Master of Rolls to challenge rising costs

The Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice, Lord Dyson, is the head of the civil courts and the Court of Appeal. He is returning to his home town of Leeds on May 26 to highlight the challenges facing civil justice. He will also celebrate the strength of the city’s legal sector.

While challenging lawmakers to improve access to justice, he will also join the Leeds Law Society to officially open their new office at 62 Wellington Street.

Lord Dyson was born and raised in Leeds. He has announced he will retire at the end of July and, in one of his last public speeches, will issue a rallying cry to protect the future of the sector and make sure talented people from all walks of life can become solicitors.

He said: “The biggest challenge facing the legal sector today is the cost of legal services, and the implications for access to justice, in particular for small businesses and individuals.

“There are important areas of the law to which it may be difficult to attract the brilliant young lawyers of the future – for example in family and criminal justice – and that extends to the judges of the future too.

“The traditional public funding in these sectors is not as substantial as it was, and while they continue to attract some brilliant and very motivated people, I’m concerned there is a worrying trend away from them.”