Human Rights Act 'overhaul' launches
The BBC, Financial Times (£), Guardian, Mirror, Daily Mail, Evening Standard and more than 170 local news outlets carry concerns raised by Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce about government plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act.
BBC Radio 4's flagship news programme, Today, also raised the Law Society's concerns in an interview with the justice secretary this morning (listen again available later today).
Commenting on reports of a consultation on reform of the Human Rights Act, I. Stephanie Boyce said: "People from all walks of life rely on the Human Rights Act to uphold and protect their rights. Any reform of this subtle and carefully crafted legal instrument should be led by evidence – not driven by political rhetoric.
"The powers government purports to introduce for the most part already exist: British judges deliver British justice based on British laws, looking closely at how judgments fit into the national context, and disapplying them if there is good reason to do so. UK courts do not, as government suggests, 'blindly' follow case law from the European Court of Human Rights.
"Equally, foreign criminals already can be deported in the public interest even where there are arguments against this from the right to family life. Every case is different, making it necessary to weigh each on its own particulars. Talk of restricting rights is dangerous and does not reflect the nuanced job the courts have to do.
"We expect the government's more detailed proposals to be informed and framed by the year-long independent review it commissioned. We trust that government's final proposals will preserve the UK's deserved reputation as a global leader in upholding human rights both domestically and on the international stage."
Legal Ombudsman needs radical action on backlog
Legal Futures notes Law Society concerns about the backlog of cases with Legal Ombudsman (LeO). We said: "Our overarching concern is that whilst there has been some improvement in LeO's performance, it has not been to the levels expected and at the required pace."
We added that measures such as outsourcing and new scheme rules should be considered alongside better use of technology to manage its workload better.
Read our press release
Profession still has a way to go for gender pay parity
Four years on from the introduction of mandatory gender pay gap reporting, the legal services sector has made some steps towards gender pay parity, but our report has identified there is still much more to do.
Employee Benefits cites I. Stephanie Boyce, who said: "Our latest research on pay gap reporting over the past four years provides important benchmarking data and insights, which means workplaces can assess their approaches so far and learn from their peers."
Read our press release and the report in full
Remote witnessing of wills useful but no game-changer
In November, we surveyed probate practitioners on their use of remote witnessing of wills during the pandemic. We found that of the 95% of respondents who drafted wills during lockdown, only 14% used remote witnessing, reports Solicitors Journal.
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