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Legal aid danger

22 May 2008
Issue: 7322 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
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News In Brief

The government’s attempt at reform of the legal aid system has become lost and is in need of renewing in order to protect vulnerable groups in society, says a discussion paper from the Bar Council. The paper, Legal Aid and the Public Interest: Towards an Effective Public Private Partnership, sets out the Council’s vision of a “world-call legal system” and argues for a “conditional legal aid fund” to provide legal services to those that cannot afford to pay. Successful claimants would then make a proportional payment to the fund, in addition to costs recovered. The paper also claims that the reforms are endangering the future of the legal system by making it less financially secure.

Issue: 7322 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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