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25 June 2021 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7938 / Categories: Opinion , Legal aid focus , Profession , Human rights
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Justice in a time of austerity…revisited

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Those people who bear the brunt of the pandemic also suffer disproportionately from a broken justice system, as Jon Robins reports

Over 12 months between ending late 2019 I travelled the country interviewing people about their experiences of the justice system in a project undertaken together with Dr Dan Newman.

Dan, a senior law lecturer at Cardiff University, mapped the local legal advice sector and I did the ‘on location’ interviews. The book (Justice in a time of austerity: Stories from a system in crisis) is published this week.

Our journey began on a Monday morning at Stratford Hearing Centre in east London where we shadowed housing duty adviser, Simon Mullings—as I reported in NLJ (‘Justice in a time of austerity’). There were 12 rent possession cases on a housing list but, on a busy day, it stretched to 20 people—typically, each person has less than five minutes before the court.

Tenants didn’t know what to expect and they certainly didn’t expect

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

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Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

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Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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