Family court backlogs
Gazette and UKNIP cover the crisis in the family justice system, as the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes quarterly statistics that reveal more than 25,000 children were trapped in family court backlogs between January and March 2024.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “It is distressing that thousands of children have fallen victim to record backlogs in the family courts. The family courts are in a dire state. Children are forced to wait almost a year in limbo, as they are failed by a system that should aim to protect them.
“This has a damaging impact on the families and especially the children, as crippling stress and anxiety of an uncertain future is completely overlooked. Our children must be prioritised by the next government. Last year saw more than 100,000 children trapped in the family courts backlogs. We cannot allow 25,000 more children to become collateral damage to a justice system in crisis.
“Restoring legal aid for early advice in family matters would mean more families could resolve their matters outside the courts and those who still need to go to court would be better prepared for what will happen there. The next government must also commit to taking forward the early advice pilot, which will help people resolve their problems earlier and therefore reduce the court backlogs.”
India’s legal market
Bar and Bench, Gazette and nine other news outlets report that the India’s legal market will be opened only for lawyers and firms in the UK. The article also mentions that last week, the Bar Council of India held meetings with the Law Society and the Bar Council of England and Wales.
President Nick Emmerson said: “The Law Society, Bar Council of India and the Bar Council of England and Wales held successful and productive meetings. India is an immensely important jurisdiction for us and it has been a pleasure to have hosted the Bar Council of India to further reaffirm our shared interests.
“We all share an ambition to strengthen the bonds of friendship between English and Welsh and Indian lawyers and to further the cooperation between our two jurisdictions. The Bar Council of India confirmed that they hope to implement amended regulations to govern the entry of UK lawyers and UK law firms to the Indian legal sector by the end of July.”
Criminal court crisis
The Gazette magazine reports on the courts backlogs as new figures were published by the Ministry of Justice last month.
President Nick Emmerson said: “Decades of underfunding and cuts have left us with a justice system which is failing victims and defendants.”
Compensation Fund levy
Solicitors Journal, Gazette and two other news outlet report on our concerns about the proposed rise to the Compensation Fund levy.
Chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: “Solicitors are steadfast in their wide support for the Compensation Fund, as a vital protection for clients, and it clearly delineates the profession from unregulated providers of legal services.
“However, we have to question whether the SRA has provided sufficient evidence to justify the increases. Its own principles call for transparency in determining the viability of the fund whilst keeping the levy amount and the approach to collection manageable for the regulated sector.”
CILEX regulation
Todays Family Lawyer reports that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will this week decide whether to proceed with proposals for the SRA to regulate authorised and non-authorised members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX).
Chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: “The SRA must seriously consider whether the time, resources and management focus required to integrate CILEX regulation into the SRA is wise, given the other priorities the SRA faces in light of the collapses of Axiom Ince, Metamorph, Kingly and the SSB Group.
“Now is not the right time for the SRA to seek to widen its regulatory scope or take on additional responsibilities. In common with CILEX members, we remain of the view that the regulation of CILEX members is best managed under the current bespoke arrangements with CRL.”
Yorkshire legal awards
Yorkshire Legal News reports that Nick Emmerson will be a judge at the Yorkshire Legal Awards.
‘Climate washing’
Gazette reports on ‘climate washing’ claims which target companies for misrepresenting their climate achievements. The article mentions our milestone guidance on climate change in a piece on ‘climate-washing’ actions.
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