Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette issue 44

issue 44 Autumn 2019

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Miller -v- The Prime Minister: A Case Decided on its own Special Facts?

See page 18

Also this issue: • Asian Legal Awards 2019 - Shaping our future Lawyers • ParentAssess • The So-Called “Care-Home or Asset-Protection Trust” • LawCare and much more...

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Contents

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Contents issue 44 Autumn 2019

4

Council Members for 2018

9

5

From the President

6 6

Able Community Care

24

EWI Conference Report

10 LawCare

28

DNA & the Transgender Community

2019 Asian Legal Awards

12 DictateNow

30

Misunderstanding Wills and it‘s effect

Expert Assessment in

15

on Families and Charities

Care Proceedings

16 ParentAssess

32

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance

7

Shaping our Future Lawyers

18

Miller vs Prime Minister

33

Xpress service for legal professionals

8

“Care-Home or Asset-Protection Trust”

20

Herts Law Clinic Launch

34

Fridays at Quill

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Published: Autumn 2019 Legal Notice © East Park Communications Ltd. None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written

permission from the publishers. East Park Communications Ltd would like to point out that all editorial comment and articles are the responsibility of the originators and may or may not reflect the opinions of East Park Communications Ltd. Correct at time of going to press.

DISCLAIMER: the views expressed by the writers in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Hertfordshire Law Society

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

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Council Listings

Council Members 2019 President Judith Gower Hertfordshire County Council (Hertford) Local Government

Members

Jessica Moseley Debenhams Ottaway, Private Client Solicitor

Vice President Neil Johnson HRJ Foreman Laws (Hitchin) Civil Litigation

Nicholas Belcher Nockolds Solicitors Limited (Bishop's Stortford) Agricultural and Liquor & Gaming Licensing

Hon Secretary and Treasurer Claire Sharp Debenhams Ottaway (St Albans) Private Client

Marilyn Bell SA Law (St Albans) Family

Immediate Past President Attia Hussain Crane & Staples (Welwyn Garden City) Family

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David Bird Crane & Staples (Welwyn Garden City) Private Client & Trusts

(From January 2019 until 31 December 2020)

Penny Carey University of Hertfordshire (Hatfield) Academic

Gary Smith Nockolds Solicitors Limited (Bishop's Stortford) Employment

The Law Society Relationship Manager – East

Jeremy Chandler-Smith JCS Solicitors (Codicote) Sole Practitioner

Amanda Thurston Curwens (Hoddesdon) Family

National Council Member

Paul Davies Hamilton Davies (Stevenage) Employment, Family and Litigation

Parliamentary Liaison Officer

Steven Hamilton Taylor Walton LLP (Harpenden) Private Client

Jack Dunkley

Judith Gower

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Editorial

From the President...

I have had a very busy summer, both on your behalf and personally.

Not long after the President and Secretaries Conference, which was very interesting with a lot of food for thought, I went to the inauguration of Simon Davis as President of the Law Society. There I met Paul Philip who is the Chief Executive of the SRA. He is a Hertfordshire resident and I have invited him to speak about all the changes that will be coming in November. You should have received your invitation to attend. The event is being held at County Hall Hertford and is being held in conjunction with the County Council and the Public Law Partnership. This is your opportunity to talk to the CEO of the SRA. On the 19th and 20th September I attended the Local Law Societies annual conference. The first evening at the drinks reception on board HMS Warrior the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth attended (left).

The second day was the main business day. Points that I wish to let you know about are changes to the way the regulation of the profession coming in November (so do try to attend on 29 October); the changes to the Law Society Council, which will mean that we will fall into a north Home Counties region stretching from Southend to Slough; and IR35 changes coming in April 2020. The latter relates to off payroll staff and personal services companies. I have responded with my views about the changes to the Law Society Council as has you Law Society Council member.

At the dinner in the evening the speaker was Simon Weston the Falklands war veteran and I was lucky enough to be able to talk to him. His view on life was that if he hadn’t been so badly injured he would not have had all the opportunities he has had nor met all the people he has. Truly a man who always looks on the bright side of life.

I realise that you are probably all fed up with Brexit but the Law Society have produced guidance for a no deal Brexit https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/brexit-andthe-legal-sector/ along with other guides.

If you feel that you can help your local law society please do get in touch with me judith.gower@hertfordshire.gov.uk Judith Gower President Hertfordshire Law Society Twitter @judith_gower Linkedin Judith Gower Instagram @judithgower

Mewsings from the President’s Cat I hope that you all had a great summer. I had a very mixed one as it went from having too many people in the house to being on my own whilst my parents went on holiday.

Although I do get spoilt when they away.

Their younger daughter got married at the end of July and there were too many people in the house taking up my space.

I kept getting told off when I got near all the pretty dresses to have a close look as they thought I might get my claws in the delicate dresses. I got my own back by jumping on my mother’s jacket when she put it down on the bed – luckily (or unluckily) I didn’t do any damage!

Not only did they go away for the bank holiday weekend but they went away again for a whole 2 weeks. I did bring them the odd mouse or 2 as a present when they got back, they didn’t bring me anything. Mother was only back for a few days when she went off gallivanting again down to Portsmouth – work she called it on your behalf. I don’t think so when she said how much prosecco she drank! She did have the presidential chain with her which I had a good look at– I can find her name but not mine. It doesn’t fit me – it’s too big. I wonder if it can be altered or if there could be a President’s cat’s chain?

I was very pleased to be able to attend the 25th Annual Asian Legal Awards on Saturday 28th September 2019 at Royal Lancaster Hotel to support two of our members, the immediate Past President Tia Hussain and Manish Patel, both from Crane and Staples were shortlisted for awards.

I would like it if someone could explain Brexit to me, they keep shouting at the television or the newspaper and I have no idea what it is. Anything that stops them going on holiday is good to me. Maybe they’re talking about Breakfast? So long as my supply of cat food is not stopped I don’t really care. A cat’s life is a lot easier than theirs.

Our AGM will be held on Tuesday 19th November 2019 at 6pm at the University. Please do attend and get involved.

You can follow me on Instagram and I might even follow you! @princessgigi2019 #catsofinstagram

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

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Editorial Articles

2019 Asian Legal Awards I

n August, we were delighted to find out that two members of HLS had been shortlisted for the prestigious Asian Legal Awards. The Asian Legal Awards is ‘the only awards ceremony dedicated to and renowned for promoting and celebrating the achievements of Asian lawyers in the legal profession’ (www.asianlegalawards.co.uk).

Immediate Past President of HLS, Attia Hussain, from Crane & Staples, is nominated in the special ‘Women in Law, 100 years Award’ category. This award celebrates the centenary of the Sex Disqualification Act (1919), by recognising the achievements of a female legal professional who has worked to support BAME women in their legal careers.

HLS members will remember how Attia’s presidency focused on diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Reflecting on her nomination, Attia said she felt “incredibly humbled and proud to have been shortlisted in a category of such inspirational women.”

Manish Patel, also from Crane & Staples, has made the final three in the ‘Company and Commercial Lawyer ’ category. Manish is a popular and experienced Property solicitor with a loyal client base. He is also respected for his enthusiastic approach to mentoring junior lawyers. On finding out he made the shortlist, Manish said “I am so pleased to have made the final three. I couldn't have got where I am without the amazing support of my colleagues, introducers, clients and family. Thank you all!”

The Asian Legal Awards is a national event, with solicitors from the country attending to celebrate the Asian legal community.

It is a huge achievement that two HLS

members are nominated this year, and we are hopeful that more HLS members will submit nominations in the future, so we can represent our society on the national stage.

To mark this success for HLS members, we are pleased that President Judith Gower will be joining Attia and Manish at the event.

The Asian Legal Awards take place on Saturday 28th September at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. This means that when this issue is published, we will already know the winners.

Good luck to Attia, Manish and all the nominees!

Expert assessments in care proceedings T

he introduction of the Public Law Outline reduced the use of experts such as psychiatrists, psychologists and residential assessment centres in family proceedings.

families with a learning difficulty/disability. In Hertfordshire, the County Council undertakes assessments, on occasion, which may not strictly apply PAMS but use elements of PAMS. This is because professionals in social work recognise that a strict adherence to the PAMS framework perhaps does not work with all families.

The Court must now be persuaded that any expert assessment is necessary to help the court make a final determination.

The Luton and Bedfordshire Family Courts have more recently been trialing a new form of assessment for parents/families with a learning difficulty/disability which is considered less complicated and more family-friendly to use than PAMS.

The focus of this article is to consider the options for parenting assessments of those with learning needs. Most practitioners will be familiar with ‘PAMS’ (the ‘Parent Assessment Manual’). This is a guide used by social services to work with and assess parents and families when there are child protection concerns. A social worker might undertake the assessment or they may ask a qualified professional (e.g. Independent Social Worker) to carry out the assessment.

The Parent Assessment Manual when they are working with

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I am pleased to introduce an article by Ms Lowe of ParentAssess, who explains the new framework and the benefits for parents and families.

Attia Hussain Children Law specialist Solicitor-Advocate (Civil) Crane & Staples LLP

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Articles

Shaping our future lawyers F

or the past few years, I have had the honour and privilege of supervising trainee solicitors whilst they are in their Property seat. What initially began as quite a daunting task has now become one of the most rewarding aspects of my job and professional life and in this article, I will explain why working with trainee solicitors is so important to me.

Firstly, we all know how difficult and arduous of a task it is to secure a training contract. Then, once you have one, you suddenly realise that legal practice and vocational training is at polar ends to learning the law in a lecture theatre or class room. Finally, once you are just getting to grips with almost being a lawyer, there is the uncertainty of whether you will be offered a position at the end of your training.

