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News from around the world

2012-04-06: Women's Access to Justice in Rural Africa (All Africa)
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2012-04-03: Duty counsel services continue at court house despite legal aid protest (Times Colonist)
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2012-04-03: GOVT ‘PERPLEXED’ AT CRITICISM OF LEGAL AID CHANGES (Gibraltar Chronicle)
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2012-04-03: "Tribunal Fees Will Reduce Access To Justice" – Counsel General (The Information Daily)
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2012-04-02: Law centres have always struggled to survive - now they must adapt or die (The Guardian)
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2012-04-02: B.C. lawyers to plan next steps in protest over funding (The Globe & Mail)
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2012-04-02: Government suffers defeat over legal aid for children (Family Law Week)
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2012-04-02: The Co-operative becomes first high street brand to acquire ABS status (New Legal Review)
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2012-04-02: Winkler lectures bar about access to justice (Law Times)
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2012-04-02: Cardiff professor Richard Moorhead lands law and ethics role at UCL (The Lawyer)
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2012-04-02: Law firm leads the way as regulations change (The Oxford Times)
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2012-04-02: Big bang off to a quiet start (The Lawyer)
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2012-04-02: Wait for ABSs is over: Tesco law is here (The Guardian)
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2012-04-01: Law to help divorced Indian women avoid financial ruin (The National)
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2012-03-30: Greater Access to Justice, Not Wall Street, Will Solve US Problems, Ben Stein Says in Keynote (ABA Journal)
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2012-03-28: Further setbacks for legal aid plan (Press Association)
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2012-03-28: Legal Aid Bill: Lords decision is a dark day for justice (Amnesty )
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2012-03-28: UK's Co-op to sell full range of legal services (London South East)
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2012-03-28: Access to Justice: get it while you still can! (The Daily Mail)
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2012-03-27: Fresh series of defeats for proposals to cut access to legal aid for children (The Guardian)
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Recent research, consultations and official publications

England & Wales, Access to Justice for Litigants in Person (or self-represented litigants), The Civil Justice Council has released a report discussing the implications of the proposed reduction of publicly-funded legal aid.

England & Wales, Family Justice Review Final Report (The Norgrove Report), The Family Justice Review Final Report (The Norgrove Report) that contains a wide-ranging set of proposals is now available.

, Needs Evaluation Survey for South Pacific Lawyer Associations, This study by the South Pacific Lawyers Association reports access to justice gaps in many South Pacific nations

USA, Access Across America, 'Access Across America' authored by Rebecca L. Sandefur and Aaron C. Smyth is a report on the state-by-state mapping of services available to assist the U.S. public in accessing civil justice.

Scotland, A Sustainable Future for Legal Aid, The Scottish Government has released a report outlining a three year plan for the legal aid in Scotland.

Scotland, Consultation on the Creation of a Scottish Civil Justice Council, The Scottish Government has published a consultation paper seeking views on proposals for the creation of a Scottish Civil Justice Council to replace the existing civil rules councils.

Scotland, SLAB release 2010-11 Annual Report, The Scottish Legal Aid Board have released their 2010-11 annual report.

United States, Expert Working Group Report: International Perspectives on Indigent Defence, from the US Department of Justice

England & Wales, Unequal before the law? The Future of Legal Aid, is a report published by an Independent Commission that considers the apparently bleak future of legal aid in England and Wales.The Commission comprises of Diana Holland of Unite, Evan Harris, who was once a Liberal Democrat MP and Rev. Professor Nicholas Sagovsky.

Canada, The Public Commission on Legal Aid Report, The final report of the Public Commission on Legal Aid in British Columbia, Canada.

England Wales, Law Society response to the Green Paper proposals for the reform of legal aid, The Law Society's response to the Green Paper proposals for the reform of legal aid in England and Wales.

England and Wales, The Equality and Diversity Forum response to Legal Aid reform proposals, The Equality and Diversity Forum response to the MoJ Legal Aid reform proposals.

England and Wales, JUSTICE response (questionnaire), The JUSTICE response (questionnaire)to proposals for reform of legal aid in England and Wales.

