The criminal bar has secured additional hardship provisions from the government in a bid to support practitioners as the pandemic continues to impact the profession and chambers report huge reductions in income. 

The Criminal Bar Association has announced that some of its members will not attend crown courts on the morning of 6 January, the first day of the new court term next year, in protest at the government’s legal aid cuts.

The pressures on criminal barristers are forcing many to regularly skip lunch or any other form of break, the chair of the Criminal Bar Association has said.

Criminal barristers in England and Wales have reported that they feel overworked and underpaid and would be willing to take direct action.

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA) has unanimously passed a motion proposing strike action if the government implements further criminal legal aid cuts.

Criminal barristers are voting on whether to stage a one-day walk-out as their dispute with the Ministry of Justice over fees continues.

Following a vote to join the criminal Bar in protest action, more than 100 criminal defence solicitors will stop taking on low-paid work in response to the government’s criminal legal aid reforms.

Following a morning walk-out in protest at the proposed cuts to legal aid earlier this month, criminal lawyers are planning to stage a full day of protest if the government’s planned cuts go ahead.

The Ministry of Justice has revealed plans to fast-track legislation that will see barristers receive increased legal aid fees at a faster rate. The announcement follows the start of a series of strikes at the Bar that started on Monday and are set to continue for four weeks. 

Criminal legal aid fees are set to increase by the end of September, as the government revealed plans to “lay a statutory instrument in parliament before 21 July, to begin the process of implementing increases to fees”. 

The lord chancellor has announced that criminal legal aid solicitors working in police stations and youth courts are due to receive a pay increase to reflect the “critical role” they play in “ensuring access to justice”. 

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has warned the government that work as a criminal legal aid lawyer no longer represents a viable career path, due to a desperate resource crisis in the sector that “threatens the stability of the entire system” at the cost of justice to the consumer.

Full-service law firm Cripps Pemberton Greenish has appointed leading training provider BPP University to deliver Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) preparation courses to its future trainees.

Want to improve your chances of getting a training contract? Developing your commercial awareness is a sure-fire way to impress recruiters and partners alike at interview – but it’s not something you can just start doing the day before. You need to put in the prep if you are to present as a credible candidate, so why not start here with this selection of stories from the past week.

Jonathan Smithers, president of the Law Society, said: “Law can be a demanding career. Many of us are drawn to the intellectual challenge and thrive on the high pressure our work entails, but with this high pressure can come stress.”

What do cross-border transactions involve exactly?

In a week in which France’s beloved Notre Dame burnt but was not completely destroyed, climate change protestors took to the streets (and railways) of London, and Parliament and universities take a much-needed recess over the Easter break, there are lots of interesting business news stories that aspiring lawyers should be aware of.