Some 13 years later, I still vividly remember these sentiments. My training contract, whilst being absolutely brilliant in terms of legal practice and broad exposure, was also a massive learning curve as to ‘how not to do things’, and ‘how not to treat trainees’. To this day, I will never forget that feeling of inferiority. So, when I qualified, I vowed that if I was ever given the privilege to train a trainee solicitor, or manage a team, I would do things very differently.

Property law, whether it be commercial or residential, is not glamorous. Leases, Official Copy Entries, plans, Asset Purchase Agreements, Rent Deposit Deeds and Easements are not exactly ‘edge of your seat’ legal aspects. We do not have cutting edge legal arguments. We do not prepare for litigation. We do not attend Court.

So, what better way to engage a trainee solicitor in the property department than to involve them in the heart of a transaction from the outset?

I believe in keeping the trainees interested in the work, interested in the client, and interested in the outcome. I do not just want a trainee making mundane chase-up calls or photocopying. From a very early stage, I will give the trainee real legal work to be undertaken on active cases, starting with the easier work and, as they prove themselves, then they get the juicer work! It is vital that from day one they are made to feel like lawyers!

they learn from every experience during their two years of training.

Many firms will have monthly or quarterly appraisals. Whilst I carry out monthly supervisions with my trainees, the open door policy means we are discussing files throughout the day. Effectively, every day is an appraisal. I have the added measure of regular ‘pop quizzes’ and research tasks. Many will be relevant, but some may be completely irrelevant and maybe even complete red herrings and they will all keep the trainee thinking!

Being a trainee solicitor is not an easy gig. It is stressful. You are suddenly in alien waters. I like to try and make it a little fun too.

It is incredibly important to enjoy your work and that includes getting on with your colleagues. A happy work environment will make for a more productive and more receptive trainee. With my terrible sense of humour, ‘dad’ jokes, and the ‘Santa’ suit, I ensure that the trainees are still laughing!

So, that is how I like to treat a trainee solicitor, but what do I expect in return?

Hard work, be a sponge, be proactive – not reactive, communicate, be honest and proud to be part of a team. I also encourage reverse appraisals – I like trainees to tell me how I am doing and what I can do better.

Finally, coming back to why training has become a rewarding aspect of my professional life: Mentorship!

Outside of Crane & Staples, I still act as a mentor for two previous trainees who are now successful lawyers. Being a supervisor is not just about training, but about continued support and mentorship.

That is how we shape our future lawyers!

Manish Patel Senior Associate Solicitor

I also recognise the importance of an open-door policy. From my own experience, it was frowned upon if I disturbed the Partner. I have even been at a firm where Associates and Senior Associates had to make appointments with the Partners. That is definitely not how I work, and not how Crane & Staples works. Trainees must have the confidence to approach senior staff for guidance and this is something we encourage from day one.

As a Senior Associate in the Property Department at Crane & Staples, I take the training aspect of my job very seriously. I will always support my trainees. My role is to guide and nurture them to ensure

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Editorial Articles

The So-Called “Care-Home or Asset-Protection Trust” – Dangers for Elderly Clients T

here are a number of firms many of which are unregulated that appear to offer elderly persons a way to avoid having to pay care home fees where the local authority appropriates their home to pay for such fees. In some instances, the method suggested costs many thousands of pounds and carries substantial risks.

If the individual’s assets are more than the threshold of £23,250 the local authority can, if he lives alone, appropriate his home to pay for care home fees should it become necessary for him to go into care. Many older people will clearly come into this category as their mortgages will likely have been paid off and they will be receiving a private and state pension. Care home fees can be extremely high averaging around £1000 per week which will quickly “eat into” their assets. Consequently, many elderly people are concerned they will not have assets to gift to their descendants when they die as all or most will have gone to pay for care home fees.

So, what “solution” are these firms mentioned in the first paragraph offering?

Basically, it is for the elderly person to divest themselves either wholly or in part of their beneficial interest in their home.

They transfer all or half the property for example to their children either absolutely or in most cases on trust leaving themselves with a life interest allowing them to stay in the home for life. As they no longer have beneficial ownership of the house or part of the house, this theoretically cannot be taken into account by the local authority for care home fees. This sounds good on its face but there are very serious dangers.

Firstly, relevant legislation (Care Act 2014 and subsequent secondary legislation) allows a court to declare this arrangement null and void if it amounts to a “deliberate deprivation of assets”. If the arrangement was clearly to avoid care home fees then

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the court can set the trust aside and the house can then be sold to pay the fees.

Even worse is possible criminal charges against the elderly person for fraud.

has to be transferred to trustees of the trust or to the children outright the change of legal title means that stamp duty land tax becomes payable as well as land registry fees.

Secondly, if all or part of the house is transferred outright to the children and any of the children go bankrupt or undergo divorce proceedings, as they have a present beneficial interest, the house might be claimed by creditors or ordered to be sold by the court in the divorce proceedings effectively leaving the elderly occupant homeless.

A Solution

Thirdly in terms of inheritance tax the fact that the elderly person occupies the house makes the purported trust or transfer a “gift in reservation of benefit”. On his death the revenue will still treat the house as belonging to the elderly person’s estate as they still benefitted from the trust by living there.

Fourthly, if the house is sold whilst the elderly person is still alive, they have lost their main residence capital gains tax exemption either for the entire house if the whole house was gifted or that part of the house that was gifted.

Fifth, if the elderly person wished to raise capital by means of a mortgage on the house many lenders are reluctant to lend where part of the house is held on trust due to difficulties of enforcing the mortgage against the property should there be a default in payments.

A sixth problem is that under the law the revenue can make an income tax charge (known as a pre-owned asset charge) against the elderly person based on what a tenant paying a market value rent would have paid to rent the whole or part of the house given to the trust.

A seventh problem is that as the legal title to the house or that part of the house gifted

It is important to note that the local authority can only take the person’s home if no-one else is living there. So, if for example both husband and wife are alive and live in the home and the husband has to go into care the home cannot be assessed towards care home fees.

If both parties are still alive then a possible way to save half of the house from care home fees is as follows. The parties sever the joint tenancy of the property turning it in equity into a tenancy in common – usually by means of a declaration of trust.

Each party then makes a will leaving their half share of the house to the other on a life interest only and thereafter to the children.

As it is a trust by will there is no question of it being a deliberate deprivation of assets for care home purposes as the person has died. There is no inheritance tax as transfers between spouses (including an immediate life interest) are exempt. There is no problem with capital gains tax as beneficiaries are deemed to acquire the asset at probate value not at the value that the testator originally received it; so there is no chargeable gain. Should the survivor later have to go into care the local authority can only assess the half they hold absolutely for care home fees. The part held on a life interest is exempt from assessment. So, this mechanism protects half of the house from care home fees and is regarded as generally free of risk.

Simon Barnett Barrister Senior Lecturer Hertfordshire University

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

How Do You Find Out About Care Services for Older People?

Articles

Able Community Care

Older people, single, having no children, having children, it makes no difference. When a crisis occurs and knowledge about the care sector is needed, the amount of information that people of all ages have is sadly lacking. The result being that when an older member needs care support, the usual situation is that no one knows much about the people, single, anhaving no service.

Unlike trying to persuade people to give up smoking, to exercise, subject or the practicallder realities of accessing appropriate

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children, having children, it makes

to reduce weight, etc there are no public funded advertisements

Where and who do go to forWhen help and information?

Social Services both and in Social Carewhen and Health aretothe noyou difference. a crisis occurs and giving guidance direction it comes the natural aspects of link to information.

Many social workers are part time, many have large caseloads and with an increasing number of knowledge about the care sector is needed, care for older people. There are no comprehensive, roadmap older people needing care, more social workers are needed.

It is a fact that many people seeking information from the amount of information that people of leaflets in libraries, pharmacies, health centres or resource social services areall notages given comprehensive information. have is sadly lacking.

The result centres.

being that when an local older care member needs but are not usually a resource centre. The emergence of The local GP Surgery may offer some information care support, the usual situation isand that Carestaff must bemore paid for, who andtowho does not, what are the Hubs which contain a range of health professionals related are likely to pays be able offer help and no one knows much about are the not subject or the practical of eligibility criteria? do youorlook to find the appropriate guidance, but these nationwide service realities bases. Depending on where youWhere live, urban rural, will mean there accessing care needed?

A person care, what are their legal rights mayan orappropriate may not beservice. local voluntary organisations that can help and give out helpfulneeds information.

and who protects them? What questions should you ask a care to do theyou internet can provide a wealth ofSocial information. However, where look, to look forwhen is notvisiting WhereAccess and who go to for help and information? provider? knowing What should youtolook forwhat and ask about necessarily straightforward.

Some telephone helplines are good sources of information, but you have to know who might Services both in Social Care and Health are the natural link to a potential care home? What, if any, disability equipment they are and what the number is! information. Many social workers are part time, many have large be needed; what is available and how do I make contact to caseloads and with an increasing number of older people needing enquire?

The common phrase ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’ is particularly relevant when seeking practical solutions care, more social workers are needed. It is a fact that many people to a care situation. Why is this? seeking information from social services are not given comprehensive There have been in the past ‘One Stop Shops’ or similar which information. were to information points,etc butthere with are reducing funding in the sector, Unlike trying to persuade people to give up smoking, to exercise, reduce weight, no public funded usually had advertisements giving guidance and direction when it comesthese to the aspects ofshort care lives. for older people. There are no The local GP Surgery may offer some local care information but are comprehensive, roadmap leaflets in libraries, pharmacies, health centres or resource centres. not usually a resource centre. The emergence of Hubs which contain What is needed is for a Minister of Aging (akin to the Scottish Care must be paid for, who pays and who does not, what areMinister the eligibility criteria? Where do you look to find the a range of health professionals and related staff are more likely to be for Older People and Equalities) to be appointed with appropriate care needed?

