Surrey Lawyer Summer 2016

Summer Issue 2016

SurreyLawyer THE VOICE OF SURREY SOLICITORS Inside this issue: ~ Risk & Compliance ~ Conveyancing ~ Cyber Security ~ Local News

An interview with the Setford Cousins (see Page 17)

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Contents Intro PUBLISHER Benham Publishing Limited 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Tel: 0151 236 4141 Facsimile: 0151 236 0440 email: admin@benhampublishing.com web: www.benhampublishing.com

4

List of Officers

5

President’s Jottings

7

CEO Report

9 -14

Local News

Local Issues Employment

ADVERTISING AND FEATURES EDITOR Anna Woodhams

15

Interview With Leilani Reader.

16

Welcome to the New World of Retirement.

17

Tesco Law Is Dead!

STUDIO MANAGER

Financial

John Barry

ACCOUNTS

Probate

Joanne Casey

MEDIA No. 1467

Spotlight on

PUBLISHED

18

June 2016 © The Surrey Law Society - Benham Publishing

Guy and Chris Setford- Joint CEOs of Setford Solicitors.

Conveyancing Focus

LEGAL NOTICE © Benham Publishing.

None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers.

Benham Publishing would like to point out that all editorial comment and articles are the responsibility of the originators and may or may not reflect the opinions of Benham Publishing. No responsibility can be accepted for any inaccuracies that may occur, correct at time of going to press.

19

The Client-focused conveyancing case management.

20

Why Conveyancers must employ enjoyable technology.

21

Make Residential conveyancing Profitable.

21

Thames Water Residents’ Update.

22

A history of innovation in specialisation.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

DISCLAIMER The Surrey Law Society welcomes all persons eligible for membership regardless of Sex, Race, Religion, Age or Sexual Orientation.

All views expressed in this publication are the views of the individual writers and not the society unless specifically stated to be otherwise. All statements as to the law are for discussion between member and should not be relied upon as an accurate statement of the law, are of a general nature and do not constitute advice in any particular case or circumstance.

Property 23

Act early to ensure your client benefits from valuable tax relief.

Employment Law

24

Can you read your employees’ e-mails?

Management

25

Partners behaving badly.

Risk & Compliance

26

Consumer Credit and CPD.

Members of the public should not seek to rely on anything published in this magazine in court but seek qualified Legal Advice.

27

Being Authorised by the FCA.

COVER INFORMATION The cover image: Guy and Chris Setford, Joint CEOs of Setfords Solicitors.

28

Why Cyber Security Matters.

29

How to ensure your practice management software is truly cloud based.

30

Cyber Security: Are you covered by your IT Managed Service Provider?

Cyber Security

Copy Deadlines Business Strategy Autumn 2016 Issue Winter 2016 Issue Spring 2017 Issue Summer 2017 Issue

26th August 16th December 27th February 3rd June

Anyone wishing to advertise in Surrey Lawyer please contact Anna Woodhams before copy deadline.

Email: Tel:

anna@benhampublishing.com 0151 236 4141

Anyone wishing to submit editorial for publication in Surrey Lawyer please contact Sue Seakens, before copy deadline.

Email: Tel:

31

Only Wind and Water.

Legacies

32

Negligent Will Drafting.

33

Vet Charity PDSA launches Free Will scheme.

33

Wine 0f the Season.

34

Canine Care Card.

sueseakens@surreylawsociety.org.uk 01344 860830

Surrey Lawyer 3

Officers PRESIDENT

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

LAW SOCIETY COUNCIL MEMBERS

DANIEL CHURCH

MAREK BEDNARCZYK

SUSHILA ABRAHAM S Abraham Solicitors 290A Ewell Road, Surbiton KT6 7AQ Tel: 020 8390 0044 Email: office@sabrahamsolicitors.co.uk

Hart Brown

TWM Solicitors LLP.

Resolution House, Riverview,

65 Woodbridge Road, Guildford GU1 4RD

Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX

DX 2408 Guildford 1

DX 2403 Guildford 1

Tel: 01483 752700 Fax: 01483 752899

Tel: 01483 887704

JOHN PERRY

Fax: 01483 887758

Palmers Solicitors

Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk

Email: daniel.church@twmsolicitors.com

DX 31524 Kingston upon Thames

WIN CUMMINS 18 Station Approach, Virginia Water GU25 4DW VICE PRESIDENT

89-91 Clarence Street Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1QY Tel: 020 8549 7444 Fax: 020 8547 2117

DX 94652 Virginia Water

Email: john.perry@palmerssolicitors.co.uk

MARK GOUGH MARALYN HUTCHISON

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Solicitor

Kagan Moss & Co

& MAGAZINE EDITOR

22 Woodlands Road, Little Bookham,

22 The Causeway

Sue Seakens Surrey Law Society

Teddington TW11 0HF

Surrey KT23 4HF

18 Station Approach, Virginia Water GU25 4DW

Tel: 020 8977 6633

Tel: 01372 230786 Email: mark@markgoughlaw.com

Web: www.surreylawsociety.org.uk

Fax: 020 8977 0183

DX 94652 Virginia Water

Email: maralyn.hutchinson@kaganmoss.co.uk

Tel: 01344 860830 Fax: 01344 428511 Email: sueseakens@surreylawsociety.org.uk

GLORIA MCDERMOTT 18 Station Approach, Virginia Water GU25 4DW

HON SECRETARY

DX 94652 Virginia Water

KIERAN BOWE

Email: gloria.mcdermott@virginmedia.com

SUB COMMITTEES QUO VADIS (Strategic Planning)

Russell-Cooke Solicitors Bishops Palace House, Kingston Bridge, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1QN DX 31546 Kingston upon Thames

Daniel Church

JULIE ROWE

Nick Ball

Russell-Cooke Solicitors

Marek Bednarczyk

Bishops Palace House, Kingston Bridge,

Mark Gough (Chair)

Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 1QN

Tel: 020 8541 2041 Fax: 020 8541 2009

DX 31546 Kingston upon Thames

CONVEYANCING & LAND LAW

Tel: 020 8541 2023

Win Cummins (Chair)

Email: Julie.Rowe@russell-cooke.co.uk

Email: kieran.bowe@russell-cooke.co.uk

Gary Score* Maralyn Hutchinson* Matthew Truelove*

JAMES SCOZZI

Ken Seakens*

1 Fetter Lane

HON TREASURER

London EC4A 1BR

FINANCIAL

NICK BALL

DX: 14 London Chancery Lane

Nick Ball (Chair)

Howell Jones Solicitors

Tel: 020 3440 5506

75 Surbiton Road, Kingston upon Thames,

Kieran Bowe Mark Gough

Fax: 01923 219416

Ken Seakens*

Email: jscozzi@elitelawsolicitors.co.uk

Surrey, KT1 2AF

SOCIAL

DX: 57715 Surbiton Tel (Office): 020 8549 5186

IAN WILKINSON

Mark Gough (Chair)

The Castle Partnership

Daniel Church

2 Wey Court, Mary Road, Guildford,

Gloria McDermott John Perry*

Tel (Fax): 020 8549 3383

Surrey GU1 4QU

Email: nick.ball@howell-jones.com

Tel: 01483 300905

Ken Seakens*

Email: ian@castlepartnership.co.uk

*Non-Committee Member.

Julie Rowe

membership details Annual Subscriptions:

£95 per person, per year.

Corporate Subscriptions:

(20+ fee earners) £1,800 per year

Solicitor

(not in private practice) £60

Solicitor

(not practising) £35

Honorary Membership:

free

Associate Membership:

free - no voting rights

4 Surrey Lawyer

To apply for membership please contact: Sue Seakens, Chief Executive Surrey Law Society, 18 Station Approach, Virginia Water GU25 4DW Web: www.surreylawsociety.org.uk DX 94652 Virginia Water Email: sueseakens@surreylawsociety.org.uk Tel: 01344 860830

Editorial

President’s Jottings June 2016 I often think that perhaps ‘Mr T’ or darts legend Bobby George would be excellent candidates for the Presidency of Surrey Law Society. If we ignore their lack of a legal background or practising certificate, they both have an obvious penchant for wearing ‘a bit of bling’, and would therefore be able to don the Presidential Jewel with confidence.

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s a man who is generally unaccustomed to wearing jewellery, I have, on more than one occasion, felt a little self-conscious when being asked to hang the Jewel around my neck at a social function – especially when asked to stand up and speak in the middle of a packed restaurant in Kingston, full of members of the general public who would rather enjoy their tarte tatin than listen to my burble.

On 6th May I attended the Law Society Presidents’ and Secretaries’ Conference at Chancery Lane. This was an excellent opportunity to meet and talk to Presidents of local law societies throughout the country. I enjoyed hearing from Manchester and Liverpool Law Societies on their current areas of focus. I took an awful lot away from the day, and now have lots of ideas for projects that we can undertake at SLS.

The past few months have been busy on all fronts, with several Presidential engagements. My colleague Nafeesa is surely growing tired of me asking her to fetch the Jewel from the IT safe. I have heard various tales about the origins of the Jewel, and now that I know its estimated value it is clear why I store it in the firm’s safe rather than my desk drawer!

On 13th May I was kindly invited to attend the Kent Law Society’s Annual Gala dinner. I was lucky enough to be sat next to Mark Hudson, the Law Society’s relationship manager. We had some very interesting conversations regarding the future of the Law Society, and also SLS. We were very happy to hear that Bhavni Fowler has recently been appointed as the Regional Relationship Manager for the South East. I will be meeting Bhavni in the coming weeks and I am sure that she will provide a very helpful link to Chancery Lane. I wish the incoming President of Kent Law Society, Vanda James, the best of luck for her term of office.

In early March I attended the SLS ‘Legal Brain of Surrey’ Quiz. Held at the University of Law, this is an excellent opportunity for members to meet and chat before Mike Hughes’ fiendishly difficult quiz. I made the decision that, as President, it would be bad form for my team to win, so made sure that we finished towards the bottom end of the table. In all seriousness it was a great evening which raised £500 for my chosen charity, The Royal Marsden.

Congratulations to Laytons, who clearly didn’t find it quite so difficult.

On the 19th April and 17th May the Jewel and I attended the Kingston and Guildford President’s Lunches, at ‘Cote’ and ‘The Weyside’ respectively, which were in total attended by over sixty people. The Guildford lunch was kindly sponsored by Kevin Johnson at Index Property Information, who continues to lend great support to SLS. It was also lovely to see the guys from HFS Milbourne (one of our key sponsors) at the Guildford lunch.

I wanted to use my ‘jottings’ to issue a personal thanks to all of the individual members and firms that responded to our recent request for responses to the Law Society consultation on changes to SRA Accounts Rules. The responses that I have seen were reasoned, passionate and articulate. Without wishing to sound like a broken record, I want to emphasise how important it is that you respond to these consultations directly. As your society, SLS are here to make sure that your interests are protected and we will always seek to reply to any consultations that we believe are relevant or important. However, we also need you, our members, to reply directly to ensure that the Law Society and SRA are forced to give proper consideration to the changes that they wish to make.

We have just received notice, hot off the press, of the next important consultation which will need a response. Entitled “Looking to the future: Flexibility and public protection – a phased review of our regulatory approach”, the SRA want to look closely at how Solicitors are regulated. This consultation process is going to be crucial for the future of our profession. Please look out for update emails from SLS and do your best to acquaint yourselves with the facts so that you can form an opinion in time for the deadline of 21st September.

Another SRA change to keep an eye on involves their wish to introduce a ‘superexam’ for solicitors entering the profession. They have delayed a decision until spring 2017, presumably to allow them time to adapt to whatever new regulatory framework they try to introduce. It is very important that we are closely linked with younger solicitors and trainees in Surrey so that those affected by these changes can be at the forefront.

Our links with ‘Young Surrey Lawyers’ are improving constantly, and we now aim to have a representative at all of our committee meetings.

By the time you read this the Guildford Legal Walk will have taken place on Monday 6th June. I hope to see many of you there so that we can raise as much money as possible for the Surrey Law Centre. n

DANIEL CHURCH, SLS President

Surrey Lawyer 5

Editorial

CEO Report Summer Issue June 2016 Will the summer ever come? We are about to embark on the UEFA Euro 2016, Ascot and Wimbledon to name but a few events that could definitely benefit from more sun and less rain!

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ut life goes on at Surrey Law Society and we are once again approaching that wonderful annual joy known as CPD Programme Planning.

Despite the SRA’s best attempts we are preparing for a full programme of 16 half-day seminars and 2 one-day conferences for 2016-17, and as always will be uploading them to the SLS website and circulating them via email to all members in due course.

So you can perhaps guess at my next request? That’s right…if you have any requests for specific CPD topics, or have recently attended a course with a brilliant speaker, we would love to hear from you. We have already collated the feedback from this year’s programme so far and have a good range of requests but can always do with more.

