Speech
Speech by Minister of State James Browne at Legal Leadership Summit 2022
By: Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform and Youth Justice; James Browne
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By: Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform and Youth Justice; James Browne
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I am delighted to be invited here to speak with you this morning at the Legal Leadership Summit 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for industry - to say the least - and while these challenges have been burdensome, they have also prompted change and innovation. It was through innovation and the use of technology that my department, working closely with the Judiciary and the Courts Service, was able to maintain the highest level of court activity possible throughout the pandemic. At this summit today, I look forward to hearing first-hand from leading figures in the industry who are at the forefront of that innovation.
Innovation is a core priority for my department over the next decade as we continue to work closely with all of our agencies across the Justice sector to implement an ambitious Digital First agenda.
Building on from work already undertaken in recent years to increase the potential for utilisation of Cloud resources, my department is working towards an integration of systems across the justice sector which will ensure that information can be shared quickly and safely.
Not only will this enable us to use resources more efficiently, it will foster an enhanced sense of cooperation and partnership between all stakeholders.
As any professional leader knows, a business’s best resource is its people. Towards the end of 2020, Justice Minister Helen McEntee welcomed the publication of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority Setting Standards Report, which proposes a number of reforms that will help law firms to attract and retain talented professionals.
These include the development of competencies and standards frameworks for practicing barristers and solicitors; accreditation of existing professional legal education providers in line with these frameworks; and widening professional legal education provision.
The LSRA is now fully operational as a key component of the ongoing reform of legal services and legal costs in the State. Following the signing of a Commencement Order with effect from 7 October 2019, a number of key reforms of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 came into operation.
We have seen major positive transformation in the management of complaints and the regulation of professional conduct. Complaints are now being made directly to the LSRA rather than through the legal professional bodies as happened previously.
The Authority can now also refer complaints of professional misconduct against legal practitioners to the new, independent Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal (LPDT), which was formally launched on 5th April 2022. I understand that a number of complaints will be referred to the Tribunal for further investigation by the LSRA and the Law Society in the coming weeks and that the process of establishing formal hearings is also underway.
As a qualified barrister myself, I feel it is an exciting time to be part of the legal profession. We are in an era of and modernisation and innovation across the justice sector as the implementation of the recommendations of the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice (Peter Kelly Review) get underway, complemented by the Courts Service Modernisation Programme 2020-2030, which is currently in its second phase. This Programme is focused on designing court services around the user, leveraging digital technology to streamline services and processes, and ultimately delivering a courts system which is more accessible to all.
Towards the end of 2020, the Courts Service committed an investment in excess of €2.2 million to expand the number of courtrooms that are technology enabled. Courtrooms that are technology enabled support remote and hybrid hearings and allow parties, witnesses, prisoners or Gardaí, dial in remotely to a physical courtroom and support digital evidence display. The project was delivered successfully in 2021, bringing the number of up-to-date technology courtrooms from 55 to 104. An adoption programme to realise the benefits of the available technology in courtrooms is now under way and will continue through 2022.
The government has committed to investing over €270 million every year for the next 5 years in capital projects in the Justice Sector as part of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2030, which represents a significant increase on recent years. This investment will provide for the completion of vital projects including a new family law complex at Hammond Lane. It will also be used to help fund building and refurbishment projects across the Justice sector, including in court buildings. This will be key in helping us achieve our aim of building a justice system that works for everyone.
The pandemic has brought about changes which have transformed many aspects of our lives. In response to unprecedented challenge posed, the Courts have implemented a number of changes, such as increased use of video hearings to ensure continued access to justice. Budget 2022 has ensured funding that will support the Courts Service as it makes many of these changes permanent, as well as supporting significant reforms in relation to Family Courts that aim to streamline the administration of civil law.
I am committed to driving a modernisation and Digital First agenda across the entire Justice Sector and I particularly welcome the commitment set out by the Courts Service in its Corporate Strategic Plan 2021 – 2023, to maximise the use of digital technologies in striving to provide an improved and user-centred service. In the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, Minister McEntee brought forward urgent legislation to enable the courts to operate remotely through the use of remote hearings and the giving of evidence using live video link. The Criminal Procedure Act, which was signed into law by the President on 24 May, 2021, provides, for the first time in Irish law, for preliminary trial hearings. These hearings have the potential to bring huge improvements and efficiencies to our criminal justice system – real progress that will be felt by all parties including victims, juries and defendants.
The issue of Multi-Disciplinary Practices is one which I know is of great interest to many of you here today. As you may be aware, the LSRA was required to prepare and submit to the Minister for Justice two reports in relation to MDPs under section 119 of the 2015 Act.
The first report, published in March 2017, dealt with issues such as the operation of similar practices in other jurisdictions, the likely impact of the operation of the MDPs in the State on legal costs, the provision of legal services to consumers and the access of persons to legal services.
The second report, published in September 2017, followed a public consultation exercise and set out the recommendations of the Authority in relation to the establishment, monitoring and operation of MDPs in the State.
Since then the LSRA has, of course, commenced the complaints function and has introduced Limited Liability Partnerships into the State. Legal Partnerships have not yet been introduced – this is because to introduce the framework for legal partnerships would require a legislative amendment to the 2015 Act.
This amendment is contained within the General Scheme of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which is currently in the final stages of drafting and will be published soon. Once that amendment has been enacted, the LSRA will be in a position to introduce Legal Partnerships. I can assure you today that the LSRA is committed to revisiting the introduction of Multi-Disciplinary Practices once the infrastructure for the introduction of legal partnerships is in place and operational.
I will finish by thanking you again for inviting me here today to share my thoughts with you on this most important topic of: “Managing Legal activity in a hybrid world”.
I commend your hard work and dedication in the legal field. My department is committed to building a justice system that works for everyone in an ever changing and increasingly connected landscape.
Through the reforms and initiatives in our Programme for Government and Justice Plan, we will continue to work tirelessly to provide an equitable and accessible path to justice.