SOUND OFF FOR JUSTICE GOES VIRAL

. This video is EXCELLENT. Do watch it. And do pass it on. It’s important stuff (but then you know that already). It really does bring home one impact that Ken Clarke’s legal aid cuts will have if implemented. An announcement is expected from the government in the next few weeks, so help spread the [...]

Telegraph Poll

Hands up who else just keeps tripping over yet another eye roller of an article in The Telegraph? You don’t even need to buy the thing, people just keep tweeting and facebooking humdinger after humdinger. I don’t want to be constantly confronted with Telegraphisms but I just can’t bring myself to ignore them. This time [...]

Stay of Execution

It seem’s that the Government response to the legal aid consultation has been delayed – but only until after Easter. As reported by LAG and the Gazette.

CONSULTATION RESPONSE – P.S. TO KEN CLARKE

A point I wish I’d made in my consultation response in respect of the rise of the litigant in person and the impact on access to justice: The family jurisdiction is often thought of (by non-family lawyers at any rate) as law-lite (we know this because chancery and criminal lawyers take especial delight in telling [...]

Ken’s Valentines

Patrick Torsney at iLegal (@ilegalbytes) has gathered together all the responses to the Legal Aid Green Paper in one place here. What a daunting prospect – does this mean I have to read them ALL? Mr Clarke will be kept busy for a little while by this lot, as no doubt he will read each [...]

Information Dump

I’ve been hoarding interesting links and things to post about, but I just can’t seem to find time to post at the moment. I’m going to purge all these bits and bobs and begin anew. Do not expect a theme or thread. I have just completed my response to the Legal Aid Green Paper (finally). If [...]

Naughty Naughty!

The most recent offender to be placed on Nearly Legal’s naughty step is the “family law expert” quoted in a recent Daily Mail article concerning the recent Supreme Court decision in Yemshaw. Adam Wagner at the UK Human Rights Blog has also commented on the endemic problem of inaccurate legal reporting, using this case as [...]

DIY JUSTICE – TAKING THE CHILD INTO YOUR OWN HANDS

A warning from the Legal Aid Practitioner’s Group in this piece in the Gazette, that desperate parents without access to justice as a result of cuts to legal aid may take matters into their own hands and abduct children. No doubt there is some truth in that. The Government would do well to remember that every [...]

Legal Aid – Coming Up With Alternative Proposals

The FLBA is pushing for a tracking system for family cases, with track determining whether or not a party is eligible for legal aid (subject to means). Declaration: I’m on the FLBA committee so I clearly think this is a very sensible set of proposals, which are a far less damaging way to cut costs [...]

Unsung Heroes

I used to refer students to the Mary Ward Legal Centre when I was President of the SU at Birkbeck College. They were invaluable and I know helped several of my students facing homelessness or debt problems (most student’s at Birkbeck are mature students, many with families). I’m glad to see they are still doing [...]