England

Lawyers in England and Wales are refusing certain cases because they lose money on them due to legal aid rules. Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said members were turning away people charged with certain crimes including burglary.

Jury trials are under threat in England and Wales following the announcement of a review into the criminal courts, to be led by Sir Brian Leveson. Newly released statistics show that the Crown Court backlog has reached a record high.

A feminist barrister who criticised a judge's ruling in her case as having "echoes of the 'boys' club'" has been cleared of misconduct by an English tribunal. The Bar Standards Board (BSB) brought Dr Charlotte Proudman before its disciplinary tribunal after she posted a series of tweets about the ju

A former solicitor has been sentenced for defrauding the legal aid body in England and Wales and making substantial gain at the public's expense. Phil Shiner, 67, has been sentenced to two years' imprisonment suspended for two years for three counts of fraud at Southwark Crown Court. He pleaded guil

England and Wales has one of the largest gaps in the world between the number of women lawyers overall and the number of women lawyers in senior roles, according to a report from the International Bar Association (IBA). The IBA has published the findings of its comparative research in 11 countries o

The lack of criminal court sitting days has piled pressure on the justice system, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales has told MPs. Dame Sue Carr said that a decision to prevent crown courts from operating at full capacity has only increased case backlogs.

Barristers in England and Wales have rejected proposed new rules which would oblige them to "act in a way that advances equality, diversity and inclusion". The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has proposed amendments to the equality rules forming part of barristers' conduct obligations — which curren

An English court has reserved judgment on how to handle dozens of divorces which were finalised in error. Final divorce orders were granted between April 2022 and April 2024 in 79 cases where online submissions were received a day earlier than allowed by law, the High Court in London heard yesterday

The regulatory body for English solicitors is facing enforcement action in connection with the dramatic closure of Axiom Ince following a damning independent review carried out by Carson McDowell. Around £60 million in client money was missing and around 1,400 people lost their jobs when Axiom

Prison sentences have been imposed on a group of people who interrupted a live inquest in England and attempted to kidnap the coroner as part of a bizarre political plot. Mark Kishon Christopher, leader of the so-called 'Federal Postal Court Judges', was yesterday sentenced to seven years' imprisonm

Three former directors of public prosecutions have backed proposals to introduce assisted dying in England and Wales ahead of a vote next month. Sir Max Hill, Dame Alison Saunders and Lord Macdonald of River Glaven have expressed support for the bill to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adu

The Law Society of England and Wales is to begin paying Council members for the first time in its history. Over 93 per cent of members at yesterday's AGM voted in favour of the proposal, which could cost the Society around £500,000 in back pay, the Law Society Gazette reports.

Criminal barristers in England and Wales are demanding a 15 per cent rise in pay to match settlements secured by other public sector workers. They also want the UK government to establish an independent pay review body to try and bring an end to the repeated industrial disputes that resulted in thei

The UK's most notorious cold cases could be solved using AI. Police chiefs think that cloud-based software Söze could be fed huge quantities of information to help detectives crack unsolved cases.

The policing minister of England and Wales had her handbag stolen at a conference of senior police officers this week. Dame Diana Johnson delivered a speech at the annual Police Superintendents’ Conference on Tuesday detailing how the UK government plans to improve neighbourhood policing.