Law Archives - Page 8 of 12

Haringey Law Centre hosts a future global legal and political star

I was delighted to welcome Australian student Mark Munnich to Haringey Law Centre earlier this month. Mark comes from the Indigenous Aboriginal community in Darwin, the Northern Territory of Australia.

Mark spent two weeks in London with Felicity Gerry QC as part of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency’s (NAAJA) Bilata Legal Pathways Program, which seeks to encourage more young Australians from the indigenous Aboriginal communities to become the lawyers and judges of tomorrow.

I was deeply impressed by Mark. He had a poise and focus that I have rarely seen in young students. Still only an undergraduate student, he has already represented Australia at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament and will shortly become a fellow on a programmme at the United Nations. I have no doubt that Mark has a big future ahead of him in law, politics or both! Definitely a young man to watch!

Read about what Mark had to say about his trip to London HERE.

Interview with St John’s Church Leytonstone magazine

I am really honoured to have been interviewed by St John’s Church Leytonstone for the April edition of its monthly Good News magazine. You can read the interview HERE.

Rebuilding Haringey Law Centre with Catherine West MP

I had a really good meeting with Catherine West MP, the Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green, in Parliament earlier this week. Law Centres Network director Julie Bishop (pictured right) and I met Catherine (pictured centre) to discuss Haringey Law Centre and the many positive developments afoot. It’s fantastic to have Catherine – and Tottenham MP David Lammy’s – full support as we try to help Haringey Law Centre colleagues rebuild the Centre.

Proof Magazine Roundtable

I was delighted to participate in a recent roundtable discussion on the future of Legal Aid. The roundtable, which was organised by the Justice Alliance and chaired by Guardian journalist Shiv Malik, will be turned into a feature in a special edition of the Justice Gap‘s Proof Magazine. The issue will focus entirely on legal aid.

Other participants at the roundtable included Richard Burgon MP, the Shadow Justice Secretary; Greg Powell, solicitor and former president of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association; Deborah Coles, Director of Inquest; Vakas Hussain, barrister and press officer of British Muslim Youth; and Gloria Morrison from campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty By Association (JENGbA).

The discussion was excellent. Everyone who contributed had a professional or campaign interest in legal aid but it was clear that they also cared deeply about access to justice issues on a personal level. It was an real honour to be invited to take part and be in such esteemed company.

The first two issues of Proof Magazine have focused on ‘Justice in a Time of Moral Panic‘ and ‘The Limits of Open Justice‘. The special issue on legal aid will be published shortly. It promises to be a informative and long overdue read.

Stormont

I had a brilliant time in Belfast attending the Law Centres Network annual conference, which took place on the 10th and 11th of November 2016. The conference heard from a range of distinguished speakers including Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty; Les Allamby, the Chief Commissioner for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Claire Sugden, the Northern Ireland Justice Minister. The highlight of my trip was visiting Stormont Castle for the official dinner. Stormont is the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the place where the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. A stunning building!