UK online court platform proposal and excellent community legal support? Rev. Dane Marks and co-founders launch The Community Law Project UK Ltd to help people facing legal issues get support. Court statistics for England and Wales for the year 2019 have reported 4.2 million cases where 2.0 million from civil courts, 1.5 million from magistrates, 393,000 from tribunals, 266,000 from family courts and 104,000 from crown courts.
These statistics shows that the majority of the cases are civil and family cases and this high volume may tend to unnecessary amounts of outstanding cases, longer waiting times, costs to both the government and the parties who are present at the court. This shows the necessity of an advancement in the current court system with information technology and related solutions.
The co-founders, Rev. Dane Marks, Daniel Onafuwa and Samantha Yarwood and the genius and passionate team of Law Students and Graduates have come together to offer their support for minimal fees to assist people facing legal issues. The team will offer their support in helping compile evidence, draft case notes and find legal representation to support people in the poorest and most marginalised areas. They will also offer low cost support to law firms and barristers to enable them to focus on their cases.
Rev. Dane Marks explains, ‘since studying law and learning the issues of people facing legal problems and the problems the courts are having with the current backlogs, we will help in the best way we can.’
If we observe the number of cases even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were towering 39.300 cases in the Crown Court. After we faced the social distancing needs in 2019, the backlog of cases elevated at least 36 per cent, and the reports showed 53,318 points. Also, the COVID-19 spread across Scotland has resulted in the Lord President’s announcement that during the lockdown time, all the criminal courts will prioritize the most serious trials to keep things going smoothly. The decision expresses that most summary trials in the Sheriff Court and Justice of the Peace Court will be adjourned to decrease the number of overall trials to 75%. Discover additional information at Community Law Project UK.
Partner spotlight: As one of the largest societies at Cardiff University, the Law Society strives to enrich the student experience through a range of social, educational and extracurricular activities. By working closely with firms and chambers, we aim to boost employability prospects with workshops designed to up-skill and countless opportunities to interact with graduate recruitment. Make a Smile is a charity that works across the UK and involves volunteers dressing as popular children’s characters and visiting children that have been affected by hardship. As a part of this, they have done work with a number of charities, play groups and hospitals, working with a range of children with illness, disability and deprivation.
Clients on low incomes may have further difficulties in accessing emails, printers, scanners or even the internet. Many are caught within the endless cycle of service jumping as many cannot find a service that can completely fill their legal needs and thus keep being referred from one place to another. The limited advice they get from pro bono sessions with lawyers are sporadic and can only be within a 30-minute time span in many cases. To combat this, we have secured a partnership with 350 law firms that provides a 24/7 legal advice live chat tool on our website to give quick, accessible advice at one’s convenience. Our company is free to register with as a volunteer or a paralegal. Anyone is welcome to sign up who is interested in making their community a better place regardless of degree. Discover more info at here.