Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin

Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Winter 2016/17

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Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin

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Contents

6 Constituency Council Member’s Report

Advertising/Features Simon Castell Phil Smith

10 “My Word is My Bond”

Key Account Manager Denise Castell

13 Shoosmiths Wins Award for Pro Bono Work

Accounts Michaela Hogan

Titles in blue are supplied by advertisers and are not endorsed by the Northamptonshire Law Society

3 The President writes

Tel: 0151 651 2776 simon@epc.gb.com www.epc.gb.com

Design East Park Studio

Winter 2016/17

9 New thoughts for a New Year

12 Environmental Due Diligence for Commercial Transactions

14 When does a land contract need to comply with section 2?

15 Annual Quiz Winners 16 Spring: The Alternative PII Renewal Season

Media No. 1111

17 Competition Winner!

Published January 2017

18 Research Sheds New Light On Charitable Legacies

Legal Notice

20 Insight and Controversy: Expert Witnesses Kick Off Autumn Conferring at the Cutting Edge

© 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.

Northamptonshire Law Society

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23 He has his father’s nose…

24 The 2016 Autumn Statement – Highlights impacting Solicitors and their Clients 26 Human Trafficking: Expert Witness and Cultural Translation 30 ... And Finally

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oth Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton and Cransley Hospice in Kettering provide specialist in-patient hospice care and community end of life care to the population of Northamptonshire. We provide vital support and care for patients living with a life limiting illness and their families. To maintain our exceptional quality of care and service we depend on the generosity and support of the local community, including legacy pledges.

A legacy made to either Cransley Hospice or Cynthia Spencer Hospice will ensure that the highest calibre of care is given to the patient and their family when they need it most. For example, a legacy of £1,000 could pay for a whole week of an Occupational Therapist. An Occupational Therapist works towards the well being of the patient by providing specialist items of equipment to maintain their independence and mobility for as long as possible. As the end of life approaches, each day of independence is precious. A legacy, no matter how small will help the patients we are caring for today and in the future.

Please consider nominating Cransley Hospice or Cynthia Spencer Hospice to your client if they have yet to decide on a charity to benefit from their estate. In doing so, you will be supporting the county’s two inpatient hospices as they look towards potential developments in the years ahead.

Thank you.

To find more information about how you can support either Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton or Cransley Hospice in Kettering please do so using these contact details:

John Helm Fundraising Manager Cynthia Spencer Hospice Kettering Rd Northampton NN3 6NP

Diana Patrick Fundraising Manager Cransley Hospice St Mary’s Hospital Kettering NN15 7PW

Tel: 01604 678086

Tel: 0300 111 888 3

www.cynthiaspencerhospice.org.uk

www.cransleyhospice.org.uk

Registered Charity Number 1002926

Registered Charity Number 1151018 www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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110 years and still going strong First established back in 1906, Cave & Sons is one of the longest surviving independent stockbroking, investment management and financial advisory firms in the UK, and this year marks the firm’s 110th anniversary.

Over the last 110 years, the firm has developed to become a modern, forward-looking company with a multi-service offering, covering a broad range of financial services. Today, ‘Cave’s’ still embrace the same principles of honesty, efficiency and personal service that it has made its focus for over a century, underpinning its reputation as a trusted partner for professional intermediaries both locally and nationally.

01604 621421 www.caves.co.uk Meet our highly qualified team...

Financial advice

We provide the full range of services; advising on everything from investments to pensions and savings, complex court of protection cases, personal injury awards and inheritance tax planning.

Andrew Cockerill Chartered FCSI Chief Executive

Simon Harvey FCSI Chartered Wealth Manager

Peter Brydon Chartered Financial Planner

Discretionary investment management

Our highly qualified team manage the investments of individuals, companies, SIPP’s, Trusts and Charities. With a bespoke approach, careful consideration is given to ensuring that the portfolios we construct meet each individual clients’ personal investment objectives.

‘The value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up. You may not get back what you invest.’

Gregg Taffs Stephen Willerton FCSI Chartered Financial Chartered Wealth Planner Manager

John Naylor MCSI Chartered Wealth Manager

Probate Services

Our experienced team can assist with HMRC conforming probate valuations, verification of shareholdings, registrations of death and re-issuing of dividends.

As stockbrokers we can, of course, also deal with the liquidation of estate holdings or distribution to nominated beneficiaries. We have been providing such services to both local and national firms of solicitors for many years and have the experience to handle even the most complex of cases.

Daniel Perkin Probate Manager

Lynsey King Operations Manager

Ed Caswell Chartered MCSI Investment Manager

Contact us today to find out how our multi-service offering and highly qualified team could benefit you and your clients!

‘This communication is for general information only and is not intended to be individual advice. It represents our understanding of law and HM Revenue & Customs practice as at (22/10/16). You are recommended to seek competent professional advice before taking any action.’

Northamptonshire Law Society Officers & Council Members 2017 Mrs Ika Castka

Honorary Secretary Ruth Taylor

Honorary Treasurer Lisa Garley Evans

Constituency Member & Past President Linda Lee

Chair of Education and Training & Past President Rhona Rowland

Past President

Miss Caroline McGann Euan Temple

Council Members:David Browne Laura Carter Ahsan Khan

Michael Orton Jones Karen Shakespeare Oliver Spicer

Society Manager Phil Smith

Northamptonshire Law Society Ashtrees Cottage Saxon Rise Duston

Northampton NN5 6HP Tel. 01604 585653

Email: philsmithdw@aol.com All Council members should in the first instance be contacted through the Society Manager.

Welcome to the first Bulletin of 2017 and a belated Happy New Year to all our members!

Northamptonshire Law Society

President

The President writes...

What will 2017 bring? We have Trump as US President, Theresa May settling in as Prime Minister, Brexit on the horizon (when will we be invoking Article 50?). Closer to home we have a crisis it seems at Chancery Lane with Catherine Dixon, the Chief Executive, starting the New Year with her resignation.

As we start a new year the NLS Council are reviewing the Society’s objectives and strategy, with a view to ensuring we are remaining relevant to our members and providing what our members want from their Society.

It is important to understand what our members want from us, beyond the overall concept of providing general support, communication and co operation between member firms. The Council have identified the main objectives as being to provide support, training and representation. Is it really what our members want? And if it is, how can we best deliver that?

So please feel free to let us know, either direct to Council members or via Phil Smith, if there is anything more we could be doing for you or with your ideas as to how we can deliver our objectives.

We are always looking for new enthusiastic Council members, so if this is something you feel you may like to be involved with then please contact Phil Smith. We are particularly keen to see our litigation and in house colleagues represented on Council.

What is the burning topic for law firms in 2017? The recurrent issue facing all firms it seems, not just in Northamptonshire, is the difficulty in recruiting and retaining good staff at all levels. This was identified in the latest edition of the Gazette survey of law firms as the single biggest concern and is something which is regularly discussed at our own Managing Partners’ lunches. Here in Northamptonshire we are always competing with London and Birmingham for talent and so we have to be both realistic and creative in our offerings. Salary alone is not the answer – today’s young solicitors are looking at work/life balance too and that is something we can work with. My firm is also always looking to promote from within and support staff at all levels who want a career in law. It is pleasing to see the continuing links with the University of Northampton, which hopefully will encourage those who have studied in the county to see the benefits and stay here.

Whilst the NLS Awards Evening isn’t until September let’s all start thinking about nominations for the various categories – there are some great people in our midst who deserve to be recognised.

I am looking forward to representing you all as President this year and working with my fellow Council members.

Mrs Ika Castka

President Northamptonshire Law Society

On the Cover… in 1823 a group of prominent solicitors published a prospectus to raise money to build the Law Society. The plans were for a large room or hall similar to the Lloyds Coffee House, a library, a clubhouse and meeting rooms.

Since that time, Mr Maugham has been joined by distinguished former Presidents (all male), their portraits looking down on the membership, solicitors enjoying the opportunity to meet their colleagues and their guests.

It was intended to be the headquarters for a profession spanning the whole of the United Kingdom but ultimately became the Law Society of England and Wales. Shares worth £25 were sold and when £25,000 was raised, a site near the Inns of Court, was sought.

By 1828, part of 113 Chancery Lane had been purchased for £13,000.

In December, after 184 years, the first female portrait has finally been added.

The Law Society first opened to its members in 1832 and is now a Grade II listed building. One of the first areas to open in 1832 was the Reading Room and one of the earliest portraits to decorate its walls was that of Robert Maugham. He was the first Secretary of the Law Society and the great-great grandfather of the playwright Somerset Maugham.

It is that of our own Northamptonshire Council Member, Linda Karen Hadfield Lee who was President of the Law Society of England and Wales from 2010 to 2011. She was also the first mother to admit her child, her daughter Gabrielle Lee, now Major Sleeman of Army Legal Services. If you look closely at the portrait you will see that this event is commemorated by a painting of the photograph capturing the event.

Linda’s portrait was painted by Mr Nicholas J Smith. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Constituency Council Member’s Report January 2017 On December 2015 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the final report on its Market Study on legal services.

It focussed its research on three ‘theories of harm’ 1: Consumers’ inability to assess value for money (price and quality) leads to ineffective competition between service providers (e.g. barriers to search/switch) 2: Consumers are inadequately protected by existing regulations and redress mechanisms 3: Regulations lead to barriers to entry or unnecessary costs It concludes that currently, the sector shows poor quality outcomes, high prices, stifled demand, reduced innovation and few new market entrants, a lack of consumer trust and a lack of redress.

These conclusions are not aimed solely at the solicitor’s profession or to other regulated lawyers such as the Bar but looks at a wider market than those who are subject to statutory regulation and that is part of the reports weaknesses -it is selective in how and when it differentiates between the regulated and the unregulated.

The findings are surprising to many for example, it considered a range of types of divorce cases ranging from an uncontested divorce to divorces involving children or complex assets and concluded that although there was a lack of evidence on the ‘unauthorised’ ie unregulated part of the sector, the limited evidence available did not suggest unregulated providers raised greater quality concerns than regulated providers. The CMA was concerned that customers of unregulated providers did not benefit from the redress mechanisms enjoyed by ‘customers of authorised providers’.

