Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin

Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Spring/Summer 2017

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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 All change for the SRA Accounts Rules

Key Account Manager Denise Castell

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

Spring 2017 Northamptonshire Law Society

EAST PARK COMMUNICATIONS Ltd. Maritime House, Balls Road, Birkenhead, Wirral CH43 5RE

9 Northamptonshire Law Society Annual Awards Dinner 2017

12 Support for high court judicial applications investigation Obituary - Alan Herald Coles

13 Take your flood investigations to new depths 14 When does a land contract need to comply with section 2?

15 Using Alternative Dispute Resolution for Commercial Disputes

Media No. 1111

16 “I wanna tell you a story”

Published June 2017

18 Northamptonshire Law Society members raise £1400 for Kidsaid

Legal Notice

19 Senior Moments

© 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.

23 Graduates get a chance to shine at the best small law firm in Northamptonshire 26 Budgeting and Porportionality Issues in the Spotlight again 24 Questions From NLS Members 30 ... And Finally

B

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.

Those who know me will know that I am very much a “people” person and that I think the success of local law firms is very much dependent upon having good staff morale which then leads to good relationships with clients, and so to building businesses. LexisNexis have recently released their report on “The Art of Success – Why independent law firms are thriving” and it’s interesting to see that I am not alone or even in the minority in seeing things that way. Quoting from the report: “our research reveals a new generation of enlightened decision makers, who’ve deliberately walked away from life in the top tier, with its high pressure “billable hours” culture, in order to create a new kind of firm, with a focus on quality over quantity. Rather than chasing growth for growth’s sake or fixating on unrealistic targets, they’re focusing on delivering first class legal services and creating a better working culture and environment for their people: firms where happy, productive, staff deliver a more personal, more “human”, level of service.”

Northamptonshire Law Society

President

The President writes...

Northamptonshire firms have suffered for some time with problems of recruitment and retention of good staff, both qualified and support staff. This is in part as the result of our geography – easily commutable to London/Birmingham, where salaries are greater. However, if we focus on quality of life for staff, then surely we really have something to attract people to the area? And if we treat them well (and it certainly isn’t just about money) then hopefully we will retain them. Good staff morale can’t be underestimated, and ultimately if we have good staff morale that will reflect in the way they interact with clients, so giving clients a better experience.

At my firm, Wilson Browne, we have experimented with a number of initiatives. We have an annual Staff Awards Evening, with awards for all levels of staff, with some of the categories being nominated by and voted for by staff. The evening celebrates the success of the firm and the contributions of the staff and has been a resounding success. We have team rewards vouchers for meeting certain financial targets. Staff can “buy” extra holiday or get discounts on certain purchases. There may be the occasional cakes/pizzas/ice creams around an office.

Some offices have regular office meetings where issues can be aired.

The occasional bottle of wine/bunch of flowers for going above and beyond doesn’t go amiss. It is all in an effort to ensure that every staff members appreciates that it takes everyone from the office assistant to the Senior Partner to make for a successful firm. Wilson Browne also looks to promote from within, supporting fee earners in their learning – for example those seeking to qualify as Legal Executives or Licenced Conveyancers, or paralegals seeking training contracts. I always tell people about a now retired Chairman of the Board of Management who started his career as the office junior.

Provincial law firms have much to offer, so we should be optimistic about the future of our members.

As a way of celebrating our member firms and their fee earners I would encourage everyone to make nominations for our upcoming Awards Evening in September – I’m looking forward to it!

Mrs Ika Castka

President Northamptonshire Law Society

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Constituency Council Member’s Report June 2017 This month, there have been two significant events for the future of our profession.

The impact of the acquittal of Leigh Day and Co and three of its solicitors of more than 20 charges could be far reaching.

The 7-week hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) is the longest in the Tribunal’s history and estimated to have cost in the region of £10 million. It followed the defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon’s public demand for action.

Accounts vary but from the reporting of the case, Leigh Day believed its clients were innocent farmers caught up in the aftermath of the Battle of Danny Boy. Journalist report that a key document given to Leigh Day no later than 2007 -suggesting its clients were members of the Mahdi army- was not disclosed by Leigh Day until some years later.

The entire history of the situation will never be known but it was suggested the Al-Sweady Inquiry (which reported in 2014 at a cost estimated between £25 and £31 million) could have been avoided had the true nature of the claims been made known earlier.

The Al-Sweady inquiry found that allegations of torture and murder against the British Army were “wholly without foundation and entirely the product of deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility ” It did find that nine Iraqi detainees had been ill-treated but the more serious allegations were not upheld.

Phil Shiner who represented the initial group of Claimants admitted to acting dishonestly in relation to the claims he brought but Leigh Day denied dishonesty and were exonerated by the SDT. However, for the British public there is clearly a level of distaste.

As ever, this is not helped when it is revealed that lawyers millions from such claims, with the senior partner of Leigh Day reporting to have billed for 2,600 hours in 2007/08 alone.

In addition to the cost to the public purse, the financial cost to the profession in footing the bill for the prosecution will provoke further investigation.

A further consideration is the impact on English and Welsh lawyers globally. Since the Legal Services Act 2007, there has been much criticism from international lawyers of this jurisdiction’s lack of independence from the government. This argument can only be strengthened by the allegation that there was copious correspondence between Sir Michael and Paul Phillip, Chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) relating to the conduct of the prosecution. If true, this will undoubtedly come under scrutiny, particularly from those competing to undermine the dominance of England and Wales as the global jurisdiction of choice.

The full judgment in the Leigh Day case will not be available until August at the earliest and until then, the reasoning will not be clear.

One publication reported that none of the allegations of professional misconduct were found to be proven to the required criminal standard of proof. If the findings were to be expressed in this way, this could strengthen the SRAs demands for a change to the standard of proof at the SDT.

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The SRA have been arguing for an increased disciplinary jurisdiction -at present their powers are limited to fining up to www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

£2,000 or reaching agreed terms via a Regulatory Settlement and questioned whether or not the remaining functions of the SDT should be undertaken by the courts. It has also questioned the appropriate standard of proof to be applied.

The SDT applies the criminal standard (beyond reasonable doubt), whilst the SRA in making its determinations applies the civil standard (on the balance of probabilities).

A Privy Council decision of 1955 sets out the traditional position, ‘… in every allegation of professional misconduct involving an element of deceit or moral turpitude a high standard of proof is called for, and we cannot envisage any body of professional men sitting in judgment on a colleague who would be content to condemn on a mere balance of probabilities.’

This was restated by Lord Lane in 1993 “It seems to us, if we may respectfully say so, that it is not altogether helpful if the burden of proof is left somewhere undefined between the criminal and the civil standards. We conclude that at least in cases such as the present, where what is alleged is tantamount to a criminal offence, the tribunal should apply the criminal standard of proof, that is to say proof to the point where they feel sure that the charges are proved or, put in another way, proof beyond reasonable doubt.”

The rationale for change is that ‘modern’ regulators favour the civil standard. Certainly, within the medical professions, it has been cited that the need for public protection demands the lower standard and this is echoed by the SRA in its response to the Bar Standards Board’s consultation on a change to the civil standard of proof, published on 2 May. The failures in the regulation of medical professionals such as Harold Shipman are well known but it has been difficult to find an equivalent failure as a result of a decision made by the SDT. The concern for public protection sits somewhat oddly with the SRA’s desire to reduce public protection - more of that later.

It has been argued by senior figures at the SRA that the costs of prosecutions would be less but no evidence has been put forward to support this assertion.

It is hard to accept that the burden of preparation would be much changed – rather incentives to poor preparation might well be increased. The precise number of successful prosecutions before the SDT are not recorded in the annual report but it is estimated that it is well in excess of 90%. The SRA have been unable to provide any figures relating to prosecutions not brought because of the current higher standard. Other supporters of a change to the standard of proof, the Legal Services Board, the Legal Services Board’s Consumer Panel and the Government Insurance Fraud Taskforce have not been able to point to any specific mischief that needs to be addressed. Indeed, concerns have been expressed in the past in relation to the delay by the SRA in investigating and prosecuting cases.

The SDT has two functions, it is a first instance decision-maker and it is also an appellate body for decisions made by the SRA. It is the second function where difficulties have arisen.

When the SRA first started using its enhanced disciplinary powers in 2010 it decided to adopt a civil standard of proof. The recent case of Arslan led to the judiciary questioning the current standard.

Mr Aslan was not a solicitor and the SRA used its powers to sanction and to issue an order preventing solicitors from employing him. He appealed to the SDT which noted that the SRA had applied the civil standard but felt it was entitled to use the criminal standard.

On that basis, the allegations of dishonesty were not proved and a lesser sanction applied.

Sir Brian Leveson added: “I emphasise the observations of Leggatt J in relation to the standard of proof in these cases and underline the need for a re-evaluation of the approach to disciplinary measures intended to protect the public. Notwithstanding [the] encouragement to do so, to go further than the confines of this case would not have been appropriate.”

The SDT have indicated they will be consulting on changing the standard of proof. The SDT could opt to change the standard but could only be compelled to do so by legislation. It could be that with the pressure from other stakeholders it may decide to make a change to the standard of proof before being compelled to do so.

Finally, on 13 June, the SRA announced it had considered the responses to the consultation ‘Looking to the future: flexibility and public protection’ which ran last summer.

Key changes are: •

removal of restrictions on solicitors delivering non-reserved services to the public from unregulated entities

•

a new reduced set of 6 Principles

•

a new shorter Code of Conduct for Solicitors and a new shorter Code of Conduct for Firms (although this will be supported by a considerable volume of guidance)

•

removal of requirements for solicitors working in non-regulated firms to carry professional indemnity insurance and to contribute to the Compensation Fund.

The Law Society has pointed to the response to a 2016 Law Society survey, in which ‘a substantial number of solicitors expressed real concern with many of the proposed changes to the handbook including 82% saying encouraging solicitors to work in unregulated businesses would damage the solicitor brand - a brand that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) identified as synonymous with quality advice.’

Northamptonshire Law Society

The SRA appealed. Leggatt J said (obiter): “The present situation in which the tribunal, when acting as a primary fact-finder, applies a different standard of proof from that which the SRA applies when carrying out that role is unsatisfactory and illogical…I also see considerable force in the point that the climate and approach to professional regulation and discipline have changed since Re A Solicitor [the 1993 authority for the criminal standard] was decided.”

86% felt solicitors’ businesses should have professional indemnity insurance. Concerns expressed by the Competition Markets Authority regarding consumer confusion have also been ignored as has the Legal Services Boards concern that the profession and the profession (and indeed the SRA) may not yet be ready for such radical change . Concerns have also been expressed about the potential erosion of legal professional privilege.

The SRA’s decision on the next steps and a summary of the responses to the consultation are available at: www.sra.org.uk/ sra/policy/future/resources.page The SRA plans to issue a further consultation on the detail of the proposals, which will include new authorisation and practice requirements, and its enforcement strategy in autumn 2017.

In addition, the SRA intends to publish guidance for solicitors and firms in advance of the implementation of their new rules. The SRA does not anticipate introducing the new requirements before Autumn 2018. Added to this mix at some stage later this summer the SRA will publish the next phase of their reforms dealing with Financial Protection and alterations to the Minimum Terms and Conditions which has the most potential to alter the way the market operates.

I will write on this further as more information becomes available as well as on the radical changes and developments of the qualifying and SQE proposals.

In the meantime, I would very much appreciate receiving your views on both the planned new handbook and the changes to the standard of proof

The SRA took some account of stakeholders’ concerns and slightly amended their original proposals as follows: •

changes were made to the wording of their second principles regarding upholding public trust, to make it clear that it refers to trust and confidence in SRA regulated professionals

•

made it clear that the ban on cold calling remains

•

took account of concerns over cost implications for firms arising from their proposals on account rules, and amended the definition of client money. The majority of firms with a client account will not need to make further changes.

This announcement has been met with disappointment and anger by many in the profession. It appears to ignore the concerns of the profession and stakeholders with plans which reduce public protection. It also seems possible that new entities will take advantage of the waiver procedure and the ‘regulatory sandbox’ that permit such entities to operate in this manner well ahead of the introduction of a new Code of Conduct book, thus discriminating in their favour.

It also ignores research and consumer concerns. For example, the 2016 survey of consumers conducted by Ipsos Mori showed that www.gov.uk/government/news/publication-of-the-al-sweady-inquiry-report www.gov.uk/government/news/publication-of-the-al-sweady-inquiry-report Bhandari v Advocates Committee [1956] 3 All ER 742 Re a Solicitor [1993] QB 69 Solicitors Regulation Authority v Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal & Huseyin Arslan (Interested party) & Law Society (Intervening party) [2016] EWHC 2862 (Admin)

Linda Lee June 2017.

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. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society Northamptonshire Law Society

Annual Awards Dinner 2017

The Marriott Hotel, Eagle Drive, Northampton, NN4 7HW Friday 29th September 2017 Bring out your inner James Bond at our Awards presentation and Casino night Plus the opportunity to drive a Maserati for a weekend Reception Drinks to begin at 7:30pm Dinner Served 8:00 pm Awards and music to follow Carriages: 1:00 am Dress Code: Black Tie/Cocktail Dress A limited number of rooms are avaliable at The Marriott Hotel at a discounted rate, that includes breakfast Please Quote ‘Northamptonshire Law Society’ when booking.

Costs: Individual Tickets £46.00 per person Book a Table of 10 for £430.00 Book before the 12th August Individual Tickets £43.00 per person Book a Table of 10 for £400.00 All booking enquiries by email please to philsmithdw@aol.com Patrons:

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The University of Northampton. QPI Legal Ltd. Hawsons Chartered Accountants. Brighter Law Group Landmark Information Group

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

Northamptonshire Law Society Legal Awards 2017 Northamptonshire Law Society

Firms and individuals from the Northamptonshire legal sector are invited to nominate themselves or colleagues in one of the 4 categories (see below for details).

So if you work with a talented rising star or an inspirational leader or you consider your firm to be the best to work for then please let us know before 25th August 2017.

The nominations will be judged by an experienced panel of judges, comprising of leading figures from law, business and academia with the winners being announced on Friday 29th September 2017 at the Northampton Marriot Hotel.

Categories and Nomination Criteria

Judging criteria Solicitor of the Year: More than 5 years PQE: • Involvement in interesting, challenging or new areas of law • Dedication to your clients • Support for the profession which may include nonfee earning work/activities • Contribution to the community including pro-bono work

Junior Lawyer of the Year:*

Small Firm of the Year: less than 5 partners

• Excellent standards of work

• Training initiatives & accreditations in development (e.g. CQS)

• Dedication to the role & profession

• Professional development • Contribution to client relationships & business development

• Community contribution including pro bono work

Large Firm of the Year: More than 5 partners

• Growth in reputation

• Client appreciation & recognition

• Staff welfare & development programmes

• Client initiatives that set the firm apart from others • Contribution to the legal community • Recognition from other firms

• Community contribution including pro bono work

*Paralegals, Trainee solicitors, trainee legal executives & solicitors and legal executives up to 5 years PQE. How to nominate: • Anyone can nominate, you need not be a solicitor, and you can self nominate.

• Please complete the entry clearly and concisely and include your name and organisation.

• Provide evidence against the judging criteria considering reputation, experience, acumen, professionalism, commitment and anything else that you feel is particularly relevant.

• Supporting information e.g. client testimonials may be scanned and attached to your nomination.

• If nominated by a third person, nominees may be contacted and asked to supply further information to support their nomination. We may contact you for further details if required.

• Entry forms will be circulated to all members by email or can be downloaded from the Society website All entries must be submitted by email to Phil Smith, Society Manager at philsmithdw@aol.com by 25th August 2017 to be considered.

A shortlist will be drawn up for each category and published prior to the Awards Dinner.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

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Cybercrime: how do you protect your law firm from ransomware threats?

Northamptonshire Law Society

The LSSA is delighted to announce its newest is LawWare Ltd. LawWare is the the thirdlast legaleighteen software Ransomware threats to law firms have member increased at an alarming rate over firm to join the LSSA in 2016.

As the UK’s industry body for legal systems developers and vendors, the months. As a leading supplier of practice management software, at LawWare we occasionally LSSA sets and maintains professional standards within the industry and manages areas of mutual interest apocryphal stories about firms who have paid the ransom rather than risk downtime and data between lawyers and software providers.

loss.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is computer malware that installs itself covertly on a victim’s computer or network. It then executes a cryptovirology attack that adversely affects it and demands a ransom payment to decrypt it.

Simple ransomware may lock the system and display a message requesting payment to unlock it. More advanced malware encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.

Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan that is disguised as a legitimate file. The ransom is almost always demanded to be paid in the digital currency, Bitcoin.

• Use high quality antivirus software.

There really is no excuse for being lax in this matter. Making use of a good quality antivirus solution throughout your entire system is a must. Ensure all laptops and portable devices that interact with your network have the same levels of protection as the network itself.

• Know the enemy.

Intelligence about the latest threats provides you and your IT staff with advance warning about cyber-crime activity in your area and industry.

Here are a few simple tips that can be put in place to mitigate the risk.

You can keep up to speed with the latest reports from cyber intelligence organisations such as Talos. Talos publicly shares information about emerging threats and provides forums and instructional videos to help you keep ahead of the game.

Protection checklist.

Finally, say no to ransom demands.

• Backup all your data.

By far the most important weapon in your arsenal is a regularly scheduled backup. If you are subject to an attack you can simply wipe your system to eliminate the ransomware and re-install the backup.

The more often you backup your data, the less you will lose. It’s worth thinking about your backup frequency and just how much data your practice can afford to lose without affecting its performance.

You may be tempted to pay up and recover access to your data to avoid both inconvenience and real operational problems. This should be the last thing you think about!

Make sure you notify the authorities and remember, succumbing to the demands will only encourage the criminals to make further attacks.

Mike O’Donnell, LawWare Limited

• Keep your software up-to-date.

Ransomware often relies on the victim running outdated software where vulnerabilities are known. To combat this, the best approach is to create protocols for ensuring updates are performed when necessary. Keeping common third-party software such as Java and Flash up-to-date will eliminate a large number of threats.

• Educate your staff.

Your staff are the weakest link in the security chain. If they allow themselves to fall victim to a phishing scam or other email generated approach, they can compromise the security of your entire business.

Teach fee earners and staff to recognise potential threats and to treat unrecognised or unsolicited mails with extreme caution. Train them to ask these key questions about emails: • Do I know the sender?

• Do I really need to open that file or go to that link?

• Did I really order something from this company?

• Avoid being infiltrated.

Occasionally your staff may unwarily visit compromised websites or open emails that contain malvertising. These are the usual sources from which the infiltration and malicious downloads will come. By blocking access to malicious websites, emails and attachments you can protect your network and avoid problems.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

All change for the SRA Accounts Rules Over the course of the last 2 years, since the SRA announced that a three-stage process regarding the proposed changes to the SRA Accounts Rules would be phased in, the Accounts Rules have been subject to some major changes.

On 1 June 2016, the SRA began its consultation for the third (and final) phase of its review of the Accounts Rules. This article covers the ambitious plans to simplify the Accounts Rules and looks at the proposed changes and their potential impacts.

Running in parallel with the consultation on the Accounts Rules, the SRA is also proposing to significantly shorten its lengthy handbook and code of conduct, from over 400 pages to less than 50.

Phase Three

Although Phase One and Phase Two have resulted in welcome changes, the third and final phase will involve a fundamental reform of the Accounts Rules as a whole. Phase Three can be split into three core proposals:

Proposal 1

The main proposal is an overall simplification of the Accounts Rules, considerably reducing the number of rules whilst still maintaining the overriding principle that client money must be kept safeguarded and only be used for its intended purpose.

The SRA has produced a draft copy of their proposed Accounts Rules, which runs to just six pages (formerly 32).

The legal sector is evolving at a faster pace than ever before and regulation needs to be kept up-to-date to ensure that it is fit for purpose. The current Accounts Rules have not been reformed for many years, so from our perspective, this is a step in the right direction. A fundamental update of the Accounts Rules has been in the offering for quite some time with the SRA working towards an approach which is significantly more proportionate, in terms of requirements of the firm. This is a welcome proposal in meeting that goal.

“...a change to the definition of client money will see a greater focus on targeted regulation with even greater number of firms becoming exempt from the requirement to obtain an accountant’s report....”

In an effort to enhance compliance and reduce related costs, the consultation was based around the rules being far easier to understand and supported by an online toolkit providing guidance and real life examples.

Between June 2012 and December 2013, the SRA undertook a study of 9,000 law firms. 50% of these received a qualified report but less than 4% of those that were qualified, resulted in a referral for further regularity actions.

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

By: David Ownes

Proposal 2

Under the new proposals, the definition of client money is to be changed to allow money paid for fees and disbursements for which the solicitor is liable (e.g. counsel fees) to be treated as the firm’s money. Money held for payments for which the client is liable (e.g. Stamp Duty Land Tax) will, however, continue to be treated as client money.

It is the change to the definition of client money that is one of the most significant proposals. Following on from expanding exemptions in Phase One and Phase Two, a change to the definition of client money will see a greater focus on targeted regulation with even greater number of firms becoming exempt from the requirement to obtain an accountant’s report. This should go some way to reducing compliance costs, particularly for smaller law firms, something which the SRA promised from the outset.

Proposal 3

The final proposal is to provide an alternative to the holding of client money through the introduction of clear and consistent safeguards around the use of Third Party Managed Accounts (TPMAs) as a mechanism for managing payments and transactions. The proposals add that clients wanting a higher level of protection may opt to pay by credit card.

Any changes that simplify matters must surely be welcomed, but they must also be in the client’s best interests. The proposal of a TPMA is interesting, but it remains to be seen how it will work in practice and how client money will be safeguarded. Increased flexibility always needs to be balanced with client protection. The SRA admits that the use of TMPAs may therefore only be appropriate for certain types of clients or categories of work.

Next steps

The SRA Accounts Rules were well overdue for a complete re-write in many people’s eyes. Whether this comes as part of this consultation remains to be seen, but it is a step in the right direction. As long as the overall objective of keeping client money safe isn’t compromised, a simplification to the rules will be well received.

The consultation for Phase Three closed on 21 September 2016. Analysis of the responses to the consultation is still in progress, which means that any implementation before the end of 2017 is unlikely.

David is a Corporate Service partners at Hawsons and has vast experience of assisting Solicitor clients at both a strategic and operational level, having dealt with Solicitor practices across the firms three offices.

The Law Society has welcomed the launch of a support programme to help prospective applicants for high court judicial appointments from under-represented backgrounds.

The Judicial Diversity Committee will be accepting applications for the support programme for just two weeks from 5 to 16 June. Applicants must meet the requirements for high court appointment, and must be from areas where the judiciary is significantly less representative of society – women, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) candidates and those from a less advantaged background.

To attract more solicitors and legal academics to the senior judiciary, the committee is extending the eligibility of this year’s programme to those without litigation experience.

Find out more information: http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-arethe-judiciary/diversity/high-court-support-programme2017-for-under-represented-groups/

Obituary ALAN HERALD COLES Sadly, news has been received of the death on 31st December 2016 of Alan Coles.

Northamptonshire Law Society

Support for high court judicial applications investigation

Alan was for several years Senior Partner in the Northampton firm of Ray & Vials (latterly Ironsides Ray & Vials). He had become articled in 1948 to the wellknown solicitor G.A.T. (“Tubby”) Vials, and after serving the firm as assistant solicitor, following qualification, became a Partner and remained so until 1992 when he retired.

As representative of the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire Law Societies, Alan served on the Council of the National Law Society in London for several years, carrying on his various duties there in tandem with his busy practice in Northampton. Prior to that he had served on the Council of the Northamptonshire Law Society of which he became President.

