UK's Biggest Immigration Firm Not Too Big to Fail, Leaving 10,000 Cases in Limbo
Saying that it was crippled by a lack of cash flow from unpaid government-funded representations, the United Kingdom’s biggest immigration law firm has failed, leaving some 10,000 cases in limbo.
The U.K.’s Ministry of Justice refused calls by legal experts and the Archbishop of Canterbury to intervene and shore up Refugee and Migrant Justice, and Justice Secretary Ken Clarke says the charity didn’t manage its money well, reports BBC News.
Other law firms, he says, will handle the cases, and arrangements have already been made to turn over 20 of the most urgent matters. The Refugee and Migrant Justice cases primarily involve asylum-seekers and about 900 women and children represented as unwilling victims in sex-trafficking cases.
The charity blames the government for holding back payments for legal work, contending that it is owed millions. The government contends that the firm was paid what was due. Apparently at issue in the dispute is a relatively new system in which legal costs reportedly are reimbursed only after a matter is completed.
