The government has defeated an opposition attempt to reverse reforms to the way that criminal defence barristers are paid for legal aid work, with barristers vowing to step up their strike action in response.

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.

The CICA, or Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, is an official executive agency of the UK Government and was originally known as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board when it was set up in 1964.

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.

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The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) has warned the government that work as a criminal legal aid lawyer no longer represents a viable career path, due to a desperate resource crisis in the sector that “threatens the stability of the entire system” at the cost of justice to the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

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.

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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.”

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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.

LawBite, the online legal service, has launched its second round of crowdfunding; the initial funding round in May 2013 saw investors raise £240,000 in just 10 days.

Fat Race Films, a production company specialising in documentaries on social justice and human rights, is crowdfunding for a short animated film about the devastating impact of the cuts to legal aid.

The backlog at crown courts in England and Wales has hit a new high of 64,015 unresolved cases, according to data published last week by HM Courts and Tribunals Services. 

The Ministry of Justice has revealed that the Crown Court backlog hit a new high of 67,573 between October and December 2023. 

For the past 18 months, members of the Crown Prosecution Service, police chiefs, lawyers, the Ministry of Justice, and the HM Prison and Probation Service formed a working party to update guidelines for judges in what’s been labelled a “change in culture”. The guidelines were rolled out from 16 January.  

Following a recent change in the law, broadcast news channels will air judges’ sentencing remarks from the Crown Court for the first time.

Alice Kuzmenko is a barrister at 1 Crown Office Row. In this Meet the Lawyer she discusses what attracted her to the barrister route, her day-to-day responsibilites and what she enjoys most about her career in law.