CPN Webinar: Legal aid and Covid-19 - A crisis within a crisis
In 1949, Parliament passed the Legal Aid and Advice Act, providing free solicitor’s advice to those who were unable to pay. Describing legal aid, Lord Beecham called it “one of the great pillars of the post-war welfare state” and, more recently, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said it was “central to righting wrongs and rectifying injustice”. Over the last 30 years, legal aid in the UK has faced significant criticism, from some who say it is too easily abused and allows fat-cat lawyers to systemically pillage the public purse, to those who feel legal aid cutbacks in recent times have led to a degradation of fundamental rights to justice.
On 23 July, Leeds Law School is delighted to welcome the Shadow Minister for Legal Aid, Karl Turner MP, to deliver a Law in Practice webinar examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on legal aid. Mr Turner, who is a barrister and solicitor, was elected as the Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull East in 2010. He has held a number of frontbench roles for the opposition including Shadow Solicitor General and Shadow Attorney General, both for England and Wales. During his time as an MP he has been a vocal supporter of both legal aid and the proper funding of the Crown Prosecution Service.
This Law in Practice webinar is run in conjunction with Leeds Law Society, Trinity Chambers, the Yorkshire Union of Law Societies and the Collaborative Professionals Network.
The webinar will commence at 18:00 and there will be an opportunity for questions (to be submitted in advance) afterwards. This is likely, under all of the circumstances, to be popular and those interested are advised to book early to avoid disappointment.