England and Wales, Shelter England - Response - Proposals for the reform of Legal Aid, Shelter's response to the MoJ - Proposals for the reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales

England and Wales, Access to Justice Action Group Response, Access to Justice Action Group Response to the Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales: Consultation.

, Youth Access to legal aid Green Paper, Response by Youth Access to Proposals for Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales.

England and Wales, The Children’s Commissioner's response to MoJ consultation, Response of The Children’s Commissioner to the Ministry of Justice Consultation: Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales.

England and Wales, The Bar Standards Board’s response to the MoJ consultation, The Bar Standards Board's response to Legal Aid Reform.

England and Wales, The response of the Bar Council to the MoJ consultation, The response of The Bar Council of England and Wales to Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales.

, Citizens Advice response to the Ministry of Justice, Citizens Advice response to the Ministry of Justice - Proposals for the reform of legal aid in England and Wales.

Newsletter and feature stories

Indigent Defence: International Perspectives and Research Needs
by Maureen McGough

Delivering Legal Advice over the Phone: What Do We Know?
by Marisol Smith, Legal Services Research Centre, London

Changes to Legal Aid in New Zealand
by Sir John Hansen

Legal Aid, Development and Bangladesh: Signs of Progress
By Ian Morrison

Internet and Telephone-Based Services in Ontario’s Community Legal Clinics
by Kerri Joffe, Staff Lawyer (On Leave), Arch Disability Law Centre. This article is, in part, a response to an article published in the newsletter last year, and available on the ILAG website, entitled Applying New Client Service Technologies Legal Aid Ontario, Canada by Charles Lafortune, Director, Strategic Technology and Innovation

Getting Away from it All
Roger Smith reports on the 2011 ILAG conference which took place in Helsinki, Finland.

Legal Aid in England and Wales: Entering the Endgame
Legal Aid in England and Wales: Entering the Endgame by Roger Smith. This article, to be published in the forthcoming spring 2011 JUSTICE’s Journal seeks to put recent proposed reforms in England and Wales into their historical and, to some extent, international context.

The Development of Legal Aid Foundation (LAF) and its Social Impacts in Taiwan
The Development of Legal Aid Foundation (LAF) and its Social Impacts in Taiwan by Yu-Shan Chang (UCL MPhil Student, Former project-based voluntary lawyer of LAF Taipei Branch Office).

The English condition: a view into a domestic debate
The English condition: a view into a domestic debate by Roger Smith, Justice, London.

South Africa: The Legal Resource Centre (LRC) Revealed
South Africa: The Legal Resource Centre (LRC) Revealed by William Kerfoot, Attorney, LRC Cape Town Office.

Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales: A Summary
By Roger Smith

Applying New Client Service Technologies Legal Aid Ontario, Canada
Applying New Client Service Technologies Legal Aid Ontario, Canada by Charles Lafortune, Director, Strategic Technology and Innovation

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ILAG News / Website Updates

* 5 January 2012 - The latest Justice-ILAG Newsletter is available to download now. Please click here to do so.

* 11 November 2011 
- The latest Justice-ILAG Newsletter is available to download now. Please click here to do so.

* 22 September 2011 - The latest Justice-ILAG Newsletter is available to download now. Please click here to do so.

* 27 July 2011 - The Justice / ILAG Legal Aid Newsletter for May and June 2011 is available to download now. Click here to do so.

* 3 June 2011 - The 2011 ILAG Conference is fast approaching. Please visit the ILAG Helsinki 2011 website regularly for all the up-to-date information regarding the conference.

* 6 May 2011 - The Justice / ILAG Legal Aid Newsletter for March and April 2011 is available to download now. Click here to do so.

* 3 March 2011 - The Justice / ILAG Legal Aid Newsletter for January and February 2011 is available to download now. Click here to do so.

* The next ILAG Conference takes place in Helsinki Finland from June 15th-17th 2011. For additional information on the upcoming conference please click here.

* 31 January 2011 - The November/December 2010 edition of the ILAG/JUSTICE newsletter is now available to download. Click here to do so.

* 13 January 2011 - The website is currently being restored. This is being done as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience in this matter.