To improve transparency, it recommends: 1. Regulators to introduce new minimum standards on the information that lawyers provide to their customers on websites and in person to make shopping around easier.

The report goes on to explain that, ‘Providers will, for the first time, have to provide prospective clients information on the price and service they can expect, at the point it matters [the website].

2. Regulators both encourage providers to engage with quality signals, such as online reviews [comparison websites] and provide guidance on how to engage with online reviews.

3. Regulators work together to adopt a consistent approach with the potential for a single digital register across regulated professions.

4. Regulators develop the content of the existing Legal Choices website iii and that that more needs to be done to promote it.it also suggests that there is a role for consumer and business groups in providing guidance on how to develop content.

Interestingly the CMA has launched a market study into digital comparison tool after suggestions that they have ion fact been used as a means of price fixing.

The CMA places great importance on helping consumers with their legal choices and sees this being achieved in 4 steps: 1. Ensuring consumers have relevant information

Indeed, it is hard to reconcile many of the findings with the market perceived by those on the frontline who give advice directly to ordinary people with problems who may or may not become our clients.

2. Encouraging providers to engage in quality signals

The CMA has a primary duty to seek to promote competition, both within and outside the United Kingdom, for the benefit of consumers.i And its mission statement is ‘The CMA makes markets work well in the interests of consumers, businesses and the economy.’ii It therefore tackles every problem on the basis of these theories and does not attempt to test the theory itself in the particular environment it is addressing.

The CMA extended the remit of its review to look at the regulatory framework for legal services and whilst there was no finding of any major barrier to competition it expressed concerns about the sustainability of the current regulatory 2007 Act model which does not extend to unregulated markets where legal services are increasingly offered.

It believes ‘remedies’ are required because ‘competition in the legal services sector for consumers and small businesses is not working well’.

The CMA proposes a number of remedies to address the harm it perceives.

The CMA finds that the legal services sector is not working well for individual consumers and small businesses. It states that consumers find it hard to make informed choices because there is little transparency about price service and quality – it found that only 17% of legal services providers publish their prices online.

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The CMA believes that increasing transparency of price, service and quality is necessary and will increase competition so that consumers get a better deal. It does not however provide any analysis or relevant market evidence comparable with the variety of issues that supports the hypothesis.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

3. Facilitating comparison through open data 4. Ongoing regulatory changes

The solutions proposed aim to ensure better information for consumers, changes in regulation and the protection it gives and to remove market barriers. This continues long standing policy first set out in the 2001 Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report iv which required changes to be made on the basis that self-regulation by the professions imposed too many self-serving restrictions: ‘Restrictions may be justified under competition law if they are in the public interest, if they serve economic progress, if the benefits are shared with consumers and if the restrictions do not go further than is necessary or eliminate competition.’

The Clementi Report which developed the themes of the OFT report and the Legal Services Act 2007 which established a new regime with separation of regulation. It established the independent regulatory body the Solicitors Regulation Authority

Such intervention is viewed with incredulity by many of the competitor jurisdictions of England and Wales but the real tragedy is the lack of any study of the impact on the individuals we see daily. There has been no study or evidence to show any benefit arising from the changes brought about by the original OFT recommendations or to test the CMA theories of market change bringing about consumer benefit, indeed the current proposals to reduce or remove consumer protection in a manner that cannot be made easily visible to consumers will do the opposite.

There is a strong recommendation for government to consult on the separation of legal services regulators from their representative bodies. ‘Our main concern is that the current, title-based model is insufficiently flexible to apply proportionate, risk-based regulation which reflects differences across legal services areas and over time. We therefore propose that the government launches a review of the regulatory framework with the aim of making the regulatory regime more flexible and risk-based in the long term. We also consider that regulators should be independent from government and representative bodies. The number of regulators should be a consequence of the regulatory structure; moving from a model that is primarily title-based to a risk-based model is likely to lead to a reduction in the number of regulators.’

The legal profession is not set against change and innovation but it seeks to do so in a manner that does not cause harm. I pray aid from Karl Popper the philosopher who was a great advocate for change but also said, ‘If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from, and not see, whatever might be dangerous to our pet theories. In this way, it is only too easy to obtain what appears to be overwhelming evidence in favour of a theory which, if approached critically, would have been refutedv’. The CMA have held that mirror to the profession but I suggest that it should also hold it to itself.

Debate will focus around whether the SRA should operate as an independent regulator or whether there should be a merger of regulators for many, if not all, of the legal professions.

Linda Lee

The SRA wish to maintain their role in authorising the use of the solicitor title and extend their jurisdiction into the wider unregulated market where solicitors would be permitted to work under their new Code. The key change is to remove the current restrictions on solicitors delivering non-reserved legal services to the public or sections of the public through an alternative legal services provider, while using their solicitor title.

Linda Lee is a regulatory lawyer with Radcliffes LeBrasseur and the Law Society Council Member for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland. As a Council Member she is also the Chair of the Regulatory Processes Committee and a member of the Audit Committee, Regulatory Affairs Board and the Access to Justice Committee. Her pro bono work also extends to the Solicitors Assistance Scheme as Chair.

The SRA’s proposal is that ‘Solicitors who work in alternative legal services providers and decide to provide non-reserved legal services to the public will be subject to the new individual Code.

They will be required to make sure that their clients understand whether and how the services the solicitor provides are regulated and about the protections available to them. This aligns with the proposed requirement placed on regulated firms where they will need to tell consumers that they will be covered by the SRA Compensation Fund and Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) cover’.

Northamptonshire Law Society

(SRA), whose separation from the profession was increasingly extended over time by Internal Governance Rules laid down by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The SRA encouraged by the LSB has followed a deregulatory agenda via changes to the Handbook twice yearly at great cost to the profession and their clients.

However, the latest CMA study suggests not much has changed and indeed in some respects it might be argued that it might actually be worse, particularly given the proliferation of regulators which it now recommends should probably be reduced.

January 2017.

However, the CMA would require a market regulator to set the minimum necessary to provide consumer protection and could favour the award of professional titles to be given back to the professional bodies.

Solicitors Agent, Process Servers & Enquiry Agents Northampton Office: P.O Box 628, Northampton, NN4 6XT. Oxford Office: Office 6, 94 London Road, Headington, Oxford, OX3 9FN DX: 42353 HEADINGTON.

The SRA’s position would not align to this view as it sees its reforms as paving a way forward to an extension of the reach of the profession. The SRA considers that its changes ‘will help to strengthen the overall solicitor ‘brand’. With increased visibility and accessibility to competent solicitors, consumers can choose a qualified professional when that is what they want or need.

Ultimately, the solicitor brand will stand or fall on whether it remains relevant, and that brand will be strengthened if the reputation for excellence is matched by actual consumer experience.’

Established for over thirty years we offer a complete range of confidential external support services to the legal profession on a personal level in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire; and throughout the U.K through our network of proven agents:

It now seems to be a feature of the legal profession in England and Wales that it faces constant disruption and major upheaval at least every 5-10 years. Although the CMA is described as an independent non-ministerial department, there can be little doubt given the publications by the Treasury, the Ministry of Justice and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy since July 2016) as to the ‘interested parties’ referred to in its report as triggering its market study. i iiv iii iv

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 s25(3) Vision, values and strategy for the CMA January 2014 http://www.legalchoices.org.uk Competition in professions A report by the Director General of Fair Trading (OFT 328) v The Poverty of Historicism (1957) Ch. 29 The Unity of Method

Process Serving ◆ Investigations Discreet Enquiries ◆ Tracing People Witness Statements PHONE/FAX: 01604 761697 24HRS: 07836 739864/07946 881232 Email: info@faircloughpartners.co.uk www.faircloughpartners.com Data Protection Reg. No. Z9901511 VAT Reg. No. 943 6743 00 The Principals of Fairclough & Partners are full members of the A.B.I.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Untitled-1 1

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Northamptonshire Law Society 8

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

LawWare joins the LSSA

(Legal Software Suppliers Association) LawWare provides practice management technology to hundreds of legal practices in the UK. With offices in Edinburgh and Manchester LawWare improves the efficiency of law firm staff by making it quicker to achieve tasks.

the benefits of a close association with other likeminded legal technology providers. Over the last 5 years we have experienced tremendous growth and LSSA membership will add greater credibility and weight to our brand.”

LawWare Managing Director, Warren Wander comments: “Together with the LSSA, LawWare is about to celebrate 20 years in the legal software industry. To mark this key milestone, we are very pleased to join the LSSA to raise our profile even further in the English marketplace and enjoy

Chairman of the LSSA, Julian Bryan comments: “With its pedigree, LawWare is a very welcome addition to the LSSA membership. We are very much looking forward to working with the LawWare team to help shape the future of legal technology in the UK.”

Northamptonshire Law Society

The LSSA is delighted to announce its newest member is LawWare Ltd. LawWare is the third legal software firm to join the LSSA in 2016. As the UK’s industry body for legal systems developers and vendors, the LSSA sets and maintains professional standards within the industry and manages areas of mutual interest between lawyers and software providers.

New thoughts for a New Year

by Gerald Couldrake, Partner and Head of Corporate at Howes Percival.

Such are publishing deadlines, that I guess already a quarter of the year may have passed by the time these words get to print. They are written just as the year has begun, and as is natural, thoughts turn (for me unnaturally) contemplative for the year ahead. Having read various articles comparing 2016 to both the eve of the first and the eve of the second world wars, I am an unusually pessimistic author, but given recent events, perhaps realistically so.

What consoles me is the thought (which I often use) that if I can’t control it, then don’t worry about it. And one thing I do know is that I don’t have any control over Brexit terms, what President Trump may do, or what Isis may choose to do next.

What I do have control over, is what I can do in 2017. One thing I am resolved to try to do, is to facilitate what is horribly termed “thought leadership”. By this I mean, to take an issue and get people thinking about it, to raise consciousness about the issue, and to see what ideas emerge for solving, at least part of, the problems caused. Lest you think I have delusions of grandeur, I am not pretending to be able to solve problems (I’ll leave that to President Trump), but I think there is a role for an intermediary who interacts with Banks, Accountants, Surveyors, Businesses and Local Authorities, to bring knowledgeable people together who can shed some new light on an issue which is languishing in the shadows.

As an example: how about Northampton town centre. Is there any longer any reason to go there and shop? What does that say about

“...As lawyers, I think we are in a premier position to use our contacts, our analytical and organisational skills and our powers to persuade to contribute to a wider debate about how our County should develop and prosper....”

the state of our local economy? If it was a vibrant and vital destination, not only would our lives be the richer but, I believe, so would our pockets, generated from the extra spending that a more attractive retail destination would produce. Already suffering from the proximity to Milton Keynes, an equally short drive away is Rushden Lakes. Northampton and its surrounding area is a significant conurbation of, I believe, around 750,000 residents who deserve a better facility than is provided by the current offering. For sure, the injection of student spend caused by the move of the University will help, but this will not alone make the difference. What would I do? Make more of the market square for a start. Have more restaurants, cafes and boutiques that make it a destination. The current use of the market square would need re-thinking, but it is a resource for the town that has, in my view, untapped potential to bring in more people spending more cash.

As lawyers, I think we are in a premier position to use our contacts, our analytical and organisational skills and our powers to persuade to contribute to a wider debate about how our County should develop and prosper. Too often we retreat into being reactive advocates for our clients. We have the potential to be so much more. To develop my thought leadership ideas, I have discussed with the Business Times holding some lunches to discuss these sorts of topics, which can be written up in editions of the paper. I think that the Business Times is, within the business community of the County, widely read and well respected and is therefore an ideal forum to use. But there will be other ways we, as lawyers, can step up and help shape how Northamptonshire can better prosper.

I think that as a profession, we should have the confidence and the will to do so.

Editor’s note. Whilst the views are Gerald’s personal views, the Society would be keen to get involved in promoting “thought leadership” if other members would like to get involved. If so they should contact Phil Smith who will determine if there are enough numbers interested to form a working group. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

“My Word is My Bond” The relationship between the legal profession and the media has always been, for me, a fascinating one. And I don’t mean solely from the perspective of having lawyers on the Today programme as expert contributors to breaking stories of the moment.

According to the World Health Organisation, by 2050 the pMy own background to being part of the media came as a direct result of having first had a career in banking. Never the fully rounded academic, I passed my exams but didn’t go to University – the class of ’82 found itself looking down both barrels of mass AND youth unemployment as it put its collective A level pen down. An offer to follow in my father’s footsteps into business or self-fund my way through film school with no immediate prospect of paid work at the end of my studies very quickly convinced me to go down the “cradle to grave” path of an industry which at the time prided itself on taking people from successive generations of the same family into its fold. With my eyes wide open, I found myself walking into a seventeen year association with the National Westminster Bank, long before the days of Fred the Shred, Royal Bank of Scotland takeovers and the kind of dealings which have so tarnished an industry which originally prided itself on the principle of “my word is my bond”.

During my time with the bank I managed to develop my job to be something a bit more career-orientated. Spells in branch banking gave way to work at Regional Head Office in Bedford as its Small Business Co-Ordinator and a term of helping to

“...One of Britain’s most outspoken Conservative politicians has accused human rights lawyers of ‘laughing all the way to the bank’, after they successfully sued the government for illegal detention of a suspected bomb-maker in Afghanistan....” run the region’s Business Performance Unit (very analytical work on sales and driving an understanding of the local market both in corporate and domestic terms). I did a spell as a Sales and Service Trainer before finally a period as a portfolio banker myself, looking after a portion of the higher net worth personal account base. This taught me that regardless of income, human behaviour is to generally spend everything that you earn plus x - where x is directly connected to social aspiration.

How the best paid people could also fully utilise the largest personal overdraft facilities - frequently exceeding them for the greater part of the month – I always found astonishing. Money to money – but the money always seemed to be the bank’s!

Through my day to day banking job I grew up alongside my opposite numbers in accountancy and, of course, the legal profession. This was a time when there was a myriad of solicitor practices, but I could never quite fathom out why every few months or so there would be a merger, a take-over,

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

By: John Griff or some other kind of corporate coupling from which a new legal entity would emerge. Competition for business might have been fierce then, but that competition was fought for out with integrity. These days the public might be forgiven for thinking – as they perhaps already do alongside banks, estate agents and accountants – that the legal profession is populated by ambulance-chasing, victim enticing sharks hell bent on invoking whole chapters from the Book of Litigation originally written on the other side of the Atlantic. Sue first, ask questions later and ask the right questions a LOT later perhaps.

And why does the public think this way? How have they come to this doomsday perspective of the “professional classes”?

Why, through people working in my second career of course!

The tabloid journos tap away at their keyboards, the lensloving, soundbite chasing telly-journos stare intently into their cameras and the more sinister investigative journos go deep undercover to write up the darkest aspects of our lives – and so copy is sold and airtime is won. Journalism has always been about storytelling – it’s the packaging which delineates for whom it is intended.

Perhaps the greatest innovation in modern times – for both your industry and mine – has been the arrival of the internet.

We are now at the point of the second generation of web-savvy humans emerging. This is the generation which knows nothing other than a world where every answer – neatly optimised for whatever platform they use - is there at their fingertips. It is they who will push further innovation in our industries. Just as lawyer Billy Flynn (coincidentally, the name of my family’s GP when I was growing up) charmed not only Velma Kelly, Roxie Hart, AND the US press coast to coast, in reality the legal community, propelled by any number of tv shows from “Ally McBeal” to “Suits”, can do the same via the net. It’s done so already too. The trials of OJ Simpson and Oscar Pistorius became the stuff of mass market theatre with their daily briefings to the masses. And who was there to ensure that no nugget of fact, rumour or professional opinion went missing?

Of course – the media.

Whether happy bedfellows or not, it is fair to say that while both industries can exist entirely successfully without each other, a degree of co-working can be mutually beneficial. Most of the skills that I employ on a day to day basis came from banking, but equally they could have come – or been applied – to the legal profession. How we express ourselves is becoming at least as significant as what we express, because the recipients of our words and messages are not as informed – and demanding – as we are. We live in an age where innovation is not only demanded – it’s demanded at a faster rate with each iteration of that innovation. Instant media reporting is a reality. In my school days when the Falkands War took place, it took days to get footage out to the waiting public. In my father’s days of World War 2 it could take weeks – and be heavily censored.

Every single one of us with a smartphone has the opportunity – right now – to communicate with the world. Thanks to app

How then do we maximise the opportunities which currently exist for our respective businesses? How do we break the modern day stereotypes – accepting that perception is reality? Perhaps it is by further developing those relationships between both. In exactly the way that those bank-instilled skills of questioning, listening, probing and confirming have helped me with interviewing on both radio and television, they could perhaps work for you too. Public profile always comes at the margin – and communicating with the public is the currency of that. Do you have non-core activities which are community-centred? Are you associated in any way with a charitable group? Could you broker an event which benefits a local third sector group? If so, the media will be interested.

Even if the traditional media isn’t interested, you have at your disposal any number of social media platforms – and causes – which you could work with here. All of them could lead to at least positive public profile, if not outright corporate turnover.

Leading by example confers exactly that – leadership, which is a quantifiable commodity.

As a freelance broadcaster and consultant I sometimes work with organisations which need help with embracing aspects of their work which they might not have considered before. It all starts with storytelling, and we all grew up with that. As we become ever more media aware, the ability to tell a story in such a way as to engage our audience will become ever more important.

In closing, here are a few ideas which might help with positioning for your practice. All will involve an investment of time and effort – but they might help with reputation and respect, even at the margin: 1. Consider a blog of some kind tied to legal developments in your field which might have an application to your clients.

2. Actively involve yourself in an initiative – or initiatives – which chime in with corporate responsibility.

Northamptonshire Law Society

development traditional routes of communication are blurring further every day and every one of us has the opportunity and ability to become a reporter or commentator if we so wish.

How many celebrities have been subject to the kind of social media judge and jury which now exists? Whether its body shaming or the group calling itself Islamic State, the internet is now a media Pandora’s Box which will never be closed, even in China or North Korea.

3. Offer yourself up as an expert in your field for those occasions when a media story might lead to journalists looking for an informed comment.

4. Find a cause to champion which fits with the ethos of your practice. Then tell people about it. Be human.

5. Consider media training – or at least brush up on your public speaking skills. What you say is hugely influenced by how you say it if it is to be accessible and properly understood.

John Griff

John Griff is a freelance broadcaster, writer and media training consultant. His broadcasting career began as a child singer in the 70s at Cambridge – as a presenter it started in 1984 working for Chiltern Radio Group – now part of the Capital group. Since that time he’s presented everything from Breakfast to Drive and on national as well as local radio for both commercial clients as well as the BBC. He’s also done a variety of television work, mostly in the corporate sector both live and pre-recorded.

Equally at home in either conversational or music driven formats, John learnt a lot of his broadcasting skills through dovetailing a career in the financial services industry at national sales level with that of presenting at his first radio stations. An active participant in motorsport and photography, John is a governor of the Northampton High School and is also a Trustee of the Northamptonshire Community Foundation. When time allows he enjoys tinkering with cars as well as a spot of DIY!

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Environmental Due Diligence for Commercial Transactions Northamptonshire Law Society

Article from Tony Rollason, Regional Manager – Legal, Landmark Information Group

www.landmark.co.uk

In the summer edition of the Bulletin, I explored the increasing role of digital technology in the conveyancing due-diligence process. The march of digital innovations in the legal sector continues at a pace and in this edition, I want to look at how this applies to commercial property transactions; With all commercial property transactions, limiting clients’ exposure to the contractual or other legal risks relating to the purchase is the main priority.

This includes the consideration of any possible environmental risks or damage relating to the site or property, such that they can be managed appropriately both at point of transaction and in future in order to maximise the value of the investment. From a lawyer’s perspective, such analysis is critical in order to demonstrate that proper due diligence has taken place.

Environmental issues that are identified at a later stage can prove costly, therefore applying strict rules relating to environmental analysis and due diligence at the outset is key to effectively managing transactions for all parties.

Today, with more and more data available electronically, the way in which we can research environmental risk is evolving.

Environmental searches were originally brought to market to help solicitors comply with the Law Society’s warning card on

Contaminated Land (Part IIa Environmental Protection Act 1990).

