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In search of local justice

05 December 2019 / Keith Wilding
Issue: 7867 / Categories: Features , Profession , Legal aid focus
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Keith Wilding explains the difference Law Centres make to individual lives
  • The law can be used as a tool for change.
  • Working alongside the socially excluded as individuals, in groups, and in communities can help resolve seemingly intractable problems.
  • Seeking to influence local and national policy through the legal process is an integral part of seeking social justice.

It’s not just for lawyers and it’s not simply a legal advice centre. A Law Centre, as a member of the Law Centres Network, adopts the underlying assumption that Law Centres operate in an unequal society and seek to make a contribution to the fight for social justice. In so doing, it uses the law as a tool for change and uses the strengths of the community it serves. It works alongside people who are socially excluded and it works with other organisations striving for similar goals. An important part of its work is harnessing the strengths of the community.

The government’s austerity programme has resulted in the reduction of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kingsley Napley—Paul Davidoff

Kingsley Napley—Paul Davidoff

Partner joins as lead of international tax desk

Reed Smith—Michael Darowski

Reed Smith—Michael Darowski

International arbitration partner joins disputes team in London

Shakespeare Martineau — 12 newly qualified solicitors

Shakespeare Martineau — 12 newly qualified solicitors

Firm celebrates strong retention and new talent across practice areas

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In his latest 'Civil way' column for this week's NLJ, Stephen Gold delivers a witty roundup of procedural updates and judicial oddities. From the rise in litigant-in-person hourly rates (£24 from October) to the Supreme Court’s venue hire options (canapés in Courtroom 1, anyone?), Gold blends legal insight with dry humour
In July, the Supreme Court quashed the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, ruling that trial judges had wrongly directed juries to treat profit-motivated Libor submissions as inherently dishonest. In this week’s NLJ, David Stern and James Fletcher of 5 St Andrew’s Hill reflect on the decision
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