Budget
All eyes were on the budget yesterday with the justice system receiving some much needed investment. The Gazette, Legal Futures, and New Law Journal discuss the budget's potential impact on the legal sector, noting our response and that government appears to have listened to the Law Society's advice.
"It is good news the government has committed to better access to justice by investing more than £1 billion to increase capacity and efficiency across the courts system, tackle the growing court backlogs and help the system recover from the Covid-19 pandemic," said Law Society President I. Stephanie Boyce.
Read our press release here.
Council reforms
The Times reports on new Law Society governance rules which mean our Council members can sit for a maximum term of 12 years. A number of long-serving members recently stepped down following the rule-change.
Fraud warning as home-buyers targeted
Our joint warning about home-buyers targeted by fraudsters continues to get pick up. The Birmingham Post follows the story.
Our joint release with the National Economic Crime Centre, National Crime Agency and Action Fraud warns that a spike in scams has seen victims lose hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Stephanie Boyce said: "These frauds can involve huge sums of money and have a devastating lifelong impact on the home buyer and their personal finances. Solicitors and their clients can all play a part in making such crimes more difficult for the criminals."
Legal dress codes
In a piece about dress codes in the sector, the Times notes the Law Society does not dictate how solicitors should dress.
Also worth a read:
- Budget announced – BBC and FT (£)
- Chair of the Criminal Bar Association calls extra funding to fight the courts backlog 'window dressing' – Gazette
- JR bill cruises through commons vote – Gazette
- Junior lawyers in UK-based US firms averaging 14 hour days – Legal Cheek
- City law firms struggle to retain junior lawyers – Financial News
- Law Training Centre launches £50k social mobility fund – Legal Cheek