It used to be said that access to justice in this country was like the Ritz Cafe: open to the rich and to the poor alike (the point being that if you do not have the money then you do not get through the door either to the courts or to the Ritz).
I was reminded of this very old saying when I read in a recent Law Society Gazette (a magazine for solicitors) that the Lord Chancellor (the government minister in charge of our legal system) Christopher Grayling has “announced a renewed drive to export the UK’s legal services as City Firms fight to maintain healthy profit margins.”
I will give second place to no person in my fervent desire to see “healthy profit margins” for City Firms and I share the dismay and concern of Christopher G. that fee revenue for firms like that will be “only” 4% more in 2012/2013 than it was in 2011/2012 when fee revenue increased by “only” 5% from the previous year…
It is clearly very important to make sure that the government bends every sinew to the vital task of ensuring very large profits for City law firms and others working in the City.
As a partner in a primarily Legal Aid firm I do hope that the massive cuts in Legal Aid which came into force 1st April 2013 may help in some small way to cross subsidise Christopher’s vital work in the formation of the “action plan” in which he is engaged to promote City firms. (I do hope he has considered redeploying the money saved on Legal Aid for that purpose).
Because every little helps.
Perhaps the even bigger cuts in funding for the pursuit of claims by accident victims may also assist in this way.
Anyway I must enthusiastically join the widespread indeed universal chorus of approval for these exciting new changes which will so improve matters for accident victims and for people who once upon a time would have qualified to get legal advice under the legal aid scheme but now won’t.
I feel sure that the recently expressed worry of Lord Neuberger President of the Supreme Court (the highest court in the land) that the rule of law might be undermined by the widespread removal of Legal Aid is unjustified.
Chris of course is not a qualified lawyer. Clearly it is much the best thing to have someone without any legal qualifications in charge of our legal system. It is very odd that no one thought of such an obvious point in the 340 years preceding his appointment. (During that long period there was an inappropriate belief that it might be useful to have people in the post who knew something about the law – bonkers I know but fortunately times have excitingly moved on so that as is only right and proper we now have someone in charge who has no legal background at all.)
As someone with no legal qualifications Chrissy is absolutely bound to know a great deal more about what to do as a result of his experience of the justice system (which may amount to as much as several months if not even more) than would Lord Neuberger who has only got a few decades of highly qualified legal experience under his belt…
Anyway congratulations once again to our Lord Chancellor for the absolutely outstanding job of work he is doing in these areas of Legal Aid and accident compensation – fair play to him.
And if following the removal of legal aid you find your ex partner will not let you see your kids and you cannot cope on your own with the courts system without a lawyer in trying to get an order that you can see them and if following the costs “reforms“ to the personal injury system you find you cannot find a lawyer to take on your case for getting injured through the fault of someone else while you were just minding your own business: well then – maybe we can all meet down at the Ritz or the Savoy for a nice spot of lunch or a slap up dinner.
Relevant hash tags for the above: irony/sarcasm/brewery/organization within/of a …social event.