A person needs care, what are their legal rights and who protects them? What questions able to offer help and guidance, but these are not nationwide service specific directions to tackle the problem of an increasing number should you ask a care provider?

What should you look for and ask about when visiting a potential care home? What, bases. Depending on where you live, urban or rural, will mean there of older people. Older people and families do have the ability if any, disability equipment might be needed; what is available and how do I make contact to enquire? may or may not be local voluntary organisations that can help and to arrange, procure, ask questions, make decisions about care give out helpful information. services but they do need thebut tools to enable them to do so.

There have been in the past ‘One Stop Shops’ or similar which were information points, with reducing funding in This should be a priority, would be cost effective and practical. the sector, these usually had short lives.

Access to the internet can provide a wealth of information.

What is needed is for a Minister Aging to the ScottishAble Minister for Older People Equalities) to be However, knowing where to look, what toof look for is(akin not necessarily Community Care offers and nationwide Live-in Care Services appointed with specific directions to tackle the problem of an increasing number of older people.

Older people straightforward. Some telephone helplines are good sources of and we can answer many of your questions about careand today. families do have the ability to arrange, procure, ask questions, make decisions about care services but they do need information, but you have to know who they are and what the theis!tools to enable them to do so. This should be a priority, would be cost effective and practical. number

764567 visit our website Able Community Care offers nationwide Live-in Care ServicesCall and us we on can 01603 answer many of yourorquestions about care

The common phrase ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’ is today. Call us on 01603 764567 or visit our website www.ablecommunitycare.com particularly relevant when seeking practical solutions to a care Angela Gifford.

MD of Able Community Care Ltd www.ablecommunitycare.com situation.

Why is this?

Live-in Care Because the choice to stay in your own home with your own front door is priceless. www.ablecommunitycare.com

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For a free brochure on any of our professional care services call us today on 01603 764567 info@ablecommunitycare.com

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Articles

Factsheet: Stress

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verwhelmed? Mind racing? Can’t sleep? Life in the law can be challenging and sometimes things can get on top of you. Talk to us – we’ve been there.

LawCare is an independent charity offering emotional support, information and training to the legal community in the UK and Ireland. We work to promote good mental health and wellbeing in legal workplaces and drive change in education, training and practice. We’ve been supporting legal professionals for over 20 years and no-one knows lawyers like we do.

Our free and confidential support service offers a safe place to talk without judgement. We’re here to help, with helpline calls, emails and webchats answered in confidence by trained staff and volunteers who have first-hand experience of working in the law.

We also have a network of peer supporters, people who work in the legal profession who may have been through difficult times themselves and can offer one-to-one support, friendship and mentoring to helpline callers referred to them.

We have visited hundreds of legal workplaces over the years and we have listened to thousands of legal professionals tell us about the stress, anxiety and depression they are experiencing, which is often caused or exacerbated by a difficult working environment.

Lack of support or supervision, an overly critical manager, being undermined after a career break, an unreasonably heavy workload, long hours and sleep deprivation are all very common issues.

Whether you’re a barrister feeling burnt out, a young trainee experiencing sexual harassment, a student struggling with the workload, support staff worrying about a mistake you’ve made, a senior lawyer feeling like you’re being pushed out - we’re here to listen.

We are here to help all branches of the legal profession: solicitors, barristers, barrister’s clerks, judges, legal executives, paralegals, trade mark attorneys, patent agents, costs lawyers and their staff and families.

For more information on what LawCare does, how we can support you in creating a mentally healthy workplace and for additional information, resources and factsheets visit www.lawcare.org.uk If you need emotional support call our helpline on 0800 279 6888. Our new webchat service is available Monday 9am-1pm, Wednesday 1-5.30pm, Friday 9am-1pm through the website www.lawcare.org.uk.

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We can all get stressed at times. We all react differently to pressure and not all stress is bad – it can be motivating.

However, serious and prolonged stress can be very upsetting and cause serious physical and mental health concerns Stress is by far the most common reason for calls to the LawCare helpline. Many working or studying in the legal sector have a driven, perfectionist personality that makes them more prone to stress. They often work long hours in pressurised situations, and believe they should always be in control. Feeling unable to cope with work can be particularly difficult.

“After talking through my worries with LawCare, the burden lifted. They sent me practical advice and offered the support of a LawCare peer supporter. Ann called the next day and I really felt she was there for me. I had the one-to-one support I craved and was able to talk to her about what I might do to resolve my problems.”

Symptoms of stress

SLEEP DEPRIVATION: This is a vicious circle: worries about work lead to lack of sleep and lack of sleep makes it dif cult to perform well at work.

PHYSICAL CHANGES: Headaches, skin complaints, frequent colds, aching muscles and digestive problems are often indicators of stress.

DRINKING AND SMOKING: Many lawyers turn to drinking and smoking to escape from the pressures of everyday life. However, alcohol is a depressant and smoking creates a new stress: the craving for a cigarette.

EATING: You may find yourself comfort eating or skipping meals.

MOOD SWINGS: You may become irritated and frustrated, get very angry one minute and feel fine the next. Other people may complain that you are short-tempered, selfish and difficult.

PANIC ATTACKS: These can happen suddenly, for no clear reason. You may feel sick, short of breath, shake, sweat and experience a sense of unreality, as if you’re detached from the world around you.

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Articles

Managing stress

It is important to take steps to control stress before it overwhelms you. There may be little you can do to change external pressures, but you can learn how to deal with them. it is better for your health and career to deal with the situation and change things than to struggle on. You are not alone – support is available.

Tips

Long, antisocial or in exible hours

• Try to be objective: ask yourself why you are letting things annoy you • Talk to someone you trust • Prioritise: don’t over commit; learn to say “no” or “I can’t do that until next week unless I drop something else” • Use your full holiday entitlement at work; or book time off from chambers, take a lunch break and short breaks during the day • Do one thing at a time; break complex tasks down into manageable chunks • Eat healthily, exercise, avoid alcohol and smoking • Panic attacks: try to keep calm, slow your breathing, wait for it to pass • Think through your options: should you change job within the legal profession or consider a different career entirely?

Lack of support or supervision

Crisis control

What’s causing your stress?

The rst stage in managing stress is to identify the source so that you can plan a strategy to tackle it. Common issues identi ed by our callers include: Job insecurity and lack of status Impossible targets Unsupportive colleague or having no friends at work

Overwhelming responsibilities or dif culties at home Stress diary

Keeping a stress diary over two or three weeks may help you to identify why you are stressed. When you feel that you’re not coping, write down how you’re feeling, including any physical symptoms. Note what you’re doing and have just been doing. You can then start looking for clues to your stress. As you work through the diary, you may realise that something that appeared insigni cant at the time could be a major stress trigger and you need to make changes.

Talk about it

Don’t stay silent. Legal professionals, in particular, may feel it’s a sign of weakness to admit they aren’t coping, but it’s better to address problems early, before they get out of control.

Talk informally to a trusted colleague or your supervisor if you feel they might be helpful. Refer to your diary notes of triggers for stress or aspects of work you are nding overwhelming. Many callers nd it dif cult to tell their employers or chambers that they are stressed, fearing they will be unsympathetic. But when the stress escalates and perhaps becomes a problem, many partners, colleagues and supervisors say they had been unaware of the situation and would have offered support if they had known. Make sure they know.

If the stress is largely a response to your work being criticised, make a list of those criticisms and ask for a meeting with your supervisor to clarify what you are doing wrong and how you can improve. Analyse their responses. Are the criticisms justi ed or unfair? If justi ed, work out how to address the issue and request support and training if appropriate.

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When you feel the stress building, stop, breathe deeply and slowly, and work through this list: • What is the worst thing that could happen if I didn’t do this?

• Will this still matter next month?

• Would I feel better about this if I broke it down into smaller sections and tackled it a piece at a time?

• Must this be done now, or can I delay it until I am feeling better about it?

• Can I pass this on to someone else?

Treatment for stress

• Am I trying to do too many things at once?

• Would talking to someone about this make me feel better?

• Do I need a holiday/good night’s sleep before I tackle this?

Don’t procrastinate – the more you worry about it, the more time you have lost Many people find counselling and CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) helps with stress. Mindfulness can also help calm the mind. Check out the Headspace website www.headspace. com or app for more information.

Life in the law can be tough...

Call our confidential helpline.

We’re here to listen on: 0800 279 6888 or visit www.lawcare.org.uk

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Articles

Law Society welcome DictateNow as new outsourcing partner T

he Law Society of England and Wales has chosen DictateNow, the UK’s largest and first dictation outsourcing firm as its preferred supplier for the next year.

The announcement comes after an 18 month due diligence process for DictateNow, which works with hundreds of the UK’s law firms, including some of the top 50.

forefront, and we will never rest on our laurels,” Mrs Park added.

Maxine Park, Solicitor and Co-Founder of transcription and office support services provider, DictateNow www. dictatenow.com

Welcoming the development, the Law Society of England and Wales President, Simon Davis said: “I am pleased to announce a partnership with DictateNow, a leading provider of confidential digital dictation and transcription services that can help law firms streamline otherwise labour-intensive processes, reduce overheads and - most importantly - improve client service.”

DictateNow’s founder Maxine Park said the endorsement is a huge highlight for the firm, which was founded in 2002.

“We believe the fact that we have worked so hard to gain ISO certifications for business continuity, security, and quality shows how we will leave no stone unturned to adhere to the highest professional standards,” she said. “It has been a rigorous 18 month process, involving references from our clients, to be endorsed by The Law Society, but we are thrilled.”

Mrs Park, and husband Garry, a software designer, went into business after Mrs Park’s employer asked her to look for a solution to outsourcing their dictation needs, after finding no viable option in the UK. DictateNow was formed making them the first such firm of its kind in the country.

Since its inception, DictateNow has also expanded to include dealing with overseas clients, and offer other business services as well, with copy typing, proof reading and diary management amongst them.

Clients also include:- barristers, accountancy firms, MPs, local government, insurance firms, FTSE250 firms, surveyors, estate agents, members of the medical profession and charities.

“Although we work with many different professions, the legal sector is at the very heart of us and this seal of approval is a real highlight,” added Mrs Park.

Originally set up just outside London, on the edge of the M25, the business keeps its headquarters there. However, it now services all of the UK, with regional offices in Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast with hundreds of legal secretaries and experienced administrators working around the clock seven days a week.

“The needs of law firms has changed greatly in recent years and like all progressive businesses, we are committed to adapting to stay at the

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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Expert Witness

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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

JLD

Herts Junior Lawyers Division Annual Update In June, some of our committee members ran the Inflatable 5k at the Herts County Showground. We encouraged our members to join us to support the mental health and wellbeing awareness being championed by the Junior Lawyers Division. We all finished in good time after chucking ourselves through the inflatable course despite the scorching heat and blazing sunshine.

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s the new school year starts and with it a committee re-shuffle, I thought I would take this opportunity to look back on what the Hertfordshire Junior Lawyers Division has been up to this past year.

In November, we began our year by holding our first joint event with the Hertfordshire Law Society, a festive evening of networking at The Peahen in St Albans kindly sponsored

by New Court Chambers. Even though it was a cold November evening, the turn out we had was fantastic, and with the beautiful location and splendid buffet, it was a joyous evening filled with first time introductions, anecdotes and advice.

In March, we held our annual charity quiz night in aid of Rennie Grove Hospice. Our theme was “Games Night” with each quiz round themed around a classic games such as Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly. Each guest received a glass of bubble on arrival and with a raffle full of wine and chocolate, it was impossible to go wrong.

We even introduced a “Rock ‘n’ Roll Bingo” round which was great fun and saw the team from 7 Bedford Row take victory. Overall, the evening raised £350 for the charity.

In August, we once again hosted our annual boat party in partnership with South Essex Junior Lawyers Division and for the first year ever, with Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Junior Lawyers Division.

The event was kindly sponsored by SA Law, Debenhams Ottaway and Michael Page UK Legal. We had an absolutely fantastic time, with the city lighting up around us as the sun set over London. It was a truly phenomenal night.

We have finished the year off by publishing our first ever newsletter, available to view at https://www.dropbox.com/s/4fdpf9hjuig35u6/ newsletter.pdf.pdf?dl=0. Content includes a Q&A with yours truly, an article by our Joint Chair, Keshia Bushay-Ellis, on “Changing Firm Post Qualification” and “Top Tips for Trainees” by our Social Secretary, Supriya Kumar, who competed her Training Contract and qualified as a Solicitor earlier this month.

We are looking forward to the year ahead with hopefully more activities in support of mental health and wellbeing, and of course firm favourites such as our annual charity quiz night and boat party.

We remain committed to providing feedback to the Junior Lawyers Division and Hertfordshire Law Society regarding our

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members’ views concerning important issues affecting junior lawyers such as the SQE. We will shortly be advertising any available positions on the committee. If you would like to get involved with the Hertfordshire Junior Lawyers Division or wish to contribute any content to our newsletter, please email us at HertfordshireJuniorLawyersDivision@hotmail.com.

On behalf of the Hertfordshire Junior Lawyers Division, we wish you all the best of luck for the year to come!

Articles

ParentAssess – A new assessment framework for parents who have a learning disability or additional needs concerns of the professionals and what changes they need to make. They should be able to read and understand the completed assessment.

If graphs and tables are too complicated then parents will not be able to grasp what might be about to happen in one of the most important decision making events in their life – whether they will be able to care for their child in the long term or not.

Many parents who have learning disabilities have stated they don’t understand ‘reports full of long words’ and one parent said to me ‘I rip

By Sarah Lowe

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arah Lowe (formerly McLinden) is the author of ParentAssess. Sarah has worked in the Family Courts as an Independent Social Worker since 2002. She has completed over 600 assessments. Her area of specialism is working with parents who have learning disabilities.

She has worked within the disability field for over 30 years.

When a parent is being assessed in public law proceedings it is vital they understand the

them up because they scare me’. However, this presents a challenge because within Care Proceedings there is an expectation of careful analysis of parenting capacity and risk which are, in themselves, complex concepts. Being able to present outcomes in an easy to understand format is vital in the interests of parental involvement and transparency.

Parents with learning disabilities need to be treated with respect, sensitivity and above all fairly. Assessors should not be asking them questions which they would not ask of a parent without a disability and yet how many advocates have checked the content of existing

frameworks to see if the bar is being set higher for these parents? This is just one of the issues underlined in D (A Child) (No 3) 2016 which provides guidance in terms of assessments of parents who have a learning disability.

In 2015, a barrister said to me ‘I struggle to understand these graphs and I so I am not sure what my client makes of them...surely we should be making this easier for everyone to understand’.

She was right. In 2016, I designed a new framework drawing on my experience as an assessor. I wanted a framework which involved the parent at every stage of the assessment and ensured they understood the concerns from the outset and the outcome.

At each point of ParentAssess a different tool is applied but all use a very clear traffic light system and the results from each tool are added to the Outcome Table to show the assessment journey.

Like other frameworks, ParentAssess uses a range of visual tools but rather than relying on drawings or cartoons, the parent is referred to photos of real life things they see everyday.

This has been found to work well as a person with a learning disability can often find it harder to assimilate a drawing and work out what that means to them. ParentAssess reflects modern day issues such as vulnerability to financial exploitation and social media risks.

The framework is specifically designed so it can easily be updated because lifestyles are evolving all the time.

Although ParentAssess is based on the DOH Assessment Framework (2000) the areas of parenting are set out in 5 domains • The child’s experience of being parented • The parent’s daily living skills • How the parent functions • Additional issues such as domestic and drug or alcohol abuse • Support The Support domain underpins all the other areas. If the parent is struggling with certain aspects of parenting, the assessor is expected

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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Articles

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to explore the support network carefully and establish if someone can provide the support needed . The assessor must be able to analyse whether the proposed support is realistic and sustainable.

Once all the sessions have concluded the assessor reviews the Outcome Table and decides what level of capacity the parent has in each area of parenting - again using Red, Amber and Green. The evidential basis for these findings is outlined in the Assessment Report and the tables are included in the Appendix.

ParentAssess has an easy to use software programme which keeps the assessment timetable on track. The parenting assessment can be completed in the same time as existing frameworks. Usually it is 6 sessions with the parent, 1 session with the child (if over 4 years old), discussions with support network and relevant multi-agency professionals. There are usually 3 parent/child observations which take place All sessions must be completed by the trained assessor. The use of unqualified

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workers to assist in the assessment process is not recommended because these are assessments which require a particularly skilled approach.

The assessor’s training is not restricted to just learning about the software and tools.

Assessors learn about how to read and use cognitive assessments to help the parent learn and change if possible. The assessors develop observation skills and explore how certain areas of parenting might be more difficult for a parent with a learning disability. The principles set out in Re D are embedded in the training and reflected in the approach we expect every assessor to adopt. If you wish to instruct an assessor to use this framework you will need to check the social worker is trained in ParentAssess. They should have a certificate but you can email us to check.

involved for years but this is the first time I have understood what they are going on about’. Professionals working with the parent can be given the initial summary tables and so can adapt work with the parent, ensuring interventions are more effective.

ISWs have commented on how easy and clear the framework is to use. Solicitors and barristers acting for the parents have said they like the tables . It usually takes about 5 minutes to learn how to interpret the Outcome Table. They have said it makes explaining the outcome to the parent and cross examination much easier.

Children’s Guardians like the focus being on the child’s experience of being parented. The additional Parent Report, which is an abridged version of parenting assessment report but set out in straightforward language the parent can easily understand, has been highly praised and appreciated.

ParentAssess has now been used in several Family Courts and the feedback has been extremely positive. Perhaps the most positive comments have been from parents themselves.

One parent said ‘I’ve had social workers

If you are interested and want to learn more then please visit our website ParentAssess.com or email info@parentassess.com if you would like us to give a brief talk about the framework.

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Brexit

Miller -v- The Prime Minister: A Case Decided on its own Special Facts?

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f a week is still a long time in politics (recently an hour seems a lifetime), no more than two weeks, it appears, may broadly apply to the higher courts of England and Wales following the recent decisions of the High Court and the Supreme Court in Miller v The Prime Minister [2019] EWHC 2381 (QB) and Miller v The Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41.

On 11 September 2019, the High Court found that the decision of the Prime Minister to advise the Queen to prorogue Parliament was not justiciable in Her Majesty’s Courts. Within a week the Supreme Court considered the appeal brought by Gina Miller et al, giving its unanimous judgment on 24 September that the Prime Minister’s advice to the Queen was justiciable and had been unlawful.

The Supreme Court judgment, with which the Government is on record as accepting but disagreeing with, has led to much commentary, if not anxiety, about the Courts encroaching into political matters which, so the critics argue under the principle of the separation of powers, they ought not to do.

The question therefore arises as to how the High Court and Supreme Court reached such dramatically different conclusions.

The first, and perhaps pivotal, issue with which both courts wrestled was whether the Prime Minister’s advice was justiciable.

Formally, as a prerogative power, it is the monarch who decides to prorogue Parliament on advice from the Privy Council. The reality, however, is that the decision is made on advice from the Prime Minister. At the heart of the Prime Minister’s case was the submission that his advice to the Queen to prorogue Parliament was political. For the courts to rule on this advice would be to stray into territory reserved under the separation of powers for the executive and Parliament to resolve.

It was therefore non-justiciable.

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In its judgment, the High Court observed that ‘[t]he refusal of the courts to review political questions is well established (2019 EWHC 2381 (QB) at 43)’. It then went on to endorse Lord Bingham’s comments in A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2005] 1 AC 68 (at [29]) that ‘[t]he more purely political (in a broad or narrow sense) a question is, the more appropriate it will be for political resolution and the less likely it is to be an appropriate matter for judicial decision’.

This begs the question as to what ‘political’ means in deciding whether an act by the Executive is justiciable. The High Court recognised that almost all decisions made by the Executive, being the government, are by their very nature political. As a consequence, and effectively by definition, the High Court found that ‘the essential characteristic of a ‘political’ issue is the absence of judicial or legal standards by which to assess the legality of the Executive’s decision or action (EWHC 2831 (QB) at 47)’. Citing Shergill v Khaira [2015] at [40], the High Court endorsed the ruling of Lords Neuberger, Sumption and Hodge, ‘The issue was non-justiciable because it was political. It was political for two reasons. One was that it trespassed on the proper province of the Executive,… [t]he lack of judicial or manageable standards was the other reason why it was political.’

The absence of any legal measure was a key reason for the High Court concluding that the Prime Minister’s advice in this case was political and therefore non-justiciable.

The absence of any measure was also key in its refusal to decide on the lawfulness of one of the reasons given for the prorogation (the time needed to prepare the Queen’s Speech (2019 EWHC 2381 (QB) at [56]) or, as advanced by the Claimant, of the denial of Parliament’s ability to hold the Government to account (2019 EWHC 2381 (QB) at [57]).

This reasoning was directly addressed in the Supreme Court’s decision ([2019] UKSC 41 at [29] et seq). Before reaching its

conclusion that the advice to the Queen was justiciable, the Supreme Court emphasised the following four points: 1) the exercise of the prerogative power to prorogue Parliament by the Queen places on the Prime Minister a constitutional responsibility ‘to have regard to all relevant interests, including the interests of Parliament ([2019] UKSC 41 at [30])’.

2) Whilst accepting that the courts cannot decide political questions, a dispute involving the conduct of politicians or a matter of political controversy, is not sufficient reason to rule a matter nonjusticiable ([2019] UKSC 41 at [31] and [39]).

3) Neither does Prime Ministerial accountability to Parliament (if in session) render claims non-justiciable ([2019] UKSC 41 at [33]).

4) If justiciable, any ruling, far from offending against the principle of the separation of powers, will in fact be in keeping with the courts’ proper function. Specifically, ‘by ensuring that the Government does not use the power of prorogation unlawfully with the effect of preventing Parliament from carrying out its proper function, the court will be giving effect to the separation of powers ([2019] UKSC 41 at [34])’.

For the Supreme Court, the sovereignty of Parliament and Parliamentary accountability were fundamental principles which the Courts were required to protect.

On the primacy of the sovereignty of Parliament in relation to the exercise prerogative powers, the Supreme Court approved Lord Browne-Wilkinson in R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex p Fire Brigades Union [1995] 2 AC 513 at 552 ‘the constitutional history of this country is the history of the prerogative powers of the Crown being made subject to the overriding powers of the democratically elected legislature as the sovereign body.’

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Brexit

The Supreme Court in concluding found that were the Courts not able to intervene, the Executive would have an unlimited power to prevent Parliament from sitting for as long as the government wanted. Also, and with the exception of the customary short periods in which Parliament is regularly prorogued, it observed that the greater the period of prorogation ‘the greater the risk that responsible government may be replaced by unaccountable government ([2019] UKSC 41 at [48])’.

The Supreme Court, in tacitly acknowledging the High Court’s concerns over the lack of any yardstick as to ‘how long is too long’, formulated a rather fluid test: ‘a decision to prorogue Parliament… will be unlawful if the prorogation has the effect of frustrating or preventing, without reasonable justification, the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions as a legislature and as the body responsible for the supervision of the executive. In such a situation, the court will intervene if the effect is sufficiently serious to justify such an exceptional case’ In applying that test to the case before it, the Supreme Court had no difficulty in finding the effect of the prorogation (described as an ‘extreme effect upon the fundamentals of our democracy’([2019] UKSC 41 at [58]) was to prevent Parliament from exercising its constitutional functions, particularly its ability to hold the government to account. The key issue was whether the Prime Minister’s advice to prorogue was supported by reasonable justification.

prorogue had been unlawful.

The decision was predictably met with equal measures of fanfare and consternation, characterised either as either a triumph or disaster for the rule of law, largely dependent upon the individual’s views of the UK’s scheduled departure from the European Union (at the time of writing) on 31 October 2019.

A clue as to what might be the enduring impact of the Supreme Court’s judgment, however, may be found in Lady Hale’s opening that the judgment arose ‘in circumstances which have never arisen before and are unlikely ever to arise again. It is a ‘one off’.’ It was a theme which she returned to throughout the judgment. It is perhaps therefore, as the cliché goes, a case decided on its own special facts whose impact may well be the increased scrutiny and politicisation of the judiciary (for example, the suggestions that we might follow the American model of judicial appointment), rather than as an oft cited legal precedent of general application.

Neil Johnson HRJ Foreman Laws Senior Associate Solicitor, Litigation Department

In the opening to its judgment, the Supreme Court emphasised the distinction between the prorogation of Parliament, as an event over which the legislative body has no control, and that of dissolution, which is governed by the Fixed-term Parliament Act 2011 and controlled by Parliament, and adjournment or going into recess, which are effected by motions in both Houses.

Crucially, whilst an adjournment or recess does not prevent the continuation of Parliamentary business, such as the meeting of committees and the mandatory answering of written questions to ministers, the effect of prorogation is to suspend the entire functioning of the Commons and Lords until recalled for a Queen’s speech ([2019] UKSC 41 at [2] – [6]).

In finding the reason given on behalf the Prime Minister (in essence the preparation time for a Queen’s Speech) inadequate, the Supreme Court also found a memorandum of 15 August 2019 to the Prime Minister from Nikki da Costa, Director of Legal Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, particularly telling as it failed to address the competing merits of going into recess or prorogation. It was symptomatic of the Prime Minister’s failure to address his constitutional responsibilities and in particular to consider the interests of Parliament ([2019] UKSC 41 at [60]).

Whilst declining to speculate on what reason there may have been for the Prime Minister’s conduct, the Supreme Court was unable to find any reasonable justification for the advice to the Queen that there should be a 5 week prorogation of Parliament ([2019] UKSC 41 at [61]). It therefore followed that the advice to

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Articles

Hertfordshire Law Clinic – launches October 2019 their options. The students will also draft the attendance notes of these advice meetings.

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ertfordshire Law School is opening its doors to members of the public and offering a free Law Clinic. The aim is to ensure more local residents and small business owners have access to justice, bridging the gap where there is no longer any legal aid, or someone would simply not be able to afford the services of a solicitor. The project will also enable law school students to gain practical experience of dealing with clients and providing advice.

The clinic offers advice and assistance in a number of different areas:Family law - covering issues such as divorce and separation, disputes between parents regarding their children, and the rights of unmarried, cohabiting couples Employment law - offering advice on areas such as unfair dismissal, discrimination and bullying Intellectual property and commercial law – assisting start-up businesses and helping people in the creative industries protect their Intellectual Property

Diana Kirsch, the Director of Pro Bono at Hertfordshire Law School commented: “Hertfordshire Law Clinic will provide a muchneeded service to the local community. Hertfordshire Law School is committed to equipping our students with the skills they will need in the future and this project will provide students with a fantastic opportunity to enhance their employability while improving access to justice.”

Law school students can also take part in Streetlaw, a legal education project aimed at improving access to justice by demystifying areas of law that affect the wider community.

Students work in teams to prepare and deliver interactive presentations in a range of community settings including schools, community groups and charities. The topics can vary enormously from police powers and knife crime to family law issues, and of course the students must ensure the session is appropriate for the needs of the group. It is hoped the presentations encourage the audience to engage and think about the concepts and develop a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities under the law. The project gives students the opportunity to build their confidence and develop the kinds of skills valued by employers such as communication, networking and legal research.

Powers of attorney - drafting Powers of Attorney for people who want the protection of knowing someone else can assist with their finances and wellbeing if they are not capable for some reason Solicitors from law firms across the county will assist law lecturers in training and supervising the student caseworkers who will work in pairs to interview new clients, carry out legal research, and prepare formal letters of advice.

Hertfordshire Law Clinic will operate from dedicated office space in the Law School Building, pictured, at the university’s De Havilland campus in Hatfield. The law clinic also runs a satellite family law clinic from Future Living Hertford - an award-winning charity for those in recovery from addiction and domestic abuse. At their base in Hertford the students will provide free advice to the victims of domestic abuse.

There will also be the opportunity for the students to shadow local family and commercial lawyers – watching them provide verbal advice to clients. This will allow them to gain valuable experience of how to quickly ascertain the needs of a new client and clearly explain

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Hertfordshire Law School students recently delivered a presentation on citizenship at Islington Town Hall as part of Refugee Week. Sartaz Billing, pictured, said afterwards: “Streetlaw provides a great feeling of accomplishment as you are giving legal knowledge to people who need it the most, free of charge.

It is a great way of giving back to the community”.

Streetlaw students are also working to develop presentations in collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire’s Business Incubator on issues relevant to start-up businesses such as Intellectual Property rights.

If you are a local solicitor willing to assist in supervising the students in any of their pro bono activities please get in touch with the university:- probono@herts.ac.uk

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Advertorial

How digitisation is changing the future of home-buying

By Jonny Davey, Product Manager at Geodesys

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ata in the 21st century has been described as the oil of the 18th century – an incredibly valuable resource with potential for immense rewards for those who learn how to extract and use it1. Living in a connected, digital economy means that we are increasingly reliant on data in order to function and evolve, so businesses and consumers alike have a part to play in shaping the role of digital information in our society.

The commercial value of data has already been recognised by the automotive industry, where mobile phone signals and GPS positioning have been used to reveal important information about driver behaviours. Monitoring of parking locations, destinations, mileage and speed, even the frequency of sudden braking feeds huge back-end systems that collate that data and package it to be resold.

While that data can ostensibly help by keeping costs down for careful drivers, it remains to be seen whether it’s good news for all from a financial perspective. Where it should benefit everyone is in speeding up the insurance claims process for those involved in a road incident.

Similarly, house-buying is ripe with data and there is always appetite to streamline the process. Current estimates indicate that half of all UK house sales fall through before completion2, so there is a clear need to improve the home-buying process and make the data that we have work for rather than against us.

Information collected along the way includes personal data about buyers and sellers as well as surveyor reports, significant property improvements and environmental data. While these records are useful, managing the sheer volume of repetitive data associated with the house-buying process is often cited as a major cause of delay in transactions going through and even leading to ultimate failure.

Stakeholders from all quarters are keen to improve the process, and HM Land Registry is leading the charge with a wholesale review launched in 2017 to make home-buying simpler, faster and cheaper.

Local Authority data is often considered as one of the most troublesome areas, with searches into planning permissions, conservation areas, TPOs, smoke control zone conditions or light obstruction notice conditions taking weeks if not months to be returned. It has therefore been prioritised for digitisation with a pilot scheme being launched across five Local Authorities as a first wave in 2018. The plan is that this will be rolled out across all Local Authorities in time.

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The digital Local Land Charges Registry scheme aims to provide 24/7 access to data, which is free to view or access for reference.

As with the automotive industry, there is scope for monetisation, such as the £15 fee already in place for official copies that can be saved, printed, and re-run for six months, a service that is particularly useful when checking whether any information has changed following a delayed or drawn-out transaction.

The scheme has been universally acclaimed by those that are already participating and is due to roll out across a further 18 Local Authorities over the next 18 months. It’s hoped that all 326 Local Authorities within England will be offering digital LLC within 5 - 7 years.

The Land Registry’s initiative is a great showcase for the power of data and how it can be used to streamline processes, so how can we expand this across other areas of the market?

Could we imagine a future when holders of flood data, contaminated land data, or drainage and water information make these details accessible through an online portal, attributed to every registered address and summarised instantly for potential buyers (and their legal representatives) at the touch of a button and for a set fee?

In other words, each property would come complete with its own set of data at the point of being offered for sale. Sound familiar?

It’s not entirely different to the abandoned Home Information Packs of the mid-noughties, in fact. With the advances in digital technology and data management since then, perhaps it’s time to revisit the concept.

1 https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/07/data-new-oil-digitaleconomy/ 2 https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2019/1/shockfall-through-figures-show-almost-50-of-sales-collapsing

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Expert Editorial Witness

EWI Conference 2019 Review When it comes to supporting the rule of law…

‘recklessness’ and ‘dishonesty.’

EXPERTS MATTER …

Primarily, ‘negligence’ stems from carelessness.

‘Recklessness’ means you don’t care whether you’re wrong or not, ‘Dishonesty? Basically, a deliberate lie when the liar who’s lying knows he’s lying but lies anyway. The Attorney General’s advice relating to the above-mentioned case was therefore not ‘negligent’, merely ‘wrong’. (A controversial view if there ever was one). Referring to a specific case, Neuberger stressed the importance judges assign to honesty, warning that in the event of dishonesty, ‘the law will come down on your head.’

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s Lord Neuberger delivers the keynote address at the annual conference of the Expert Witness Institute in October 2019 Elizabeth Robson Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers went along to observe….

Looking back on autumn, lawyers will recall that it isn’t just a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness (although most do enjoy these). With predictable regularity, the falling leaves of autumn not only herald in the new legal year, they also create a really quite inspiring backdrop for fruitful new opportunities to meet, greet, network, contemplate and confer.

Yes, the season of conferences kicks off in autumn, usually commencing — as far as the legal profession is concerned — with the annual conference of the Expert Witness Institute at Church House, Westminster — an event of particular interest to lawyers.

The testimony of the highly qualified, rigorously trained expert witness can be crucial in court across a range of cases and circumstances, as Lord Neuberger emphasized in his keynote address — and it is the primary aim of the EWI to foster and nurture this role. As EWI Chair, Martin Spencer has insisted — ‘it has never been more important to have a credible voice for expert witnesses highlighting the critical role they play in our justice system.’

If anything, the Conference held up a mirror to the uncertainties of 2019, with its stated theme expressed as: ‘Nothing stays the same; is everything changing?’ Well, yes, actually — the implication being that as moving with the times is an imperative, mental agility and a willingness to adapt to change are what you need in any profession when ‘nothing stays the same.’ As Conference Chair and EWI Governor Amanda Stevens reminded the delegates in her opening address, ‘change is the only constant.’

At the same time, impartiality on the part of the expert witness is also key, a point emphasized by Lord Neuberger, retired President of the Supreme Court. ‘Experts,’ he said, occupied a ‘very difficult position’ in balancing their duty to the paying party with their duty to the court. While conceding that there is ‘no perfect answer’ here, he pointed out the necessity for everyone to bear in mind their responsibilities.

The judge needs help ‘When it comes to expert witnesses,’ Neuberger said, ‘the whole point is that the judge needs help, because he or she does not know about the topic. It is almost more dangerous for a judge trying a case when they know about the topic than when they don’t.’

Neuberger then addressed a number of other topical issues, covering a number of key points. He referred, for example, to the then recent historic decision of the Supreme Court that Parliament could not be prorogued. Also, under scrutiny in his speech were the differences between ‘negligence’

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Other issues, such as over-long documentation and contingency fees were also brought up. The former is disapproved of due to time constraints and the destruction of paper. The latter ‘make judges uneasy’ in view of the expert’s obvious financial incentives. ‘If you are charging on this basis, make sure the court knows,’ is Lord Neuberger’s advice.

Generally, the relentlessly increasing pressures on time and costs, is exacerbated by what Lord Neuberger termed the ‘tsunami of documentation’ a problem which might, he added, be dealt with in the future by AI — Artificial Intelligence.

Losing our jobs to robots?

Obviously, there are ‘no magic answers’ to this question as, like Brexit and its long-term effects, so much is unknowable.

So, the image of a row of robots perching in a future Supreme Court is definitely in the realm of fantasy.

In the here and now, however, the future of the EWI hinges on training. Many useful courses are available for EWI members and certainly training is one of the benefits of EWI membership. Experts may be expert in their own respective fields (from architecture and accountancy to a range of medical specialisms), but all need further instruction on such matters as court procedure and writing expert reports. Also useful are the opportunities for networking that conferences provide. ‘People who don’t come to these conferences,’ observed Lord Neuberger, ‘are the very people who should.’

‘Boris the Spider’ … and the Lady and the Brooch Certainly, if you were one of those experts who for whatever reason, had decided not to attend the Conference you’d have missed having a laugh at. Martin Spencer’s reference — in his Chair’s address to the delegates — to Lady Hale’s now famous sparkling arachnid brooch which sparked no small amount of comment.

Could this item of jewellery have been an oblique reference to the classic ‘Who’ song, ‘Boris the Spider?’ (‘Look who’s crawling up my wall’ etc, etc.) Considering that anything to do with Brexit has been monumentally somber and serious, this bit of lightheartedness was to be welcomed.

In all, however, Spencer’s speech was very much on the same or similar page as Lord Neuberger’s. Focusing on the

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Expert Witness

changing context for expert witnesses, he stressed that the ‘critical role the expert witness plays in the justice system necessitates their compliance with the relevant legislation and regulations.’

Quite rightly he has taken the view that experts appointed by instructing parties have the qualifications they say they have. A leading clinical negligence barrister from Hailsham Chambers, Spencer had some pithy things to say about experts who may be experts in their own area, but not expert in understanding their duty to the Courts. ‘The time has come,’ Spencer insisted, ‘when experts are accepted only when their credentials as experts are verified.’ Discussions and speakers.

Following a subsequent panel discussion chaired by barrister and professor of law science, Penny Cooper in which Martin Spencer participated, the conference featured a range of topics presented by distinguished speaker after distinguished speaker.

‘I have no doubt,’ said Martin Spencer in his welcome note to the delegates, ‘that you will leave here at the end of the day a better and in particular, a more confident expert’. It is unlikely that any delegate would have disagreed with that.

Elizabeth Robson Taylor

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

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Dr Nikki de Taranto MBBCh LLM MRCPsych

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Dr Nikki de Taranto is an NHS consultant Forensic Psychiatrist with more than twenty years' experience of medico-legal work in the civil courts as well as mental health review tribunals, fitness to practice hearings and employment tribunals.

Her specialist areas of expertise include medical and clinical negligence, compensation for abuse and neglect including sexual abuse, personal injury, family work, risk assessments and capacity assessments.

Tel: Secretary, Karen Lock 020 8702 6055

Email: k.lock@nhs.net or nikkidt@protonmail.com Maple House, High Street, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 5BS

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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Education

S

F

rom September 2018 the University of Hertfordshire’s Law School will be

Both

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

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Expert Witness

Using DNA testing to aid the transgender community T

he increasing s o c i e t a l commitment to the well being of those wishing to express different gender identity and gender expression together with the legal recognition of same, is important for the protection of individuals, their dignity and their health. Recent instances however, concern the ability of transgender people to amend the birth certificate of a child to reflect their own changed gender, which in one 2015 case was rejected by the Registrar and also by the High Court1. This has obvious implications for DNA testing in terms of checking for Parental Responsibility and in carrying out the work, whereby intimate details may be revealed.

There are two cases (one ongoing) which highlight the need for fresh consideration of how we might integrate transgender rights into legal parlance and process.

In the aforementioned case (the first of its kind) a person male at birth who was undergoing transition to female requested that the Registrar of Births amend her child’s birth certificate to reflect her new name. This was refused and resulted in proceedings under Article 8 (respect for private life) and Article 14 (discrimination on the basis of transgender identity2) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This was rejected on the basis that the interference with the Article 8 right was justified but not material, since it would only be under rare situations (we expect paternity testing to be one of them) that the transgender female would be required to produce the child’s full birth certificate. A changed certificate might record the sensitive information or require disclosure, but of course, it would only need to be be revealed to those with an obligation of confidentiality, despite the fact that in this case she had identified herself as transgender on social media.

Furthermore, a birth certificate can only

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be altered to correct minor errors or when parents marry or enter into a civil partnership following the birth3. The Registrar of Births does not have discretion concerning the categories that are recorded on the birth certificate, which are “child”, “father”, “mother” and “informant”.

Indeed, the Registrar successfully argued that point in terms of the legitimate aims of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. There was justified interference with the claimants rights under the ECHR because there was a need for; a) an administratively coherent system for the registration of births and b) a need to respect the rights of others such as those of the partner and child of the transgender person and, of particular relevance, the fundamental right of a child to know the identity of his or her biological father.

In a subsequent case4, a person female at birth and living as a male (TT) had a child (YY), biologically theirs, by artificial insemination.

At the point at which the child was born, a valid Gender Recognition Certificate was in place, so the biological mother was male. The Registrar has decided that the birth mother must be registered as “mother” on the birth certificate. This is against the wishes of TT who asserts that as a matter of domestic law, he should be regarded as the father or secondarily, in a gender neutral manner as “parent”.

Failing that and assuming he has to register the birth as “mother”, then he considered that this would be a contravention of Article 8 of the ECHR. If upheld on the other hand, YY will be the first person born in the UK without a mother on their birth certificate, since other transgender males have accepted the “mother” annotation. Those acting for YY have issued an application for TT to be declared YY’s father under the Family Law Act 1986, s55A. We await the final judgement on this case, but in any event the outcome will have profound implications. Society is in the process of normalising its institutions to accept the status of transgender persons but of course in this case must also take into account the separate needs of the child; their Article 8 rights should not be compromised by the decisions of a parent. If the status quo is not upheld, then as

a DNA testing company we will inevitably at some point detect a biological female registered as the father, maybe with another registered father or father unknown or a biological male registered as the mother. The biological facts of course, cannot be denied5.

In 1953 social motherhood and fatherhood were presumed to reflect biological motherhood and biological fatherhood. The increasing complexity of social relationships since that time have been recognised by the law and provide interesting points regarding the registration of the birth of a child in situations of surrogacy, adoption and assisted reproduction, which may provide precedent and guidance as to how the parentage may be best recorded when one of the parents is transgender. In any event, in all three cases, once the child has attained the age of 18, the respective legislation allows for the child to obtain information on their biological parentage. We will discuss these points in the next article and by then, we will hopefully have the judgement on TT vs YY. About the author: Neil Sullivan, BSc, MBA (DIC), LLM, PhD is General Manager, of Complement Genomics Ltd (trading as dadcheck®gold).

The latter is a company accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969.

Please see: http://www.dadcheckgold.com.

Tel: 0191 543 6334, e-mail: sales@dadcheckgold.com

Sex and gender - some definitions There has been a neo-logistic expansion of terminology concerning sex and gender…here are explanations for a few of them !

The difference between Sex and Gender “Sex” relates purely to biology and refers to the genetic make up, which is either male

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Expert Witness

(an X and a Y chromosome), female (two X chromosomes) or intersex. Gender on the other hand, is largely a social construct relating to behavioural, social and psychological characteristics; it may take many forms6. Sex and gender may overlap, but should never be confused. Biologically, humans are most often classified as binary, i.e. either male or female.

Transgender7 Transgender (often applied to non-binary gender identities) is an umbrella term that describes a diverse group of people whose internal sense of gender is different than that which they were assigned at birth. It refers to a gender identity which does not align with the gender assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria applies when the individual has a sense of dissatisfaction with their gender.

To attain transgender status in the law, an individual must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a professional and then apply for a gender recognition certificate8 under the Gender Recognition Act, 2004. Whilst this piece of legislation allows transgender persons to obtain a new birth certificate for themselves,

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

it expressly precludes the fact of gender reassignment as a means to alter the status of the transgender person as the mother or father of the child and thus ensures the continuity of parental rights and responsibilities9.

Intersex It has long been recognised (since ancient times) and in different cultures that some people are neither male nor female (in whole or in part) or, are a combination of male and female. This is driven by genetic, hormonal or physical features, that is, by their intrinsic biology. For example, some intersex people may have XXY as their chromosome set.

Presently in the UK, intersex people may not change their sex classification unless they declare that they are transgender - then they would have to seek a professional diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Equating intersex with transgender is not appropriate.

Notes

JK, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2015] EWHC 990 (Admin) (20 April 2015) 2 Goodwin v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 18 and PV v Spain (11 April 2011) (Application No 35159/09) 3 Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, sections 29,14 and 14A 4 Administrative Court and Family Division in the Matter of TT and YY [2019] EWHC 1823 (Fam) 5 As Lord Simon noted in the Ampthill Peerage Case [1977] AC 547, page 577: “Motherhood, although also a legal relationship, is based on a fact, being proved demonstrably by parturition�.

6 https://genderfluidsupport.tumblr.com/ gender 7 Trans - Exploring gender identity and gender dysphoria - by Dr Az Hakeem, 2018, Trigger Press ISBN 978-1-911246-49-7 8 h t t p s : / / w w w. g o v. u k / a p p l y - g e n d e r recognition-certificate.

9 h t t p s : / / w w w. l e g i s l a t i o n . g o v. u k / ukpga/2004/7/notes/division/4/12 1

29 â–˛

Charity

Misunderstanding of Wills Risks Inheritance Failing to Reach Children, Loved Ones and Charities are met. But the great news is that it can be both quick and easy. During Remember A Charity Week, we’re reaching out across the country and encouraging the public to make sure their loved ones are looked after in this way and to consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will.”

Without a Will in place, an estimated 27.9 million Brits 2 are leaving

their final wishes at the mercy of Government intestacy rules.

In England and Wales, if someone dies intestate and there is a surviving partner, any children and close family will only inherit in some circumstances. Meanwhile, in Scotland, the estate would be divided according to the rules of succession.

• Over two-thirds (68%) of Brits don’t have a fully written Will, with almost a third (30%) believing that they only need to have a Will in place if they are very wealthy • Nearly 2 in 5 respondents (37%) think that if they don’t have a will, their inheritance will go straight to their partner or children • Remember A Charity in Your Will Week is underway, encouraging everyone to have a Will in place and to consider leaving a gift to charity after family and friends are taken care of

James Antoniou, Head of Wills at Co-op Legal Services added: “The importance of having a valid Will shouldn’t be under-estimated.

Many people wrongly think that their loved ones will automatically inherit their assets when they die but this isn’t the case. If a person dies without a Will then they lose control of what happens to their estate meaning that their final wishes may not take effect, leaving disappointed loved ones behind.”

The large majority (70%) of Brits believe their family will easily agree on how to divide assets between themselves, despite recent figures from the Ministry of Justice showing that inheritance disputes have trebled over the past decade3.

WEDNESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2019, LONDON: New research 1 from Remember A Charity reveals that 68% of adults across the UK don’t have a completed Will in place (47% of over 55s), with nearly two in five respondents (37%) assuming it will automatically go to their partner and children.

To help shed some light on these misconceptions, Remember A Charity has been working with BAFTA award-winning comedian Matt Berry to create a series of comedy films that challenge the biggest myths about gifts in Wills, inspiring people to consider including their favourite charity in their Will.

Almost a third of Brits (30%) don’t think they’re wealthy enough to write a Will, with many believing that Will-writing is timeconsuming (30%), complicated (28%) and expensive (27%). Only 1 in 4 (25%) say they have planned for death.

The films can be viewed through the Remember A Charity website.

What’s more, many Brits are unaware of the flexibility and benefits of legacy giving. More than half (57%) don’t know that giving to charity is exempt from inheritance tax and over one fifth (22%) believe that you have to be wealthy to donate to charity from your Will.

“We’ve certainly seen from the research that there is a huge knowledge gap about how Wills and inheritance works,” says Rob Cope, Director of Remember A Charity. “This remains a key barrier to growing legacy giving and underlines the importance for working together with solicitors, Will-writers, government and other partners to reduce intestacy.

“Writing a Will is the only way for the public to ensure their final wishes

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Cope adds: “Legacy giving is absolutely vital to the charity sector and every gift counts – no matter what size. As part of our tenth awareness week, we want to inspire the public to pass on something wonderful and make a real difference to future generations by taking action and writing a gift in their Will.”

To find out more about Remember A Charity Week (9-15 September 2019), visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk

Research conducted in August 2019 by Censuswide with a representative sample of 2,000 British adults.

1

Based on UK population figures of 18+ year olds in the UK British Gov 2011 Census. Research conducted in March 2019 by OnePoll with a representative sample of 2,000 British adults. 3 Source: Osbornes Law Firm, 2018 2

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

The only charity dedicated to supporting children whose parents serve, or have served, in the Naval Service.

