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14 May 2015 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7652 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Legal services , Profession
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Friend or foe?

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What impact will the new Lord Chancellor have on the UK justice system, asks Jon Robins

Could our new Lord Chancellor Michael Gove really be as awful as his predecessor Chris Grayling, speculated the legal twitterati as news of the post-election shuffle surfaced over the weekend.

Ask a teacher. The former education’s secretary stormy relationship with that profession makes Grayling’s fractious stand-off with lawyers seem like mere friendly fire.

The last few days have been as tumultuous for lawyers as for the rest of the electorate. Shortly before polling day legal aid lawyers turned up outside the Ministry of Justice for a “farewell to Chris Grayling” party.

By the end of the week, it seemed that the profession’s bête noire was going nowhere, as the prime minister walked back into number 10. Grayling, fresh from being re-elected to the safe Tory seat of Epsom and Ewell (with an increased majority), told constituents that he was “happy to do whatever David Cameron asks me to do”. However, he added, the job he

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

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Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

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Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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