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Legal aid focus

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Roger Smith on why he believes the model of civil legal aid developed as part of the post-war welfare state is bust

Firms are continuing to abandon civil legal aid work, with 1,236 firms contracted with the Legal Aid Agency this year, compared to 1,320 last year and 1,500 in 2019-20

Roger Smith reflects on the radical vision that created law centres & left a lasting legacy

Criminal solicitors have been advised by their own professional body to consider quitting rather than ‘hanging on’ if they find criminal legal aid work financially unviable

Criminal Bar Association (CBA) chair Mary Prior KC has called on the Ministry of Justice to publish a report on the state of criminal legal aid it ‘has been in possession of’ for two months

The Lord Chancellor will decide by the end of November whether and, if so, by how much, to increase immigration legal aid fees, as part of a settlement with Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Boosting government investment in the civil legal aid system could create spin-off savings in other sectors, a Law Society-commissioned study by Frontier Economics has calculated

Law school partners with charity to give free assistance to litigants in need

A report by the Bar Council and Access to Justice Foundation into the value of free specialist legal advice has identified huge potential savings for the government

What do lawyers hope for as the Keir Starmer government gets to work? In this week’s NLJ, Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC calls for more access to justice while Mary Young sets out a wish list from the legal profession
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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