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I'm very pleased that the DJ has spoken out about this. Well done DJ McKenzie. You are certainly not alone, and the groundswell of disenfranchised Judges gains momentum every time I appear at court.

I handle a very varied caseload, so can be in court against a director or insurer on one hand, or representing someone in family proceedings, or a client at Crown or Coroner's Court. It's fair to say that I see a good groundswell of different cases in different tribunals for different types of litigant.

More than once, I've seen a frightened, bewildered client outside Magistrates or Crown court and felt it was my duty to offer free legal assistance - and have done so that an injustice didn't occur. I don't have a legal aid franchise, and don't want the burden of it either. The fact of the matter is that these people desperately need help - then there's the poor folks who are out of their depth in family proceedings...

...The worst of all? Those attending an inquest. I've done maybe a dozen of these entirely free of charge now, one with a jury for three days, as families face a bewildering, difficult system when they're least or ill prepared to do anything, and are usually incapable of conducting any semblance of advocacy as they're grief stricken, and often financially impecunious - quite often the bread earner has been killed. There has been talk of change here, and I hope to goodness things happen quickly. I won't hold my breath though.

The fact of the matter is that we / I can't keep helping free of charge - there's only so much time we can offer pro-bono - and then we're told to do more by our regulator / the powers that be. It really is quite outrageous.

We should never be in this dreadful situation, and the vulnerable and disaffected shouldn't be shut out either.

I literally pray to God that something will change, because the system is crashing around down our ears. The family silver went ages ago - HMCTS appear intent on ripping up the carpets and switching off the heating,.... and charging litigants massive sums for litigating in a system that is not fit for purpose.

I'm aware reading this back that I sound like Ciitizen Smith here, but when you think about where we've come from to what we are, it is shocking to the core.

God help the newly qualified.