Legal Aid

Criminal

Two separate judicial reviews have been launched against the Ministry of Justice in response to plans within the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2010-2011 to cut legal aid.

Profession

The Bar Council sent senior representatives to the three main party conferences this year. Delegates went armed with two contrasting messages. First, that the legal profession and indeed access to justice will be immeasurably affected by the proposed cuts to legal aid.

Profession

The time is “ripe” for a contingency legal fund (CLAF) to be set up, Lord Justice Jackson has said. In a lecture to the Professional Negligence Bar Association, in October, Jackson LJ said a CLAF could be “viable”. “Recent research suggests this,” he said.

Legal Aid

The Chairman of the Bar has called on the Lord Chancellor to “think again about the total costs” of the changes to legal aid.

In a detailed letter to the Lord Chancellor (a copy of which is available on the Bar Council website), Peter Lodder QC refers to “widespread anger” among the publicly funded Bar about the way their views have been ignored.

Profession

Barristers, clerks and practice managers considered the impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill at the Bar Council Contracting Conference, in London, earlier this month.

The Big Voice project is widening participation at the Bar and opening up the legal profession as a career to a broader range of young people. Sarwan Singh explains how. 

Big Voice 2011 is a year long programme of regular evening sessions closely supported by the Supreme Court with the aim of providing legal education to disadvantaged teenagers in an attempt to enhance young people’s understanding of the legal profession, legal access and the court systems in the UK. The project seeks to empower young people who may feel distanced from the world of courts and lawyers and those who take part are divided into three groups, political agency, legal agency and equality and diversity. 

Promoting the Bar in the media; still waiting for LSC payments; legal aid; engaging in the Advocate Panel Scheme; growing opportunities abroad; and the survey of working life at the modern Bar. 

As the TUC marched against public services cuts they were joined by barristers from several chambers including members of Tooks Chambers. Catherine Rayner and Rebecca Chapman asked them why.  

The TUC demonstration against cuts to public services attracted hundreds of thousands of members of the public onto the streets on Saturday 26 March.  Amongst the union banners and banners for voluntary organisations and community groups, was a black banner with gold figure holding a sword and a pair of broken scales in her hands. Justice was on the march. 

The Neverending Story. Charles Hale and Toby Craig continue to await the Government’s response on legal aid.  

And so, as WW goes to press, still we wait for the Government’s response to its legal aid consultation. It is now four months since the 4,500 or so public responses hit MoJ desks, but the powers that be are still to reach a final conclusion of how they want to take forward their original proposals. There is only so much patient waiting anyone could reasonably expect to do, as supposed publication dates are successively pushed back. To be published alongside a Bill, which is intended to bring forward some of the necessary primary legislation to enact the planned changes, the continuing false dawns have only ensured that we remain in the dark. Harrumph! 

The continuing uncertainty over legal aid reform; BSB entity regulation; concerns over CPS panels; key note speech for June 20; and the opening of an  ADR centre in Kolkata.

I begin by offering hearty congratulations to Michael Todd QC and Stephen Collier on their election as Chairman-Elect and Treasurer-Elect; we are fortunate to have the service and commitment of such high quality practitioners.