CILEX chair appointed to legal aid advisory panel

Join the crowd: Help on offer for Fellows keen on judicial appointment

CILEX chair Professor Chris Bones has been appointed by the Lord Chancellor to the expert and advisory panel for the Independent Review of Criminal Legal Aid.

Professor Bones, who is acting in a personal capacity, will be part of an extensive panel of experts testing and challenging the recommendations made in the independent review being conducted by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC.

His work with CILEX will bring a unique and valuable perspective to the panel, ensuring the interests of all legal practitioners are represented.

Monthly meetings of the expert and advisory panel began in February, with Sir Christopher Bellamy expected to submit his recommendations to the Lord Chancellor later this year.

The review will consider the criminal legal aid system in its entirety, with a view to ensuring that it provides high-quality legal advice and representation; is provided through a diverse set of practitioners; is appropriately funded; and is responsive to user needs both now and in the future.

The panel includes experts from the Law Society’s criminal law committee, High Court judges, academics and practising criminal lawyers.

Professor Bones said: “I am honoured to have been appointed alongside such a distinguished panel. CILEX Lawyers play a crucial role in the criminal justice system and my experience in chairing CILEX will help me deliver and amplify our different perspective.

“Legal aid is an important principle, so much so that we need to try and move on from the binary debate over funding to a search for sustainable solutions that better meet the needs of today’s society."

Applications now open for the CILEX Judicial Development Programme

Applications are now open for CILEX’s Judicial Development Programme, created to support members who want to learn more about applying for judicial appointments and coronial office.

CILEX’s aim is to provide members with information, support, training, mentoring and encouragement, assisting them in preparing for the appointment process to become a judge or coroner.

If you are a CILEX Fellow and would like support and training from CILEX, you can apply to join our next training day, taking place remotely on Tuesday 11 May.

There are only eight places available. To apply, please visit our full information page where you will find the application form which should be returned to beajudge@cilex.org.uk no later than Friday 23 April 2021.

Legal aid – call for views

With legal aid acting as an important vehicle for the many individuals who access legal services, CILEX continues to call for further investment in this area.

Before 2020, legal aid providers were just managing to tread water despite issues with funds and a lack of investment for legal practitioners wishing to operate in this area. Since then, the backlog of cases has steadily mounted and the sustainability of legal aid providers has been placed in a very precarious position.

With this in mind, CILEX is looking to engage with members at all levels to establish their thoughts on the next 10 years of legal aid and what the future holds for the profession. We would be interested to hear your views on:

If you have thoughts on any of the above, please email the policy team. These views will be critical to helping inform the team’s engagement with the Criminal Legal Aid Review and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid.

Will you help us shape and reform the legal profession?

In April, CILEX will be launching a major initiative designed to gather more data than ever before on our members and their experiences of working in the legal profession.

We want to hear from you to find out more about your day-to-day working life, any barriers you face and the help you need to progress in your career.

It’s a chance to have your say, to shape the services we offer you and to play a part in influencing government, regulators, professional bodies and other organisations to push for reform.

Please look out for further details and take the time to complete the questionnaire.

 
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