Legal Aid

Demand for civil legal aid fell sharply last year as public health restrictions were put in place, new figures from the Legal Aid Board reveal. The number of applicants seeking civil legal aid services from the Board's law centres totalled 14,383 in 2020, down by nearly a fifth on the previous year,

Legal rights group FLAC has said an additional €3 million in funding for the Legal Aid Board is "a welcome step in the right direction but only a drop in the ocean in terms of what is needed". Justice minister Heather Humphreys yesterday welcomed a five per cent budget increase for the justice

Family lawyers have been urged to complete surveys related to legal aid fees before they close later this month. Solicitors who worked on proceedings in relation to Article 8 or Article 50 applications under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 in the Family Proceedings Court (FPC) between Apr

Some lawyers may have lost access to case information after Northern Ireland's legal aid agency inadvertently closed the deadline for re-registration on its digital case management system a day early. The Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland had told practitioners in May that they had until 30 Jun

A woman who wants to bring family law proceedings against her allegedly violent former partner has settled her High Court challenge over the Legal Aid Board's refusal to fund her action. The mother-of-two, who is reliant on social welfare payments, had claimed that her application for legal aid was

Housing assistance payment (HAP) will no longer be taken into account by the Legal Aid Board when calculating entitlement to civil legal aid. The immediate measure was agreed by ministers late last week and comes ahead of a broader review of the civil legal aid scheme.

Legal rights group FLAC has welcomed government plans to review the civil legal aid scheme and bring forward proposals for reform by September 2021. The review is one of the 240 actions set out yesterday by the Department of Justice in the first of its planned series of annual justice plans, though

The law firms and barristers earning most from legal aid in Northern Ireland are set to be named again under plans put out to consultation today. The Legal Services Agency has not published details of payments made to solicitor firms and individual barristers for nearly five years.

A woman who wants to bring family law proceedings against her allegedly violent former partner has launched a High Court challenge over the Legal Aid Board's refusal to fund her action. The mother-of-two, who is reliant on social welfare payments, claims that her application for legal aid was turned

Landmark domestic abuse legislation has been delayed by Justice Minister Naomi Long due to a row over legal aid and is no longer expected to become law by the end of the year. The Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill was due to be debated at the further consideration stage by MLAs yesterday bu

The Court of Appeal has ruled on two appeals relating to the procedural fairness of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal. The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, rejected arguments that legal aid should be provided to people availing of the scheme. The court a

Proposals to provide victims of domestic abuse with greater access to legal aid in family law cases have been approved by the Northern Ireland Assembly. MLAs debating the Domestic Abuse and Family Proceedings Bill agreed to back an amendment brought by Rachel Woods, Green MLA for North Down, in the

The vast majority of legal aid lawyers in England and Wales are suffering from stress and most have trouble sleeping, MPs have been told. Evidence collected by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) from over 400 lawyers and submitted to the Commons justice select committee's inquiry into the futu

The Legal Aid Board has denied claims that cuts to fees for solicitors advising international protection applicants will impact access to justice for a vulnerable group of people. An immigration solicitor told Irish Legal News last week that the new fee structure for the International Protection Sol

The Legal Aid Board is bracing for an increase in demand and delays in accessing legal services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its chairperson Philip O'Leary has said.