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Fig leaves & failings

Jo Renshaw reports on the impact of LASPO on those rooted in publicly-funded work as part of an exclusive NLJ online series on legal aid

Sometimes it is hard to believe that a year has passed since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) came into effect. Other times it is equally hard to remember “the good old days” pre-LASPO when you were able to pop down and actually assist the desperate client in reception with her belongings packed neatly in two carrier bags by her side.

The impact of LASPO has been so profound and so far-reaching, it is difficult to know where to start. This short piece will concentrate on the area I know best—immigration—but, as a partner of a firm which has its roots in publicly-funded work, I will also look at the impact of LASPO on our business and our prospects for survival as we face what in fact may be our most difficult challenge—the second year in.

The invisible ones

This

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

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When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
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