On 12 May 2025, the Law Society of England and Wales published their new climate change and property Practice Note. In this News Analysis, Professor Robert Lee from Birmingham University takes a closer look at this new Practice Note starting with why it was published, and highlighting what the climate change risks include, how solicitors can discharge their duty to advise, how climate risk searches can be used, before concluding with some final thoughts.

The Law Society of England and Wales has announced a special general meeting (SGM) to be held in-person at the Society’s headquarters in London at 2:00pm and online on 23 July 2024. After the release of the fifth edition of the TA6 Information Form, the Property Lawyers Action Group (PLAG) requested an SGM to debate and vote on a motion of no confidence in the Law Society's inability to represent the conveyancers. The Law Society expressed its disappointment with the step taken by PLAG but, says 'the SGM is an opportunity for members to discuss with us the future of the home buying and selling process and how the Society can best represent its members'. Members are to complete the registration from by 9:00am on 15 July 2024.

The Law Society of England and Wales has appointed Mark Evans as its 181st president, with Brett Dixon as vice president and Dana Denis-Smith as deputy vice president. Evans, a Welsh solicitor with 28 years’ experience in property and private law and currently a lecturer at the University of Law, has held leadership roles in regional and national law societies since 2010. During his presidential year, he intends to address declining solicitor numbers in underserved areas, promote non-traditional routes into the profession, and support small and medium-sized law firms to enhance access to justice. Evans will also work to improve legal education, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lead member engagement initiatives through the ‘Get Involved’ strategy, and prioritise solicitor wellbeing and inclusivity.

The Law Society of England and Wales has responded to the Home Office’s call for evidence on the proposed Independent Appeals Body for immigration and asylum appeals, opposing its establishment. It argues that, instead of replacing the First-Tier Tribunal, the government should address the underlying causes of the asylum backlog and delays by stabilising asylum policy, improving the quality of initial Home Office decisions—citing data showing that only 52% met quality standards in 2023/24—enhancing the efficiency of the existing tribunal system and ensuring adequate legal aid funding. The President of the Law Society, Mark Evans, also stated that replacing the First-Tier Tribunal with a lay appeals body could affect individuals’ right to a fair hearing.

The Law Society has issued a statement ahead of the Sentencing Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons, calling for urgent and sustained investment across the criminal justice system to support the success of the Bill’s proposed sentencing reforms. While the President of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, welcomed the focus on preventing reoffending, he emphasised that access to education courses in custody is crucial for preparing prisoners for release and reducing reoffending rates. The Law Society supports the Bill’s emphasis on maximising suspended and deferred sentences—but highlights that successful implementation requires sustained investment across all parts of the system. It also urged an urgent review of the children’s custody release scheme to prevent young offenders from serving disproportionately longer sentences compared to adults with similar sentences.

The Law Society has commented on the Renters' Rights Bill, which is scheduled for its second reading in the House of Lords. While supporting the Bill’s proposed reforms, such as banning 'no-fault' evictions and ending rental bidding wars, the Law Society has expressed concerns that the Bill may be ineffective without clearer enforcement provisions and increased funding for the justice system. Additionally, it highlights that the Bill could lead to more contested hearings, as landlords will now need to demonstrate good reason for eviction, and a surge of cases entering the court system, as renters will have an increased ability to challenge evictions. The Law Society calls on the government to clarify how it plans to equip courts with adequate resources to handle this anticipated increase in demand, while managing existing backlogs. Although the Law Society welcomes the government's proposals to increase housing legal aid fees, it also emphasises the need for further expansion of legal aid to ensure renters can obtain legal advice at an earlier stage.

The Law Society has announced it is working with stakeholders in the legal and accountancy sectors, the Home Office and the Treasury to determine the potential implications of the judgment, World Uyghur Congress v NCA and others [2024] EWCA Civ 715, on the legal sector and its clients. The judgment underlined the limits of the ‘adequate consideration’ exemption (set out in section 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002) from criminal liability for money laundering and bought issues around proceeds of crime into question. The Law Society has stated that it will keep members updated as the situation develops.

The Law Society of England and Wales has commented on the latest figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Civil justice statistics quarterly: January to March 2024. The Law Society has said that the figures show an ‘access to justice crisis for individuals and small businesses’ as cases in the County Courts are now taking 54 weeks to go to trial. The amount of time it takes for small claims cases to go to trial has risen by 30 weeks since 2010, and this is despite there being 2,000 fewer cases compared to 2010. Complex and higher value cases now take up to 80 weeks to reach trial. Law Society president, Nick Emmerson, has urged the UK government to commission and publish research on how to improve access to justice, amongst other matters and called for investment to tackle the backlog and delays. Emmerson has also highlighted that ‘previous attempts at digitalisation have unfortunately exacerbated some delays’, and so ‘future online systems must be user-designed with strong collaborative working between users and stakeholders to avoid costly errors and rework in the long run.’

The Law Society has commented on legal aid statistics which were published on 21 December 2023. The statistics cover the period of July 2023 to September 2023. The Law Society noted that during the period covered, the number of times a suspect received legal asssitance from a solicitor in attendance at the police station increased from 133,982 in April 2023 to June 2023 to 152,985 in July 2023 to September 2023. Law Society president, Nick Emmerson, commented on the number of duty solicitors that had left the profession between April 2023 and October 2023 and the increased workload on duty solicitors.

The Law Society has commented on new figures published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), on 28 March 2024, which shows an increase in backlog of cases in the magistrates’ court and Crown Court. The Law Society has said that the criminal justice system is in ‘crisis’ and is ‘failing victims and defendants with huge court delays continuing to spiral’. The backlog in the Crown Court increased by 8% by the end of December 2023 from December 2022 whilst the magistrates’ court saw an increase of 7% on the previous quarter at the end of December 2023. Law Society president, Nick Emmerson, has again called for increased and sustained funding to ‘stop the ongoing collapse of our criminal justice system’.

The Law Society has commented on the lack of progress made in tackling the backlog of cases in the criminal court, following the release of new statistics on 11 January 2024. The number of outstanding cases in the magistrates' courts is approximately 30,000 higher than it was in November 2022. The Law Society said that whilst the backlog in the Crown Court has reduced, it is still 3,500 cases higher than in November 2023 and above the government’s target of reducing the backlog to 53,000 by March 2025. Law Society president, Nick Emmerson, has highlighted that the backlog is leading to ‘unacceptable delays for victims, witnesses and defendants’.

The Law Society of England and Wales has commented on the King’s Speech 2024 and what it entails for law and justice. The Law Society notes that it is pleased to see the criminal justice system on the agenda of the new government, welcomes new measures to improve response to violence against women and girls and is pleased to see that the new government aims to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983. President of the Law Society, Nick Emmerson, asks for immediate steps to increase criminal legal aid rates with an immediate £11.3m investment in early advice to sustain the system during reviews.