Legal Aid

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have today begun an indefinite strike aimed at forcing the UK government to deliver a further boost to legal aid funding. Barristers have been striking sporadically since June and last month voted overwhelmingly to escalate their action to an indefinite strik

The government should invest €3.3 million in restoring legal aid fees for barristers in order to more effectively protect the rights of those in custody, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said. The human rights organisation today launched its pre-budget submission, which calls on

English solicitors could be given more advocacy rights under UK government plans to break the barristers' strike, according to reports. The Daily Mail quotes a government source as saying ministers "are looking to give more solicitors higher rights of audience to broaden the work they can do, increa

As strikes grind the English courts to a halt, barristers in Ireland have talked up the case for similar action here as a minister reportedly gives consideration to long-awaited fee restoration. Members of the Bar Council last week met with Michael McGrath, the minister for public expenditure and re

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly for an indefinite strike in a major escalation of their campaign for higher legal aid pay. After a two-week ballot by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in which 2,273 people voted — significantly more than either of the two pr

Northern Ireland's legal aid agency has launched a crackdown on overpayment through a new process that will see a random monthly sample of cases investigated to confirm the financial eligibility of the applicant at all stages. The Legal Services Agency (LSA) previously began investigating a monthly

Criminal barristers in England and Wales are being balloted on whether their industrial action over the low rates of legal aid should be escalated into an "uninterrupted strike". In a letter to members, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said all of those on strike "made the decision to withdraw the

The Legal Aid Board has officially opened a new co-located law centre and mediation centre in Sligo. Located on the second floor of Bridgewater House on Rockwood Parade, the new centre is the latest in the agency's network of 30 full-time law centres and 17 mediation offices across the State.

Solicitors in London are refusing to take on cases for defendants accused of assaulting emergency workers and harassment in a legal aid row with the UK government. Defence lawyers in the capital have already refused burglary cases on the basis legal aid fees are inadequate.

Eight in 10 Crown Court hearings suffered disruption yesterday as criminal barristers in England and Wales began their first day of strike action over legal aid pay. The leaders of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said that at least six murder trials at the Old Bailey had been delayed due to the s

Criminal barristers across England and Wales have begun strike action in protest over inadequate legal aid fees. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) refused the offer of a 15 per cent uplift in fees, saying it was insufficient in the wake of deep cuts to the legal aid budget and pointed out that it w

The combined impact of the pandemic and increased financial pressure on individuals and households has exacerbated the "ongoing crisis of unmet legal need in this country", the head of legal rights group FLAC has warned. Writing in the foreword to FLAC's annual report for 2021, FLAC chief executive

Improvements in the processing of criminal legal aid payments in Northern Ireland have been hampered by the availability of legal aid funding, a watchdog has warned. An inspection report from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI) has found that the new Legal Aid Management System (LAMS)

Criminal defence solicitors are set to join their barrister colleagues on picket lines next week as part of a dispute over legal aid fees. The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) yesterday confirmed following a ballot of 2,500 members across England and Wales that it will pursue "the highest form of esca

Criminal law barristers have overwhelmingly voted to strike as part of their legal aid dispute with the UK government. Following a ballot of 2,500 members, the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) said it would pursue "the highest form of escalation", consisting of "days of action combined with both no re