The result of the Scots referendum has delighted some people and upset some more.
Had independence gone ahead, it would have been a bonanza for law firms on both sides of the border, as untold thousands of contracts and suchlike would have had to be looked at and made compatible with the new arrangements. One of my relatives is a corporate lawyer with a large company that operates across Europe, and you can imagine the complexity of ensuring compliance with a new jurisdiction, with implications for employment and consumer regulation, especially if Scotland had been outside the EU. The costs would have been horrific.
Meanwhile criminal defence lawyers have won a clear victory over the legal aid cuts imposed by the MoJ. Cynics tend to sneer at the bottom end of the criminal defence community, but low-level criminal cases often involve inarticulate bottom-of-the heap defendants who need legal advice more than most. The rewards payable to legal aid lawyers are very low in most cases, the overall figure being distorted by high-profile silk-heavy matters in the big boys' courts.
Tomorrow is another day, as someone said in the movies.
Isn't Scotland already a separate legal jurisdiction anyway? Most substantial contracts would already state whether legal disputes are to be resolved in England & Wales or Scotland.
ReplyDeleteQuite so, a much more rational comment than most of the scaremongering nonsense of the last few months.
DeleteCosts
ReplyDeleteThe MoJ may have suffered a set back in the HC but they will just go throught the process again. So it is more likely going to be a delay rather than a win.
There is much money that could be saved if a whole sale review of how our courts work was undertaken. Simplification of the process would be a good start. The LCJ said that in civil cases because many litigants now appear in person the powers that be are looking to 'simplify the rules' if that is right one wonders why it has not been done before! If it had maybe the costs of litigation would go down so more people could fun their cases.