Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin

Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Autumn 2017

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Contents

Autumn 2017 Titles in blue are supplied by advertisers and are not endorsed by the Northamptonshire Law Society

3 The President Writes 6 Constituency Council Member’s Report 9 Know Your Risk Reports 10 The Friday 4 take the prizes 11 Northamptonshire Law Society Awards 2017 14 That Sinking Feeling

Accounts Michaela Hogan

17 The Annual Bar & Young Bar Conference 2017

Media No. 1111

18 My Day at Westminster Abbey to Mark the Opening of the Legal Year

Published November 2017

20 Increase Feeds by Building Your Brand

Legal Notice © East Park Communications Ltd. None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. East Park Communications Ltd would like to point out that all editorial comment and articles are the responsibility of the originators and may or may not reflect the opinions of East Park Communications Ltd. Correct at time of going to press.

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23 Bending Over Backwards: Expert Witnesses confer and convene with legal high fliers on costs and other awkward questions 26 5 reasons to outsource your payroll 28 Making your (Trade) Mark in Lower-Cost Litigation 30 ... And Finally

Both Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton and Cransley Hospice in Kettering provide specialist inpatient 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.

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:

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.

John Helm, Fundraising Manager, Fundraising Office, Pondwood House, Pondwood Close, Moulton Park, Northampton, NN3 6RT Tel: 01604 973342 www.cynthiaspencer.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1002926

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 and their teams of community palliative care nurses.

Thank you.

Julie Charter, Office Manager, Fundraising Office Cransley Hospice, St Mary’s Hospital Kettering, NN15 7PW Tel: 01536 452423 www.cransleyhospice.org.uk Registered Charity Number 1151018 www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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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

Edward St John Smyth 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 fi rst instance be contacted through the Society Manager.

Northamptonshire Law Society

President

The President writes...

So this is the last edition of the Bulletin for 2017. It has been a good year for local firms -notwithstanding all the uncertainly of Brexit the economy has been holding up and fee income has been holding its own or even improving. For those who have a commercial offering Northamptonshire and the East Midlands continues to see activity across many commercial areas. The residential conveyancing market in the area has been buoyant too. So there is much to be pleased about.

I was pleased to see several Northamptonshire firms appearing in the recently published Legal 500 – Hewitsons, Howes Percival, Shoosmiths, Arnold Thomson and my own firm Wilson Browne are all mentioned, most in several areas of work. This shows what strength and depth we offer in the legal marketplace in this county and we should be rightly proud of that. Also Wilson Browne were finalists in two categories at the National Law Society Excellence Awards this year.

I should of course also congratulate all the nominees and winners of our own Northamptonshire Law Society Awards. The Awards Evening in September was a great success and the social highlight of our year.

The format was slightly different this year and the charity raffle raised £750.00 for local charity Crazy Hats. I’m rather jealous of the lucky winner who won the use of a Maserati for the weekend! A thank you to all those businesses who donated raffle prizes.

So what do we have to be thinking about in 2018? Brexit uncertainty rumbles on as ever; we are seeing the first interest rate rises in several years; the General Data Protection Regulations come into force; cyber attacks and e mail scams are becoming regular occurrences; the SRA continue to tinker with the way solicitors are regulated…… However, I still believe that there are real opportunities for Northamptonshire firms to flourish and grow in 2018.

As usual I would welcome ideas from members as to topics for course, articles for Bulletins or other ways in which we can help our members.

Please encourage colleagues who aren’t yet members to join our ranks and for those of you who would like to be more actively involved we would welcome applications from anyone interested in becoming a Council member. It is crucial that we truly represent our members and provide a service suited to your needs – to do so we really need your input.

Finally, have a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year and we’ll be back in 2018!

