Legal Aid

The proposed changes to legal aid funding will inhibit access to the  Family Justice System for the most vulnerable members of society –  the very people the reforms are dedicated to protect, believes Ian Bugg 

On 15 November 2010, the Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) published its Green Paper “Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales” and, with it, the Government has introduced possibly the most profound changes to the Family Justice System since the introduction of the Legal Aid Scheme in 1949. 

Nick Green QC reviews the events that shaped his year as Chairman and looks to the Bar’s future 

This is my final chance to express my thoughts as Chairman, before returning to civvy street. There is so much that has happened this year that it is hard to pull the threads together; but let me try. 

SPEAKING at two fringe meetings at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, the Chairman-Elect of the Bar Council, Peter Lodder QC, stressed the importance of the legal profession working with Government to maintain access to justice, despite forthcoming budget cuts. 

We will work to ensure the forthcoming spending cuts are implemented in a way which preserves the profession and the justice system, writes Nick Green QC 

THE Bar Council has played a central role at the International Bar Association’s Annual Conference, which took place in Vancouver, Canada, last month. The IBA Annual Conference brings together more than 4,000 practitioners and Bar leaders and officials from all over the world. 

Nick Green QC on entity regulation, direct access training courses and bidding for local authority work 

David Wurtzel meets Adam Sampson, the Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive of the Legal Ombudsman, the new scheme established by the Office of Legal Complaints to handle consumer legal complaints 

Nick Green QC issues a warning about the Comprehensive Spending Review 

Solicitors made redundant during the economic downturn have volunteered more than 3,000 hours of free legal advice through a scheme run by LawWorks.

Nick Green QC explains why the Bar Council has established five working groups to ensure that the Bar is prepared for future legal aid reforms