Post by jman on May 16, 2011 10:52:25 GMT 1
Article from Kent University on how students can't cover pro bono for the legal aid cuts :
"University of Kent law students say they can't cover for legal aid cuts
Law students should not be expected to cover for cuts to legal aid funding, says the director of Kent's award-winning law clinic.
The Ministry of Justice aims to cut the legal aid bill by £350 million over four years, with family cases including child access, domestic disputes and divorce expected to be hardest hit.
Kent Law School offers a pro bono (voluntary) service to residents in need, but director John Fitzpatrick says students should not be relied upon to cover for the reduction in funding as they already have a full caseload.
"The danger is that as legal aid funding recedes and it becomes more difficult for people to get help, they will rely more on pro-bono
services such as ours," he added.
"But we are always at breaking point and certainly wouldn't want to be seen as being able to take up any of the slack by legal aid funding not being available. We don't want to become the safety net.
"We are an educational establishment first and foremost – not a legal service. We have a first-come, first-served protocol and will only take on cases if we have the staff and expertise available."
Last March Kent Law School – part of the University of Kent – won best law school at the annual LawWorks and Attorney General student pro-bono awards.
One of the reasons for its victory was the way in which it weaves pro-bono work into its syllabus, with students encouraged to base their dissertations on issues arising from real-life cases on which they have acted.
For example, in September last year the clinic helped win £44,000 in compensation for a Ramsgate bar manager who was wrongfully dismissed after suffering racist abuse.
Under plans announced by the Government last year, legal aid will only be made routinely available in cases where an applicant's life or liberty is at stake.
The proposals, intended to reduce an annual bill of £2 billion, is thought likely to reduce the number of civil legal aid cases by 500,000.
But Prof Fitzpatrick said he thought the planned cuts were too great
He added: "Legal aid is expensive but a society that values the role of law must also value access to that law. As far as I'm concerned, it's a price worth paying."
Meanwhile, campaign group Sound Off For Justice have also hit out at the proposals.
A spokesman said: "We want the government to think again about their proposals. We are explaining to government that these cuts will cause many unintended consequences to families and individuals in the UK alongside the additional cost it will bring to other government departments. We want a legal aid sector that is fair and reasonable for all members of our society, including to the taxpayer.
"The coalition government is proposing cuts of £350 million in the legal aid budget. The Law Society has an alternative proposal, based on their principles for Legal Aid and its role within society, which will save £384 million from the legal aid budget. This is £34 million more than the government wants to save. The difference is that The Law Society proposals will continue to protect the members of society who cannot protect themselves."
www.kentnews.co.uk/p_12/Article/a_13683/University_of_Kent_law_students_say_they_cant_cover_for_legal_aid_cuts
"University of Kent law students say they can't cover for legal aid cuts
Law students should not be expected to cover for cuts to legal aid funding, says the director of Kent's award-winning law clinic.
The Ministry of Justice aims to cut the legal aid bill by £350 million over four years, with family cases including child access, domestic disputes and divorce expected to be hardest hit.
Kent Law School offers a pro bono (voluntary) service to residents in need, but director John Fitzpatrick says students should not be relied upon to cover for the reduction in funding as they already have a full caseload.
"The danger is that as legal aid funding recedes and it becomes more difficult for people to get help, they will rely more on pro-bono
services such as ours," he added.
"But we are always at breaking point and certainly wouldn't want to be seen as being able to take up any of the slack by legal aid funding not being available. We don't want to become the safety net.
"We are an educational establishment first and foremost – not a legal service. We have a first-come, first-served protocol and will only take on cases if we have the staff and expertise available."
Last March Kent Law School – part of the University of Kent – won best law school at the annual LawWorks and Attorney General student pro-bono awards.
One of the reasons for its victory was the way in which it weaves pro-bono work into its syllabus, with students encouraged to base their dissertations on issues arising from real-life cases on which they have acted.
For example, in September last year the clinic helped win £44,000 in compensation for a Ramsgate bar manager who was wrongfully dismissed after suffering racist abuse.
Under plans announced by the Government last year, legal aid will only be made routinely available in cases where an applicant's life or liberty is at stake.
The proposals, intended to reduce an annual bill of £2 billion, is thought likely to reduce the number of civil legal aid cases by 500,000.
But Prof Fitzpatrick said he thought the planned cuts were too great
He added: "Legal aid is expensive but a society that values the role of law must also value access to that law. As far as I'm concerned, it's a price worth paying."
Meanwhile, campaign group Sound Off For Justice have also hit out at the proposals.
A spokesman said: "We want the government to think again about their proposals. We are explaining to government that these cuts will cause many unintended consequences to families and individuals in the UK alongside the additional cost it will bring to other government departments. We want a legal aid sector that is fair and reasonable for all members of our society, including to the taxpayer.
"The coalition government is proposing cuts of £350 million in the legal aid budget. The Law Society has an alternative proposal, based on their principles for Legal Aid and its role within society, which will save £384 million from the legal aid budget. This is £34 million more than the government wants to save. The difference is that The Law Society proposals will continue to protect the members of society who cannot protect themselves."
www.kentnews.co.uk/p_12/Article/a_13683/University_of_Kent_law_students_say_they_cant_cover_for_legal_aid_cuts