The Johnson Partnership

Jessica Rogers, who joined The Johnson Partnership in March 2010, has had the unprecedented accolade of having an article published in “Inside Time”, the national newspaper for prisoners.  Jessica has been successful in short circuiting the customary process for moving IPP prisoners to open prison conditions.  By making representations directly to the Ministry of Justice, rather than pursuing the usual cumbersome Parole Board process, she has met with speedy and spectacular success.

By researching and capitalising on decisions in previous appeal cases, Jess Rogers persuaded the Ministry of Justice that, in certain circumstances, it was not necessary for prisoners to wait for a lengthy evaluation of their position before they could be moved to Category D conditions.

In short, the Ministry were authorising a move where:

1.   The prisoners dossier shows that they have made significant progress in addressing all identified risk factors.

2.   There is a consensus amongst report writers that the prisoner is suitable and safe to be transferred.

3.   There are no areas of concern identified by report writers that would benefit from exploration by an oral hearing of the Parole Board.

4.   The prisoner can demonstrate that there are core benefits to be transferred to open conditions straightaway.

By actively pursuing the Ministry of Justice route, Jess has been able to achieve the best results in the shortest possible time.  The expensive, lengthy, frustrating bureaucratic Parole Board process could become a thing of the past for model prisoners with positive future plans.

From 1st January 2010 we have been pleased to include among our team at The Johnson Partnership, Mr John Wilford.

After many years as a Partner at an established North Midlands firm, John has agreed to head up our Regulatory Team.

Increasing number of clients face difficulties either in the courts or in front of Regulatory Bodies, even though they have never come face to face with a police officer nor a member of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Disciplinary proceedings by professional bodies, prosecutions by local governments, central government and European agencies, proceedings initiated by HM Revenue & Customs, the Serious Fraud Office, the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, the Environment Agency, the Security Industry Authority, the Health & Safety Executive and endless Trading Standards departments fall well within the remit of John and his team.

Working in both Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, John is able to provide top quality local advice to clients either at our offices or at their own premises.

An added bonus for us all has been the chance to discover that John is one of the most friendly, approachable and entertaining people we have ever had the pleasure to work with.

This new kind of stand alone Order is one of the most powerful and dangerous weapons available to the courts.

Anyone subject to a Violent Offender Order not only has to register their address with the local police station, but also has to report any temporary change of address that would mean that they were away from home for more than three days.

Orders can be made against anyone convicted of a serious offence of violence, even though the circumstances of that offence may be very specific and the offence may have taken place some time ago.

All sorts of additional restrictions and limitations can be added to Orders, such as requirements to stay away from specific people, specific places, groups of people, and so on.

Orders can be made, even though a sentence has been served and the perpetrator has moved on.

Theo Addae at The Johnson Partnership has developed a high level of expertise in contesting and defending Violent Offender Orders. The grounds for making an Order and the terms and conditions of any Order always have t0 be considered by a court before an Order can be made.

Where a Magistrates’ Court has made a Voilent Offender Order it is possible for a decision to be appealed to a Crown Court for a full re-hearing.

Bearing in mind this is a new area of law, there is of course inevitably scope for testing new law, and the way that it can be fitted into existing legal precedant in the High Court and the Appeal Court.

Theo Addae is ready and able to advise on any applications for Violent Offender Orders as well as the likely success of appeal proceedings where an Order has already been made.

Since the autumn of 2009, the Ministry of Justice has been actively considering how to cut the legal aid budget.  

During the last 6 months solicitors from The Johnson Partership have met with both Jack Straw and Ken Clarke to lobby for sensible and workable arrangements to surround any reductions in legal aid rates.

We are committed to a 3 point agenda which should enable the Ministry to deliver such cuts as it has to, but which will ensure a high level of access to justice for those who need it.

1.   Any reduction in fees has to be accompanied by an increase in the number of cases being handled by the remaining firms dealing with legally aided work. The government’s reduction in public spending may of course lead to an increase in the levels of crime. A more desirable way of increasing volume and overall efficiency would be to reduce the number of firms authorised to provide legally aided services in each area.

2.   Any reduction of fees must be accompanied by the reduction in interference of government agencies.  Solicitors are already governed by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority. If conveyancing, probate, commercial or personal injury work is being carried out by a solicitor in England and Wales, the quality of service and the solicitors’ ability to deliver are monitored by the SRA. Legally aided solicitors have to face multiple layers of regulation and monitoring not only from the SRA, but also by way of peer review,quality audits and costs audits. Where a government wants legal aid firms to cut profit margins to the very minimum, there is no scope for fee earners and supervisors to be involved in this sort of unpaid, time-consuming box ticking.

3.   Where a reduction in fees has to be accompanied by proof that central government is committed to paying its bills on time. Now that the billing process has been streamlined and many fees standardised, there can be no excuse for delaying payment by as much as 6 to 8 months. If firms are to survive further legal aid cuts they will have to have a guaranteed stream of regular and promised payments.

Digby Johnson and Ian Boddy have been involved in meetings with both the current Ministryof Justice and his predecessor to ensure that the terms of this blueprint for survival are set out as clearly as possible to those at the highest level.

The Johnson Partnership specialise in criminal defence and business defence work of all types and Prison Law.  As the largest criminal firm in England and Wales, we cover the entire country and have lawyers specialising in every area of criminal law practice. We cover criminal offences ranging from motoring offences, VAT Fraud, Asbo’s, Youth Crime, Driving Bans, Professional Misconduct, Trading Standards law to Murder and Manslaughter. You can rest assured that every case will be handled with the expertise of the criminal solicitor expertise it deserves.

http://www.thejohnsonpartnership.co.uk/