Attorney General Speech at the Royal Courts of Justice – Attorney General’s Office

Posted July 25th, 2016 in attorney general, legal history, lord chancellor, news, parliament, speeches by sally

‘Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP’s speech at the Lord Chancellor’s swearing in ceremony.’

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Attorney General’s Office, 21st July 2016

Source: www.gov.uk/ago

Bar Chairman says Lord Chancellor is critical to our economic wellbeing – The Bar Council

Posted July 25th, 2016 in barristers, judiciary, lord chancellor, news, rule of law by sally

‘Chairman of the Bar, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC, welcomed the first woman Lord Chancellor, The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, at her swearing in ceremony.’

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The Bar Council, 22nd July 2016

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Gove poised to back call for less overbearing regulatory regime for ABSs – Legal Futures

‘Lord Chancellor Michael Gove indicated yesterday that he would support legislative changes to make it easier to approve and regulate alternative business structures (ABSs) while the scope of the wider review of the Legal Services Act 2007 is worked out.’

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Legal Futures, 19th November 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Gove admits the UK sentencing framework needs to be more sensitive, & 7 more things we learned at the 2015 Howard League AGM – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Since his appointment as Justice Secretary & Lord Chancellor in May this year, the Rt Hon Michael Gove has maintained a fairly low profile. Aside from his Making Prisons Work speech in July, Mr Gove’s plans for the future of the Criminal Justice System have not been very clearly outlined. Although since his swearing in, to the delight of many, Gove has managed to overturn the previous Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling’s ban on books for prisoners; scrapped plans to create a super youth prison; and halted massively controversial plans for the UK to undertake Saudi Arabian prison training contracts.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 6th November 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Lord Chancellor launches review of youth justice system – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 16th, 2015 in lord chancellor, news, recidivists, rehabilitation, statistics, young offenders by tracey

‘The Lord Chancellor has announced a departmental review of the youth justice system, which will look at whether current arrangements are fit for purpose. It will be led by Charlie Taylor, former chief executive of the National College of Teaching and Leadership and an ex-head teacher.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th Septembr 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regina (London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association and others) v Lord Chancellor; Regina (Law Society) v Lord Chancellor – WLR Daily

Posted February 23rd, 2015 in criminal justice, judicial review, law reports, legal aid, lord chancellor by sally

Regina (London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association and others) v Lord Chancellor; Regina (Law Society) v Lord Chancellor [2015] EWHC 295 (Admin) ; [2015] WLR (D) 78

‘The conventional Wednesbury standard of judicial supervision applied to a decision, taken by the Lord Chancellor in the exercise of his discretion under section 2(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which involved changes to the provision of criminal legal aid services by solicitors.’

WLR Daily, 18th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Law chief marks Magna Carta with fierce attack on Cameron – The Independent

‘Britain’s chief criminal barrister will tear into David Cameron and past governments for treating public law “with contempt”, at a lavish £1,750-a-ticket government-backed conference tomorrow marking the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.’

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The Independent, 22nd February 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judgment reserved on criminal legal aid reforms – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Delivering judgment on the lord chancellor’s controversial criminal legal aid reforms by the end of the month will be a ‘pretty tall order’, senior judges have said at the end of a three-day hearing in the High Court.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th January 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The Judiciary, the Executive and Parliament: Relationships and the Rule of Law – Speech by Lord Chief Justice

The Judiciary, the Executive and Parliament: Relationships and the Rule of Law (PDF)

Speech by Lord Chief Justice

Institute for Government, 1st December 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

High Court denies Lord Chancellor relief from sanctions in legal aid dispute – Litigation Futures

Posted November 11th, 2014 in law firms, legal aid, lord chancellor, news, sanctions by tracey

‘The High Court has denied the Lord Chancellor relief from sanctions in a case involving an attempt by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) to reclaim £160,000 plus interest from a former law firm 16 years after the final payments were made.’

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Litigation Futures, 11th November 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Retired judge Sir John Royce criticises legal cuts – BBC News

Posted October 23rd, 2014 in courts, criminal justice, judges, legal aid, lord chancellor, news by sally

‘A recently retired High Court judge has said he thinks government cuts to the legal system have gone too far.’

