You'll find us all - doin' the London Walk

 

The walk is important to all of us who are concerned to ensure that nobody is excluded from legal help because they cannot afford it. 

On the 18^th October 2021 I am doing the London Legal Walk for the first time! 

In one sense, it has been a long time coming. In 2021, I was a guest at the Westminster and Holborn Law Society Dinner and sat near Bob Nightingale from the London Legal Support Trust. He spent the evening persuading me of the need for a Legal Walk in Liverpool. This year we completed Liverpool Legal Walk number 10. Ever since that time, I have promised myself that I would one day do the London Walk.

This will be the third leg of what I have called my Justice Tour 2021. I have recently done Liverpool and Carlisle. Some may question whether three dates amounts to a tour, but with my aging legs it is plenty. And the London Walk is an event that is not to be missed. As we speak, there are 500 teams that have signed up. That means several thousand walkers who will take one of three different 10k routes around the capital in support of Access to Justice. The walk is important to all of us who are concerned to ensure that nobody is excluded from legal help because they cannot afford it. Lead walkers this year include –

The Lord Chief Justice

The President of the Supreme Court

The Master of the Rolls

The President of the Rolls

Judge Rinder!!

I recently posted a blog about why we are all doing this –

https://thestevecornforthblog.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-justice-tour-2021-and-access-to.html

Lawyers will be turning out in huge numbers to support Law Centres and other agencies who advise and represent those in need. That need has never been greater.

In this short video the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett tells us why he supports the walks  

https://youtu.be/4al2AHyCy0k

The desperate need for legal help was brought home this week in in a report from the Law Society, that millions are deprived of lawyers as ‘vast legal aid deserts’ were revealed –

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/millions-deprived-of-lawyer-as-vast-legal-aid-deserts-revealed/5109924.article#.YVJID7u23js

We can all do our bit. You can sign up for this or another of the many walks around the country. You can even join my London Walk Team if you like. I am currently a team of one!!

Or you can support one the other 499 teams (!) by visiting their giving page. Here’s mine…

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JusticeTour2021

 

Another year another new Lord Chancellor

 

We have yet another new Secretary of State for Justice/Lord Chancellor. I think this is the fifth in five years. That puts this position on a par with Teachers of Defence Against the Dark Arts in Harry Potter who had a similar turnover. Any similarity is entirely down to your imagination…

In the past the question has been … who are they?

Dominic Raab poses no such problem. As the reluctant, outgoing foreign secretary he needs no introduction to most. One thing in his favour is that he does have legal experience unlike some of his predecessors. Although, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg was possibly a little over enthusiastic when she tweeted that he was a “senior lawyer” –

In fact, he was a trainee solicitor at City firm Linklaters where he qualified in 2000, leaving shortly afterwards. He then worked as a lawyer in the Foreign Office until he began working for David Davis in 2006. ‘Worked briefly as a lawyer’ is probably a more accurate statement.

This has not stopped him from expressing alarmingly negative views about the Human Rights Act 1998 –

https://fb.watch/82Z7z9vxQ8/

As Justice Secretary, he will have a big role to play in the Review of the Act. The purpose of the review is as follows -  

“The Government’s Independent Human Rights Act Review Panel was appointed in January 2021 following the Government’s manifesto commitment to “update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government.”

I think we can all see where this will end up. 

He won’t find this an easy task. I have written about this before. He will certainly need to read up on his history and the role of the European Convention on Human Rights, that was largely drafted by UK lawyers – presumably senior ones!

https://thestevecornforthblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/european-court-of-human-rights-and.html

I think that there is no doubt that he will give it a go and us pesky, do-gooder, lefty, activist, lawyers should prepare ourselves for a bumpy ride.

He may have had a short-lived career as a solicitor but should still be aware of the oath that he must swear as Lord Chancellor –

I, [NAME], do swear that in the office of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain I will respect the rule of law, defend the independence of the judiciary and discharge my duty to ensure the provision of resources for the efficient and effective support of the courts for which I am responsible.

Shortly after his appointment he tweeted –

Not a mention of the serious responsibilities of being Lord Chancellor.

I may be wrong but this could herald a challenging time ahead…

The Justice Tour 2021 and Access to Justice...again!

We are, once again coming into the Legal Walks season! 

Across the country solicitors, barristers, judges and anyone with a concern for Access to Justice will be seen in cities and towns across the country to raise funds and to highlight the work done by those agencies that provide free legal help to those in need.

Liverpool will be marking its 10^th walk. Why do we do it? It is over 40 years since I started work at the Vauxhall Law Centre in Liverpool. The centre is still going strong. Back in day we were able to bring many cases with the benefit of legal aid. This included the notable case of Liverpool City  Council v Irwin which helped to establish the liability of landlords for common areas in rented premises such as lifts and stairways. In the late 1970s this was known as the Piggeries case!

Cases like this would be more challenging today following the cuts in legal aid from 2013.

But the need has not gone away.

Vauxhall, and other centres across the country still work alongside the most vulnerable members of society – with or without legal aid. This is demonstrated by the recent comment on Twitter about a client who was grateful for the centre’s help with a PIP form.

The work is now dependent on fundraising. This is why lawyers will be hitting the streets in September and October. This was why Liverpool Law Society in 2012 decided to launch an annual walk, in anticipation of the cuts which were imminent. This followed the work already done in Manchester, London and many other cities. Lawyers are indeed walking for justice –

I have sounded a bit like a broken record for many years, but there is no point in having a system of justice, if ordinary people cannot get access to that system for lack of funds.

To mark the 10^th Liverpool Walk, I am doing a Justice Tour this year. I am walking in Liverpool on 21^st September, Carlisle on 27^th September and London on 18^th October. You can donate to the tour on this link –

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JusticeTour2021

But there are many others also raising funds. You can support any of the walkers – the money all goes to meet the same need!

http://www.nwlst.org.uk/liverpool-legal-walk.html

http://www.nwlst.org.uk/carlisle-legal-walk.html

https://londonlegalsupporttrust.org.uk/our-events/london-legal-walk-2021/

In fact most of us can find a walk within walking distance, so to speak!

https://atjf.org.uk/legal-walks

You can also get your walking shoes out and join in. The walks are open to anyone who cares justice.

Hope to see you on my tour!!