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We’re delighted to announce the judging panel for the 2021 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards
After the success of the 2020 ‘Lockdown LALYs’ the 2021 LALY awards are now in full swing as we build up to this year’s virtual ceremony on the evening of the 6th of July. Nominations are open until the 19th of April, after which this year’s judging panel will have the difficult task of selecting... continue reading
LAPG’s 2021 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards are now open.
Nominations close on 19 April; new award category for this year: Disability Rights. Winners of the 12 awards will be announced on 6 July at a virtual ceremony to be broadcast online. The 2021 Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (LALY) awards have been launched by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, with awards in 12... 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 hosts first-ever ‘virtual’ Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards to honour social justice champions
LAPG’s ground-breaking ‘lockdown LALYs’ were broadcast on social media, with the award winners joining the live event, via video link. The Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards are into their 18th year, but Covid-19 restrictions meant the 2020 event had to re-thought from scratch. LAPG CEO Chris Minnoch says: ‘We decided soon after lockdown... continue reading
LAPG makes four special awards, to honour the ‘social justice heroes of the pandemic’
‘We are proud to recognise colleagues whose decisive actions at the start of the outbreak and since have helped save many lives,’ says LAPG CEO Chris Minnoch. Three individuals and one organisation are being recognised by LAPG during this uniquely challenging year (further details about each winner, below): – Richard Atkinson, partner at Tuckers Solicitors,... 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