Quicker payments for duty solicitors
The Gazette and Solicitors Journal report that the Legal Aid Agency has announced that defence solicitors will no longer have to wait until their client is charged or released without bail to get paid for police station work.
President of the Law Society Lubna Shuja said: “We have been lobbying the Ministry of Justice for this change for some time and are relieved that hard-working solicitors will now once again be paid more quickly for their work in police stations.
“While this change will help firms to survive in the short term, sustained investment by the government is needed in the long term to make this crucially important criminal defence work financially viable. Without criminal defence solicitors, court backlogs will continue to grow and victims and defendants will continue to face unacceptable delays in accessing justice.”
Bill of Rights Bill scrapped
The Gazette cites the Law Society’s position on the Bill of Rights Bill, as the piece of legislation has officially been scrapped.
President Lubna Shuja said: “We are pleased the government has seen sense and decided not to pursue the Bill of Rights Bill, which would have been a step backwards for British justice.”
AI regulation
Irish Legal News and the Gazette Ireland cover the Law Society’s concerns that the UK government will diverge from the EU on AI regulation. We note the “urgent need” for the government to align with the EU on AI rules and have a “nuanced, balanced approach” for regulation.
We add that divergence from the EU would lead to “complexity for law firms when determining which ethical guidelines apply and in which jurisdictions.”
Lawtech report
Legal Futures reveals a new report by the Law Society, University of Manchester, and University College London on the use of lawtech in the legal profession.
The report finds that a majority of solicitors are mistrustful of technology and less than a third use lawtech in their daily lives. The report concludes that organisational encouragement and support from management need to be improved to change attitudes about lawtech.
SRA business plan and budget
New Law Journal and Today’s Wills & Probate continue coverage of our response to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) 2023-2024 business plan and budget, which proposes a 12% budget increase.
President Lubna Shuja said: “Given that many firms are facing inflationary pressures, it is vitally important that the SRA is focused on efficiency savings and costs are controlled to avoid unnecessary pressure on the practising certificate fee.”
The Aura Network
Legal Cheek continues coverage of the launch of the Aura Network, which is dedicated to empowering South Asian women in the legal profession.
President of the Law Society Lubna Shuja attended the launch event at the House of Lords last week, and joined a panel discussion about the unique challenges facing South Asian women in law.
Sarah Khan-Bashir MBE said: “We also wanted to celebrate Lubna Shuja who’s done us proud. But we wanted her legacy to be carried on and we thought having something like the network could achieve that.”
Also worth a read:
- New data reveals that the Home Office must process an asylum claim every four minutes to clear backlog by January - Guardian
- The complexities of mandatory mediation in family law cases – Gazette
- Justice secretary announces planned legislation to make offenders attend their sentencing - Telegraph
- UK less likely to reach its targets for cutting carbon emissions - BBC
- Community alternative to prison for women is opened - Guardian
- Treasury Solicitor warns government that lawyers should never again be described as “woke” or “activist” - Gazette