Team JusticeGap in the Royal Courts of Justice
A week after Lady Justice Hallett warned against her courtroom be ‘turned into a circus’ – see HERE – and the circus turned up to the Royal Courts of Justice. On Monday stilt-wearing jugglers joined top lawyers – including the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions – for the London Legal Walk outside the court on the Strand.
Walkers arrive at Royal Courts of Justice
Some 6,054 walkers raised £525,000 completing 10km sponsored walk for the legally aided advice sector in London and the South East.
It was an unprecedented show of solidarity by lawyers for the legal advice sector which will struggle to survive as a result of the government’s brutal program of legal aid cuts. The government is proposing to remove £350m from the £2.2bn legal aid budget by removing entire areas of law from the scope of legal aid – including most areas of social welfare law – see HERE.
Dominic Grieve (providing his own caption. Pic by Neil Rose)
Team JusticeGap
The JusticeGap team was out in force with more than 25 walkers. We raised over £2,000. Thanks to everyone who joined us.
We are grateful for the wonderful organizational skills of Amanda Bancroft (http://beneaththewig.com) and the generosity of Riverview Law for paying for our T-shirts (thank you Jeremy Hopkins).
- If you want to read an account of the walk, read Louise Restell’s blog (Team JusticeGap, probably the best team in the world).
It is not often the legal profession manages to unite over anything, but on this issue it seems they are one. Over 6,000 people from organisations as diverse as Doughty Street Chambers, Allen & Overy, the Bar Pro Bono Unit, Buckinghamshire Magistrates, the College of Law, Islington Law Centre, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Unison, KPMG and Network Rail (assuming they managed to get there on time) joined the London Legal Walk to raise money for the London Legal Support Trust. The money raised, around £550,000, goes to support the vital work of law centres and legal advice agencies across London and the South East.
Louise RestellHackney Community Law Centre outside the RCJ
- You can also watch a film by Jon Harman, director of media at the College of Law HERE.
