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Legal aid for the needy backed by survey
03-06-2010
It is a soft target for politicians seeking cuts, but the public see the value in a state-funded legal safety net.
Some rare good news for legal aid lawyers: even in this age of austerity the great British public still sees the value in our increasingly threadbare system of publicly funded law.
A study commissioned by YouGov for the legal research company Jures indicates that over two-thirds (68%) of consumers backed the notion that "if someone was too poor to afford a lawyer and they had a need for serious legal advice" then "the state should pay for all their legal advice through the legal aid system". "Serious legal need" was defined, in the poll of more than 2,000 people, as being sacked unfairly or losing your home.
"The public instinctively understands the importance of legal aid as a vital safety net to protect the poor and vulnerable, even if our politicians sadly don't," says Patrick Allen, a veteran legal aid lawyer and senior partner of Hodge Jones & Allen. The Jures research included interviews with 100 shoppers, asking them what circumstances should make a person eligible: 69% said earning less than £25,000 and 59% said being on welfare benefits.
This is not the only research that has documented the popular support for our beleaguered system of legal aid. The Legal Services Board at the end of last year asked consumers what they really wanted from the bright shiny new world of law as promised by the Legal Services Act.
From next year supermarkets and banks will be able to offer legal services as a consequence of New Labour's liberalising reform agenda. So, does the prospect of "Tesco Law" excite ordinary people as much as it does legal commentators? Well, not really. Only 3% wanted supermarkets and banks to provide legal services. In contrast, 52% of those surveyed did want an NHS Direct service for legal problems and 50% wanted to see more drop-in legal centres in the community.
The support for such services tallies with the reality of people's access to justice. It is a luxury many of us can no longer afford and, even if we could, popping down our local solicitors' firm isn't the way we want it.
The Guardian journalist Jonathan Freedland nailed legal aid's image problem when he described it as "the most friendless wing of the welfare state". The issues around access to justice are technical, remote and fail to move the public when discussed in the abstract; it's a different story if the bailiff is at your door or you have just lost your job. Worst of all, the debate sounds to ordinary people suspiciously as if it is all about how lawyers get paid. The "Billy-no-mates" status makes legal aid a soft target for ministers in the new Lib-Con coalition seeking to identify places for swingeing cuts.
But, does the public see the legitimacy in an adequately funded safety net for the poor and vulnerable? Yes, of course, they do.
Jon Robins is a freelance journalist and director of the legal research company Jures which last month published Closing the Justice Gap, a collection of essays of "radical, exciting and innovative ways to reform access to justice".
QEB acts for Cheryl and Ashley as the Coles head to divorce courts
03-06-2010
Specialist family set QEB has been instructed to act on both sides of the celebrity divorce of pop star Cheryl Cole and her footballer husband Ashley.
QEB silk Lucy Stone QC has been instructed by Joyce Smyth of Smyth Barkham to represent Cheryl.
Cheryl's soon-to-be ex-husband has brought in Berwin Leighton Paisner partner Graham Shear, who has instructed Jennifer Roberts QC, also of QEB.
Cheryl's lawyers filed divorce proceedings on Tuesday, citing Ashley's "unreasonable behaviour". She has reportedly offered him possession of their £6m marital home in Surrey and has not asked for any support from his income, which is estimated at £6m a year.
The couple's relationship disintegrated after tabloid newspapers revealed details of Ashley Cole's infidelity.
Campaigners fight for asylum legal aid
03-06-2010
Campaigner from a range of different charities and pressure groups have united to defend the UK's leading asylum legal charity from closure.
Amnesty International, Liberty and Barnardos were among the groups writing to the justice and home secretaries today, seeking assurances about the future of Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), which provides free legal advice and representation to asylum seekers and other vulnerable migrants.
Due to changes made to legal aid payments by the previous Labour government means payments for legal aid work only arrives once decisions are made. This can result in reimbursement of costs taking up to two years.
Unless the UK's leading asylum legal charity is saved from this potential threat, ten thousand vulnerable people will be left without legal representation which will include nine hundred unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking.
The government is understood to want to stick with the system because it underpins a procurement exercise undertaken by the previous government which is yet to be completed.
Open letter on the RMJ: Full text
Dear justice and home secretaries,
Over many years, Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ) has provided essential legal advice and representation to 110,000 asylum seekers and victims of trafficking, including many children. Many of the charity's clients have been deprived of their freedom in this country through detention or wrongful imprisonment, and without RMJ's help they would have faced torture or death if forced to go home.
Sadly, we have become aware that this pioneering charity is at risk of closure simply because of delays in legal aid payments for work already done. It would be a tragedy if RMJ were allowed to go under because of bureaucratic rules. No charity can be expected to wait six months or more for the money it is owed, and no private sector organisation will be able to replace RMJ's longstanding commitment to those with the greatest needs.
If RMJ has to close, 10,000 individuals will immediately be left without a lawyer. The government has said it wants to speed up asylum decisions, but closing RMJ would be a huge backward step. Many asylum seekers will be unable to access good quality legal support, or any support at all. Lives will be put at risk and there are likely to be many more miscarriages of justice - which are already common in our asylum system. This would also add to the UK Border Agency's enormous backlog, as the cases of existing clients would have to be suspended while new lawyers are found.
RMJ is not asking for more money, just what it is owed. The government's decision to review legal aid is the perfect opportunity to cut out inefficiency so that good quality providers like RMJ can be saved.
Yours sincerely,
Lord Avebury, House of Lords
Keith Best, Director of Medical Foundation
Julie Bishop, Chief Executive of the Law Centres Federation
Donna Covey, Chief Executive of Refugee Council
Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind
Guy Goodwin-Gill, Fellow All Souls, Oxford
David Harker, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Bureaux
Baroness Howe, House of Lords
Professor Francesca Klug, London School of Economics
Martin Narey, Chief Executive of Barnado's
Professor Sir Nigel Rodley
Jan Shaw, Amnesty International UK Refugee Programme Director
The Earl of Sandwich, House of Lords
Roger Smith, Director of Justice
Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Maurice Wren, Director, Asylum Aid
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