News Archive

TLS press release 1st March 2023 The fight for fair funding for criminal defence solicitors will go to the High Court after the government rejected the Law Society of England and Wales’ offer of mediation to resolve the issue. “The government has failed to...

Press Release From: Ministry of Justice, HM Courts & Tribunals Service, and The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP Published 17 February 2023 Nightingale Courts across England and Wales are being kept open for another year to reduce waiting times and deliver swift justice for...

The Sentencing Council has today published, in accordance with section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, sentencing guidelines for the offence of sale of knives etc to persons under 18 which will come into effect on 1 April 2023. This follows a consultation in...

The Sentencing Council has published the findings of research designed to identify and analyse any potential for the Council’s work to cause disparity in sentencing outcomes across demographic groups. The research, conducted by the University of Hertfordshire to...

THE JANUARY CHANGES TO THE CYBER ESSENTIALS SCHEME REFLECT THE CHANGING CYBER THREATS IN TODAY’S DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

Response to Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Daniel Bonich, CLSA Chair, Kerry Morgan, CLSA Hon Secretary and Richard Miller head of Justice at the Law Society gave evidence this afternoon to the Justice Select Committee inquiring into Legal Aid....

The position of criminal legal aid firms remains dire. Years after the commencement of the Criminal Legal Aid Review, and a year after the government-commissioned report recommended an immediate and minimum 15% increase in fees for solicitors firms as a bare minimum...

If you have already obtained your Court ID Card which is due to expire on the 1st December 2023  you can renew it here

It was hugely enjoyable to meet up again at our annual conference last Friday, having not been able to meet since the Autumn on 2019. It was a really positive event with a number of great speakers. Jan Davies was hugely missed but we were able to pay our own tribute...

Press release here

Press releass here

Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association National Conference Friday, 14th October 2022 – Mary Ward Conference Centre, London Dear Lord Chancellor Firstly, we congratulate you on your appointment to this important and historic role, which includes the heavy burden of...

The SRA has responded swiftly to concerns raised by the Law Society regarding its guidance relating to the duties of solicitors during the CBA strike. We were concerned about the guidance placing undue burdens on solicitors where Counsel is not available. The amended...

We are delighted to welcome LEAP, The Legal Practice Productivity Solution as our sponsorship partner. Through their innovative technology and commitment to ongoing development LEAP support criminal lawyers across the UK. A cloud-based platform, LEAP occupies a unique...

The Sentencing Council has today published, in accordance with section 120 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, revised definitive guidelines to be used by the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales when sentencing terrorism offences. This follows...

The Bar strike action is now in its third week, and absent any change of heart on behalf of either the government or the CBA, it may last for some time. Meanwhile the Government have brought forward proposals based upon its response to the CLAR report. The...

As the dispute between barristers, solicitors and government over its failure to put Legal Aid and the Criminal Justice System in a sustainable footing continues and is escalated, clients and solicitors are being placed in a invidious position. Recent announcements by...

The CLSA note the intention of the Ministry of Justice to increase fees for work in the Magistrates Court and Police Station by 15% from the end of September. The proposal is that Litigator Graduated Fees, which represent the largest single category of most firms’...

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crown-court/item/sexual-communication-with-a-child-effective-from-1-july-2022/ https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/revised-sentencing-guidelines-for-child-sexual-offences-published/...

The Criminal Justice System is in crisis. The significant backlog of cases in the Magistrates and the Crown Court predated Covid-19 but has been exacerbated by it. The reduction of that backlog will require committed hard work by barristers, solicitors (both...

You will all know by now that the CBA have announced that their members have voted in favour of further action. They have issued amended guidance and a pro forma letter to solicitors which can be viewed here. CBA guidance regarding their action The bar action is...

TLS response

To read the CLSA response click here

Full details here

The guidelines are available to download from the Sentencing Council website here. Alongside the guidelines, they have also published a response to the consultation, and other related documents.

Full details here

Full details here

The CLSA is concerned about the announcement on 11th May from the LAA that appears to suggest that some firms who have bid to carry out criminal legal aid work from October may have to miss out on at least 3 months of work if the Legal Aid Agency are unable to verify...

Researchers from the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR), Birkbeck, University of London are conducting a survey. The survey is targeting criminal solicitors and is part of research that ICPR is undertaking in partnership with the charity Just for...