Silver Patrons of the Society
D&DLS Bulletin
Derby & District Law Society May / June 2025
3 - Contents & Editorial
4 - List of Officers
5 - President’s Page
6 -DEI sub-committee Annual Report 2025
8 - The Law Society (TLS) Council Member Report for DDLS May 2025
8 - Treasurers Report for AGM
8 - Report of the honorary secretary for the agm
10 - DDLS Annual Awards Dinner 2025
12 - DDLS Awards 2025
13 - President’s Closing Speech
14
19 - Derby School Debate Competition – a different perspective
- Family Law Sub Committee: Annual Report
22 - Conveyancing subcommittee update
23 - Firms in Focus – Rothera Bray LLP
24 - Situations Vacant
25 - Winners of Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2025 revealed
26 - Inaugural Legacy Giving Report reveals 9% legacy market growth reaching £4.5 billion
28 -Insights from an
Editorial
Such a busy time of the year for DDLS. The Awards Dinner was a huge success and although it took a while for nominations to come in for the awards themselves, we ended up with lots of excellent candidates and some very difficult judging decisions. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated. The AGM, on 7th May, was a lively and well attended affair with lots of exciting ideas and handing over the reins to the new “exec team.” Congratulations to Tina on a fabulous year and I look forward to working with Lucy, Rachel and Debra.
The final of the school debate competition was on Wednesday 2nd April at the University of Derby Law School and we had more spectators watch the final than ever before. The write up is on page 18 and then an
alternative view is on page 19. I am grateful to new president, Lucy Tissington, for writing this. I get so wrapped up in the competition that it is great to hear what people on the outside make of it. Thank you to all you lawyers who helped judge this year – I will be back asking for more volunteers next year.
Following the AGM I have sent out subscription renewals and thank you to everyone who has/ will be rejoining DDLS. If you have contacts at other firms who would like to join, please let me know or ask them to e-mail me. Likewise, please get involved with the sub-committees. As can be seen from the various reports in this edition there is lots happening behind the scenes at sub-committee level on your behalf.
Thank you to our outgoing Gold Patron Oberoi Business Hub for their support this year. It has been a pleasure working with Kavita and Jodie. If you have any contacts who would be interested in sponsoring an event or becoming a patron of DDLS again please let me have their details or
get them to e-mail me direct.
Going forward the year promises to be very exciting. The next Tapas Thursday, kindly sponsored by Smith Partnership, is 19th June, is another chance for lunchtime chatting with great food. The Summer Soiree (organised by DJL but for members of DDLS too) is on 4th July at Kedleston Country House Hotel and Lucy is putting her own stamp on the presidential role by introducing a Family and Friends Fun Day on Sunday 20th July at Derby Rugby Club. Tickets are on sale via Fienta but this is going to a great chance to get your friends and families together for an informal family event with barbeque and games.
I hope to see you at an event soon.
Take care.
Julia Saunders, admin@derbylaw.net 01283 734989
Officers and Committee Members for 2025
Officers
President*
Lucy Tissington lucy.tissington@familylawgroup. co.uk
Immediate Past President*
Tina Attenborough Attenborough Law, Derby Tel: 01332 558508 tina@ attenboroughlaw.co.uk
Vice-President*
Rachel Maxwell Rachel.maxwell@smithpartnership. co.uk
Deputy Vice-President*
Debra Morris debra@affinitylaw.co.uk
Honorary Secretary*
Fiona Apthorpe Geldards LLP, Derby Tel: 01332 378335 Fiona.Apthorpe@geldards.com
(* = Ex-Officio)
Public Relations Officer (+) Vacant
Derby Junior Lawyers
Laura Matthews laura.matthews@geldards.com
Amelia Sutcliffe amelia.sutcliffe@ smithpartnership. co.uk
George Ottewell George.Ottewell@flintbishop.co.uk
Constituency Council Representative, Derbyshire (+) Shama Gupta shama.gupta@freeths.co.uk (+) attend Committee by invitation
Other Committee Members
Julie Skill, Elliot Mather LLP Chesterfield Tel: 01246 231288; julie.skill@elliotmather.co.uk
Felicity Coats felicity.coats@elliotmather.co.uk
Diana Copestake
dianaohalloran@aol.com
David Hardy Tel: 01332 842008 david.hardy1630@gmail.com
Oliver Maxwell
Smith Partnership 01332 378696
Oliver.Maxwell@smithpartnership. co.uk
Martin Salt martins@simpsonjones.co.uk Tel: 01332 200200
Claire Twells
claire.twells@smithpartnership. co.uk
Sue Jennings sue.jennings@geldards.com
Treasurer*
Ben Lawson
Elliot Mather LLP Tel: 01246 231288 ben.lawson@elliotmather.co.uk
Claire Rudkin
Flint Bishop, Derby Tel: 01332 340211 claire.rudkin@flintbishop.co.uk
Manesha Ruparel MR@AandCo.co.uk
John Ellis
John.ellis@smithpartnership.co.uk
Administrator / Bulletin Editor
Julia Saunders, Email: admin@derbylaw.net
Sub-Committees (Secretary in italics)
Criminal Litigation
Andy Cash
Felicity Coats felicity.coats@elliotmather.co.uk
Andrew Oldroyd (01332 225225)
Education & Training
Sue Jennings, & all Sub-Committee Secretaries
Employment and Business Law
Sue Jennings
Tina Attenborough tina@attenboroughlaw.co.uk
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manesha Ruparel mr@aandco.co.uk
Tina Attenborough tina@attenboroughlaw.co.uk
Sue Jennings sue.jennings@geldards.com
Family Law FionaApthorpe
David Guthrie dg@aflp.co.uk
Fiona Apthorpe Fiona.Apthorpe@geldards.com
Fiona Lazenby fiona.lazenby@knightsplc.com
Julie Skill Julie.Skill@elliotmather.co.uk
Kelly Mower kellym@eglegal.co.uk
Liz Guyler lizguyler@eglegal.co.uk
Lucy Tissington lucy.tissington@familylawgroup. co.uk
Manesha Ruparel MR@AandCo.co.uk
Melanie Bridgen melanie.bridgen@nelsonslaw. co.uk
Natalie Haydon-Yeung Natalie.Haydon-Yeung@geldards. com
Nick Herbert nh@aflp.co.uk
Ruth Jones ruth.jones@smithpartnership. co.uk
Sole Practitioners’ Group (SPG) Tina Attenborough tina@attenboroughlaw.co.uk
Last updated 20.05.25
F Incoming President’s Speech
I must first thank Tina for her great year. The sponsorship she achieved for the society has been invaluable. The support she has given members of the society and the focus on Derbyshire as the place to be, encouraging more commercial connections has been wonderful. I always loved to read her Derbyshire Dignitaries section of the bulletin. I will be implementing something similar called “In the Committees Own Words” for the upcoming year. To see her year alongside her daughter Laura has been lovely to watch. Thanks for all your hard work, dedication and ideas.
I cannot believe the time has come around so quickly and it does not seem five minutes since I was asked, on the phone, if I would agree to be the President of Derby and District Law Society. I remember I was picking up my son from choir and then driving straight round to pick my daughter up from dance. All of our lives are hectic and crazy at times but I thought we should use this year to normalise busy lives and that having so many balls in the air you are worried you will drop some. Then admitting that you do slightly love the chaos and would be a little bored without it. We are all juggling many responsibilities and wearing many hats but we still thrive on the chaos.
I have two themes for this year the first is pride in the profession (I have borrowed this from Richard Atkinson the President of the National Law Society) but this is so important. We all work so hard, it is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. We need to think how far we have come and how hard we have worked. I see this first hand at FLG when I work with the paralegals at our academy – all they want is to work in the legal profession –they want to be our peers – maybe without the grey hairs and late-night email sessions
The The
but they are striving to achieve the same as us and we need to be proud of what we have achieved. The round table meeting with the President of the Law Society bought up an interesting point that the SQE exam is hard as we want to keep the profession at a high standard. Burnout is real and good mental health is so important. We all work in different areas of law which all come with their own challenges. We need to have fun, need to be real people and not robots.
My other theme of the year is showing people what we do. Part of this aim will be in the form of committees being proactive and busy but also, and most importantly, for our friends and family and children to join us and see what we do. We need to be proud and we need to showcase what we do. It cannot all be closed doors and late-night meetings. I know a lot will have to remain that way but there are aspects of the society we can and should share with others.
There have been some recent successes regarding this aim such as when I took my son Xander and niece Bella to the debate competition and they loved it. They even took colour coded notes that they showed their headteacher. One of my best friends came along to the legal ghost walk and it was great for her to meet my work friends. Worlds colliding can be a real positive. The Magistrates Court Open Day run by Jacqui Storer provided a real insight into the world of the law. This is clearly something families are interested in as many hundreds of people attended this event.
The Legal Walk is coming up on 15 May, my team will be coming along again and at the last event Lord Justice Jeremy Baker – now in the Court of Appeal, even bought along his gorgeous dog.
Please can you all save the date for 20 July from 12pm to 3pm for our family fun day at Derby Rugby Club. Think bouncy castle, rounders, egg and spoon, scavenger hunt and of course barbecue and drinks. I know I cannot wait and my children are very excited too.
I also intend to have a charity Scavenger Hunt (idea borrowed from Nottingham Law Society) where you take photos of you and/or family during October half term and the winner who ticks off the most photo opportunities wins a prize.
I love the Annual DDLS Bake Off and hope we can get even more law firms involved. I think I will rope in Rolls-Royce for a bit of healthy competition.
At our End of Year dinner, I intend to introduce a support staff award as we all work together as a team. Without our support staff we would not be half as good as we are. They need to be appreciated.
The team we have, including former presidents, including Ollie and Manesha, is so helpful and supportive and if I ever have a wobble that I have taken on too much they are there with a helping hand or a word of advice. We had a recent trip out and I got to meet Ollie and Rachel’s lovely kids.
I am also truly grateful for Julia whose excitement is infectious and organisation skills are excellent. I think she truly understands what I am trying to achieve this year.
Rachel, who is now Vice President, is another very busy but hugely positive person who I love working with and has so many ideas and plans. I am also very much enjoying getting to know Debra Morris, Now Deputy Vice President, and her colleagues at Affinity law and looking forward to working with Rachel and Debra more over the coming year. Special mention also goes to Katie Morris who completed the London Marathon last week.
I hope my family are really proud of me. My wonderful husband and lovely children, who along with my amazing Mum, Dad and family are always there for me and appear to like my work stories too! I would not be where I am today without them all. Their support of my crazy, busy schedule means the world to me.
Huge thanks for Family Law Group who are supporting me through my Presidency. They are all huge cheerleaders of the work I do and I am very grateful.
I know I have Julie Skill to thank for my moving forward, firstly on the committee and now as President. Many moons ago she invited me on to the committee and said “One day you will be President”. I shook my head and now here I am. My first taste of a DDLS
Lucy Tissington
Debra Morris, Lucy Tissington, Rachel Maxwell and Tina Attenborough
committee was Fiona asking me to join the Family Law Committee and letting me know I had to bring the good M&S biscuits.
