Legal Aid

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

Criminal law barristers are being balloted on action as their legal aid dispute with the UK government continues. Some 2,500 members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) are being balloted on escalating a work-to-rule that has been in place for six weeks, The Times reports.

Nearly 300 barristers have signed a letter to the justice minister, Helen McEntee, calling for an urgent review of "unsustainable" and "uneconomic" fees for criminal work in the District Court. The petition seeks the "immediate full and long overdue unwinding of cuts to rates of pay for criminal leg

Legal aid will be provided for issues relating to capacity under the new regime coming into force this summer, the government has said. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022, which was published last week, will make a number of changes to the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacit

The long-awaited review of the civil legal aid scheme will be led by retired Chief Justice Frank Clarke and will commence work this month, the government has announced. The review group – which has been given a year to complete its work – will also have members drawn from those who work

Just nine law firms are available to undertake legal aid work in immigration and asylum law in Northern Ireland, according to a new report. The report, produced by barrister and researcher Dr Jo Wilding for Refugee Action Good Practice, examines access to immigration legal advice in different parts

Criminal solicitors in London are to refuse low-paid cases this week in protest at legal aid rates. More than 100 solicitors have voted to stop representing people accused of assaults and burglaries on medical workers from tomorrow.

Advisers stationed at GP surgeries, council offices, libraries, and other convenient locations can help more people get more timely access to civil justice, according to a new think tank report. The Social Market Foundation said that legal support for civil justice can better reach the those in need

The Bar of Northern Ireland has called for an end to the "unsustainable underfunding" of legal aid as it set out its policy priorities ahead of next week's election. In Raising the Bar: Priorities for the Post-Election Period, the Bar urges policy and decision makers to "take a strategic view of the

The run-up to next month’s Northern Ireland Assembly elections has been dominated by the lingering impact of Brexit, with unionist opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol threatening to prevent the formation of a new power-sharing Executive. But Naomi Long, leader of the cross-community Al

Criminal trials in England and Wales could stop completely from today as barristers take industrial action over legal aid funding for defence practitioners. The Criminal Bar Association is moving ahead with its work-to-rule, with bar leaders saying they were taking action because real incomes for cr

A group of barristers in Dublin stopped work this morning for the second time in a month in protest of low legal aid payments in criminal cases.

The criminal legal aid sector in England and Wales is to receive up to an extra £135 million a year following a consultation, the UK government has announced. The move follows an announcement this week that 94 per cent of Criminal Bar Association members had voted in favour of industrial actio