UK general election
Gazette Ireland, Gazette, Today’s Wills & Probate and CDR News cover the Law Society’s reaction to Labour’s landslide election victory and the appointment of Shabana Mahmood as the new justice secretary.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “This election result marks a new chapter for the UK and we look forward to working with the new government to strengthen our justice system. Elections are a testament to our vibrant democracy.
“However, it is essential to remember that true democracy cannot exist without a robust justice system, a justice system that has faced decades of underinvestment.
“The new government must prioritise making our justice system a source of national pride and harness the economic power of legal services that contribute £60 billion annually to the UK economy and is one of our most valuable exports.”
CILEX regulation
Gazette (pg. 8) reports that the SRA has decided to regulate CILEX members.
Chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: “We are deeply concerned that the SRA Board has given the go ahead to regulating CILEX members, despite its own regulated community, and CILEX’s members objecting to the idea of regulatory change, and the Legal Services Consumer Panel stating that the consumer case has not been made.
“For the last two years, the Law Society has advocated on behalf of our members opposing the proposal and raising concerns at the serious negative impact it will have on regulated communities, consumers of legal services and the wider public interest.
The change will cause consumer confusion, as it will be less clear which profession is which, and where different authorisations for practice areas apply. This is likely to be a particular problem for those with complex legal issues, or vulnerable consumers.
“We are concerned that the redelegation of CILEX’s regulatory functions to the SRA could adversely affect the SRA’s ability to meet its duty to regulate the solicitor profession in a way that supports and promotes the regulatory objectives. This is of particular concern in light of the collapses of Axiom Ince, Metamorph, Kingly and the SSB Group.”
Gazette also writes an opinion piece on our reaction to the SRA’s decision on CILEX regulation.
Criminal court backlogs
Today’s Family Lawyer covers the impact that criminal court backlogs have on domestic abuse and sexual abuse claims, as family lawyers urge the new Labour government to ‘commit to cohabitation reform.’
President Nick Emmerson said: “It is extremely worrying to see the huge backlogs in our criminal courts continue to rise, which is leading to unacceptable delays for victims, witnesses and defendants.
“The number of outstanding cases in the magistrates’ courts is almost 30,000 higher than it was a year ago.
“While the Crown Court backlog has reduced slightly month-on-month to 65,077 it is still more than 3,500 higher than last year and far above the UK government’s target of reducing it to 53,000 by March 2025.”
Indian legal market
ManagingIP reports that India will open its legal market to UK firms and solicitors, as the Bar Council of India met with the Law Society and Bar Council of England and Wales to finalise the decision.
EU-UK immigration
The Brussel Times reports the impact that a Labour government will have on immigration rules for EU-UK families.
Zeena Luchowa, member of Law Society’s Immigration Committee, said: "It is reasonable to expect active engagement from the Migration Advisory Committee on how to approach the MIR after Labour's election win, which we hope provides a clear, evidential and fair basis on how the MIR should be set.”
International Antitrust Summer Conference
CDR News covers the Law Society’s International Antitrust Summer Conference.
Also worth a read:
- Sir Keir Starmer and Victori Starmer are first legal couple in Downing Street since the Blairs – Legal Cheek
- Labour considers plan to release prisoners after 40% of sentence served – Times (£)
- The impact of the new government on housing and planning gin the first 100 days – Solicitors Journal (£)
- Home Secretary sets out plan to reduce Channel crossings - BBC
- Foreign secretary calls for ‘fresh start’ with EU – Times (£)
- Opinion: what government can do to fix civil justice - Gazette
- Seven closed courts still sit unsold - Gazette
- Who is in Keir Starmer’s new Labour Cabinet? – Telegraph (£)
- Labour expected to drop challenge to ICC over Netanyahu arrest warrant - Guardian
- City’s wish list to new Labour government – FT (£), City A.M.
- Calls for electoral reform after ‘disproportionate’ UK election results - Guardian
- Low voter turnout in Wales - BBC
- Amazon workers set for vote on joining union – Independent