Following retirement, Alan and his Wife Barbara moved to Mundesley in Norfolk which had been a favourite holiday place for many years, and where, in retirement, Alan was able to indulge his love of golf. He is survived by Barbara and their children Sarah and Christopher

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

13

Northamptonshire Law Society

Take your flood investigations to new depths

Article from Tony Rollason,

Regional Manager

Legal, Landmark Information Group

This summer marks the tenth anniversary since the devastating floods of 2007, which saw record levels of rain fall during May, June and July. This led to a reported 56,000 homes and businesses being left to face the awful consequences of being flooded.

Yet, according to findings in a new YouGov survey that looks at how perceptions have changed over the last ten year period, it appears that the British population is generally failing to take adequate steps to fully understand their property’s risk of flooding.

In fact, it identifies that 53% of UK households confess to never checking their home’s flood risk.

It’s clear that those surveyed feel that the likes of construction companies, local councils, government and environmental authorities could be doing more to raise awareness and manage defence against flooding with 35% saying their confidence in flood defence measures hadn’t changed since the flooding occurred ten years ago, despite government investing budget in key defence programmes.

What About Those Looking to Move?

With this in mind, and with one in every six homes considered to be at risk from flooding in the UK*, it is important that from a home purchasing perspective, any potential risks posed by flooding are researched and, importantly, the home buying public are made fully aware that such checks are readily available to them as part of the legal process.

Interestingly, when the YouGov survey questioned consumers’ knowledge of how to check whether a property is indeed considered at risk from flooding, at any time, there was a mixed response with the majority suggesting they ran a Google search online (39%) as their first port of call, followed by asking the Environment Agency (25%) and then asking their local council (13%). The same number of people also (13%) also stated that they did not know where to turn for this information at all.

This is rather concerning when you consider that aside from the physical damage that can be caused by flood water, if a property is deemed at significant risk it may prove more difficult to obtain a mortgage, and could impact its future saleability.

From a homebuyers’ perspectives, this is where the due diligence and guidance provided by conveyancing solicitors is therefore key.

The good news is that flood reports have come a long way over the years and today present risk data in a very easy to understand, visual format that make them far more consumer-friendly. Now, they make it very clear what the results mean for the property they are about to buy.

For conveyancers, we are sure that this is music to your ears as you are therefore not expected to have to deduce (and explain) the complex findings of a technical risk model. Instead, reports provide simple risk scores and maps to make it very clear what type of flood risks are present, with some even providing manual assessments or interpretations from qualified environmental consultants.

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

If we take a look at the latest Homecheck Flood report as an example, this combines information from a wide range of expert sources to deliver a hugely comprehensive and trustworthy report. The report is the only one of its kind to automatically include a manual risk assessment from a specialist environmental consultant, should significant flood risk be identified within close proximity of the property – adding extra peace of mind.

This means that far more reports will be passed first time as any ‘risky’ sites will be manually assessed by expert environmental consultants. On top of this, it also provides access to an online portal that displays risks on an interactive digital map, creating a new level of analysis that hasn’t necessarily been available before.

For consumers who are today used to using digital maps on Internet search engines, this makes the whole flood checking process very intuitive, as they can easily drill up or down into the map to see what the data is telling them.

If any concerns have been made apparent and the homeowner is looking for more detailed assistance to translate what the risk means to them, conveyancers can now order a FloodSolutions Consult report, which is the next level up. This provides a clear summary of the risks, including impact analysis, details of what the flood risk is, the depth of flood waters and site-specific recommendations – all of which have been provided by an expert flood consultant.

For those about to enter a property transaction, it really doesn’t make sense to leave flooding to chance. Ten years on since the devastation of 2007 and we want to make sure that flood awareness is on everyone’s radar, and that, via their conveyancer, access to the latest digital reports will provide the intelligence that can be relied upon to help them make an informed and factsbased purchasing decision.

www.landmark.co.uk Appendix: YouGov survey: • All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. • Total sample size was 2,092.

• Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th-21st April 2017.

• The survey was carried out online.

• The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). *. One in six homes are considered ‘at risk’ of flooding: http://www.building.co.uk/one-in-six-uk-properties-at-riskof-flooding-say-mps/5074584.article

Using Alternative Dispute Resolution for Commercial Disputes

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19/06/2013 12:59

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15

Northamptonshire Law Society

“I wanna tell you a story” At the risk of sounding like Max Bygraves (Google him if you must), I want to tell you a story. It’s a story about brand.

A few weeks ago my partner Lois and I attended a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. When you are invited to such events you aren’t told why you’ve been selected as an invitee, or by whom. Instead it’s generally the Lord Lieutenant of the County who makes an initial approach, followed by an official invitation through the post, embossed on extremely heavy card from the Lord Chamberlain’s office, on behalf of the Queen. By that stage Buckingham Palace already knows that you will be attending, so included with the invitation come admission cards for yourself and your guest, joining instructions with guidance on what to wear – and what not – as well as a parking pass for The Mall. You then wait for the day to arrive, and wonder what it’ll be like when it arrives.

What it’ll be like is truly impressive, and on many levels.

As a snapshot of our experience I can tell you this. Arriving outside Buckingham Palace you are struck by the scale of its frontage.

Before “my” party I’d never visited before, except to drive past and daydream about what goes on inside. We decided to take the longer queue to get in by the main gate and then use the inner courtyard of the Palace itself where all the visiting dignitaries and heads of state do the same. It was then a very short walk through the rear of the building to arrive in the Queen’s back garden. With ten thousand other invited guests. Strangely, on arrival there was an immediate sense of intimacy despite so many people in

“...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....” attendance. Two bands from the armed forces took turns to play a huge array of music throughout the three hours of the event. The entire gardens area was made available to us to explore – and what gardens. I had expected a very regimented layout, formal to the last. Instead there were areas of shadow and shade, immaculate beds containing beautiful roses, striking lupins and rhododendrons very slightly past their best. There were trees, planted from acorns in the case of two particular specimens. The acorns had started their arborial journeys to maturity by being planted almost seventy years ago by The Princess Royal and The Prince of Wales – the latter was by then standing roughly two hundred yards away from me and engaged in animated conversation. A private lake close to the boundary wall of the gardens and running along the line of Buckingham Palace Road gave nesting and refreshment to a variety of birds and – amazingly – birdsong rang out across the entire estate. It reminded me of the Vatican City, surrounded on all sides by Rome.

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By: John Griff

If the surroundings made an impression on me, so did the way in which the business of the day was conducted. We were given access to the gardens from 3pm, with the arrival of Her Majesty set for 4pm. We had already been briefed that members of the Royal Family attending would walk through the guests in conversation and be in attendance until 6pm, after which the event would come to a conclusion. Tea, sandwiches and light refreshments (including exceptionally rich but tiny chocolate cakes with a chocolate crown motif on them – the only remotely royal display I saw all afternoon) would be available to those wishing to partake of them – alcohol would not. We would be free to roam at our leisure and enjoy being the invited guests of the monarch. And that was it.

That’s how it should have been. On the day there was a single, but important change in proceedings. The date of the Garden Party coincided with the day after the awful bombing of the Manchester Arena pop concert. Detail relating to the tragedy was still filtering through and in both sympathy and empathy for the victims the Queen had decided that there would be a minute’s silence at the moment of her arrival. At precisely 4pm – and I do mean precisely – the royal party took its place at the palace entrance to the gardens. A single, brief drum roll announced the arrival of the Queen, Princes Philip and Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Eugenie. Then, without announcement or direction the entire assemblage of guests, dignitaries and royals simply stood in silent contemplation. No phones broke the silence, no aircraft disturbed the tranquillity – even the sounds of early rush hour London seemed to be muted. The birds overhead provided nature’s accompaniment in a space that would otherwise have been filled with polite conversation and I for one was both impressed and proud to have witnessed something so simple and yet so dignified. At the end of what seemed like an eternity the band played the National Anthem, the Queen raised her previously bowed head, and the business of the party continued.

That business included those refreshments, the conversations of all present and some truly surreal moments. Like many, Lois and I took each other’s pictures as selfies abounded and at one point a very generous couple approached us, asking if we would like them to take our picture. We gratefully accepted the offer and then reciprocated. The husband of the couple was wearing a very ostentatious military uniform bedecked with medals and the insignia of rank. When I asked him who and what he was representing he told me that he was a Commodore in the Indian Navy and midway through a posting in London to the Indian High Commission. I decided that telling him my own role would be rather redundant and he certainly won that round of Top Trumps.

Mobile phone cameras were put to extensive use and particularly so when a royal attendee came into close proximity. In front of us at one point were a trio of medical staff from the armed forces – nurses I think. Their excitement was palpable and I wondered if they would have been any different had the guest been someone like Justin Bieber or Harry Styles. I didn’t see any celebrities in attendance at the party – I think that was deliberate. We were the guests and it felt like it too – a wonderful afternoon of relaxation in one of, if not the most exclusive locations that our country has to offer.

The story may be familiar to you yourself and if it is I hope I have not bored you with the telling of my own experience. I started by saying that this would be a story about brand, and it is. Throughout the Garden Party there were subtle reminders of where we were and a warm feeling of inclusion. The Queen wore what can only be described as the brightest of yellow, verging on fluorescent. This had the double benefit of marking her out for us to espy – and also to help the security forces posted on the roof of Buckingham Palace. I didn’t see any marksmen but would bet that the tall men in morning suits and top hats in closest proximity were suitably equipped for any eventuality. The way in which the totality of the party ran its course without announcement or apparent direction seemed altogether British and it made for a feeling of immense pride as we climbed back into the car in The Mall began our slow, congested journey home .

So what does all this mean for you and your business? Simply this – people buy people. In this instance it wasn’t me buying the Royal Family. Instead, someone had decided that I had done something worthy of thanks, hence my invitation to attend. At the point of origin my invite as a person came from another person – I

“...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....”

your business over the past five years has come from. Advertising?

Social media? Online? Word of mouth? All are entirely viable but I suggest that the latter is the strongest medium you can secure – it’s also the most cost-effective, being free. Could it be something that you could exploit for future benefit?

I just spent the last fifteen hundred words and more telling you about the virtues, strength and value of The Royal Family – I completely endorse them. I doubt that they have any idea whatsoever of who I am or what I did to be a guest in their Chief Executive’s back garden, notwithstanding that I help pay for its upkeep. What I did to earn my invitation mattered to somebody though. My point is the same as when I started – people buy people. I have bought into the brand that is The Firm. And somebody bought into me.

When was that most recently the case with your practice and what are you doing to build upon it?

Northamptonshire Law Society

Of course, at the end of proceedings we had to all leave and return to our normal existences. There was still a little magic to be savoured as we stepped back onto the pavement outside the gates of the Palace though. Tourists had begun to gather as the ten thousand guests had started to stream out and cameras clicked as we said goodbye to the armed police guarding both us and the Palace. The royal standard continued to fly atop its flagpole – it was the only thing that did however as all across the capital other flags flew at half-mast. It was an immediate reminder that we were back in normality and not Wonderland. But what a day and what an event to have been a part of.

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!

didn’t apply to go to the party and nobody can. That realisation is a very powerful thing and regardless of the royal connotation it meant a great deal to me as a human being. People select their advisors – accountants, doctors, solicitors and the like – in a completely different way to selecting where they shop, what car they drive or what television they watch. That, in turn, means that regardless of the size of your practice, it is you as the individual, your reputation for working as an individual and your care for your clients as individuals that will define your brand. The Royal Family is also known as “The Firm” – and you can see why. The Queen has pledged her life to her subjects and now, in her nineties, the same thing continues to apply. Prince Philip is stepping down from royal duties, but he’s not retiring. His too has been and continues to be a life of service and the same will be expected of Prince Charles when he finally ascends the throne. You are not expected to provide such an extended period of service – but you are expected to provide service of the highest order every time. It is that upon which reputation – and good reputation – is founded. Positive reputations take a long time to establish, bad ones considerably less long.

It might sound trite but when was the last time you considered your personal values and compared them to those of your practice?

They should be one and the same, regardless of your practice’s size and whether you run it yourself or work in someone else’s, your clients both present and future will expect no less of you.

If those values are different, how do you manage the tensions between the two? With the Royal Family we can be reassured that we know what we are going to get – I am firmly of the belief that that includes the latest generation too. Can the same be said of your practice? It might be an interesting exercise to consider where

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Untitled-1 1

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05/11/2013 10:13

Northamptonshire Law Society

Northamptonshire Law Society members raise £1400 for Kidsaid It’s now official, Shoosmiths (Victoria House) are the quickest law firm in Northamptonshire!

Ten teams from firms across the county have taken part in the 10 heats of Rokart 2017 with 7 teams in the “Law Society Heat” on 28th February and three in the other heats. There were 10 heats of 10 teams. Each team had 5 drivers and after a practise session raced in a 2 hour endurance session where each team member had 2 drives. The team that completed the most laps went forward to the Final on April 11th They were part of the fund raising event at the Indoor Karting Centre in Northampton organised by the Nene Valley Rotary Club to raise money for local charities and particularly Kidsaid. The event raised over £9000 that Kidsaid will be using to support traumatised children by providing individual counselling and therapy.

Event organiser Neil Hufton from the Rotary Club said, “We were delighted that we had the support of the Northamptonshire Law Society and that so many firms took part. The event has been a huge success both financially and because clearly everyone had a great time. We had drivers aged 17 to 74 and from complete novice to course record holders from all sorts of organisations, companies and groups in Northamptonshire.”

As one of the teams said “I don’t think we have ever had so much fun raising money for a good cause!”

Support has come from all areas of the community • groups as diverse as Northampton Police, Northamptonshire County GC, Weston Underwood Village and the Explorer Scouts.

• specific nights by not only the Law Society but Billing Finance and Nationwide • Major companies like Dalepak, Wreford Haulage, Aldi and Macintyre Hudson • Small companies and groups of friends.

A total of 90 teams across the 10 heats.

The Law Society night was hugely competitive with one of the Shoosmiths teams (Victoria House) completing 225 laps and narrowly beating Borneo Martell Turner Coulston. Sadly they were beaten by a guest team from TVR motor club who went forward to the final. It was reassuring that the Barrister team from Senate House Chambers drove the most safely and took the least risk!

The final positions are in the table below.

The Nene Valley Rotary Club intend to repeat the event as Rokart 2018 when hopefully we can have a Law Society night with all 10 teams coming from the Society and therefore ensuring one of the firms reach the final!

Details will be sent out in October.

Neil Hufton, Event Organiser. Nene Valley Rotary Club

RoKart Challenge 2017 >Ăǁ ^ŽĐŝĞƚLJ dĞĂŵƐ Number in team

Laps completed

Final Position

Fastest lap

Shoosmiths Victoria House

5

225

1

28.44 sec

Borneo Martell Turner Coulston

5

223

2

28.29 sec

Shoosmiths Milton Keynes

5

220

3

28.89 sec

Tollers

5

220

4

28.41 sec

Hawsons

5

215

5

27.86 sec

Northampton University Law Society

5

213

6

27.73 sec

Shoosmiths

5

213

7

29.36 sec

Shoosmiths Lakes/VH

4

213

8

28.27 sec

Wilson Browne Solicitors

5

212

9

29.57 sec

Senate House Chambers

5

211

10

28.28 sec

Team #

18

Team Name

1

The race was a 2 hour endurance race

2

Each lap is 400 metres

3

9 changes of driver were required. A penalty of three laps applied for each change missed by the end of the race.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

Senior Moments

I’ve read that (shock horror) in our mid-twenties a brain’s behaviour changes. We gradually become less adept at mathematical problem solving and the ability to multi-task effectively. There is a trade-off however: we become better at solving complex non-mathematical problems, we are better at listening and (ought to) become less ego-centric. In other words, we gain wisdom. And as I’m writing to a readership of lawyers, I’ll define wisdom as a combination of humility, thinking about others and looking for a compromise. Or, perhaps more simply put wisdom is the sum of knowledge plus experience.

It is the opposite of an ego-centric, emotional teenager (which I have plenty of experience of).

TAILORED REGULATION OF SPECIALIST LAWYERS PROTECTING THE CONSUMER SUPPORTING INNOVATION, COMPETITION AND GROWTH

Northamptonshire Law Society

On 1st May I had the surreal experience of becoming Senior Partner of Howes Percival. Which means, well I’m not sure yet! Whilst the cynical amongst you might think all it proves is that I’ve hung around the office longer than anyone else, as a firm we are run by an elected board, and the role of senior partner does not figure in the constitution of our firm. But yet, we still feel the need to have a figure head named the senior partner. The staff I’ve talked to are delighted to see me fill the role and assume it means something important.

Far be it for me to enlighten them on that latter point!

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

I conclude therefore, that the role of a senior partner is to use their accumulated wisdom, and use it sparingly. I don’t want to be a block on new initiatives (not all of which I will understand) but perhaps be more of a steadying hand, to give some guidance and encouragement. A joy of being in a profession is taking young graduates and with help and guidance seeing them flourish, take on responsibility, and become valued and rounded lawyers.

So, until such time as I and the Board write down what they want me to do, I intend to fill a role of talking to staff and colleagues but above all listening to what they have to say. On odd occasions I may lob some thoughts in that will challenge or seek to expand some horizons. I’m looking forward to being the latest in a long time of senior partners, the latest in my firm’s 227 year old history. Richard Howes, our founder gazes at me from his portrait every day as I arrive in our reception.

Whilst I think I see wisdom in his face, I think I also detect a smile that says….. above all, don’t take yourself too seriously!

IT’S TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT MOVE

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

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

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Cybersecurity issues central as experts agree firms should view them as a serious business risk 6 April 2017

We have brought together leading experts to discuss cybersecurity risks to coincide with our spring update to the Risk Outlook.

Our roundtable involved leading agencies and experts from a range of sectors to discuss how businesses can tackle the risks of cybersecurity. As well as us, there were representatives from the Information Commissioners Office, Barclays, Advent IM, National Crime Agency, IASME & UK Cyber Forum, bgi. cyber.uk ltd, Pelican Underwriting, QBE Insurance, Cyber Strategies, PA Consulting and Microsoft.

There was general agreement that law firms are an attractive target for criminals not only because they can hold large amounts of money but also valuable client information. Three key themes from the roundtable were that:

“So in addition to regular updates and conversations with firms, we also want to make sure we learn from insights across all sectors. It was clear from our roundtable how similar the issues are. By working together we will be in much better place to stay cybersecure.”

The update of the Risk Outlook is available here: (http://www.sra.org.uk/risk/outlook/priority-risks.page ) We published a detailed report into the IT security at the end of 2016: (http://www.sra.org.uk/risk/resources/information-securityreport.page )

• Too often cybersecurity is viewed as just an IT risk. It is a business risk that requires engagement and ownership at a senior management and Board level. Training staff is important, but businesses also need to develop a culture where cybersecurity is treated as a serious priority.

•

People and processes are as crucial as technology. Law firms should consider having rigorous and unambiguous procedures for when clients notify them of any changes to their personal information or bank details during a transaction.

• The use of unsupported software increases an organisation’s vulnerability. In addition to addressing this risk, businesses should also consider the benefits of implementing Cyber Essentials - a Government-backed scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks.

The roundtable coincides with the publication of our spring update to its Risk Outlook, which highlights seven priority risks for the legal sector. It shows that three quarters of all cybercrimes reported to us involve email modification fraud.

Half of all such reports are email modification frauds against conveyancing proceeds. It says any field of work which involves client money is at risk, with probate another common target.

We are committed to taking a constructive and engaged approach with firms when they fall victim to cybercrime.

However, the risk update does highlight that we will take action where firms are not proactive. For instance it has this year issued rebukes in cases where a firm has failed to report the loss of client money or been slow to remedy client losses.

Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive, said: “We all benefit from information technology, but that means we are all vulnerable to cybersecurity risks. These risks evolve rapidly. Whether it is money or sensitive client information, law firms are an obvious target. It is the job of firms to take steps to protect themselves and their clients, but we want to help.

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Unpicking A Tangled Web:

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Lawyers, teachers and other professionals dealing with children and young people with special educational needs will welcome this latest publication from the highly regarded Legal Action Group (LAG).

True to their well-known stated aims, LAG continue to produce authoritative and meticulously researched legal texts and handbooks written by experts who actually insist that such publications should be clearly written and, ideally, understandable to lay readers as well as professionals.

This new handbook is no exception. It deals with education law in the wake of the implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014, which, as far as this area of education law is concerned, has created a new legal landscape in which the ‘old’ concept of SEN, “Special Educational Needs”, in place under the Education Act 1996, has been replaced by EHC: education, health and care.

Where formerly these three elements of support were dealt with separately -- compartmentalized in effect -- the concept of EHC recognizes that a child’s educational and health needs should be viewed holistically.

Writing in the foreword, Tribunal Judge Jane McConnell refers to this conceptual shift as the biggest change in the legislative framework in over thirty years. The aim for local authorities (by 2018 it is hoped) will, in her words, ‘bring the process closer to the original goal of a child or young person being considered as a whole individual.’

Special educational needs and disability discrimination in schools - a legal handbook

By Sarah Hannett, Aileen McColgan & Elizabeth Prochaska ISBN:

H

t: 020 8675 6440 e: bensec@sba.org.uk www.sba.org.uk SBA The Solicitors’ Charity is a registered charity in England & Wales (no 1124512)

978 1 90840 776 4 (book) 978 1 90840 777 1 (ebook)

Legal Action Group - www.lag.org.uk The access to justice charity Education and Service Trust Limited

Solicitors...

How many words can you make from these four letters?

E

Northamptonshire Law Society

An authoritative easy to read handbook from LAG on a difficult area of law

As she further explains, the book is not intended as a simple guide to this area of practice. It is a legal handbook offering in-depth legal research and comment provided by three editors who are experts in this field. This is a reliable resource, she adds, which can be relied upon ‘to help you unpick what might be otherwise considered a tangled web of legal rights, policy and practice.’

The editors explain further that this is a book for representatives who appear on behalf of children and young people (to age 25) in the First Tier Tribunal (FTT). It meets an urgent need for a specialist text in this area of law -- one that’s as useful to parents as it is to specialist practitioners.

Also note that this handy paperback volume contains a wide range of research resources, including tables of cases, statutes and statutory instruments. There is also a table of European and international legislation and conventions.

Almost one third of the book is taken up by the three appendices, which include extracts from both primary and secondary legislation and extracts from the SEND code. For carers, educators and volunteers as well as professionals, and local authority officials, this is the ideal reference book to consult on this often very difficult subject.

The law has been stated as at January 2017, although further upto-date material was added at the proof stage.

L

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Four graduates from the University of Northampton have played an instrumental role in the success of a town law firm.

Law graduates Christina Chappell, Annabel Spicer, Joanne Axisa and Samantha Akaki make up almost a fifth of the workforce at SP Law inc. Martin Adams & McColl, which was named Small Firm of the Year 2016 by Northamptonshire Law Society.

The quartet’s professionalism, skills and legal know-how have impressed SP Law co-founder, Hassan Shah – who is equally delighted to have been able to employ people who studied in Northampton.

“The firm has very close ties with the University, but we haven’t deliberately gone out to recruit those who studied there, it just so happens that the quality of the applicants from those who studied on the law course has been exceptional,” said Hassan.

Don’t go round in circles!

Northamptonshire Law Society

Graduates get a chance to shine at the best small law firm in Northamptonshire

Hassan and Sundip Patel founded SP Law in 2005, in rather unglamorous surroundings that are in stark contrast to the grandeur of the current HQ – a refurbished former Conservative Club in Whitworth Road.

“We started out in a basement office with just a photocopier and a telephone, so they were really humble beginnings,” said Hassan.

“The company has grown steadily over those 11 years, during which time we merged with Martin Adams & McColl Solicitors, and now to be recognised by the county Law Society as the best small firm is both humbling and gratifying.”

Christina Chappell, solicitor in civil litigation, graduated from the BA Law course in 2007, completed a master’s at the University in 2010, and joined SP Law the same year.

She said: “The law course was excellent. It definitely helped to get me where I am today.”

Paralegal in residential conveyancing, Annabel Spicer, joined the firm from legal firm Howes Percival in September.

“I initially enrolled on an accounting and law joint honours course when I joined the University,” said Annabel, who graduated in 2012.

“But I found I really liked the law part of my course, and switched to a straight single honours degree which I absolutely loved.”

Jo Axisa, paralegal in wills, probate and family law, completed a two-year fast-track law degree in 2015.

She said: “The grounding I received on the fast-track course was invaluable. The law lecturers were extremely supportive often going beyond what you would expect. Being able to cover various aspects of law on the course very much works in your favour if you join a smaller law firm. You get the opportunity to delve into different areas of law, which really helps you to work out what you want to specialise in.”

Paralegal in civil litigation, Samantha Akaki, who graduated in 2012, said: “Civil litigation is more academic than other areas of law, and I am finding I am applying a lot of the theory I learned on my course to my role here. So my course really is geared up for when we graduate and enter the working world.”

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Questions From NLS Members Q1 What should we be doing in advance of renewal this year? Is it too late already?

It’s never too early to prepare for your renewal and whether it’s too late depends very much on when you want to renew. Ideally, preparation for renewal should start at least eight to twelve weeks before you want to commit to renewal, dependent upon whether your renewal sits in the main October season or in the quieter Spring season.

However, for the October renewal season, we begin preparatory talks and meetings with our clients from early June onwards. At this stage, discussions will be more about strategy. We will consider whether or not a simplified renewal is an appropriate option, where the existing insurer provides a renewal offer based on much more limited information than usual, or whether a complete broking exercise is needed. If the latter, then the next phase involves the collation of information both to complete the often dreaded Proposal Form and provide additional supporting information. This would include details of how the firm has developed in the last 12 months, what the plans are for the next 12 months and what measures, if any, it has introduced to deal with risks identified, either because of losses or near misses or those emerging risks e.g. Cyber Crime, since the last renewal. In addition, your broker should be telling you about areas of concern that both your current insurer and others have identified for which they may need additional information to ensure that they understand how your firm is dealing with these.

This is also the period when, if you have had any claims, the insurer records for both paid amounts and reserves should be audited by your broker and, if necessary, challenged!

Finally, and very topically, make sure you can explain to Insurers what Cyber risk management controls you have in place and that your teams, both fee–earning and accounts, are well trained in how to spot and avoid the “Friday Afternoon” frauds which have affected the profession.

Q2. One of our partners has announced that he is resigning at Christmas. Do we need to declare this? It means we will only have 3 partners from now on and have no one suitable to join the partnership at present. Will this make any difference to the insurers when quoting this year or next?

The new ‘Insurance Act’ came into being in August last year which has changed the basis on which you must provide information to an insurer. The Act moves from the old principle of Utmost Good Faith to a duty to make a ‘Fair Representation of the Risk’. In brief, this places the onus on any Insured, including those acting on their behalf, to disclose every “material circumstance” which it knows or ought to know; or failing that, gives the insurer sufficient information to put them on notice that it needs to make further enquiries. A circumstance is material if it would influence the judgment of a prudent insurer in determining whether to take the risk and, if so, on what terms.

The ‘loss’ of a partner is clearly a material circumstance for a number of reasons and should be declared at renewal if it is known about. It is then up to the underwriter what they want to do about it, if anything. Generally speaking, they will simply note their records unless of course the partner’s departure is predicted to have a significant effect on the business.

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QPI legal - Professional Indemnity, tailor-made for Professionals

It is also worth noting that as a ‘rule of thumb’, the fewer the number of “partners” in a firm, the fewer the number of insurers prepared to quote for the firm, although this is not as marked as was the case 4 or 5 years ago. Statistically, insurers and their actuaries will often say that smaller firms have disproportionately more claims and with a disproportionately higher claims cost to fee income ratio than larger firms. This, coupled with reduced insurer numbers, reduces competition with the almost inevitable increase in proportionate cost. I say “proportionate cost” because of course, if the retirement of a partner also brings with it a corresponding reduction in fee income then a reduced premium may be expected but it’s unlikely to reduce in line with the reduction in fees.

The transition points are not standardised and are created either based on statistical analysis, usually by the insurer although in past years the Law Society has also produced information in bandings based on firms’ partner size, or it is due to bi-lateral exclusivity agreements between an insurer and a broker limiting the size of firm, by partner size, with whom they can trade.

With a mid-term change such as this, we would not expect to have a significant impact on an existing insurance arrangement albeit this is obviously dependent on the individual circumstances.

At renewal, what happens depends on a combination of your insurer’s appetite and how it trades with the intermediary that is placing your business.

Q3. We have the opportunity to act for a company in the USA. Will this have an effect on our renewal premium in future?

The SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions dictate the wording

of your compulsory layer of insurance. The cover provided is for claims arising from a practice based in England & Wales (and regulated by the SRA) offering advice anywhere in world and in theory, not just on the laws of England and Wales. Just for the purposes of answering this question, we’ll assume you are an SRA regulated practice, operating from an office in England, advising a US based client on the laws of England & Wales.

Your compulsory SRA policy will, in ordinary course, provide cover for advising your US client on the laws of England & Wales, even if you provide the advice locally in the US provided you have no established office there. If you have an overseas office, you would need to comply with local regulations and arrange appropriate cover with your SRA Insurer; if they are prepared to and have the necessary operations overseas.

In terms of the effect on your premium, generally speaking insuring those who provide goods and services to clients in the USA has always been a high risk area for insurers due to the more litigious nature of US society. Insurers will always ask if you provide advice to overseas clients in your renewal Proposal Form and also ask you to confirm the advice is on UK law.

If you have already disclosed the fact to Insurers, we wouldn’t ordinarily expect them to charge any additional premium unless you were going to generate substantial additional fee income from the retainer or you were not advising on E & W law. If it is the first time you will doing this, you ought to advise your Insurers as it a “material circumstance” (see Q2). Again, we would not expect additional premium to be charged unless the fees were substantial and it was a new area of law you were advising on which had not previously been disclosed.

Be very cautious with your top-up insurance! Top-up Insurers are not obliged to provide the same cover as your SRA compulsory layer nor is it regulated by the SRA. These Insurers will often exclude or limit cover for overseas claims, particularly the US.

Q4. We do a lot of work in mainland Europe. What effect do you think Brexit will have on insurers’ approach to premiums in future?

URGENT PROOF

Q5. We are thinking about applying for WIQS. Most of our notifications to insurers have involved Wills but we have never had a claim. Will WIQS reduce our premium in future?

Brexit brings a lot of potential complications for insurers on many levels and to counter this a number of insurers are already looking at strategies to enable them to continue to trade efficiently with other financial markets. One of the leading Participating Insurers, QBE, has recently announced a ‘Brexit friendly’ structure in However, just having WIQS will not necessarily persuade insurers which, forDept: its European operations, it will2,have effectively dualStockport Production Your Expert Witness, Suite 61 Lower Hillgate, SK1 that you are3AW a better risk. Like all quality standards, insurers are headquarters through offices in London and in one of its other more interested in how, as a business, a firm is going to use the offices already established in continental Europe. standard to improve the way that it works. We have seen this in Insurers’ attitude towards Lexcel and more recently with CQS, Most of the current SRA Participating Insurers trade through UK Sent via: domiciled entities that are regulated by the UK authorities. There where insurers have an expectation that a firm will have CQS as are now very few that use the ‘Passporting’ rules, where an insurer a minimum if it is carrying out Conveyancing work rather than For the attention domiciled in one ECof: country can ‘trade’ in another whilst being offering a discount for having it. regulated by the regulator of its country of domicile, to provide cover for Solicitors in England and Wales. But those that have used Phil Edwards (BSc, ACII, MIRM, Chartered Insurance Practitioner) is Managing specialist broker QPI Legal Ltd. Based Please find below proof your advertisement booked to appearDirector in ourofforthcoming edition. this mechanism in theapast haveofincluded insurers such as Balva, Berliner, Alpha, ERIC and Lemma. If Brexit prevents insurers like in Northampton, Phil has spent the last 14 years of his 35 year these returning to the Solicitors PII market place, some may see career in Commercial Insurance dealing almost exclusively with Solicitors Professional Insurance.

