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Going underground

I had put off typing up this column until I was certain that the world would not come to an apocalyptic end on 21 May. No, not the launch of ABSs, but the day of 'Rapture' predicted by Harold Camping, an American (of course) evangelical broadcaster who, at 89 years old, is perhaps closer to his day of judgment than most of his fanatical followers.

Fresh concerns over advocacy scheme

The conditional endorsement by the SRA board last week of the report by a joint expert group on the proposed quality assurance scheme for criminal advocates has fuelled fresh concerns over the risk of judge bias against solicitors.

Appeal judges end confusion over regional strategies

Developer Cala Homes has failed in a second attempt to overturn a planning statement from communities secretary Eric Pickles, requiring councils to take into account the government's commitment to abolish the regional planning strategies.

Legal aid protests as government prepares to unveil bill

There were protests across the country today during the 'Justice for All' day of action, as the government prepared to unveil a legal aid bill containing what many expect to be drastic cuts.

Advocacy group asked to rewrite new quality assurance scheme rules

The SRA board has asked the group of experts set up to design a quality advocacy assurance scheme for all criminal advocates to reconsider some of the rules amid concerns that judges carrying out advocate assessment could be biased against solicitors.

Bar attacks LSB for failing to ban referral fees for advocates

The Bar Council has said it is “surprised and disappointed” that the LSB failed to ban referral fees.

Cala Homes loses appeal over regional strategies

Developer Cala Homes has failed in a second attempt to overturn a planning statement from communities secretary Eric Pickles, requiring councils to take into account the government's commitment to abolish the regional planning strategies.

LSB rules out blanket ban on referral fees

Frontline regulators will be allowed to ban referral fees if they can provide evidence of the reasons for doing so, the Legal Services Board has said in a report that has otherwise found there was no “purely regulatory case” for an outright ban.