Reimagining the Law 22 June 2020

1. Legal Aid

The civil legal aid system should be decentralised and administered regionally. It should no longer fund by reference to individual cases but should mainly fund organisations and develop their capacity and skills. It should ignore time spent on cases but should measure the benefits of its work to the public.
Guy Beringer

2.Due Diligence Act

Enact a Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Act, which requires companies to demonstrate clearly what actions they are taking, enables victims to bring cases if companies fail to protect against adverse impacts, provides a defence to companies if they have taken reasonable measures, and has an effective regulator.
Professor Robert McCorquodale

3. The cult of the personality

How do we preserve the integrity and independence of our legislature and judiciary in times of the cult of the personality, the rise of information bubbles and the death of the expert? Is it time for an unbreakable constitutional right of the legal profession to challenge, be given platforms and question legislation, secondary and primary, and to preserve from political bias the institution of the judiciary in the UK?
Stephen Gibb

4. Division and demoralization

Imposing caps on the income of senior executives so they do not exceed at certain times the lowest earner in corporations and businesses. The differences in income causes division and demoralization in the work place and causes social divisions in society. Many top earners receive much more than they need to live exceptionally well; many of the lower earners struggle to maintain even a basic lifestyle
Professor Julian Lew QC

5. Pro bono

In the past there was a centralisation of pro bono efforts by City firms as staff volunteered at London venues. They have been unable to do so since the lockdown. Does this spell a potential new dawn of firms expanding pro bono virtually across the nation?
Matthew Rhodes