LAPG Statement on the Government’s Announcement of a Review of Civil Legal Aid
The government announcement yesterday that it will carry out a formal review of the civil legal aid system, to include independent research and analysis, is a welcome admission that so much more needs to be done to ensure that access to justice is a reality for all citizens and not simply empty rhetoric. However, we... continue reading
LAPG publishes the findings of the 2021 Legal Aid Census
LAPG publishes the Legal Aid Census – the first piece of research of its kind to look at the social justice sector as a whole. Unique research tells the story of legal aid lawyers across England and Wales – from entry to the profession, throughout their careers, and beyond. As legal aid deserts spread throughout... continue reading
LAPG publishes response to MOJ consultation on the future of housing possession duty schemes
We have today published our response to the Ministry of Justice’s consultation: Housing Legal Aid: the way forward – A consultation on the future of the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme. In our response we acknowledge the positive and constructive concepts mooted by the MOJ to improve both the long-term viability of duty schemes and... continue reading
LAPG launches 2021 Legal Aid Census ‘to show true state of social justice sector’
Lawyers across England and Wales are urged to ‘stand up and be counted’, by taking part in a unique drive to gather data from the legal aid front line. LAPG survey has been devised in conjunction with leading legal academics from Newcastle University Law School, Cardiff University and University College London who will be analysing... continue reading
LAPG Annual Legal Aid Conference – 22-26 February 2021
Join us for LAPG’s first foray into a fully digital conference. With a superb mix of workshops delivering practitioner-focused content. We have a packed calendar of events to help you develop new skills and refine your existing ones, sessions to enable you to feed into policy development and social events. With launch and closing events,... continue reading
Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes – LAPG response to the LAA’s consultation
The government is set to lift the stay on housing possession cases on 23 August 2020. Many have voiced considerable concern about the potential flood of evictions that will arise once court proceedings resume due to the economic impact of the pandemic. The MoJ and HMCTS have been working closely with legal aid providers and... continue reading
LAPG Response to the LAA Consultation: Payments on Account
This consultation was launched by the LAA on 2 June 2020 and followed intervention by LAPG and other bodies requesting more flexibility over the POA system and other forms of interim or staged payment mechanisms to alleviate cash flow concerns for legal aid providers. The LAA has proposed an amendment to the Costs Assessment Guidance... continue reading
LAPG Response to the LAA Consultation: Amendments to the Cost Assessment Guidance (to Facilitate LAA Assessment of all Civil Bills)
The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on the functioning of the court system, with all courts initially closing and then a partial and gradual resumption of hearings in different geographic and practice areas. Over the past few months, some have re-opened but with limited capacity to manage the backlog of cases. One consequence... continue reading
LAPG Response to the Criminal Legal Aid Review: Accelerated Areas Consultation
We are acutely aware of the precipice on which criminal defence firms currently exist. We were encouraged by the idea of the Criminal Legal Aid Review (CLAR), and hopeful that there may be a commitment to pay legal aid practitioners fairly for work done. We understood that the process would take time, to ensure a... continue reading