Barristers threaten to walk out over legal aid cuts – The Guardian

Posted May 22nd, 2015 in barristers, budgets, legal aid, news by sally

‘Criminal barristers are threatening mass walkouts aimed at closing down the courts in protest against government cuts to legal aid.’
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The Guardian, 21st MAy 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal aid legislation ‘disgracefully complex’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 20th, 2015 in contempt of court, legal aid, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has called for clarity over ‘disgracefully complex’ legal aid legislation after an elderly man was committed to prison in the absence of publicly funded legal representation to which he was entitled.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 19th May 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lithuanian MPs petition Lords Speaker over child custody case – The Guardian

‘A delegation of Lithuanian MPs has written to the House of Lords complaining about the removal of a 12-year-old girl from her mother, alleging that she is being deprived of her cultural inheritance. The letter, sent to the Speaker of the House of Lords, Lady D’Souza, is the second high-profile intervention by a Baltic state in UK care proceedings this year and reflects a growing rift between EU states over practices in custody proceedings.’

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The Guardian, 12th May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

CCMS: a ‘flawed’ system that ‘actually deteriorates business processes’ – Legal Voice

Posted May 12th, 2015 in computer programs, legal aid, news, pilot schemes, reports by tracey

‘Specialist cost lawyers involved in pilots for the controversial new online legal aid processing system have called on the Ministry of Justice to make an “honest appraisal” before pushing ahead with implementation.’

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Legal Voice, 11th May 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Open letter condemns legal aid cuts, calls on new government to restore justice – The Guardian

Posted May 6th, 2015 in legal aid, miscarriage of justice, news by sally

‘More than 100 judges, peers, lawyers and doctors write open letter to the Guardian calling on new government to prevent ‘widespread miscarriages of justice’.’
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The Guardian, 1st May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Alleged sex abuser’s legal claim challenged in court – Daily Telegraph

‘Man claimed to have abused former partner’s daughter should not have lawyers’ fees paid by the taxpayer, Government argues.’

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Daily Telegraph, 29th April 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

JUSTICE proposes lawyer-free dispute resolution model – Legal Voice

‘A new dispute resolution model ‘minimising the need for lawyers’ for a justice system ‘reeling from the impact of ongoing state retrenchment’, has been proposed by the Human rights group JUSTICE. In a new report (Delivering Justice in an Age of Austerity) the human rights group argues that the assumption that people will be legally represented post-LASPO is redundant.’

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Legal Voice, 28th April 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Fewer barriers for women in judiciary than the bar – LCJ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 29th, 2015 in barristers, equality, human rights, judiciary, legal aid, news, women by sally

‘The barrier to women progressing further in the judiciary has gone, but more needs to be done to remove the glass ceiling at the bar, the lord chief justice said last night.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 28th April 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Senior judge: politicians are ignoring harm caused by cuts to legal system – The Guardian

Posted April 24th, 2015 in budgets, elections, judges, legal aid, news, political parties by sally

‘Politicians in this election are failing to address the severe problems caused by deep cuts to the legal system, one former senior judge has warned, while another has called for a mass walkout by lawyers if the Conservatives are returned to power.’

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

News focus: law and justice pledges – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The general election manifestos are in – here’s our quick-fire summary of their headline pledges on law and justice.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th April 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Theresa May admits justice system fails families over deaths in police custody – The Guardian

‘The criminal justice system makes is too hard for families whose loved ones have died in police custody to get answers, according to a candid letter written by the home secretary to two families affected by such deaths.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Access to justice a greater concern than free healthcare – poll – The Guardian

‘The public is more concerned about access to justice than free healthcare, according to a poll commissioned by lawyers campaigning to reverse cuts to legal aid.’

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The Guardian, 13th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Uncertainty’ over second 8.75% legal aid fee cut – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 7th, 2015 in fees, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Criminal practitioners are demanding answers from the Legal Aid Agency over what they say is uncertainty regarding proposed cuts in fees.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd April 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lord Woolf: 25 years on from Strangeways, prisons are still in crisis – The Guardian

‘Harry Woolf, the former chief justice who wrote the report on the 1991 Strangeways prison riot, says its lessons haven’t been learned.’

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The Guardian, 1st April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

DIY Justice – Panorama

Posted March 31st, 2015 in care orders, legal aid, legal representation, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Raphael Rowe meets the parents fighting for access to their children without any legal assistance. Cuts to legal aid mean they must represent themselves in court.’

iPlayer

Panorama, 30th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Save Legal Aid, Save Lives – Family Law Week

Posted March 26th, 2015 in domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Ruth Tweedale, a law lecturer at the University of Roehampton and former solicitor at Rights of Women, describes recent developments in the campaign to preserve family law legal aid for victims of domestic violence.’

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Family Law Week, 24th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Solicitors fail to stop cuts in legal aid defence contracts – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, Law Society, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Criminal solicitors have failed in their attempt to prevent the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, imposing deep cuts on the number of legal aid contracts for defence lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Last minute adjournment in criminal legal aid appeal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 20th, 2015 in adjournment, appeals, criminal justice, judicial review, legal aid, news by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has adjourned delivering judgment on the lord chancellor’s criminal legal aid reforms until Wednesday. The case had originally been listed for this morning.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 19th March 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Unlocking the Funds for Justice – Pro Bono Costs – Family Law Week

Posted March 19th, 2015 in costs, legal aid, litigants in person, news, pro bono work by sally

‘Cyrus Larizadeh, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings and Senate House Chambers, explains the costs issues which arise where an advocate, acting pro bono, represents a successful party in care and/or placement proceedings.’

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Family Law Week, 16th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Regina (Ben Hoare Bell Solicitors) and others v Lord Chancellor – WLR Daily

Posted March 17th, 2015 in judicial review, law firms, law reports, legal aid, regulations, ultra vires by sally

Regina (Ben Hoare Bell Solicitors) and others v Lord Chancellor [2015] EWHC 523 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 114

‘The scope of regulation 5A of the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No 3) Regulations 2014 extended beyond the circumstances which could be seen as rationally connected to the stated purpose given for its introduction, making it inconsistent with the purposes of the statutory scheme contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.’

WLR Daily, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk