Law Society Justice Committee evidence
The Gazette and Business Fast reports on experts giving evidence to the Justice Committee on the criminal legal aid crisis yesterday, including our Head of Justice Richard Miller.
“The evidence was clear, it was solicitors who were in absolute immediate crisis and yet we only get 9% and barristers were given the full 15% that Sir Christopher [Bellamy] recommended,” he said.
Watch the session back here.
Read our press release on criminal legal aid.
SRA fining powers
City A.M. and the New Law Journal cover our response to the SRA’s increased fining powers and notes our ‘serious concerns’ SRA adjudicators would be acting as ‘investigators rather than decision-makers’.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Adjudicators, as SRA employees, have access to the regulator’s records and can see a solicitor’s past regulatory history.
“This could prejudice their views and could lead to an unfair decision. We therefore suggest the information adjudicators can access be restricted to ensure a fairer process.”
The Gazette discusses the SRA’s proposal to link fining powers to the incomes of firms and individual solicitors. The Law Society position is cited:
“The SRA seeks to adopt as comparators other regulators such as Ofcom, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). However, we reiterate that these are not fair comparisons given the nature of the industries, numbers of entities regulated, types of breaches, impact on the public and the resources available to the comparator regulators.”
Family court backlog
Our response to statistics on the family court backlog, published recently by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), is picked up in The Wealth Net.
“We are extremely concerned about the effect delays and backlogs in the family courts are having on people seeking justice,” said Law Society President Lubna Shuja.
“Today’s data shows there is a backlog of more than 110,000 cases for the family courts, and cases are taking, on average, almost a year to complete.”
Mental Health Act disproportionately affects Black people
Coverage continues on the Law Society’s call to reform the Mental Health Act, with a focus on new statistics on detention rates in Dorset, picked up in Dorset Echo, Bridport & Lyme Regis News and Knowledia.
Law Society Vice President Nick Emmerson said: "These statistics show why reforming the Mental Health Act must be a priority for the government.
“The current system means there is a risk that compulsory detention and treatment is used too often and that patients do not have enough involvement in decisions about their care.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to reforming the Mental Health Act and support the introduction of new safeguards for patients refusing medication."
Also worth a read: