Report from Law Society President and Council Member - Lubna Shuja

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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 SocietyCouncil meetings tookplace on 5 July 2022 and14 September 2022.Below is a summary ofsome of the issues wediscussed together withan update on the workbeing done by the LawSociety on behalf ofmembers. Copies of thereports to Council fromthe Law Society’s CEOcan be found on the SPGwebsite at www.spg.uk.com. I would urge all members to take a look at the Law Society websitefor further information, not only about the work of the Society but also fordetails of events taking place. Please also register on ‘My Law Society’ on thewebsite if you have not already done so. This will allow you to receive updateson matters of interest to you. It will also enable you to access ‘Law SocietyConnect’ which is a popular online secure private portal for sole practitionersand small firms to chat, network and support each other.

Ukraine and SLAPPs

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

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, there has been a marked uptickin criticism of lawyers. The Society was keen to understand what impact thisis having on perceptions of the legal profession, so we surveyed membersof the public. The results showed a worsening of public opinion of lawyersoverall recently, which seems to have been driven by news/politics. This willbe an area we intend to focus on during my year as president. It is the job ofsolicitors to represent their clients, whoever they may be. This is how thepublic 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 alsoengages positively with the Government reform processes on specific issuessuch as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). We will beactively 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 andlawyers in Afghanistan and has worked to help secure resettlement in the

UK for members of the profession and their families whose safety wasunder threat.

Human Rights and Immigration

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

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

Solicitors Indemnity Fund

Following an extensive and well-coordinated campaign by the Law Societyin favour of retaining the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) with the support ofa 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 discussionpaper on the future of the SIF. The Law Society responded outlining three keyprinciples for consumer protection in relation to negligence claims broughtmore 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 purposeof dealing with post six year run off cover (PSYROC) claims, for the benefitof consumers and solicitors.

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

Having received response to its discussion paper, the SRA very recentlyannounced that the existing SIF arrangements will be replaced with anSRA-run indemnity arrangement from September 2023, which will maintainthe same level of cover as SIF. The Law Society has requested a timetable

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from the SRA setting out how they expect this matter to progress to ensureappropriate protections will be in place by September 2023. We will continueto engage closely with the SRA in order to make sure any new schemewill be affordable in the long term, providing good value for money whilstmaintaining the same strong protections for both solicitors and consumers.

Criminal Legal Aid

Since the Government published its response to the Independent Reviewof Criminal Legal Aid (CLAIR), the Society has engaged closely with MPs andMinisters to highlight our concerns about the shortfall in the Government’sproposed package for solicitors. Following news that barristers have votedto escalate their current legal aid action from 5 September, the Law Societywarned that solicitors will continue to leave the criminal defence professionunless more investment is forthcoming. Whilst they have the same concernsas barristers, many are limited in the action they can take due to theirprofessional obligations to their clients and their legal aid contracts.

Many solicitors, especially those joining the profession, see no future incriminal defence work, following the Ministry of Justice’s failure to fullyimplement Lord Bellamy QC’s recommended minimum fee increases. Thenumber of solicitors and firms doing criminal legal aid work continues to fallat a time when the criminal defence profession is needed more than ever totackle the huge backlog of Crown Court cases. Duty lawyer schemes in placeslike Barnstaple and Skegness are collapsing, meaning that people who arearrested may be unable to get advice in the police station that they are legallyentitled to have. This would have serious adverse consequences for thefairness of any subsequent trial if they are charged.

Wales

New, flexible legal services apprenticeships have arrived in Wales. The newapprenticeship pathway is the result of a collaborative approach acrossgovernment and the legal services sector in Wales, aimed at improving accessto justice by opening up opportunities to the growing number of individualslooking for a vocational route into a career in law. Any organisation that isable 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 fromthe Welsh government for a Cyber Essentials project for law firms in Wales. Ifyou are a sole practitioner in Wales and would like to obtain Cyber Essentialscertification with the benefit of funding, please do contact our Wales office atwales@lawsociety.org.uk.

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

Lubna Shuja President of the Law Society of England and WalesMember of the Law Society Board

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 thecriminal 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 JudicialReview and Courts Bill by persuading the Government to drop a statutorypresumption that would have directed judges to use particular remedies injudicial review cases. This success was the culmination of nearly two yearsof lobbying, encompassing engagement with government officials, keyparliamentarians, and the Public Bill Committee.

International Market Access

The Society is working on trade policy in relation to Australia, the GulfCooperation Council, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and India. A new consultation ontrade with Switzerland is underway, to replace the temporary Citizens RightsAgreement and Services Mobility Agreement. The Society held a positivein-person meeting for the Legal Services working group on the UK-NigeriaEconomic and Development Forum.

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