Without legal aid, the rule of law collapses

The Guardian is currently running a brilliant series on the effect of the legal aid cuts turbo-charged by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Owen Bowcott and Amelia Hill have put together an in-depth investigation drawing on case studies and interviews to demonstrate the dire impact upon access to justice. One such interview,…

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A few thoughts on the “£23m extra” for legal aid

Just a few thoughts about this story on the proposed “£23m increase” in legal aid criminal defence fees, which has been making some headlines. The Ministry of Justice has loudly publicised the agreement struck with the Criminal Bar Association over legal aid rates paid to criminal defence advocates – the story was even towards the…

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GUEST POST: An open letter to The Criminal Bar Association, The South Eastern Circuit and The Bar Council

Below is an open letter published by five junior criminal practitioners in relation to the new Advocates Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), which for non-lawyers is the scheme for payment of defence advocates in legally aided criminal cases.    19thNovember 2018   We write in relation to a case which has just collapsed at the Crown…

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Guest post by Mukul Chawla QC: Reflections from my years at the independent Bar

I am delighted and honoured to publish this guest post by Mukul Chawla QC. Many readers will know that, after 35 years at the independent Bar blazing trails that leave us mortal practitioners feeling very humbled indeed, Mukul is stepping down as Head of Chambers at Foundry Chambers (formerly 9-12 Bell Yard) for a new beginning in employed practice….

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Announcement: Free Representation Unit

Those who read these pages, follow on Twitter or have waded through the book will know that access to justice is a cause about which I’m prone to making a fair bit of noise. The rule of law only works if individuals have the means to enforce their rights in the courts, which is only…

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Guest post: Some calculations on the new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme

In the latest of a series of guest blogposts looking at the consultation on the proposed new Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, a contributor has offered the following calculations and comments.   Dishonesty For dishonesty offences (category 6), we propose increasing the basic fees for trials, guilty pleas, and cracked trials: in band 6.1 by around…

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Guest post by Francis FitzGibbon QC: A response to Michael Turner QC on Advocates’ Graduated Fees

Another former Chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Francis FitzGibbon QC, writes in response to this week’s guest post by Michael Turner QC.   This is my reply to Michael Turner QC’s post. He doesn’t seem to have read the first ‘Monday Message’ by Chris Henley QC, the current Chair of the Criminal Bar Association….

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