The Law Society of England and Wales has responded to the House of Commons (HoC) Justice Committee’s inquiry into the performance of the probate service. Members reported significant, ongoing problems with the probate service since 2018 and, in the present, cited delays of 30+ weeks and in some instances over a year’s delay. Consistent feedback further raised concerns on the impact of delays, the roll out and use of the probate portal and the performance of staff. However, the Law Society does note there has been gradual signs of improvement and put forward seven recommendations for HMCTS.

The Law Society of England and Wales has submitted its response to the Home Office’s consultation on earned settlement, warning that proposals requiring migrants to ‘earn’ settlement must be fair, must not be applied retrospectively, and must not undermine the UK’s global competitiveness.

The Law Society has responded to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)'s call for evidence for its consultation into web scraping as part of the ICO's consultation series on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and data protection. In its response to the ICO's analysis, the Law Society agrees that it is unlikely that other lawful bases with regards to web scraping for generative AI will be available under Article 6(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018 and that, in principle, the legitimate interests test could be met if technical and organisational measures to limit the use of the generative AI model are in place. The Law Society also expands in its response on the role of the data controller and processing personal data, intellectual property considerations, ongoing policy developments, and the legitimate interests test.

The Law Society confirms that it supports the recent addition of amendments to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which would restrict the sale of new leasehold houses and ensure that every new house in England and Wales will be freehold from the outset, other than in exceptional circumstances. However, Law Society President, Nick Emmerson, said that ‘in the absence of current proposals to promote the use of commonhold tenure, we support the Law Commission’s 2011 proposals to reform freehold law which would enable houses on managed estates to be sold as freehold more easily’ and urged the government to include these proposals in the Bill. Emmerson also noted the delays to the ground rent consultation outcome, urging the government to bring forward its proposals as soon as possible. He also expressed concern over retrospective provisions to cap ground rents in existing leases, confirming that the use of retrospective legislation could 'undermine the reputation of English law’.

The Law Society has published its response to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ)’s call for evidence on the judicial review of nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs). The response addresses recommendations from Lord Banner KC's independent review, which examined ways to reduce delays to infrastructure projects arising from legal challenges to development consent order (DCO) decisions. The Law Society opposes the recommendations to increase the permission threshold and reduce the permission stages to one, citing the need for further cost analysis. It also disagrees with the proposal to introduce a specialist NSIP ticket in the High Court, stating that it could lead to increased delays. However, it supports designating DCO challenges as 'significant planning court claims', implementing case management conferences, and establishing target timescales and key performance indicators. In addition, the Law Society recommends the provision of sustainable funding for the justice system, encouraging engagement with the pre-action protocol, strengthening the duty of candour, and promoting concession at the permission stage when appropriate to reduce unnecessary delays.

The Law Society of England and Wales has published its response to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ)’s consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutions within the criminal justice system, calling for enhanced safeguards following the Post Office Horizon scandal. The Law Society’s response supports the introduction of accreditation requirements—aligning standards with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), establishing a new code of practice and creating a register of prosecutors. Law Society President, Richard Atkinson emphasised that these measures are needed to prevent future miscarriages of justice and ensure prosecutions serve the public rather than organisational interests.

The Law Society of England and Wales has published its response to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures which show that Crown Court backlogs reached a record 74,651 cases by December 2024, an 11% increase from December 2023. The figures also revealed that 16,813 Crown Court cases have been outstanding for over a year, while magistrates' court backlogs rose 14 % between December 2023 and December 2024 to 309,838 cases. The Law Society President Richard Atkinson has called for immediate government action rather than waiting for the completion of the ongoing Independent Review of Criminal Courts and Independent Sentencing Review.

The Law Society has called on the UK government to invest in reforms to the justice system and address the growing criminal court backlogs, following new figures released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The figures show that the Crown Court backlog reached 76,957 cases, an 11% increase from March 2024, with 18,093 of those cases delayed by over a year. The figures also reveal 310,304 outstanding magistrates’ court cases, representing a 13% increase from March 2024. The Law Society stated that assuring the quality of the UK’s criminal justice system is essential to maintaining its reputation as a global legal centre. It also emphasises that the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts and the Independent Sentencing Review must be supported with adequate investment, along with the legal aid system.

The Law Society of England and Wales has stated that the extension of fixed recoverable costs (FRCs) to most civil cases has not provided the costs certainty it promised. FRCs set the amount of legal costs that the winning party can claim back from the losing party in civil litigation and were extended in 2023 from most low-value personal injury cases to most civil cases valued up to £100,000. The Law Society identified several concerns including that the FRC regime appears to unfairly penalise the successful party, who could now be responsible for paying the difference between lawyers' reasonable costs and the amount of FRCs, and potential negative impacts on vulnerable parties and access to justice. The Civil Procedure Rules Committee and the Ministry of Justice are taking stock of how the FRC extension is working in practice and plan to consult in detail later this year. The Law Society has recommended that housing cases should continue to be excluded from the extended scheme and that this exclusion should be made permanent.

The Law Society of England and Wales has set out its key asks to the next government. Law Society president, Nick Emmerson, has said that ‘Whichever party wins the election they should place legal services at the heart of plans for economic growth, renew our commitment to the rule of law and work proactively to protect and secure access to justice.’ Emmerson has highlighted the contributions of the legal sector to the UK economy and has urged the next government to ensure domestic law firms are adequately supported to ‘invest, upskill and adopt new technology’. In addition to this, Emmerson has reiterated the need for increased funding into the criminal justice system and civil legal aid to help reduce the court backlogs. In relation to the Rule of Law, Emmerson has said the next government should also commit to maintaining the UK’s human rights law framework which includes the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Law Society has set out its next steps in the TA6 form consultation, covering the period for September and October 2024. The Law Society previously confirmed that independent research agency, 2CV Ltd, will conduct direct member engagement exercises and analyse the feedback received from the consultation.

The Law Society of England and Wales has submitted consultation responses to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on home buying and selling reform and material information in property listings. The responses, informed by extensive consultation with Law Society members, support the government's objective of a more reliable home buying and selling system but emphasise that the consultation proposals lack sufficient detail to assess their validity and workability. The Law Society calls for further consultations when proposals are developed further, with options to pilot and refine new processes before wider implementation. Key recommendations include government intervention to raise estate agent standards, minimising regulatory burdens on conveyancers, and focusing initially on limited high-quality material information with realistic lead-in periods. The organisation warns that material information alone will not resolve structural causes of transaction delays or failures, which more commonly arise from late discovery of legal or financial issues and lack of early professional verification.