Mrs Ika Castka

President Northamptonshire Law Society

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Constituency Council Member’s Report December 2017 Looking back at Council Member reports published in 2017, the focus has been almost entirely on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and their plans to completely change the way in which solicitors qualify, the way in which they practice (allowing possibilities such as newly qualified to set up their own firms or newly qualified and others acting as ‘freelancers’ allowed to offer services direct to the public without a regulated firm in support or seeking to dictate the way in which sanctions are given, suggesting that the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal should change the standard of proof to the civil standard or could be dispensed with entirely.

The Legal Ombudsman Service (LeO) in comparison has been somewhat quieter and received less attention despite its recent turnover of Chief Executives and Chief Ombudsmen. Since January 2015 it has also been given the somewhat diffi cult task of handling complaints made against Claims Management Companies (CMCs) who are regulated by the Ministry of Justice as well as those who have become solicitors’ fi rms, regulated by the SRA, following the decision by the SRA to authorise fi rms that do not off er any reserved legal services.

It is not known how many fi rms that operate solely as CMCs are regulated by the SRA as they are given full authorisation rights by the SRA and are thus indistinguishable from other fi rms.

However, the number of CMCs authorised by the Ministry of Justice fell from 3,213 CMCs in 2011 to 1,388 CMCs in 2017 .

This is a diffi cult area to regulate, the number of staff required to regulate the CMCs had grown from 15 in 2007 to 139 in 2017 and has resulted in 1,387 licenses being cancelled .

The turnover for such a niche industry a vast, in the ten-year period 2007 to 2017 the total turnover by sector was topped by fi nancial products and services at £3.4 billion, followed by personal injury £2.8 billion, employment matters £50.3 million, industrial injuries £12.9 million, Criminal injuries £10.2 million and housing disrepair £5.5 million . The early days when CMCs simply sold claims on are long gone and most CMCs now handle the claims, some for upfront fees although they are required to have professional indemnity insurance (a minimum of £250,000 for any one claim to £500,000 in the aggregate) if they do so in personal injury cases. The percentage of damages they take can be very high and some ask for upfront fees from the client.

The Legal Ombudsman Service has done a great deal of work on fi rst tier complaints (those handled by solicitors’ fi rms and CMCs in recent years although it is often not clear who the advice is directed to and whether the concerns relate to solicitors or CMCs. LeO highlighted two pieces of research in November 2017.

The latest is a rather odd piece of research published by YouGov (an international Internet-based market research and data

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analytics fi rm, a public company with no known connection with the UK government) entitled Claims Management Company (CMC) Users. The research was based on a sample of 2,827 individuals in Great Britain who had personally used and/or paid for a claims management company (CMC Users) in the last two years. The report focused on demographics, general media and lifestyle.

Amongst its fi ndings were that: • CMC Users tend to be older, white and from lower social grades • CMC Users tend to be spread across Britain and roughly a third have a gross household income below £25,000 • CMC Users are generally low radio listeners, with roughly two thirds using car radios to listen mostly to music • CMC Users are generally low TV watchers, but documentary, drama and news are the most popular genres • top programmes CMC Users have most recently watched on TV are Regional News & Weather, BBC News and Strictly Come Dancing • majority of CMC Users do not read magazines via apps or online, but of those who do, most read magazines on women’s interests/lifestyle or food/cooking • The majority are medium internet users and three quarters have used Facebook in the last 30 days • CMC Users are signifi cantly more likely than the national population to have used a price comparison site like Money Supermarket in the last two years Younger users (age 18 to 39) were underrepresented in the group but were found to be more likely than the overall population of CMC Users to…

• Use a smartphone as their main device for accessing the internet • Use Whatsapp • Watch Aljazeera and MTV • Use food delivery services (e.g. Deliveroo, HungryHouse, Uberets, etc.)

Although this is probably more a function of their age group than being a CMC user!

The Legal Ombudsman says it has highlighted the research to help the CMC industry provide a better service to its customers and reduce complaints.

Probably of more use will be LeO’s own research ‘The Language of Complaints Research ’ described as ‘new research and top tips that can help legal and claims management professionals prevent complaints escalating ’. It was not made clear how

The top tips are as follows: 1. Keep it simple - Avoid jargon, pretentious language and using legal / technical terms. They may seem common place to you but they can be confusing and intimidating to customers. If you need to use legal / technical terms, you need to explain what they are 2. Be timely - Give a timeframe for how long you will take to investigate and respond. This will reassure the customer that the complaints process will not go on indefinitely. It would also be useful to note how you will respond so that the customer doesn’t have to check for letters / emails.

3. Take it seriously - Ensure that it is clear that you are taking the complaint seriously. Overly informal language or poor grammar/processes can suggest that no formal investigation is underway.

4.

Acknowledge stress or inconvenience caused - For many, the decision to make a complaint is not taken lightly. Complaining is seen as negative activity and people lack confidence in the process and fear jeopardising their relationship with the service provider. It is therefore important to empathise with the situation they are in and reassure them that you understand their position.

5. Don’t be afraid to apologise - Start with a proper apology and avoid burying it at the end of lengthy letters. If you’ve made a mistake say ‘sorry’ without caveats and conditions.

Justifying what has happened can play to customers’ fears that the complaint handling stage will be subject to the same negativity as the original transaction.

6. Appreciate feedback - Demonstrate to the customer that you appreciate their feedback and the opportunity to improve your service. There can be positive aspects of complaining, this can also reassure the customer that their complaint is being taken seriously.

7. Be clear - When responding, detail the customer’s concerns one by one. Use bold headings to structure the response around the details of the complaint. It is also important to give an explanation of what evidence you have looked at and what your conclusions are. Ensure that, when you signpost a customer to the Legal Ombudsman, the information is clear and easy to find. This will reassure complainants and give them a sense of security that there are other avenues.

Reading the top tips before reading the full research paper was somewhat reassuring but reading the full research was far more unnerving. LeO looked at ways of improving their

Northamptonshire Law Society

many of the complainants who took part in the research had been clients of solicitors or CMCs. However, given the examples of complaints responses which found favour with those who took part one suspects that solicitors have more to learn than CMCs from this evidence.

own complaints handling but it was the description of the consumer/client complaint journey and the lengthy responses that were clearly written by solicitors that caused one to pause.

The research subjects were asked to comment on different styles of complaints handling. The cheerier ‘good’ examples favoured by the research subjects, thanking the person for bringing the complaint to their attention and welcoming the opportunity to improve their services were one suspects, written by CMCs. The legal market has changed rapidly in the last ten years, it has been assumed by many that the High Street was losing work to large Alternative Business Structures, particularly in the area of personal injury litigation but it is clear that many who would previously have used solicitors are now being captured

by CMCs and remaining there. This is despite warnings of the disadvantages of using a CMC by the Citizens advice website that CMCs cannot take a case to court and this may risk cases settling at a lower figure and warnings about the impact of high levels of success fees charged by CMCs, the example quoted being 50% far more than a solicitor would be permitted to charge. The research on the users of CMCs provides a snap shot of a group of clients lost to the High Street and if solicitors want to reclaim them there is much useful data in the YouGov research as to how to market to this group. However, a far more fundamental shift may well be required in the presentation of services and new styles of communicating will need to be adopted, as evidenced by the examples in The Language of Complaints Research’.

Seasons greetings to you all! i Claims Management Regulator: 10th anniversary report-Celebrating 10 years Protecting Consumers | Curbing Malpractice Ministry of Justice Published: 19 July 2017 ii ibid iii ibid iv ibid v http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/LegalOmbudsman-claims-management_Profiles-report-FINAL.pdf vi Published by the Legal Ombudsman dated 1 August 2017 vii Legal ombudsman press release 2 November 2017 https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/personal-injuries

Linda Lee August 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

Know Your Risk Reports For conveyancers, conducting the right due diligence is driven by a number of factors, including legislation, SRA compliance and guidance. Here, we provide some tips on which reports should be considered, based on four key environmental hazards:

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

1. Flood Risk The Law Society’s practice note states that solicitors must discuss the subject of flooding with any buyer prior to the sale completing. Lenders will also expect that the usual and necessary searches are undertaken as part of the transaction, and so what are your options?

At least 1 in 5 properties are considered to have some form of subsidence risk. The physical risk associated with ground stability largely focuses on structural hazards, such as building collapse or subsidence damage.

Homecheck Flood is a standalone flood report that is suitable for residential transactions, whereas RiskView reports are an all-in-one report that are suitable for residential or commercial addresses.

For commercial, it’s important to understand if the site will continue with its current usage or whether redevelopment is proposed. All of these factors will determine the level of search that is required.

SiteCheck Flood is the commercial equivalent to Homecheck Flood and provides a semi-automated report. Meanwhile, Flood Solutions Commercial provides a fuller assessment, taking into account analysis by an expert environmental professional.

For more complex commercial sites, a higher-end report such as SiteSolutions Combined will be appropriate to ensure the correct level of due diligence is undertaken.

They key to a good flood risk report is that it takes in to account all forms of flooding – river, coastal, surface water, groundwater, plus includes analysis of Historic Flood Events.

For a consultant-written report, Argyll’s SiteSolutions Residence is an all-in-one report that provides a fully manual review by a professional consultant.

While there is no legal liability for conveyancers, it is always worth assessing risk to meet lenders’ requirement, whilst also providing assurances to the client on whether any insurance claims have been previously recorded.

For residential, Homecheck Mining & Subsidence provides a great basis. Alternatively RiskView Residential includes comprehensive data for both residential and commercial addresses.

4. Energy & Infrastructure “They key to a good flood risk report is that it In regards to the physical risks for energy and infrastructure takes in to account all forms of flooding – reports, these are effectively large scale developments that can affect a client’s enjoyment of a property, such as wind river, coastal, surface water, groundwater, turbines. plus includes analysis of Historic Flood Events.” Clearly there is no specific legal liability associated with 2. Contaminated Land The physical risks of contaminated land are derived from the current and historic use of the land. For example, if the land had an industrial past, there may well be contaminants left behind on the site.

Contaminated land reports are broadly split into two distinct categories comprising commercial and residential.

It’s important to consider whether the site is going to continue in its current use or whether it will be redeveloped. If it will be redeveloped, be sure to opt for the relevant report that takes into consideration redevelopment sites. For example, Argyll’s SiteSolutions report is an appropriate choice and offers consultant-led recommendation.

Otherwise, RiskView reports provide both residential and commercial assessments and assess 12 areas of risk in each report.

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a property that is affected by something like a wind farm, however with the SRA’s requirement to act in your client’s best interests, it pays to do your research.

From a lender perspective, they will expect searches to take place, particularly given that from a financial risk standpoint, a property’s value can be impacted if it is located within sight of renewable energy sources or major infrastructure.

In reports such as Argyll SiteSolutions, the search radius is far greater – up to 4km radius in distance; the reason for this is that the scale of developments considered in such a report can affect a property over much greater distances. For example, the report takes into account fracking sites, HS2, Cross Rail and renewable energy projects – these don’t have to be on your doorstep to create an issue for the future owner.

The all-in-one RiskView reports also have Energy & infrastructure taken into account for residential and commercial addresses.

www.landmark.co.uk/landmark-legal/riskview

Northamptonshire Law Society

The Friday 4 take the prizes

On Thursday 2nd November at Kettering Golf Club 22 teams of solicitors and accountants battled it out at the Annual Quiz night held with our chartered accountant friends from LANSCA.

A very impressive turn out from the legal teams resulted in a keenly fought contest over 10 rounds of questions covering a variety of topics. A total of 125 points were available on the night and it was The Friday 4 team from Friday Legal with an outstanding score of 117 points who claimed the first prize.

