The 5-minute read that enlightens, brightens and informs on the week in #legalcosts.
This week Lord Neuberger giving the closing keynote address to the Independent Council of Advocates and Barristers in Edinburgh, called for Solicitors to make access to justice a reality not a slogan.
We wholeheartedly concur.
But what are we to make of the will of a government that this week sets out a plan for 500% increase in immigration and asylum fees and has its own residency test for public funding thrown out by the Court of Appeal as unlawful?
Challenging times continue.
Also this week, @Krug79 tweeted “J-codes compulsory from October 2017” but read Lord Justice Jackson’s comments at the Law Society conference on Thursday and you will see this is a recommendation only to break the perceived current deadlock on the new electronic format for the bill of costs.
We wonder just who is driving this scheme forward and why no-one has taken the obvious route of exploring the success or otherwise of the provisional assessment scheme first - surely a worthwhile undertaking before the upheaval and expense of investment in new case management systems which will hit high street practitioners hard?
And it seems we are not the only ones calling for review. Jon Robins writing in the New Law Journal contributes a searing piece on LASPO claiming “it is in desperate need of a re-evaluation”, three years on.
It looks like insurance industry statistics have faced their own “re-evaluation” this week with APIL confirming following careful scrutiny that only 0.25% of insurance claims ever prove to be fraudulent (less for whiplash claims) contrary to previous suggestions. It’s hard to forget that these statistics are still being used to justify government proposals to abolish the right to compensation for some whiplash injuries.
Positive news this week, for domestic violence campaigners which sees the time limit for domestic violence evidence on public funding applications to be extended to five years. That’s if you can find a legal aid provider to assist you with the Law Society Gazette reporting a legal aid advice desert in certain areas of the country which bring us somehow full circle back to the beginning of this article.
Until next week…
Kate Oliver, Chief Executive is in charge of business development for John M Hayes. A busy mum to four (and one step-son), Kate enjoyed a successful career as a consultant costs draftsmen for over twenty years, starting as a Trainee with the Company in April 1991, making this her 25th year in the business. Kate supports access to justice and is a firm believer in the role of a costs draftsman /costs lawyer helping law firms achieve their full potential.