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Interim payments for criminal legal aid
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has made some small concessions on fees in criminal cases through Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No 2) Regulations 2014 SI No 2422. The regulations, which came into force on 2 October 2014, make changes to interim payments for legal aid and reintroduce graduated fees for trials that do not go ahead (known as ‘cracked trials’).
Law Society president, Andrew Caplen, welcomed the changes, but warned that ‘the scale of the fee cuts and the impact of the contract changes being introduced mean that many of our members will regard this as too little, too late to save their businesses’.
Val on the move
Val Williams, editor of Legal Action, is leaving after 19 years at LAG. She has been appointed as editor of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ (CILEx) monthly magazine, the CILEx Journal.
LAG’s director, Steve Hynes, said: ‘Val is much loved and admired by everyone at LAG and she will be greatly missed. LAG’s staff, authors and board members would like to thank her for her marvellous work and wish her the best of luck and success in the future.’
Nic Madge, a circuit judge and long-standing co-author of Legal Action’s ‘Recent developments in housing law’ articles, said: ‘It’s impossible to imagine what it will be like writing for the magazine without Val being there to edit material. I will miss her terribly. Her dedication to the magazine and to her authors defies description. Her departure will be a huge loss to LAG.’