rescue after the legal aid reforms? – UK Human Rights Blog

“The absence of legal representation for defendants to an action for debt who contended they could not speak English resulted in the High Court granting an application that the trial be adjourned for a second time. The judgment is a good example of the interaction of Article 6 ECHR (right to a fair trial) with the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 26th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Airline compensation: law firm flies to aid of delayed passengers – The Guardian

“A Cheshire solicitors has recovered more than £300,000 for 700 passengers with their no-win no-fee service.”

Full story

The Guardian, 15th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal aid cuts ‘end high-profile BME cases’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 17th, 2013 in budgets, legal aid, legal representation, minorities, news by sally

“High-profile cases such as those of murder victims Stephen Lawrence and Victoria Climbié would not have been taken up by lawyers if the government’s legal aid cuts had been in place, a prominent solicitor-advocate has warned.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 17th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lawyers In Revolt – BBC Law in Action

“Will the Ministry of Justice back down over cuts to legal aid? Radio 4’s legal magazine follows the bitter dispute between the profession and the government.

This week, Maura McGowan QC of the Bar Council is in the studio with Joshua Rozenberg, making the lawyers’ case. But is she right that the legal profession will be undermined? Lord McNally responds for the government.”

Listen

BBC Law in Action, 11th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Six reasons the cuts to legal aid will ruin our justice system – The Independent

“Even the government’s own lawyers are horrified by these reforms.”

Full story

The Independent, 7th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Conor Gearty: Legal Aid Changes – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted June 10th, 2013 in demonstrations, legal aid, legal representation, news, tenders by sally

“The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 has already brought to an end the availability of legal aid across a whole range of areas of law that have direct relevance to the poor. Under cover of generalised claims about opportunistic litigation, the goal has clearly been to remove the capacity for challenge to the implementation (whether lawless or not) of the coalition’s various attacks on benefits. The same legislation also withdrew state support from foreign nationals in prison who are threatened with deportation, as many are – regardless of how long they had been here and how British they are in fact. The idea behind this change was to prevent resistance to removal by showing an infringement of the right to respect for private life in the Human Rights Act (a matter on which government now also intends to legislate separately). In both these cases, the government appears close to accepting that their goal is to prevent meritorious cases getting to court, on the ground that the laws that make them meritorious (human rights legislation; equality law; the common law of procedural fairness) are not laws they like. They have been tempted to remove the litigants rather than the laws, hoping there’ll be less fuss.”

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Group, 10th June 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Bar Council Chairman: We will not facilitate a scheme which will wreck the criminal justice system – The Bar Council

The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today stated that it has no plans to develop a quality system to facilitate price competitive tendering (PCT) for criminal legal aid. The Bar Council believes that real quality is based on choice of service providers, not price alone, on which the Government’s model is based. The Bar Council’s response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation clearly sets out its position on this issue.

Full story

The Bar Council, 5th June 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Cut Price Justice – Garden Court Chambers Blog

“Anna Morris explains why the legal profession and the public must unite to oppose the government’s attack on legal aid.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog, 20th May 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Legal watchdog warns budget cuts will damage justice – The Guardian

“Depriving defendants of the ability to choose their own solicitor will undermine confidence in the criminal justice system, an official legal watchdog warned on Monday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Eddie Stobart drives into legal aid row – The Guardian

“A subsidiary of the haulage firm Eddie Stobart has emerged as a leading contender in bidding for a new generation of criminal legal aid contracts that would deprive defendants of the right to choose their own solicitor.”

Full story

The Guardian, 8th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

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

“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

Death Row, Human Rights and the Limits of the Law – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

“Although both the law surrounding human rights and the use of judicial review to uphold it have grown exponentially in the UK in recent times, there are still plenty of jurisdictions where even fundamental principles of justice are not respected with any consistency. It is not surprising, therefore, that the last decade has seen a number of cases where those faced with perceived injustice abroad turn homewards for redress.”

Full story

Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 20th April 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.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.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog, 24th April 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

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

Lesley Kemp faces libel suit over Twitter comments – BBC News

Posted April 22nd, 2013 in defamation, fees, internet, legal representation, news by sally

“A woman who complained about an unpaid £146 invoice is facing a libel battle that could cost her more than £100,000.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th April 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk