BiBliO 11 Online Edition

Issue 11 - Summer 2020

Biblio Berkshire • Buckinghamshire • Oxfordshire Incorporated Law Society

The impact of Covid19: Graduates, training and working from home. p.5 Mediation in the wake of Coronavirus p.6 Training in the age of Zoom p.12

In this issue: Russell Evans wins Mediation Award • Jobs Section • Where are we now? Support for brain injury survivors and their families • The Legal Business of Business is Changing...

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Issue 11 - Summer 2020

From the President...

Well, nothing in 2020 has turned out has we expected.

It has been a time of massive change for everyone, not just for those of us in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Almost overnight, the world changed unrecognisably. We have changed what we do and how we do it at a rapid pace and in a very short space of time. And all this has happened at a time when there have been huge changes in our own circumstances in the face of personal loss or significant difficulties.

In the legal profession, we have had to respond to unprecedented demand for our services in the most difficult of circumstances, putting additional pressure on an already strained justice system and an exponential growth in the existing backlog of cases. Many firms have furloughed members of staff, which has put great pressure on those continuing to work. Many other firms have had to close their doors and shut up shop. We have had a sharp learning curve on how to adapt to this situation. (I wonder how many people had even heard of Zoom this time last year?)

Berkshire Buckinghamshire Oxfordshire Incorporated Law Society Magazine

Contents 3

From the President

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Committee Members

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BBO Members

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Junior Lawyers: Covid Candidates

Personally, I would like to thank absolutely everyone in our area for all you continue to do for the legal profession and for your clients.

We value your skills, your effort and your dedication. COVID-19 has affected us all regardless of geography, class, qualification or personal circumstances. I extend our particular gratitude to Bhavni Fowler, who is our Law Society’s Relationship Manager, and all her colleagues at The London & South East Relationship Management team. We would not have seen our way through the maze that is the coronavirus without you.

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Mediation in the wake of Coronavirus

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Russell Evans wins Mediation award

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Job Section

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Where are we now?

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Profile: Ian Quayle of iq Legal Training Ltd

But it was with great sadness and heavy hearts that we took the difficult decision to cancel our entire programme of events until at least next summer because of COVID-19. This included the ambitious Annual Dinner and Legal Excellence Awards evening that we had planned to take place in Oxford in June. The only possible survivor might be our inaugural Legal Skills Triathlon at The University of Law this autumn/winter, but nothing has been decided on this as yet.

Watch this space!

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Training in the age of Zoom

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The University of Law and Lockdown

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The Open Spaces Society

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Return of the Wombles

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The legal business of business is changing

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Legal Website Must-Haves

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’No Fault’ divorce to be enshrined in Law

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The evolving landscape of Professional Indemnity Insurance

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Conveyancing and technology after lockdown

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Contingency planning with Quill

There are positives to draw from this situation, however. Many court cases are now occurring over the phone or by video, and this is likely to continue. Journals, bulletins and magazines are going digital, which helps both the finances and the environment. Businesses are discovering online tools and software to help them to make a seamless shift to virtual office spaces, and remote working has turned mainstream. Skies are bluer, fewer cars are crashing, crime is falling, and some other infectious diseases are fading from our hospitals’ A&E departments.

This pandemic is also teaching us to recapture real, genuine moments with our loved ones, rather than running around to make ends meet, with busy schedules and urgent meetings. As life slowed down, we have found ways to stay connected with people, even if that is virtually.

Here at the BB&O Law Society, we have moved all of our training programme online, and we are launching an exciting new online webinar series in September. You can find details of these in this edition of BiBliO. We are also planning some online social events so that we can reconnect with each other again.

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membership

Berks, Bucks & Oxfordshire Incorporated Law Society

2020-2021 Committee Executive Committee

Committee Members by area:

Jane Whitfield (President) Barrett & Co Solicitors LLP DX4033 Reading jane.whitfield @barrettandco.co.uk

Berkshire: Cyrus Medora Kidd Rapinet LLP DX 42269 Slough West CMedora@kiddrapinet.co.uk

Charlotte Fox (Vice President) Barrett & Co Solicitors LLP DX 4033 Reading charlotte.fox@barrettandco.co.uk Emma Docking (Administrator) BB&O Law Society DX 4033 Reading admin@bbolawsoc.org.uk Simon Stone (Immediate Past President and Honorary Secretary) Kingsley David Solicitors Limited DX 84770 Milton Keynes 3 simonstone@kingsleydavid.com

Buckinghamshire: Roderick McCulloch Reynolds Parry Jones LLP DX 4407 High Wycombe roderick.mcculloch@rpj.uk.com Richard Sauvain Parrott & Coales LLP DX 4100 Aylesbury richard.sauvain@parrott&coalesllp.co.uk Jonathan Warbey Horwood & James LLP DX 4102 Aylesbury jonathan.warbey@horwoodjames.co.uk Oxfordshire: Tracy Norris- Evans Royds Withy King LLP DX 4314 Oxford 1 tracy.norrisevans@roydswithyking.co.uk

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Richard Coleman Royds Withy King LLP DX 4314 Oxford 1 richard.coleman@roydswithyking.co.uk Special Members: Council Members: Razi Shah Appleby Shaw Limited DX 3830 Windsor rshah@applebyshaw.com Mohammed Nawaz Khan Abbott Forbes Solicitors DX 45410 Cowley nawazkhan.gb@gmail.com Local Authority Solicitors: Nick Graham Oxfordshire County Council DX 4310 Oxford nick.graham@oxfordshire.gov.uk

BB&O Junior Lawyers: Jane Whitfield (President) Barrett & Co Solicitors LLP DX 4033 Reading jane.whitfield@barrettandco.co.uk

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Articles

What Covid candidates say about the impact of the pandemic.

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he influence on the legal sector due to Covid-19 has been vast and catastrophic. For many firms, this has taken the form of lost business, adapting to a remote working style and balancing the retention of the workforce itself.

But for law students and juniors, whose voices are often reduced to a mere echo on LinkedIn, this crisis has had a toppling effect on the availability of work experience, training contracts or pupillages, and jobs.

An increased anxiety and panic has likely been afflicting many students as they emerge from the LLB, GDL or Master’s education onto a suddenly uncertain career path. The diminished likelihood of securing any form of legal experience, whether this be a vacation scheme or paralegal position, has surfaced as a continuous source of concerned discussion. Many of those who bravely submitted applications for training contracts at the beginning of the year have received “radio silence” from recruiters, a less than inspiring reaction in an already competitive environment. In fact, many graduates of the conversion to law have admitted that this sense of uncertainty has resulted in a lessened willingness or eagerness to embark upon further study to qualification. Courses such as the LPC or BPTC may see a significant decline in applicants if training contracts or pupillages are not realistically attainable in the near future. The usual employment promise, “Get a job in nine months or your fees back” that course-providers make may need some amendment. This could mean that students who defer will be required to undertake new forms of study and assessment, as the introduction of the SQE is being implemented by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) from as early as September 2021.

In addition, the potential impact on diversity and inclusion initiatives and standards could also be sent to the 'back burner' whilst adjustments and crucial decisions are made. To avoid an unfortunate and potentially damaging strain on the progress that has been made to improve representation of BAME and LGBTQ applicants in recent years, organisations will need to find ways to ensure that positive and essential changes to the recruitment process are carried through the crisis.

At the next level up, trainees are hanging on by the skin of their fingertips to contracts with law firms up and down the country who are struggling to meet commitments to an ever escalating crowd of budding lawyers. For many junior and newly qualified solicitors, job security is at grave risk with no guarantee that their position will still be there next month. And for our friends in wigs, the summer of 2020 has been somewhat of a let-down. Practical practical opportunities to observe the justice system in action have dramatically reduced in availability. After months of being assessed and interviewed online, students and junior candidates are struggling to get to grips with a starkly different and unsettled way of operating in the legal sector, before they’ve even got their foot in the door.

But, legal technologists say, there is hope. Organisations such as Legal Cheek, Inside Sherpa and Bright Network are partnering up with major city and regional law firms to bring virtual internships to our desktops.

Names such as Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Slaughter & May have headlined so far, with more to impress on the horizon. This has been positively reinforced by a host of Legal Cheek, (and Legal Geek , for all those interested in legal tech) networking and panel events open to all students and lawyers on an international scale. Law Careers Net has announced that its traditional annual event “Law Careers Net Live” will now be taking place online, a key occasion at which to secure a place in order to communicate and merge contacts with peers and partners alike. Finally, the Junior Lawyers Division are hosting a range of online events in the coming months to ease junior lawyers back into termtime, or perhaps even the return to the office. This will include, (but is not limited to) a talk with the Vice President of the Law Society, and a webinar focussed on Paralegalling.

Check with your local county JLD at the website juniorlawyersdivision. co.uk or on LinkedIn for more information on events near you.

So, what do junior lawyers think of these digital adaptations? For barristers, virtual mini-pupillages are, “evidently not the same”, one GDL graduate comments. "You simply cannot beat practical, real-life experience that allows the student to immerse themselves in such a unique environment", he says. This emphasises the sense of detachment that can result from purely relying on experience of an uploaded version of, for example, a trial or hearing.

Aspiring solicitors are similarly caught up in a whirlwind of virtual internships and are also questioning whether these replacements will be acceptable and suitable for their CV and future applications. The shared worry is that, whilst virtual events allow increased awareness and access, this may decrease the value of said event. Pre-pandemic, the select few who would originally be accepted onto these experiences stood out from the crowd. This desirable quality may become progressively difficult to achieve in a digital crowd of thousands.

Students and junior lawyers must now, moving forward, develop a new set of skills. In future interviews, candidates will likely be asked how they spent their time during lockdown. The innovative applicant will demonstrate adaptability, whether this be through improving personal qualities, learning a new language, or simply using their initiative to manage and perhaps even benefit from this stressful and restrictive situation. Whilst things may seem bleak and limited in the present, those who master their time wisely will reap the benefits in the long term, seeing this extra time as an opportunity rather than a wasted year to forget.

Olivia Atkinson Regional Representative for the Junior Lawyers Division BB&O Committee.

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ARTICLES

Mediation in the wake of Coronavirus Court Guidance & Cabinet Directives In the wake of coronavirus there has been a string of three cases in 2020 in which the parties who refused to mediate were financially penalised by the courts, laying down a marker for more stringent times ahead. Indeed as the Law Society has commented recent cases have provided “a very real economic incentive for parties to say ‘yes’ to mediation, because the price of saying ‘no’ has become rather costly.”

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020 has been a rollercoaster of a year from mid-winter storms and flooding to the ever emerging threat of Covid 19, court closures and social distancing.

If recent WHO announcements and the previous Sars epidemic teach us anything, we are all in this very much for the long haul.

Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice, has made it clear that the court system will never again operate as it did before the coronavirus pandemic. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, a former President of the Supreme Court, also appeared on Radio 4’s Today programme encouraging parties to consider mediation. We will all have to acclimatise to change and new working practices.

We have all seen multiple headlines about Virtual Justice and Remote Hearings. Technology certainly has been pushed to the fore not least in world of Mediation where the use of ZOOM Pro has become the industry standard and default platform for ONLINE Mediation.

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Cases Post PGF II Litigation Solicitors will be fully familiar with PGF II which is embedded in the court and pre-action practice landscape. PGF II itself came within the wake of a number of previous cases. With each new tranche of cases has come increased emphasis on the use of ADR. Amidst the clamour for the revival of the football league season another Football Club entered the legal arena and received a scolding at the hands of the courts. For local football fans fortunately this was neither Oxford, Reading nor MK Dons but rather a more distant northern cousin.

In DSN v Blackpool FC [2020] EWHC 670 (QB) which concerned a somewhat delicate matter involving a football scout, a claim for sexual abuse and vicarious liability, Mr Justice Griffiths stated: “No defence, however strong, by itself justifies a failure to engage in any kind of alternative dispute resolution” echoing the words of the Court of Appeal in N J Rickard Limited v Holloway & Anor [2015] EWCA Civ (unreported) where the Court of Appeal observed that “no dispute was too intractable for mediation.”

DSN v Blackpool repeated the earlier observations of Sir Geoffrey Vos C in OMV Petrom SA v Glencore International AG [2017] EWCA Civ 195 at para 39 where he stated: “The regime of sanctions and rewards has been introduced to incentivise parties to behave reasonably, and if they do not, the court's powers can be expected to be used to their disadvantage.

The parties are obliged to conduct litigation collaboratively and to engage constructively in a settlement process.”

In the somewhat more wordy and certainly more harrowing case of BXB v (1)Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society Of Pennsylvannia and (2) Trustees of the Barry Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses [2020] EWHC 656 (QB) an indemnity costs award was likewise meted out for a failure to engage in ADR. Similarly in Wales (t/a Selective Investment Services) v CBRE Managed Services Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 1050 (Comm) which concerned pensions and commissions, a costs sanction was imposed for refusing to mediate.

The tide is certainly turning strongly in favour of mediation as the go to platform for parties and solicitors alike and a number of commentators have referred to this being a watershed moment although the writing has been on the wall for some time.

In Thakkar v Patel [2017] EWCA Civ 117 Lord Justice Jackson at para 31 stated: “The message which this court sent out in PGF II was that to remain silent in the face of an offer to mediate is, absent exceptional circumstances, unreasonable conduct meriting a costs sanction, even in cases where mediation is unlikely to succeed. The message which the court sends out in this case is that in a case where bilateral negotiations fail but mediation is obviously appropriate, it behoves both parties to get on with it. If one party frustrates the process by delaying and dragging its feet for no good reason, that will merit a costs sanction. In the present case, the costs sanction was severe, but not so severe that this court should intervene.”

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Articles

More sanctions for the unwary will certainly follow. It has become increasingly clear that judicial efforts to get parties to negotiate rather than litigate have moved away from the carrot towards the stick. Commentators have described it as a “relentless push towards mediation.”

As the Directive further states at Para 17:

Cabinet Office Guidance On 7 May 2020 the Cabinet Office issued Guidance directed at both public authorities and private enterprise as to the conduct it would expect in relation to disputes arising

There is both judicial and political will to bring about a new way of doing things whether through telephone or video hearings or pro-active encouragement of negotiation and ADR.

out of contracts in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic. Parties are specifically required to engage in “responsible and fair behaviour” which includes “requesting and responding to requests for mediation” (See Para 15).

“The Government would strongly encourage parties to seek to resolve any emerging contractual issues responsibly – through negotiation, mediation or other alternative or fast-track dispute resolution – before these escalate into formal intractable disputes.”

There are already significant court backlogs and in a socially distanced world cases will invariably take longer. Parties will be required to make genuine attempts to resolve their dispute and are likely to face tougher court sanctions if they do not. His Honour Judge Bird said that parties will

be expected to “make all sensible efforts” to avoid trial. Within the wake of the above cases Offers to Mediate have even been referred to as “the new costs weapon.”

Coronavirus has descended upon us clothed in a cape of fear and uncertainty, disruptive, climactic, foreboding, ushering in a sea of change but also promising opportunities for transformation.

Mediation may help you shoulder the burden of client needs and expectations and move forward to a brighter and more productive future.

Russell Evans, Mediator russell@resolveuk.co.uk Mediation Expert of the Year in the United Kingdom - GAE Award 2020

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NEWS

Mediator Russell Evans wins 2020 UK Mediation Award

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ussell Evans, a Senior Mediator at Resolve UK who works from bases in Oxfordshire & London, has been recognised in the national mediation community, winning ‘Mediation Expert of the Year in the United Kingdom’ - Global Advisory Experts Award 2020.

After training and then working for CEDR as a Mediator & Arbitrator on their dispute resolution panels, Russell has for many years been a leading mediator and arbitrator at Resolve UK a national dispute resolution panel accredited by the Civil Mediation Council.

Resolve UK Mediator, Russell Evans at the IDRC

Russell has judged both national and international mediation competitions and is an expert not only in resolving commercial and partnership disputes but contentious probate, proprietary estoppel and tolata claims.

On receiving the award Russell said: “It is a great honour and privilege to be recognised in the mediation community not only for the dispute resolution work I have undertaken for large companies and government agencies but for charities and the under privileged. As Mediators we strive to help parties find solutions and peace amongst the turmoil of daily life and business. At this time our thoughts go out to all those who have suffered during the pandemic and to the amazing dedicated work performed by our health workers.”

As part of an initiative to confront the Coronavirus epidemic, Russell set up an Online Mediation forum to enable individuals and businesses to resolve disputes from the safety and comfort of their home or office.

Russell is a pro-active mediator who empowers parties to resolve disputes and unlock their future.

Job Advertisements We know that the COVID19 pandemic has caused a lot problems for firms of all sizes and with the inevitable rise of job redundancies, furloughings and cutbacks. We intend to include this section in our magazine to assist with those looking for and/or staff members within the legal sectors. If you wish to advertise in the next issue, please email Emma Docking at Admin@bbolawsoc.co.uk for more information.

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Pa

G

lobalisation has meant that it is now increasingly likely that beneficiaries of estates reside overseas or that estates often contain

Taking French

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ARTICLES

Where are we now?

The current and future shape of professional support for brain injury survivors and their families

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n September of 2019, the Ahead Together conference at Oxford’s Rhodes House brought together family members of brain injury survivors with recognised experts in the field, to share their deeply emotional stories, learning and wisdom on understanding family needs after this most catastrophic of injuries.

With the latest clinical (and academic) research, and the personal accounts of relatives, the conference provided a unique perspective on how professionals and families can work more effectively together towards improved outcomes.

Common themes running through the family stories included the anguish of the early days, of thoughts about whether it might have been better if their relative had not survived and the consequential feelings of guilt and shame; speakers also alluded to damaging interactions with professionals - particularly referencing careless language which had a powerful and enduring emotional impact.

The motivation behind the conference was to inspire activists for change, to generate new ways of families and professionals moving forward, ahead together.

Best practice for lawyers working with brain injury survivors and their families Incapacity In terms of the legal journey, the first matter to determine is whether the injured person has the capacity to litigate.

If incapacitous, then the first decision the family needs to make is who should be appointed the Litigation Friend to stand in the shoes of the client.

This comes with a deep responsibility in terms of

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decision making, particularly with regards to risk, costs and acceptance of the final award: this can be daunting for the family member.

It often comes at a time when the family is coming to terms with the extent of the injury and absorbing the long-term impact of the disability.

There is an imperative for the litigator to work promptly in accordance with the 2015 Rehabilitation Code, which promotes collaborative use of rehabilitation and early intervention to promote the best possible outcome for the client.

Co-ordination of medical and therapeutic input can be reassuring for the client and family at a time when overstretched state services struggle to provide optimum support.

Where liability is undisputed, the lawyer should seek an early (large) interim payment to fund case management, a care regime, to review accommodation, to challenge the Education Health Care Plan if the client is a child, or, if appropriate, activate vocational rehabilitation, and therapeutic intervention to include, where appropriate, therapy for the family or therapeutic couples intervention (which should be included as a head of loss).

An application to the Court of Protection to appoint a professional deputy should be made when it is evident that an interim payment will be agreed or approved by the Court.

Certainly where settlement is likely to be more than £500,000, a professional deputy should be appointed, as the Court of Protection requires a professional appointment where the compensation is significant.

If the interim payment is less than £500,000, it is important to do a costs / benefit analysis as to whether a professional deputy is affordable, and if not, a lay deputy should be appointed.

The application to the Court of Protection to

appoint a deputy can take up to six months, so should be planned well in advance: in the meantime, the litigator can make decisions about spending from the interim payment.

Capacity If the client has capacity, then they can litigate themselves, but caution needs to be exercised if the client has borderline or fluctuating capacity.

The same approach should be taken with a capacitous client, with early rehabilitation, seeking a significant interim payment and applying the interim payment to meet the client 's needs.

In this scenario, if a significant interim payment has been agreed/approved by the Court, it is essential to advise the client of the merits of setting up a personal injury trust (bare trust) The client will need support and advice to identify appropriate lay trustees (preferably family members) and - if the compensation is going to be significant - a professional trustee, working alongside joint lay trustees.

The Ahead Together conference was a real catalyst for change with many professionals who attended relating that it changed the way they viewed their practice. However, no one expected the tumultuous times we are now living in. As such, litigators, professional deputies/trustees, case managers and other brain injury professionals are having to adapt the way they work much quicker than they expected!

How things have changed for clients During lockdown, video calls have become the ‘norm’. What used to be a system to enable meetings across long distances has now become an essential piece of technology to “meet” clients, provide virtual therapy and to stay social in these strange times.

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Video calling has been called a blessing and a curse, a potential game-changer for equality in the workplace, and unfortunately even a drain on people’s energy. However, whilst the technology has its challenges for people living with a brain injury, it has helped open up new lines of communication between lawyers and their clients and medical professionals and their patients.

The technology can also be very beneficial for those who feel isolated. “Being able to connect ‘socially’ is very important for many, as part of acceptance and commitment therapy”, Diane Aronson, specialist brain injury counsellor, said. “When threatened, mammals connect with each other and become tribal and yet we are being told to isolate ourselves. During this time video conferencing can provide a sense of soothing and connection”.

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far apart and giving them that vital opportunity to connect during lockdown.”

How we’ve changed This all comes at a time when, as a firm, we’ve launched our new Compensation Protection Unit.

Our Compensation Protection Team has over 50 years’ experience between them of managing and safeguarding clients’ compensation as professional deputy/trustee, and we wanted to develop this as a bespoke service for clients.

Another person who has positive experiences of video conferencing with brain injured individuals is Nicola Cale, a case manager at CCMS. We spoke to her about what she has experienced.

We don’t do this in isolation - we create a Team Around the Client in partnership with the family and professionals, including the therapists, case manager and Independent Financial Advisor.

The (vulnerable) client remains at the heart of this multi-disciplinary team, whose aim it is to administer the compensation so that it optimises the client’s quality of life for his or her lifetime and empowers them to lead as independent a life as possible.

“As coordinator of the Oxford Silverlining [a charity offering support to people with a brain injury and their families], I have been hosting virtual meetings to replace the ones which would otherwise take place at Royds Withy King’s offices”, she said. “This has had an immediate added benefit, in that the monthly meeting has been combined with the group from Bristol’s gathering; expanding the network of attendees who are geographically

Our combined experience means that we have encountered most of the vicissitudes of life and that expertise has never been more in demand than in the current coronavirus crisis. Our vulnerable clients are not just facing the threat of Covid-19 in respect of their precarious health but the pandemic is creating unprecedented volatility in the stock markets with an adverse impact on investment portfolios. This is not private wealth but damages

awarded to clients (who typically cannot work and are dependent on support for every aspect of their daily living) to fund their often challenging needs until their death. The Compensation Protection Unit has been able to respond swiftly to the crisis, enabling clients to self-isolate and to protect their funds, having already appointed specialist independent financial advisors.

The future With everything we’ve learned about how the field of brain injury care and rehabilitation can adapt to massive disruption, we move forward into a whole different world of support. Lawyers, whether it be litigators or professional deputies/ trustees, typically engaged in the early years following the injury, have a responsibility to influence the landscape for people with acquired brain injury by giving them a voice and championing their rights, and those of their families.

In trying to move ahead together with brain injury survivors and their families, we hope to address and learn from the enforced changes (good and bad) at our next Ahead Together Conference in 2021 – looking at the untold stories and issues of identity for individuals with brain injury. Look out for more details of speakers and talks, coming soon!

Tracy Norris-Evans is head of the Personal Injury Department and the Compensation Protection Unit at Royds Withy King.

Profile: Ian Quayle of iq Legal Training Ltd Ian qualified as a solicitor and worked in private practice for 12 years specialising in property law matters generally including residential conveyancing, development work, commercial leasehold transactions, and property joint ventures.

Since 1998 he worked in house and as a consultant for national house builders and national and international property developers advising on all aspects of property, landlord and tenant, transactional, and management issues.

For the last 16 years Ian has provided training to the legal profession throughout England working for some of the most prominent providers of legal training as well as providing training privately to firms and organisations.

This has in the main been provided via in house courses, public courses, and conferences. In addition Ian delivers webinars for a number of training providers.

In addition Ian has delivered live and pre-recorded webinars nationally and internationally for both of the leading legal training providers and continues to do so.

Ian has delivered over 1500 training courses (all property related) for city and regional firms, local law societies, and local authorities. His style and delivery is relaxed but he is able to explain the law and practical issues relating to the training topic in a way that ensures delegates learn or reinforce learning and derive meaningful benefit from the training provided. Feedback is always positive.

Unusually Ian is able to deliver training in both the commercial and residential property fields generating courses on a myriad of topics some of which are of general application and others more specialist and focused.

Ian lives in the North East England with his partner and travels nationally. He has numerous hobbies and pastimes including renovating a 200 year old partly derelict house (a topic for a conveyancing course in its own right !!!)

Webinars 17th September at 11:00 am - Avoiding Negligence and Complaints in Residential Conveyancing Transactions 28th September at 11:00 am - Commercial Property - Searches, Enquiries and Client Inspection

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Training in the age of Zoom

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aving spent the last 16 years spending my time travelling the length and breadth of the country delivering training courses to the legal profession at conferences , training courses and for the last five years or so webinars on behalf of the largest legal training provider in the country I have found 2020 so far to have been the most turbulent time I have encountered.

I recall the last recession when training courses were cancelled, and the property sector of the legal profession decimated but nothing compares to the current level of uncertainty. Whilst it is impossible to predict the property market generally, I am seeing a number of very positive things in what have been some very dark times Firstly it has been refreshing to see the “can do attitude” of the legal profession despite all the problems of lockdown and working from home.

Secondly a great number of conveyancers and property lawyers are busy and whether this is due

to firms keeping some staff on furlough imposing a greater burden on those returning to work , catching up on transactions that were suspended during lockdown, or a real jump in transactional activity due to the government intervention on the SDLT threshold only time will tell.

Thirdly we have seen innovation such as the development of the acceptance of electronic signatures and the use of Zoom and other platforms to permit virtual meetings.

Finally, there is an appetite for training. In lockdown training was seen as a useful exercise for staff unable to undertake their normal activities.

Surprisingly despite a return for work for some and uncertainty as to prospects for others that hunger for training is continues unabated. It seems the format of a one hour long live webinar works.

For example, I have delivered webinars recently with over 500 delegates attending and a series of webinars with delegate numbers exceeding 200 for each training session. In addition, my in box fills on a daily basis with requests for training and requests for assistance or guidance. Feedback is generally and pleasantly positive .Virtual training seems to allow more delegate participation with the use of

the chat box and building in time for questions generating far more opportunities than with old face to face training courses. This interaction assists with training. The volume of questions benefits me as it shows that delegates are listening to and engaging with me. I am beginning to think I am scary face to face or I bore delegates so that they just want to get home or back to the office as there is not the same interaction with face to face training! The live webinar model seems the way forward with the use of sponsorship and sheer number of delegates attending enable the training to be delivered in a very cost effective manner plus there are environmental and time savings relating to travel to venues. Whilst face to face training has some advantages significantly having had a full diary of training courses for 2020 in February this year all events except 2 have now been converted into webinar format. The effect has been my expenses have become non-existent and my travel to work a 80 metre dash past the alpine garden up the steps across the lawn and to the home office at the top of the garden. I hope to (virtually) see you there soon!!!

Ian Quayle, iq Legal Training Ltd

The University of Law continues to teach, assess and support during lockdown

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n Wednesday 18 March the University of Law suspended face to face teaching at all its campuses, including at the London Road campus of the University of Reading, and moved its teaching online. Whilst a daunting prospect, the University of Law has over ten years’ experience of delivering online programmes and so the transition was remarkably seamless.

Lectures and workshops were streamed live to ensure that students had an opportunity to ask questions of their tutors. However, in order to ensure that students would be able to access teaching, even if they were unwell or out of the country and so in a different time zone, the University decided in addition to record lectures and workshops. It was not just the teaching sessions which were moved online. Personal tutor meetings, careers appointments, welfare and counselling appointments were moved onto virtual platforms. Assessments too moved online and took the form of either open book courseworks submitted via the Turnitin platform or live examinations invigilated by the online invigilation service, ProctorU.

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Understandable anxiety in the student body quite quickly transformed into acceptance of the new normal. Students have increasingly engaged with online employability workshops, employer talks and competitions including a summer Commercial Awareness challenge. Our undergraduate students have received their results and as of 30 July so too will the students on our postgraduate programmes. The SRA has allowed those offering the LPC course to operate a ‘no detriment policy’ so that students are not disadvantaged by the transition to online examinations.

well as requiring staff and students to wear face coverings.

Now, as lockdown restrictions begin to lift, the University is starting to reopen its campuses.

It is already possible for students to book three hour study slots on the University of Law’s own campuses. This is particularly important for students who are in digital poverty or find it difficult to find a quiet place to work at home. In readiness for the return of face to face teaching in September the University has introduced at its campuses various measures to ensure the safety of student and staff. These include social distancing markers, thermographic cameras on entry, hand sanitiser stations, Perspex screens at reception desks in Student Services and the Library as

It has been a challenge but the University has continued to deliver its courses throughout lockdown and is now looking forward to welcoming its students back on campus for the new academic year. We have been heartened that legal employers have been equally resilient and the University of Law’s Employability portal has a good number of Thames Valley and national opportunities for paralegal and training contract positions.

In the event that Government guidance changes and the University is not able to open, the University’s Study Guarantee means that sessions will be streamed until such time as we can return to campus. If University campuses are open but a student is unable to attend (perhaps because of travel restrictions or concerns about coming to campus) then they will be able to access their sessions online until they are able to switch to face to face teaching.

Sarah Pooley, Associate Professor and Campus Dean (Guildford and Reading), University of Law

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CHARITY

The Open Spaces Society all the applications for works.

We have helped to defeat some inappropriate proposals, such as unsightly and restrictive fencing on Kingswood Common in the Chilterns. In 2010 the society published guidance to land managers, Finding Common Ground, on how to ensure that they take account of all those with a stake in the common before they proceed with plans which might alter its appearance or ecology.

Bolsover, Derbyshire

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he Open Spaces Society, which is active throughout Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015. Founded in 1865 as the Commons Preservation Society it is Britain’s oldest national conservation body. In its early years it saved many commons and other open spaces in and around London: Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest and Wimbledon Common for example.

It studied all the parliamentary bills, of which there were many in the late Victorian era for the building of railways in particular. The society helped save Hungerford Common in Berkshire, among others, from the Great Western Railway in 1908.

In 1895 the society’s founders and early activists created the National Trust as a landholding body. The society then established local committees who raised money to buy threatened properties for the Trust. For instance, the society assisted local people with the acquisition of common land by the National Trust around Marlow and Maidenhead in Berkshire in the 1930s.

Today the society still safeguards common land: as a statutory consultee it scrutinises every application for works there. Commons are important to their local communities and it is vital that the society examines

We also advise communities on protecting their green spaces, by registering them as town or village greens. Most recently, we have helped the Grange Area Trust to register 42 acres of Widmer Fields, near Hazlemere in Buckinghamshire, as a green—one of the largest in England. Also, we have assisted communities to register village greens at Trap Grounds, Oxford; Sunningwell, and Humpty Hill, Faringdon in Oxfordshire, Pimms Grove, High Wycombe and Woughton Park and Passmore, Old Woughton, Milton Keynes, among many others. Once land is registered as a green, local people have the right of recreation there and the land is protected from development.

freedom to roam for the public on common land and mapped areas of moor, heath and down, culminating in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. We helped to win Beacon Hill, near Ellesborough, and Cobstone Hill at Ibstone, both in Bucks, as access land for the public.

Our history of defending public paths goes back a long way. For example, in 1902 the society secured the reopening of 35 footpaths and bridleways after they had been obstructed by the Chequers Estate. Today the society is notified of all proposed changes to public paths and, where we have a volunteer local correspondent, we object if we believe the change is against the public interest. This means that we may need to appear at public inquiries and hearings.

We cannot afford legal representation so we make use of our in-house expertise from

staff and volunteers with long experience.

In Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and beyond we champion the cause of open spaces and public paths. We take up hundreds of cases each year and we lobby parliament for better, tougher laws. We have no public funding; we depend on legacies and donations to support our vital work.

Watch our short video to find out more about how we have used bequests to fund our work to save open spaces and paths. https://www.oss.org.uk/whatyou-can-do/legacies/ Web www.oss.org.uk Tel 01491 573535 Email hq@oss.org.uk Registered in England and Wales, limited company 7846516 Charity no 1144840

It is more difficult to claim land as a green now that the Growth and Infrastructure Act has been passed, outlawing the registration of greens where land is threatened with development. So we are promoting an alternative means of protecting land, by applying for its designation as Local Green Space in the local or neighbourhood plan.

We work with local conservation organisation, The Chiltern Society where our expertise in commons and rights of way support their aims. We challenged the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty management plan for 2019-24 to put greater emphasis on common land, incentivising landowners to improve public access and to encourage voluntary registration of land as town or village greens, to mitigate for future development.

We were active in the campaign to achieve a responsible

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CHARITY

The Wombles Return for Remember A Charity Week

We’re very excited to announce the Wombles are making a comeback for this year’s Remember A Charity Week.

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veryone’s favourite burrow dwellers, The Wombles, will be brought back to the nation’s screens for Remember A Charity Week (7-13 September 2020) in a new short animated film that will shine a light on legacy giving. Every charity participating in this year’s campaign will also receive their own branded Wombles film to help communicate the importance of legacies for their cause.

The film and campaign imagery will tackle the most prevalent legacy giving myth and barrier; the belief that people can’t leave a gift to charity in their Will if they wish to support their family and friends. In reality, the UK’s Will-writing environment gives the public the flexibility to donate any sum, large or small, to a range of causes, while ensuring their loved ones are taken care of.

The campaign will help charities and legal professionals to celebrate and inspire legacy giving, using online and social media channels, legacy-focused national newspaper

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supplements and printed materials.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “While the nation battles Covid-19, charities have understandably held off from a great deal of legacy promotion activity. And yet, legacy giving is likely to be one of the most critical channels for the sector’s recovery, with gifts in Wills needed more than ever. That’s why we’re making sure this year’s Remember A Charity Week campaign not only reaches and engages more of the giving public, but that we create resources to help charities deliver their own unique legacy message too.

“The Wombles are warmly remembered for the way they supported each other and the wider community, and for their unfailing commitment to look after the world we live in. In such challenging times, who better to encourage the public to consider leaving a gift in their Will?”

In a response from The Wombles, Great Uncle Bulgaria adds: “The Wombles are delighted to be supporting Remember a Charity Week. Now, more than ever, we need to help each other and the hundreds of charities that do such wonderful work in our communities and burrows. If you can

Great Uncle Bulgaria ‘remember you’re a Womble’, we hope you can remember a charity in 2020.”

Charities across the UK are invited to join the consortium and take part in this year’s Remember A Charity Week. Every charity joining before the end of July will be provided with promotional assets, including the Wombles film, digital assets and printed materials, which can be tailored to their own audiences and potential legacy supporters.

Campaign materials will be available for use during Remember A Charity Week and beyond.

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P

hilanthropically minded clients may be able to do more for their community than they Every cli

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The Legal Business of Business is Changing The use of virtual hearings for experts and assessors post Covid-19 Accreditation and Training The main issue for the future which still confront experts and assessors are the need for their proper accreditation to include the use of virtual hearings, so the court knows who the right experts are. And an expanded training programme will need to be developed to cater for problems arising from this new process.

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ost Covid-19, expert witnesses and assessors are about to embark on a relatively new process for some with adducing of evidence which may be strange and disconcerting: the use of what are sometimes called “virtual” hearings introduced by the lockdown.

Old and established ways of giving live evidence are now making way for this new approach where the witness is not actually in a court room but based at a remote location, linked to the court process by technology which often does not work properly. But give it time!

One problem which has been thrown up by virtual hearings are things which may be said inadvertently which are nervous slip ups when giving evidence: training for virtual hearings can cater for this eventuality and proceedings are all recorded. We have flexibility in the process to deal with this sort of issue because the way forward now will be an enhanced use of the remote hearing which will benefit experts: Covid-19 has shown us that there can be no turning back.

Phillip Taylor MBE, Barrister at Law, Richmond Green Chambers

Just think of it - the time saved by not having to travel to court if you have mastered the intricacies of skype! There are, of course, a myriad of problems which can arise mainly to do with the process of carrying out virtual hearings. The two main objections raised by the judiciary when refusing permission for witnesses to appear via a link have been: 1. Who is present in the room where the expert is located, possibly giving coaching lessons and prompting?

2. What papers, documents or trials bundles does the expert have available whilst giving evidence, or are there inadequate court papers available to him or her?

I believe these two main objections have been successfully dispensed with using a properly administered link which is controlled by the court staff. It may be controversial to say so, but the basis of many objections to the use of virtual hearings has been fear that justice may not be seen to be done, and an inherent dislike of change now forced on us: both are myths.

CPR 35 – Experts and Assessors and PD 35 It is inevitable, then, that change will come to both CPR 35 and the PD as a minimum requirement to permit virtual hearings for experts. Whether individual rules will be amended separately is doubtful because the entire CPR will need revision. Not the mere emergency amendment so far, but the need to incorporate more use of live links in the future to cover each occasion in the litigation process. And it can be done without too much trouble if there is a willingness to oblige… because we have found it works well.

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Articles

Critical Elements Every Legal Website Homepage Must Have

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hen people visit your website, you have 7-15 seconds to capture their attention before they click away – that’s how important it is to make a great first impression. Your homepage is the gateway to the rest of your website and the first step to attracting new clients, showcasing your legal expertise and providing key information.

However, it is just as important to keep it free of clutter and make it easy to navigate. Too much information and distracting options will lower engagement and reduce the likelihood that people will stay on the site. Below are the elements that need to be included to convert a visitor into a client.

What you do This is usually summed up in a clear headline followed by a subheading giving a bit more detail. A following paragraph can explain who you are, what you offer and who your clients are, giving a brief overview of your law firm or barristers chambers. Try and briefly explain why the reader should use you and not someone else by referring to any particular strengths that you have. You can include some information about each of your services but bear in mind that you are aiming for a sleek feel to the page.

A great image A good website must be visually attractive, with a clean, uncluttered design and at least one great quality image. The majority of decisions about whether a site is credible are made on the basis of its appearance and design, so it is worth getting this right. Try and tie it in with your branding and services, such as family, property or business images to help the reader feel that they are in the right place.

Easy navigation Visitors to the site need to be able to find exactly what they want quickly and easily. A menu icon or a bar across the top of the site are the most common places to navigate from. Anything else risks potential clients having to hunt around and simply giving up. It is also important to ensure that your site is responsive and easy to use on mobile and other devices, as clients are increasingly searching in this way.

Social proof/testimonials Testimonials are incredibly persuasive. People like to hear that you have successfully solved a problem similar to theirs and a client’s own words are the best way of showing that. Don’t overwhelm the homepage with too many; one or two glowing references should be enough, with a clear link to your testimonials page.

Blog or news highlights Again, be careful not to swamp the page with too much information, but a row of maybe three links to your recent or top posts, together

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with enticing images, helps show your expertise and reassures the visitor that your site is being kept up to date.

A way to contact you Potential clients should be able to see easily where to contact you, with an obvious ‘Contact Us’ button displayed in a prominent colour such as red. Make any contact form as easy as possible to complete by asking for minimum information – ideally visitors should only need to add their name, email and a line of text asking you to call or giving brief details of their problem.

Awards, memberships of associations and certifications Including the logos of the awards or achievements you have obtained is good for building credibility. It isn’t necessary to include any text beyond the basics of what it is and the year of any award.

A clear Call to Action The whole homepage should build towards what you want the client to do next, such as fill in a contact form or sign up for a newsletter.

Make sure they reach this point on the homepage by displaying it obviously and leading them to it, then ask them clearly to take the action you want.

Social media links Finally, include links to your active social media pages. These are usually found at the bottom of the page or at the top-right, depending on your design. For a professional legal business, this is usually LinkedIn and can also be Facebook and Twitter and even Instagram.

In summary When you have completed your homepage, try and look at it with fresh eyes and ask yourself if it answers all the obvious questions.

If it clearly shows what you do, is attractive and well-designed and steers the client towards their next step with you then you have the best possible chance of engagement from this initial contact.

Rachel Tombs A practising solicitor for 15 years, Rachel Tombs now runs Orion Legal Marketing and has worked with over 500 law firms, companies and individuals, showing them how they can use their websites and online tools to compete, evolve, stand out and succeed.

T: 0118 380 5980 E: enquiries@orionlegalmarketing.co.uk

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’No Fault’ Divorce to be enshrined in Law

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egislation, now awaiting Royal Assent, for “no fault” divorce has recently been backed by the Commons with a significant majority.

The Bill, which when passed will be known as the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 20201 removes the need to find fault in the marriage and allows a statement of “irretrievable breakdown” to suffice.

The latter requires currently establishment of one or more of five “facts” – three relate to conduct (adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion and two relate to the period of separation; two years if both spouses consent, five years if not) in order to start divorce proceedings. This legislation follows a long campaign

by Resolution and other groups, to reform outdated laws (inter alia the Matrimonial Causes Act 1953 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004), which although hotly debated and eruditely analysed2 will help to reduce conflict between separating couples.

The current process incentivises one of the spouses to make allegations about the other to avoid waiting for the mandatory two-year period of separation. This can result in unnecessary conflict, discord and acrimony, which may involve the children of the marriage and damage their chances in life3. The new legislation removes the needs to provide supporting evidence of one or more of the above conduct or separation facts with a statement of irretrievable breakdown. This legislation also removes the ability to contest the divorce. There are many genuine circumstances and reasons for an irretrievable breakdown to occur between two people and this may on occasion relate to the biological identity of a child with respect to paternity. On occasion of course, fabricated accusations of adultery may weaponise the biological identity of the children, and under current law, this might be used as a tactic to accelerate the divorce process. For example, there may be the accusation that the man is not the father of the child or that he has been unfaithful and fathered a child outside of the marriage.

Both of course relate to the matter of trust, which can easy easily be assumed or earned, but when lost, is impossible to regain – once the spectre of paternity has been raised, it is impossible to reverse and constantly raises its head at a time when the best interests of the child should be foremost.

The debate in the Lords4 was fascinating.

Fortunately, the availability of DNA testing for paternity (or other biological relationship such as siblingship) is one of the few areas in divorce proceedings where unequivocal evidence can be obtained to support the case. If the parentage of a child is at issue, then a DNA test becomes a vital piece of information to help alleviate either genuine or vexatious claims and minimise any harm to children from the breakup, whether this is under either the current or the new legislation.

Indeed, a DNA test can only be to the benefit of children, who have a fundamental right to be sure of the identity of their biological father, irrespective of circumstances.

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Any DNA test should be conducted by a Ministry of Justice accredited provider (such as ourselves) and if you have such a case, please contact us, we are highly experienced and would be happy to help!

Dr Neil Sullivan, General Manager www.dadcheckgold.com To discuss DNA testing to establish paternity or other biological relationship, please call 0191 543 6334 or e-mail: sales@dadcheckgold.com.

Complement Genomics Ltd, the provider of the dadcheckgold service, is accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may to carry out parentage tests as directed by the civil courts of England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0125/20125.pdf https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-21/divorcedissolutionandseparation/documents. html and the Impact statement from the Ministry of Justice https://publications.parliament. uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-01/0125/Impact%20Assessment%20-%20Divorce%20Bill.pdf paragraphs 67-69 inclusive.

3 https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jcpp.12893 4 https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2020-03-17a.1390.2 1 2

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Navigating the evolving landscape of C iProfessional Indemnity Insurance

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o navigate the challenges of a hardening insurance market, hilanthropically law firms should minded now start prioritising clientsthe maypreparation be able to do ofmore a high-quality for theirProfessional community than Indemnity they Insurance Every cli (PII) submission ahead of the coming renewal period.

The insurance market has been awash with capital, leading to increased competition for business and a subsequent suppression of the rates insurers could charge. This has resulted in unsustainably low premiums compared to the claim payments being made by insurers, but sadly times are changing.

Claims activity has been the main catalyst for the significantly changing market conditions that we are experiencing. While frequency of claims has remained fairly consistent, severity of claims (the total value of losses experienced) has reached unprecedented levels.

greater level of caution when they review enquiries in the forthcoming renewal season. Peer reviews will be conducted as standard, certainly when insurers are assessing new enquiries and regardless of the size of a practice and the proposed premium to be charged. More questions, including those related to Covid-19, will be posed and responses will therefore need to be reviewed by at least one other underwriter. This means the process of obtaining terms may take longer, especially considering most insurers will be working remotely.

Some insurers have already released early question sets relating to Covid-19, while others are developing supplementary questionnaires. We expect all of these to focus on three key areas: People, Finances and Risk, some of which will naturally interlink.

Navigating the challenges

We believe that the recent spring renewal period showed us what to expect going into August and September. Analysis of insight and trends from Lockton’s portfolio indicates increased premiums within all layers but especially the working layer (the excess layer above your compulsory Insurance limit) where there is a lack of insurer options. With many primary insurers reluctant to offer long-term policy periods and those that did offer extended policies tended to apply an increase for the additional periods.

Although the insurance market has adapted well to the ‘new normal’, some things are naturally taking a little longer than they would have done previously.

As mentioned, a combination of the hardening market, increased peer reviews and greater caution from underwriters has made it more difficult to obtain insurance terms. This means those firms that are traditionally ‘last minute shoppers’ and which provide minimum information to insurers should not be surprised if they fall into the Extended Policy Period.

It is important to highlight, that the Insurance market conditions were hardening well before the Covid-19 outbreak. We believe this process is now likely to accelerate due to the pandemic, leading to a further hardening market.

The insurance market is still active, but it is becoming much more selective.

Underwriters cannot return a profit for their organisation if they do not write any business, but they will need greater convincing and will want to align their company’s capital with well-run firms. At Lockton, it is our job to provide them with the reasons to do so, but legal practices cannot be blasé and we encourage them to approach renewal in the right way.

While the sourcing of coverage may become more difficult for law firms, the legal profession in England and Wales is fortunately not experiencing reduced coverage as practices are protected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Minimum Terms and Conditions wording.

What to expect in the coming months We expect underwriters to adopt an even

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We believe taking these three key steps will help practices navigate the challenges ahead: 1. Start early – While we would expect insurers to prioritise their existing clients, it is still important that you prepare your

presentation earlier than in previous years.

We recommend having your presentation prepared at least two months in advance of your renewal date as the process will generally take longer.

2. Prepare a quality presentation for insurers’ consideration – this will help you stand out from the crowd. Make sure all the questions in the proposal form are sufficiently answered. Time will be limited so expect insurers to make a quick decision and potentially not offer any terms if your presentation is missing key information or if it is poorly presented.

3. Select your representative carefully and do not approach multiple agents as you will actually be doing your professional peers – and yourself - a disservice.

You may wish to consider the following key elements when selecting your representative: • What is their market reach - which insurers can the broker access DIRECTLY for you? Speaking directly to an insurer will help speed up the process and means your key message does not get diluted or misinterpreted.

• What is the experience and size of their team?

• What is the extent of their service proposition?

• What is their claims infrastructure? While no one wants to have claims, you should know if your representative has the resources to support you when needed.

Once you have selected your representative, ensure you establish an action plan with your broker which covers who they will be approaching directly and the anticipated timeline for responses.

To find out how Lockton can assist you with your forthcoming renewal, please do contact me or one of the Lockton Solicitors team. We would be delighted to hear from you.

Brian Boehmer Partner Tel: 0781 401 4655 E: brian.boehmer@uk.lockton.com www.locktonsolicitors.co.uk

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lobalisation has meant that it is now increasingly likely that beneficiaries of estates reside overseas or that estates often contain

Taking French

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Will adoption of technology in the conveyancing sector speed up following the lockdown?

For example, over recent years we have seen the automation of a number of conveyancing processes. It’s very easy to complete a digital AML check and the stamp duty (SDLT) process has been fullyautomated. These online services provide a speedy alternative to conveyancing teams, reducing error and providing a full audit trail.

This allows conveyancers more time to focus on the more complex and specialist areas of the conveyancing process.

Has anything changed during the lockdown?

Although the conveyancing industry has been steadily evolving in terms of technology, it is still viewed by many as being “behind the curve” and not in step with the increasingly digital demands of today’s society. Earlier this year the Council for Licensed Conveyancers released a paper suggesting the conveyancing process will be completely digital by 2030, but it’s fair to say that the current homebuyer perception is of a slow and manual process with multiple stakeholders all requiring separate management, rather than of one integrated process.

Right now with many staff having been on furlough and the necessity of working from our homes, conveyancers have had to rely more on more on technology to fill the gaps. Can we expect this to continue as business begins to get back to normal?

The benefits of technology New technology offers many advantages to the conveyancer. Benefits include the completion of manual tasks within a fraction of the time usually required, greater accuracy and elimination of the need to repeatedly supply the same information, improved transparency and a compliant audit train. Technology can be used to automate the more routine tasks providing a greater level of accuracy.

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There are a few positive examples of how further progress has been made in recent months. The Land Registry now accepts (temporarily) virtual signing on deeds and has brought in more flexible procedures for identity verification, estate agents are offering virtual viewings and many of the search providers are offering services to support conveyancers during this lockdown.

There are also other technologies being explored such as live chat and chatbot options to provide great customer service at a distance.

What can we expect next?

Other developments supporting distanced (and more efficient) working are already in the pipeline … for example, the Land Registry (along with the Law Society, Council for Licensed Conveyancers and Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) is working hard to improve cryptographic and biometric checking of identity.

Only time will tell, but having got to grips with online documents and checking, it could be an ideal time for the conveyancing industry to embrace the next steps to moving online. Recent technical developments to support traditional conveyancing processes may be more-readily adopted in an industry that’s already changed its working practices in light of our current circumstances.

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Contingency Planning with Quill

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he SRA expects its

regulated law firms to ‘continue to meet the

high standards the public

expect’ and have ‘appropriate

contingency plans in place for disruption’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

With that in mind, it should be no surprise that as the largest combined legal cashiering and payroll bureau in the UK, we at Quill have always been hot on our business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) planning.

And for good reason: if you were the back office for 7,000 lawyers and paralegals, with annual billing in the order of £1 billion or responsible for generating 8,000 payslips on behalf of various employers with accompanying transfer of over £54 million to employees’ bank accounts, wouldn’t you be hot on it too?

As we’re now living and working through difficult times, this forethought is serving our clients well. I’m sure none of us could have made a New Year’s Eve forecast that we’d have an international pandemic on the scale of coronavirus within 100 days, and yet here we are navigating the biggest health crisis the world has ever experienced.

Our contingency planning has most definitely benefited our clients as we’ve helped them maintain the compliance standards which the SRA and other regulators demand on behalf of consumers. That, coupled with our legal accounts, practice and document management applications all hosted in the cloud, has meant Quill and our clients have had a relatively simple switch to a work-from-home model.

There’s been no service disruption whatsoever.

Of course, our industry regulator admits these are ‘mitigating circumstances’ and acknowledges that some processes – financial management duties, in the main – may not be completed on time.

As such, a level of leniency is afforded around submission deadlines.

However, the SRA maintains its absolute focus on protection of client monies. Ultimately, cashiering tasks themselves still need to be done. This means you need to have a contingency plan just in case we hit a second spike, or if your cashier is unable to work for health or shielding reasons.

We’ve put together some practical notes on the actions we took – and might well still need to take – to keep our software servicing 7,000 legal professionals and

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our outsourcing staff servicing legal cashiering and payroll compliance.

Hopefully you can draw inspiration for your own BCDR reviews: SMS system – We use an SMS alert system to send messages by text to any group of managers, teams, offices or role-based employees. SMS is still the easiest and quickest cross-platform messaging tool and, with the right SMS system, you can alert staff by job title or location to attend an office or stay at home.

Even before the pandemic was a pandemic, we took the opportunity to double check our staff’s personal details were present and correct – that’s mobile numbers, next of kin, etc – and, of course, our database was fully up-todate and GDPR compliant.

With a return to physical premises unlikely until sometime later in the summer, if you haven’t already done so, now’s the ideal time to check or collate your own list of employees with latest contact details and set up a similar text alert system to ours. We use intellisoftware.co.uk.

Hardware & software – In the run up to lockdown and with the media getting increasingly excited – with hindsight, rightly so – we decided to our examine working-from-home arrangements team by team. This helped us to iron out a few problems with regards to equipment at home.

It was only after we closed our offices that we realised one of our failings. We’d earmarked a pool of laptops that were put to good use during the trials but we hadn’t accounted for the fact we’d need every item in one pool simultaneously during the real-life event. A basic error!

Anyway, the problem was easily solved and we’re repurposing our hardware replacement strategy to a laptop-only model going forwards as we may end up with more home working, fewer desks in the office and more hot desking; something which is looking to become a plausible possibility for many organisations.

Is your own infrastructure fit for purpose? Not only hardware but also software? For the latter – software – cloud systems have become a necessity these past weeks. That’s exactly what we offer – a web-based complete practice management system. Even better, to help accommodate audits and reviews, it’s provided with a free accountant’s licence. Clients using Interactive can empower both their staff and accountant to work anytime, anyplace, any device with a straightforward online login thereby eliminating any impact from unforeseeable disaster.

Our own cashiering team utilise Interactive to manage clients’ accounts as well. Whether you need cloud access to your matters, documents, legal forms, bundling tools or accounts, Interactive’s got you covered.

Phone system – Phones are the bane of every company but essential for communicating with existing and would-be consumers. Fortunately, we’d moved our phone system to the cloud several years ago. Clever functionality facilitated the diversion of our office phones to corresponding mobiles or landlines at home.

Now we’re enhancing our phone system by installing a soft phone on every laptop or PC. Together with a headset, every member of staff has our entire phone system functionality and address book to hand. We can receive and transfer your calls from home to home more readily.

But we mustn’t forget the loyalty and dedication of our staff typified by our receptionist – Lynda. She’s the glue binding everyone together across our offices. Being rather shy of techie things like soft phones, on lockdown she packed up her trusty phone kit and, with some careful labelling, reassembled it on her dining room table!

Take our phone system advice and check out gamma.co.uk. It’s an infrastructure investment that’s proven to be worth every single penny at Quill.

Outsourcing services – Knowing that we’re the financial compliance backbone for so many practices and the payroll service provider for many businesses too, getting our staff socially isolated urgently whilst remaining in direct contact with clients, colleagues and team leaders was paramount. And with the SRA stressing the need for firms to put contingency measures in place, it might be somewhat easy to predict that we’ve had considerable interest in our outsourced cashiering services during the coronavirus outbreak. The same applies to our outsourced payroll and typing services.

The sudden move to home working has been quite a shock for certain individuals and companies. While Zoom has been a popular choice for many organisations, we’ve opted for Google Meet which allows for meetings to be open-ended, mimicking an opendoor policy.

To try and keep morale high amongst Quill employees, we moved our regular staff ‘News, Views and Eats’ updates to Google Meet format and even held a two-hour all-staff AGM online at the end of April. Emotions ran high in the early days as we acclimatised to the

new ways of working. As ‘accountable to you’ is our brand strapline and embedded into our ethos, we made a commitment to top up salaries for any furloughed staff, sent everyone some Easter chocolate and have branded facemasks in the pipeline!

The bottom line is this: we’ve always had fully operational legal cashiering, payroll and typing bureaus on hand throughout lockdown. If you’re working on a skeleton staffing level, or looking for a contingency plan short- or long-term, we can bridge the gap for as long as required or be retained on standby in case a future need arises.

Insurance – Early on, we reviewed our insurance cover regarding empty offices and home working. Our brokers, romeroinsurance.co.uk, have been truly fantastic and advised us to regularly inspect our offices to make sure our policy stays valid. Insurance cover has also been extended to address companyowned computer equipment being used by employees at home.

Is your insurance policy suitable for your new set up? Perhaps a check in with your own broker is due?

There are other practicalities to bear in mind at this time too. As per all of the above, enabling remote working is a key priority at the moment. When Boris told us on that fateful Monday evening that we should work at home with immediate effect, we were ready.

Decamping to home offices was an orderly event. We activated our wellrehearsed BCDR plans beginning with an SMS alert to staff initiating migration to home working within a 24-hour period. Which is exactly what we did.

The next stage is to begin planning for our collective returns to all of our offices. The Law Society has issued a framework, based on governmental guidance, which is about conducting a risk assessment and protecting your staff within the on-site environment.

Read the lawsociety.org.uk/topics/ coronavirus/practical-framework-forlaw-firms-and-sole-practitioners-onreturn-to-the-office web page.

Get in touch with Quill to strengthen your BCDR plan today. Email info@ quill.co.uk, call 0161 236 2910 or visit www.quill.co.uk.

Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and was also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association from 2016 to 2019. Quill has been a leading provider of legal accounting and case management software, and the UK’s largest supplier of outsourced legal cashiering services to the legal profession for over 40 years.