*/
The Government must return funding of the civil courts to a “realistic level”, the new President of the Association of District Judges has warned.
District Judge David Oldham, who replaced Edwina Millward as President in March, said the civil courts remained the “Cinderella” of the justice system and fees have increased to “draconian levels”.
“Legal aid has virtually disappeared in civil cases and so the proportion of litigants without legal representation has soared,” he said.
His aim, “as the recession brings more and more individuals to the county courts, [is] to ensure ... access to free and efficient expert advice and assistance from a duty solicitor or CAB or other advice agency which is independent of HM Courts Service”.
Since the Woolf reforms a decade ago, civil claims are settling at a higher rate than ever and contested cases are coming on for trial earlier, he said.
A justice system which forced litigants with good claims to abandon them because of the expense of going to the law was “deficient.”
District Judge Monty Trent has been elected Senior Vice President of the Association, and District Judge Paul Mildred is the new Junior Vice President.
District Judge David Oldham, who replaced Edwina Millward as President in March, said the civil courts remained the “Cinderella” of the justice system and fees have increased to “draconian levels”.
“Legal aid has virtually disappeared in civil cases and so the proportion of litigants without legal representation has soared,” he said.
His aim, “as the recession brings more and more individuals to the county courts, [is] to ensure ... access to free and efficient expert advice and assistance from a duty solicitor or CAB or other advice agency which is independent of HM Courts Service”.
Since the Woolf reforms a decade ago, civil claims are settling at a higher rate than ever and contested cases are coming on for trial earlier, he said.
A justice system which forced litigants with good claims to abandon them because of the expense of going to the law was “deficient.”
District Judge Monty Trent has been elected Senior Vice President of the Association, and District Judge Paul Mildred is the new Junior Vice President.
The Government must return funding of the civil courts to a “realistic level”, the new President of the Association of District Judges has warned.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
By Kem Kemal, CEO, Henry Dannell
By BSK Financial Planning
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs
Susie Griffin on the admin that keeps barristers from billable work
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Kick off your career at the Bar Council’s Pupillage Fair this October – it’s one of the most valuable opportunities for aspiring barristers, says Amelia Clegg
Join us on Saturday 21 November 2026 at Leeds Beckett University and see for yourself why the North continues to be an exceptional place to build a career at the Bar
The golden age of advocacy? David Langwallner pays homage to the filmic if contentious barrister Sir Edward Carson and some of his contemporaries
Henry Fingerhut outlines what the Bar Standards Board AI guidance means for early career barristers
Not yet, says Jacob Turner. Regulation, unlike the technology itself, is a domain the legal profession can still control
