LALY winners in full The human rights lawyer who acted in the ‘right to die’ and assisted suicide cases brought by Debbie Purdy and Tony Nicklinson has won the outstanding achievement at this week’s Legal Aid of the Year awards. Paul Bowen QC, of Brick Court Chambers, thanked his ‘legal aid heroes’ who were his
Running up the down escalator Family courts were having to ‘run up a down escalator’ to keep pace with unprecedented increases in childcare cases, the most senior family judge has said. According to The Guardian, Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division, some parents needed to be persuaded not to bring claims to court
The MoJ’s ‘culture of refusal’ Lawyers who help people in danger of losing their homes claim they are being forced to take on cases at their own financial risk as the Legal Aid Agency adopts a ‘culture of refusal, reported The Guardian. Applications for legal aid in homelessness cases has ‘tumbled’ despite a steep rise
David vs Goliath Victims of discrimination were being denied access to justice and offenders going unchallenged as a result of a ‘failing’ legal aid system, as reported in the Justice Gap. A new report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission revealed that between 2014 and 2018 no workplace discrimination cases were backed by legal aid
Droughts and deserts Barrister Jo Wilding published new research on the supply side of the market for immigration and asylum legal aid services. The map above shows large areas (in grey) where there are no providers at all. But even in areas where there is at least one provider, the research reveals that ‘advice droughts’ can
#TakeYourMPtoWork The Young Legal Aid Lawyers and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid are running a joint campaign: #TakeYourMPtoWork. They say: ‘We’re organising MPs to visit law centres and legal advice clinics during June to see first-hand why comprehensive early legal advice is so vital. MPs will meet with legal aid lawyers and in many cases shadow
LASPO cuts ‘exacerbate extreme poverty’ The ‘dramatic rolling back’ of the legal aid scheme has been identified as one of the causes of ‘the systematic immiseration of millions’ across the UK, according to the UN’s expert on poverty and human rights Philip Alston, the UN rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, called the imposition
Selling off the family silver The Justice Alliance last night called for a moratorium on court closures. Writing for the Law Society’s Gazette, Monidipa Fouzder reported that campaigners ‘congregated opposite the site of the former Bloomsbury County Court last night, holding candles as they watched a slideshow highlighting the fate of some of the 162 magistrates’
New line up at the MoJ The prime minister ‘appears to have taken advantage of a comparative lull in politics to shuffle roles at the Ministry of Justice’, reported the Law Society’s Gazette. Robert Buckland QC MP has been appointed as a minister of state with responsibility for prisons, replacing Rory Stewart MP. Buckland is
Last chance The criminal Bar is threatening direct action. Chris Henley QC, the head of the Criminal Bar Association, in a message to the profession headed ‘Tuesday is the last chance for the CPS’, reported on recent meetings with CPS senior management team. ‘On each occasion we have made it clear that the state of
