Thinking about the decline of legal aid while in the bath this morning (as you do), I thought “If I were in charge, what would I do?”. Well here is my ‘from the bath’ solution, gratis, from someone who used to do legal aid but does it no longer. Well, I think to start with,…
There is interesting post on the Nearly Legal web-site recently on how a tenant (with the help of Nearly Legal) fought back against a nightmare landlord. None of my landlords of course would dream of behaving like that, but there is always one. Or three. Or more. Its nice to see that at least some…
As I have been banging on about legal aid a bit recently, feeling rather as if I were banging my head against a brick wall, I was delighted to see a report in the Observer today on Legal Aid in Crisis. Only in the business supplement of course where no-one will see it, but at…
Following on from my post yesterday, it occurs to me that if the current trend continues, there will eventually be no legal aid solicitors left in private practice. Those unable to afford private legal fees will then have no alternative but to use the Law Centres and legal charities such as the Citizens Advice Bureau…
I can remember, quite a long time ago, it could have been as much as 10 years, I went to a presentation by the Legal Aid Board (as it was then). I can’t remember why or what it was about, but what I do remember is a tirade which one of the speakers suddenly got…
A report in the Observer indicates that the Community Legal Service’s telephone advice service may have a more sinister objective than just to help people solve their legal problems on the phone. The service is one whereby callers who qualify for legal aid can call a national helpline for up to half an hours free…
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Unbelievable arrogance
I have just had the dubious pleasure of watching Vera Baird QC, our legal aid minister, being questioned on Channel 4 lunchtime news about the legal aid reforms. When asked how vulnerable clients were going to manage if they have to travel up to 50 miles to get essential legal advice, she just shook her…