header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
18 September 2015 / David Burrows
Issue: 7668 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail

Things are looking up

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Mr Justice Collins & IS: good legal aid news for family litigants & protected parties says David Burrows

Section 10 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) and its exceptional case funding (ECF) was described by the Ministry of Justice as the safety net for clients who need representation in civil proceedings (mostly family law, housing and immigration). Until IS v The Director of Legal Aid Casework & Anor [2015] EWHC 1965 (Admin), [2015] All ER (D) 149 (Jul)—judgment handed down on 15 July 2015—the net’s mesh seemed large. Even since IS the availability of legal aid and the process of applying for it will be no breeze—for lay applicants and legal advisers alike. However, IS will be a substantial step forward for such applicants, and a means for civil legal aid lawyers proportionally to improve their work-base, so viciously altered since April 2013.

In June 2014 Collins J found the Lord Chancellor’s original Exceptional Funding Guidance (Non-Inquests) (Guidance I: issued by the Lord Chancellor under LASPO, s 4(3)(b)) to be

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Ward Hadaway—Nicola Williams

Ward Hadaway—Nicola Williams

Specialist tax expertise expands with partner appointment

Howard Kennedy—Caroline Urban

Howard Kennedy—Caroline Urban

Firm strengthens corporate and capital raising specialism with partner hire

Payne Hicks Beach—Lucas Moore

Payne Hicks Beach—Lucas Moore

Commercial disputes partner succeeds Robert Brodrick as chair of management board

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce in a borderless world
Global mobility is transforming family law, creating new challenges around jurisdiction, assets and child arrangements
NLJ this week: Victorian billings face the chop
The civil justice landscape could be heading for a shake-up, with reform of the Solicitors Act 1974 gathering pace
NLJ this week: Unfair dismissal gets a major upgrade
Employers are being urged to prepare now for far-reaching employment law changes taking effect in January 2027
NLJ this week: Could polyamorous partners inherit?
As family structures evolve, the law may face difficult questions about inheritance rights for those in polyamorous relationships
NLJ this week: Civil procedure’s quiet rule changes
A series of procedural developments could have significant practical consequences for litigators. Writing in NLJ this week, columnist Stephen Gold highlights important updates ranging from digital court reforms to family procedure and admissions of liability
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll