Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

Many lawyers offer legal advice free – ‘pro bono’.  One organisation, Lawworks, has been developing this idea and now offers a range of free legal services in different parts of the country. It has also been working with a number of law schools to develop student pro bono legal activity. You can get an idea of how they can help by looking at their website http://www.lawworks.org.uk/?id=students –

The new Supreme Court opened, as planned, on 1 October 2009. To see a good picture of the justices in the new court go to

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/01/supreme-judges-take-their-place

One of the notable changes to the criminal justice system over the last 15 years has been the increasing attention  given to supporting the victims of crime. On 29 Sept 2009, the Government  announced increased funding to Victim Support – the charity that provides the bulk of victim support services – to enable them to give detailed personal support to the families of victims of murder and manslaughter. It is estimated that each year there are around 3000 people directly affected by the murder or manslaughter of a family member.

See http://www.victimsupport.org.uk/