On the subject of CPD you will all be aware that come 1st November 2016 law firms and their employees will have to provide evidence of training that supports their day-to-day work. Enter the SRA’s new Competence Statement.

One broad definition of competence is ‘the ability to perform the roles and tasks required by one’s job to the expected standard’. The reality of this is that everyone employed within a law firm, from reception to senior management, will be required to evidence some form of training or development learning that supports everything they do. So this means not only the black letter law but also line management, supervision, file review, client care…the list can be endless.

Quite simply it means competency in anything that is part of your job description!

Sadly it doesn’t stop there either. As far as insurance providers, Lexcel assessments and the other Quality Standards (CQS and WIQS) are concerned, the Competence Statement should cover everyone who comes into contact with clients in a ‘service provision’ role. So this means locums, consultants, paralegals, CILex, licensed conveyancers, part-time as well as fulltime staff, support staff, legal secretaries. Why? Because we live and work in a totally risk-averse culture.

So anyone who could be deemed to be a source of risk to the firm in their interaction with clients (and staff) must demonstrate and evidence their competence in carrying out their daily work.

firm you might like to consider joining us…you don’t need to face this alone… and it’s all free including 1.5 hours SRA accredited management CPD! The next meeting is being hosted by RussellCooke in Kingston from 12:00 to 13:30 on Monday 4th July with a light lunch and refreshments, kindly provided by our generous hosts.

How confusing is all of that? Well it isn’t really once you grasp what the SRA is attempting to achieve as the self-confessed champions of the advice-seeking public. But do we have a choice? No, we don’t. So the answer is to just get one with it! However if you are still struggling with the new regime, and its wider implications, help is at hand from SLS. In the autumn we will be running a special seminar to get you on track and de-mystify the whole thing. Details of this event will be available shortly so ‘watch this space’ or at least the SLS website and email alerts.

27.10.16 Conveyancing & Land Law Conference at Brooklands Hotel, Weybridge

Here are some special diary dates coming up after the Summer Break: 22.09.16 Private Client Conference at GLive in Guildford 13.10.16 Golf Tournament, Charity Dinner & Prize-giving, at the worldclass Walton Heath Golf Club

24.11.16 Surrey Law Society AGM hosted by TWM Solicitors in Guildford

Have a great summer, whatever the weather, and we hope to see you all soon.n SUE SEAKENS, CEO Surrey Law Society t: 01344 860830 e: sueseakens@surreylawsociety.org.uk

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Local News

The evolution of Family Law Practice – where are we and where are we going?

Since my five years as chair of Surrey region followed by nine years as a Director and National Committee member of Resolution there is no doubt that the Family Law landscape has changed greatly.

It continues to evolve and that ultimately leaves us asking where are we and where are we going?

This article gives an overview of the various forms of practice and some ideas as to possible changes yet to come.

Legal Aid has virtually disappeared and we have seen the exponential rise of Litigants in Person – some with professional McKenzie friends.

Clients are seeking fixed fee arrangements and / or are increasingly ‘dipping’ in and out for legal advice / assistance. In November of last year the Court of Appeal’s decision in Minkin v Landsberg supported the limited retainer, enabling some practitioners to feel more comfortable in offering unpacked or unbundled services.

Whether the very recent decision in the civil case of Sequence Properties Ltd v Kunal Balwantbhal Patel has ‘pretty much killed unbundled litigation services’ we shall have to wait and see. What is certain is that there are risks in offering a limited retainer with mounting pressure for the introduction of statutory protection for acts or omissions which fall outside the scope of the retainer.

For those facing family breakdown the Road to Resolution must appear bewildering. Of course for those that can afford it there is the full-service lawyer supported model. With an increasingly overburdened Court system, for clients that wish to get from A to B as smoothly as possible, many are encouraged to consider various other Dispute Resolution options.

We are able to offer Collaborative Law - from which developed Collab Lite – round table meetings without signing the Participation Agreement – but is there much Collaborative practice about?

Resolution figures suggest that practitioners reported around 900 cases last year. For many as supportive as Collaborative may be, it is beyond their price range.

Financial Arbitration has been around since 2012 and we understand there have now been over 100 arbitral awards. The Family Law Children Arbitration Scheme (‘the Children Scheme’) is due to launch in July, and will offer the opportunity to resolve disputes concerning the exercise of parental responsibility and other private law issues about the welfare of children by arbitration.

Although initial take up has been low, it is hoped that arbitration will gain some traction, perhaps with practitioners feeling more confident about referring in and conducting cases. Separating couples may increasingly self-refer bypassing legal advisers completely.

Mediation, which has very much been the centre-piece of this Government’s approach to family dispute resolution, virtually fell off the edge of a cliff in many areas after LASPO and notwithstanding the MIAM requirements prior to issue, recent figures suggest that in children applications as few as 5% have complied with this mandatory requirement. However there can be little doubt that mediation will continue to be pushed as the alternative to Court and some interesting hybrids have emerged and will, in my view, continue to evolve.

We have MED ARB, a seamless process from mediation into arbitration with the same professional (who a bit like Mr Benn changes from one hat to another). Clients are increasingly requesting a one-stop minimal cost service – ‘why can’t you act for both of us?’ There are some interesting discussions afoot regarding One Lawyer Two Clients. I recommend as a must-read the recent Bloomsbury book Maclean & Eekelaar – Lawyers and Mediators – The Brave New World of Services for Separating Families (Hart Publishing).

I practise exclusively as a mediator and am the Resolution representative on the Family Mediation Council which amongst other things, is considering the thorny issue of mediators preparing Consent Orders. In August last year the SRA issued guidance on the circumstances in which a solicitor can accept instructions from both parties to prepare a Consent Order following the solicitor’s involvement as the mediator in a successful mediation. Clients are increasingly asking for this – they are looking to be taken seamlessly from Mediation to Implementation (or MED IMP as I am calling it).

Anecdotally I have been made aware of a range of offerings many of which are operating outside of any regulatory framework or standards – ‘divorce coaches supporters / advisers’ promising what looks like an enticing all-in one-stop service at a very competitive price point.

We must find a way to remain relevant in how we present our services in their various forms. Technological advancements have undoubtedly added to the possibilities. On behalf of Resolution I have been involved in the Relate Rechtwijzer project. Originating in the Netherlands, it is an on line dispute resolution system now being piloted here for separating and divorcing couples offering access to legal advice, mediation or support both on line and off.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility that applying for a divorce could become a largely administrative on line process perhaps like applying for a television licence – the MoJ could find that attractive.

In December I attended an event addressed by the Minister for Justice Caroline Dinenage when she said “Let me be clear about something, however: reform of the system will not be about excluding lawyers. Some people will still choose to hire a lawyer to help them through the process. But they shouldn’t need to if they don’t want to.”

We are faced with a fast-changing landscape and must remain nimble and relevant so that we are well placed to assist the thousands of family members that need our expertise and assistance. Watch this space. n Karen Barham, solicitor & mediator, Barlow Robbins Guildford, Woking & Godalming karenbarham@barlowrobbins.com : tel: 07774 495963. Resolution representative and a Director of the Family Mediation Council

Surrey Lawyer 9

Local News

From Russia with Love Publishing Judgements Seminar SLS Member, Alastair Logan, who is the Vice Chair of the Solicitors’ International Human Rights Group (SIHRG), travelled in May to Minsk, Belarus at the invitation of The Judicial Institute of the State University of Belarus for the Advanced Retraining of Judges, Prosecutors and other Legal Workers to give a lecture on “Publishing Judgments”.

The lecture dealt with the concept of publishing judgements and the benefits that derive from doing so and how this interrelates with the concept of the Rule of Law, the needs of a democratic society and human rights. The responses to the lecture were given by the Chief Officer of the Prosecutors’ College and the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Belarus.n

photo: Alastair Logan

Surrey solicitor wins national Family Law Award Surrey solicitor Karen Barham of Barlow Robbins wins national Family Law Award Surrey law firm Barlow Robbins is delighted to announce that solicitor and mediator Karen Barham has won the 2016 John Cornwell Award at the recent national family lawyers’ conference.

The prestigious award from Resolution, the national association of family lawyers, is awarded to individuals in recognition of outstanding work to support separating families.

The award was created four years ago as part of Resolution’s 30th Anniversary year, and named after John Cornwell, who founded Resolution out of a desire to create a better way for separating couples to resolve their disputes.

Karen chaired the Surrey region for five years before becoming a director and national committee member for the last nine years.

She is currently the Resolution representative and a director of the Family Mediation Council, a role described by national chair Nigel Shepherd as ‘both challenging and hugely demanding’.

photo: Karen Barham Sadly Surrey is often quoted as the ‘divorce capital of Europe’ on account of the high level of family breakdown but Karen believes that most of the county’s family lawyers subscribe to the Resolution Code of Practice that promotes a non-confrontational approach designed to reduce conflict.

She said ‘most family law practitioners will do everything possible to keep family cases out of the Courts whether by mediation, solicitor-negotiation, Collaborative law or the fairly recent newcomer Arbitration’ – ‘the next generation of family lawyers will be steeped in these Dispute Resolution options’ she said – ‘I would encourage practitioners to sign up to the Code of Practice at the commencement of their family law careers - a year’s membership for trainees costing only £30’. n For further information including Resolution membership – contact Karen or 07774 495963 or email karenbarham@barlowrobbins.com

Beware of Informal Lease Extensions New leasehold enfranchisement department at Hart Brown warns to beware of informal lease extensions Emily Fitzpatrick joins Hart Brown as Partner and Head of Leasehold Enfranchisement.

House selling and buying is supposedly one of the most stressful events in a person’s life.

There is always the risk that a sale will fall through, so it is not surprising that hasty and ill-judged decisions can sometimes be made.

One area that can cause problems is the diminishing nature of a leasehold asset and the need to ensure any lease is extended before the term drops below 80 years.

Conveyancers should be considering the lease length at the outset of any purchase

10 Surrey Lawyer

transaction and refer their client to a leasehold enfranchisement specialist, important where the lease has already dropped below 80 years or is due to drop below 80 years within 2 years of the date that the purchase is likely to complete. However, many people in the process of selling will negotiate a “deal” with their landlord outside of the formal provisions of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”) as they need to obtain a lease extension quickly and are often rushed into making a decision.

These lease extensions outside the formal framework can be riddled with dangers, and in recognition of the growing need for specialist advice, law firm Hart Brown has established a new department within their Guildford office to offer leasehold enfranchisement services.

Emily Fitzpatrick joins Hart Brown as both Partner and head of this new department.

On her appointment to the firm, Emily commented, “I am delighted to be heading up this new department with Hart Brown. My experience shows that many clients will negotiate a “deal” with their landlord, but this usually offers poor value for money ,represents unsatisfactory lease terms , and is rarely in their best interests to accept . We aim to offer clients the best advice on lease extensions with all the options open to them”.

Emily is a member of the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners and amongst her specialism includes Leasehold Enfranchisement – Collective Enfranchisement, Lease Extensions, Right to Manage, Missing landlord claims, Right of First Refusal, general leasehold management advice, professional negligence claims against leasehold enfranchisement professionals. n 01483 887766 or www.hartbrown.co.uk

Local News

Fundraising at Downs Solicitors LLP As part of their ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility programme, Downs Solicitors have recently announced the Royal Marsden Hospital as their Charity of the Year for 2016.

V

oted for by staff across their four offices in Dorking, Cobham, Godalming and London, Downs are hoping to raise at least £5,000 throughout the year for the Royal Marsden Hospital, a world-leading cancer centre who treat around 50,000 cancer patients every year, as well as pioneering new treatments. Fundraising events planned so far include a sponsored walk and run, two physical challenges, and a Charity Rugby Match and Family Fun Day at Dorking Rugby Club. The company are also participating in the Surrey Hills Trust Fund ‘Surrey Cow Parade’ initiative.

Chris Millar, Senior Partner at Downs Solicitors, said the company were delighted to be supporting the ‘Surrey Cow Parade’, adding, “This is a really fun, colourful and unique way for us to be able to raise funds, not just for the Royal Marsden Hospital but also the Surrey Hills Trust Fund. It is also a great way to bring visitors into our towns to showcase the diverse range of businesses on offer and the stunning countryside that we enjoy every day.”

In 2015, Downs raised an incredible £15,000 for Leatherhead-based charity, Combat Stress, the UK’s leading military charity specialising in the care of veterans’ mental health. Since 1919, Combat Stress has supported thousands

of ex-service men and women suffering from mental health conditions and there are currently 6,000 veterans registered with the charity.

“As with this year, our original fundraising target for Combat Stress was £5,000”, said Mr Millar, “but we smashed this three times over, a real testament to our employees’ commitment and enthusiasm to raise funds for such a worthwhile cause and also give something back to the local community.”

Robert Marsh, Director of Fundraising at Combat Stress, thanked Downs for raising such an amazing sum, adding, “This will make a real difference to the help and support we are able to provide to veterans suffering from mental health conditions.”

Garry Burns of Combat Stress, presented Chris Millar, Downs Solicitors, with an original painting by former Veteran, John William McDermott, to commemorate their fundraising efforts. John served in the Gloucestershire Regiment from 1950 to 1952. His regiment saw heavy fighting in the Korean War, particularly during the Battle of the Imjin River in April 1951. John passed away in 2014 aged 83.n

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Surrey Lawyer 11

Local News

Downs Solicitors LLP – Appointments and Promotions Dorking-based, entrepreneurial law firm, Downs Solicitors LLP, is on the up once again. During the last 12 months, they have seen a 10% increase in staffing levels through the appointment of 10 new members of staff.

Their most recent appointment is Julian Harvey, who joins its Corporate & Commercial Department as a Partner.

Julian deals with all aspects of corporate and commercial law with a particular focus on corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and joint ventures, including shareholder and LLP agreements. He also specialises in franchising and share option schemes.

Chris Shipley, Partner and Head of the Corporate & Commercial Department, commented: “Julian’s appointment is a great boost to the team as he brings a wealth of experience to the firm, further strengthening the services we offer our corporate clients.”

Julian said of his appointment “I am looking forward to contributing to the development and growth of both the Corporate and Commercial Department and the firm generally.“

photo of Senior Partner, Chris Millar, on the left and new corporate Partner, Julian Harvey, on the right.

The firm has also promoted lawyers Christine Eves and Simone Horrobin to Associates. Christine handles all aspects of residential conveyancing and property law.

Simone specialises in commercial litigation and insolvency matters. She is fluent in Japanese and is involved in the activities of the British Japanese Parliamentary Group.

Downs Solicitors is a sponsor of this Group.

Senior Partner, Chris Millar said “We are delighted that the firm is in a position to make these internal promotions which

recognise the achievements and contributions Christine and Simone have made to the firm’s continued success over the last 12 months.

We are also pleased to announce that Alexander Muir and Floris Shoebridge have completed their training contracts with the firm and have accepted positions at our Cobham office. Alex joins the residential property team and Floris will join the family law team.

These latest appointments emphasise our continuous investment in attracting, retaining and developing high calibre individuals." n

Council Member’s Report I wonder how many of you read all the helpful information that comes out from the Law Society on a daily basis. Anybody can get them. If you sign up then they come straight to your desktop. photo: John Perry In the past week alone I have received information on anti-money laundering, counter terrorist finance, AML compliance, suspicious activity reports and the new legislation on people with significant control of companies, the Office of Financial Sanctions, various conferences, the privatisation of the Land Registry, clinical negligence fixed costs, Brexit, English law day in Kazakhstan, practicing certificate fee applications, and McKenzie friends; and that was on 1st June alone.

There is surely something for every practitioner coming out at least once a week and these updates are crucial as part of the on-going struggle to keep us all up to date. I still hear people saying the Law Society does nothing for us; but these alone are worth the money!

The very successful Presidents and Secretaries Conference took place at Chancery Lane recently and judging by the feedback forms was one of the best yet.

Practitioners have sought to make sure that the content of these conferences are far more relevant to the practice of law at the sharp end than they used to be and that is bearing fruit both in the quality of presentations and the number attending.

By the time you read this I will have returned from the Southern Area

Association of Law Societies twice yearly meeting on the Isle of Wight and one of the major items will be the governance review of the Law Society which has been advertised and is in the process of being formulated. Council members are absolutely adamant that the views of the whole profession will be taken into account with this and you can expect a lot more on the subject soon. The Law Society has to be a relevant membership organisation for the 21st century and with Government and other organisational pressures with talk of Section 51 money being withdrawn etc we need to be on our guard and alert whilst at the same time remaining an effective voice for the solicitors’ profession. I have heard it said that certain politicians would prefer the profession of Solicitor to quietly disappear.

They do not seem to realise the utter chaos this would cause throughout the land and it is our job to point that out to them.

Finally for this report, as a matter of record I have been appointed the Chair of the Law Society’s Charity. I have mentioned this before as a potential depository for those irksome clients accounts that we have left over and can properly dispense to charity. Grants are made to organisations after forensic

inspection of accounts, management, governance, etc to assist the rule of law to be maintained both in this country and abroad where we always have to remember some lawyers operate in permanent fear of their lives under oppressive regimes who do not see the force of freedom of speech or action.

Whatever we think of it, the English legal system is held in extremely high regard as a model by just about everybody else in the world, and again this is a position that needs maintaining.

As I write this it is June, it is raining, it is 9°C and the wind has just blown over a tree in my road. I do hope that at some point in the next few months you will see some sunshine to cheer us all up.

As usual, any points you wish to raise with Sushila and/or I we will be only too pleased to hear you and make sure it gets aired at the right forum at Chancery Lane. n

I look forward to hearing from you all.

by John Perry TLS Council Member for Surrey Contact: john.perry@palmerssolicitors.co.uk

Local News

Solicitorsa Proud Profession I was recently invited to address the annual conference of Presidents and Secretaries of Local Law Societies on some of the themes that I hope to amplify as President of the Law Society with effect from 14 July. he Presidential year will represent the last 12 months in what will have been a total of 36 months as an Office Holder. I have spent much of the last two years touring England and Wales, visiting and listening to members of the Profession and attending a variety of meetings with practitioners and others, including politicians, members of the judiciary and other "stakeholders".

T

During that time I have been increasingly concerned by the rhetoric used to describe our profession, which frequently ignores our focus on the promotion of the interests of our clients.

With the current study by the Competition and Markets Authority and, anticipated Ministry of Justice (MoJ) led consultation on regulation and representation, I am determined that the focus for the year ahead should be the profession - solicitors in England and Wales and that the theme should be pride in and the promotion of our profession.

Too often we hear less than flattering references to lawyers: suggestions that we either do not recognise or fail to deal properly with conflicts of interest; that the system of justice would work better if "de-lawyered"; and that our defence of such things Legal Profession Privilege (a fundamental client right) is motivated by selfinterest.

It is suggested, repeatedly, that we are an impediment to access to

justice, that competition will solve all problems and that, rather akin to the "8 out of 10 cats prefer" marketing spiel, we can expect Alternative Business Structures to be 15% more innovative than "traditional" practice.

Against this headwind I note the many occasions when others turn to the profession for help, whether it be to support training for those dealing with the vulnerable in the justice system, to promote diversity (particularly within the judiciary), to promote a "national strategy" for Pro Bono activity, to examine again the viability of a Contingent Legal aid Fund or (in the case of the largest 100 firms) to subscribe to a levy in favour of the MoJ. Large numbers of this profession's membership volunteer their time across England and Wales, promoting causes in a range of communities, providing advice to those in need as well as promoting public legal education.

We frequently act in cases that have profound implications for the public interest. We do so because such activities and work are intrinsic to our values as solicitors.

Countering failures of administrative processes that have been misapplied (daily stories of denied access to disability and other allowances) or long term tenacity to correct the injustice of Hillsborough. These require solicitors to help and support, often in circumstances where

funding is uncertain. But that's not all, in our practices we are innovative and compete with each other and the much lauded "new entrants".

The fact is that solicitors undertake the majority of advocacy in courts and tribunals across the country, we resolve the majority of disputes away from the doors of the courts and have established and underwrite the majority of the infrastructure of civil justice in this country.

To spell this out is not to suggest complacency, or to seek to diminish others, or to claim that things must remain as they are.

We simply claim credit for and, in my view, should take pride in what we have achieved, both within England and Wales, as well as extending the reach of this jurisdiction globally.

None of this would have been possible unless we were demonstrating "value" to our clients locally, nationally and internationally. The long term success of this profession is attributable to the fact that our clients have confidence that we act in their best interests.

Beyond this simple point, there is so much more that can, should and will be said to promote and celebrate this powerfully diverse profession, united by a rigorous enthusiasm for shared values. n

by Robert Bourns, Vice President The Law Society of England & Wales

Surrey Lawyer 13

Local News

Surrey Law Society’s 2016 Golf Tournament is coming to Walton Heath this October n Thursday 13th October our President, Daniel Church, invites you to join him at Walton Heath Golf Club for an afternoon of golf on the world-class championship Old Course. There are two very impressive SLS silver golf trophies to be won, so there will be an element of competitiveness, but with lots of fun along the way on this beautiful heathland course. The Prizegiving will be held at this year’s Charity Gala Dinner also being held in the wonderful surroundings of the Clubhouse at Walton Heath later that evening.

Described by Sir Nick Faldo as ‘the finest and most authentic example of a heathland layout’, the Old Course at Walton Heath is consistently rated as one of the top 100 golf courses in the world. Since it opened in 1903 the Club has welcomed famous names from kings and politicians to celebrity golfers.

Edward, Prince of Wales was the Club's first captain in 1935.

Seasoned Golfers will have a chance to play the 18 hole par 72 (6361 yard) course which has hosted many professional and amateur championship events including The 1981 Ryder Cup,

14 Surrey Lawyer

5 European Opens, The Senior Open , and for the last 10 years the European qualifying venue for the US Open. Check it out at http://www.waltonheath.com/TheCourses/CourseGuideOld.as px# Special Green Fees negotiated for our Golfers will be just £75pp plus VAT – half the usual green fee. This includes everything starting with a quick pre-game lunch of bacon rolls.

Beginner Golfers are welcome too, so if all of this sounds a bit too scary, we have arranged a special taster session. A totally relaxed, non-competitive opportunity to spend an hour and a half with one of Walton Heath’s top Golf Pros, learning the basics. Who knows you might get bitten by the golfing bug!

The fee for beginners will be £15pp plus VAT. To book for Golfers or Beginners, please email Sue Seakens sueseakens@surreylawsociety.org.uk Deadline for bookings is 22nd September. Full payment is required on booking.

Employment

Interview with Leilani Reader Leilani Reader discusses the launch of their new revamped website.

Leilani why did you want a new website for the business?

Photo: Leilani Reader

The old site was functional but basic. Content was limited and not particular accessible. I wanted a site that would reflect LR Legal’s personal customer centred ethos while keeping up to date with the latest digital marketing trends. Our focus is on delivering high quality bespoke recruitment services to both our clients and candidates across the legal industry; we needed the website to reflect this.

Our jobs search is more comprehensive allowing candidates to search not only by role and region but also by legal specialism and area of law.

The featured jobs and client and candidate testimonial sections attest to the excellent and long standing relationships LR already have in place.

While the referral scheme demonstrates that we reward our customers well for investing their trust and time with us.

What does the new website set out to do?

What else is new?

We feel that the new site sets out what LR legal is about in clear and simple terms. Searching for a new job or candidate is a journey and that journey starts here on our website. The site is our ‘shop window’ and providing quality information with a simple user friendly application process that is easy to find helps simplify that client or candidate journey and make them want to connect with us.

The website is also home to the latest news and live jobs from LR legal recruitment, regularly updated so that candidates are always informed with the current trends in the legal and recruitment industries market. It also integrates video media in the form of frequently asked questions and specialist recruitment advice. This platform enables users to fully engage and interact with the site over a multitude of social media channels and engage in current trends.

How does it differ from the old website?

The new site has more information, with separate candidate and client areas offering a comprehensive guide to services, processes and tips.

The company ethos runs throughout the site so that customers can be as confident as we are that they are making the right choice for their needs.

We hope to see you online soon. n

For more information please contact our office on 0208 464 2511 or email me at leilani@lrlegalrecruitment.co.uk www.lrlegalrecruitment.co.uk

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Surrey Lawyer 15

Financial

Welcome to the new world of retirement My how things have changed! Remember the days when retirement was a time for rest and reflection after reaching the ripe old age of 60 or 65 years with a set income for the rest of your life?

Today, we retire gradually and according to recent research from Old Mutual Wealth* just 19% of Britons give up work because they reach the state retirement age.

And how are we funding it?

So how are we spending our retirement?

Far from ‘taking it easy’ us Brits are enjoying a very active retirement with 38% of retirees taking up a new hobby. Perhaps rather surprisingly, cycling is now more popular than golf as a leisure pursuit amongst the retired.

International travel is also high on the agenda with France, Spain, USA and Australia the top holiday destinations.

Average retirement income The average retirement income in the UK is £19,700 per annum, up £700 from 2014. Sources of income vary and are often a mix of any combination of company pension schemes, state pension, ISAs, savings, inheritance, stocks and shares etc.

There is a marked increase in the number of people who plan to downsize their home on retirement as a means of generating income.

The percentage of retirees using this source is just 3% whilst 16% of preretirees plan to take this route.

The line between working life and retirement has become blurred. Just under a third expect to continue working part time which is more than double the number of current retirees that obtain some of their income from part time working. As well as enjoying the extra income and social interaction, many say they are in part time work as they feel too young to give up work altogether.

Percentage of people using or planning to use each income source for part of their retirement income

Percentage of People Using or Planning To Use Each Income Source For Part of Their Retirement Income

Pension (state) Company pension (final salary) Savings accounts ISAs Pension (private) annuity Other investments (eg stocks, shares, Company pension (money purchase) Part time work Other state benefits Inheritance Pension (private) drawdown Property - buy to let Other Property - downsize from main home Property - equity release from main home

Retirees 74% 50% 38% 34% 28% 24% 18% 11% 8% 7% 6% 6% 6% 2% 1%

Pre-Retirees Difference 86% 33% 29% 28% 31% 14% 24% 30% 8% 12% 14% 11% 5% 15% 3%

12% -17% -9% -6% 3% -10% 6% 19% 0% 5% 8% 5% -1% 13% 2%

▲ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▼ ▲ ▲

The average retirement income in the UK is £19,700 per annum, up £700 from 2014. Sources of income vary and are often a mix of any combination of company pension schemes, state pension, ISAs, savings, inheritance, stocks and shares etc.

There is a marked increase in the number of people who plan to downsize their home on retirement as a means of generating income. The percentage of retirees using this source is just 3% whilst 16% of pre-retirees plan to take this route.

The line between working life and retirement has become blurred. Just under a third expect to continue working part time which is more than double the number of current retirees that obtain some of their income from part time working. As well as enjoying the extra income and social interaction, many say they are in part time work as they feel too young to give up work altogether.

Annuity or income drawdown These days, our retirement is expected to last 21 years. Deducting the state pension from the average income on retirement (i.e. £19,700) leaves an annual shortfall of just over £13,000. According to Old Mutual Wealth, to achieve this deficit over the 21 year period using an annuity (using an average of the top five annuity quotes) would require a pension pot of £237k.

With income drawdown the funds remain invested which provides an opportunity to increase the level of income that can be taken. A drawdown plan could potentially sustain higher income of £17,499 for the average length of retirement of 21 years. This equates to £92k more over the average expected retirement length than an annuity purchased with an equivalent fund size.

It should be noted however that although income drawdown can potentially boost income over and above what can be expected from an annuity there are risks which need to be considered when weighing up these two options.

Planning pays off Those who set themselves a target whilst building up their pension and also met with a financial advisor on a regular basis saw an average annual income of £26k compared to £17,500 for those without a goal. Over 21 years of retirement that is an additional £178K of income which is an awful lot of extra holidays! *Old Mutual Wealth Retirement Income Uncovered /Redefining Retirement HFS Milbourne Financial Services is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and specialises in wealth management, pensions, finance on divorce, employee benefits and corporate financial planning. n Further information: www.hfsmilbourne.co.uk tel 01483 468888

16 Surrey Lawyer

Probate

Tesco Law is Dead!

by Gregory van Dyk Watson, Managing Director of Isokon Limited

Fear of Tesco Law Many lawyers had believed that they would be at risk of losing the bulk of their probate business to a national company, who might invade their marketplace with huge capital investment and a massive media campaign. They referred to this imaginary phenomenon as Tesco Law. The evidence is that this has not manifested itself.

Your reputation is fundamental The competitor is not Tesco Law, nor the online advert offering a cut price service, nor the teenage son who believes he can do the work just as competently at zero cost. Your reputation is fundamental to securing the work, without which your Will Bank can quickly become a wasted resource.

Profitability requires more than knowledge of the law

Requirement is for a probate accounting system

Many law firms regard probate work as a legal matter, as opposed to a process.

Clearly an overriding knowledge of the law is fundamental to estate administration, but it is insufficient to ensure the profitability of your probate department.

For the process to be effective, it is axiomatic that a probate accounting system is required to handle the financial details of an estate, where data is entered once only.

Most of us trust the law firm holding dad’s will

Probate/Estate Administration is primarily a process

The facts are that Tesco Law was a chimera. It was never a serious contender for probate work. Most of us will still call our known and trusted law firm when we experience a death in the family. It is after all where Dad’s, Mum’s or Grandad’s will has been safeguarded over the years.

The basics are relatively straightforward prove the will, identify and value the assets and liabilities, assess the tax, collect the money and pay the beneficiaries. Of course, this is a gross oversimplification.

But the fact remains that probate work is primarily a process.

The goal is to achieve a 70% Gross Profit Margin

Accounting and Case Management defeat Tesco Law

The real challenge to the law firm is the law firm itself - to deliver a quality service while keeping costs down. On the surface these appear to be divergent objectives. The goal of the modern efficient law firm should be to achieve a Gross Profit Margin (GPM) of 50% at the very least. And ideally closer to 70%. This is being achieved by a number of probate departments.

Competent software consists of an all embracing accounting engine designed to cope with the full variety of assets and liabilities (other than in the most basic estates) together with an integrated case management system with workflows, a calendar of reminder tasks, and a mailmerge facility to extract the data from the accounting database. The two need to work hand in hand with each other. One without the other will not succeed.

Profitability via the efficient use of technology The only way to reach these levels of profitability is through efficient use of technology. Almost all articles about probate estate administration deal with the legal issues, with no regard to the actual organisation of the work - the very area in which your profit or loss is determined.

Consequently estate accounts and IHT forms can be produced with the proverbial click of a mouse. Any firm that is not properly organised around well developed competent software is in competition with itself.

Devolving the work equals profitability This technology will enable you to devolve much of the routine work to the lesser qualified members of the team paralegals and secretaries. Properly trained and supervised, they will be able to input financial data and generate letters and documents. Alternatively, the work can be done just as easily by fee earners without the need for support staff.

It is a tried and tested business model This business model is proven, and it works. And the cost savings are significant. The time saved will enable the more qualified members of the private client team to devote more time to supervision and client care. n

For further information please contact: Gregory van Dyk Watson, Managing Director of Isokon Limited.

Email: gregory@isokon.com or call 020 7482 6555. Alternatively visit www.isokon.com Isokon was founded by Gregory van Dyk Watson in 1999. The company has invested 44,000 man hours in development of the product over the last 17 years.

Isokon is currently the leading supplier of software for Probate and Private Client work. It is used by 40% of law firms who do private client work. Isokon is used by more than 2,000 individual users for the most complex estates, as well as basic estates.

Isokon is based on an accounting database engine with an integrated Isokon case management component.

Surrey Lawyer 17

Spotlight On

Introducing-

Guy and Chris SetfordJoint CEOs of Setfords Solicitors Guy Setford founded Setfords Solicitors in Guildford in 2006 as a traditional firm. But in 2009, after Guy was joined by his cousin Chris, the firm started working with consultant lawyers on a fee share basis.

Setfords now has over 160 consultants nationwide and is the only full-service firm built around what’s commonly known as the “dispersed” model. Lawyers work for themselves but under the umbrella of Setfords and its 50-strong support team, which is still based in Guildford.

The firm recently opened offices on Chancery Lane under the name Setfords London. But rapid growth and being considered pioneers is not without its challenges…

It’s not unusual for family members to end up in the same profession, but did you ever imagine you would end up working together and running your own firm?

Chris: It’s something we talked about a lot actually. It wasn’t just about the law. We’d both been fascinated with business since we were children – I used to go door-to-door collecting old bike parts and then use them to recondition second-hand bikes which I would then sell – so the entrepreneurial bug had been there for a long time. And the idea of building something together with Guy had always been appealing.

Guy: I was of the same mould – I set up a business washing cars locally when I was 13 and loved it. Chris and I have always been very close so when the opportunity came up to go into business together we jumped at it.

If you’re looking for support and someone you can trust family is a good place to start.

What made you turn towards the dispersed model?

Guy: Both Chris and I had been lawyers in traditional firms and understood some of the frustrations it can bring. In many firms it’s not about talent it’s about years served, and your earnings don’t often reflect what income you are bringing in. When Chris joined me in 2009 we decided we were going to do things in a different way, that would address those frustrations. We wanted to empower lawyers to do their best work.

Chris: Remote working was still in its infancy within the law profession and there wasn’t a full-service law firm that had embraced it. We figured if you got the support right to ensure consultant lawyers had nothing stopping them being a huge success, you could build a dispersed firm that operated across multiple areas of law. We decided to go for it.

What was it like at the beginning?

Chris: It was daunting. We were very much breaking new ground and we had no idea how it was going to work out. We were in an office so small that the backs of our chairs used to bash together. It certainly helped being family – being that close to anyone else would probably have ended in disaster.

Guy: It was daunting but it was also very exciting. There was a real sense of being innovators. The law profession is centuries old and whilst tradition has its merits it’s amazing what happens when you incorporate modern thinking.

We started with one consultant but we very quickly grew. It was an easy sell.

You can earn more money, up to 80% of your billings, have a greater worklife balance and provide a more personal, dedicated service to your clients because we don’t set billing targets - meaning our lawyers only take on work they feel confident they can handle.

18 Surrey Lawyer

What’s been the biggest challenge?

Guy: Finding the right lawyers. The truth is this way of working isn’t for everyone. Whilst we pride ourselves on offering the biggest and best support in the industry, a consultant lawyer needs to be happy working independently and they need to have built up enough experience that they either have clients they bring with them, or have the confidence to secure their own work. If you’re that person, then it’s a brilliant opportunity. But you have to be ready.

Chris: The rate of growth was also challenging. We didn’t expect the firm to expand as quickly as it did. We had to invest a lot of money – hundreds of thousands of pounds – in technology and the support structure, which includes everything from a compliance department to PR, marketing, design and business development. We had to be nimble to quickly expand that support to meet the growing demand of our lawyers. There have been times when it’s been tough – but if a business isn’t growing and at times struggling to keep up then you’re probably doing something wrong.

What are your plans for the future and do you see more and more people wanting to work this way?

Chris: We certainly believe this is a better way of working and our growth reflects the appeal it holds for lawyers and their clients. We’ve doubled turnover in the past three years, we’ve recently opened offices in London and we’re expanding our corporate and commercial offering. We’re very excited about the future.

Guy: I think there’s a place for all types of law firms. There are lawyers for whom the magic circle and traditional working will always be the appeal. But there are plenty of others in all areas of law who want something different – the idea you can earn more money, have better client relationships and base yourself anywhere, including abroad, is hugely appealing. One of our lawyers said the other day it had been more successful than she could possibly have imagined. That was wonderful to hear.

Any tips to lawyers thinking about taking the leap into consultancy?

Guy: Be brave but be sensible. We’ve seen so many lawyers take the opportunity and thrive. If you’ve got a few clients that will come with you, and a bit of money in the bank for those early months, there’s no reason why you won’t make a success of it.

Chris: Make sure you pick a firm that is going to offer the support you are going to need to be a success, and then go for it. You’ll never look back. n

Conveyancing Focus

ONLY WIND AND WATER Sail out of Southampton into a full gale; head south to Rio de Janeiro; south again to Cape Horn and turn right; Wellington, Sydney, Cape Town; cross the Atlantic for the second time into Boston; and finally return to Southampton after sailing nearly 30,000 miles against prevailing winds and currents.

In a trip lasting for 10 months, this was the BT Global Challenge 1996 and I was privileged to complete, and compete in, the full race. I'd already sailed half way round the world (Greece to Tahiti via the Panama Canal) but little can prepare you for circumnavigating the globe. Yacht Save the Children (sponsored by Serco Group) was 67ft long and over 40 tonnes; it was home to 14 intrepid (amateur, bar one!) sailors that wanted to do something remarkable – and we did, finishing third overall and winning leg three.

And then there’s strategy… Should you sail with the rest of the fleet, or go in another direction? Sailing with the fleet is less risky—but you're not likely to significantly gain or lose position. Going the other way is much riskier—depending on wind shifts, you could win or lose big! In business, if you don't have a strategy, you react to what comes along; with a strategy, you can make better decisions. Successful businesses know what business they're in, and may turn away opportunities that take them in the wrong direction.

I didn't expect, in my lifetime, to do anything harder than sail around our remarkable planet; having our daughter is infinitely rewarding but presents immense challenges as any parent will recognise. And running a business and employing staff is easily up there with the greatest challenges that any global ocean can throw at you. I want to take a minute to examine the parallels between a lifetime experience, such as sailing around the world and being a business principal, which many of you reading this will be.

Strategy also helps you deal with environmental conditions, anticipate changing conditions and create contingency plans. Unlike other factors, environmental conditions are completely out of your control. While sailing, you can't control wind direction, when it will shift, or what the current is doing. But you have to consider these factors— winning teams anticipate changing conditions best!

In yacht racing, as in business, you usually have multiple opponents, and teamwork is critical.

Competing involves situational tactics, but you also need long term strategy. Environmental factors (wind shifts or unexpected currents) can completely change the game. And while the slowest teams may occasionally win, you have to be consistent in all these areas to come out of a race series on top.

Sailing is all about teamwork, as is business. Firstly, it’s likely team individuals have specific jobs and responsibilities. Who is/are best at helming? Who trims the sails (for better boat speed)? Who are the best sail handlers and, don’t forget, everybody has to be alert for traffic and the conditions. The worst mistakes happen when somebody tries to do a job they’re not qualified for. Practice helps of course, as does communication. If everyone knows their job, the yacht sails fast and smoothly; if people are confused about what they're supposed to do, or when, forward momentum is lost.

A yacht cannot sail straight into wind—you sail at an angle and tack back and forth. Businesses often have to change tack to get to their destinations—sometimes the shortest course is not a straight line. And when changing tack, be smooth, decisive, and coordinated, or you lose forward momentum and give your competitors an advantage.

Downwind the race changes completely. The sails and tactics change; you sail to the wind differently. Oh, the joy of a tailwind; but beware complacency! When a business has a stable customer base, rounds the first corner of paying bills and starts making profits, a whole new set of challenges kick in; how do you grow effectively, how do you keep existing customers happy while expanding your customer base, how do you maintain momentum without running out of resources?

Skilled sailors tack on unfavourable shifts, and stay on the same course when the shift is favourable. Shifts are called “headers” and “lifts”; a header will turn you away from your overall direction, while a lift “lifts” you closer to it. What better metaphor for business?

Those who have navigated business waters intuitively sense when conditions are about to change and plan for it effectively. New business owners are often too busy handling the boat to recognise changes and stay on the wrong tack when conditions have turned against them.

The parallels between sailing and business go on and on; different classes of boats and business; different types of ‘race’, and changes in the rules can completely change who has the advantage and certain conditions favour some businesses but not others. But all businesses, and all that sail, need to excel at teamwork, tactics, strategy, and navigating environmental conditions to come out ahead.

Index Property Information is delighted to be sponsoring the Surrey Law Society Annual Conference in October and I'm thrilled that my old skipper from Save the Children is going to come along and share some of his insights. Andy Hindley is one of the finest sailors that I know and subsequent to managing the world’s most prestigious races he has now joined forces with Sir Ben Ainslie in the Land Rover BAR campaign to bring the 35th America’s Cup back to its rightful home! Personally, I can't wait to hear what he has to say on both the subject of the America’s Cup and also the management challenges that we face in business today.

I very much look forward to seeing many of you at the conference.n For more information please contact our office on 0843 659 4000 or email me at kevin.johnson@indexpi.co.uk

Surrey Lawyer 19

Conveyancing Focus

Why conveyancers must employ enjoyable technology Recently I found a fascinating book full of very interesting statistics. Did you know that every day the amount of data created grows by 2.5 quintillion bytes? That’s 18 zero’s! Or did you know that less than 0.5% of all available data is ever analysed and used? Referring to information of this magnitude the buzzword ‘big data’ is often used, which is simply a term to describe structured and unstructured data. However, I’m more interested in how this growth of data affects law firms.

According to the book ‘The Human Face of Big Data’, the average person now processes more data in a single day than they did throughout a whole lifetime in the Middle Ages. The majority of this data is, of course, driven by the internet and the sharing of information and creation of content associated with it. So, with the sheer volume of data and amount of stimuli we process day-to-day, what impact does this have on our lives?

information then needs to be organised, analysed and stored in a way that is easy to access. That’s not easy when we’re constantly processing and filtering data, so choosing a system that can help do this efficiently is imperative. Furthermore, as client expectations continue to increase, so too does the demand for a faster and more economical service, placing additional pressure upon the conveyancer.

On a daily basis employees, colleagues and peers are consuming incredible amounts of information in both personal and professional capacities, between which, the lines are often blurred. So while we’re taking time to process and analyse the multitude of data during our working day, it’s leaving us with less time to manage operational or administrative tasks.

Nowadays we are used to technology in our personal lives that help us easily organise, analyse, store and access information. This begs the question, ‘why can’t the clever technology that I use in my personal life, be available in my work life?’, and as a busy legal professional, I hope this resonates with you.

Working in the conveyancing sector, there is a huge input and output of information generated throughout the process. All this resulting

20 Surrey Lawyer

Commonly raised data challenges in the conveyancing industry include filing matters, reconciling disbursements, and rekeying information for SDLT submissions or AP1

transfers. Now, the good news is that while the issues around the volume and management of information are present, there is simple, intuitive technology built to evolve how conveyancers manage their matters in the most efficient way possible. Choosing to use these systems means less logins and passwords to remember, eliminates the issue of lost disbursements, rekeying errors, and houses all information related to your matters in a central system, providing one source of truth. Opting for the right technology for your firm gives time back to you and your staff, creates efficiencies and minimises risk - why would you work any other way?

By making the change to simple, enjoyable technology, you can change the way you work, store and analyse information related to your matters, and thus, take the headache out of the conveyancing process. n

By Scott Bozinis, CEO InfoTrack

Conveyancing Focus

Make Residential Conveyancing Profitable.

The orderly transfer of the ownership of land is one of the cornerstones of our society. For most people, purchasing a home is the largest investment they will make in their lives. Due to the lack of familiarity with the process and the real and perceived risks, buyers rely on their trusted solicitor to represent them.

However, as conveyancing has commoditised the conveyancer needs to do more work for less money and as a result many small law firms are surrendering conveyancing work to conveyancing ‘shops’. This needn’t be the case.

Communicate efficiently with your client; With fixed fee work, unnecessary phone calls eat into your profit margins, avoid concerned calls by keeping your client well informed. A good system allows you to:

Through the introduction of great technology you can make residential conveyancing profitable. A sophisticated case management software system will allow your firm to:

• Locate matter correspondence in an instant and with ease; • Integrate your email with your case management software allowing you to send and receive emails directly from the matter; • Send your client a ‘pack’ of documents, create a composite pdf of those documents, in the correct order, so that it is easy for your client to understand.

Access a library of ‘automated’ and up to date conveyancing legal forms and precedents; Also allowing you to incorporate your own correspondence into the software so that you and your staff produce every document, for every matter, in the same way. This standardisation will bring quality and efficiency.

Benefit from integrated searching; Order all your searches and have results returned directly to and from the matter and the cost of the search debited against the matter ledger, turn transactions around faster; provide your clients with detailed costs relating to the searches and dramatically reduce the cost of the administrative work.

Ordering all your property searches including the Land Registry, AP1's and SDLT from one provider will completely automate the conveyancing process.

Market your conveyancing services; The market is intensely competitive. Most people do their research online before making a purchasing decision, even if they have received a recommendation. If you don’t have a great website that clearly sets out the services you offer and the value that your firm will add to the process, then you are losing work to the firms that do.

In conclusion, most buyers prefer to deal with their local trusted lawyer for their conveyancing needs. As a small law firm owner profitability comes with building your conveyancing practice and the best way to do this is through utilising the best technology available.

Learn more about building a healthy conveyancing practice. Download your free whitepaper from https://www.leap.co.uk/whitepapers/ today. n

By Peter Beaverstock, CEO LEAP UK

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The updated residential CON29DW and CommercialDW Drainage and Water Enquiries are now available to all Thames Water Property Searches’ customers We are delighted to announce that customers now have full access to the updated residential CON29DW and CommercialDW Drainage and Water Enquiries.

We are delighted to announce that customers now have full access to the updated residential CON29DW and CommercialDW Drainage and Water Enquiries.

As a result of changes in legislation, we have worked in consultation with The Law Society to implement these vital modifications, which will ensure that the Enquiries provide conveyancers with the most up-to-date information available when advising their clients on the impact of water and wastewater networks in relation to property purchases.

The key changes to both Enquiries – which went live on May 9th 2016 – include: • Inclusion of details on private pumping stations • Impact of sustainable drainage systems (SUDs) on newly adopted sewerage networks • Removal of water quality information as this is not property specific; however this information will still be available on the TWPS website • Provision of water hardness information.

We are an official supplier of CON29DW and – as a member of The Drainage and Water Searches Network (DWSN) – have 16 years’ experience delivering residential and commercial drainage Enquiries to our national customer base.

We are also one of the UK’s leading providers of property searches in the UK, offering an extensive range of searches throughout England and Wales all under one roof.

Conducting multiple searches with us is a transparent and straightforward process. Our easy-to-use online dashboard highlights searches relevant to each property and keeps customers fully informed on those all-important expected delivery times.

Complex cases do arise so our knowledgeable customer service team is always on hand to help and advise. n To discuss these amendments in detail or to discuss our comprehensive range of services, please call: 0845 070 9148 or visit: www.thameswater-propertysearches.co.uk

It is intended that all official CON29DW suppliers will be compliant by 4th July 2016.

Surrey Lawyer 21

Conveyancing Focus

A history of innovation in specialisation The Council for Licensed Conveyancers was established in 1985 to foster competition and innovation in the conveyancing market. 30 years on we are still helping legal businesses thrive by finding new ways to meet changing customer expectation.

Our approach is to support firms to achieve compliance and to accommodate different ways of working where we can. Our experience as a specialist regulator of conveyancing and probate allows us to tailor our regulation to those areas of property law.

Thriving conveyancing businesses…

This history, approach and experience may explain why CLC regulated firms have grown to enjoy a market share of transactions that is far greater than their numbers would suggest.

CLC firms make up just 4.4% of Land Registry account customers but generate more than 10% of transactions by value. The average number of transactions for value in September 2015 was 50 for CLC firms and 20 for all others.

EDUCATING AND REGULATING SPECIALIST LAWYERS PROTECTING THE CONSUMER SUPPORTING INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND GROWTH

CLC regulated firms account for 25% of the transactions carried out by the top 100 conveyancing firms by volume. But there are thriving firms of all sizes and types regulated by the CLC. …with no need for additional accreditation There has been no need for an accreditation scheme for CLCregulated firms or lawyers. Specialisation and the scale of firms as well as the effectiveness of regulation have meant that such schemes are unnecessary. n Find out more To find out more about qualifying as a CLC lawyer or how to set up your conveyancing or probate practice under CLC regulation, visit our website www.clc-uk.org or call us on 020 7250 8465.

IT’S TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT MOVE

To find out more about how your practice could benefit from transferring to the CLC, contact us on the details below.

www.clc-uk.org/Changing-Regulators or call 020 7250 8465 22 Surrey Lawyer

Conveyancing Focus

The Client-focused conveyancing case management system that keeps everyone InTouch.

In 2012, we bought our first house. In total we viewed 44 different houses.

We did what we thought was correct. We went to viewings, we fell in love with a house, we put an offer in, Job done, or so we thought... Wrong!

The first offer fell through. We tried again, we fell in love with another house.

We put another offer in, it got accepted, we were going to be home owners and then… …it fell through, leaving us confused and disappointed.

We persevered and finally, our third offer on a different house got accepted.

We were ecstatic.

Our experience of the conveyancing process over the next few months, was an emotional rollercoaster. We had to quickly understand a myriad of complexity – searches, house insurance, drawing up a will, SDLT and so on.

What started out as an exciting adventure had now turned into a mess of complications and confusion.

The crux of the problem was, we had no knowledge or understanding of the process. We often felt frustrated by not knowing what was happening.

I’m sure that we annoyed the hell out of the estate agent and conveyancer.

We were always ringing them asking – “what’s happening”, “when can we move in”, “this costs what?!”

The whole process made us think that we couldn’t be the only buyers that felt this way when buying a house. And so we started to wonder, what could we do about it?

You will be in good company with InTouch InTouch is used by regional and high street firms; from solicitors like Murray Hills and Bird & Co, to Licensed conveyancing firms like PDR Property Lawyers and Michelle O’Shea & Co. We even have a hybrid agency/solicitors taking advantage of InTouch.

Efficiency at the heart of everything InTouch is above all easy to use and designed to help you run a more efficient practice. Our aim is to improve the conveyancing process, and we think that technology is a key part of the service. More and more buyers & sellers are starting to expect easy and clear technology to help them understand what has to happen and what they can do to help the process.

Don’t get left behind Don’t let your clients feel like we did when bought our first home. Keep them in the loop, keep them excited, show them you care! Keep them InTouch. n It’s time to get InTouch – 0115 888 11 55 www.intouchapp.co.uk

InTouch is born The result was InTouch. Our first solution went live January 2014. In the two and bit years since then we have continually improved the software - thanks to feedback from conveyancers & agents.

How InTouch can help you Conveyancers are able to upload and send all their letters and e-mail through InTouch. The powerful reports generated by InTouch enable practices to understand how their business is running. Quotation calculator’s are included free of charge to help conveyancers draw in new clients out-ofhours and also via their introducers.

Data Security InTouch inside highly secure, specialised Microsoft Azure Data centres, adhering to UK auditing standards. All data and documents are encrypted, and we continually improve our security standards as the industry changes.

We actually document our security practices on our website, with the aim of educating lawyers on best practice techniques, raising the standard of security within the conveyancing community.

Cloud based technology You can access InTouch from anywhere– you can even sit on the beach and keep your clients up to date. In fact, one house buyer recently left a review saying he was able to enjoy his holiday in New Zealand because he received updates through the InTouch portal telling him how his house was progressing.

