Government targets ‘lefty’ lawyers
Law Society President Lubna Shuja writes in the Times (£) about the government’s latest attacks on “lefty” lawyers and its failure in handling the crisis in the asylum system.
Lubna said: “There is a genuine problem with a very small number of lawyers potentially acting dishonestly. As the solicitors’ professional body, the Law Society supports all action taken against them by the government and the regulator. But it is important to point out that this is not the cause of the asylum crisis.
“It is wrong to conflate the misconduct of a minority with the work of the vast majority of lawyers whose job it is to hold the government to account in representing clients under UK law when challenging decisions.
“This conflation undermines the rule of law and the trust in the legal profession, and it is an attack on the integrity and reputation of our justice system. That reputation supports a thriving global legal services industry and underpins the UK’s international reputation as a place to do business.”
Read our joint statement with the Bar Council
£11.3m investment needed for early legal advice
New Law Journal covers our call to the Justice Secretary to urgently give civil legal aid providers a 15% fee increase to keep the sector afloat until the Civil Legal Aid Review publishes its report in a year.
President Lubna Shuja commented: “Early legal advice is vanishing and people are unable to get the advice they need when they need it most.
“The government’s review of Civil Legal Aid is not expected to report until 2024, with any recommendations taking even longer to implement. To sustain the civil legal aid system until this time, the Justice Secretary must urgently implement an interim 15% increase (£11.3 million) for providers of early legal advice now.
“Law Society analysis suggests that the number of civil legal aid providers could drop by a third by 2025, leaving many without access to a lawyer when they desperately need one.”
Russian sanctions on UK legal services
The Gazette and Legal Futures report that City lawyers have warned Russian sanctions may create problems for the UK legal service sector. The Law Society’s reaction to the sanctions is mentioned.
A Law Society spokesperson said: “The Law Society has been working closely with government and a group of sanctions compliance experts to address the workability of the government’s sanctions on Russia accessing UK legal expertise.
“We welcome the publication of a General Licence and updated statutory guidance – but this is only a sticking plaster. Significant amendments are required to the original regulations to fully ensure sanctions compliance advice can be given and that legal professional privilege is protected.
“We are continuing to engage with government on the amendments needed and are hopeful of a speedy resolution.”
Home Office still fighting immigration backlog
New Law Journal continues coverage of our reaction to the government’s latest immigration statistics, which show the backlog has risen.
Law Society Deputy Vice President Richard Atkinson said: “These figures show that the growing backlog is due to inefficiency and under resourcing of the asylum system.
“The best way to bring down the backlog and reduce the cost to the taxpayer is to properly resource and train Home Office caseworkers to ensure sufficient and good quality decision-making.”
Government reinstates EU-derived law
Max Winthrop, Chair of the Law Society’s Employment Law Committee, speaks to Sky News about the reinstation of Article 157, the EU-derived law on equal pay.
Coast FM, Yahoo News, Planet Rock, and over 20 other regional outlets also mention Max’s comments.
Max said: "Historically we have been a bit lazy with our own legislation.
"We have relied on sticking plasters borrowed from the EU.
"While it would be great for parliamentary time to be given to fix this, one has to live in the real world and that is probably not going to happen."
Also worth a read:
- Judges are given new powers to force offenders to attend their sentencing hearing – Guardian, BBC, Gazette
- Under new measures, police officers found guilty of gross misconduct will be automatically dismissed – Times (£)
- Lucy Letby inquiry is given powers to compel witnesses to give evidence – Telegraph (£)
- Binding offers, backed by AI, could improve the conveyancing process – Legal Futures
- New tool developed to help law centres cope with surge in demand – Legal Futures
- Legal firms could be missing out on talent due to complicated application processes – Solicitors Journal