Legal aid

Family legal aid set to suffer?

Fears as substantial number of family firms fail bidding round
3 Sep 2010

Fears as family firms fail bidding round

Solicitor’s firms are licking their wounds after receiving the results of the family legal aid bid round.
19 Aug 2010

What’s the crack?

Chris Pamplin analyses a case of cracking brinkmanship
13 Aug 2010

System failure or broken law?

With pressure mounting on public spending, legal aid is a likely victim of significant cuts. Politicians blame lawyers for inflating demand and increasingly desperate lawyers make pleas for quality and…
19 Mar 2010

Justice under pressure

The Bar got record numbers of delegates for its annual conference. Over 400 paid to attend this year’s event which had the theme of access to justice. The Bar’s success…
27 Nov 2009

In the eye of the storm

In its 60th year, the legal aid scheme, in common with the rest of the public sector, has to live within its means.
13 Nov 2009

Legal aid overpayments “genuine”

Complexities of legal aid system blamed for payment errors
6 Nov 2009

Reviewers, lies & statistics

Let us remember the names of the reviewers and researchers of legal aid since 1997: Sir Peter Middleton, Frontier Economics, Matrix Consultancy, Lord Carter of Coles, the (hapless) in-house Fundamental…
6 Nov 2009

Family cuts “undermine justice”

Fixed fee figures represent a 40% cut to hourly rates
30 Oct 2009

Cuts too high for family legal aid?

Family lawyers have voiced concern at a new “uneconomic” fixed fee structure for family legal aid work.
22 Oct 2009

Legal aid spend under review

Civil & criminal systems could be separated under Ministry of Justice proposals
15 Oct 2009

Still going strong

“Bombed—lost everything”. That was how one London Citizens Advice bureau memorably recorded the nature of the legal problems for the newly dispossessed “streams” of clients approaching the nascent service. War…
2 Oct 2009