Times have however changed and now we have greater access to a wider range of environmental data, which although outside of the Part IIa, could still impact the purchaser’s decision to proceed with the transaction.

Typically, lawyers should consider contamination risk or pollution, including radon, as well as analysing multiple categories of Flood Risk, Ground Stability and Subsidence and any large-scale infrastructure projects in the vicinity of the site.

One significant change in the market is the option for lawyers to access ‘all-in-one’ environmental search reports. Today, lawyers have access to reports that combine traditional PDF analysis and maps pinpointing risks along with interactive online portals, which display all of the required data more clearly than ever, helping to ensure efficient workflow and properly informed decisions.

Ultimately, having the ability to assess multiple risks from one report offers peace of mind, plus it provides a new level of consistency for practices who wish to apply standardised due diligence on all commercial transactions, via one fixed-price environmental assessment service.

On top of this, having access to the results via interactive maps offers a completely new level of data interrogation than has ever been in place before. The future of environmental due diligence for commercial transactions has arrived!

Residential vs Commercial Searches: spot the difference While searches for all property transactions are evolving and improving, there remain notable differences between residential and commercial reports:

1. Site boundaries

4. Search Radius

Residential searches can be based on a buffered point geometry, whereas commercial sites are always based on the site boundary, which means a larger and more complex area is analysed.

Typically search areas are larger for commercial searches; the logic of why is to accurately determine the sensitivity of a site. Residential site sensitivity is generally always high given the land use, however commercial is open to definition.

Therefore the required search area for the presence of water abstractions, for example, is 1km.

2. Confirmation of current use For commercial searches Google Earth and Streetview are reviewed to validate or query current land uses as these can have implications on report outcome, for example, finding refuelling pumps in garages.

3. Historic & Operational Risk Residential searches only consider historic risk, on the principle that they are now living accommodation. Commercial searches have to consider operational risk. This is a key consideration in the “Environmental Damage Regulations” risk assessment, which involves much more analysis and time.

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5. Extended Timeframes Necessary consideration of site area, current and intended use and wider examination of environmental data means that assessing environmental risk for commercial sites is more complex and time consuming than residential searches.

This is to ensure the correct interpretation and professional opinion regarding contamination liability is fully achieved.

Northamptonshire Law Society

Shoosmiths Wins Award for Pro Bono Work Shoosmiths, Northampton office has won the award for ‘Best Contribution by a Firm with an English Regional Head Office’, at the LawWorks Annual Pro Bono Awards 2016.

LawWorks is a charity committed to enabling access to justice through free legal advice. The awards recognised and celebrated excellence in legal pro bono undertaken by organisations and individuals, and the dedication and commitment of the legal sector to positively impact individuals and communities.

The awards took place on 5 December 2016 and were hosted by Allen and Overy LLP. The event included a lecture delivered by Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls, titled ‘Access to Justice’ which acknowledged current pressures on access to justice and focused on initiatives to improve access to justice, particularly for litigants with limited means.

Television and radio presenter, comedy writer and former barrister Clive Anderson hosted the event and interviewed Sir Terence Etherton to discuss the themes highlighted in the lecture.

Ahsan Khan, associate at Shoosmiths and co-ordinator of a monthly pro bono clinic hosted by Central and East Northamptonshire Citizens Advice, attended the event with other volunteers from Shoosmiths said, “The awards celebrate the fantastic achievements in pro bono work. I hope that they inspire individuals, firms and organisations to do pro bono work at a time when access to justice is limited and individuals need it the most”.

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Northamptonshire Law Society

When does a land contract need to comply with section 2?

Author: Peter Williams

A contract concerning a disposition of land does not need to comply with section 2 where it effects an immediate disposition.

In the recent case of Rollerteam Ltd v Riley, the Court of Appeal had to decide whether a settlement agreement needed to comply with section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989. The settlement agreement had been drawn up to end what the judge described as ‘bitter family litigation’. One of the parties to the settlement agreement had signed it, but was now claiming that it was invalid for failure to comply with section 2.

Readers will be aware that section 2 is of supreme importance to everyone involved in the sale, purchase and letting of property. It provides that a contract for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land can only be made in writing and only by incorporating all the terms that the parties have expressly agreed in one document or, where contracts are exchanged, in each. In addition the contract, or the exchanged parts of it, must be signed by each party.

The purpose of section 2 is to ensure that intending sellers and buyers of land do not inadvertently enter into a contract to sell or acquire a property. This is such a major transaction that Parliament has decided that particular formalities are needed.

If those formalities are not complied with, there is no contract at all.

The settlement agreement in question was intended to settle four different pieces of litigation. It appears from the Court of Appeal’s judgment that although there was a concluded agreement, there was no one document that satisfied section 2. One party (A) was to pay sums of money to B and C, and, in exchange, B was to execute deeds of trust over two separate properties in favour of A (or in favour of Rollerteam, a company

“...The purpose of section 2 is to ensure that intending sellers and buyers of land do not inadvertently enter into a contract to sell or acquire a property. ....” with which A was associated). B executed the two deeds of trust and handed them over, and A paid over part of the money. However, A then refused to pay the balance, claiming that the settlement agreement did not comply with section 2 and so created no obligations at all.

The Court of Appeal had to consider whether section 2 applied to the settlement agreement, or whether section 2 was not relevant because the contract was not a ‘a contract for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land’.

Contracts for disposition and contracts of disposition The Court of Appeal held that section 2 did not apply to the settlement agreement at all. It applies only to a contract that 14

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anticipates further action being taken in the future. Where the contract is complete in itself, section 2 is not relevant. A lease is an example of such a contract. A lease is a contract, but the Court of Appeal had confirmed as recently as 2011 in Helden v Strathmore Ltd that section 2 does not apply to a lease because it is a document that effects an immediate disposal of an interest in land, as opposed to creating a contract for the disposition of an interest in land in the future.

So in this case, the Court of Appeal held that the two declarations of trust that had been executed by B and C were complete in themselves. Nothing further remained to be done under them, and so section 2 was not relevant to them. As the court said, they were ‘contracts of disposition’, not ‘contracts for disposition’. Section 2 applies to the latter but not to the former.

Similarly, section 2 was not relevant to the settlement agreement itself, as this came into being once the declarations of trust had been executed. They were an integral part of the formation of the contract, in that the contract came into existence as soon as the deeds had been executed. But the contract did not envisage any further disposition being required, and so section 2 did not apply to it. Accordingly it was valid, and A had to comply with its terms.

Practical points This is a very helpful analysis of the scope of section 2. In particular, it is a reminder that section 2 does not apply to leases, although it will of course apply to an agreement to grant a lease in the future.

Disclaimer This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given.

Peter Williams Peter is the head of the professional support lawyer (PSL) team in the Real Estate Group at Shoosmiths.

He and his team are responsible for ensuring that Shoosmiths’ legal advisers are supplied with precedent documents, training and know-how about commercial property law. He has been a PSL since 1994.

Peter writes and lectures for various organisations including Estates Gazette, Landlord & Tenant Review, the Commercial Real Estate Legal Association (CRELA), CPT Events and the RICS CPD Foundation.

Peter is a member of the Working Group that devised and now maintains the Model Commercial Lease (MCL), and he looks after the MCL’s website. He is also consultant editor of Volume 87 of Halsbury’s Laws “Real Estate and Registration”.

He has his father’s nose…

Upon the arrival of a new born baby or seeing a young child out with a parent, family and friends will often instinctively mention resemblances between parent and child. This deeply engrained “social mirror” enables parents to rely upon the resemblances seen by others as a reassurance of parenthood. It leads to varying degrees of parental investment: the expenditure and resources parents invest in their offspring to ensure their survival and success, which can often be at the cost of their own reproductive success.

First to note is that this is not a new approach to the paternity issue. Questions of “likeness” amongst kin were considered by Pythagoras, Plato and Aristotle; the latter first noted bilateral heredity (that characteristics can come from mother and father) and interestingly, that characteristics could also skip a generation.

These likenesses between parent and offspring help to reaffirm parental certainty, the degree to which you believe you and your child to be

biologically related.

In general, mothers are more certain of paternity than are fathers. Before the advent of paternity testing (historically using blood typing through to today’s sophisticated and highly accurate DNA testing), alleged fathers could only rely upon the social mirror to establish paternity, which of course is fraught with potential arguments and doubts. Mothers, in general, are keen to affirm the social mirror, whereas fathers are programmed to question it.

In order to establish parenthood using the social mirror, fathers must rely upon the faithfulness of the mother. As a result, fathers tend to place credence upon the physical likenesses and behavioural similarities that they believe they share with their child to affirm their biological relationship. These claimed resemblances impact the father’s parental investment decisions, as he is more likely to invest in a child to whom he believes he is genetically related or with whom he shares similar characteristics.

Mothers are less dependent on physical cues as an indicator of biological relatedness as in general, they do not need to be convinced of maternity. Instead, mothers tend to notice psychological similarities with their child such as likenesses in personality and are inclined to use family resemblances to their own evolutionary advantage. They may for example, use the presumed likenesses and similarities between alleged father and child to reinforce discussions surrounding paternal certainty. These claimed resemblances then serve to persuade the father of parenthood, which in turn ensures paternal investment for the child, thus increasing both the child’s chances of success (vs. peers) and the

This issue has never been more alive than it is today, as there has been a shift from social affirmation to social non-affirmation largely as a result of the use of social media. For example, comments posted on Facebook make the social non-affirmation very public, whereas before the advent of social media it was more likely contained to a close group of friends or family.

This public display of clues to either paternity or non-paternity has the effect of raising the stakes for mother, alleged father, rival males and associated social destabilisers (who may have a variety of motives). To gain certainty and quell rumours, individuals often turn to a DNA test as the only means of delivering parental certainty.

The question of paternity may then spill over into the legal/social services sphere as a tactic in family disputes, where one or more party is trying to reduce their responsibilities or undermine another’s position with respect to parental investment or indeed, vice versa.

“More or less” parental investment is a key driver in the resolution of the dispute and a DNA based paternity test becomes a crucial piece of evidence providing clarity where only doubt existed before.

The social mirror in the context of today’s society can be a dangerous weapon, but is one that can be effectively countered by use of an unequivocal paternity test from an accredited DNA testing company such as our own.

