Rental reform
Bucks Free Press, Reading Chronicle, Bracknell News and Yahoo! UK and Ireland, cover the Law Society’s calls for rental reform, as new figures show rising numbers of landlord and mortgage possession orders, leaving countless at risk of homelessness.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “The rising number of eviction orders reflects the alarming state of our housing crisis and the urgent need for rental reform.
“The cost-of-living crisis has meant that renters are increasingly at risk of losing their homes. When faced with repossession, renters should be entitled to legal representation and access to justice. However, an underfunded justice system has denied renters a fair chance in court due to lack of legal aid.
“It is deeply concerning that 25.3m people (42%) do not have a local legal aid provider for housing advice. “It is critical that the government invests in the legal aid system, so that renters have the help they need to avoid losing their homes.”
Regulation within the legal profession
Jonathan Goldsmith, chair of our Policy & Regulatory Affairs Committee, writes in the Gazette about how the profession can ensure the regulator is properly regulated.
Disability inclusion in the legal workplace
Global Legal Post reports on disability inclusion in the legal workplace, such as the adoption of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower for staff with non-apparent disabilities.
A Law Society spokesperson said: “Workplace policies must be implemented to protect people with non-visible or non-apparent disabilities. We need allyship in the sector to ensure more people understand and advocate.
Other measures firms could adopt included reasonable workplace adjustments, access to training, resources and open communication, all of which would “Support people with non-visible disabilities and create a diverse and dynamic workforce.”
Diversity and inclusion
Gazette publishes a piece on whether employers are focusing on neurodivergent inclusion to the exclusion of physical disabilities.
Our reasonable adjustments guide provides best practice guidance for disability inclusion, to help organisations better understand their legal obligations.
SRA client money consultation
Today’s Family Lawyer and Today’s Wills and Probate publish a piece exploring the current landscape, guidance and the SRA’s ongoing concerns about firms’ reliance on client account interest. Our Financial Stability Toolkit and Financial Benchmarking Survey is mentioned.
Also worth a read:
- Oversight regulator to urge SRA to go further on AML crackdown – Gazette
- Number of children in care system in England remains ‘extremely high’ – Today’s Family Lawyer
- Bar Council slams proposed change to barrister equality rules - Legal cheek
- Post Office Inquiry costs climb past £50m – Gazette
- Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police – Sky News
- Police to hire computer experts to free up time for front-line officers – Telegraph (£)
- Top prosecutor: I had no idea what non-crime hate incidents were – Times (£)
- Labour mulls scheme to alert rape and stalking victims if perpetrator is nearby - Guardian
- Farmers take to London to protest inheritance tax – Times (£)
- Prison early releases ‘very dangerous’ for crime victims, warns watchdog – inews