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

As Abu Qatada leaves, Theresa May vows to change human rights law – The Guardian

“Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, celebrated the successful deportation of Abu Qatada to Jordan on Sunday by saying the long-running saga meant there would have to be ‘wholesale changes’ in Britain’s human rights laws.”

Full story

The Guardian, 7th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Grayling promises second consultation on legal aid – but sets red lines – Law Society’s Gazette

“The Ministry of Justice will publish a second ‘short’ consultation on its ‘finalised’ legal aid proposals in September before ‘pressing on’, the justice secretary announced this morning.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.lawgazete.co.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

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

Posted July 3rd, 2013 in barristers, budgets, competition, criminal justice, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“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

High level Parliamentary committee asks whether mental capacity laws are working – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 3rd, 2013 in consent, disabled persons, human rights, legal aid, mental health, news by sally

“The House of Lords ad hoc Select Committee on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 has now heard three sessions of evidence.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Legal aid cuts: ‘a return to widespread miscarriages of justice’ – The Guardian

“What impact will the latest raft of legal aid cuts have on people fighting councils or who are wrongly accused of a crime? We ask former defendants, their families, lawyers and experts.”

Full story

The Guardian, 2nd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Justice Secretary updates on competitive tendering for criminal legal aid – Ministry of Justice

“Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has written to the Chair of the Justice Select Committee on competitive tendering for criminal legal aid.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 1st July 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Cuts Will “Destroy” Legal Aid System – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

Posted July 2nd, 2013 in competition, consultations, criminal justice, legal aid, news, tenders by sally

“Jon Robins surveys the responses to the Government’s legal aid consultation paper.”

Full story

Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 29th June 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in U-turn: Defendants on legal aid will still be able to choose their solicitor – The Independent

Posted July 2nd, 2013 in competition, criminal justice, legal aid, news, solicitors, tenders by sally

“Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, made a surprise U-turn on Monday night over his controversial plan to deny defendants on legal aid the right to choose their solicitor.”

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The Independent, 1st July 2013

Source: www.independent.co.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

Legal Aid Question Time – The Bar Council

Posted June 26th, 2013 in budgets, legal aid, legal profession, news, tenders by sally

Video

The Bar Council, 25th June 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Legal Aid Statistics in England and Wales – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 26th, 2013 in appeals, legal aid, news, statistics by sally

Legal Aid Statistics in England and Wales (PDF)

Ministry of Justice, 25th June 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

‘This is astonishing stuff’: Split over legal aid shake-up goes right to the top – The Independent

Posted June 24th, 2013 in barristers, budgets, consultations, law firms, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

“The Government’s plans to shake up legal aid have received a chilly response from its most senior law officer, signalling deep divisions among ministers over the controversial moves.”

Full story

The Independent, 21st June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

A United Profession – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

Posted June 24th, 2013 in barristers, demonstrations, legal aid, legal profession, news, solicitors by sally

“John Cooper QC on the allied opposition to the legal aid cuts.”

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Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 22nd June 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

A heavy cost? (Pt 2) – New Law Journal

“David Burrows continues his review of how LASPO has influenced the funding landscape of family litigation.”

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New Law Journal, 20th June 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Roundtable: future of the bar – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 24th, 2013 in barristers, debts, diversity, legal aid, legal education, news, pupillage by sally

“The fortunes of commercial and publicly funded barristers could hardly be more divergent at present. But it is not simply a ‘tale of two bars’. The bar’s monied and impecunious sections are co-dependent, according to those present at the Gazette’s roundtable discussion on the future of the bar. That division in fortunes is not new. But it has increased, and if further legal aid cuts follow, will become even more dramatic. As the discussion starts, it is noted that of 1,700 students emerging from bar school each year, perhaps fewer than 400 will secure pupillages – a modern low.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 24th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bar chief calls for royal commission – Law Society’s Gazette

“More than two decades after the Runciman Commission was set up following high-profile miscarriages of justice, the chairman of the Bar Council has called for a royal commission to conduct a root-and-branch review of the criminal justice system.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 24th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Good lawyers save money’: Supreme Court President weighs in on Legal Aid – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 20th, 2013 in costs, judges, judicial review, judiciary, legal aid, legal profession, news, speeches by sally

“According to the President of the Supreme Court, the judiciary not only has a right but an obligation ‘to speak out on matters concerning the rule of law.’ In recent months, it is a duty from which Lord Neuberger has not shirked, and last night’s lecture to the Institute of Government was no exception. Its focus was the importance of legal aid, which Neuberger described through the prism of the UK’s constitutional set-up and the respective roles of the legislature, executive and judiciary within it.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 19th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance – Speech by Lord Neuberger

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance (PDF)

Speech by Lord Neuberger

Institute for Government, 18th June 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk