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11 October 2024 / Roger Smith
Issue: 8089 / Categories: Features , Profession , Legal aid focus
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The reunion: 50 years on

192552
Roger Smith reflects on the radical vision that created law centres & left a lasting legacy

At the end of July, 70 septuagenarians crowded into a room in Gray’s Inn. Nothing very surprising about that. The Inns of Court are, of an evening, full of groups of old lawyers dining over talk of the triumphs and failures of their youth. But this lot were rather unusual. This was a meeting of those who 50 years ago thought of themselves as the spearhead of the popular radicalisation of the law. They were the survivors of the law centres established half a century ago. I was proud to be among them. I joined Camden Law Centre in the autumn of 1973.

Whether you could tell anything of the youth of the attenders by their current demeanour was an interesting question. Some had achieved an eminence of which they could barely have dreamed. I counted the digital or physical presence of three members of the House of Lords and at least half a

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys further bolsters Private Equity expertise with the appointment of James Paterson

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons strengthens Rural Affairs team with senior appointment

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley adds insurance mergers and acquisitions partner to London office

NEWS
A deputy costs judge correctly exercised his discretion to allow late service rather than strike out the point of dispute, the Court of Appeal has held
Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and five others have lost their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, in Various Claimants v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 1637 (KB)
Public confidence in the justice system is being undermined by a lack of accessible, useable data, magistrates have warned
The Sentencing Council has launched draft guidelines for facilitation and endangering another person during a sea crossing to the UK
Government proposals to make independent written legal advice a prerequisite for workplace non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) may prove unworkable, according to a senior employment lawyer
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