Report from Law Society President and Council Member Lubna Shuja

By the time this article is printed, I will have taken office as President of the Law Society of England and Wales. The Vice President will be Nick Emmerson, a solicitor from Yorkshire who deals with cross border mergers and acquisitions, and international capital market transactions. I am pleased to confirm that Richard Atkinson, who is a criminal law solicitor based in Kent was elected as the Deputy Vice President and will take office from October 2022 completing our Office Holder team. I very much look forward to working closely with both Nick and Richard over the coming year.

Recent Law Society Council meetings took place on 5 July 2022 and 14 September 2022. Below is a summary of some of the issues we discussed together with an update on the work being done by the Law Society on behalf of members. Copies of the reports to Council from the Law Society’s CEO can be found on the SPG website at www.spg. uk.com. I would urge all members to take a look at the Law Society website for further information, not only about the work of the Society but also for details of events taking place. Please also register on ‘My Law Society’ on the website if you have not already done so. This will allow you to receive updates on matters of interest to you. It will also enable you to access ‘Law Society Connect’ which is a popular online secure private portal for sole practitioners and small firms to chat, network and support each other.

Ukraine and SLAPPs

The Society has communicated with and supported legal colleagues in Ukraine. It has also advised the Government and our members on the form and implementation of effective sanctions measures in respect of Russia.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, there has been a marked uptick in criticism of lawyers. The Society was keen to understand what impact this is having on perceptions of the legal profession, so we surveyed members of the public. The results showed a worsening of public opinion of lawyers overall recently, which seems to have been driven by news/politics. This will be an area we intend to focus on during my year as president. It is the job of solicitors to represent their clients, whoever they may be. This is how the public can be confident they live in a country that respects the rule of law. The Society is developing a strategy that supports our members and also engages positively with the Government reform processes on specific issues such as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). We will be actively engaging in further dialogue with our members and stakeholders, about the ethical challenges of operating in today’s environment.

Afghanistan

The Society has drawn attention to the situation facing judges and lawyers in Afghanistan and has worked to help secure resettlement in the UK for members of the profession and their families whose safety was under threat.

Human Rights and Immigration

Most recently, there has been significant publicity around legal responses to the UK government’s agreement with Rwanda in relation to asylum seekers. The Society emphasised that individuals faced with removal from the UK should have access to, and legal support through, due legal process. As I write this article, we are still awaiting the outcome of the judicial review, which was due to take place in September, challenging the policy. The Law Society’s concern is that if migrants and refugees are sent to Rwanda this would make profound and irreversible changes to their lives. They would have no way of challenging breaches of their human rights in Rwanda because the proposed safeguards are not binding or enforceable in Rwanda and they would have no way of seeking justice in the UK.

The Law Society understands that people have been given insufficient notice or time to get legal advice about their removal to Rwanda, only 14 days, or 7 days if in immigration detention. Anyone who is subject to such a life changing order must have access to legal representation and be able to challenge the decision and have their case fairly and transparently processed. We await the outcome of the judicial review which is the first legal challenge testing whether the arrangement is lawful.

Solicitors Indemnity Fund

Following an extensive and well-coordinated campaign by the Law Society in favour of retaining the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) with the support of a profession-wide levy, the SRA has deferred the closure of the SIF for a year (to the end of September 2023). In August 2022, the SRA issued a discussion paper on the future of the SIF. The Law Society responded outlining three key principles for consumer protection in relation to negligence claims brought more than six years after a firm has closed. These principles are:

1. Any new arrangement should continue to run as an indemnity scheme, which could be funded on an ongoing basis through a mandatory levy, suggested at around £240 per firm.

2. Any residual funds from SIF should be ring-fenced for the specific purpose of dealing with post six year run off cover (PSYROC) claims, for the benefit of consumers and solicitors.

