Does Legal Aid Have A Future?

The British Law Society announced plans to launch a judicial review over plans the

Legal Services Commission introduced in August to change the way family law contracts are tendered. The new regulations will mean a huge change to how the family court system is funded and will have a big effect on the many people who have in the past used legal aid to help fund their legal expenses. The same people will now find it much more of a struggle to get financial help should they need it again.

Legal practitioners and the LSC were left surprised by the outcome of the tender process which was announced in August. Around 1100 firms did not manage to secure new contracts which left just 1300 to cover the whole country. To contrast to this the criminal law bid which involved a similar amount of firms managed to commence last month with hardly any problems.

The LAG understands that the law society has come under a huge amount of pressure from the firms that successfully attempted to stop the changes occurring nut the law society have maintained that they have a public duty to act fairly. The worry is now that the new regulations will have a detrimental effect on those who had formerly relied upon legal aid in order to cover their fees.

In certain areas o the country it is believed that people will now find themselves forced to commute a long distance in order to find a suitable solicitor. The remaining fact is that the reduction in the number of solicitors willing to provide legal aid risks members of the public being left unable to receive the legal advice they require. This has the potential to raise problems where cases of domestic abuse and child protection are concerned.

Only when the first batch of appeals are resolved will the true effect of the change be shown. The British legal system is bracing itself until then.

by: Clare Westwood

POST COMMENT

What Kinds Of Knives Do You Like, And Are They Legal? Good Job Prospects For Paralegals Pc Tv Software - Is It Legal? Using Legal Marketing Methods To Draw Attention Legal Headhunters Professional Paralegal Chicago Legal Placement Legal Recruiters California Legal Job Recruiters Legal Search Firms The Legal Issues Related Foreign-funded Advertising Enterprises Obtaining the Appropriate Prison Barricade Legal representative Legal Service Is There For The Mesothelioma Patient