No more legal aid for divorce cases
Divorce petitioners advised to use mediation instead.
Sir Nicholas Wall, the most senior family judge in England and Wales, is predicting “a substantial increase” in the numbers of people ending up in the family courts without lawyers or any proper advice as a result of proposals included in the legal aid, punishment and sentencing of offenders bill. It is set to come into force in April 2013.
The legislation will cut £350m from the £2.2bn legal aid scheme by removing entire areas of law from public funding, including nearly all family advice.
Funding will still be available for mediation as a means to resolve disputes.
Leonard Gray is the only local law firm with a long established Mediation practice.
Our family mediators have a very high success rate, with most cases reaching full agreement in just a few weeks. We also continue to hold a LSC Mediation quality mark, which after April 2013, will make the service completely free for eligible parties.
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Other sources:
The Guardian: Divorce could break the bank after legal aid changes next year.
Nearly all family law advice will be removed from legal aid scheme, leaving poorer partners struggling to afford a lawyer. Click here to link to the Guardian article.
The BBC: Legal Aid reforms unveiled by Kenneth Clark
Funding for a wide range of disputes, including some divorce cases and clinical negligence, is to be axed. The proposals are intended to cut the legal aid bill by £350m a year by 2015. Click here to link to the BBC article.
The author: John Appleby
