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20 October 2016 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7719 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Legal services
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Cuts that hurt

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Amnesty International’s report shines an unforgiving light on the impact of LASPO, says Jon Robins​

“If Theresa May is really determined to deliver a country that works for all then there needs to be a justice system for everyone, not just those who can afford it,” said Alice Wyss of Amnesty International this week. According to the organisation, the April 2013 legal aid cuts have “decimated access to justice” and were, in human rights terms, “a retrogressive measure”.

Wyss was calling directly on the PM to immediately review the legal aid cuts. She was also quoting from Theresa May’s conference speech where she easily won over the party faithful with an attack on “activist left-wing human rights lawyers” and outlined plans to curb the “industry of vexatious allegations” against our troops by opting out of the European convention.

The powerful report from an international group more associated with highlighting abuses in far-flung corners of the world less familiar with the rule of law than the UK is well-timed—if unlikely to improve relations

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The cab-rank rule remains a bulwark of the rule of law, yet lawyers are increasingly judged by their clients’ causes. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, warns that conflating representation with endorsement is a ‘clear and present danger’
Holiday lets may promise easy returns, but restrictive covenants can swiftly scupper plans. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Francis of Serle Court recounts how covenants limiting use to a ‘private dwelling house’ or ‘private residence’ have repeatedly defeated short-term letting schemes
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing
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