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Legal aid is 70

30 July 2019
Issue: 7851 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
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Criminal barrister Robert Buckland QC began work as Lord Chancellor this week, replacing David Gauke.

Both Buckland and Solicitor General Michael Ellis were sworn in to office at a ceremony in the Royal Courts of Justice. Geoffrey Cox QC continues as Attorney General.

By coincidence, the ceremony took place 70 years to the day since Clement Attlee’s Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949, which introduced legal aid, received Royal Assent.

Law Centres Network head of policy Nimrod Ben-Cnaan said: ‘On its 70th anniversary, civil legal aid is plagued by narrow scope, regional “deserts” and underfunding, while need grows. Too often it lets down those it is meant to help, and a shrinking provider base casts doubts about its future. This vital system needs bolstering and, as a former legal aid lawyer, Buckland has the insight required.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Pillsbury—Lord Garnier KC

Pillsbury—Lord Garnier KC

Appointment of former Solicitor General bolsters corporate investigations and white collar practice

Hall & Wilcox—Nigel Clark

Hall & Wilcox—Nigel Clark

Firm strengthens international strategy with hire of global relations consultant

Slater Heelis—Sylviane Kokouendo & Shazia Ashraf

Slater Heelis—Sylviane Kokouendo & Shazia Ashraf

Partner and associate join employment practice

NEWS
The government’s plan to introduce a Single Professional Services Supervisor could erode vital legal-sector expertise, warns Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, in NLJ this week
Writing in NLJ this week, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers argues that the ‘failure to prevent’ model of corporate criminal responsibility—covering bribery, tax evasion, and fraud—should be embraced, not resisted
Professor Graham Zellick KC argues in NLJ this week that, despite Buckingham Palace’s statement stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his styles, titles and honours, he remains legally a duke
Writing in NLJ this week, Sophie Ashcroft and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Privy Council’s landmark ruling in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2), which abolishes the long-standing 'shareholder rule'
In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains
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