Court delays: Hundreds of rape trials collapsing
The Times (£) reports data from the Ministry of Justice shows more than 1,600 rape and sexual assault cases have collapsed over five years in England and Wales after complainants withdrew from the process.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Unacceptable delays, which are the result of years of underinvestment in our crumbling criminal justice system, are undoubtedly one of the reasons why complainants are pulling out of cases.”
Conveyancing fraud
Which? covers the news about a conveyancing fraud that wipes out a house deposit in seconds when the funds are sent to a scammer.
Sarah Dwight, a member of our Conveyancing Land Law Committee, said that most firms will state in their terms of business that customers should only transfer funds to the account number provided at the very start of the process, while many conveyancers will also include fraud warnings in their email footers.
Mandatory mediation
The Gazette, Solicitors Journal, New Law Journal and Dispatchist cover news that separating parents in England and Wales could face fines for refusing to try mediation under new proposals.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said early legal advice would help make sure previously unidentified cases are not put forward for mandatory mediation. Lubna said: “In some instances, the nature of coercive control in domestic abuse will make this difficult to spot. Early legal advice helps ensure safeguarding issues are flagged and, if necessary, such cases are removed from the compulsory mediation track.”
BBC Hereford and Worcester noted our concerns in its coverage of the issue.
Court reform
The Gazette and LexisNexis (£) cover HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s update on the court reform programme.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “We are reassured to see HMCTS has listened to our and other stakeholders’ concerns in their work to modernise and redesign court services.
“Mistakes were made early on and HMCTS’ acknowledgement that it tried to ‘change too much, too quickly’ should help restore some confidence in the next steps of the reform.”
LSB reserved legal activities list
Today’s Conveyancer reports the Legal Services Board is to park the issue of amending the list of reserved legal activities after concluding there was not a case to consider reform at this stage.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “The Law Society agrees this is not the right time to review reserved legal activities (RLAs). Currently, RLAs can only be carried out by qualified legal professionals regulated by one of the approved regulators under the Legal Services Act 2007.”
Softening PII market
The Gazette Magazine (pp. 18-22) reports on a roundtable it held with industry leaders and experts in the professional indemnity insurance market.
Also worth a read:
- Rape trial delays are ‘devastating for victims’ – Guardian
- DWP announces next cost-of-living payments – BBC News
- LawQWE app launches to offer work experience – Gazette
- Eco-barristers: Cab-rank rule row ramps up – Legal Futures
- Fiona Shackleton speaks out about reform of divorce law – Times (£)