header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
30 July 2019
Issue: 7851 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
printer mail-detail

Legal aid is 70

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
Criminal barrister Robert Buckland QC began work as Lord Chancellor this week, replacing David Gauke.

Both Buckland and Solicitor General Michael Ellis were sworn in to office at a ceremony in the Royal Courts of Justice. Geoffrey Cox QC continues as Attorney General.

By coincidence, the ceremony took place 70 years to the day since Clement Attlee’s Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949, which introduced legal aid, received Royal Assent.

Law Centres Network head of policy Nimrod Ben-Cnaan said: ‘On its 70th anniversary, civil legal aid is plagued by narrow scope, regional “deserts” and underfunding, while need grows. Too often it lets down those it is meant to help, and a shrinking provider base casts doubts about its future. This vital system needs bolstering and, as a former legal aid lawyer, Buckland has the insight required.’

Issue: 7851 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus , Profession
printer mail-details
RELATED ARTICLES
 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Property cases reshape established principles
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
NLJ this week: Stress ruling raises the bar for employers
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
NLJ this week: Can Manchesterism revive access to justice?
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
NLJ this week: Constitutional conventions tested as power changes hands
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
NLJ this week: Lawyers must become product designers
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll