Criminal defence funding pre-action protocol
The Gazette reports the government has responded to our pre-action protocol letter on criminal legal aid fees. This puts the Lord Chancellor on notice the Law Society intends to judicially review the decision not to increase criminal legal aid fees by the minimum 15% recommended by the independent review.
The Gazette also reports that fees for prosecution barristers are rising to give them parity with defence barristers.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “While the attorney general has recognised the need for equality of arms for defence and prosecution barristers, and has managed, over the weekend, to expeditiously find the funds needed to rectify that, the justice secretary continues to do nothing about the plight of criminal defence solicitors. There is no parity for them.
“This has much wider impacts on both the police and the CPS, as criminal defence solicitors are the backbone of the criminal justice system.”
President discusses Dorset justice system
Law Society President Lubna Shuja speaks to Dorset Live about the state of the Dorset criminal justice system. In West Dorset, there are six legal aid duty solicitors.
She said: “There’s not enough money in it. The profession is disappearing in Dorset, with more than 50% of the duty solicitors being over 50. When they retire, there’s no one to take over.
“The government’s [fee] increase last year has effectively been cancelled out.
“That’s not justice for victims, it’s not for witnesses, and it’s not for innocent defendants. People have cases hanging over them.
“And in court, at Bournemouth there are 450 cases waiting to be heard. There are rape cases being listed for 2024, with tens of thousands of cases across the country in the queue.”
Crown Court backlog
HM Courts & Tribunal Service recently published its criminal court statistics.
Law Society President told the Solicitors Journal (£): “While the latest figures show a small dent in the Crown Court backlog, progress is still at a snail’s pace.
“Victims, witnesses and defendants are facing unacceptable delays in accessing justice.
“It is no surprise that decades of underinvestment and cuts have left us with crumbling courts and alarming shortages of judges and lawyers.
“The government must fix our broken court buildings and invest in judges, lawyers and court staff if it is serious about law and order.”
Section 28 – living two lives
Helen Randall, a member of our LGBTQ+ Solicitors Network, writes in the Gazette (pp 20-21) about the damage Section 28 did to the lives of lawyers and teachers.
“The climate of fear [from] Section 28 also affected LGBTQ+ lawyers’ careers. As a lesbian former colleague who worked at various City firms in the 1980s and 1990s reminded me: ‘What about the personal cost of Section 28? For example, disguising our partner’s gender, editing our social lives, and never getting too close to our colleagues or clients for fear of being found out?’
“She continued: ‘I remember constantly being asked about which club I went to or what I had done over the weekend. I always gave vague answers. As a result, colleagues and clients thought we were standoffish. Inevitability, this was [not] great for our confidence and, maybe in some people’s cases, career progression.’”
Public law challenge sees legal aid widened
Following a Public Law Project challenge, the Ministry of Justice has changed the law so that foster parents and approved prospective adoptive parents bringing special educational needs and disability (SEND) appeals on behalf of a look-after child will not be means assessed for legal aid.
The Law Society supported the challenge by providing indemnity against adverse costs.
A Law Society spokesperson told the Gazette: “This is an important addition to the strategic litigation work the Law Society has been supporting to expand legal aid and ensure people can access justice.
“However, increasing legal aid can only be effective if there are legal aid lawyers available to advise and represent those in need. The government must urgently commit to immediate investment to ensure solicitors can continue to do this vital work whilst the Civil Legal Aid Review takes place.”
Register of overseas entities
Today’s Conveyancer reports overseas entities that own land in the UK are required to register as overseas entities at Companies House. The deadline to do this passed on 31 January.
The piece cites our advice on the register for law firms.
Domestic abuse victim protection
Jenny Beck and Cris McCurley, members of our Family Law Committee, are among the signatories to a letter urging Dominic Raab to review legal aid fees to ensure there are enough lawyers to step in and conduct cross-examination in domestic abuse cases.
The letter claims victims of domestic abuse are still being cross-examined by alleged perpetrators in the family courts – despite this practice being banned as part of the Domestic Abuse Act.
The Gazette and Women’s Grid reports.
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