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Friend or foe?

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14 May 2015 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7652 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Legal services , Profession
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What impact will the new Lord Chancellor have on the UK justice system, asks Jon Robins

Could our new Lord Chancellor Michael Gove really be as awful as his predecessor Chris Grayling, speculated the legal twitterati as news of the post-election shuffle surfaced over the weekend.

Ask a teacher. The former education’s secretary stormy relationship with that profession makes Grayling’s fractious stand-off with lawyers seem like mere friendly fire.

The last few days have been as tumultuous for lawyers as for the rest of the electorate. Shortly before polling day legal aid lawyers turned up outside the Ministry of Justice for a “farewell to Chris Grayling” party.

By the end of the week, it seemed that the profession’s bête noire was going nowhere, as the prime minister walked back into number 10. Grayling, fresh from being re-elected to the safe Tory seat of Epsom and Ewell (with an increased majority), told constituents that he was “happy to do whatever David Cameron asks me to do”. However, he added, the job he really, really wanted was justice secretary. “I’ve enjoyed it,” he

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