Trial without a lawyer: Cuts leave families without representation across UK
“A week before the hearing date, I realised I was going to have to represent myself in court”, recalls Louisa, a grandmother who had to fight for her grandson’s custody. Louisa had been looking after her grandson for two years, when social services informed her that she needed to lodge an application with the family courts if she wished to keep custody. “From this point on, I had no idea what to do”, she states. A legal aid crisisLouisa knew she could not afford a lawyer - but as she would discover that meeting the criteria for government funded legal aid - was also not enough to obtain one. T...