News

Concerns over the impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 on access to justice have been confirmed in the preliminary results of a Bar Council survey.  

Increases in court delays were reported by 80% of family practitioner respondents and 64% of civil practitioners. A significant rise in the number of litigants-in-person was noted by 88% (family) and 70% (civil). 

A scheme for fixed fee “exceptional case contracts” has been agreed between Bar leaders and the Ministry of Justice, enabling six of the seven outstanding very high cost case (VHCC) trials to proceed.   

The one-off special arrangement was confirmed in a joint statement issued by the  Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association (CBA),  Circuit Leaders and the Ministry of Justice on 7 July: “Arrangements have been put in place, under which self-employed barristers have been instructed to represent defendants in a number of VHCCs. 

The explosion of satellite litigation following the decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers has led to the Court of Appeal’s judgment this July in Denton, Decadent and Utilise – an attempt to clear up misunderstandings, offer further guidance and implore the legal profession to promote “access to justice at proportionate cost” and not to take advantage of mistakes made by opposing parties “in the hope that relief from sanctions will be denied and that they will obtain... litigation advantage”.   

“The court will be more ready in the future to penalise opportunism,” the Master of the Rolls and Lord Justice Vos warned. At stake was the interpretation of the “relief from sanctions” provisions in Civil Procedure Rule 3.9, which the Rules committee had drafted while rejecting the wording proposed by Lord Justice Jackson, whose comprehensive review of civil procedure led to changes in the Rules and who provided a separate judgment in this appeal. 

“A rational approach” to regulation of the legal profession was called for by the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, in a speech to the Bar Councils of Northern Ireland and Ireland on 20 June.   

Hoping for regulation that will “become more realistic and less expensive”, he suggested a “single regulatory body for legal services with a number of discrete divisions: litigation, advocacy and advisory”. 

Immigration lawyer S Chelvan of No 5 Chambers was named Legal Aid Barrister of the Year at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year  (LALY) Awards 2014.    

Chelvan has been instrumental in winning greater protection for gay asylum-seekers and the development of law in this area. 

Bar 'satifaction' snapshot; Lord Chancellor inquiry; VAWG conviction rate soars; 'Winter of the World' events; Mini-pupillage guidance.  

The Court of Appeal has held that although “open justice is both a fundamental principle of the common law and a means of ensuring public confidence in our legal system”, open justice must “give way to the yet more fundamental principle that the paramount object of the court is to do justice”.  

Lord Justice Gross in Guardian News and Media Ltd v AB CD  held that there was a “significant risk” that the administration of justice would be frustrated if the trial of the two defendants was conducted in open court. 

The Ministry of Justice looks set to launch a new recruitment drive to boost senior counsel in the Public Defender Service  (PDS) in an attempt to create a viable source of criminal defence representation outside the independent criminal Bar. Several upcoming very high cost cases (VHCCs) will be affected if barristers continue to refuse to work at the new rates.   

The outcome of the appeal of the stay of proceedings in R v Crawley  is awaited. The Financial Conduct Authority, which prosecuted the case, sought leave to appeal the ruling before Sir Brian Leveson and Lords Justices Davis and Treacy on 13 May. Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling was represented as an interested party. Judgment was reserved. 

Claimants in the judicial review of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates  (QASA) have been granted leave to appeal the original decision, on all grounds. The expedited appeal hearing is set for 16 July.    

The Court of Appeal has ordered two aspects of the scheme to be stayed meanwhile: the compulsory registration of advocates who would register at level 2  (trial advocate or above); and the judicial evaluation of advocates in trials. 

Civil legal aid regret The House of Lords heard Lord Pannick’s motion to regret the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations on 7 May. Introducing the debate, Lord Pannick said that the regulations were just “one example of many where the changes which this Lord Chancellor is imposing are far more damaging than any disease which they purport to treat”. The debate drew cross-party support and 13 peers spoke in favour of the motion, highlighting defects both in the regulations – which came into effect in April and limit the availability of legal aid for proceedings in judicial review – and in the principle of having a non-lawyer as Lord Chancellor. 

Bar Council Officers 2015 The Bar Council has announced the election of its Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Treasurer for 2015. Chairman-elect is Alistair MacDonald QC, Vice-Chairman elect is Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC and Treasurer-elect is Lorinda J Long. The new Officers take up their new posts in January 2015. Until then, Alistair MacDonald QC will continue to serve as Vice Chairman of the Bar. 

Magna Carta conference Temple Church is holding an international conference on Magna Carta, Religion and the Rule of Law on Saturday 7 June.