Reforming mental health legislation
Solicitors Journal, Today’s Family Lawyer and Today’s Wills & Probate continue coverage of the Law Society’s calls for urgent reform of the Mental Health Act.
President Lubna Shuja said: “The current legislation is outdated. It does not provide mental health patients with enough agency or choice in their care and treatment, or ensure they are always given the dignity and respect they deserve.
“We urge the government to include a commitment to introduce a Mental Health Bill in the King’s Speech in November and hope World Mental Health Day reminds the government of the need to ensure mental health patients can access justice.”
Reframing Justice project
President Lubna Shuja writes in the Gazette about the Law Society’s Reframing Justice project and the importance of framing important issues, as the project sets out to understand how people think about the rule of law and access to justice.
Lubna joins Tamsyn Hyatt, who is director of evidence at FrameWorks UK, in writing this joint piece.
Issues facing conveyancers
Sarah Dwight and Peter Rodd, members of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee, speak to the Gazette about rising issues that face residential conveyancers.
Sarah Dwight said: “I know that many very experienced conveyancers are choosing to leave the profession.
“As the market appears to be dipping, I am finding that agents are more pushy, almost desperate to get transactions completed,’ she says. ‘This can influence how clients react and so the volume of emails remains high. There does not seem to be an appreciation by agents that the work we are doing is becoming more challenging and risky and that quick answers are not always appropriate.”
Peter Rodd said: “The current delays at HMLR are causing major problems for conveyancers, particularly with new-build properties and new depositionary leases.
“Solicitors acting on such transactions run the risk that a requisition is raised which they cannot answer without assistance from the developer or their solicitor – and the former may have gone into liquidation in the intervening period.”
Role of technology in the profession
Tech Telegraph mentions the Law Society’s response to the role of AI in the legal profession, as it covers a year review of technology disputes in the UK.
Also worth a read:
- LawCare issues new wellbeing guidance for firms – Legal Cheek
- CILEx Regulation (CRL) claims no public interest would be served if the SRA oversees the regulation of legal executives instead – Gazette
- Home Buying and Selling Group (HBSG) calls for expanding upfront information – Legal Futures
- Promises over treatment of asylum seekers in Rwanda ‘aspirational’, court told – Independent
- Staff shortage at Wandsworth prison is safety risk – Times (£)
- Labour conditions for US and UK brands abroad are revealed – Guardian
- Keir Starmer speaks at Labour party conference – BBC