Law Society announces legal challenge! 22/3/07

Legal aid is under threat.

The latest government proposals will deny justice to the most vulnerable in society. In a time of increased police powers, a raft of new offences and a greater complexity of law, the government want to dumb down justice. While we see more legislation criminalising peaceful protest, repressive legislation for asylum seekers, and with Courts busier than ever before in family and care proceedings, more and more people will face these issues without legal representation. Without access to justice, there can be no justice.

Please join us on Monday 19th March, 2.30pm-5.30pm at Old Palace Yard, opposite Houses of Parliament, to show a united front against this infringement of basic civil liberties. Bring banners, placards and as many of your friends and colleagues as you can muster.

The Law Society has today issued a letter before action preparing the way for a legal challenge to the new unified contract as part of our commitment to lead the fight for a sustainable future for legal aid.

The Law Society is also calling publicly on the Legal Services Commission to defer introduction of the new contract until the legal issues are settled. If it doesn’t, legal aid practitioners are faced with a stark choice: sign the contract or stop doing legal aid work.

Read a letter to the chair of the LSC (PDF, 30kb)