Criminal justice system
Law Society president Richard Atkinson speaks to the FT (£) about the criminal justice system and the steps the UK government needs to make to bring it back from the brink.
He said there had been “very little” direct dialogue with the Treasury ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, and that Ministers had so far offered nothing more than “warm words.”
“This isn’t just people asking for a bit more money – this is the system on the brink of collapse.”
Our High Court case against the government last year is cited. The judgment identified shortcomings when the previous government decided against implementing the findings of an independent review that recommended a 15% increase in criminal legal aid rates.
“There is an opportunity to go back to court if necessary, and that is what we are very close to doing,” he added.
SRA survey
Solicitors Journal and Today’s Family Lawyer continue coverage of a survey published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which reveals the majority of legal professionals remain positive about the SRA – although a quarter are likely to express negative sentiments about it.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “The SRA should have waited for the Legal Services Board to publish the outcome of its review of the regulator’s handling of the Axiom Ince and SSB Group cases before publishing this report.
“We have repeatedly said the SRA should concentrate on its core role by setting standards, assessing and acting on risk, taking action in response to non-compliance, protecting consumers from harm and protecting the reputation of solicitors.
“It should not be seeking to implement its existing fining powers at the expense of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Should the proposals go ahead, they would have serious repercussions for the legal profession and access to justice.”
Climate risk and conveyancing practice note
Warren Gordon and Joanne Parsons, members of our Conveyancing and Land Law Committee and our Property Section Committee, write in the Gazette that we are currently consulting on climate risk and conveyancing.
They said: “As members of the conveyancing and land law committee, we have to grapple with a wide range of varied and complex issues.
“One new area of general societal importance where conveyancing solicitors are increasingly seeking guidance from the Law Society is risks arising from climate change and, chiefly, how this affects their business.
“They want guidance on how best they can advise their clients, and the climate risk and conveyancing practice note on which the Law Society is currently consulting sets out to help fill this knowledge gap. There is the existing Law Society note from April 2023, but the new practice note will provide more specific and focused content for conveyancing transactions.”
Read our press release and our 2023 climate change guidance
Criminal court backlogs
Slaw magazine examines the loss of faith in the Canadian justice system and makes parallels between the system in England and Wales.
“There is a real risk that if the justice system will be so severely undermined, people may start to decide there is no point reporting matters and they should deal with them in another way themselves,” said Law Society president Richard Atkinson.
Criminal legal aid rates
Australasian Lawyer reports that more than 100 legal firms have submitted bids for new criminal legal aid contracts, but have warned they may not sign them unless the government increases remuneration rates.
The number of criminal legal aid firms has decreased by a third since 2017, while the number of duty solicitors has declined by 26%.
“How can firms make a sound business decision to bid for a new contract, especially one lasting 10 years, without knowing whether these bare minimum criminal legal aid rate increases will ever happen?”, said Law Society president Richard Atkinson.
SDLT bill
Today’s Conveyancer reports that we have been contacted by conveyancers concerned by “spurious” stamp duty land tax (SDLT) claims and repayment.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “The Law Society is concerned about the approach being taken by some agents that offer help with SDLT refunds. Some of these firms are set up by people with little or no expertise in SDLT and pay little or no regard to HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) guidance on standards for agents.
“The Law Society and HMRC have joined forces to warn people of the risks associated with SDLT repayment agents and to explain how solicitors can take steps to protect clients.”
Read our article with HMRC on SDLT refunds
Project Rise
Lizze Hardy, a member of our Disabled Solictors Network and an associate at Eversheds Sutherland, writes in New Law Journal (£) about Project Rise, which seeks to encourage more part-time training opportunities to be offered in the legal sector.
Find out more about Project Rise.
Also worth a read:
- Guardrails’ in place to avoid Truss-like fiscal chaos – Standard
- PM urged to define who ‘working people’ are ahead of Autumn Budget – BBC News
- Landlords and shareholders are ‘not working people’, suggests PM – Telegraph (£)
- PM prepares warns of £35bn taxes in this week’s Budget – Times (£)
- Richard Tice warns Reform’s migrant plan could lead to ‘friendly stand-off’ between UK and France – Independent
- Labour MP Mike Amesbury suspended after video shows him punching man in street – Sky News
- SLAPPs and legislation – Private Eye
- Post Office Horizon scandal: New paper says lawyers should come under greater scrutiny – Legal Cheek
- Nick Wallis on the Post Office Horizon scandal – Asian Trader
- How criminal courts in England have reached breaking point – FT (£)