Pride Month
Law Society president Nick Emmerson writes in the Gazette about Pride Month, social mobility and the importance of diversity in the legal profession.
Nick Emmerson writes: “On 29 June, colleagues and our respective LGBTQ+ member networks at the Law Society and Bar Council will be marching at London Pride. Social mobility is a key focus of my presidential year plan.”
Stratford Magistrates’ Court
Gazette covers the new security regime at Stratford Magistrates’ Court, following a number of serious incidents.
A Law Society spokesperson said: “Following a number of serious incidents at Stratford Magistrates’ Court, which our members made us aware of, we raised concerns about the searching procedures with HMCTS.
“The safety of our members is paramount and we welcome the changes that HMCTS have introduced as a result. Professional users of Stratford Magistrates’ Court will no longer be subject to an enhanced search, which should provide a better experience for our members.
“We will continue to speak to our members to find out how the changes have impacted their experience and raise any further issues with HMCTS.”
Conveyancing forms
The Law Society tells Legal Futures and Inside Conveyancing that members should have been consulted before updates were made to the TA6 and TA7 conveyancing forms.
The Law Society said: “We have understood from the feedback we have had that members would have preferred us to consult and be more transparent as the forms were developed.
“We agree that, on reflection, we could have communicated the nature of the changes to the TA6 form while the working group was working on the new version and sought feedback as we went through the process.
“We are grateful for this feedback and are determined to apply this learning to future significant changes to the transaction forms.”
PIP claimants
Birmingham Mail reports that PIP claimants are permitted to take the Department for Work and Pensions to court if they have their claim rejected and payments stopped.
The article mentions the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor tool.
Will writing
Law and Society Magazine reports that private client lawyers attending the Law Society’s annual private client conference were told that solicitors should film clients writing their will to help resolve disputes that may arise later.
Coercive control
Policing Insight covers research by Julia Pitman, campaign manager on Access to Justice at the Law Society, that highlighted key barriers the police face in recognising female offenders as victims of coercive control, including lack of officer skill and experience, and inadequate policy and guidance.
AI & legal needs
In a Techxplore article about why asking ChatGPT for legal advice is not advisable, the Law Society legal needs survey is mentioned.
Also worth a read:
- Detained migrants earmarked for Rwanda are set to be freed on bail - Telegraph (£)
- New date for Rwanda removals set amid High Court challenge - Standard
- Prisoners are denied crucial contact with their solicitors - Inside Time
- A dementia victim is the latest person to fall foul of fast-track courts, despite internal advice that magistrates should stop the cases - Standard
- Zara Aleena’s family blames ‘crumbling justice system’ on her murder – Times (£)
- Support Through Court publishes video guide to help litigants in person navigate the legal process on their own - Gazette
- White law students are twice as likely to be sponsored by law firms than ethnic minority students – Legal Futures
- ‘No vision’ of how to safely harness AI for family justice system – Legal Futures
- More solicitors go freelance, but insurance coverage remains an issue - Gazette
- Tribunal employment cases rise as UK workplaces push back on remote working - Guardian
- Nigel Farage to stand for Reform UK – Times (£)