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14 Feature

Talking Heads

This month we asked practitioners “Does closing courts in the interests of costs-saving

and efficiency make good business sense?”

Government's objective is Good news, (and good busi- ones who respond, the it means more work in fewer
to discourage use of the ness) for practitioners ap- wider public don't engage. locations that can then be
Court system. Is it pure co- pearing daily in the Others were never fit for covered by fewer staff.
incidence that the proposed Manchester and Salford purpose when they were
Court closures follow hot on Magistrates Court, as they built a hundred years ago However, all of the above
the heels of the huge rises access clients from further never-mind now. One en- will be to the detriment of
in both Court and Tribunal afield. trance for defendants, vic- court staff who will lose
fees, the extension of the tims, witnesses etc while the their jobs, the litigants and
portal system in personal in- But what of the practitioner lawyers go in round the witnesses who will struggle
jury work, and the move to with an office and client back! Victims and witnesses to afford the costs associ-
restrict the number of court base in Bury, Stockport or told me how much they ated with the longer jour-
hearings in criminal cases? Sale. What of the defendant hated the experience and neys into the big cities
having to travel from these routinely told me they where the courts that are
outlying areas to a court or would never report a crime kept open are likely to be
solicitor who may be lo- ever again! and the justice system as a
Shefali Talukdar Jeff Lewis cated in Manchester city whole which is slowly being
Managing Partner Head of Litigation centre. Good business turned into a commoditised
Clough & Willis Brabners LLP, Manchester sense, perhaps. Facilitating industry whereby the end
access to justice? Perhaps users are becoming increas-
No. Bury and the surround- Objectively, it does make not. ingly irrelevant.
ing area is a busy cohabita- good business sense to
tion so it needs its own move lots of Court buildings Whilst we are experiencing
court. Despite severe finan- into the same place (in record low levels of cases
cial constraints the court order to make best use of proceeding through the
provides a convenient and resources), but that rather Matthew Claughton, courts, we must acknowl-
efficient service to the local misses the point: the pur- Olliers solicitors edge that this is only as a re-
community. My fear is that pose of the Court Service is sult of the current direction
this will be lost completely (as its name rather sug- The proposed closure of of political will and the way
as it is highly probable that gests!) to provide a service criminal courts in Greater in which as a society the use
it will take longer to deal to those who need or wish Manchester will have far Nazir Afzal of the courts is discouraged.
with cases if they are trans- to avail themselves of the reaching effects. Past Chief Crown Empirical evidence tends to
ferred to Manchester. The country's justice system. Prosector Oliver Gardner suggest that this direction is
city centre courts are al- Not so long ago the Salford Howards Solicitors likely to change soon.
ready under incredible If it's only about saving Magistrates Court closed as Court buildings, witnesses CLSA Committee Member
strain and that will only be money, why doesn't the Salford cases moved into must despair at the places So in conclusion, the cost of
compounded if they have Government go the whole Manchester and the court they have to go. Many kept There can be no question closing the courts, the po-
to start dealing with all the hog and close down all of was renamed the Manches- open just to please a local that closing courts that are tential unanticipated costs
claims from all the courts the country's hospitals and ter and Salford Magistrates bench of magistrates and barely used makes good on the justice system for at-
that are at risk. schools?! Court. Under new propos- like “Murphy” they can make sense, and it is undoubtedly tendees and of losing so
als, Trafford, Stockport and three or four traffic offences the case that some of these many dedicated long serv-
There’s no getting away What is particularly con- Bury Magistrates Courts will last all day! I have appeared courts are little used any- ing staff and the likely cost
from the fact that the num- cerning is that the proposed follow suit . in courts where lists of 100 more. The MOJ will save of re-opening courts in due
ber of court hearings that Court closures appear to be cases are routine and others huge amounts in terms of course leads to me to the
will be required to take part of a wider Government The outside courts operate where 1 is a struggle. To running costs, administra- conclusion that No, this
place in Manchester will agenda to compromise the well below capacity. The close them, the court serv- tive costs and staff costs. As does not make good busi-
rocket. Court hearing time is interests of justice in favour MoJ knows that substantial ice have to go through year a solicitor in private prac- ness sense.
already at a premium and of cost-saving schemes; in savings will be made follow- long local consultations tice, from a purely selfish
this will inevitably lead to particular, one could be for- ing their closure. From that where nothing happens. point of view, the closures
significant delays. given for thinking that the perspective, good business. The vested interests are the benefit me simply because

continued from front cover... that many of us, unless we CLSA have got in their first representation.
take this final stand will and announced that no
work of various groups and survive pending the intro- tures would confirm the have no business to fight for such offer would be accept- So it is now back to the MOJ
individuals was being duction of Dual contracts suspicions, disunite the ac- at all this time next year. able. The LCCSA which rep- to make its next move and
threatened to its very core. which would then see off tivists and cement the fate The MOJ in its arrogance resents London based firms the question is whether the
For a short while, it ap- the majority of the remain- of the profession as they had missed the point. The have already opened a bal- unity of the profession will
peared that either the MOJ ing 75% of other firms. turned on each other. Solicitors remained commit- lot of its members to gage hold following the next MOJ
or certain self interest ted to action, to fighting the support for a mass with- announcement. My guess is
groups had succeeded in In the weeks that have since Except this time the MOJ cuts and the gradual de- drawal of bids for the new that it will because I believe
undermining the action followed there have been had gone too far, they did struction of the justice sys- contracts, the CLSA have an- the MOJ will fail to recog-
thus far achieved. The MOJ two further meetings with not appreciate that the pro- tem as we know it. The Bar nounced they too will open nise the strength of feeling.
have always relied upon our MOJ officials. During those fession could not and would too remained committed to such a ballot to take na- They will announce some-
inability to unite and fight meetings the MOJ has re- not take anymore. The dif- the No returns policy, they tional views on the issue. thing intended to further di-
for ourselves thus allowing fused to agree to delay the ferences within the profes- too believing that even if If Solicitors nationwide vote vide but out of sheer
the systematic degradation implementation of Dual sion remained and had the solicitors had adopted a to withdraw bids then the desperation they will inad-
of this side of the profession Contracts, refused to con- been well highlighted now watered down approach to MOJ will have a real prob- vertently push solicitors to-
over the years. sider viable alternatives to it but the common causes action the cause was far lem on its hands, they will wards a withdrawal of bids.
and made it clear that the were too many. The cuts more important than the re- be unable to roll out their
P2 was now being seen by cuts will not be reversed were too deep, the notion spective differences. planned Dual Contracts and https://www.lccsa.org.uk/cl
some as a method to delay over a possible suspension of a suspension of those effectively there will be in- sa-and-lccsa-members-sur-
rather than reverse the cut and only on the basis that cuts was not enough and As I write this, many are an- sufficient firms to undertake vey-17082015/
which in itself was being any suspension can be paid the imminent introduction ticipating an announce- the work thus putting the
construed as a mechanism for by savings made else- of Dual Contracts puts into ment from the MOJ State in breach of its statu-
for allowing the BFG firms to where. Surely these over- clear focus for all the idea suspending the cuts. The tory duty to afford adequate