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BBC News, 22nd October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Grayling ‘has no understanding of his role’ – Falconer – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Former lord chancellor Lord Falconer has attacked successor Chris Grayling for failing to view his commitment to the rule of law as different to that of any other government minister.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 22nd October 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Chancellor should be “very senior lawyer” – Legal Futures

Posted October 17th, 2014 in barristers, judiciary, lord chancellor, news, parliament, rule of law by tracey

‘The Lord Chancellor should be a “very senior lawyer”, Nicholas Lavender QC, chairman of the Bar Council, has said. Justice secretary Chris Grayling told the House of Lords constitution committee this week that there were “no disadvantages” to the Lord Chancellor being, like him, a non-lawyer.’

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Legal Futures, 17th October 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bar Council Statement on the role of the Lord Chancellor – The Bar Council

Posted October 17th, 2014 in barristers, inquiries, judiciary, lord chancellor, parliament, press releases by tracey

‘Following the Lord Chancellor’s evidence on October 15 2014 to the House of Lords
Constitution Committee’s inquiry into the role of the Lord Chancellor, Nicholas Lavender QC, chairman of the Bar Council, said: “Justice is not a service that governments can choose to provide or not. It is a vital part of our constitutional arrangements. It needs to be defended and promoted to make the separation of powers a continuing reality and thereby to safeguard our democratic way of life for the future.” ‘

Full press release

The Bar Council, 16th October 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

High Court slaps down legal aid reform – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The lord chancellor acted ‘unlawfully’ in the way he consulted on controversial plans to shake up criminal legal aid, the High Court ruled today [19 September].’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 19th September 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Chancellors should be judges, APIL argues – Legal Futures

‘Lord Chancellors should be recruited from the judiciary and no longer combine the role with that of justice secretary, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 29th August 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Graham Gee: Do Lord Chancellors defend judicial independence? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted August 18th, 2014 in inquiries, judiciary, lord chancellor, news, parliament, pensions, statutory duty by tracey

‘As part of its inquiry into the office of Lord Chancellor, the Constitution Committee asks whether “new” (i.e. post-2003) Lord Chancellors have actually defended judicial independence in line with their customary and now statutory duty to do so. I was asked for examples earlier this summer when appearing before the Committee (with Andrew Le Sueur and Patrick O’Brien). I tried to identify some, but rather garbled my answer. Earlier in the year I also sketched some thoughts about Lord Chancellors in Public Law, but struggled to find clear-cut examples. One reason is that collective cabinet responsibility and the confidentiality of exchanges between Lord Chancellors and judges mean that outsiders will seldom have a full picture of what has occurred behind closed doors. This is unfortunate since my impression is that many lawyers assume—mistakenly, I think—that new Lord Chancellors are neither willing nor able to defend judicial independence. This post is hopefully third time lucky in correcting this assumption. By drawing on press reports, public statements and interviews that Robert Hazell, Kate Malleson, Patrick O’Brien and I conducted between 2011-2013, I want to piece together evidence that suggests that new Lord Chancellors can and do defend judicial independence.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th August 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog

Judicial Review, Legal Aid and Operation Cotton – the Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 6th, 2014 in human rights, judicial review, legal aid, lord chancellor, news, trials by tracey

‘Legal aid, judicial review and the role of the Lord Chancellor dominated the headlines last week – with the Operation Cotton case and the Joint Committee on Human Right’s report on judicial review putting increasing pressure on the Government’s reforms.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th May 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

New APIL president blames non-legally qualified lord chancellor for harsh reforms – Litigation Futures

Posted May 6th, 2014 in asbestos, courts, fees, insurance, lord chancellor, news, personal injuries, speeches by tracey

‘A legally qualified Lord Chancellor would not have put in place the recent personal injury changes and court fee reform proposals, the new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has claimed.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th May 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The disturbing conflict of interest at the heart of British justice – Garden Court Chambers

‘Today, lawyers go on strike for the second time since January. The battle is with the Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling, over his proposed reforms to legal aid. Strike action, from a generally traditional and conservative profession, is all but unprecedented and threatens to bring the criminal justice system to a halt. What has brought relations between the legal profession and Mr Grayling to this pitch?’

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Garden Court Chambers, 7th March 2014

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com