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Come Join Us!

Come Join Us!

Membership of Tees Valley Law Society offers opportunities whether you are a qualified solicitor or other legal professional, or you are in the early stages of training.

Members are offered discounted rates for all of our training events, which are held locally and at the end of the working day to ensure the least disruption to you, your firm and your clients. We hold regular networking and social events where members can come together informally to discuss issues within the profession, but more importantly to share ideas.

Membership of TVLS is about offering support whether formally through involvement of the Council or more informally by sharing ideas about best practice with other firms. By becoming a member of TVLS there are opportunities to become involved in the running of the Society, whether through membership of Council or Committees or in a more informal role.

The application process is quick and simple and membership is great value. Join us today.

Criminal Legal Aid

Criminal Legal Aid

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has issued a consultation proposing the following:

  1. Reducing the pages of prosecution evidence (PPE) claimable under the Litigator Graduated Fee Scheme (LGFS) from 10,000 pages to 6,000 pages;
  2. Reducing the rates paid for s38 court appointed advocates* to legal aid rates.

The MoJ has said that subject to outcome of this consultation, it is minded to not reinstate the second fee cut of 8.75%.

The Law Society has issued a statement making it clear that they believe that further cuts to solicitors’ fees are neither necessary or sustainable at this time, bearing in mind the ongoing reforms in the justice system - the savings from these reforms have not yet been assessed. The Society has also published a follow-up report by Oxford Economics which demonstrates that without making any further cuts to rates, the MoJ is on track to make further savings in the criminal legal aid budget.

*An advocate is appointed to cross-examine the alleged victim in cases where the defendant is unrepresented, to prevent them from undertaking the cross-examination themselves. This work is currently paid at private rates.