Steve Hynes is a freelance writer and campaigner on access to justice and legal aid. He was the director of the charity Legal Action Group (LAG) from 2008 to March 2019. Prior to joining LAG Steve was the Director of the Law Centres Federation, the national organisation representing law centres in England and Wales. He is the author of Austerity Justice, (https://www.lag.org.uk/shop/products/202116/austerity-justice) published by LAG. This book describes the development of civil legal advice services in England and Wales, as well as the background to what became the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act (2012). He is also co-author of The Justice Gap, a book on the legal aid system and access to justice. Steve founded the Low Commission which was established in October 2012. The Commission was chaired by Lord Colin Low of Dalston and published its report on access to advice and legal support in January 2014. Two follow-up reports were also published by the Commission in conjunction with LAG. Currently Steve continues to write on access to justice issues for publications including Legal Action magazine and the New Law Journal.
UNITED KINGDOM
LOCAL RESEARCHERS - ENGLAND AND WALES
LOCAL RESEARCHERS - SCOTLAND
Colin Lancaster took up post as Chief Executive in September 2015. He joined SLAB in 1997 and was previously Director of Policy and Development where his responsibilities focused on improving the availability, quality and cost-effectiveness of publicly funded legal assistance, both civil and criminal. As Chief Executive, Colin is a member of the Scottish Government’s Justice Board which manages the strategic direction of the justice system in Scotland. He is also a member of the Scottish Civil Justice Council, the Evidence & Procedure Review Programme Board and the Non-Departmental Public Bodies Chief Executives Forum. Colin chairs the tri-partite Criminal Quality Assurance Committee, which oversees a peer-review based system for monitoring and improving the quality of criminal legal assistance services provided by solicitors.