Ms Kate Donkin (Psychology Intern) and Dr Neil Sullivan, General Manager.

Both of Complement Genomics Ltd, trading as dadcheck®.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Untitled-3 1

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23/02/2016 16:32

Northamptonshire Law Society

“You have your dad’s eye’s”, “your mums smile”, “and your grandfather’s ears”…

We’ve all heard comments such as these; but do they have any basis in fact when attempting to assert paternity? As a leading DNA testing company dealing with hundreds of paternity cases every year, these types of comments often are posed to us. These are generally by associated adults (parents and grandparents) who wish to emphasise a connection with a particular child. But can physical resemblances or indeed personality similarities be a reliable indicator of a biological relationship or is it just a case of “seeing what we want to see”?

mother’s reproductive success. Unfortunately, this also has undesirable consequences for the male who has been cuckolded into raising another man’s child since it has the effect of reducing or indeed eradicating, their own genes from the gene pool.

Spring: The Alternative PII Renewal Season Northamptonshire Law Society

Some three years down the line from when the SRA changed the rules of the compulsory PII to allow firms to select their own renewal date we can see that there has been a distinct trend to move away from the previously fixed renewal date of October 1st.

Based on our own experience, around 30% of firms that we deal with have a renewal date away from the Autumn period.

Which also means that a majority still renew on October 1st but the move away is a discernible one that has begun to gather pace.

So what, if any, are the advantages or disadvantages of moving away from the traditional renewal date?

Timing: From a practical point of view, the Autumn renewals almost all still filter down to one renewal day and although preparation work for many can start as early as June, there are still may firms who have not secured renewal until the mad rush in the last couple of weeks of September. By contrast, the Spring Renewal period sees a spread of renewals occurring from, typically, the end of February through to the end of May. At any one time therefore there are far fewer firms competing for an underwriter’s attention which inevitably leads to a more relaxed renewal with time available, if needed, to explain complex issues resulting often in a better result for the firm.

Insurer Availability: Initial concerns that firms had that insurers would not be ‘open for business’ away from the main renewal season have generally proven to be unfounded. Although the Autumn period is still seen as the time when new entrants to the market announce themselves and/or existing participants look to change their strategy, all participating insurers are open for quotations during the Spring period as well. The fears that some firms had that there wouldn’t be the same level of competition amongst insurers away from the principal renewal date simply didn’t materialise.

Strategic Awareness: The fact that most insurers decide on their underwriting strategy leading up to the Autumn renewal period means that by the time the Spring arrives that strategy is well known. It consequently allows much more time, if needed, for firms and brokers to react and make the most of how different insurers’ changing attitudes can impact their own renewal.

Reduced Administration Burden: No matter how efficient the process, there is still significant input of management time expended on the renewal process. Moving from a 1st October renewal to a Spring renewal means having a linger policy period, which can range from 17 months through to 20 months typically. For some, this may be seen as simple procrastination and putting off the inevitable. But for some firms, getting into an 18 month renewal cycle, which some do, means them going through the renewal process twice in three years rather than every year. The saving in time and therefore cost, for some firms, is viewed as an attractive proposition.

Competitive Edge: Undoubtedly, particularly during the ‘soft’ market conditions that the sector is currently experiencing, for some firms, playing the brinkmanship game in September can bring rewards, particularly if some insurers have not achieved their critical mass of premium written. In the Spring, this is less of a factor because underwriting periods tend to relate to calendar years based on 1st January allowing plenty of time to fill capacity during the rest of the year if needed. That doesn’t

QPI legal - Professional Indemnity, tailor-made for Professionals

necessarily mean competition isn’t strong during the Spring renewal season. It can be as fierce provided that the broker that is being used is capable and skilful enough with sufficient access to insurers to generate competition.

Should I consider Changing Renewal Date? Undoubtedly in 2013 and 2014 in particular there were a number of brokers using scare tactics to persuade firms to change renewal date that had more to do with providing the broker with a short term income boost than it had with being to the advantage of the firm concerned.

If you are going to consider moving renewal date then our advice would be to do so for reasons that are likely to benefit your business rather than anybody else’s.

For at least the first time that you change, this will involve having a longer renewal period than normal meaning that the premium that you pay will normally be fixed for that period at the start. The judgement therefore is whether you consider that premium to be higher or lower than the premium you would expect to pay and make a decision based on that judgement.

You won’t want to be paying a high premium longer than you have to but you wold want to fix a low base premium for as long as you can.

Another factor that has become influential in recent years is the rate of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT). This is fixed at the beginning of your insurance contract but the rate of IPT has changed twice since November 2015 when it moved from 6% to 9.5% and then again in October 2016 when it moved from 9.5% to 10%. In June 2017 it is due to increase again from 10% to 12% so any offsetting of this for a longer period will effectively reduce the amount that you pay for the extra period.

Ultimately, whatever renewal date you choose for your PII for the future, will involve more questions than we have time to deal with here. But suffice to say, like everything else in business, if you are going to change then do so for sound business reasons and for your benefit rather than anybody else’s. If you need an independent view then we will always help you out as part of our commitment to the Northants Law Society.

Phil Edwards (BSc, ACII, MIRM, Chartered Insurance Practitioner) is Managing Director of specialist broker QPI Legal Ltd. Based in Northampton, Phil has spent the last 14 years of his 35 year career in Commercial Insurance dealing almost exclusively with Solicitors Professional Indemnity Insurance. Dealing with firms from the Top 50 to Sole Practitioners, Phil has a wide knowledge of both the unique operations of the Solicitors PII market and firsthand experience of many of the problems faced by firms in the current environment.

QPI have acted for a many firms in these situations and we always ensure that our clients can rely on our expertise to guide them through this process. If you are a QPI client or would like to become one, please don’t hesitate to contact us direct with any of your queries on this or any other Professional Indemnity Insurance problem.

QPI Legal Ltd. Unit 17, Mobbs Miller House, Ardington Road, Northampton, NN1 5NE Tel. 01604 712222 email: phil.edwards@qpilegal.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Competition Winner!

The winner of the competition for family tickets to a showing of Peter and the Starcatcher was Michelle Payne of Shoosmiths. Michelle decided that she would like to donate her prize to an auction for a fundraising event for Movember.

Michelle said, “A friend of mine, Clare Heath and her sons William and Toby have been heavily involved in fundraising for the Movember charity for the last three years.

Their target this year was to raise enough money to make the overall 3 year total £25,000.00. I donated on behalf of my daughter, Eleanor, the Peter and The Starcatcher family ticket that I won to the “Will’s Movember” fund and the ticket was raffled off.

Here are pictures of the Molly, the lucky recipient of the tickets, Eleanor who kindly but unknowingly donated them and myself and Eleanor’s Daddy dressed as Mr and Mrs Incredible, along with some other Super Hero friends taking part in the Mo Run”.

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Research Sheds New Light On Charitable Legacies New research launched today at the Law Society provides valuable insights into how solicitors can help their clients use their wills to support charities.

Commissioned by Remember A Charity and conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team (‘Nudge Unit’) and the University of Bristol, the research has examined the way that solicitors raise the issue of clients leaving money to charity in their wills. It highlights the impact of different approaches and how these produce different results in charitable giving. ‘Writing a will is an important step in ensuring that the people, and causes, we have cared about will be properly looked after when we pass away.’ said Law Society president Robert Bourns. ‘Solicitors have a vital role to play in this process, using our legal knowledge and experience to give our clients the reassurance that their wishes will be properly carried out. This research makes an important contribution in helping solicitors think about how we give our clients the best possible support and service in the will-writing process.’

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The research was conducted using randomised control trials in eight firms of solicitors around the United Kingdom. It tested a range of ways of raising the subject of charitable giving, and shows the different results that each produces.

•

Solicitors felt able to raise the issue of leaving money to charity in discussions with their clients comfortably and appropriately

•

Clients who were told that many people bequest money to charity in their wills were 40 per cent more likely to do so themselves when writing their first will, and

•

Clients with families may be more inclined to leave a legacy when asked if they wanted to leave to charities that their family had previously supported or benefitted from.

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: ‘Legacy giving has become increasingly important to UK charities in recent years, generating around ÂŁ2.5 billion for good causes annually and its impact on charitable services is immense. But, despite being a highly philanthropic nation, a relatively small proportion of people leave a charitable bequest in their will. ‘Many simply don’t realise that legacy giving is an option for them; that they can provide for family and friends and still have the opportunity of including a charity if they wish to do so. The role of legal professionals is crucial in making clients aware of all the opportunities they might want to consider when writing a will.’ The research also surveyed the public on their views about solicitors raising the issue of leaving to charity when helping a client write their will. This survey showed 69 per cent of people indicated that they would be happy for their solicitor to raise the issue, and 46 per cent thought a solicitor had ‘a duty’ to raise the option of such a legacy giving when discussing a will. ‘We know that there’s a big gap between the 35 per cent of people who say they want to leave a charitable legacy in their will and the around six per cent of people actually do,’ said Robert Bourns. ‘By improving our understanding of how to raise this important question, solicitors will be better equipped to assist our clients in drafting a will that properly reflects their wishes.’

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Every day three people in the UK and Ireland are paralysed by spinal cord injury. “Daniel was paralysed in a car accident when he was only four years old. He cannot move or feel below the neck and needs a ventilator to breathe. My whole family supports Spinal Research because we believe projects they fund have a real chance of transforming Daniel’s life – and the life of everyone with a spinal cord injury.�

(Jillian - Daniel’s mum) Spinal Research is the UK’s leading charity funding research to develop reliable treatments for spinal cord injury.

Support us today and you can help bring us closer to the day when paralysis caused by spinal cord injury can be beaten.

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Findings of note from the report include that:

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Spinal Research 80 Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5BJ www.spinal-research.org info@spinal-research.org 020 7653 8935 Charity Number 1151015

THE PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH TRUST Raising funds to support a wide range of research projects investigating the causes of & seeking better treatments for mental illness & brain disease.

Mental illness and brain disorders can be devastating.

They cause profound distress not only to their sufferers but also to their families and friends. No age is exempt autism and hyperactivity in childhood, eating disorders, alcoholism and drug addiction in young adults, Motor Neurone Disease, Depression, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in adults, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease in the elderly.

S

eals are in serious decline in the UK and around the world hundreds of thousands of seals suffer through cruel mass culling, toxic pollution, entanglement and drowning in fishing nets, loss of prey by commercial over-fishing and the loss of critical feeding and breeding sites through human activities and climate change.

YOU CAN HELP US PROTECT THEM

Many more conditions affect individuals of all ages.

Mental illness and brain disease are more common than many assume - they are part of everyone's life in some way.

The Seal Protection Action Group is dedicated to helping these beautiful, intelligent creatures. We helped end the mass culling of thousands of seals in Orkney and secure a Europe-wide ban on trade in seal products. Please consider leaving something in your will to help our ongoing work including the rescue of entangled, orphaned, sick and injured seals.

For further information or to make a donation please contact::

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION VISIT: www.sealaction.org Seal Protection Action Group, PO Box 179, Newhaven, East Sussex BN9 1BJ

Psychiatry Research Trust

PO 87, De Crespigny Park Denmark Hill, London, SE5 8AF

Tel: 020 7703 6217 Email: psychiatry_research_trust@kcl.ac.uk www.psychiatryresearchtrust.co.uk Registered Charity No: 284286

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The Northampton Hope Centre welcomes people who are homeless or disadvantaged, no matter their circumstances.

National statistics show that street homeless people die at the age of just 47, which is why the services we provide are vital in our fight to get people off the streets.

From our beginnings in 1974 as Northampton Soup Kitchen, we have provided food and drink and a safe environment for the most disadvantaged people in our town throughout this period.

Since then we have gradually increased the services we provide so our clients are now not only given hot meals, but clothing, warmth, education, training, one-to-one support, help with job searches and signposting to other agencies for help with financial and debt management.

We also have our own social enterprise – Hope Enterprises – which provides jobs for ex-clients to help them stand on their own two feet.

What we have achieved so far is thanks to generous donations from members of our community. Without this support, our work would not be possible, as we receive almost no direct council/government funding.

When you make your will, could you consider making a donation to the Northampton Hope Centre to help us continue our work?

A legacy from you could help in our work to tackle homelessness in Northampton.

Speak to your solicitor to discuss how to include the Hope Centre in your will

0845 519 9371 office@northamptonhopecentre.org.uk www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Insight and Controversy: Expert Witnesses Kick Off Autumn Conferring at the Cutting Edge Elizabeth Robson-Taylor and Phillip Taylor MBE of Rochmond Green Chambers review one of the highlights of the recent conference season...

The 20th Annual Expert Witness Conference at Church House, Westminster.

For lawyers in England and Wales, autumn is the contemplative ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’ that also heralds the advent of what is becoming known as “The Conference Season”, during which time there are conferences galore.

For at least the last couple of decades, these annual events have become almost an essential part of a well-rounded, grounded -and well-informed professional life. So political animals generally gravitate to the various party conferences – Labour, Tory, LibDem, Green -- take your pick. And for members of the Bar, there’s the must-go-to Bar and Young Bar Conference in London.

If you’re a keen conference goer, you’re the sort who inevitably appreciates the opportunities to tap into what’s happening now in your field… what’s happening next… what should be happening, but isn’t – and why and what you can do, or should do, or shouldn’t do about it. And generally you have opportunities to meet many of the main players in your areas of interest and participate (or not) in the usually sharp controversies of question and answer sessions.

However, there is one conference that often doesn’t turn up all that prominently in the purview of the typical reader of “The Barrister” and that is the annual Expert Witness Institute (EWI) Conference.

Held in the central but sequestered and leafy, rather collegiateish location of Church House in London – a stone’s throw from Parliament – this conference is where lawyers can garner important insights into the role and challenges facing the expert witness in court and where expert witnesses can meet and greet each other as well as the lawyers who instruct them.

This article is written in the hope and expectation that the profile of the EWI will be significantly raised. If you are a lawyer frequently (or even infrequently) engaged in trials requiring expert evidence, you need to know more about the EWI -- and attendance at this conference does provide the ideal opportunity to do so, and it is a fun event.

A deep pool of talent The recent EWI Conference of 2016 marked the 20th anniversary of the EWI Conference, and very well attended it was. It was in effect a demonstration of its standing, its burgeoning influence and the pool of talent that sustains it. The roster of distinguished speakers consisted mainly of lawyers, (some transatlantic) legal advisers and members of the judiciary, including for example, Supreme Court Justice, Lord Kerr.

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Amiably chaired by EWI Governor Amanda Stevens, the Conference proceeded apace, with speaker after speaker imparting much useful, insightful and sometimes controversial comment on the future of the justice system in general and the varied role of the expert witness in particular. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

Lord Kerr Lord Kerr and Dr John Sorabji, who can reasonably be referred to as the keynote speakers, made some memorable points.

‘It is a given’ remarked Kerr, that the role of experts in our legal system is indispensable’, later adding that ‘the relationship between the decision maker and the expert witness can be a delicate and difficult one’!

He went on to say that ‘there are many spheres of legal activity where expert evidence has been pivotal to the outcome of contested and even compromised, litigation. In over twenty years as a judge, I have heard countless cases in which the result has been heavily influenced by the evidence given by impartial, distinguished experts, either in written reports or in oral testimony.’

He elaborated further on the complementary nature of the respective roles played by the expert and the tribunal of fact and (where possible) those roles must be clearly defined. Interestingly, he quoted Lord Phillips in a 1997 case in which he observed that ‘when the scientist gives evidence, it is important that he should not overstep the line which separates his province from that of the Jury.’

Finally, Kerr reminded judges and jurors as well as experts, of the need to combine humility and assertiveness. ‘Humility’ he said ‘will lead them to defer to each other when appropriate, while assertiveness should ensure they do so only when appropriate.’

Dr. John Sorabji – ‘EWI in an Era of Reform.’

Another significant speech was delivered by John Sorabji, a regular friend to the Institute.

As Senior Fellow UCL, Judicial Institute -- and Principal Legal Adviser to the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls, Sorabji covered a number of important points.

‘There are plenty of challenges and opportunities for all experts ahead of us because we’re still in an era of reform,’ he said, referring to the paper from the Lord Thomas and others, entitled ‘Transforming the Justice System.’ A document much discussed at all the recent legal conferences, it follows on from the ‘Reshaping Justice’ paper of two years ago on which Sorabji has acted as an adviser and commentator.

Sorabji also dealt with two further issues of contemporary note: the fixed costs regime and ‘hot tubbing’ – the latter being the hot topic du jour of last year’s EWI conference (and before). It may have cooled down a bit since then, but it does refer to the use of concurrent evidence, which appeared in England and Wales around 2005, having originated as an import from Australia the same year. ‘It does not save costs’ warned Sorabji, even though, in the experience of most of the delegates, it does make the proceedings of the court easier to follow.

Having advised barristers’ chambers, law firms and government departments worldwide, Mayson has also appeared as an expert witness himself on law firm management in proceedings before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. All this and the impact of alternative business structures has created tensions, but it’s not all bad out there. The market for legal services is huge and continually expanding with a total value of £30bn annually, which apparently is no more than a mere estimate.

‘Two years older than Google’ some words from EWI’s fourth Chair What followed on from this cautionary yet optimistic message were some words from Sir Anthony Hooper QC, who is the EWI’s fourth Chair. In celebration of the EWI’s twentieth anniversary, he encouraged members to raise the profile of EWI for members present and future.

Lawyerly debate Sadly, space limitations rather rule out further detailed descriptions here of many of the other conference speeches, some of which dealt with highly specialised topics. Suffice to say, however, that the EWI Conference as a whole was distinguished in particular, by useful, organized, highly professional and high quality debate, lawyerly in tone and content because it was led largely by lawyers -- and punctuated with question and answer sessions that were illuminating and challenging.

So later this year -- only a few months hence -- when autumn leaves drift past your window – and the start of the legal term looms -- plan to take in a conference or two. The networking opportunities are first class and the food isn’t bad either, especially at the EWI Conference, which you really must make a note of in your Chambers diary.

In the august yet convivial precincts of Church House, there will be much thatSaul youMyerson.pdf can learn to 1your31/01/2017 advantage,10:50 so do come next year!

‘What a Year!’ he declared, ‘twenty years old -- we’re two years older than Google! And we are doing what we should be doing as an Institute.’

Sir Anthony also mentioned the increase in online teaching carried out by the EWI in such jurisdictions as Singapore and remarked about the fact that EWI membership has now ‘topped the thousand mark’, although the EWI still actively seeks new members particularly in forensic science as it grows.

MBChB, MD, FRCP, FESC

Consultant Cardiologist, Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and Clinical Lead for cardiac C

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As a final point, Sir Anthony referred to the decision in KennedyY v.

Cordia heard on 10th February 2016, a leading case heard recently CM in the Supreme Court. Regarded as pivotal, the case highlighted MY and examined the role of the expert, thus creating a singularly important statement on the role and duties of expert witnesses. CYAs Sir Anthony reminded delegates, the primary duty of the expert is to the court, but there is also the duty to the client. Furthermore,CMY the issue of impartiality should always be uppermost.

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Eat the Frog First: a Plea from Across the Pond Make what you will of the whimsical title, but this speech was deadly serious and presented with verve and vigour by the transatlantic duo of Alan Anderson and his forensic accountant associate Carol Ludington. Having acquired degrees from Cornell University also a PhD from King’s College, London, Minnesota-based trial lawyer, Alan Anderson has been – among his lengthy list of credentials – included in The Best Lawyers in America in intellectual property litigation since 2010 and there are a number of other strings to his formidable bow.

testing, including all forms of cardiac imaging and functional cardiac assessment.

Professor Myerson is based in the internationallyrenowned cardiac MRI department in Oxford and provides expert advice on all areas of cardiology including cardiomyopathy, coronary disease, heart valve disease and aortic disease. He has a large research portfolio and is an editor of three Oxford Handbooks in Cardiology.

for claimant and defence teams, including the Medical Protection Society, and working in high court cases.

