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11 April 2019 / Steve Hynes
Issue: 7836 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Profession
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Shine on! Legal aid at 70

The MoJ is travelling in the right direction but is it too little too late, asks Steve Hynes

It’s 70 years since the modern legal aid system was founded, and Legal Action Group (LAG) celebrated this auspicious occasion with a conference in London last week attended by the great and the good from the legal aid world.

A packed first plenary session heard from Baroness Hale,the president of the Supreme Court. Lady Hale is a long-time supporter of the charity who has described herself in the past as ‘a LAG generation lawyer.’ Her speech focused on family law, and she used a hypothetical example of a woman from Richmond, North Yorkshire—where she went to school—who had experienced domestic violence. She listed the websites and other sources of information the woman could use to navigate her way through the legal system and concluded the help available added up to ‘a patchy picture’ and that ‘technology solutions can help but they cannot replace proper advice from a skilled person.’ Lady Hale also said

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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