Backlog in fraud cases
Lancashire Telegraph, Witney Gazette, Hucknall & Bulwell Dispatch, Worksop Guardian, Didcot Herald, Mansfield Chad, and Yahoo UK continue coverage of unprecedented delays in fraud cases.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja: "The long waiting time for fraud cases to come to trial may in part be due to the complexity of the cases, especially as they often involve a number of defendants.
"Such cases often are long trials which require weeks of court time. This means they are more difficult for listing officers to schedule.
"They inevitably take longer to reach trial than simpler, single defendant cases might, especially now with the huge backlogs in the criminal courts."
Black History Month
Today’s Family Lawyer, Today’s Wills and Probate and Today’s Conveyancer report on the start of Black History Month.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “I am delighted to celebrate Black History Month with my colleagues.
“The theme is pertinent as the profession celebrated 100 years of women in the law at the end of last year and we are now looking to shape the future of our profession.
“We have seen many Black lawyers make their mark on the profession, including Baroness Patricia Scotland, who became the first Black woman to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1991, Stella Thomas, the first West African woman to be called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1933, Dame Linda Dobbs, who became the first non-white High Court Judge in the UK in 2004, and of course I. Stephanie Boyce who became the first Black woman President at the Law Society in 2021.
“These Black women are just a few pioneers in our profession and there are many more Black lawyers who continue to make an impact.”
Fixed recoverable costs
Association of Cost Lawyers covers the Law Society’s concerns over the extension of fixed recoverable costs (FRC).
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “Clients should be given as much information as possible at an early stage concerning their own costs risk to avoid any potential challenges at a later date.
“The ongoing impact on solicitors and their clients needs to be closely monitored, to ensure access to justice is not being compromised.
“We call on the government to ensure there are processes in place to quickly remedy any immediate and important issues that emerge.”
SRA takes control of scheme
New Law Journal and Insurance News.Net report that the SRA has formally taken over the management of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF).
Law Society President Lubna Shuja responded: “We are delighted the SRA will continue to provide consumers with the vital protections of the SIF.
“This move followed extensive lobbying from the Law Society on behalf of solicitors and their clients, urging the SRA to work with us, the insurance industry and wider stakeholders to find a sustainable solution to the issue of run-off indemnity cover and long-term consumer protection.”
Legal aid work arising from Illegal Migration Act
Epoch Times (£) reports that hourly legal aid fees for Illegal Migration Act work are to rise by 15%.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: "There is a huge backlog of asylum cases and simply not enough lawyers to take them on. Many asylum seekers are dispersed to areas where there is no legal aid provider. Those facing removal have just eight days to secure legal advice and bring a suspensive claim. If they are detained in offshore barges or in an immigration legal aid desert, the chances of them being able to access a lawyer are low.”
Criminal court backlog
New law Journal continues coverage of new figures that show an increase in criminal court delays, as the Crown Court backlog hits a record high of almost 65,000 criminal cases.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “The long delays faced by victims and defendants in our courts are simply unacceptable and the government is failing to tackle the crisis. The entire criminal justice system is fracturing. There are crumbling courts, overwhelmed prisons and a chronic shortage of lawyers and judges.”
Also worth a read:
- Decline in demand for legal services – Legal Futures and Gazette
- Holiday pay ruling ‘entitles many UK workers to thousands of pounds in unfairly deducted wages’ – Guardian
- The relationship between lawyers and billionaires – Gazette
- Bar Council Chair on the cab-rank rule – Times (£)
- Increase in the number of people contacting LawCare – Solicitors Journal
- A new Wills Act could permit electronic wills to be introduced “immediately” – Legal Futures
- The inside story of the Rwanda deportation plan – Guardian
- Marriage laws could be rewritten to combat a rise in predatory “gold diggers” – Telegraph (£)