Queen's Speech
Ellie Cumbo, our head of public law, spoke with LBC (from 00:36:50) about the Bill of Rights which was announced as part of the Queen's Speech.
Abortion rights
Ellie Cumbo also spoke with Times Radio (from 02:25:10) about who should make decisions about citizens' abortion rights, elected leaders or Supreme Court justices?
Japanese Knotweed
Michael Draper, chair of our conveyancing and land law committee, co-writes an article in the Gazette which helps disentangle the facts from the fiction about Japanese knotweed.
Concern over crime contracts
News the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has announced that some criminal defence providers could lose out on work when new contracts begin this autumn has sparked outrage from criminal defence solicitors.
A Law Society spokesperson told the Gazette: "Given the scarcity of duty solicitors in many areas, as demonstrated by our research, it will be disastrous if some firms aren't on the rotas through no fault of their own. We will be seeking urgent clarification from the Legal Aid Agency as to how this situation can be rectified."
Workplace banter
Paul Singh, a member of our employment law committee, spoke to BBC Radio Derby (from 1:13:31) about where the law sits between workplace banter and discrimination.
LeO scheme rules review
Legal Futures covers the Legal Ombudsman's (LeO) proposed changes to its Scheme Rules, citing our concern that LeO must take "radical action" to reduce the size of its cases backlog. There are currently over 6,000 cases waiting to be investigated.
Mental health awareness
Today's Conveyancer reports that we are working with LawCare and calling for a 'change of culture' to fix the legal profession's mental health crisis.
LawCare's Life in the Law report revealed that 69% of lawyers experienced poor mental health in the last year.
Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce said "We need to start talking about how some working practices contribute to an increased risk of poor mental health and how we can work together to change things.
"Tackling excessive working hours and workloads, as well as ensuring better supervision and support, especially for younger lawyers, are essential."
Also worth a read:
- Northern Ireland protocol: US congress delegation to fly to London – Guardian
- Plan to cut 91,000 civil service jobs – LBC
- 500,000 adults waiting for social care in England – BBC
- Wagatha Christie: Colleen Rooney will take the stand in libel trial – Independent (Live)
- City bosses should face jail time if they fail to prevent illicit cash coming into the UK, say MPs – City A.M.
- PM has 'mountain to climb' to win Tory majority at next election, says Jeremy Hunt – Times (£)