Minutes

You can find our live tweeting of the Women in Law event here. 

This event was hosted by KCH Garden Square Chambers in Nottingham on Wednesday 13 June. It focussed on the progression of women at the Bar, in the solicitors' profession and in the judiciary.

We were joined by:

APPG on Legal Aid : Post-LASPO Litigation – Where are we now?

Panellists:

• Olive Craig (Rights of Women on domestic violence evidence requirements)
• Simon Creighton (Founding Partner, Bhatt Murphy on legal aid for prisoners)
• Polly Brendon (Public Law Project on Exceptional Case Funding)
• Jo Cecil (Garden Court Chambers and The Criminal Bar Association)
• Matthew Shelly (Legal Aid Agency (MOJ), Deputy Director of Legal Aid and Court Fees Policy)

Summary:

APPG on Legal Aid: Early Advice

Lord Low on the Low Commission

Lord Low reported on the findings of the Low Commission (reports published in January 2014 and March 2015 can be found here: https://www.lowcommission.org.uk/) that the advice deficit has widened significantly and that this is not, therefore, an issue that the government can afford to ignore. 

APPG on Legal Aid: Legal Aid and Inquests, New Domestic Violence Regulations and Prison Law reforms

Introduction by Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith, vice president of the APPG on Legal Aid.

On Wednesday 10 January 2017, Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) hosted Penelope Gibbs, director of Transform Justice and Claire Dissington, head of the youth department at Edward Fail Bradshaw and Waterson, to discuss the topic 'What Price Criminal Justice: Is Austerity Causing Miscarriages of Justice?'

Grenfell Tower: Fire and Safety issues in social housing

Minutes of the meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Legal Aid, Wednesday 25 October 2017

Speakers: Giles Peaker (Partner, Anthony Gold), Justin Bates (Barrister, Arden Chambers), and Andrew Patterson (representing the Government’s review of building regulations and fire safety)

Parliamentarians: Karen Buck MP (Chair), Lord Jeremy Beecham, Alex Chalk MP, Emma Dent Coad MP, Andy Slaughter MP

Our latest event, Access to Justice Under Attack: Brexit, Charlie Gard and the Rule of Law was held on 12 October 2017 at Bristol Law Society. It took the form of a panel event and was chaired by Helen Law from Matrix Chambers, who did a fantastic job of tying together the key themes arising from the four talks, which all came at the issues from a different angle but demonstrated the inherent injustices in the current system.

Our London meeting on Wednesday 13 September 2017 at Hodge Jones & Allen focussed on the recent Court of Appeal judgment on legal aid for prisoners and the work of the Howard League for Penal Reform, with Simon Creighton of Bhatt Murphy and Marie Franklin of the Howard League joining us as guest speakers.

Report of the inaugural APPG meeting of the new Parliament – 12.07.2017

From Grenfell Tower to unrepresented children to the collapse in legal aid providers, LASPO impedes access to justice

“Where is the Rule of Law when Parliament denies justice to those who can least afford it?”

Carol Storer, the director of Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), joined us as a guest speaker to discuss what happens next for legal aid, following this month’s election. Ollie introduced Carol, noting that we had expected this meeting to be about the implications of a significant Conservative majority government. However, we now have a hung Parliament with a minority Conservative government, and a strengthened Labour party which is the most pro-access to justice in recent memory.

Carol covered a number of topics on upcoming challenges and opportunities, including: