CBA Sept. 2015.pdf

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The Chicago
Bar Association
OFFICERS
President
Patricia Brown Holmes
Schiff Hardin LLP
First Vice President
Daniel M. Kotin
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
Second Vice President
Hon. Thomas R. Mulroy
Circuit Court of Cook County
Secretary
Jesse H. Ruiz
Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Treasurer
Steven M. Elrod
Holland & Knight LLP
Executive Director
Terrence M. Murphy
Assistant Executive Director
Elizabeth A. McMeen
BOARD OF
MANAGERS
Karina Ayala-Bermejo
Ashly I. Boesche
Thomas F. Boleky
Chasity A. Boyce
Hon. Maureen E. Connors
Daniel A. Cotter
Mary K. Curry
James R. FortCamp
Matthew T. Jenkins
Natacha D. McClain
Eileen M. O’Connor
Matthew A. Passen
Meredith E. Ritchie
David J. Scriven-Young
Hon. Amy J. St. Eve
John T. Theis
Nigel F. Telman
Frank G. Tuzzolino
Allison L. Wood
WATCH THE INTERVIEW
For more information about the work of the Bar
Council of England and Wales see my You Tube
interview with Alistair MacDonald on the CBA’s
YouTube Channel.
8 SEPTEMBER 2015
risters chamber or through another Bar
Standards Board approved legal environ-
ment and has to be completed within five
years. It is akin to an apprenticeship pro-
gram and is very competitive. Recent law
school graduates who are selected to work
in Chambers receive a stipend of approxi-
mately $7,000 pounds. Pupils are assigned
to a supervisor and may not practice for
the first six months. During this period
they attend court with their supervisor,
do research and complete assigned written
work. During the second six months pupils
can conduct cases in court and begin to
develop a practice.
U.K’s Legal Aid Crisis
The most serious problem facing the Bar
Council and The Law Society of England
and Wale involves action by the govern-
ment last April, which massively reduced
funding for legal aid in the U.K. Alistair
MacDonald told us that there is virtually
no legal aid remaining for civil and family
justice in England. Moreover, he said that
recent increases in the court filing fees will
create a major access to justice issue for
small businesses seeking to pursue simple
collection matters or contract grievances
in the courts. The new filing fees, accord-
ing to MacDonald, are approximately,
10,000 pounds–which is prohibitive–and
is already driving small business owners
away from the court system.
MacDonald said that the Bar Pro Bono
Unit (BPBU) involves 3,600 volunteer
members with approximately one-third
being barristers. The BPBU is funded
almost entirely by the profession, and pro-
vided services to more than 1,000 people
in 2014. Also assisting is the London
Legal Support Trust (LLST), which is an
independent charity that raises funds for
free legal services in London. MacDonald
is active in the work of the LLST and said
“We see first-hand the impact the auster-
ity measures have had on access to justice
for ordinary people who struggle to find
legal advice and support they can afford.”
MacDonald concentrates his practice in
criminal law, and estimated that some
37,000 defendants are now self-repre-
sented because of the cuts introduced by
the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment
Offenders Act.
In a published message to the Bar
Council members, MacDonald said, “We
cannot waive a magic wand and wish aus-
terity away, but why does justice remain
unprotected from further cuts? This fact
will be disappointing to thousands of men
and women across the country who now
have no effective access to justice. Instead
they grapple, often in vain, with complex
legal problems the outcomes of which will
fundamentally change their lives. Politi-
cians are not taking justice seriously. Justice
is not a benefit or a tax break, it underpins
our way of life and protects everything
for which we work so hard. Yet this point
has not been articulated by party politics
today.” More recently, Chairman Mac-
Donald issued the following statement:
“The two main parties have published
their manifestos but there is still no sign
of a commitment to restoring access to
justice for the hundreds of thousands of
individuals and families left excluded by
legal aid cuts.”
It was no surprise that the U.K’s access
to justice issues dominated the meeting and
left little time to address all of our agenda
items. In the United States, we continue
to see some disturbing trends and parallels
with the access to justice crisis in the U.K.
Public access (regardless of one’s financial
means) to an independent justice system
is not a privilege, but a fundamental right
for all citizens in a democratic society. We
must be vigilant in protecting this right
while continuing to improve public access
to our judicial system.