Originally set up as an orphanage, we now assist children with a wide range of needs and at times of family crisis. Applications can be made at any time and those seeking assistance can contact the office directly for an application form, or download it from our website.

311 Twyford Avenue, Portsmouth PO2 8RN t: 023 9263 9534 e: caseworkers@rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk www.rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk RNRMCF Registered charity number: 1160182 Patron: HRH The Duke of York, KG

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

31 â–˛

Charity

Gifts in wills make a vital contribution to keeping Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) operational.

L

ast year 67 people left a total of £941,242 in their will to EHAAT. Of these, 37 left £2,200 or more, sufficient to pay for at least one life-saving mission.

Another major development for the Charity in 2019 has been a move to 24/7 working, which began on October 7th.

The Charity acknowledged this contribution earlier in the year when 67 crew, charity staff and volunteers linked arms around one of EHAAT’s helicopters (above). This remarkable photograph was taken at the end of the day, just as the crew came off shift, meaning there was no interruption to their life-saving work.

EHAAT is now operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for the first time in the Charity’s 21-year history, meaning that its critical care teams can deliver advanced pre-hospital care to critically ill and injured patients regardless of the time of day or night.

Jen Townsend, Legacy Officer at EHAAT, said: “One in ten of our missions is funded by a gift in a supporter’s will, so we wanted to find a way to acknowledge what they do for us.

“The Charity receives no direct funding from the Government or National Lottery and this image is a reminder of the incredible support we receive from people across Essex, Hertfordshire and beyond to fi nd the £750,000 we need each month to keep the service operational.”

In 2018 the Charity’s critical care teams attended a record number of 1,491 patients, working closely with publically-funded emergency services such as the police, fire and ambulance services.

Although the helicopter can reach the furthest parts of Essex or Hertfordshire in under 20 minutes, it’s not just speed that allows the helicopters and Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) to make a difference.

Thanks to their specialist training and equipment, the pre-hospital care doctor and critical care paramedic on board are able to ‘bring the hospital to the patient’.

During the day helicopters, based at Earls Colne and North Weald are used, with an RRV taking over in the hours of darkness.

Like the helicopters, the RRVs carry a prehospital care doctor and a critical care paramedic. They are equipped with the same life-saving equipment.

Providing the best possible care for patients like 22 month-old Charlotte Smith from Hitchin is at the heart of everything EHAAT does.

On July 25th an EHAAT critical care team was despatched by the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) in response to a call indicating that Charlotte was choking at a nursery.

An Ambulance crew from EEAST had been unable to get the youngster breathing. With options running out fast, and Charlotte becoming sicker and sicker, the EHAAT team of Dr Asher Lewinsohn and Critical Care Paramedic Jake Humphrey were able to get oxygen into her lungs before accompanying her to hospital.

Since March 2019 that has included carrying blood supplies on board its helicopters and RRVs.

Her father Richard said, “In cases such as Charlotte’s, just a few seconds can make all the difference, and we are incredibly grateful that EHAAT was there to help that day.”

Being able to give a pre-hospital transfusion at the scene of an incident can be a life-saving intervention for patients suffering significant bleeding and blood loss.

Dr Lewinsohn, who treated Charlotte, said, “We were thrilled with the news that when they woke Charlotte up she opened her eyes and returned to being the bubbly little girl that she was before the whole incident took place.”

For more information about Essex & Herts Air Ambulance and its work, visit ehaat.org or call 0345 2417 690. You can also follow the Charity on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn.

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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette

Advertorial

An X-Press service for solicitors and conveyancing professionals X

-Press Legal Services was established over 20 years ago, with the aim of streamlining the property- buying process by providing specialist searches and reports combined with a personal service. The company has been so successful that it now provides over 400,000 conveyancing searches and reports to some 500 legal practices every year across England and Wales.

is that its offices are owned by local experts, who are supported by a dedicated national office. Jo French owns X-Press Legal Services covering Essex, Herts and Cambridgeshire and has been in business for over 7 years. She has built a strong network and works closely with local councils and other organisations providing searches and reports for her clients.

Whether you are dealing with a commercial or residential property being built, bought, sold, repossessed, re-mortgaged or redeveloped, X-Press Legal has the knowledge and experience to provide only the best data and reports.

Jo explains: “I am proud to live and work locally and therefore I know the area well, I have many loyal clients and I totally understand their needs.

To ensure that they can always provide a reliable and accurate service, the people at X-Press Legal have forged working relationships with industry specialists such as Ordnance Survey, Groundsure, Landmark and the Coal Authority. The company is also an Executive Member of the Council of Property Search Organisations (COPSO).

“At X-Press Legal Services, we make it our business to provide our clients with a highly professional, fast and friendly service that’s tailored to their needs, nothing is too much

For more information about XPLS services in Essex, Herts and Cambridgeshire please call Jo French on 0330 159 5356 xpresslegal.co.uk

A key reason for the company’s success

http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/

trouble. As you would expect we use the latest technology to deliver our high-quality, datarich reports which comply with all the industry regulations.”

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Advertorial

Fridays at Quill

By Julian Bryan, Managing Director, Quill

N

othing slows down on Fridays at Quill – or indeed in many places within the legal profession. We all know that Friday busyness is typified in the conveyancing sector when exchanges take place, dictated by most house buyers’ preference to move home at the end of the week.

And in other areas of law, legal cases don’t stop, court hearings or trials aren’t cancelled, and contracts don’t change their completion date just because it’s Friday. For anyone operating in law, Friday is as hectic as any other week day.

For Quill, the last day every week has an even greater focus on compliance. Of course, our Interactive legal accounts software warns users of potential breaches at any time with exclamation marks denoting missing e-chit information, confirmation notifications for tasks that cannot be later undone and other system prompts for incorrect entries.

However, on Fridays, our Pinpoint outsourced legal accounting service cashiers ensure any compliance issues are highlighted, reported and resolved.

When you consider the plethora of problems that fall into the non-compliance category – from data loss and delayed payment processing to incorrect allocation of client monies into the wrong account and missed deadlines, plus everything in between – and bear in mind the volume of clients we currently service – 8,000 users altogether – you could be forgiven for thinking this an impossible task.

In actual fact, by having robust systems in place and applying a disciplined approach, we’re able to address our clients’ compliance obligations successfully every Friday, without fail.

As already intimated, for clients using Interactive, there are all manner of easy-to-use features to support fee earners progressing matters, for cashiers to efficiently manage finances according to the stringent demands of the SRA’s legal accounts rules and HMRC’s Making Tax Digital legislation, and for compliance officers to generate compliance

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exception reports for rectification or reporting to the relevant regulatory body.

Interactive is subject to an extensive software development roadmap with a strong focus on legal accounting enhancements. We notify clients of these new and improved tools via our monthly e-newsletters and ‘What’s new’ button located in our software’s top toolbar. In the past few months alone, we’ve upgraded functionality for associated ledgers for cases, e-chit/bank integration, MTD input and output screens, batch accounts postings, ‘keep’ options to avoid data input repetition, authorise and maintain screen additions, and multiple developments to both detail and summary accounts-specific reports.

All of these software improvements are designed to simplify and strengthen your compliance procedures thereby making your Friday tasks that much more manageable.

For clients using Pinpoint, we send a weekly batch of reports showing ledger balances for client and office accounts, unpaid bills and breaches. These reports act as a prompt for clients to tie up any loose ends by authorising payments and correcting breaches which are still outstanding. Our reports also streamline the process of recording failures and preparing reports on material breaches in the right format for the SRA, CLC or Law Society of Scotland.

These important checks are actioned by our Pinpoint cashiers each Friday. As our cashiers work in teams of six, headed up by a supervisor, it’s then our supervisors’ role to oversee the accurate production and prompt delivery of these reports, and act as an escalation point for any ensuing queries.

We take our responsibilities very seriously because it’s all part-and-parcel of providing a regulatory-compliance-guaranteed service.

Aside from these typically Friday reporting jobs, a normal day for our cashiers comprises liaising with clients, completing bank reconciliations, processing day-to-day transactions, gathering information for month end and subsequently completing month end closures as well as posting legal aid submissions and sending VAT returns at quarter end to HMRC via MTD.

By acting in the cashier role on behalf of our clients, the only requirement for Pinpoint users is to log daily e-chits of inbound and outbound monies, and record fee earning activity and disbursements. We do all the rest. By lessening your workload, your Fridays are certain to be stress-free, at least from an accounting and compliance perspective anyway.

Because of our unique provision of both Interactive and Pinpoint in tandem, our portfolio is superior quality in relation to other legal accounts software and cashiering service suppliers. That’s because it’s a common platform used by our cashiers and there’s a plethora of management information intelligence drawn from this one central software platform by our supervisors. And, as noted earlier, we’re also constantly researching new ways to improve our products further still. It’s these ongoing software enhancements, defined in our aforementioned roadmap, which go a long way to streamlining clients’ and Quill’s processes.

Late Friday afternoon, to salute another successful week fulfilling our compliance requirements, the beer fridge is opened so everyone can have a quick drink before heading home for the weekend. This is one of the many employment perks at Quill. It’s a nice way to mingle with our colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere, celebrate a job well done with some paid-for-by-Quill refreshments, and look forward to two days of rest and recuperation by starting the weekend an hour early. After a typical Friday, it’s well deserved.

To discover more about Quill, please visit www.quill.co.uk, email info@quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910.

Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and was also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association from 2016 to 2019.

Quill has been a leading provider of legal accounting and case management software, and the UK’s largest supplier of outsourced legal cashiering services, to the legal profession for over 40 years.

Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette