Legal Aid

Articles

Solicitors could be forced out of prison law as LSC wields axe

Solicitors have warned that they could be forced to withdraw from prison law and vulnerable clients could be left unrepresented after the LSC announced a budget cap and cuts in fees.

Manage your manager

Chris Marston

BVT for civil legal aid could start next year

Best value tendering for civil legal aid contracts could start next year, it has emerged.

You should have gone to Lex-savers

Anyone who sees the supermarkets offering anything more complex than quickie divorces needs their eyes tested, says Russell Conway

Solicitors remember Henry Hodge

One of the country's leading solicitors, Sir Henry Hodge, died on 18 June. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in September last year.

Safety first

Disciplinary action against experts in child abuse cases has caused concern, but if professionals are objective, act in the best interests of the child and remain aware of the dangers, they will not be held accountable for mistakes, say Malcolm Johnson and Penny Cooper

Update: clinical negligence

Dr Jock Mackenzie considers cases on causation where there are several possible causes of injury; on the importance of timings to causation in cerebral palsy cases; and on factual dispute involving expert evidence

Slippery slope

The House of Lords has recently restricted the scope of strict liability for defective work equipment but employers could still be liable for negligence, particularly when employees use vehicles for work purposes, says Susan Dearden