A YEAR IN THE LAW 2015-16
Brexit The referendum on EU membership
The legal aid crisis The outlook for people’s ability to access basic justice in this country in the 21st century is increasingly bleak. There has been a little good news for lawyers and prison workers, as (now former, after his post-Brexit power play went wrong) Justice Secretary Michael Gove embarked on a series of U-turns on policies introduced by his predecessor Chris Grayling, whose competence was continually questioned while he was in the role. Perhaps the most important volte face were the abandonment of an unworkable dual bidding process for firms applying for legal aid contracts, the suspension of a further 8.75% fee cut for duty criminal solicitors (lawyers who represent suspected criminals in police stations and magistrates courts), and the abolition of a draconian ban on prison inmates being sent books by their families. Perhaps Grayling had seen too many movies where prisoners escape using smuggled nail files and toothpicks – we’ll never know. Gove suffered an embarrassing defeat himself when the Ministry of Justice’s attempt to introduce a discriminatory residence test for legal aid claimants was unanimously thrown out by the Supreme Court. However, the overall picture for the justice system has been one of funding cuts and exorbitant fee rises, despite the fact that UK law guarantees that justice be accessible to all. The House of Commons Justice Committee, a cross-party group of MPs, has called on the government to reduce employment tribunal fees in
to be introduced in some form in the next few years – with the SRA’s final decision due in Spring 2017. Fees and guarantees As universities signal their intent to increase tuition fees for undergraduate degrees beyond the current annual expensive vocational courses year on year, finances have inevitably become a more important factor than ever for would-be and current students. Sensing the prevailing mood, The University of Law has launched a ‘100% employability promise’ for its LPC students, who will be eligible to claim back 50% of their fees in cash if they are without a job in the legal or commercial sector nine months after graduating, plus an additional discount – equal to half the cost of the LPC – on a further postgraduate course. However, as always, the devil is in the detail: the offer excludes graduates who are working as paralegals, but have not yet secured a training contract; while the utility of an invitation to enrol on a further (albeit discounted) postgraduate course is questionable, given that most recruiters are at pains to stress that a master’s does little to boost one’s chances of securing a training contract or make up for poor grades. However, in some good news for aspiring solicitors, the Law Society’s latest statistics show that training contract numbers are up 9% on last year, although they still have not returned to their all-time high before the 2008 financial crisis. highs of £9,000, and law schools likewise hike the cost of their
has caused chaos from both a legislative and commercial
perspective. Now that the electorate has voted for Brexit, the profession is left facing considerable uncertainty on everything from immigration – with new Prime Minister Theresa May refusing to guarantee the right to stay to EU nationals whose contributions are vital to our economy and public services – to the environment, employment and the commercial transactions which are the lifeblood of the City. Lawyers will have plenty to do as the dust settles and the country negotiates a new relationship with the trading bloc. Legal challenges have also ensued: Mishcon de Reya is bringing the first of these on behalf of a group of anonymous clients, demanding that the government not invoke Article 50 – which will officially start the two-year process of leaving the European Union – without the proper parliamentary procedure being followed. The outcome of the referendum also brought about change at the very top of the legal profession, as Justice Secretary Michael Gove – a leading Leave campaigner – botched a power play following David Cameron’s resignation which ultimately led to him being sacked from the Cabinet by the victor, his old rival May. The new justice secretary and lord chancellor is Liz Truss, the first woman to hold the position in its thousand-year history; she will doubtless be a key figure in next year’s edition of this piece.
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