Minutes

On 10 February 2020, YLAL Midlands hosted an event on the challenges of working in the legal sector, with a focus on mental health and general wellbeing.

Our event began with contributions from the panel. This was chaired by YLAL Midlands and national committee member Malvika Jaganmohan, who has been vocal on Twitter about her own mental health struggles. She outlined the tension between having a frank discussion about mental health and also pursuing a career as a young legal aid lawyer.

On 19th Feb 2020 YLAL Liverpool met in a cosy library at The Quaker Meeting house lit by fairy lights to discuss wellbreing and self care for those working in the sector.

Siobhan Taylor-Ward opened the meeting by giving some information about the resources available to lawyers, findings of the Social Mobility survey and JLD's wellbeing survey and also a bit about her experiences and how she has managed stress and pressure in the workplace.

On 20 June 2019, YLAL Midlands hosted an event on the law relating to refugees and migrants and the increasing difficulties that individuals face in seeking safety or a better life in the UK. We also began discussions on building networks between lawyers, charities and community groups to empower individuals seeking to exercise their rights.

On Thursday 9 May 2019, YLAL Midlands hosted an event on Brexit, Human Rights and Access to Justice at the Irwin Mitchell office in Birmingham.

YLAL co-chair Oliver Carter introduced the event and gave a presentation on key Brexit-related litigation, including the Miller, Wightman and Wilson cases, and the possible impact of leaving that leaving the European Union will have on human rights and access to justice in the UK. Ollie's slides are attached at the bottom of this page.

 LASPO Post-Implementation Review and Future Legal Aid Policy

In the Equality Impact Assessment accompanying the LASPO Bill, the Ministry of Justice set out its objectives for the proposed legislation as:

As requested at our London meeting on 9 January 2019, please find attached the consent order in Duncan Lewis' judicial review of the rules prohibiting payment in claims for judicial review in circumstances where permission has not been granted. Many thanks to Duncan Lewis and Tim Buley from Landmark Chambers for providing this.

Attached to this post is Sarah Hannett's handout from the joint YLAL-DLA event on "Access to Justice for Victims of Discrimination" held in London on 14 November 2018. The handout is entitled: "Using the Equality Act 2010 in Public Law Claims".

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.