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NLJ this week: Flawed again on legal aid

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
24 January 2025
Issue: 8101 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus
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204796
The Ministry of Justice’s latest review of civil justice has failed to inspire Roger Smith, former director of Justice. In his NLJ column this week, he reveals he read all seven reports over the new year and ‘did so with a heavy heart’.

The reason is it suffers the same ‘crucial structural weaknesses’ of previous reviews. Smith, a seasoned legal aid and access to justice commentator, is well-positioned to judge.

Among several criticisms levelled by Smith, the review ‘largely perpetuates the heresy that legal aid means aid provided by private practice lawyers’. 
Issue: 8101 / Categories: Legal News , Legal aid focus
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