Dealing with firms Ifthat anyasrevisions or faxIndemnity on 0161-710 3879 within two a benefit! are required please email matt@dmmonline.co.uk from the Top 50 to Sole Practitioners, Phil has a wide knowledge working days of receipt of this always letter, tend indicating the the necessary alterations.

Alternatively you PII may wishand tofirstring of both the unique operations of the Solicitors market Professional indemnity premiums to follow experience of many of the problems faced by firms in the economy is strong; to be and hand3884. toeconomy: discusswhen yourtheamendments withclaims Matttend Love onlow 0161-710 so do premiums. When the economy goes into recession, claims current environment. against solicitors increase and, as a result, so do premiums. When QPI have acted for a many firms in these situations and we Please note:starts colour laseragain copies are produced for layout approval only and should not be taken as a the economy to recover claims start to reduce and always ensure that our clients can rely on our expertise to guide insurers accurate are attractedrepresentation into the PII sector by improving claims them through this process. If you are a QPI client or would like to wholly ofthe colour. and relatively high premiums. This increase in supply can lead become one, please don’t hesitate to contact us direct with any of to over-capacity and premiums starting to fall once again as is your queries on this or any other Professional Indemnity Insurance the case with the current marketplace. This cycle repeats itself problem. over and over again. Brexit, as I’m no economist, could have either QPI Legal Ltd. Unit 17, Mobbs Miller House, Ardington Road, effect!

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Wills, Trusts and Probate, as areas of practice, have, in recent years, seen growing claims activity and are viewed by insurers as Please quote having an increased Risk Profile than in the past. Anything that a reference firm can do to demonstrate enhanced risk control in any risk area will be viewed positively by insurers. If over time its effectiveness is proven by reduced claims frequency then this will inevitably be reflected in the premiums charged by insurers.

BUDGETING AND PROPORTIONALITY ISSUES IN THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN Northamptonshire Law Society

Arguably the two biggest issues in the costs world right now – the relationships between budgeting and detailed assessment, and between proportionality and additional liabilities – have continued to bubble with rulings from regional costs judges.

District Judge Hale in Nottingham explicitly agreed with the ruling last October made by District Judge Lumb in Merrix that budgeting does not stop detailed assessment.

In Bhojani v University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, DJ Hale said: “Like Judge Lumb, I think the answer… has to be more nuanced than the claimant’s contention for a fixed figure and the defendant’s contention for an entirely unfettered entitlement to attack a bill on detailed assessment.

“The budget will be a strong guide to what will be allowed on a detailed assessment and, because the receiving party’s costs have already passed scrutiny once, the scope for further reduction might prove to be limited.”

Describing the budgeting stage as involving “a consideration of the landscape and assessment as a more detailed survey of the terrain”, he said budgeting was not intended to replace detailed assessment: “Had that been the intention of the rule committee, they would have made the appropriate and specific changes to CPR parts 44 and 47 and they did not.”

DJ Hale said: “It seems clear to me that, without an authoritative and binding ruling from the higher courts or a clear and unequivocal change to the Civil Procedure Rules, parties and judges alike will continue to operate in an atmosphere of uncertainty.

“If, when considering what is a proportionate figure, the success fee was included, the costs, as in this case, may well appear disproportionate. If reduced on a global basis, that would amount to a reduction simply on the grounds that, when added to the base costs, the total appears unreasonable.

Such an action would be contrary to the rules.

“Further, the amended definition of ‘costs’ by excluding additional liabilities implies that they are no longer relevant when considering ‘proportionate costs’.

To include them would be ignoring the new definition and would penalise a party solely on the basis that they acted under a CFA.” The ATE premium, though different in nature to the success fee, should be treated the same as otherwise the court would introduce “a degree of inconsistency”.

As a result, he found the base costs of £72,253 plus counsel’s fees of £25,181, a total of £97,434, proportionate where £60,000 was paid out in damages.

DJ Besford granted leave to appeal, and was told that leave had also been granted in King.

“Clarification and guidance is required urgently and, while I have reached a conclusion, I have not done so without significant hesitation. For those reasons, I have indicated to counsel that I shall readily grant permission to appeal and would hope that any appeal would be dealt with as speedily as possible.”

The judge said the budget would still be an important factor on detailed assessment – once a budget has been approved, he would be reluctant to reduce the receiving party’s costs on grounds of proportionality.

Meanwhile, District Judge Besford (pictured) in Hull, an honorary vicepresident of the ACL, was faced with a bill split between pre- and post-1 April 2013 work, and recoverable additional liabilities.

The costs in Mather v Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had not been subject to budgeting. The total bill, including additional liabilities, disbursements, VAT and assessment costs, was £514,700, which on assessment DJ Besford reduced to £332,229. He then had to consider proportionality.

He agreed with Master O’Hare’s 2015 ruling in Hobbs that the relevant figure to consider was the total figure as assessed. “It would be a selective exercise if the court was to ignore what could be a significant pre-April 2013 amount of costs. This is particularly pertinent given that there are likely to be ‘split’ bills going forward for a number of years.”

It would also be inconsistent with the way the court considers incurred costs, including those from before 1 April 2013, when assessing a budget.

He decided that the total figure for these purposes should not include the additional liabilities, in line with Master Rowley’s ruling in King late last year.

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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.

In her welcome our President made reference to the Annual Awards Dinner being held at the Northampton Marriott Hotel on Friday 29th September 2017. You will also have seen on previous pages the details of how to book tickets and nominate other people or even yourself. This year there will be a James Bond theme to the event and fittingly a casino night will follow the dinner and awards presentations. There will be a prize for the best (luckiest) performer at the tables.

In addition to making awards to many of our readers we will be raising funds for the Crazy Hats breast cancer charity. To support this worthy cause, a prize draw will be held on the night that includes, amongst other donated prizes, the use of a Maserati for a weekend. So please don’t leave it to the last minute to organise a table or nominate a worthy individual or firm. Remember by booking early you can take advantage of the price discounts on offer.

Many of you will be aware that for some years now we have held joint Networking curry lunches with our chartered accountant friends at the Royal Bengal restaurant in Northampton. Unfortunately the restaurant has now closed and we are therefore seeking a new venue. Essentially the new venue will need to accommodate groups of 20 to 30 people over a 2 hour lunch period. Although the Royal Bengal opened exclusively for us this is not essential. If you have any ideas for a venue that might welcome some additional lunch time trade and is fairly assessable to the majority then please let me know.

“...This year there will be a James Bond theme to the event and fittingly a casino night will follow the dinner and awards presentations...”

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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

I mentioned in the last edition that it is the intention of the Society to increase the number and the variety of CPD courses hosted this year. I have had a few suggestions for courses on Family Law, Cybercrime, COLP/COFA and Private client which are being progressed. However I would still welcome ideas on more topics and in particular good speakers. It is our aim to ensure our members get excellent value from CPD courses we stage. I think you will agree that £25 for a 2 to 3 hour course, that is held locally, is hard to beat. So please don’t be shy, get in touch and let me know who you know.

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. In addition I would like to hear from anyone who would like to submit a photograph of a local view, a building, local landmark or similar that we can use for our front page.

Just send it by email to me. If you are unsure what qualifies then email or ring me and I will be happy to discuss.

Once again I would like to acknowledge and thank our patrons for their ongoing support of the Society. The University of Northampton, Landmark Information Group, QPI Legal Ltd and Hawsons Chartered Accountants.

Phil Smith

Society Manager

email: philsmithdw@aol.com

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