On 16 February 2020, YLAL responded to the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Survey about the Solicitors Qualifying Exam ('SQE').
SQE will be the new way for people to qualify as solicitors. It will be in place from 2021.
YLAL has been engaging throughout the SRA's Training for Tomorrow project. You can view all of YLAL's previous responses about SQE.
YLAL responds to the Ministry of Justice's consultation on the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), 3 January 2020.
In Autumn 2018 the President of the Family Division invited Mr Justice Keehan (public law) and Mr Justice Cobb (private law), to lead two cross-professional Working Groups, to look at practices and processes in these two areas. On 29 September 2019, YLAL responded to the Interim Reports on public and private law.
You can read our responses to this consultation below.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been consultating on its new Solicitors Qualifying Examination ('SQE').
SQE will be the new way for people to qualify as solicitors. It will be introduced by Autumn 2021.
On 30 August 2019, YLAL responded to the consultation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on the pilot for Part 1 of the Solicitor's Qualifying Exam (SQE).
You can read our response to this consultation below.
YLAL was invited to respond to the Labour Party’s '2019 National Policy Forum Consultation'. The purpose of the consultation is to seek 'views on how best to rebuild the criminal justice system so that at every stage effective action is taken to prevent further offending and provide real opportunities for rehabilitation'.
Many of the consultation questions are out of scope of YLAL's institutional expertise. However, YLAL has produced a response addressing the most relevant questions to our members.
YLAL submitted the following responses to the Ministry of Justice's survey on the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS):
Considering the scheme as a whole, are you able to give examples of what works well?
On 12 October 2018, Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation on 'Amending the Advocates' Graduated Fee Scheme'. Our full response to the consultation is below.
We told the government that whilst we welcome the much-needed injection of additional funding into the Advocates' Graduated Fee Scheme (AGFS), we wish to make it absolutely clear that it is not enough. It is not enough to address the crisis within criminal legal aid and, more broadly, the criminal justice system as a whole.
YLAL has submitted its response to the Ministry of Justice Post-Implementation Review of Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
YLAL's submission concludes by setting out our analysis of the impact of LASPO in comparison to the stated aims of the legislation, within which our key proposals for reform are summarised.
Discouraging unnecessary and adversarial litigation at public expense
Many of YLAL's members work closely with organisations such as INQUEST, the charity that supports bereaved families. YLAL supports the following recommendations by INQUEST in relation to legal aid for inquests:
a. Automatic non-means tested funding should be provided to families for specialist legal representation immediately following a state-related death.
b. Legal aid should also include financial support for families, with reference to: travel and subsistence, overnight accommodation, and loss of earnings.