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

This success meant that the legal fraternity have won for the past 2 years following the success of Hewitsons in 2016.

The winning team of Douglas Iles, Simon Chambers, Samantha Randolph and Stuart Love can be seen in the photograph collecting their well-earned prizes.

The Friday 4 will have the opportunity of defending their title in November 2018 when the event returns to Kettering. It is hoped that a Northampton based quiz can be staged around May/June 2018 so watch out for details of this early in the New Year.

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

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Northamptonshire Law Society Awards 2017 The brightest and the best of the Northamptonshire legal community were honoured at the 4th Northamptonshire Law Society Awards The achievements of Northamptonshire solicitors and the solicitors of the future were celebrated at The Marriott Hotel, Northampton, at the Society’s Annual Awards Dinner on Friday 29th September.

The event was compered by BBC Radio Northampton’s John Griff and awards presented by Mrs Ika Castka, President of Society, Kevin Rogers Wilson Browne, John Morris, Chair of the Judging panel and Tony Rollason of Landmark Information Group..

During the evening a raffle to raise funds for the Crazy Hats Breast Cancer Appeal took place and the sum of £750 was raised and presented to Glennis Hooper, founder member of the charity. Below is the letter received from Glennis shortly after the event.

Winners: The NLS Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement in 2017 Winner: Clare Wilkie

Clare graduated with a first class LLB (Hons) degree at the University of Northampton, a result that reflects her legal and academic ability across all years of her degree. In addition to this award she has also been awarded the Max Engel Bursary. Clare has been described by her tutor as a perfect student……. reliable and always prepared. It was no surprise that she secured a training contract in the first term of her third year.

Clare said, “I would like to thank the Law team at the University of Northampton, who could not have been better. They provided great teaching and were always extremely supportive.

I would also like to thank the Northamptonshire Law Society for awarding me this prize and for being so generous.

I wish both the University and Law Society every success for the future”.

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Junior Lawyer of the Year:

Winner: Firas Al-Hamed – SP Law

This year’s winner started as a paralegal and is clearly making their mark as the firm is happy for him to take on considerable responsibility in the residential and commercial property department, as well as being responsible for firm wide remortgage and transfer of equity matters. It was the level of responsibility he has been given that led the judges to choosing Firas as this year’s winner.

Northamptonshire Law Society

As in previous years this category attracted a large entry and proved very competitive with some extremely able and talented people making the shortlist. The awards give an opportunity to celebrate some of the best young and rising talent in the county

All the shortlisted nominees were very highly commended by the Judges and as such to pick just one proved particularly difficult. Sharine specialises in a very demanding area of work involving significant psychiatric illness, occupational stress, military claims and sexual abuse. Such work involves tremendous personal commitment to clients. This added to this her pro bono work and her involvement with training swayed the judges to award her this year.

Sharine said, “Being a solicitor is a privilege because the work we do changes lives for the better. As solicitors we have a responsibility not only to the clients we represent but to our local communities and wider society. As solicitors we are often working to deadlines and have targets to meet such that sometimes it seems there aren’t enough hours in the day. However, it is important that we take a step back and ask ourselves how we can make a difference whether that be giving up a few hours to undertake pro bono work, supporting charities and organisations in our communities or mentoring students. There are lots of opportunities in Northamptonshire where we as solicitors can make a positive contribution and I would urge all local solicitors to get involved. Winning this award is a great honour and I would like to dedicate it to Forces in the Community and Mesothelioma UK two East Midlands based charities who do incredible work for those who are vulnerable and in need in our communities.”

Large Firm of the Year: Sponsored by Landmark Information Group: Winner: Wilson Browne

Firas said “Winning this award has absolutely been my greatest personal achievement to date. With my admission to the roll fast approaching this award has given me a platform from which to excel and progress my career. I am grateful for the training contract which was offered to me, my colleagues who are a pleasure to work with, my training principal who has taught me all that I know and most importantly my mother, as without her I would not be where I am today”.

