header-logo header-logo

Legal aid focus

Subscribe
Means-testing for legal aid has been removed for foster parents and approved prospective adoptive parents bringing special educational needs and disability (SEND) appeals. 
The Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) has responded to the Tribunal Procedure Committee consultation on possible changes to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules and the Upper Tribunal Rules arising from the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NBA 2022). 
The number of crown court cases waiting for trial for two years or more has reached a record high, official figures show.
The good news is the government has announced a civil legal aid review. The bad news is it won’t report until 2024.
Far from a bold initiative, the announcement of a distant & unfunded review of civil legal aid is an abdication of government responsibility, says Roger Smith
Members of the public across the three main parties support legal aid, research has shown.
Lawyers have welcomed the ‘long overdue’ review into civil legal aid, but expressed concern about the timescale and called for immediate action to prevent collapse.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to recruit up to 1,100 judges and tribunal members and 4,000 more magistrates in 2022-23, according to its annual report and accounts for 2021-22.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that the government will be undertaking a review looking into ways to better the civil legal aid market through improving the sustainability of the legal aid system for people facing civil and family legal issues. 
One solicitor had a piece of air conditioning fall on their head at a magistrate’s court in Manchester, while another solicitor reports from a London Crown Court that ‘everything is falling apart… ceilings leak, toilets leak… mould everywhere’.
Show
10
Results
Results
10
Results

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London

DWF—Stephen Hickling

DWF—Stephen Hickling

Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices

NEWS
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
back-to-top-scroll