Signing of Memorandum of Understanding
Pakistan Weekly, Sri Lanka Weekly, Bangladesh Weekly, Garavi Gujarat and Asian Times continue coverage of the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Council of England and Wales, and the Bar Council of India.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: 'We are delighted to have signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the Bar Council of India. The Bar Council of India’s decision is a significant step forward in this much anticipated development and will create huge opportunities for solicitors and Indian advocates in both countries. It will also give a boost to India’s wider economic ambitions.
“We thank the Bar Council of India for their support in reaching this agreement and look forward to engaging further on the implementation of the regulations.”
Court backlogs concern
The Guardian live politics blog (at 15.12 BST) and Mail Plus (£) covered Law Society concerns about the growing criminal court backlogs.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “It is extremely concerning to see the case backlogs in the magistrates courts and crown courts continue to grow. It is unacceptable that victims and defendants are still having to wait years for trials to take place.
“Decades of underinvestment and cuts mean there simply aren’t enough judges and lawyers to tackle this huge volume of cases.
“The Ministry of Justice is likely to miss its unambitious March 2025 target to get the court backlog down to 53,000.
“Urgent funding must be injected into our criminal justice system immediately to restore it to its former health. This is necessary to ensure victims and defendants can access timely justice.”
London Legal Walk
Legal Futures reports on the upcoming London Legal Walk.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “I am thrilled to be taking part in the London Legal Walk on 13 June with many others from the legal profession to help raise funds for free legal advice charities.
The legal help these charities provide to those in need is more important than ever given the cost-of-living crisis. I encourage everyone who can to join the walk and help raise as much money as possible for access to justice.”
Project Rise
Lizzie Hardy, from the Law Society’s Disabled Solicitors Network, writes in the Gazette about Project Rise and flexible training.
Lizzie writes: “We work with the firms to understand their individual needs and challenges, and what needs to happen for flexible training to become a reality.”
Full-equity partnership
Legal Futures reports that London firm Anthony Gold has moved to a full-equity partnership.
Chair of the Law Society’s civil justice committee and managing partner of the firm, David Marshall, spoke about their reasons for moving to a LLP model.
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