Criminal legal aid meeting
Gazette and Politico report that the Law Society will meet with Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk today to discuss criminal legal aid, following our High Court victory over the government’s decision not to raise rates by the minimum 15% recommended by the Bellamy review.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “The government is dragging its feet despite the urgency of the situation in the criminal justice system. The government is failing on crime. The number of firms and solicitors doing criminal legal aid work continues to fall with knock-on effects across the wider justice system. Police investigations are impacted as there are not enough solicitors to represent the accused, while prosecution recruitment is also hit as the cohort of young defence solicitors the Crown Prosecution Service used to attract continues to shrink.
“Our latest research shows only 49% of people are aware legal aid is available for issues relating to crime. Having access to defence lawyers is integral to our adversarial justice system. Without a functioning defence profession, any talk of increasing prosecutions, cutting the backlogs and improving justice for victims is fanciful.”
Civil legal aid fees
Gazette Ireland, Solicitors Journal, Today’s Family Lawyer and Class Legal report the Law Society’s “extreme concern” over the increased number of litigants in person in private family law cases in the decade since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act came in to force. In a call to the UK government, we said civil legal aid fees should be increased.
President Nick Emmerson said: “Removing legal advice led to many more people going straight to court instead of seeking to resolve their cases through mediation.
“As the figures show, thousands of people are being forced to take on their case on their own, as they have no access to free legal advice. Means test eligibility has not been uprated for years, meaning people on lower incomes and sometimes those living in poverty, are unable to access justice.
“It is extremely concerning to see the rise in the number of people representing themselves in these kinds of cases. The rise in litigants in person is creating further pressure on a system already in crisis. Further action is needed to make our family law justice system fit for purpose.”
Read our press release
Crisis in civil justice
Eastern Eye, Asian Times and Bangladesh Weekly cover the rising crisis in civil justice and the urgent need for the government to use the Civil Legal Aid Review to invest in civil legal aid.
President Nick Emmerson said: “This vital research reveals the lengths providers have to go to keep housing legal aid afloat in the current environment – routinely working grossly excessive hours and cross-subsidising from other parts of their businesses.
“It’s therefore no surprise that we’re seeing providers exit the market, because they can no longer sustain this approach.
“At a time when the cost-of-living crisis is driving rising numbers of evictions and repossessions, the UK government needs to use its Civil Legal Aid Review to invest in legal aid now before it collapses.”
Litigation Funding Agreements Bill
Global Legal Post reports that legislation to ensure the enforceability of litigation funding agreements will be scrutinised by the House of Lords amid concerns it may contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
President Nick Emmerson said: “As a general principle of the rule of law, laws should not be applied retrospectively unless there is a strong justification.”
TA6 form
Gazette newsletter (pg. 32) publishes a commentary piece on updates to the TA6 property information form, written by Law Society president Nick Emmerson.
AI in the legal profession
Yorkshire Legal News publishes a commentary piece on AI in legal services, where the Law Society’s recent GenAI roundtable forum is mentioned.
‘Theft by finding’
Sun reports that a man found £24,000 in his loft and risked the offence of ‘theft by finding.’ The piece advises readers on what to do if they are found in that situation.
Gary Rycroft, a member of the Law Society’s Council membership committee, said: "You have to take steps to identify who it belongs to otherwise there is a risk of an offence of ‘theft by finding’."
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