India opens legal service sector
Eastern Eye, Gazette Ireland, Bar and Bench, Irish Legal News, Asian Times, Pakistan Weekly, Sri Lanka Weekly, Bangladesh Weekly and New Law Journal report on the Law Society’s reaction to the Bar Council of India publishing regulations to allow the establishment of foreign lawyers and law firms in India.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “We have long campaigned for this historic opening up of India’s legal services sector to foreign law firms.
“We look forward to engaging further on the implementation of the regulations, based on reciprocity of access.
“England and Wales is open to practice by Indian lawyers and law firms, both for temporary practice and permanent establishment, and we are committed to ensuring it remains open.”
Illegal Migration Bill
The Guardian (at 14:03 on it rolling politics news) includes the Law Society’s response to the Illegal Migration Bill.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said the bill “could lead to the British state violating fundamental rights, such as the right to life, to be protected from torture, trafficking and slavery, to liberty, to fair trial.
“Tens of thousands of people would be detained indefinitely under these proposals, at great cost to the taxpayer, as there are not at this time safe third countries they could be removed to.”
Spring Budget response
The Law Society’s response to the Spring Budget as a missed opportunity for investment in justice is covered in LexisNexis (£).
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “We are pleased the government launched its Civil Legal Aid Review, but its timescales suggest that any meaningful change has been kicked into the long grass.
“Services are collapsing now. We cannot afford to wait for investment, if we want to ensure that support is there for those who need it in these turbulent times.
“The decisions made by the Chancellor today will have a long-reaching effect on those seeking justice. We hope government will look again at providing the money the justice system urgently needs.”
21st Century Justice Project
New Law Journal reports the launch of our 21st Century Justice project, which aims to meet the challenges in the justice system and make it fit for the future.
Law Society Deputy Vice President Richard Atkinson said: “Our aim is to lead the debate and identify systemic improvements that will serve society now and far into the future.
“As a champion of access to justice, the Law Society is rising to this challenge and taking the lead in finding solutions which will deliver greater access to justice in our modern world.”
Perverting the Course of Justice
Dr Anna Bradshaw, a member of the Law Society’s EU Committee, explains sentencing guidelines for the offense of perverting the course of justice on a BBC documentary (from 21:36) that covers the Eleanor Williams case.
UK firms given practising licences in Saudi Arabia
The Law Society commented in the Times (£) on the news City law firms have been granted new licences to practice in Saudi Arabia.
We published a briefing on this change to our members operating in the country last year.
Also worth a read:
- Tougher sentences proposed for domestic homicides – BBC News
- Millions owed to airline passengers, according to Which? – Guardian
- SQE pass rates – Gazette
- New SQE-LLM at London university – Legal Cheek
- Sustainability push at Mishcon – Legal Futures