Access to Justice, Cuts to Family Funding: Who Loses Out?

Organised jointly by the Bar Council’s Equality and Diversity Committee and the Family Law Bar Association

The Bar as a whole has faced enormous changes in recent years and responded well, but in light of grave concerns about proposed fee changes to publicly funded work, its impact on the legal landscape and vulnerable clients, this workshop will debate the impact on community access to justice together with the wider significance for society as a whole; the evidence that women and minority groups undertake publicly funded work in disproportionate numbers, whether they face barriers in undertaking other forms of work and if so how those barriers can be overcome; the impact on entry into the profession, retention and progression in publicly funded work and any effect on the future pool of leaders from which the judiciary is drawn.

Moderator
Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

Speakers
Anthony Robinson Director of Casework and Litigation, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Lucy Theis QC Field Court Chambers; Chair, Family Law Bar Association
Judith Timms OBE Policy Advisor, NAGALRO; Hon Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of the Child the Family and the Law, University of Liverpool