Delays in family courts
The Independent, Daily Mail, Evening Standard and 350+ regional newspapers report about the delays in family courts which are causing children removed from parents to wait for over a year for a decision on where they will live.
Law Society President Lubna Shuja said: “What is often missed in the debate around the unacceptable backlogs in our family courts is the impact on children.
“They are suffering the very real consequences of months and sometimes years of uncertainty about their future, preventing them from having the stability they need to thrive.”
Cris McCurley, a member of the Law Society’s Access to Justice Committee, said: “The entire family courts system is creaking after years of austerity cuts and neglect.”
Jenny Beck KC, a member of the Law Society’s Family Law Committee, said: “Many of the options available in private family law cases need not involve the courts. However, without advice from a solicitor many parents turn to litigation, which inevitably increases conflict and has overwhelmed the courts, resulting in harmful delay.”
Proposed National Legal Service
Prospect Magazine takes a deep dive into the state of civil legal aid and speaks to two former solicitors who are proposing a National Legal Service to combat the flaws in the system.
The data from the Law Society’s research into the effects of LASPO is cited. There were almost a million civil legal aid advice cases opened between 2010 and 2011, whereas between 2021 and 2022 there were just 130,000. The number of not-for-profit organisations providing civil legal aid has fallen by 59 per cent and the number of people attending court unrepresented has trebled.
Duty solicitors decline
South Wales Argus and Pontypool Free Press continue coverage of the Law Society’s warning about the “perfect storm” in criminal justice, where Gwent is one of the worst hit areas in the country.
In Gwent, 37 duty solicitors recorded in 2023 are due to fall to 32 solicitors in the next five years
President Lubna Shuja is quoted, saying: "Across the country, duty solicitors are working day and night providing legal advice at the crucial earliest stage of cases at police stations, ensuring access to justice for all. But there simply aren’t enough of them to go around because the work is not financially viable.”
Minimum salary rise for trainees
The Gazette covers the Law Society’s recommendations for a rise in minimum salary for trainee solicitors.
Law Society President said: “There are a range of factors that were considered during our discussions around the minimum salary policy and uplift, including the rise in cost-of-living expenses – which have particularly hit those on lower salaries – and the economic impact on solicitors’ businesses.”
Law 360 mentions our calls for a minimum salary rise as they report that Macfarlanes will retain 96% of their NQs in September.
Also worth a read:
- SRA closes three firms accused in Mail – Gazette
- Comment piece on the SRA acting on the Mail’s investigation – Daily Mail
- Looking into the Bar Council’s response to Sunak – Spiked
- Judicial diversity slow progress – CDR News
- Liverpool-based firm’s collapse - Legal Futures
- Post Office Inquiry story develops - Gazette