The Fiona Moore Solicitor of the Year Award: Sponsored by Wilson Browne.

Winner: Sharine Burgess – Shoosmiths.

This year 2 past winners of the award were contesting this category and once again demonstrating themselves to be exceptional businesses, not based just on revenues but on standard of service. However it was on the individual achievements of its staff both in respect of their contribution to their clients and the community that led the judges to their final decision.

Partner and Chairman of the Board of Management at Wilson Browne Solicitors, Kevin Rogers accepted the award for Large Law Firm 2017.

Fiona Moore, whose life was tragically cut short in 2014, was President of Northamptonshire Law Society in 2004. This award is presented each year in her memory.

Kevin commented: “It was an honour to accept the award on behalf of everyone at Wilson Browne Solicitors. The willingness of our people to get involved in the community through various groups, whether they be business, education or not-for-profit is fantastic. The range of activities is humbling and inspirational

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– from sponsoring a classroom in the Gambia, raising money for the Air Ambulance or local hospices, and countless other great causes. Partners at the firm are all incredibly committed to, and supportive of, these activities.

Northamptonshire Law Society

We are enjoying a period of sustainable growth, and we have attracted some great people to join us over the last two years whilst retaining key staff, and continuing to train tomorrow’s lawyers. Investment in technology and an aim to provide expert advice in a professional but down-to-earth and friendly way, has served us well.

On a personal note, it was an honour to present this year’s Fiona Moore award: Fiona was a partner in the firm, a great supporter of the NLS, and a past president. I know that she would approve, and that she would encourage all law firms to remain (or become) actively engaged with the society. I would like to repeat my thanks from the evening to Phil Smith, for all he does for the society, to the Patrons and the Judges for their engagement, investment and time. This Award means an awful lot to everyone associated with the firm (past and present) - we are very grateful.”

Small Firm of the Year: Sponsored by Landmark Information Group.

Winner - VSH Law

This old established firm has “a family firm approach” which engenders a personal attention for clients which they are unlikely to find with a large firm. The client satisfaction survey of 99% “very satisfied” shows its claim to be a firm with a strong local reputation for good client retention. In addition they are significantly involved in community and charity work.

The award was collected by Rhona Rowland, Managing Partner. Rhona said, “On behalf of VSH Law I am delighted to accept this award. I would also like to say a big thank you to the Society for this award and for the help and support I and the firm have received from them over the years.

The date for next year’s Awards has been set already so please put Friday 21st September 2018 in your diary now,. We hope to see as many of you there as possible and would also encourage you to nominate colleagues and firms in each of the award categories.

The Society would like to thank the Patrons of the Society, The University of Northampton, QPI Legal Ltd., Hawsons Chartered Accountants and Landmark Information Group for their support of this event. Also the event sponsors for the dinner, Landmark Information Group, Wilson Browne LLP. Marshall Maserati Peterborough and H.W. Coates Ltd.

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PROPERTY INFORMATION Northamptonshire Law Society

A different kind of search provider

Our clients tell us that we truly understand their challenges and needs, that’s because we have local offices run by local people using local knowledge and expertise to provide the level of service that other providers simply cannot.

Our approach is practical and straight forward in that we agree more local knowledge leads to improved levels ofservice. This is enforced by an example of our recruitment policy so that our reports are proof read by an ex head of conveyancing with over thirty years’ experience. Believe us when we say we know what makes the difference.

Index East Central Unit 9 The Metro Centre Welbeck Way Peterborough, PE2 7UH

T: 01733 368600 E: eastcentral@indexpi.co.uk

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That Sinking Feeling Northamptonshire Law Society

For homeowners, the word ‘subsidence’ brings a cold shiver to most. The thought of such an occurrence happening near to your home is an uninvited prospect and one that conjures up images of hefty bills, insurance issues and massive repair works.