Dept. Cardiology Oxford OX3 9DU

Tel: +44 1865 234597 Email: saul.myerson@cardiov.ox.ac.uk www.oxfordcardiologist.com

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

All the speakers who followed touched on a number of the core issues involved in identifying -- and elaborating on -- a number of pitfalls inherent in the role of expert witnesses and their relationship with the lawyers who instruct them. For example, Professor Stephen Mayson, of the Centre for Ethics and Law at the Faculty of Laws, University College London, spoke on the ever-changing face of the legal profession -- in which practitioners must contend with national and global as well as local, competition… plus the new regulatory framework created by the Legal Services Act… and the relentless rise of the consumer – and more.

Basically their presentation centered on the warning that ‘questions that fall within the purview of experts often are left until the end of preparations, or deferred entirely’ – and that ‘a reluctance to engage expert witnesses early in the dispute resolution process… often results in poor decisions or a less than desirable outcome.’ In other words, brief your expert witness sooner than later, or you might be in for a spot of bother. You have been warned.

Northamptonshire Law Society

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As a member of the Law Society we would like to offer you an Exclusive Affinity Offer DRIVE AWAY A BRAND NEW VOLVO V40 FOR £199 PER MONTH WITH 3.9% APR PCP FINANCE

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Retail sales only, subject to vehicle availability. You will not own the vehicle until all payments are made. Finance subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. 18s or over. Guarantee/indemnity may be required. At the end of the agreement there are 3 options: (i) Renew: part exchange the vehicle; (ii) Retain: pay the Optional Final Payment to own the vehicle; or (iii) Return the vehicle.

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The 2016 Autumn Statement – Highlights impacting Solicitors and their Clients Northamptonshire Law Society

On 23rd November, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond presented his first and last Autumn Statement. Following the Spring 2017 Budget, the Budget will be delivered in the autumn, with the first one taking place in Autumn 2017. The Office for Budget Responsibility will produce a spring forecast from Spring 2018 and the government will make a Spring Statement responding to that forecast. The Statement will review wider economic and fiscal challenges and launch consultations. The government will retain the option to make changes to fiscal policy at the Spring Statement if the economic circumstances require it.

Some of the Chancellor’s recent announcements are summarised below.

Personal Taxation

The Personal Allowance

The personal allowance is currently £11,000. Legislation has already been enacted to increase the allowance to £11,500 for 2017/18. Not everyone has the benefit of the full personal allowance. There is a reduction in the personal allowance for those with ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000, which is £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. For 2017/18 there will be no personal allowance available where adjusted net income exceeds £123,000.

Tax Bands and Rates The basic rate of tax is currently 20%. Legislation has already been enacted to increase the basic rate band to £33,500 for 2017/18. The higher rate threshold will therefore rise to £45,000 in 2017/18 for those entitled to the full personal allowance.

The additional rate of tax of 45% remains payable on taxable income above £150,000. The Chancellor has reaffirmed the government’s objectives to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 by the end of this Parliament. He also announced that once the personal allowance reaches £12,500, it will then rise in line with CPI as the higher rate threshold does, rather than in line with the National Minimum Wage.

Dividends, Savings Income and ISA’s Dividends received by an individual are subject to special tax rates. The first £5,000 of dividends are charged to tax at 0% (the Dividend Allowance). Dividends received above the allowance are taxed at the following rates:

Individuals who regard themselves as basic rate taxpayers need to appreciate that all dividends received still form part of the total income of an individual. If dividends above £5,000 are received, the first £5,000 will use up some or all of the basic rate band available.

The element of dividends above £5,000 which are taxable may well therefore make the individual a higher rate taxpayer with the dividends being taxed at 32.5%.

Some individuals qualify for a 0% starting rate of tax on savings income up to £5,000. However, the rate is not available if taxable non-savings income (broadly earnings, pensions, trading profits and property income) exceeds the starting rate limit. In addition, from 2016/17 the Savings Allowance (SA) applies to savings income. Income within the SA is taxed at 0% (the ‘savings nil rate’). However, the available SA in a tax year will depend on the individual’s marginal rate of income tax. Individuals taxed at up to the basic rate of tax will have an SA of £1,000. For higher rate taxpayers, the SA is £500 whilst no SA is due to additional rate taxpayers. The overall ISA savings limit is £15,240 for 2016/17 but will jump to £20,000 in 2017/18. A new Lifetime ISA will be available from April 2017 for adults under the age of 40. Individuals will be able to contribute up to £4,000 per year and receive a 25% bonus from the government. Funds, including the government bonus, can be used to buy a first home at any time from 12 months after opening the account, and can be withdrawn from age 60 completely tax-free.

Business Taxation

•

7.5% for basic rate taxpayers

Corporation Tax

•

32.5% for higher rate taxpayers

•

38.1% for additional rate taxpayers

Corporation tax rates have already been enacted for periods up to 31 March 2021.

“...The Chancellor has reaffirmed the government’s objectives to raise the personal allowance to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 by the end of this Parliament. He also announced that once the personal allowance reaches £12,500, it will then rise in line with CPI as the higher rate threshold does, rather than in line with the National Minimum Wage....”

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Dividends within the allowance still count towards an individual’s basic or higher rate band and so may affect the rate of tax paid on dividends above the £5,000 allowance. To determine which tax band dividends fall into, dividends are treated as the last type of income to be taxed. Many individuals do not have £5,000 of dividend income and so their dividend income will be tax free irrespective of the tax rates payable on other income.

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The main rate of corporation tax is currently 20%. The rate will then be reduced as follows: •

19% for the Financial Years beginning on 1 April 2017, 1 April 2018 and 1 April 2019

•

17% for the Financial Year beginning on 1 April 2020.

Currently, a company is restricted in the type of profit which can be relieved by a loss if the loss is brought forward from an earlier accounting period. For example, a trading loss carried forward can only relieve future profits from the same trade. Changes are proposed which will mean that losses arising on or after 1 April 2017, when carried forward, will be useable against profits from other income streams or other companies within a group. This will apply to most types of losses but not to capital losses.

However, from 1 April 2017, large companies will only be able to use losses carried forward against up to 50% of their profits above £5 million. For groups, the £5 million allowance will apply to the group.

Capital Gains Tax

The Chancellor highlighted that research and development is a key driver for economic growth and has committed to an extra £2 billion a year of additional funding by 2020/21. There are two types of tax reliefs for eligible expenditure. Under one of these, qualifying companies can claim a taxable credit of 11% in relation to eligible research and development expenditure. This is known as an ‘above the line’ tax credit. The government is planning to review ways to build on this relief.

The current rates of CGT are 10%, to the extent that any income tax basic rate band is available, and 20% thereafter. Higher rates of 18% and 28% apply for certain gains; mainly chargeable gains on residential properties that do not qualify for private residence relief.

National Insurance Class 2 NICs will be abolished from April 2018, and following this, self-employed contributory benefit entitlement will be accessed through Class 3 and Class 4 NICs. Self-employed people with profits below the Small Profits Limit (£5,965 for 2016/17) will be able to access Contributory Employment and Support Allowance through Class 3 NICs.

Apprenticeship Levy

Larger employers will be liable to pay the apprenticeship levy from April 2017. The levy is set at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill, which is broadly total employee earnings excluding benefits in kind, and will be paid along with other PAYE deductions. Each employer receives an annual allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment. This means that the levy will only be paid on any pay bill in excess of £3 million in a year.

Employees’ Remuneration Employers can choose to remunerate their employees in a range of different ways in addition to a basic salary. The tax system treats these different forms of remuneration inconsistently and the government will therefore consider how the system can be made fairer between workers carrying out the same work under different arrangements. The review will look specifically at how the taxation of benefits in kind and expenses could be made fairer and more coherent. The government will take the following action:

Salary Sacrifice The tax and employer NICs advantage of salary sacrifice schemes will be removed from April 2017. This change will not apply to arrangements relating to pensions, childcare, Cycle to Work and ultra-low emission cars. This means that employees who exchange salary for benefits will pay the same tax as individuals who buy them out of their post-tax income. Arrangements in place before April 2017 will be protected until April 2018, and arrangements for cars, accommodation and school fees will be protected until April 2021.

Company Cars The scale of charges for working out the taxable benefit for an employee who has use of an employer provided car are now announced well in advance. Most cars are taxed by reference to bands of CO2 emissions. There is a 3% diesel supplement. The maximum charge is capped at 37% of the list price of the car.

From 6 April 2017, there will be a 2% increase in the percentage applied by each band with a similar increase in 2018/19. For 2019/20 the rate will increase by a further 3%.

From 6 April 2017, the appropriate percentage for cars which have neither a CO2 emissions figure nor an engine cylinder capacity, and which cannot produce CO2 emissions in any circumstances by being driven, will be set at 9%. From 6 April 2018, this will be increased to 13% and from 6 April 2019 to 16%.

For 2020/21 new lower bands will be introduced for the lowest emitting cars whilst the appropriate percentage for cars emitting greater than 90 g/km will rise by one percentage point. The current rates of CGT are 10%, to the extent that any income tax basic rate band is available, and 20% thereafter. Higher rates of 18% and 28% apply for certain gains; mainly chargeable gains on residential properties that do not qualify for private residence relief.

Northamptonshire Law Society

Research and Development

Entrepreneurs Relief The rate for disposals qualifying for Entrepreneurs’ Relief is 10% with a lifetime limit of £10 million for each individual. Entrepreneurs’ Relief is targeted at working directors and employees of companies who own at least 5% of the ordinary share capital in the company and the owners of unincorporated businesses.

In 2016/17 a new relief, Investors’ Relief, was introduced which also provides a 10% rate with a lifetime limit of £10 million for each individual. The main beneficiaries of this relief are external investors in unquoted trading companies.

Inheritance Tax The nil rate band has remained at £325,000 since April 2009 and is set to remain frozen at this amount until April 2021. An additional nil rate band is being introduced for deaths on or after 6 April 2017 where an interest in a main residence passes to direct descendants. The amount of relief is being phased in over four years; starting at £100,000 in the first year and rising to £175,000 for 2020/21. For many married couples and civil partners the relief is effectively doubled as each individual has a main nil rate band and each will potentially benefit from the residence nil rate band.

The additional band can only be used in respect of one residential property which does not have to be the main family home but must at some point have been a residence of the deceased. Restrictions apply where estates are in excess of £2 million.

Where a person dies before 6 April 2017, their estate will not qualify for the relief. A surviving spouse may be entitled to an increase in the residence nil rate band if the spouse who died earlier has not used, or was not entitled to use, their full residence nil rate band.

The calculations involved are potentially complex but the increase will often result in a doubling of the residence nil rate band for the surviving spouse. The residence nil rate band may also be available when a person downsizes or ceases to own a home on or after 8 July 2015 where assets of an equivalent value, up to the value of the residence nil rate band, are passed on death to direct descendants.

Other Matters impacting on the legal sector Legal Support Payments From April 2017, all employees called to give evidence in court will no longer need to pay tax on legal support from their employer.

This should help support all employees and ensure fairness in the tax system. Currently, only those requiring legal support because of allegations against them can use the tax relief.

Insurance Premium Tax The standard rate of Insurance Premium Tax will rise from 10% to 12% from 1 June 2017.

While not a comprehensive summary of all the changes proposed in the Autumn Statement, many of the changes highlighted above evidence further fiscal creep. There is no reason to suggest that this underlying theme will change in the next few years.

If you wish to discuss any specific matters further, then please contact me at Hawsons Chartered Accountants on 01604 645600 or richardburkimsher@hawsons.com

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Human Trafficking: Expert Witness and Cultural Translation

Revd Dr Pemberton Ford has been working in the field of human trafficking, migration and asylum services, cultural inclusion and gender equality advocacy over the last two decades.

A Senior partner in IbixInsight LLP, a consultancy specialising in diversity, equality and social inclusion training, Carrie brings expertise in cultural translation, and human rights based welfare compliance alongside being a respected expert in the complex challenges arising in Human Trafficking cases.

Respected Expert Witness Her particular expertise is around long term recovery issues, assisting with understanding challenges around ‘indebtedness’ and intimidation, and the challenges of reintegration and repatriation. As an Expert Witness a recent success has been to have contributed to a change in Home Office Country Guidance, in relation to a particular area of specialism in West African Trafficking.

She is an informed, compelling, independent and knowledgeable Expert Witness, with an authority based on a successful academic and professional career, spanning work in government advising as a Women’s National Commissioner, for over a decade consulting into various police forces on Human Trafficking, and emerging as a recognised leading voice in confronting Human Trafficking as the Director of CCARHT – the Cambridge Centre of Applied Research in Human Trafficking. She is the author of a number of high level, policy influencing reports and academic articles in peer reviewed journals on Human Trafficking indicators, risks to children, modes of recruitment and community facilitation.

In House CPD training provision Cambridge Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking has now teamed up with IbixInsight research, to provide in-house CPD and ILM accredited courses. These are ideal for solicitors and para-legals to update their skills and competencies in this critical and fast moving sector of Legal protection and Home Office challenge.

Government, Justice, Immigration, Counsel and Modern Slavery Carrie advised on the Strategic Gold Group for the breakthrough Police operations countering Human Trafficking in 2005 and 2007 (Operations Pentameter). With CCARHT Trustee and former CPS Director on Human Trafficking cases, Glyn Rankin, she chaired the Education and Research Stream for the UK Human Trafficking Centre which is now integrated into the National Crime Agency.

As the chair of the Women’s National Commission working group on Human Trafficking and Migration, briefing the Solicitor General and Home Office ministers on the realities and range of Human Trafficking in the wake of the newly realised UN Palermo Protocol (which defines the contemporary offence of Human Trafficking in International Law). Carrie has worked in a number of international contexts including D.R Congo, Republic of South Africa, India, Poland, Belgium, Canada and the former Yugoslavia and has a new research portfolio working with the current challenges emerging from Sub-Saharan/ North African / Mediterranean migration. She is an adviser to UNITAR in identifying Human Trafficking risks in contemporary areas of conflict.

Cambridge Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking (CCARHT.org) CCARHT’s internationally recognised annual Summer Symposium and Summer School brings together academics and practitioners from across the world. Work includes disclosing the finer distinctions of Organised Criminal Networks and Organised crime groups, challenges facing return and the risk of ‘refoulement’, the practices of exorcism, witchcraft and abuses in African traditional religion corralled into control mechanisms, International and

The recent Expert Witness contribution from Carrie, which stimulated a change in Home Office country guidance, has improved the chances of those surviving the several ordeals of trafficking to find justice and safety in the UK after years of brutalization. Do be in contact if either some in House Training, or a piece of Expert Witness work in this arena would be of assistance to your firm.

Contact details Get in touch for a free initial consultation for a client you think could be assisted Dr Carrie Pemberton Ford CCARHT Cambridge Centre for Applied Research in Human Trafficking Carrie@ccarht.org / carrie@ibixinsight.com 01223 891765 ExpertWitness@ibixinsight.com Cambridge CB21 6DD CCARHT is an independent research centre which facilitates a multiagency, cross departmental and inter-university research effort to respond to Human Trafficking in all its global and local realizations.

For CPD credited courses for your legal Practice in Human Trafficking 101 or to develop a symposium for an area of policy development, please be directly in touch with Carrie@ccarht.org

Northamptonshire Law Society

inter-regional Trafficking in MENA, and particular regional expertise developed in West African Trafficking networks, and a full appreciation of the requirements of UK Modern Slavery legislation.

Carrie is a much sought after researcher, speaker, and consultant in all of these areas and is delighted to assist teams in clarifying the issues at stake.

Annual Quiz Winners After several years without a victory the Society is pleased to announce that a team from a legal firm has finally won the Annual Quiz held jointly with the chartered accountants. It was not easy though with only a single point covering the top 3 teams. However their nerve held and it was a team from Hewitsons that managed to hold off the competition.

The team, pictured, were from left to right, Neil Harpham, Anne-Sophie Reynolds, David Browne and Chris Nuttall, although David did admit to not contributing much!

Hopefully this victory will spur other firms to fly the legal flag in the next quiz in November.

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27

Flood risk – are you getting the full picture?

Northamptonshire Law Society

The risk of property flooding often crops up in conveyancing articles but, when we look at the pattern of conveyancing searches being ordered, we notice that around 80% of orders we receive do not include a thorough flood assessment and details on insurability.

Law Society Practice Note The Practice Note on flood risk was updated recently (February 2016) and full details can be found on the Law Society website. The Practice Note highlights that different parties will have different appetites for risk, but that conveyancers should consider: 1. advising the client to establish the terms on which buildings insurance, including flood risk cover, is available; 2. advising the client to discuss the level of risk with a building surveyor or flood risk assessment consultant.

Ensuring that you have the full picture on flood Confusion can arise because a number of different searches include information on property flooding. The information provided ranges from basic flood screening as part of an automated environmental report, through to a full assessment, insurability and consultant opinion in some of the standalone flood reports and more comprehensive environmental reports.

Please see the table below for a summary of coverage in a number of different residential conveyancing searches: Search

Flood screen

Flood risk assessment

Insurability statement

Landmark Homecheck Professional Flood





Landmark RiskView Residential





Argyll SiteSolutions Residence





Landmark Homecheck Pro Environmental



Landmark Envirosearch Residential



Groundsure HomeScreen



Groundsure Homebuyers



Groundsure Flood

 



Consultant opinion



(risk model)



(risk model)



(fully manual)



(risk model)



(risk model)

Note: risk model opinions are automated, whereas a fully manual opinion denotes that the information is manually reviewed by a consultant.

Identifying the likelihood of risk The Geodesys website provides you with a search alert tool that screens properties and land for all conveyancing risks. If there is a likelihood of flooding, then suitable recommended searches will be highlighted within the Geodesys product list to aid conveyancers in their choice of search.

For further details on the different levels of residential and commercial flood information available please talk to Geodesys Customer Services on 0845 070 9109.

28

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

Your conveyancing searches

in safe hands Geodesys offers a full range of residential and commercial searches including environmental, Local Authority, drainage and water, flood, planning, chancel, energy and compliance.

For information telephone 0845 070 9109, email customer.services@geodesys.com www.geodesys.com

Northamptonshire Law Society

And Finally… ….. here is a round up of the topics, events and news that were not covered in this edition from Phil Smith, Society Manager.

Welcome to the Winter edition of the Bulletin.

A belated happy new year to you all.

I know that Christmas is already a distant memory and our Awards Dinner even more so. However I want to give you early notice that the Awards event for 2017 is already being discuss by your Council members. The date for you diary is Friday 29th September.

This year, we are looking to freshen up the format and having a themed Awards event. Your Council have been reviewing the categories, in particular the divide between the large and small firm awards categories. This year that category will be redefined and the Small firm category will be for firms with less than 10 partners and the Large firm category for 10 partners or more. I will be sending out more information shortly with details on how to nominate and also how to take advantage of early booking discounts. Also new this year there will be entry into a free prize draw for those people who have taken the time to make nominations. Watch out for details of this and on all of the above.

It is our intention to increase the number and the variety of CPD courses this year. We already have 4 courses organised on conveyancing with the ever popular Richard Snape. You will also have seen that Gill Steel has been booked to present in June. Gill is a top class presenter who specialises in Wills,

“...there will be entry into a free prize draw for those people who have taken the time to make nominations. Watch out for details of this and on all of the above...”

Probate, Trust tax and elderly client issues. In addition to this there will also be a COLP/COFA update later in the year, as well as training in mediation. We would like to provide more speakers of the calibre of Gill and Richard but can only do so if you tell us which topics you want covered and of course support the courses when they are offered. An email to me is all it takes and I will do the rest.

We are always on the lookout for articles whether they be work related or social and charity events that you or your firm have undertaken. If you are unsure what qualifies then email or ring me and I will be happy to discuss.

Phil Smith

Society Manager

email: philsmithdw@aol.com

Job opportunities 1. Reputable Northamptonshire firm is looking for a qualified solicitor/licenced conveyancer or CILEX required for home visits. Car provided. No individual caseload. Would suit someone looking to wind down their career or someone seeking part time low stress work.

2. Reputable Northamptonshire firm is looking for a commercial conveyancing/property solicitor required for our Brackley office. Salary dependent on experience.

If you require more detail on either of these vacancies please contact Kelly Steel at kelly.steel@gilroysteel.com 30

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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