The The
On the subject of committees, I would really like to focus on the committees as this is a way of us all working together, sharing information, trying to support one another, demand change and have a good old moan. I know Fiona has already asked for new members to join the family committee and arranged 4 meetings. I am planning on running 2 courses again towards the end of the year.
I know that Alan Grant of Elliot Mather has suggested restarting the education committee and I think this is a wonderful idea. I know FLG and EM have a huge focus on training the next generation as do other firms. The round table meeting with the Law Society president for the bicentenary was invaluable. We learnt so much and it was a great way to share knowledge so I hope this committee will be a huge success.
I know that Felicity Coats runs a useful criminal committee and Rachel Maxwell is doing a wonderful job with the conveyancing committee.
There are other areas such as Civil, Commercial, Employment and Wills and Probate that do not as yet have working sub-committees and it would be good to get involvement from specialists in these areas if there is seen to be a benefit to collaboration. Getting the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
committee underway would be a great way to move forward and I know a Junior Lawyer, Henna, who is working very hard on this and I hope I can work with her to try and grow this committee, allowing them to undertake the valuable work needed to ensure fairness and equality and build on the hard work Manesha and others have put in already.
My wonderful charity for this year is Positive Social and I will allow Mark Saxby to introduce the charity in more detail later but I am very excited to be working with and raising funds for Positive Social. I met Mark many years ago at a networking event, back in the days of speed networking. This is a charity I believe strongly in and I think that a charity which creates change is wonderful. I know a lot of us have kids, grandkids. nieces and nephews and the thought of social media and the world they have to learn and grow up in is very scary. Give me playing on the park and a sleepover any day over WhatsApp chats, a Snapchat streak and knowing how many views you have on TikTok.
In my role at Family Law Group I thoroughly enjoy training the solicitors of the future and feel proud I am able to do this. Many of them are in the amazing Junior Lawyers within Derby Junior Lawyers. The Derby Junior Lawyers surprise me every day with their work ethic, ideas and networking skills and I am very much looking forward to working alongside them more this year. I sat in on a recent meeting and was so impressed with
their teamwork and professionalism.
So, as I step into this role as President of the Derby and District Law Society, I am really looking forward to what we can achieve together, not just as legal professionals, but as people who care about what we do and the communities around us.
This year, I want to see more of our families, our friends, and the people who matter to us being part of what we do. Whether that is coming to events, supporting causes, or just seeing a bit more of what the life of a legal professional actually looks like.
What we do does matter. Being a legal professional is not just a job, it is something to be proud of and the more we share that pride, the stronger we’ll be as a community.
Thank you all and let’s make it a great year
Lucy Tissington
President, 2025-26
Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) sub-committee Annual Report 2025
Secretary: Manesha Ruparel (Alexander & Co Solicitors LLP)
Members: Joel Klaff (University of Derby)
Nosheen Tassaddiq (Flint Bishop), Sue Jennings (Geldards), Tina Attenborough (Attenborough Law Limited)
I am delighted to present the third Annual Report of the DDLS Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) Sub-Committee.
Our mission is to foster a positive, supportive, and inclusive environment where everyone is treated with fairness and respect, feels empowered to be themselves, and is encouraged to participate in our societywhether by joining the main committee or engaging more broadly as members and future leaders of the legal profession.
The committee meet to discuss research, share insights, and refine our strategy for achieving these goals.
The committee was established to:
• Create a more inclusive and diverse society that truly reflects and represents the legal profession.
• Identify and better understand the reasons why certain groups remain underrepresented within our Law Society.
• Share positive experiences and highlight role models to inspire the next generation of legal professionals.
We recognise that underrepresented groups often face challenges such as limited integration, feelings of isolation, difficulty voicing concerns due to stigma, and a lack
of visible role models-all of which can impact confidence and participation.
To address these issues, we are actively developing our DEI strategy. Our initiatives include conducting interviews, publishing articles, hosting networking events, launching mentorship schemes, and collaborating with other organisations to ensure our society mirrors the rich diversity of our broader community.
We invite you to help shape the future of our society! If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact Manesha Ruparel at MR@AandCo.co.uk
Manesha Ruparel Secretary 06.05.2025
Lucy with Mark Saxby of Positive Social
C The Law Society (TLS) Council Member Report for DDLS May 2025
TA6 Property information form (5th edition) (2024) consultation
The The
Property information form (5th edition) (2024) consultation
Following an independent consultation, TLS has replaced the TA6 (5th edition) with two new forms.
Further reading: TA6 Property information form (5th edition) (2024) consultation | The Law Society
Consultation on the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
The government seeks views on how to implement mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers in Great Britain. The consultation closes 10 June 2025
Further reading: Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting - GOV.UK*
2025 practising certificate fee consultation
Tell TLS what you think they should prioritise in the years ahead. Please also complete the 10-minute 2025 practising certificate fee consultation as soon as possible (you may be eligible to receive one of five £100 Amazon vouchers if you complete this by 16 May 2025). This is your opportunity to express your views on priorities, increases in the pc fee and anything else you would like to share anonymously - your views are crucial to the success of your membership organisation.
Further reading: 2025 practising certificate fee consultation | The Law Society***
TLS welcomes feedback from you and I would like to hear from you about anything you may wish to share concerning your professional needs. I am offering 1-2-1 surgery appointments online which you can make with me by contacting me at https://www. lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/our-governance/ council-constituencies-and-current-members/ shama-gupta
Treasurers Report for AGM
When writing this Report last year, the message was a mixture of concern about the Society’s finances but with the hope that the change in membership structure would halt the concerning trend of decreasing income and cash reserves.
In our first full year following the significant change to our membership structure, I am pleased to be able to write a positive report on the finances of our Society, with improved income and reserves, with the latter up to £34,379 from £28,597, as at the date of the accounts on 31.12.2024.
The improvement in income is a combination of increased:
1. Sales – up from £7,880 to £8,570; and 2. Sponsorship – up from £12,022 to £15,650.
Whilst the increase in sales is positive, it is essential that we to continue to increase income moving forward. It is important to note that in 2021 our income from sales was £11,473.
It cannot be a coincidence that the positive movement to our finances coincides not only with the change in membership structure,
Don’t forget to update your personal information on My LS!
* https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/ property/ta6-form-consultation
** https://www.gov.uk/government/ consultations/equality-race-and-disabilitybill-mandatory-ethnicity-and-disabilitypay-gap-reporting?utm_source=law_ society_westminster_weekly&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=Lord+Chanc ellor+praises+Law+Society+at+bicentenary+ reception+%7c+Parliamentary+Report+21+ March_03%2f22%2f2025#:~:text=The%20 consultation%20seeks%20views%20on%20 how%20ethnicity%20and%20disability%20 pay,public%20sector%20bodies
*** https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/membership/ practising-certificate-fee-consultation?sc_cam p=C7F0003414AA4230C6194004E418ACD4
but also the continued activity and success of Derby Junior Lawyers and the increased firm representation at committee meetings. I hope this will lead to further increases to both membership and attendance at future events, fuelling further increases in income over the next 12 months.
A huge thank you must go to the committee for their continued hard work and to our members for the support they have given us over the last 12 months.
Ben Lawson
Report of the honorary secretary for the AGM
As the D&DLS year draws to a close I am immensely proud of what we have achieved, the support offered to the local profession and the commitment shown by our Committee Members ably led this year by Tina Attenborough with our esteemed and highly regarded Administrator Julia Saunders by her side
I will not detail our achievements which I am sure that Tina will reflect on in her outgoing speech but our Society has reviewed openly and honestly the challenges which we face and how these can be overcome and we have
made changes which will hopefully result in a larger and more diverse membership.
We continue to support our Derby Young Lawyer’s Group who have been most active this year. The Society’s Bulletin, produced by our Administrator, continues to inform and is full of interesting and useful information.
As Honorary Secretary, I had the pleasure of organising (ok, ok Julia, I know you did all the work yet again but I get to choose the menu!) the biennial Former President’s Dinner last October and we enjoyed meeting old friends.
I very much enjoyed the Annual Dinner this year which was very well attended.
I have (sadly as usual!) nothing of substance to report qua Secretary. In closing, however I should like to thank our highly capable and committed Administrator, Julia Saunders, for all her hard work over the past year.
Fiona M K Apthorpe
Honorary Secretary Derby and District Law Society 06.05.2025
DDLS Annual Awards Dinner 2025
The The
Tina Attenborough, President 2024/25 hosted top table guests including the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Judges, Magistrates and Presidents from neighbouring local law societies at the Annual Awards Dinner on 21st March 2025. Tina delivered a welcome speech detailing something of her legal career in Derby and how proud she is of her daughter, Laura Matthews, who has followed her into the profession and is now a Solicitor at Geldards and also the current President of Derby Junior Lawyers. It was great to see so many firms including young lawyers on their tables. The age range of the guests at the dinner must have been some 55 years which makes for a lively and diverse night.
Local performer, Mark Elliott and his band welcomed the guests with a mellow first set and then got the dancefloor rocking after the awards. Thank you to everyone who got up to dance and enter the enjoyable spirit of the evening.
We were pleased to welcome our award sponsors, Groundsure, Review Solicitors, X-Press Legal and 36 Family together with David Gilmore from our Silver Patron, DG Legal. Thank you all for your support.
Kavita Oberoi, from our Gold Patron, Oberoi Business Hub was keen to celebrate the achievements of the Derbyshire Law Centre by awarding Lisa Haythorne and her team the inaugural Patrons Award.
The President’s charity this year is SV2 and we are grateful to Rachel Morris, CEO of SV2, and members of our committee who gathered a wonderful array of raffle and silent auction prizes. Thank you to all the local businesses on the list below who donated prizes so generously. Thanks to the efforts of Rachel, Amelia Sutcliffe, John Ellis, Andy Oldroyd and Justine Dexter who sold raffle tickets on the night and of course to everyone who bought the tickets and placed the bids. A fabulous £3000 was raised.
The Awards Dinner continues to go from strength to strength and we hope that everyone enjoyed the night. One of our renowned barrister guests from St Mary’s Chambers commented that “the organisation of the dinner, speeches and awards was very impressive, and it all had a proper Derby feel about it.” Which I believe was meant as a compliment!! On which please note your diaries for Friday 20th March 2026 for next year’s event.
With thanks for Raffle prizes
Afternoon tea voucher
£250 photography Voucher x 2
The Uncommon Thread Gin
Hot August Night Concert Tickets (4 pairs)
Toiletries and skincare baskets x 3
Toiletries and skincare bags x 4
Meal Voucher at Devonshire Belper
12 Bottles of Wine
Fun & Food Festival Tickets (5 pairs)
3 night caravan stay at Lakeside
Tickets to Derbyshire Cricket Home Match (2 pairs)
£50 Miller & Carter Voucher
£25 Nandos Voucher
Champagne
Afternoon tea voucher at Morley Hayes
Tickets to Oasis Tribute Concert
And the Following Silent Auction Lots
Signed Derbyshire County Cricket Bat (2024 squad)
Buffet Lunch for 8 delivered to a Derby address
Signed Derby County Football
£250 voucher for service/ repair/ MOT
Morley Hayes
Phillip Anthony Photography
Darley Abbey Distillery
Don Amott
Boots
Boots
Martin Roper
Darley Abbey Wines
Don Amott
Don Amott
Ryan Duckett DCC
Ashgates IT
Ashgates IT
Ashgates IT
Wathalls
Ryan Duckett DCC
Ryan Duckett DCC
The Butler’s Pantry Derby
DCFC
German Automotive Ascot Drive Derby
DDLS Awards 2025
The Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Julie Tomasik of Smith Partnership. Julie has enjoyed a legal career in conveyancing spanning almost 50 years and has dedicated generous time and energy to various conferences, seminars and workshops. She is well respected by the community in Derby and by the staff and colleagues that have been supported by her over years.
The Junior lawyer of the Year sponsored by X-Press Legal was won by Liam Wicks from Rothera Bray. Liam gives up his time to speak to aspiring young lawyers at Nottingham Law School and has thrown himself into the legal and business communities in Derby. He supports community projects such as Derby Kids Camp and, on behalf of DJL, is planning this year’s Derby legal Walk in aid of Access to Justice on 15th May.
The Solicitor of the Year sponsored by 36 Family was awarded to Felicity Coats from Elliot Mather. Felicity has been instrumental in implementing training, social and family events within her firm. She is involved in charity works, recently climbing Mount Snowdon for Macmillan. Alongside Andy Oldroyd she represents the defence solicitors of Derby in their liaisons with the court, police, probation and other court users.
The Commercial Lawyer of the Year award went to Danielle Upton of Smith Partnership. Danielle represents high profile clients and is dedicated to high levels of client care. She is keen to foster and develop the next generation of commercial lawyers and sits on the board of trustees of both the Consolidated Charity of Burton and the YMCA Derbyshire.
The Trainee/ SQE/ Apprentice was awarded to Catriona Smedley of the Family Law Group. Cat has her own varied caseload and appears regularly before Magistrates and Judges. She works with students from the University of Derby and is active within the legal networking community in Derby. She is described by the person nominating her as “the most impressive trainee I have ever worked with”
The Patrons Award was awarded to Derbyshire Law Centre by Kavita Oberoi of Oberoi Business Hub in recognition of their provision of a great level of care and legal advice in immigration, housing, welfare benefits, discrimination and debt to their local communities.
Well done to all the winners of awards and all those nominated and short listed. We are lucky to have such talent in our local area. A huge thank you to our award sponsors for their support.
Tina Attenborough –
President’s Closing Speech, 7th May 2025
It feels like only yesterday that I commenced my term as President, and what a year it’s been. I had been warned that the year would fly by, and it certainly has!
It has been a very busy year, and I’m really pleased to report in summary, that it has been thoroughly enjoyable and we have all but completed our 5 year plan in record time: -
Summary:
• Thanks to Manesha’s idea of collaborating with others back in 2022 and introducing an Exec Committee, initially made up of the President, VP and DVP - Manesha, Ollie and I, established a 5 year plan. Principally this plan included the brave step of changing the membership from an individual to a corporate style which has now been fully implemented and resulted in an increased membership from 170 to over 420
• Yet again the Annual Awards Dinner was a huge success with lots of positive feedback.
• We have continued to connect with and support our neighbouring law societies, strengthening ties and building links with Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and Birmingham, maintaining Derby’s place, on the map.
• Our Social media presence thanks to Julia, predominantly on LinkedIn has enabled us to engage with more businesses and sponsors than ever before, increasing our online presence to 1865 followers.
• With that we have been able to attract more sponsors and sponsorship opportunities such that we have businesses lining up to support and attend our Tapas Thursday events, which continue to be a huge success. This year, I understand that we successfully raised £15,650 in sponsorship, an increase of about £3500 on last year.
• We have also raised over £3500 for my chosen charity – SV2 Supporting Victims of Sexual Violence via charitable events including the Golf Day, the Bake Off competition, various raffle opportunities, but the key event being our Annual Awards Dinner.
• We have continued close ties with the University of Derby, thanks to Joel. We have continued mentoring students and
judging the Schools Mooting & Debating Competition, this year it was won for the second time, by Allestree Woodlands School.
• The Derby Junior Lawyers, which is now a stand-alone organisation, continues to be a huge success and a credit to the founder committee members from 2022, (Alex Needham, John Ellis and Laura Matthews) and to those who have continued that work and the great deal of effort required to engage with and support its many junior lawyer members and local businesses in the area.
Highlights:
15/2 - Invited to watch Leicester v Arsenal Football game with David Gilmore in DG Legal’s box at the amazing King Power Stadium along with local Presidents from Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Birmingham and Northampton.
21/3 – Annual Awards Dinner
31/3 – Invited to sit on a panel of ‘Mothers in law’ [with Kaajal Nathwani, Victoria Chivers, Vikki Pratley, Naomi C., Clara Rose and Ayo Popoola] as part of a wellbeing in the workplace session for ‘Women in Law’ division of the Law Society, where we reminded ourselves that striving for ‘perfection’ in all areas of life is an easy trap to fall into and we should work out the definition of “success” in your own unique life... as a mother, working parent, lawyer and human! But the top takeaway was “Leading with compassion and love” being the gold standard to which our leaders could hold themselves. Hard to fit with the demands of the profession, possibly, but not impossible and the value in terms of staff wellbeing, retention and commitment cannot be understated.
2/4 The President’s Bicentenary event at Nottingham Law Society to discuss ‘The Future of the Profession’ it was great to see the President, Richard Atkinson and his colleagues.
• 3/4 To host the President Richard Atkinson on his Bicentenary tour of events throughout the day; a roundtable discussion about the SQE and Apprenticeship Scheme, Judging the
final of the Schools Debate Competition with Richard and Joel from the UoD and on to the Cosy Club to listen to the President and his colleague, speak to the DJL.
Goals set out and achieved:
• In my opening speech I mentioned there were some things I wanted to achieve this year and one of those was the engagement of our local public and private business communities. I managed to interview and engage with Kavita Oberoi, Gold Sponsor and former Dragon, Rachel Morris, CEO of my chosen Chairty SV2, Ian Morgan (High Sherriff), Nadine Peatfield, Leader of the City Council, Tom Clowes, MD of Clowes Developments Ltd, and Clare Ward, the EM Mayor. Tapas Thursday continues to thrive within the business community and Geldards and David Williams and Nino Simone attended the Annual Awards Dinner! So, all in all, we have some movement in the Corporate direction.
Thanks:
I would like to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to many. It has been wonderful to be supported by such a great committee, notably Lucy Tissington and Rachel Maxwell, not forgetting the past presidents Ollie Maxwel and Manesha Ruparel who have all been a great sounding board.
A huge thank you to Julia in her role as administrator for the society, for the day to day running and organising events and as always, thank you to you our members, for your ongoing support, attending events and allowing me the opportunity to represent our society as your President.
It goes without saying that our members are the heart of our society, without whom we would not exist.
I continue to be excited about the future of our society and legal profession locally and have no doubt that Lucy will continue the momentum to keep our Society moving forward for many generations to come.
Tina Attenborough - DDLS President 2024-2025
Sir Richard FitzHerbert is installed as the High Sheriff of Derbyshire
At a ceremony held at St Mary’s Church on 3 April 2025, in the beautiful village of Tissington, Derbyshire, Sir Richard FitzHerbert was installed as the new High Sheriff of the County of Derbyshire. High Sheriffs are appointed by His Majesty the King to represent him in each county on matters relating to the judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.
Sir Richard is honoured to be following in the footsteps of six of his ancestors to become the seventh member of this ancient Derbyshire Family to hold the position taking over the office from Ian Morgan OBE.
Sue Jennings, solicitor and Head of Employment in Derby and Nottingham at Geldards LLP was sworn in again as Under Sheriff and Christopher Birds JP, Chartered Surveyor and Partner with Boxall Brown &
Jones and Director with Rushton Hickman as Deputy Under Sheriff of the County of Derbyshire.
The Installation Ceremony is part of an ancient legal process involving the incoming High Sheriff and Under Sheriff making an Oath of Office prescribed by the Sheriffs Act 1887 administered by the Presiding Judge of the County, His Honour Judge Shaun Smith KC, Christopher Birds JP and Martin Thacker MBE, JP.
This ceremony was preceded by a nomination process conducted by a County Shrievalty Committee which comprises of local people connected with and independent to the Shrievalty. The High Sheriff subsequently submits a name to His Majesty the King for formal approval at a meeting of the Privy Council. Known as the Pricking Ceremony this was held in March
2025 by His Majesty the King to appoint his High Sheriffs, marking each appointment by ‘pricking’ the candidate’s name on a parchment roll with a long needle, called a bodkin. The romantic tradition is that Elizabeth I was doing her needlework in the garden when the list was brought to her and, as she had no pen available, she used her needle. However, there is evidence that Henry VIII also pricked the list. Whatever the origin, Charles III still uses a silver bodkin to prick the list to this day.
The installation ceremony was overseen by Sue Jennings, who explained the fascinating history of the role of High Sheriff and its current importance in shining a light on connecting and thanking the outstanding contributions of those both employed and volunteering in the field of law and justice and communities across the County.
Outgoing HS Ian Morgan MBE, Under Sheriff Sue Jennings, Deputy Under Sheriff Chris Birds, Incoming HS Sir Richard FitzHerbert
The Reverend Nicola McNally conducted the service with a Blessing from the High Sheriff’s Chaplain, the Reverend Alan Griggs
Sir Richard’s daughter Francesca FitzHerbert delivered a scripture reading, Psalm 1 and Derbyshire poet F. Philip Holland read his poem High Sheriff of Derbyshire to a packed congregation including His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant, Liz Fothergill, many former High Sheriffs, Bench Chairs from the Magistracy, Sir Richard’s family and tenants from the Tissington Estate.
Sir Richard inherited Tissington Hall and the 2000 acre Tissington Estate from his late Uncle in 1989 at the age of 25 and has been trying to restore it ever since despite the difficulties of local planning authorities and heritage legislation. With his wife Fiona they took the Village Tearooms back in hand and now run it successfully catering for groups and visitors. Tissington Hall was built by his ancestor in 1609 and has been lived in by the FitzHerbert family ever since. The Hall now
hosts over 50 weddings per annum and the Estate boasts a number of holiday lets with easy access to the surrounding Peak District landscape as well as nearby cycle trails.
Sir Richard was elected as a District Councillor in 2011 for his local ward of Dovedale & Parwich on the Derbyshire Dales District Council. As a member of the Planning Committee, he has seen the expanse of the tourism product all over the District and seen its important contribution to the local economy. In 2015 Sir Richard took over as Chair of the Council but stepped down from that role in May 2023 after 12 years’ service.
Sir Richard chairs the Tissington Well Dressing Committee that organises the annual event when locals dress the six natural wells in the village that never dry up (even in times of drought and plague). Dressed with floral patterns usually depicting biblical scenes, the week draws 35,000 visitors annually to Tissington that some have called ‘the prettiest village in Derbyshire’. The event is a proud
display of community cohesion and is enjoyed by many both from home and abroad.
For the last 25 years Sir Richard has written a monthly column on Derbyshire issues for the local magazine’ Derbyshire Life’. He is married to Fiona and they have four children, four dogs and two cats called Lunar and Raffie (the latter named after one of the paintings in the Grade II* listed building) but is always looking to expand their tribe.
Alongside his stately home opening operations, Sir Richard is also the Chair of the Peak District & Derbyshire LVEP (Loval Visitor Economic partnership) more commonly known as the local Tourist Board; a former Board Member of EMT (East Midlands Tourism) and a former Board member of Historic Houses Association (the HHA being the Union of the Larger Country Houses independently owned in the country). Sir Richard is also a past President of Derbyshire Scouts and past President of Foundation Derbyshire.
C A tribute to David Ling who passed away on 20th April 2025
The The
David was born in Derby and attended schools in Darley Abbey and Elvaston, before completing his compulsory education at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon. From there he went to Bristol University to study law, which is where he met his future wife, Linda, and the couple were married in 1974 - celebrating their golden anniversary last year.
He was articled at Starkie & Gregory in Long Eaton and, once qualified, joined his father’s firm Bemrose and Ling, St Peter’s Churchyard in Derby and gradually worked his way up to be the senior partner.
Joanne Jones proprietor of Simpson Jones in Derby recalls that she started working with David as his trainee solicitor at Bemrose & Ling Solicitors back in 1996. She recalls “within a very short space of time David gave me the biggest Court of Protection file you have ever seen. I looked at David blankly not knowing at that stage what the Court of Protection even was! And
he just said, “Have a Go Jo!” – so I did. And from that day on the name kind of stuck and I was affectionately (I think) known as the Trainee “Have a Go, Jo!” Thank you for that David :-)
David was a very accomplished solicitor and cared a great deal for his clients. Although a property solicitor he had an incredible overall knowledge of the law and was the traditional “family orientated” solicitor.
David was the Chair of the Derby Property Lawyers Association which aimed to bring all the property solicitors in Derby together, involving also the local estate agents where possible. The idea was to share ideas and solutions to help everyone and to work together where we could.
Overall, David was a gentleman, and I enjoyed my time working with him and learning from him and hopefully carry his values forward. Goodbye David”
After recovering from a heart attack at age 36 David learned that he had oesophageal cancer in around 2001-2. Following this he turned his attention more to teaching aspiring lawyers and took on more volunteering work with various organisations to give something back to the community. He also undertook an archaeology diploma at Nottingham Trent University because he had always been interested in history, especially the Anglo-Saxon period.
David was interested in protecting local buildings and their history and was a member of the city’s conservation and heritage advisory committee (CHAC) for 15 years and stood down in 2024. He also, some years ago, represented CHAC on the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site conservation and planning panel. He was also a member of the Derby Civic Society for many years, taking on a variety of roles.
David was also involved at one time with Radio Link - Derby’s hospital radio service - where he was chairman. Alan Grimadell, former city councillor, President of Derby Civic Society, VP of Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre, and Radio Link volunteer, said “I first met David 48 years ago when I applied to join Derby’s Hospital Radio Service Radio Link as a volunteer. David was the chairman who interviewed me, and although at the time I didn’t know one end of a tape recorder from the other, he took me on as a volunteer. With David’s support I ended up National President of the Hospital Broadcasting Association. I will always remember David for his sharp mind, kind heart and encouraging ways. He was a great friend who was always ready to help others and had the ability to inspire and galvanise others. A very great loss to all who knew him.”
Mr Ling leaves his widow Linda, son Chris, daughter Emily and four grandchildren.
The funeral service will take place at St Matthew’s Church, Darley Abbey, on Monday, May 19, from 12.30pm, ahead of a private cremation, and refreshments will be served afterwards at The Little Darley at Darley Abbey.
Oberoi Business Hub - Supporting Law Firms Beyond the DDLS Year
As our year as gold sponsor of the Derby and District Law Society (DDLS) draws to a close, we want to take this opportunity to reflect on what has been a rewarding experience—and to reaffirm our commitment to supporting the local thriving legal community.
Over the past year, we’ve had the privilege of getting to know more closely forwardthinking law firms across Derbyshire.
Driving Real Impact for Law Firms
We’ve seen first-hand how modern, well-managed back-office support can transform legal practices. Whether it’s handling every incoming call with professionalism, managing diaries with precision, or delivering responsive LiveChat support for time-sensitive client enquiries, our goal has been to act as a true extension of the firms we serve.
Lovedays Solicitors is just one example of this. After moving from a large national call-handling provider to Oberoi Business Hub, they immediately experienced improved service quality, stronger client communication, and significant cost savings. Their story—shared in our previous article—resonated with many firms facing similar frustrations.
More Than Call Handling
Our purpose-built serviced offices at Pride Park continue to be a popular choice
for legal practices seeking a professional and accessible base. Our conference and meeting facilities can host important client discussions and internal strategy days. Our outbound calling services can help firms reconnect with lapsed clients and promote new services.
Every solution we offer is built with one aim: to reduce operational pressure and enhance the client experience—without compromising on professionalism or brand integrity.
What Comes Next
Although our formal sponsorship may be coming to a close, our journey with the legal community is far from over. We
remain committed to helping law firms in Derbyshire and beyond thrive in a fastchanging environment—where client expectations are higher, working patterns more flexible, and service excellence nonnegotiable.
Giving Back to the Community: A Call to Action
Our commitment to supporting law firms goes hand in hand with our passion for giving back. Kavita Oberoi OBE founder of the Hub and Patron of the East Midlands charity Star Trust, launched in July 2024 a local monthly pledge scheme aimed at supporting grassroots charities across Derby and Derbyshire. The initiative allows businesses to pledge from £50 a month, with funds ring-fenced for local SME charities that apply for vital funding.
We’re delighted that several law firms have already joined the movement including . Fishers Solicitors, Affinity Law and The Smith Partnership, who have all recognised the simplicity and impact of this initiative.
With all due diligence handled by the Star Trust team, law firms can be confident that their contributions go directly to those in need, quickly and effectively. This is a unique opportunity for the legal community to make a tangible, local impact—and we would love to see even more DDLS members become part of this growing network of charitable advocates.
Please do contact: info@oberoibusinesshub. co.uk to get involved
Kavita Oberoi with lawyers from Affinity Law, Fishers and Smith Partnership
Derby City School Debate Competition 2025
The competition this year was won by a team from Allestree Woodlands, who have taken part in the competition every year since it started almost 10 years ago. They narrowly beat a team from Derby Cathedral School, who were taking part for the first time, by persauding the judges against the motion that “Trial by jury is the best guarantor of justice”. There were some stand out speeches and once again it was incredible to see how the children listened and applied comments given in previous heats and produced well researched and mature speeches. All the finalists were confident enough to try some counter arguments which involves them going “off script”.
Topics included climate change, tourism and space exploration and the children (who range between 11-15 years of age) approached all the topics with enthusiasm and maturity.
Congratulations to all the pupils from all the schools who took part and to the staff who supported and encouraged them and without whom the competition could not run. Many of the schools involve not only the children who are speaking but others behind the scenes who are researching, writing and in some cases sixth form students who are mentoring the younger children. Many schools now have debate clubs and our DDLS administrator has been into 8 schools this school year to deliver a session on speaking in public to a total of 450 children.
The final was judged by Joel
Klaff – Head of
Law at Derby University, Tina Attenborough - President of DDLS and Ricahrd Atkinson –President of the Law Society, Chancery Lane. The judges were impressed at the standard of debating on display saying “the teams presented some cohesive arguments with both passion and humour. Very impressive.”
The competition has, as ever, been organized by the Derby and District Law Society and The University of Derby Law School. The project is a great example of organizations working well together and what can be acheived with lots of time but very little financial input.
A massive THANK YOU to all the academic staff at the University of Derby, members of DDLS who helped judge the competition, and everyone who gave up their time to make this project such a fantastic success.
Julia Saunders
Above Left: The winning team from Allestree Woodlands with the judges
Left: The Presidents niece Bella and son Xander
Below: The runners up from Derby Cathedral School
Derby School Debate Competition
– a different perspective
I know many of us have judged the debating competition over the years and this year I was lucky enough to be able to judge two rounds and watch the final. The final was between Derby Cathedral School (a new school to join the competition) and Allestree Woodlands School. The final was won by Woodlands school. The number of supporters who came along was amazing and it was a great atmosphere.
This year we are truly privileged in that the President of the National Law Society Richard Atkinson visited Derby during his tour of local law societies for the bicentenary year and he was able to judge the debate final. I watched his face when he saw the standard and I know he was shocked and impressed. The final was also judged by President Tina Attenborough and Head of the University of Derby Law School Joel Klaff
Over the year Julia Saunders, our administrator, has worked with over 450 children to provide them with training on confidence in public speaking. This is undoubtedly a wonderful skill to have. Julia should be commended for the time and effort she puts into this competition. I know that everybody who judges the competition is blown away by the standard and the confidence of the children
This year I was lucky enough to bring along two little people. My son Xander and my niece Bella (both age 10). With Bella starting Woodlands this year she was so excited to come along.
They even took colour coordinated notes and sat watching in awe.
During the sessions I was able to speak to Sarah Senior, a teacher at Littleover Secondary School and ask what effect the competition has on her pupils and I was blown away by the effect it has had. She said
“In the almost a decade we have been participating we have had several students continue debating into Sixth Form. Some have gained leadership experience helping younger teams, others have participated in larger competitions including one pair who made it to the finals of the Oxford Union debate competition (the top 125 teams from over 2,500 entrants worldwide). They debated against teams from Ireland, Canada and India during the day, as well as many teams from top UK schools.
In terms of the valuable skills students gain, obviously teamwork and communication skills are top of the list, but also organisation, leadership and a whole lot of self-confidence. In recent years we have been including students on our ‘thrive’ pathway in the teams (students with social, emotional and mental health needs) and to see them feeling part of something and watching them increase in confidence has been great (even if one of them did do an impression of a seagull mid debate last year!)
The competition has been central to achieving this. Of course we could run a debate club
at school, but without the motivation of something to aim for it can be hard to get students to maintain enthusiasm. Having the competition has also provided motivation for students to go beyond their learning in the classroom (some of the Year 10’s who took part this year have better knowledge of issues such as climate change and healthcare policy than many adults I know).
We have also seen improvements in the quality of written work from those who have participated - presenting a logical written argument become so much easier when you have practiced verbally, and almost all go on to get a top grade in their Year 11 Speaking test in English.
Oracy is a key feature of current education policy, and debate is one of the purest forms of oracy. Competitions like this are only going to become more important in providing schools opportunities to demonstrate oracy in practice. I got involved in this partly because I though debate was one of the areas that many Independent schools do offer something better than the state sector - confident public speaking is central to success in so many ways these days.”
The impact of the Derby School Debate Competition on our local children is apparent and the competition continues to go from strength to strength.
Lucy
Tissington – President DDLS 2025/26
C Derby & District Law Society Family Law Sub Committee: Annual Report for the AGM 7.5.25
Sub Committee Members
Fiona Apthorpe (Secretary)
Melanie Bridgen
David Guthrie
Liz Guyler
Nick Herbert
Ruth Jones
Ben Lawson
Fiona Lazenby
Kelly Mower
Manesha Ruparel
Julie Skill
Lucy Tissington
This is the 26th Annual Report for the Derby & District Law Society Family Law Sub Committee which was set up in May 1998.
The Committee is Chaired by Fiona Apthorpe
The Committee’s remit is to identify and monitor all recent developments in family law, to discuss such developments and agree on their implications both for the profession as a whole (e.g. consultation papers) and at a local level as appropriate and report both in writing and verbally to the Standing/Full Committee as appropriate on our findings and to the wider membership by the Bulletin. Also to develop and implement initiatives aimed at keeping members up to date with the implications of such changes, to consider the potential impact of such developments upon the general public and to identify opportunities for initiatives/activities aimed at the general public and to discuss, develop, plan and implement any opportunities for gaining positive and/or educational publicity for the Society generally.
There have been a number of developments in the family law field over the course of the last year, quite apart from ever present listing issues and the impact on access to justice for vulnerable members of society.
The Committee works hard to represent the interests of local family practitioners and to disseminate information to our members.
Membership
The Committee represents a wide cross section of family law practitioners and we have representatives specialising in all areas of family law, including childcare and family mediation/collaborative law. There is a committed core of the Committee who attend regularly. The Committee continues to welcome new members and also particularly those from outside the city and from Chesterfield and Burton.
Meetings
The Committee aims to meet as and when necessary but a minimum of four times per year.
Local Courts
The Committee is represented on the Derby County Court Professional Court User Group, and the Local Family Justice Board. These meetings provide a useful forum for discussions on a number
of issues of importance to family practitioners and enable the Court to give helpful feedback and guidance on practical issues.
If members would like to raise any issues with these groups then they are obviously welcome to attend the meetings direct or alternatively they can contact Fiona as Secretary or a local member of the Committee who would be happy to raise issues on their behalf.
The Family Committee have an excellent working relationship with the local Courts and issues which we have raised from time to time have been swiftly addressed. The relationship has been facilitated by the local Judges and the Court Managers.
We regularly disseminate information from the Courts via our database (see below) to local members of the profession. The Committee also recently organised a meeting with our local District Judges to discuss issues of mutual interest. This has led to a dialogue over issues such as listing.
The Committee has previously organised very successful meetings with the local judiciary in the past and a further meeting is planned for this year.
Database
The Committee has a contact database of local family practitioners. This has enabled us to email to all members copies of the Committee minutes promptly and to quickly disseminate and circulate information received from third parties e.g. the Court/CAFCASS. If any member of your firm’s family department would like to join the database, please ask them to contact Fiona Apthorpe at fiona. apthorpe@geldards.com
Local Family Justice Board
Our former designated Family Judge, HHJ Judge Orrell, was requested by the President of the Family Division of the High Court to recruit members to form a Local Family Justice Council to serve the users of the Derby care area, which covers Derby, Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire. The inaugural meeting of the LFJC took place on 20th December 2005. Fiona was initially asked to attend as a representative of the Derby & District Law Society and other family practitioners, including Committee members, regularly attend Council meetings. The intention was that the LFJC would be an inter disciplinary body whose essential functions would be to promote inter disciplinary working within the local family justice system, to participate in the mutual exchange of information with the National Family Justice Council, to work to secure improvement in the local family justice system and to promote inter disciplinary development. Meetings were attended by representatives of the Bench, Local Authorities, Solicitors, Counsel, the University of Derby, the Police, the Legal Services Commission, Action for Children, CAFCASS and the Adoption Services.
In due course the Local Family Justice Council evolved into the Local Family Justice Board which was set up to bring together the functions previously carried out by Local Performance Improvement Groups and Local Family Justice Councils. The
Board is very active locally in organising meetings, agendas and informative presentations by and for the local profession both for private and public family law cases. If anyone has any issues which they would like raising on the LFJB they should contact a member of the Committee.
CAFCASS
The Committee have facilitated an open exchange of news and dialogue with CAFCASS enabling members of the profession locally to be kept up to date with developments and initiatives. Representatives from Derby CAFCASS have attended Committee meetings in the past and if members have any issues which they would want raising with CAFCASS they should contact Fiona or a member of the Committee.
Issues Raised
Over the course of the last year the Committee has dealt with a number of issues and proactively put forward the concerns of its members to various authorities, particular issues this year being listing and court delays generally.
There have been a number of other issues which have proactively raised during the course of the year including listing problems at the Family Court, difficulties in contacting the court, remote hearings, McKenzie Friends, the new ADR rules and developments in children law.
Education and Training
In the current economic climate many firms are cutting back on training which obviously makes it all the more important to organise local courses of interest to family practitioners where these can be provided by the Society either free or at a modest charge.
The Committee have been active in suggesting and facilitating local courses of interest to family practitioners which have been well attended and if members have any suggestions for courses they should contact a member of the Committee or our new Administrator Julia Saunders so this can be actioned.
In Memoriam
The Committee were very saddened by the unexpected deaths of HHJ Orrell and Paul Cobb of Rothera Bray who passed away last year.
The funerals of both were well attended by the local profession and there was a standing room only Valedictory for HHJ Orrell at Derby County Court. Both will be missed.
Conclusion
The Family Committee have continued to proactively represent members over the last 12 months.
All issues raised by any member are included on our agenda and discussed at regular Committee meetings. These are followed up by formal reports to Full Committee which reports are now copied direct to all members via our database. Summaries or copies of
the full minutes also appear in the Bulletin. We are happy to make representations on behalf of the profession on issues of interest to family practitioners and if anybody has anything that they would wish to raise or indeed if they would like to join the Committee then they should contact either Fiona or another Committee member.
The remaining meetings as scheduled for 2024 are:
12 June
21 August 28 October
11 December
All meetings are currently being held remotely by Teams, otherwise held at Geldards’ Derby Office, at 4.00pm.
Fiona M. K. Apthorpe (Secretary) 06.05.25
C Conveyancing subcommittee update
Lately, there has been a lot of negative media coverage surrounding property transactions and those practicing in residential conveyancing. Headlines highlight everything from endless transaction delays and a broken conveyancing system. While it is true that the property market and conveyancing has faced significant challenges over the last five years, it’s important for us to separate the media narrative from the reality experienced by our conveyancers on the ground.
The truth is, despite obstacles that continue to challenge our conveyancers, our members in residential conveyancing have been and continue to play an incredible role. I have seen residential conveyancers demonstrate determination, commitment and resilience when facing every challenge that comes our way!
With the statistics showing that many are leaving the conveyancing profession, it is now,
more then ever, extremely important that Derby and District Law Society are there to support our members and ensure that they are kept up to date with changes. This helps to ensure we retain those good conveyancers in the professional but also encourages collaboration and helps us to build strong working relationships so that we can continue to face these challenges together.
To assist with these aims, the residential conveyancing subcommittee has had a very active year. We have been able to host some really positive social/networking and learning events which have been supported by an array of conveyancing service providers. Some of the events we have hosted include the Crazy Golf event supported by Infotrack. In April, The Search Bureau supported our Pizza and Prosecco event. Also in April, we had Amanda Perrotton from Bell Howley and Perrotton attend to provide an extremely useful and informative session updating us on the current stamp duty rates but also reminding us of our
limit as conveyancers and how easy it can be to fall within the trap of providing ‘tax advice’.
A huge thank you needs to be said to those supporting our events, but also a huge thankyou to those attending.
At our annual awards dinner, we saw Julie Tomasik win the Lifetime Achievement Award, after dedicating her whole legal career to the conveyancing profession. We are extremely grateful to Julie Tomasik for being an inspiration to us all, in particular those in conveyancing.
With many more plans in the making, we hope to grow our engagement with those practicing in residential conveyancing and the wider committee members and so I look forward to seeing the residential conveyancing subcommittee grow and getting involved with many other new and exciting events.
Rachel Maxwell
Firms in Focus – Rothera Bray LLP
The The
At Rothera Bray we are an award-winning firm and offer a comprehensive range of legal services for individuals and businesses, from conveyancing, family law, personal injury, wills and probate and more specialist areas like mental capacity and Court of Protection, to corporate law, litigation, commercial property, licensing, insolvency, professional negligence and transport law. Whatever the legal need, we provide expert, tailored guidance to clients across the country.
Expansion
and growth
Our firm has grown significantly over the years, both organically and through strategic mergers. In 2022, we expanded into Derby through our acquisition of JH Powell, located in the heart of the city’s Cathedral Quarter. This was followed by our merger with Bray and Bray in 2023, broadening our footprint into Leicestershire, and a merger with Massers in Nottingham in 2024. These developments have helped us grow into a 240-strong team,
Strengthening our presence in Derby
Our Derby office has gone from strength to strength, especially with the addition of key team members. In 2024, we welcomed Partner David Kaplan, who has since been joined by Senior Associate Liz Mills and Solicitor Liam Wicks, establishing our corporate presence in Derby and elevating the visibility of our office and services in the region. Managing Associate Rachel Mills and Associate Gurpreet Singh have also joined us in Derby, significantly enhancing our employment and family law services locally.
Service expansion and innovation
2024 was a milestone year for us in more ways than one. We expanded our service offering to include licensing, insolvency and professional negligence. We also transitioned to ABS status and promoted five non-lawyer managers to director level-moves that strengthen our
ability to respond to evolving client needs with even more commercial insight and technical expertise.
Leadership
and culture
Under the leadership of our CEO, Christina Yardley, who took the helm in 2019, we’ve seen a transformation in our firm’s culture and strategy. Christina leads with a strong commitment to client care, ethical practice, and collaboration. Alongside a dedicated team of partners, she has cultivated a leadership approach that values transparency, inclusivity, and continuous improvement. Her belief that “happy staff make happy clients” is reflected in our progressive working environment, which includes hybrid working, generous holiday allowances, wellbeing days, private healthcare, monthly Staff Development Forums, and robust mental health support.
Celebrating our bicentenary and community focus
In 2024, we celebrated 200 years of legal excellence with a bicentenary event at St Mary’s Church in Nottingham’s Lace Market, where we raised over £2,000 for St Mary’s Relief in Need. Marking this historic milestone, we also launched Deeds that Make a Difference, an initiative dedicated to charity partnerships, pro bono work, and environmental projects. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to making a positive and lasting impact in the communities we serve.
Through thoughtful growth and innovation, we remain dedicated to delivering exceptional legal services while staying true to the values that have guided us for two centuries.
www.rotherabray.co.uk
delivering bespoke legal solutions across the East Midlands.
Liz Mills
David Kaplan
Situations Vacant
The
The
RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY LAWYER/CONVEYANCER
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced and ambitious Property Lawyer, Licensed Conveyancer or Conveyancer to join our friendly firm in Ripley.
The Candidate
The successful candidate with deal with a mixed caseload of residential property sales, purchases, transfer of equity, remortgages and have dealings with new build properties and help to buy.
Job Description
• To manage a varied caseload from initial instruction through to completion.
• Management and supervision of support staff for which you will be responsible
• To give excellent client care and build working relationships with third parties.
• Excellent organisation skills.
• Experience with working on a case management system
Salary and Benefits
• Competitive salary, negotiable and dependent upon experience
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays which will increase with years of service.
• A day off for your birthday each year or nearest day thereafter
This is a permanent job offered on a full-time basis to start immediately.
How to Apply
For further information about this role and to apply, please send a covering letter with your CV to cheryl.croxall@jc-lawyers.com
PRIVATE CLIENT LAWYER – HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced ambitious Private Client Lawyer to join a friendly firm in Ripley.
The Candidate
As a Private Client Lawyer you would be dealing with a mixed caseload of wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate matters.
Job Description
• To head up the Private Client team as well as handling a varied caseload from initial instruction through to completion, to include the drafting of Wills, Trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney and dealing with Trust and Estate Administration
• Management and supervision of support staff for which you will be responsible
• To give excellent client care and build working relationships with third parties together with referrals from our property team
• To assist the Directors in growing the department
• Excellent organisation skills.
• Experience with working on a case management system
Required Skills and Experience
• You will be a qualified Solicitor or Lawyer with at least 2 - 3 years post qualification experience
Salary and Benefits
• Competitive salary, negotiable and dependent upon experience
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays which will increase with years of service.
• A day off for your birthday each year or nearest day thereafter
This is a permanent job offered on a full-time basis to start immediately.
How to Apply
For further information about this role and to apply, please send a covering letter with your CV to cheryl.croxall@jc-lawyers.com
We have a vacancy for a PI Solicitor or Legal Executive to run our Personal Injury Department and build up the client base.
For an informal discussion, please contact Christopher Gabb on cmg@ewlaw.co.uk or 01332 348484.
For further information and an application form please contact:
Matthew Zolkiewicz
Eddowes Waldron Solicitors
12 St Peters Churchyard Derby DE1 1TZ
mz@ewlaw.co.uk
Closing date for application is Friday 20th June 2025.
Winners of Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards 2025 revealed
The winners of the prestigious Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards were announced yesterday at a ceremony held at London Bankside’s Hilton Hotel. The awards, now in their third year, recognise the outstanding achievements, talent and dedication of UK legacy giving professionals and highlight the significant income that gifts in wills bring to charities, which is set to reach almost £5 billion per year by 2030.
This year’s winners represent a broad range of organisations, from national charities to smaller, specialist causes, all demonstrating best practice in engaging supporters and driving legacy giving forward.
Polly Avgherinos, Managing Director of Smee & Ford, said:
“Congratulations to all the finalists and winners who are inspiring examples of how creative and ambitious thinking combined with innovation and collaboration can make such a positive impact on a vital sector. The event brought together the brilliant legacy giving community, providing a platform for them to share much-deserved pride in their work and benchmark the incredible progress being made in the sector.”
THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Catsnake: The Story Agency
Best Creative Partner to the Legacy Sector
The Brain Tumour Charity and Make a Will Online
Best Free Will Service
Foot Anstey
Best Legal Partner to the Legacy Sector
Foot Anstey
Best Property Partner to the Legacy Sector
Soil Association
Best Start-up Legacy Programme
Octopus Legacy
Best Strategic Will Provider 2025
RSPCA
Digital Innovation in Legacy Giving
Debbie Henshaw –
Cornwall Air Ambulance Director’s Award for Outstanding Legacy Manager
St Elizabeth Hospice Excellence in Donor Journey & Pledger Stewardship
Canal & River Trust
Excellence in Working with Lay Executors
Essex Wildlife Trust
Internal Collaboration Champions
Christian Aid
Legacy Administration Team of the Year
Hayley MacNeill – Save the Children Legacy Administrator 2025
Christian Aid
Legacy Campaign of the Year (Income Over £3m)
Leukaemia UK
Legacy Campaign of the Year (Income Under £3m)
National Trust
Legacy Fundraising Event 2025 (Income Over £3m)
Canal & River Trust
Legacy Fundraising Event 2025 (Income Under £3m)
John Coulthurst – British Red Cross Legacy Fundraising Professional of the Year
Jewish Care
Legacy Fundraising Team of the Year
Howard Taylor – Magen David Adom UK Legacy Volunteer of the Year
Farewill
Outstanding Partner to the Legacy Sector
Ashley Rowthorn, CEO of Legacy Futures, partners of Smee and Ford, commented:
“The calibre of entries this year was extremely high. Legacy giving is an essential and growing income stream for charities, and these awards highlight the exceptional work being done across the sector to ensure supporters’ wishes are honoured and their impact is maximised.”
Inaugural Legacy Giving Report reveals 9% legacy market growth reaching £4.5 billion
Charitable estates rise 22% from previous year, reaching 46,000
14 May 2025 - Despite a challenging external environment, legacy income rose by 9% in 2024, up significantly from the 1.3% growth seen in 2023. Legacy gifts now make up an average of 30% of fundraised income across the top 1,000 legacy supported charities, with some sectors such as animal, conservation, and disability charities seeing figures as high as 50%.
These are just some of the key findings from The Legacy Giving Report 2025 (https://smeeandford.com/reports-whitepapers/legacygiving-report-2025/) — the first report of its kind from the Smee & Ford (https://smeeandford.com) and Legacy Futures’ (https://www. legacyfutures.com) partnership announced last year that has enabled the most comprehensive legacy data and market review ever available. Designed to support charities of all sizes, the free report provides valuable statistics, projections, and insightful case studies to help charities maximise the potential of legacy income.
More key findings include:
• The average estate size for those leaving a charitable gift was £599,000, compared to £394,000 for non-charitable estates.
• Average gift values reached £65,000 for residual gifts and £4,500 for pecuniary gifts.
• The South Coast and London remain the strongest regions for charitable bequests, with nearly 18% of probated estates in the South Coast containing a legacy gift.
• Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964) now make up 21% of all legators and are set to dominate legacy giving by 2035.
One of the key drivers behind the record growth in 2024 was a 15% surge in charitable bequests, largely due to HM Courts & Tribunals Service clearing a longstanding backlog of probate applications. As a result, bequest numbers in 2024 reached an estimated 145,000 — the biggest number ever recorded.
The report also explores the impact of upcoming changes to inheritance tax rules and highlights opportunities for charities to engage supporters who may be motivated to leave a charitable gift for this reason.
Rob Cope, Executive Director Membership & Operations at CIOF, said:
“Legacies play a pivotal role in supporting charities, of every shape andsize,acrosstheUKtocontinuetheirvitalwork.Assuch,resources like this report are invaluable In sharing such a comprehensive overview of the nation’s legacy giving, with key trends and projections for the future, The Legacy Giving Report will no doubt become a go to benchmarking and guidance resource for fundraisers looking to develop their legacy fundraising and bolster broader fundraising strategies.
“It is also an excellent example of agencies working together to provide, for free, the kind of unique data and insight that can help charities grow and thrive, something the Chartered Institute of Fundraising is pleased to encourage and support.”
Ashley Rowthorn, Executive Director of Legacy Futures and Smee & Ford, said:
“This report represents an important step in improving our shared understanding of the legacy giving landscape. By bringing together data, analysis and real-world examples, we hope it will help charities of all sizes to better navigate current challenges and plan for the future.
“Legacy income is a long-term, resilient source of support for the sector, and having access to clear, evidence-based insights is vital for organisations looking to grow or sustain this important form of giving.”
The Legacy Giving Report can be downloaded for free here.: https://smeeandford.com/reports-whitepapers/legacygiving-report-2025/
A helpful and free source of data is Legacy Futures’ Data Dashboard, (https://www.legacyfutures.com/resources/datadashboard/), which describes the size and shape of gifts in wills in the UK, and how legacy incomes have grown over the past 30 years.
Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity renewal: insights from an underwriter
Recently, the solicitors’ professional indemnity market has seen an increase in the number of insurers offering firms primary insurance. With more choice available, how should firms best present their risk — and why should they choose HDI?
At HDI, how do we assess you as a firm?
As your insurer, we are there for you when the worst happens. However, insurance is just one tool in your armoury against risk. We look for firms that invest in a clear and robust risk management strategy. We want to hear about how you identify and manage risk in your firm. This can include how you structure your firm, risk management planning, business continuity plans, file review and supervision policies, and external audits.
When reviewing a firm’s proposal form, I like to pay particular attention to the answers that provide insight into the workings and values of your firm. Your submission can be really enhanced, for example, by sharing your firm’s history, any particular specialisms, your future goals, the type of work you like to do and the type of work that you would turn away. These details allow me to take a more holistic view of your firm.
Getting your submission in early and in full order is vital. Work with your broker to ensure you have up-to-date claims
summaries. It is also very helpful to include a narrative around any open and closed claims — for example, what the allegation was and what lessons were learned. The fact that you may have experienced a claim is not necessarily an issue — at HDI, we recognise that there is often a story behind every claim, and we are open-minded and willing to listen.
What are the key concerns for Insurers currently?
Whilst the frequency of claims appears stable, the severity of claims has notably increased in recent years. Contributing factors include rising asset values, more complex transactions and defence cost inflation. Worryingly, the market has begun to see more claims exceeding the compulsory primary limit. Firms should have heightened risk management measures in place when taking on matters of high value, or when acting for clients of considerable net worth.
Conveyancing remains the main source of claims, both in frequency and overall cost. Conveyancing firms continue to be prime targets for property fraud. Being aware of key red flags and undertaking rigorous due diligence is vital to protect your firm from such claims.
Additionally, there has been a notable rise in claims from wills, trust and probate work. The drivers for this are a combination of more complex family structures, increases in overall estate values and the challenges that can arise with people living longer. Our advice is that this would be a good time to conduct a review of policies and procedures and implement targeted refresher training for staff.
Beyond this, insurers will be taking into account the economic environment, technological development and other similar contextual factors as drivers for claims, such as the impact of AI, and the continued cyber threat we all face. Sharing your firm’s policies and risk management
strategy for these areas helps provide insurers with reassurance that your firm is well equipped to navigate such challenges.
Why choose HDI as your insurer?
In the past, we have seen volatility created by insurers entering and exiting the solicitors’ professional indemnity market. At HDI, we have the experience, strength and stability to support you now and into the future. Our recent credit rating upgrade by international rating agency S&P Global Ratings to AA- (Very Strong) is a testament to our financial resilience, enabling us to be your trusted insurance partner.
We look to provide law firms with a highquality, long-term solution. That’s why many of the practices we cover have been with us for the 15+ years as we have been a primary insurer for law firms. We use our specialist experience to ensure that we are the experts for your needs today – and help prepare you for what might happen tomorrow.
If you are a firm with a turnover of under £20 million and would like to obtain a quotation from HDI, please contact Lockton Insurance Brokers.
By Sarah White, Underwriting Manager, HDI Global SE.
Williams-Henry v Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd [2024]
- EWHC 806 (KB)
Summary
A claimant who sustained a moderately severe brain injury when she fell off a pier was found by the judge to have been been fundamentally dishonest. The judge found that one expert came close to being an advocate for the claimant, while the evidence of other experts was unhelpful because it relied on the claimant’s self report.
Learning points:
• A treating clinician called to give expert factual evidence has the same obligation to evaluate the evidence objectively as an expert instructed to give independent evidence.
• A treating clinician called to give expert factual evidence should not come to court without an objective, critical, detailed, proper or balanced clinical understanding of the case.
• A treating clinician called to give expert factual evidence must adequately research the case and read all relevant clinical records.
• It is necessary to carry out a capacity assessment before signing a report as to a patient’s litigation capacity.
• Self report information, given to an expert by a claimant, has to be cross referenced with medical notes and other evidence such as videos, social media communications, and employment records. Contradictions
in medical notes, videos, social media communications, employment records, etc, must be considered objectively.
• If you come up with a new diagnosis off the cuff long after the joint reports during re-examination, do not be surprised if the judge rejects it.
• A summary of extensive treatment needs to be accurate.
• Be prepared for a question as to how many sets of instructions you have received from your instructing solicitors.
• Beware basing a complicated theory on a facile test.
• Evidence peppered with dissemination and long-winded explanations may not carry much weight. Being happy to pass comment on matters which support the Claimant’s claim but not to balance that with objectivity will suggest partisanship.
The case
The claimant sustained a moderately severe brain injury when she fell off a pier. The main issue at trial was whether the claimant had been fundamentally dishonest. The second issue was the correct assessment of the quantum of the claim.
Expert evidence
There was expert evidence from neurology, neuroradiology, orthopaedics,
neuropsychology, pain, ENT, physiotherapy and care.
There was expert factual evidence from a psychologist who provided private neurorehabilitation to the claimant. Under cross examination she accepted she had carried out no neutral evaluation of all of the evidence. She only had a partial picture. When the fact that the claimant had failed the effort tests with one of the independent neuropsychologists was put to her, she asserted it was a misconception to consider that a failure of effort tests could be equated with malingering. In January 2024 she had declared that the Claimant lacked capacity but accepted that she did not carry out validity testing before she did so. She accepted that one of the independent experts queried the reliability of the information that she had relied upon in coming to that conclusion. She accepted she took the Claimant and her mother at face value. She denied that she did not have the information necessary to overturn the presumption of capacity in early 2024.
Whilst the judge accepted that the psychologist was well motivated, he did not consider that she adequately researched or read the Claimant’s rehab notes. Nor did she exercise sufficient objective insight into the likely mental health effects of her recommendation that the Claimant should
take a sabbatical. Even by the time of trial she did not appear to understand how that recommendation had led to the tailspin of suicidal ideations and depression because of the Claimant’s loss of self-esteem because she was no longer in work. The judge considered that she did not gain a full or accurate picture relating to the Claimant’s NHS rehabilitation. The judge found that she and the case manager appeared to have accepted everything the Claimant and her mother told them at face value without having an objective, critical, detailed, proper or balanced clinical understanding of the Claimant’s 4 years of progress since the accident and the NHS therapy she had already received, which kept her in work and socially active.
The Claimant’s treating psychiatrist sought to explain why he jointly signed the lack of litigation capacity report provided by the treating psychologist in January 2024, despite having carried out no assessment of the Claimant himself. The judge found his answers
in this issue unimpressive. The psychologist had not carried out a cognitive assessment and he had carried out no assessment at all. The judge did not consider that he should have countersigned the report.
Having heard both independent neurologists give evidence the judge found Dr Humphrey to be thoughtful and thorough (despite not being given some documents which should have been given to him earlier). Cross examination did not undermine him. The judge accepted his opinions and preferred them to Dr X who, in his judgment, was too accepting of the self report information given to him by the Claimant, failed adequately to cross reference it with contradictory medical notes, and later failed to tackle the videos, the social media, her employment annual reviews and failed to consider the contradictions therein with sufficient objectivity. The judge took into account that Dr X’s first examination of the Claimant was carried out by video despite lockdown having ended. He found
it difficult to comment on the assertions of benign positional paroxysmal vertigo. He overlooked the December 2017 note of her pre-accident spinal pain. He accepted in cross examination that there was no neurological reason why the Claimant could not live alone. At most he supported mild, nuisance level left sided weakness due to the traumatic brain injury. He accepted that the Claimant had no significant physical neurological issues. In re-examination he came up with a new explanation for her presentations: functional neurological disorder. This means no more than subconscious exaggeration and the judge rejected that opinion produced off the cuff long after the joint reports.
Turning to the report of the claimant’s neuropsychologist, the judge noted that she asserted she had worked as a clinical neuropsychologist in the NHS since 2005 and “covered” the position of consultant clinical neuropsychologist for the last six years of NHS employment. Looking at her
CV she qualified outside the UK, finished the UK statement of equivalence programme in 2007, did a diploma in clinical neuropsychology in Glasgow finishing in 2010 and completed a qualification for the British Psychological Society in 2011. She completed a doctorate in clinical psychology carrying out research on symptom validity at the University of Essex in 2014. She set up her expert witness business in 2009 and from that time forwards she provided medico-legal reports. She asserted in her CV that 60% of her work was for claimants but accepted in cross examination that the true figure was 80 to 90%. Looking at the papers she published from 2014 to 2021, many focused on malingering, functional disorders, validity testing, credibility, chronic pain, causation in medical reports, borderline capacity and the like. She asserted that she practised in the NHS currently but the CV showed posts at six different NHS establishments between 2005 and 2017 and no NHS practice thereafter. In evidence she accepted that her practice was substantially medico-legal alongside some private neuropsychology treatment. She formulated
the opinion that the Claimant suffered a moderately severe TBI and had some NHS treatment which then stopped, due to work. This was not an accurate summary of the extensive treatment given. The judge carefully listened to her verbal evidence. It was peppered with dissemination and longwinded explanations. In cross examination she agreed that she set up her medicolegal consultancy before she completed her qualifications. She stopped NHS work in 2017. She turned out 3-4 medico-legal reports per month and asserted she did so within 2 weeks of being instructed. She could not recall how many sets of instructions she received per annum from the Claimant’s large personal injury solicitors’ firm. The judge found her evasive in that answer. She accepted that she was surprised when she learned about the Claimant engaging in Surfability but she did not change her opinion. She disseminated as to why she did not feel the videos and social media undermined her opinion. When pressed by careful and professional cross examination she accepted she was surprised by some of the matters shown on the social media disclosure.
Finally, she accepted that it appeared that the Claimant had given her a worse account of her symptoms than the reality but watching the process of getting her to admit that was like watching counsel pushing a boulder up a steep hill. She could not explain why she did not raise the DWP exaggerations (which the judge found were lies) in her final opinion or report. She could not explain why she had not cross referenced the workplace reviews with her opinion. She maintained, despite her substantial publications on symptom validity testing, that the Claimant’s failure to pass validity testing on her testing was not likely to be malingering. The judge did not find her explanation of her opinions to be persuasive on this issue. She avoided many of counsel’s questions with dissemination. When challenged on the Claimant’s own self-assessment that she had “smashed” her previous lack of diplomacy, she said it was “difficult for me to comment” whether this showed insight by the Claimant into her TBI symptoms. The judge did not see why it was difficult. She was happy to pass comment on matters which supported the Claimant’s claim
but not to balance that with objectivity. The judge was unimpressed with her opinion in her first report that the Claimant needed lifelong case management and 42 hours per week of care. Her answers in cross examination were equally unimpressive. When challenged on that opinion she accepted that she had just accepted everything which the Claimant had told her.
Turning to the pain experts, Doctor D advised that any leg pain was caused by her degenerate disc not the accident (not his field). As to the pelvis, he accepted that it was likely that there was some pain still caused by the fall (not supported by the experts in orthopaedics). As to the right hip Dr M considered there was some pain due to band snapping or trochanteric bursitis, but Dr D deferred to the consultant orthopaedic surgeons who did not so find. The judge rejected Dr M’s opinion on the orthopaedic aspects of this case. He should have deferred. In his verbal evidence the judge found Dr M’s formulation to be unhelpful and unrealistic. He was not prepared to separate out accident related factors from naturally occurring factors. He advised that the Claimant was straightforward and clear. The judge did not accept that opinion. When challenged in cross examination on the agreed evidence from the orthopaedic experts he said he did not go behind that. Yet in his report he had accepted her continuing complaints of pain. He just said: that is what she was feeling. He used an odd diagnostic phrase: he said the pain came from maladaptive excitability of the ankle soft tissues caused by post trauma changes in the soft tissues. He said that there were soft tissue abnormalities when he examined her. When cross
examined on exactly what he did by way of examination he admitted he simply put his hand on the ankle and she said it was painful so he withdrew his hand. How that facile test could lead to his complicated theory, the judge did not know. The judge gained the impression that Dr M was a mere supporter of the Claimant’s complaints not an independent and objective expert assisting the Court on what was caused by the accident and what was not.
The judge observed that if he thought other expert’s reports were long, they were overshadowed by the huge, 221 page report provided by Dr D. He said that it would be more helpful to Courts if a paginated core bundle of medical notes was provided and the expert merely referred to the bundle page number. Where the pain experts were not in agreement, he generally preferred the evidence of Dr D. His approach to each injury was more logical and he carefully read into the notes and filleted out the matters relevant to the accident. However, because the pain experts’ opinions were based on the Claimant’s self-report, he considered that neither could assist him much with the diagnosis or the prognosis or causation.
The judge rejected the evidence of the claimant’s neuropsychologist whom he considered became close to being and advocate for the Claimant.
Keith Rix EWI
Well, are they? And do they understand business accounts? Some are, and some do – in fact, some are quite brilliant mathematicians - but there are many who don’t, and I will share with you a few examples.
First, we have lawyers who have confidence in the accounts filed at Companies House, and when a valuation is needed, in divorce for example, they take a printout of the micro accounts from Companies House, send them to me, and expect me to be able to value the company. This happened so frequently that I felt obliged to write a blog about it, which I called “Companies House Searches Are USELESS”. The blog is here: https:// chrismakin.co.uk/companies-house-searches-are-useless/. And I append a note: “This blog is retained on page one for its enduring relevance.” So next time a junior lawyer in the family department sends me such accounts, I have my explanations ready.
Then I turn to Kemp & Kemp The Quantum of Damages, the “bible” for personal injury practitioners. This was a lifetime work for David Kemp QC who, touchingly, included the second Kemp in the title. This was his wife, a very promising young barrister who died tragically young. I wrote for David a chapter on how to quantify loss of earnings for the self-employed and family company director, and David was really pleased with it. It was in print for many years, but then David died and the publishers Sweet & Maxwell appointed a new editorial board, who re-wrote all of volume 1 so that my work was lost. I wrote to them and said how important it was for users of the work to understand business accounts, for example a barrister who was cross-examining an accountant expert witness.
The reply I got was that accountants understand accounts, and if interpretation was needed they could always instruct an accountant. I found that unconvincing. And my chapter is still available to you if you drop me a line. It’s in very simple language, but there is lots to learn.
Third, I turn to crime, and particularly to drug dealing. As readers will know, those convicted of drug dealing (and some other serious offences) are at risk of having their assets seized by the Crown under the Proceeds of Crime Act. It is said that doing jail time is just the price one pays for profiting from drugs, but that losing one’s wealth really hurts these people.
Perhaps so, but the court has to decide on a fair figure, both for the benefit of the crime and the available amount for confiscation.
I have just finished a case where the convict pleaded guilty to drug dealing in a minor way, and is now serving time, but his main activity was running a motor repair business and MOT testing station. The prosecution’s expert went through his bank accounts, totalled up some £353,000 going through the bank, and concluded both that this was all benefit from drug dealing (it wasn’t; there was even ample evidence of vehicles bought and sold) and that this same sum was the amount available for seizure.
That was even more unrealistic; how could money which had come into the business and gone out again still be sitting in a bank waiting for the authorities to collect it? Naïve!
My expert report showed that there was £6,336.36 sitting in bank accounts, so that was the available amount. A few days before trial, the prosecution agreed that the available amount was £6,336 – and thirty-six pennies. What a waste of time.
If you are still reading, that’s good because we now come to the most interesting bit.
Some months ago, I was expert in a criminal trial at Swansea Crown Court.
Andrew Ling had been accused of stealing some £165,000 from his own company. After 11 years in the army doing bomb disposal, Andy had set up a business producing a very advanced form of battery; he had even sold 3,000 units to Sainsbury’s for their home delivery vehicles.
He fell in with some business angels, who borrowed £700,000 from the Welsh Development Bank, and they regularised the management of the company. Andy admits that his record-keeping was poor. The other directors – the angels – accused him of fiddling his expenses and taking money from the company without authority, he was investigated, and he was sacked for gross misconduct.
After he left, the others didn’t have his technical knowledge and the business failed.
Andy was charged with theft, and spent five years on remand.
As the trial came up, the prosecution’s expert was an AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) a very low-scale qualification for those working in the back room of accountants’ offices. She added up all the amounts withdrawn but ignored all the amounts paid in: introduced from private funds, expenses not claimed, and so on. All of this was recorded in the director’s loan account.
At the end of the fourth day of the trial in Swansea, I gave evidence and had to explain how a director’s loan account works. And I gained the distinct impression that no-one else in that courtroom – judge, both counsel, the jury – had any idea. I was the last witness. The jury retired, and emerged a few minutes later with a verdict of Not Guilty. Andy’s five years of purgatory was over.
There was a long article about this recently in The Times Business Section. I am mentioned only once, as follows:
An expert witness commissioned by the defence helped convince the jury of his innocence, Ling believes. Chris Makin, a forensic accountant, supported Ling’s claims that he had only withdrawn money owed to him. On one calculation, far from stealing from the business, he was in fact still owed £20,000. “Chris was the first person in five years who believed me,” Ling says.
This is what makes my job so rewarding, but what a pity the lawyers working on the case didn’t know about directors’ loan accounts years ago!
Biog: Chris Makin has practised as a forensic accountant and expert witness for 30 years, latterly as Head of Litigation Support at a national firm. He has given expert evidence about 100 times. He also performs expert determinations.
Chris is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants where he has served on the Forensic Committee, and as an ethical counsellor; he is a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, a fellow of the Academy of Experts where he serves on the Investigations Committee, and a mediator accredited by the Chartered Arbitrators. He practises as a mediator, from his home in West Yorkshire and his rooms at 3 Gray’s Inn Square, London WC1R 5AH, telephone 020 7430 0333. He has mediated 100+ cases so far, on a huge range of subjects, with a settlement rate to date of 80%. For more see his website with videos:
www.chrismakin.co.uk
chris@chrismakin.co.uk
A fundamentally dishonest claimant
Summary
This case concerns a fundamentally dishonest claimant. The judge held that the experts in the case were reliant on selfreporting by the claimant, who the judge found to be wholly unreliable, as to the extent to which the alleged injuries suffered had impacted her life
Learning points
Learning points for experts:
• The medical and psychological experts in a personal injury case will often need to rely largely on the self-report of the claimant,
• If an expert’s report is built on a false factual basis (e.g. the client is found to be wholly unreliable), the expert evidence can be rejected
• Consequently, the credibility of the injured person is of central importance.
Learning points for instructing parties:
• The rule determined by the Supreme Court on uncontroverted evidence in Tui v Griffiths does not apply in certain circumstances. Seven circumstances are cited in the judgment including where the report is founded on a false basis.
The case
The claimant was seeking damages for soft tissue and psychological injuries she claimed to have suffered while a passenger in 3 separate car accidents between 2015 and 2016. She also claimed to have suffered tinnitus as a result of the second and third accidents.
Expert evidence in general
The judge noted that these types of soft tissue and psychological injuries are rarely susceptible to objective proof, and that a medical expert must instead rely almost exclusively on examination and the history provided by the apparently injured party. As Mr Justice Martin Spenser had noted in Molodi v CVMS [2018] EWHC 1288 (QB) if the history is not materially accurate, then the medical opinion expressed must be unreliable.
Key to any history is the impact of the injury on the person’s life, with an injury that prevents or limits pursuit of a loved pastime likely to be seen as more serious that one that does not. Therefore, the judge noted, the credibility of the apparently injured person is of central importance. The judge noted that the factors
referred to by Mr Justice Spenser in Molodi as likely to be present in a genuine claim, concern credibility, including: seeking medical assistance and acting in accordance with medical advice.
The expert evidence in the case
The claimant instructed Mr Farhan, who dealt with shoulder and back issues, and Dr Whittington, who dealt with the psychological injury. She also saw experts in tinnitus and rheumatology, and a pain consultant.
Mr Farham found some generalised restriction of the claimant’s cervical spine and, based on the claimant’s accounts of the psychological impact, referred to her a psychologist after concluding that the psychological reactions to the accident overshadowed her physical injuries.
Dr Whittington diagnosed mixed anxiety and depressive disorder (‘MADD’), body dysmorphic disorder (‘BDD) and bulimia, attributing them to the accident. He relied on the claimant’s account that before the accident she had “attended the gym 6 times per week, twice daily and regularly competed in fitness events” but after the accident “she was unable to exercise”.
The experts did not provide oral evidence.
The claimant’s evidence
The claimant had held a number of roles in legal firms. In cross-examination, the claimant accepted that in her Linkedin profile and CV she held herself out to be far more qualified than she actually was, leading her, the judge determined, to pre-emptively resign from a role ahead of a disciplinary meeting about her qualifications.
The judge determined that the claimant was “a wholly unreliable witness who gave evidence without any regard for the truth guided only by what she perceived to be her own interests. She made things up when asked difficult questions and on occasion gave patently false answers.”
Documentary evidence
The court considered documentary evidence on the number of times the claimant accessed the gym after the accidents and Facebook posts showing that she had competed in several strenuous runs and hikes in 2017 and 2018, which were inconsistent with the selfreporting of the impact of her life.
Findings of fact
The judge made several findings of fact including:
• The Claimant deliberately lied about her academic achievements on her CV and Linkedin profile.
• She deliberately lied about her professional status.
• She made up a story about being effectively blackmailed by a witness in the case who she maintained had threatened to share an intimate video of the 2 of them with the Claimant’s long-term boyfriend.
• She deliberately failed to give Dr Whittington the full story of her recovery from any injury sustained in the accidents by failing to mention the fact that she had completed an ascent of Ben Nevis and the Yorkshire 3 Peaks.
• The claimant is a generally dishonest person.
Tui v Griffiths
Counsel for the claimant submitted that the defendant’s had to “undermine the factual substratum of the claimant’s uncontroverted evidence” and that the points ought to have been raised in questions to experts.
The Supreme Court held in Tui v Griffiths [2023] UKSC 48 that generally, if a conclusion expressed in an expert report was to be challenged , the expert should be given an opportunity to respond to the challenge. However, this rule would not apply in certain circumstances including where the report is founded on a false basis.
The judge found that he was entitled to reject the expert evidence in this case because it was built on a false factual basis, i.e. the claimant’s untrue history.
Findings in respect of injuries suffered
The judge dismissed all parts of each claim, rejecting the claimants account of the injuries in its entirety as the entire case was based on her credibility.
Sean Mosby EWI
Link to the Judgment
https://www.civillitigationbrief.com/ wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ scullyjudgment_914295.pdf
Email:
The Solicitors’ Charity gears up for the biggest ever London Legal Walk!
The Solicitors’ Charity is excited to announce that it will be taking part in the 21st London Legal Walk on Tuesday 17th June 2025 – and the London Legal Support Trust is expecting it to be the biggest and best one yet!
The team at The Solicitors’ Charity is calling on solicitors from all corners of the profession to lace up their walking shoes and join them to walk, jog, or run 10 km in support of the London Legal Support Trust, which helps to fund free legal advice charities across London and the South East.
By joining forces with The Solicitors’ Charity team, whether that be taking part in the walk or cheering from the sidelines, those that participate will be helping to raise awareness about the vital support that the charity offers to solicitors when they need it most.
And that’s not all – The Solicitors’ Charity is also bringing back the much-loved ‘Spin the Wheel’ game at its stand, with plenty of chances to win some fantastic prizes! All members of the legal community, as well as their friends and family, are encouraged to pop by, say hello, and take a spin for a chance to win.
After the walk, the celebrations continue. The post-walk street party promises an evening of fun with delicious street food, entertainment, a complimentary drink, and a buzzing atmosphere that brings the legal community together.
Nick Gallagher, CEO of The Solicitors’ Charity, said: “We’re thrilled to
be supporting the London Legal Walk once again, especially as it marks its 21st year. It’s always a highlight in our calendar – and with more wellbeing support services available for solicitors than ever before, we’re looking forward to sharing how The Solicitors’ Charity can help.
“We’re proud to stand alongside so many others walking for justice and helping to make a real impact”.
Find out how to support The Solicitors’ Charity here: https:// thesolicitorscharity.org/support-our-work/
The Solicitors’ Charity provides fun and support for the London Legal Walk