Seamless integration Another benefit of InTouch is that it integrates seamlessly with general practice management systems, accounts packages, search providers, and also Microsoft Word & Outlook. We focus purely on supporting the conveyancing process, thus making sure we can provide the best conveyancing case management system possible.

Training and Support Switching to InTouch is straightforward and easy. Firstly, we offer training that will get all your staff using InTouch in easy, simple steps. Customers are not tied into minimum contracts or setup fees.

The InTouch model is a simple ‘pay per case’ one, that ensures we only make money if we provide you a good service. Check out www.intouchapp.co.uk for details of the pricing.

Surrey Lawyer 23

Employment Law

Can you read your employees’ e-mails?

Earlier this year, there was a great deal of coverage in the media about the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Barbulescu v Romania.

communications. The Court therefore rejected Mr B’s claim.

The decision was widely reported as giving employers the right to check all their employees’ communications including social media and private e-mail messages. Can this be true?

What must be emphasized is that at no point did the ECHR state that employers in general are entitled to read the private messages of their employees. In fact, this case is better understood as a rare example of an occasion when an employer was permitted to read an employee’s private messages.

The short answer is no. As is often the case, the accuracy of the media’s reporting of the judgement left a lot to be desired. What follows is hopefully a more accurate summary of an employer’s rights in this area.

When can an employer read its employees’ messages?

Mr Barbulescu’s case Mr Barbulescu was dismissed by his employer when they discovered that he had been sending private messages in working hours to family and friends, covering such topics as his health and his sex-life. For this reason they dismissed him. Mr B issued proceedings which went all the way to the ECHR. The first and most important thing to point out is that the ECHR was reviewing whether the Romanian courts had breached Mr B’s privacy by not excluding all evidence relating to the private messages. The court was only indirectly concerned with the actions of the employer.

The right to respect for private and family life, the home and correspondence is protected under Article 8 of the European Convention Rights. Mr B alleged that this right had been breached by the Romanian courts who should have excluded all evidence relating to the private messages. The Court agreed that the conduct of the employer prior to and after the dismissal and the fact that this conduct was revealed during the subsequent litigation meant that there was a potential breach of Article 8 but it decided on balance that, on the facts, the Romanian courts were entitled to act as they had done.

Several factors were crucial here. First, the court took account of the fact that the messaging service had been set-up specifically at the behest of the employer for the purposes of work-related communications. This was not the employee’s private e-mail account. Second, it felt that it was legitimate for the employer to check to see if it’s employees where completing their tasks whilst at work. Thirdly, the Court considered it relevant that the employer had accessed the messages believing that they would only find work-related messages – it did not go looking for personal messages. Fourthly, the employee had been warned that the messaging system was for work-related messages only.

The Court also considered it important that, whilst the Romanian courts did refer to the existence of the personal messages, it did not permit discussion of the content of those

There is no definitive list of when something is private and when it is not and this case does not change that. A lot will hinge on whether the employee in question has a ‘reasonable expectation of privacy’. This is often a matter of common sense. For example, if an employer happened to notice an employee had left their private Hotmail account open on their work PC whilst they had gone to make a cup of coffee, most people would agree that it would be unacceptable for the employer to start trawling through these private messages in search of what they might find. An employment tribunal would almost certainly agree.

On the other hand, the position is less clear cut when it comes to a work e-mail account. Again, the question that must be asked is ‘does the employee have a reasonable expectation of privacy’? Whether they do will depend on the circumstances, such as whether the employees have been warned that their messages will be monitored and why the employer has accessed them.

Employers should have in place clear and accessible email policies making it clear that the all work email accounts are the property of the company and can be accessed and monitored by the employer.

On a related but separate note, it is becoming increasingly apparent that employers should have in place a robust and clear Social Media policy. This should make it clear that all employees in using personal social media must protect the company’s interests and they must not publish anything that could directly or indirectly damage these or compromise the employers’ reputation. n Contact: Rachel O'Connell Just Employment Solicitors e: Rachel.OConnell@justemployment.com t: 01483 303636 www.justemployment.com

7KH FOLHQW IRFXVHG FDVH PDQDJHPHQW V\VWHP WKDW NHHSV HYHU\RQH LQ WRXFK )UHH 7ULDO 1R 6HW 8S )HHV 24 Surrey Lawyer

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Property

Act early to ensure your client benefits from valuable tax relief.

Percentage of Purchase price 40% 35% 30%

30% 25%

22%

It’s over two years since a fundamental change to the fixtures rules on Capital Allowances’(CA’s) entitlement placed new responsibilities on lawyers, where acting for purchasers of second-hand commercial property.

15%

OFFICES

18%

CARE HOME

Min CA’s

HOTEL

HQ BUILDINGS

Max CA’s

Although solicitors have been obliged to raise the issue of capital allowances’ relief since April 2014, we still see many transactions where the buyer has lost their CA entitlement because advice was sought too late. Even if your advice offered excludes tax advice, this does not preclude reputational risk because the catalyst for a successful CA outcome, on commercial property transactions, will start with and be under the purchasing solicitor's direct or indirect control and influence.

With appropriate contractual warranties, and/or prompt action, the buyer’s position can be safeguarded.

At most risk are purchasers of commercial property who might not be aware of the need to act quickly in order to protect their tax (CA) entitlement.

Many solicitors are now referring the CPSE clause 32 replies to a CA specialist. In this way, replies which are incomplete, inaccurate or attempt to restrict a purchaser’s entitlement can be identified and addressed, protecting both the solicitor’s reputation and the client’s ability to secure significant tax allowances and reduce their client’s tax liability over many years.

The CA clock starts ticking as soon as the seller’s replies to CPSE clause 32 (Capital Allowances) are received and stops when contracts are exchanged. In order for a buyer to inherit CA’s, a seller, who is a taxpayer, can only pass on fixtures they were entitled to claim. The fixtures must first be ‘pooled’ (claimed) by the seller and then a CA figure agreed and included in a properly executed s198 election.

If the seller is a non taxpayer the buyer must often look to former owners and their claim history, before entitlement can be determined. Unchallenged, many (taxpaying) sellers may, subject to their tax status, want to limit the allowances passing to a buyer and keep some enduring benefit. What if the seller has not yet claimed their full entitlement or in some cases nothing at all? What if the figure proposed for the s198 election is way too low? There is often no incentive for any seller, having sold the building, to later concede tax reliefs as an afterthought.

It is, therefore, imperative all replies to CPSE’s clause 32 are carefully considered and any ‘adverse’ implications investigated before it is too late for the buyer, especially if replies are left blank or marked as ‘N/A’, or even ‘no allowances’- any of these should be taken as a warning sign for a buyer.

None of this tax planning will delay completion of the sale, but the importance to buyers must be recognised. The graph above is an indication of the levels of CA’s potentially available to a buyer, if CA due diligence is carried out whilst it is possible to positively influence the outcome for the buyer. n Further information about Capital Allowances can be found by visiting www.incentax.uk or by emailing richard@incentax.uk Richard Whittaker MRICS is a Chartered Surveyor and Managing Director of Incentax Ltd. He has been specialising in Capital Allowances since 1985.

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Surrey Lawyer 25

Risk & Compliance

Consumer Credit and CPDThe New Compliance Regimes 2016 sees two important new issues for solicitor to consider in their compliance with the SRA’s rules. The final resolution of the long running consumer credit issue and the need for all firms to transition to the new CPD structure.

Consumer Credit The changes to consumer credit have resulted from the ending of the blanket approval previously granted to the Law Society. The SRA had a temporary exemption while they decided how to proceed.

Initially it looked as though the SRA would decline to regulate solicitors at all for consumer credit work, leaving all firms who needed to offer credit to seek direct permission from the FCA. In the end, however, pressure and good sense has prevailed and the SRA has decided to offer a form of regulation.

In the meantime the legal position has changed as well and the rules around short instalment credit have been relaxed slightly. This form of credit has always been exempt from regulation. This means that any credit arrangements which: • Are agreed before the debt is incurred; • Are for not more than 12 months; • Involve 12 or less repayments; • Are for a fixed sum; • Are for our services; • Involve no charge or interest at all; and • Are not secured on land.

Will be outside the ambit of consumer credit. However, the view of the SRA is that this exemption only applies where the credit is agreed prior to the debt falling due. Therefore, where a bill has already been rendered and payment by instalments is then offered this exemption will not apply. It would be sensible therefore for firms to ensure that where they might be prepared to offer instalments that they ensure this is discussed in advance with the client.

A further relaxation has been created for legal work which only tangentially involves credit. This includes debt advice work and the pursuance of consumer credit debt.

Where the above exemptions do not apply or the firm wants to offer a more complete credit option with fees or interest being charged then they will need to take charge of the Exempt Professional Firms regime. This is the system which has caused so much consternation as it must be regulated by the SRA under licence from the FCA. The SRA has taken this responsibility on and the regime is not in place.

There is no substantial addition to the rulebook but the SRA has issued guidance highlighting how the already existing key outcomes and principles link to the consumer credit regime and how they might be complied with. Key things that need to be done to ensure that compliance is being achieved is for the solicitor to: • Ensure the client understands the arrangement and its consequences for them; • Consider the appropriateness of the arrangement proposed for our client; • Provide the client with sufficient information to allow them to assess and understand the arrangement themselves; • Assess the credit worthiness and ability to pay of the client; • Monitor the arrangement throughout its lifetime.

This will require a short statement of the client’s needs, a consideration of other arrangements, a clear statement of the credit deal on offer, a process to assess the ability of the client to fund the arrangement, and ongoing monitoring to make sure that they are paying on time and have no further problems.

CPD Changes Lawyers have long been familiar with the need to do 16 hours of CPD courses each year. One of the weaknesses of this system has been that in some case the training being done is not particularly relevant to the individual lawyer’s practice and the drive to do the set number of hours becomes more important than actually obtaining relevant updates and extending knowledge. The new regime has no specific number of hours and no requirement that training be obtained from approved providers. From the CPD year beginning in November 2016 all lawyers must self-assess against the range of basic competencies set down by the SRA and their individual practice needs.

They must then undertake appropriate training to fill identified gaps.

In theory, therefore, a lawyer who knew everything necessary for their work area, was totally up to date, and had no skill shortages could do no training at all and meet the requirements. Such a lawyer, however, is likely to be very rare. More realistically, a senior

conveyancer who had kept up to date and had all the necessary skills might only need a half day of legal updating.

By contrast a junior litigator might need to carry out 30-40 hours of training in CPR updates, specific legal areas, and core skills. The need will depend entirely on the individual and their requirements. By the same token, simply continuing to do 16 hours of training will not be acceptable because there will have been no assessment of training need and the 16 hours carried out may not be suitable.

While there will not be any specific checks made all solicitor must make a declaration that they have carried out an assessment each year and fulfilled its findings. If you come to the attention of the SRA for some other reason they have made clear that they will be looking at training records as part of any other investigation. n

By David Smith, Partner and Head of Compliance at Anthony Gold

26 Surrey Lawyer

Risk & Compliance

Being Authorised by the FCA You’re authorised! What next?

Nicola Crump of Signature Compliance gives an overview of what it means to be a newly authorised firm operating in the consumer credit market and provides guidance on what firms should be focussing on in respect of evidencing their compliance.

Responsibility for regulating the consumer credit sector transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in April 2014.

In the Financial Conduct Authority’s Data Bulletin Supplement in April 2016 it is noted that by the end of December 2015, 32,070 firms had applied for authorisation, this figure includes both new applications and firms with interim permission who were previously licenced by the OFT. According to the FCA’s data, by the end of December 2015 27,093 applications were determined with 95% of these resulting in a firm being authorised (25,645 applications were approved, 40 applications were refused and 1,408 were withdrawn by firms).

For those firms who embarked upon the application process having interim permission, they will have noticed already the difference between the OFT and FCA, with the FCA having a broader range of powers and more resources than the OFT. The FCA’s application process, particularly for ‘full permission’ is lengthy, complex and demonstrates the regulator’s appetite for firms to adequately demonstrate its ability and willingness to meet the Handbook rules, including but not limited to the high-level principles and the threshold conditions.

For those 25,000 plus firms now authorised, what is next? Firms would certainly be foolish to think that once they are authorised, the focus upon compliance within their firm should in any way lessen. In fact, this is when the hard work begins. First, it is important for every firm to revisit its Regulatory Business Plan to ensure any changes since the date of application have been noted and the regulatory impact considered. Firms should also continue to develop their compliance framework, ensuring they have adequate systems and controls in place which accurately reflect

the nature, scale and complexity of the firm’s business model and the risk the regulated activity may pose to consumers.

In so doing, firms should scrutinise systems and review their compliance policies, compliance procedures and staff training to ensure their compliance framework is fit for purpose and that firms’ systems and controls more generally are adequate and appropriate. Risk assessments and risk registers often serve as helpful tools which can assist in the identification, monitoring and assessment of the firm’s systems and controls.

Ordinarily, those operating in the consumer credit sector should have key policies in place, which, subject to the business model and type of regulated activity, will include: Data Protection, Responsible Lending, Creditworthiness and Affordability, Collection of Payments, Privacy and Data Sharing, Financial Crime, Vulnerable Customers, Whistleblowing, Complaint Handling, TCF and Financial Promotions.

Management information should, together with a suitable compliance monitoring plan, serve as a key control tool against which the firm’s systems can be assessed. More specifically analysis of this information will help firms evidence that it is delivering the right outcomes for consumers. Firms may use a TCF dashboard as part of their periodic management or board meetings to review relevant management information.

However, where firms do review such information, firms should ensure that any actions raised are recorded and tracked through to action. The FCA is not likely to be satisfied that a firm’s systems and controls are adequate unless those systems and controls provide for the proper implementation resulting actions and a procedure for documenting the same.

A firm should use its risk register to drive its compliance monitoring plan, focusing on the higher risk areas such as: new business/sales, complaint handling, creditworthiness and affordability assessments and collecting payments in arrears. A robust monitoring framework should consist of three lines of defence: with a check, a check on the checker and finally someone ensuring the check on the checker was properly undertaken.

Once authorised, firms will also have to meet the FCA’s regulatory requirements on Approved Persons, controllers of the firm, regulatory sales reporting and complaints reporting. For debt management firms there are additional requirements relating to prudential resources and client money.

Further, following authorisation, the FCA will undertake ‘Supervision’ of firms which is based around three pillars of activity: • Pillar 1 – Proactive firm supervision • Pillar 2 – Event-driven, reactive supervision • Pillar 3 – Issues and products supervision (known as ‘thematic’ work) Regulatory compliance can be overwhelming for some firms, but with a clear plan in place, an embedded commitment to treating customer’s fairly and documentary evidence of compliance through systems and controls, firms should be able to operate compliantly and competently within the FCA’s regulatory space. n

By Nicola Crump, Signature Compliance

Surrey Lawyer 27

Cyber Security

Why Cyber Security Matters Cyber security is rarely out of the news and this won’t change in the near future. In our own research amongst SMEs, we found that 76% of companies are concerned about cyber security, with 17% having experienced a cyber attack.

From a lawyer’s perspective the issues are twofold: • the legal steps to help prevent the issue arising in the first place; and • explaining to clients why their particular business might be adversely impacted, even though it’s not a high-profile business.

The Threat The potential impact of cyber-security issues on the SME can be seen from the Court of Appeal’s reversal in March 2015 of a decade of case law which had prevented claims for compensation under the Data Protection Act 1998 for emotional distress caused by the breach of data security rules.

A key consideration which is often neglected is ‘people security’. Whilst companies can have the very best tech in place and invest heavily in new systems, the fact is that around a third of data security issues are people-based, ie caused by human error or carelessness.

In 2014, a cyber-claims study found that 34% of claims for data loss was down to lapses in “people security”, with 11% of the dataset being rogue employees; 10% for lost or stolen laptop devices; and 13% for staff mistakes (this was the highest cause after hacking!).

Until the decision in Google Inc. v Vidal-Hall, the English Courts had interpreted the law as meaning that compensation was only available where a Claimant had suffered some sort of financial loss as a result of a data protection breach: typically, this was associated with financial services companies where a fraudster might access personal finance information from the accidental disclosure of financial data. This had the consequence that most breaches of the Act, which normally only relate to the emotional distress could not be the subject of a claim, as there was no financial loss suffered.

This has all changed now as the Court of Appeal decided that data protection law should be interpreted more widely as meaning that compensation should not be limited to cases where financial loss can be shown, as that was not the intention of the original EU legislation.

The decision in Google Inc. v Vidal-Hall is likely to have a number of potentially wide-ranging implications, of which many of your SME clients holding customer data should be aware, in particular, the likelihood that there will be more claims for compensation now that there is no requirement to show financial loss.

Although the Court of Appeal commented that it was likely that individual awards of compensation would be relatively modest (so far they have been in the low thousands of pounds), there could be a growth of class actions in which a large number of individuals have suffered emotional distress or invasion of privacy, leading to larger overall damages awards.

In addition to the increased risk of claims of compensation as a result of a cybersecurity breach, the accompanying reputational damage and loss of trust are likely to hit SME businesses even harder as, for many, this is one of their key trading propositions. It would be unfair to say that we expect our telecoms provider to mess up occasionally, but we really don’t expect the same of SME businesses where there’s a more personal relationship with its clients.

The Legal Action List Legally, your client needs to show that every reasonable care has been taken to prevent a loss of data or cyber-security breach. Our recommendation is that in order to ensure that they can demonstrate they are complying with data protection rules, your clients should ensure that they take all appropriate measures, which include: • having clear data protection/cyber security/privacy policies in place; • actively monitoring the policies to ensure that they are being followed in practice; • having a sound IT infrastructure in place; • carrying out a cyber-security risk assessment tailored to the business; • incident management – how to respond to a breach; • staff/employee education on security risks; • guidance on the regulatory/legal regime in place.

28 Surrey Lawyer

(Source: http://www.netdiligence.com/NetDiligence_2014CyberClaimsStudy.pdf )

Organisations must make sure they have robust policies covering cyber / data security, data protection and IT and communications, which are communicated to employees, together with an explanation of the role that well-trained staff can play in minimising the risk of cyber security breaches. Your clients need to explain clearly to staff how they will monitor compliance with the policies, the sanctions imposed for any breach of the policy and the procedure through which those sanctions will be enforced.

The key is that employees must understand that they are required to comply with these policies and that a breach of any of the policies is an HR issue that could ultimately lead to dismissal.

The Future The pace of legal regulation in relation to data protection/cyber security is hotting up with the recent passing of the General Data Protection Regulation by the EU. From early 2018, your clients will: • generally need to notify national authorities and affected individuals in the event of a data breach; and • be subject to massively increased fines (potentially E20 million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover. n So, time to take cyber security seriously.

By John Warchus and Katherine Maxwell, Moore Blatch

Cyber Security

How to ensure your practice management software is truly cloud based.

The market for cloud-based practice management is growing rapidly and so is the number of companies providing this service. If you’ve already decided that the convenience and cost benefits of a cloud-based legal practice management solution are suited to your firm, how do you go about ensuring that you’re purchasing a truly cloud-based product? Here’s what you should look out for.

Hidden Costs Cloud computing services can cost as much as 50% less than traditional software over a period of three years. If you start to notice hidden costs such as installation, configuration, maintenance, and upgrades among your server-based or partially cloud-based software, it may be time to start asking questions. For most cloud-based systems firms are only required to pay a monthly subscription per user.

There are no updates, software, or servers to purchase and migration, customer support, and training is included. In addition, there should be no fixed commitments or contracts, leaving users free to cancel their subscription at any time.

Accessibility The biggest advantage of a truly cloud-based system is freedom. Users should have secure access to their files, cases, and matters from any device with an internet connection. Lawyers should have the freedom to work from any location — from home, from the office, from court, and even while travelling. When researching legal practice management providers, ensure that vendors provide, at a minimum, this freedom and capability.

data security companies they work with to ensure the safety of your information. Highly credible companies include McAfee, TRUSTe, and Norton.

The benefits of cloud-based practice management platforms are clear and relevant to law firms of all sizes. Firms can now enjoy an array of features that were formerly only accessible to their larger competitors as long as they ensure that the software they are purchasing is truly cloudbased. n As the world’s leading provider of cloud-based legal practice management software, Clio is flexible enough to cope with the full range of contentious and non-contentious practice areas. If your firm is ambitious and looking to grow, then Clio is the perfect solution for your practice management needs.

For a free trial visit: www.clio.co.uk

Installation Accessible through web browsers, cloud-based practice management platforms require no installation or maintenance of dedicated software and hardware. This allows law firms to remain agile, and seamlessly move their practice to the cloud, — minimising the amount of time and money invested into deployment, maintenance, and training. Additional users can be added to the platform as required, meaning that as your firm expands, the software grows with it. New features and product releases are administered centrally so there is no downtime or intervention required by the user. Ask about the installation turnaround time for your new cloud-based legal practice management software. If it’s anything longer than the couple of days, then it’s probably not an entirely cloud-based product.

Server Location If your legal practice management software provider has mentioned installing hardware in your building, they cannot claim to be a cloudbased solution. In addition to this, ensure that your firm meets all regulatory requirements by checking that all your data is hosted in European data centres. If you choose a provider that has servers outside the EU, you may not be compliant with data protection regulations and your data may be subject to the laws of the country it is being held in.

Security The cloud provides a higher standard of protection for confidential data than most law firms can provide on their own. Most data centres for cloud-based applications have passed a rigorous set of industrystandard auditing requirements ensuring the strictest levels of digital and physical access. Ensure you ask your software provider what third-party Surrey Lawyer 29

Cyber Security

Cyber Security: Are you Covered

by Your IT Managed Service Provider?

There’s been a sharp increase in news stories from law publications around cyber security. Between Friday afternoon scams, rising reports of data breaches and - dare we say it - major headline news such as Panama, cyber security is rarely out of the media spotlight.

Adding to this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who regularly highlights in both their blog, website and other communications just how easy and probable it is in today’s digital environment to suffer a cyber breach.

In 2015 such cyber breaches racked up a bill of £34bn to UK companies (before any consideration of the priceless cost of reputational damage). Fifty percent of these breaches were caused by inadvertent human error. The UK was the most targeted country in Europe for attacks and frighteningly 1 in 20 emails sent resulted in a successful breach.

On top of digesting the above mentioned dangers, today’s law firms also have to consider tightening regulation around data, the protection of huge amounts of sensitive information and the impending advance of cyber criminals growing in sophistication.

It’s a lot to take on. Unfortunately though, law firms are a lucrative target - and very much worth the trouble for cyber criminals.

“Doesn’t cyber security fall under my managed service provider’s remit?”

credentials ● Regular system tests/penetration tests to stay in line with known vulnerabilities and trends ● Advice on processes, policies and accreditations needed to support protective technology (technology is 1/3 of the cyber solution) ●Training to raise the risk awareness of your support staff and partners ● Monthly and quarterly reporting of traffic going in and out of your IT network ● Alerts if anyone attempts to steal data or other digital assets ● Security planning ● Crisis management ● 24/7/365 Rapid-response service Cyber Essentials

Am I Covered by my Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

Cyber Essentials is a Government run scheme put in place because 80% of cyber-attacks are

The answer is unfortunately, probably not.

preventable. It’s also a great place to start in protecting your practice.

Managed Service Providers adhere to, and have a good level of security, but they are not security specialists. Nor should they be; managing complex infrastructure, software, hosting, development, support, updates and all things IT is a different role entirely to cyber security. Cyber security is comprehensive and complex - it needs a specialist.

Some salient data points our own forensics team have gathered whilst implementing Cyber Essentials into law practices in the last 12 months include the following: ● On average Law firms tend to fail 40% of basic cyber security controls

It’s a bit like marking your own homework.

● Out of the basic security control failures we found 55% were under the direct remit of the Managed Service Provider.

One cannot be given both the responsibility of directing the movie and being the critic, or cooking the food and judging its quality.

Conclusion

The Consequences of Suffering a Breach If you suffer a security breach you’ll potentially have to pay a fine to the ICO (In 2014 173 law firms were investigated) in addition to costs associated with administration, loss in revenue and general business disruption. The costs of a breach range, according to the 2015 Information Security Breaches Survey, from £75k at the lower end for SMEs to over £3m for larger firms. And with regard to the probability of suffering a breach, 90% of large organisations and 74% of SMEs suffered one in 2015.

You are probably not protected from breaches through your MSP and ignorance is no longer bliss - you will be scrutinised should you suffer a breach not only by the regulator, but by your clients.

Not only are you not probably covered by your MSP, indemnity insurance rarely covers cyber breaches either as it is designed for third party protection and in the case of a data breach, the third party may have no idea their data has been breached in order to warrant a claim.

Risk management and a combined approach is our primary advice here.

What to Expect from a Cyber Security Specialist Security specialists take a holistic approach derived from globally tested methodologies and hold best practice security accreditations. Technology operates as the enabler of cyber security but you need the right governance in place and you need your users, i.e. your employees, to follow the procedures and policies in place too.

The below list aims to highlight some of the differences in the roles of cyber security and IT managed services by showing what a cyber security specialist will deliver for your practice: ● Forensic capabilities - an example of this in action would be to ascertain why an accounts team received a fake email from the MD requesting a transfer of funds or a fake email from your bank asking to provide account

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ThinkMarble ThinkMarble are cyber security specialists for the legal sector. We deliver enterprise class cyber security at an affordable price.

You can identify potential threats to your practice and whether you are covered by your IT provider/department with our free, no obligation cyber assessment. n https://www.thinkmarble.co.uk/.

By Andy Miles, CEO of ThinkMarble

Management

Partners behaving badly – why tolerating bad behaviour can spell disaster One of the perennial problems in law firms is not the difficulty of identifying bad behaviour (it is usually there for all to see), but how to best approach the problem with a view to finding a solution.

‘Bad behaviour’ can come in many shapes and sizes. These are just a few examples of bad behaviour I have recently come across - There is the partner who says “you can’t manage me because I am a big biller!”

- Then there is the partner who says “That’s a great idea – for the rest of you!”

- Or the partner who says “If it doesn’t suit me, then I am not going to agree to it” - And then there are partners who, pursuing their own agendas, deliberately destroy relationships with other partners or staff and cause tension and strife within a firm.

- The partner who is bullying staff (also a serious risk issue).

Behaviours such as those above often reflect a lack of ‘partner accountability’ whereby some partners put their own selfish interests ahead of the interests of the firm. This is seen most often in firms where there are partners who have still not agreed to be managed. Whenever problems of this nature exist, the cascading and destructive effects on a firm and those in the firm, can spell disaster.

Not only is a firm likely to suffer financially, but there is also likely to be a cost to a firm in terms of loss of morale, resulting in good partners and staff leaving and involving a great deal of wasted management time and effort.

Bad behaviour and attitudes are usually more insidious and difficult to deal with than underperformance by partners, and where partners have worked together for many years it can be difficult for those managing a firm to resolve such issues. This can, and often does, cause instability, as well as stress to those who are trying to manage the firm. Knowing how to deal with such issues effectively can be difficult.

However, to do nothing should not be an option.

Managing partners can often feel frustrated when faced with these problems because they may be unable to resolve matters for a number of reasons: - Personal relationships may get in the way; - Many partners when faced with losing the turnover of a ‘big biller’ will not agree to take action. (However the trick is often to focus on the partner’s ‘profitability’ which will often tell a very different story from that indicated by personal billings,); - The inability to provide evidence to others that the problem exists may mean that some partners are not persuaded of the need for action; - Management’s agenda may be suspect in the eyes of some.

- Other partners may not be prepared to see colleagues challenged by management on the basis that ‘we may be next’; - The inability to see beyond the immediate problem so as to arrive at a solution in the interests of all concerned; - Insecurity on the part of a managing partner may prevent taking action against those who are deliberately ‘bucking the system’.

There is no silver bullet which can solve every problem involving partner behaviour.

Each situation is likely to require its own techniques to be applied to arrive at a solution, and it is never going to be easy. It can however be particularly dangerous for a managing partner if other partners, who want action taken, perceive that he or she does not have an answer to a problem. If a behavioural problem appears insoluble to those managing a firm then specialist help from outside, such as from a psychologist, may be needed and, for the sake of the firm, there should be no reluctance on the part of management to enlist such help.

Sometimes it is best not to attempt to deal head on with the individual or the problem. Instead, you set out to demonstrate to all concerned that a serious

problem exists and where that problem lies. A technique adopting this approach which I have found to be particularly effective for resolving problems of partner behaviour involves obtaining on a confidential basis, 360 – degree feedback from all partners (and also from those who report to them) to give an all – round or 360 – degree perspective of behaviour and performance.

The exercise will involve all partners (including the problem partner) providing feedback on all other partners and if approached in this way, those managing a firm are less likely to be accused of unfairly picking on and discriminating against an individual. Feedback provided by partners and others is likely to clearly identify behavioural problems and the steps which should be taken to rectify such issues, and is likely to be better received by a partner whose behaviour has fallen below an acceptable standard.

Sometimes it is better that the 360 – degree exercise, and in particular the feedback given to an individual, is facilitated by an outside third party who can be seen to be moreobjective and fair. By having an independent external facilitator to administer the 360 – degree feedback process, respondents can also be assured of anonymity.

A useful by – product of the exercise is likely to be that not only are other partners assured ‘something is being done to sort out the problem’, but also an improvement in behaviour and performance by those other partners can be achieved, particularly if it can involve a positive and motivational debrief meeting with each of them. Even where 360 – degree feedback may have highlighted significant points for improvement, or to change behaviour, partners should leave the meeting having found the process constructive and feeling motivated.

Providing feedback in the manner I suggest above to a ‘badly behaving partner’ will enable the problem to be discussed openly, and from that discussion a solution may be achieved. Partners are sometimes quite unaware of how their behaviour impacts on others and can be shocked when told of this.

Some partners on the other hand may have no intention of changing how they behave and a firm will then need to decide how to deal with them. The sense of frustration that can be felt in this type of situation is illustrated by what a partner in one firm said to me; “We have tolerated this disruptive behaviour for too long just because he has a large practice. But there is going to come a day when we say to him ‘Enough is enough – we are not prepared to accept this any longer and so take your practice elsewhere’” And they eventually did and the firm became more cohesive and successful as a result.

However, any firm which is facing issues of this kind should also ensure that it first has its governance arrangements (partnership agreement / LLP members’ agreement) in shape to enable it to take whatever effective action is necessary, and should always take the best external advice possible.

Bad behaviour can destroy a firm and partners should not flinch from facing up to the issuesand dealing with them because they will not go away and may only get worse. n © PETER SCOTT CONSULTING 2016

Surrey Lawyer 31

Legacies

‘Negligent’ Will drafting attracts criticism from Judge A solicitor has been rapped for ‘negligent’ Will drafting which left two beneficiaries tens of thousands of pounds short of their intended inheritance.

A

A solicitor has been rapped for ‘negligent’ Will drafting which left two beneficiaries tens of thousands of pounds short of their intended inheritance. The financial advisor who was also involved in planning the deceased’s affairs successfully defended the claim against him.

Mrs Shemwell inherited £300,000 from her sister in 2011. She wanted to pass this on to two relatives, Claire Hartley and Tim Herring, whilst also managing the associated Inheritance Tax liability. Mrs Shemwell’s financial advisor, Robert Sully, advised her to put £175,000 into a discretionary trust and the other £125,000 into a loan trust for the benefit of Ms Hartley and Mr Herring. The original value passing into the loan trust would be within Mrs Shemwell’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes on her death, but the capital growth would be outside it. The loan trust capital would pass into her residuary estate on her death, the beneficiaries of whom were not the trust beneficiaries.

Mrs Shemwell then updated her Will with her solicitor, Robert Woodhead of BRM Solicitors in Chesterfield. Mr Sully attended the meeting with Mr Woodhead at which she gave her initial instructions; what exactly was said at this meeting was subject of much of the dispute which later arose. Mr Woodhead’s recollection is that Mr Sully described the transfers into trust as ‘lifetime gifts’, which Mr Sully has denied.

Mr Woodhead drafted Mrs Shemwell’s Will without enquiring into the nature or terms of the loan trust, but assuming that Ms Hartley and Mr Herring would both be receiving £146,000 from it. He included gifts of £54,000 to each of them in the Will, to meet Mrs Shemwell’s desire that each of the two beneficiaries should receive £200,000 from her estate. If indeed the transfers into the loan trust had been straightforward, outright lifetime gifts, then Mrs Shemwell’s wish would have been met – but they were not.

32 Surrey Lawyer

Mrs Shemwell then died less than a year later. Ms Hartley and Mr Herring discovered at this point that the original £125,000 given to the loan trust would pass into the residuary estate and they would therefore be receiving the legacies of £54,000 and the capital growth on the loan trust, as opposed to the £200,000 they were each expecting. They brought negligence actions against both professional advisors; the claim against BRM Solicitors was settled, through mediation, last year.

Leeds County Court has now ruled on the claim against Mrs Shemwell’s financial advisor, which was based on the assertion that he had not adequately explained the position of the loan trust to the deceased.

Finding in his favour, Behrens J decided that Mr Sully owed no duty of care to the disappointed beneficiaries, on the basis that he was not intimately involved in the Will-making. He said instead that the solicitor Mr Woodhead had been negligent in drafting the Will without first determining the Inheritance Tax position of the trust capital passing to Herring and Hartley, and thus the actual amount they would receive. Mr Woodhead ought, said the judge, to have discussed the matter in more detail with Mr Sully. Woodhead told the Law Gazette that he disagreed with the judge’s comments, and pointed out that no judgment had been made against his firm.

This is one of the latest cases in one of the fastest-growing areas of legal practice, namely actions for negligence brought by disappointed beneficiaries against the solicitors who drafted the Wills under which they benefit. It has attracted considerable comment within the profession from lawyers who feel that a portion of the blame ought to be attributed to the financial advisor who put the original scheme in place. n Article by Laura Walkley at TWN Solicitors.

Legacies

Vet charity PDSA launches nationwide Free Will scheme

WINE OF THE SEASON with Conal Gregory, Master of Wine

Veterinary charity PDSA, which provides care for sick and injured pets of people in need, has launched a nationwide Free Will service for pet lovers and is seeking solicitors to join its programme.

The charity’s vets and nurses provide over two million treatments every year, helping 300,000 owners who would otherwise be unable to afford veterinary care for their pets. Two out of three of the free veterinary treatments the PDSA performs annually are funded by gifts in Wills, making the charity one of the UK’s most popular beneficiaries among legators.

Ruth Lister from PDSA, says: “Legacies make up a vital part of PDSA’s funding.

When we piloted our Free Wills scheme, we had a fantastic response from animal lovers who chose to leave a gift to us. This lasting legacy shows their love for pets by helping us provide our life-saving veterinary services across the UK.” PDSA will pay participating solicitors a fee to write a simple or mirror Will.

Clients may then choose to leave a gift to PDSA in their Will although this is not compulsory.

The scheme will be promoted extensively in selected regions across the UK, including Hampshire this summer, driving appointments with PDSA’s partner solicitors in the area.

“PDSA has been saving, protecting and healing pets for nearly 100 years and we are one of the most popular animal charities to offer this free Will service,” said Ruth. “We hope solicitors will add us to their current list of Free Will charities, or work with us to provide free Wills for the first time.”

PDSA’s offer of a free simple Will or Codicil is available to individuals or couples over the age of 50, with the opportunity for solicitors to build up ‘Will banks’.

Ruth added: “As well as the financial benefits of Will-writing services, this is a great opportunity to promote your corporate social responsibility by supporting one of the UK’s best-loved charities.” n

For more information about joining PDSA’s Free Will offer, please visit www.pdsa.org.uk/freewill or call Ruth Lister on 01952 797274.

One of the delights of summer is to sip a chilled glass of dry white Vinho Verde, the ‘green’ or youthful wine of northern Portugal.

The most stylish is made exclusively from the Alvarinho grape and arguably the finest district is around the small town of Moncao on the Spanish border with Galicia.

With ripe stone fruit flavour and refreshing acidity, a lovely 2015 example has been shipped by the IEC Wine Society (£8.50) n (tel 01438 741177).

For a BBQ or Sunday roast, Geyser Peak’s Walking Tree Cabernet Sauvignon is made in the Russian River valley of California. The wine made from 16 year old vines is fermented in stainless steel, followed by 22 months in French oak.

An inviting raspberry-red hue and classic rich fruit on both nose and palate show real balance.

Try to open an hour before serving.

Waitrose (£14.99) n (tel 0800 188 881) Sponsored by the Godalming office of NFU Mutual.For further information or to discuss how the friendly local team can help you protect the things you value, including your home, art, antiques, fine wine and more call 01483 667421. www.nfumutual.co.uk/branches/godalming/

Surrey Lawyer 33

Legacies

Canine Care Card Some dog owners worry about what might happen if they were to pass away, leaving their beloved four-legged friend behind without an owner. Thankfully, Dogs Trust offers a fantastic free service that aims to give owners peace of mind, knowing that their dog will be loved and cared for if the worst should happen. The Canine Care Card service not only offers reassurance to dog owners, it also helps to ease the minds of friends and family during what is already a distressing time.

Over the past 12 months, Dogs Trust has taken in a whole host of dogs across its 20 rehoming centres in the UK as part of the Canine Care Card scheme and given them lots of TLC whilst they waited to find their happy new homes. Two such dogs were Greyhound duo, Red and Sally, both seven, who arrived at Dogs Trust Basildon, after their owner sadly passed away. They were looking for a lovely big garden to sprint around in, and a snuggly sofa to stretch out their long legs in the evenings. Dogs Trust Basildon was able provide them with a comforting home-away-from-home, sofa and all, until they found their ‘furrytale’ ending with a loving new family.

Dogs Trust never puts a healthy dog down, and works hard to match every dog with a responsible, loving owner.

34 Surrey Lawyer

Adrian Burder, Dogs Trust CEO says, “Thanks to Dogs Trust’s Canine Card Card scheme, dogs in need of a new home are given a lifeline, meaning that Red, Sally and many dogs like them are able to get a second chance at happiness and bring joy to a new family. If you decide to become a Canine Care Card holder, we will issue you with a wallet-sized card - which acts in a similar way to an organ donor card and notifies people of your wishes for your dogs, should anything happen to you. Dogs Trust also strongly recommends that you mention the care of your dog in your Will. That way, there can be no confusion about your wishes”.

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