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17 July 2019
Issue: 7849 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus
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Law centre forced to close

Lambeth Law Centre has closed with immediate effect due to lack of funds.

The trustees said this week the centre ‘has faced financial pressures caused by legal aid cuts and increased operating costs.

‘To some degree this was relieved with generous support from our charitable funders, who have understood the need in the community and helped us address it.

‘However, ultimately the funding shortfall, together with issues with VAT calculations, have put the Law Centre in an impossible financial position.’

The law centre opened in Brixton, London in 1981 and covered debt, welfare benefits, community care, employment, discrimination, housing, immigration and public law as well as collaborating with other organisations to tackle poverty and disadvantage.

Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, head of policy and profile at the Law Centres Network (LCN), said Lambeth Law Centre ‘has had a proud record of service to south Londoners priced out of justice’ and the LCN had worked hard to help it avoid closure. 

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Bird & Bird—Huw Edwards

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Bird Bird appoints expert tech patent litigator as new partner in London

NEWS
The Law Society RFC Festival of Sport returns next month, bringing together legal and financial services professionals for one of the sector’s largest annual sporting events
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.

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