3. Any new arrangement must provide the same scope of indemnity cover that is currently provided by SIF.

Having received response to its discussion paper, the SRA very recently announced that the existing SIF arrangements will be replaced with an SRA-run indemnity arrangement from September 2023, which will maintain the same level of cover as SIF. The Law Society has requested a timetable from the SRA setting out how they expect this matter to progress to ensure appropriate protections will be in place by September 2023. We will continue to engage closely with the SRA in order to make sure any new scheme will be affordable in the long term, providing good value for money whilst maintaining the same strong protections for both solicitors and consumers.

Criminal Legal Aid

Since the Government published its response to the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid (CLAIR), the Society has engaged closely with MPs and Ministers to highlight our concerns about the shortfall in the Government’s proposed package for solicitors. Following news that barristers have voted to escalate their current legal aid action from 5 September, the Law Society warned that solicitors will continue to leave the criminal defence profession unless more investment is forthcoming. Whilst they have the same concerns as barristers, many are limited in the action they can take due to their professional obligations to their clients and their legal aid contracts.

Many solicitors, especially those joining the profession, see no future in criminal defence work, following the Ministry of Justice’s failure to fully implement Lord Bellamy QC’s recommended minimum fee increases. The number of solicitors and firms doing criminal legal aid work continues to fall at a time when the criminal defence profession is needed more than ever to tackle the huge backlog of Crown Court cases. Duty lawyer schemes in places like Barnstaple and Skegness are collapsing, meaning that people who are arrested may be unable to get advice in the police station that they are legally entitled to have. This would have serious adverse consequences for the fairness of any subsequent trial if they are charged.

The backlogs in the criminal courts continue. There are more than 59,000 outstanding Crown Court cases and more than 353,000 in the magistrates’ courts. Some trials have been delayed until 2024 which means victims, witnesses and defendants are being denied timely access to justice and are losing faith in the criminal justice system. However, physical space is no longer the only or most pressing problem. It is now becoming apparent that HM Courts and Tribunals Service is struggling to find enough judges and staff to be able to operate existing court rooms and sessions. For the criminal courts to run at capacity, as well as enough court rooms, more judges, court staff, prosecutors and defence lawyers are needed.

We will continue to urgently press for further investment in all parts of the criminal justice system to prevent its collapse and ensure justice for all.

Judicial Review and Courts Bill

The Law Society achieved a major influencing success on the Judicial Review and Courts Bill by persuading the Government to drop a statutory presumption that would have directed judges to use particular remedies in judicial review cases. This success was the culmination of nearly two years of lobbying, encompassing engagement with government officials, key parliamentarians, and the Public Bill Committee.

International Market Access

The Society is working on trade policy in relation to Australia, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and India. A new consultation on trade with Switzerland is underway, to replace the temporary Citizens Rights Agreement and Services Mobility Agreement. The Society held a positive in-person meeting for the Legal Services working group on the UK-Nigeria Economic and Development Forum.

Wales

New, flexible legal services apprenticeships have arrived in Wales. The new apprenticeship pathway is the result of a collaborative approach across government and the legal services sector in Wales, aimed at improving access to justice by opening up opportunities to the growing number of individuals looking for a vocational route into a career in law. Any organisation that is able to provide the necessary legal work experience is eligible to sign up: www.legalnewswales.com/news/legal-apprenticeships-launch-in-wales/.

The Law Society team at the Wales office have also secured funding from the Welsh government for a Cyber Essentials project for law firms in Wales. If you are a sole practitioner in Wales and would like to obtain Cyber Essentials certification with the benefit of funding, please do contact our Wales office at wales@lawsociety.org.uk.

Finally, please do follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter (@lubnashuja) to keep up to date with Law Society work. If you would like any further information on Law Society activities, or wish to discuss any issues affecting sole practitioners, or indeed the profession generally, please do not hesitate to contact me on Lubna.shuja@lawsociety.org.uk or on 07980 725626.

Lubna Shuja

President of the Law Society of England and Wales

Member of the Law Society Board