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08 February 2018 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7780 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus
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The justice gap revisited

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Jon Robins pays tribute to Sir Henry Brooke—a tireless & effective campaigner

Yet further evidence of the health benefits of early access to legal advice was published last month. It was revealed that almost one-third of people with legal problems in the UK suffered a stress-related or physical illness as a result. The research was part of the New York-based World Justice Project’s (WJP) annual Rule of Law Index.

That finding chimed with the experience in other countries. In the UK, 31% of respondents who experienced a legal issue over the past two years said they had developed some form of illness as a result which was the same figure as Canada and 1% higher than the US.

This April will mark the fifth anniversary of the biggest cuts to the legal aid scheme in the UK since it was introduced after the Second World War. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) removed around £600m from the legal aid budget by cutting entire areas of law from

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Jordan Wallace

Thomson Hayton Winkley strengthens family law team

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Ward Hadaway—Barnaby Rosenthall

Construction lawyer returns to Ward Hadaway in Teesside role

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird & Bird—Shahin Baghaei

Bird Bird hires leading legal transformation expert

NEWS
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

How forcefully can a litigant criticise a public authority before robust advocacy crosses the line into unreasonable conduct? 
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