Legal Aid

The Legal Aid Board recorded a 15 per cent increase in applicants accessing civil legal aid services from law centres last year, according to its latest annual report. There were 28,050 civil legal aid applicants in 2024, with 11,689 of them relating to international protection applications —

Northern Ireland's justice minister, Naomi Long, has responded harshly to criminal barristers' strike plans, branding demands for legal aid fee increases "unrealistic and unaffordable". The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) last week confirmed plans to withdraw from all Crown Court cases early next mon

Criminal barristers in Northern Ireland are to fully withdraw from all Crown Court cases early next year in a significant escalation of an ongoing dispute over legal aid fees.

Northern Ireland's all-party group on access to justice has put a spotlight on children and young people in the criminal justice system. Eoghan McKenna, chair of the Law Society of Northern Ireland's criminal law committee, was among experts contributing to this week's discussion.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the court’s inherent jurisdiction to extend time for seeking leave to bring judicial review proceedings has been excluded by Order 84 RSC and has addressed, obiter, novel issues in relation to the 'Legal Aid – Custody Issues Scheme'. Delivering judg

Government plans for the "full restoration" of criminal legal aid fees in 2026 have been warmly welcomed by the Law Society and the Bar.

A record sum of nearly £120 million was paid out in legal aid to solicitors and barristers in Northern Ireland in 2024/25, according to the latest official figures. The statistical bulletin published by the Legal Services Agency (LSA) yesterday covers both criminal and civil cases and provides

Northern Ireland's Legal Services Agency paid £120 million to lawyers for legal aid work in the last financial year, according to provisional figures. The figures were revealed as the justice minister, Naomi Long, visited the LSA's headquarters in Belfast to mark its 10th anniversary.

Law firms in England and Wales may have to hand over the interest from client accounts to help fund legal aid under plans being considered by the UK government. The Ministry of Justice has been privately consulting with legal aid providers and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on the propose

The first review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme since its introduction in 1979 has been published. Publishing both majority and minority reports from the Independent Review Group, the justice, home affairs and migration minister Jim O’Callaghan said: “Access to justice is a fundamental ri

Fermanagh is in danger of becoming a "legal aid desert" as a result of cuts to courts, custody suits and legal aid, the Law Society of Northern Ireland has warned.

FLAC has called on the government to deal with the "civil legal aid crisis" as it revealed enormous demand for its services in 2024. The NGO's annual report for 2024, published today, shows that its telephone information and referral line answered 11,435 queries last year, including a record high of

The Legal Aid Board has opened a new law and family mediation centre in Castlebar. The new centre in Cavendish House brings the former law centre and family mediation office under one roof and is expected to assist more than 1,000 people in its first year of operation.

Legal aid should be recognised as part of the welfare system and funded accordingly, the Bar of Northern Ireland has said. In its submission to Northern Ireland's budget consultation, the Bar says there is a "strong argument" for transferring the funding of legal aid to the category of "annually man

Northern Ireland's justice minister launched an extended attack on striking criminal barristers yesterday as she confirmed a backdated 16 per cent increase in legal aid fees would take effect in May. Speaking in the Assembly, Naomi Long said that the uplift would apply to civil, family and criminal