Having seen various headlines and images of houses displaying large cracks, or even sinkholes appearing in and around residential areas, you would like to think that consumers are mindful of the potential hazards when purchasing a new home, however it isn’t always front of mind for those on the hunt for their ideal property.

For solicitors, undertaking appropriate checks into a property’s risk of ground stability, as part of the conveyancing process, will offer insight or assurances before any purchase is completed.

Unless there are known examples of ground stability hazards in an area, it isn’t always something that clients have considered when buying a property, so being able to deliver intelligence related to any risk is paramount.

But, what causes ground stability or subsidence, and how prevalent is it really?

There are many reasons why a property could be at risk from subsidence. This includes naturally-occurring hazards based on land’s underlying geology, through to a range of man-made, historical factors based on activities that may have occurred on the land in the past.

Former mining activity is one contributor. Old mine shafts and tunnels that were created as part of mining activities have the potential to collapse and damage properties above them. Disturbed ground and spoil tips can also be prone to settlement, which could cause structural damage to buildings.

All of this provides a very clear picture on potential hazards and ‘real life’ evidence of those near to a given address, enabling further investigations to take place if they are concerned by the findings.

In fact, according to data* compiled by Landmark Information for Property Week, it found that almost one-third of residential properties in England, Scotland and Wales are considered to be at some form of risk as a result of historic mining activities.

It estimated that 33% of homes are located within 250m of land that might have previously been used for coalmining and activities such as quarrying of sand, clay and gravel pits. The data research also suggested that in 95 Local Authority areas, the proportion of housing stock at risk is 50% or higher and in 34 areas 100% of the housing stock is at risk from former coalmining activity.

This includes authority areas such as Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, City of Newcastle upon Tyne Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council to name a few.

Other forms of ground stability hazards come from former Brine Extraction and Salt Mining. This type of mining leaves large cavities in the ground which could collapse and cause problems for properties built in the area.

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Tony Rollason, Regional Manager Legal, Landmark Information Group Landfill sites and infilled ground, which is indicated from historical mapping such as ponds, drains and small pits, have the potential to create cause for concern. Infilled land can be susceptible to settling so any houses that have been built on these areas could experience stability problems and subsidence resulting in damage to the property.

As for natural ground stability hazards, some areas of land could be prone to ground instability and subsidence as a result of the natural underlying geology. Examples include areas of the UK at a higher risk of landslides or where sink holes could occur due to the make-up of the underlying soils.

For conveyancers, help is at hand in being able to confidently research all known risks. The new Homecheck Mining and Subsidence report is one example that not only provides details on any potential mining, subsidence or ground stability hazards, but uniquely has the added advantage of including details of insurance claims from Crawford & Company, which are a result of damage caused by subsidence to nearby properties.

Reassuringly, Crawford and Company is the world’s largest independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities.

These claims could be evidence of hazards that have been identified elsewhere in the report. It includes the details of successful Coal Mining Subsidence Damage Claims that have been handled by the Coal Authority, rather than going through an insurer.

All of this provides a very clear picture on potential hazards and ‘real life’ evidence of those near to a given address, enabling further investigations to take place if they are concerned by the findings.

To make interpretation of the report easier for both solicitors and homebuyers, it also includes a plain English professional opinion for each type of hazard or insurance claims identified, along with clear next steps. All of this is written in a way that makes it straightforward for solicitors to extract and report back to the client in their own reporting style.

Ultimately, when it comes down to home-buying, subsidence, mining risk or sinkholes isn’t at the top of everyone’s consideration list. It is therefore down to solicitors to be able to research and advise on any potential hazards before the sale completes to ensure clients are fully briefed, and full and proper due diligence has taken place.

When you talk to people about such risks, they often don’t realise the prevalence and regional variances in ground hazards across the country. And, with a report like Homecheck Mining and Subsidence costing just £20 + VAT, it’s a small fee to pay in the grand scale of home buying, yet provides the analysis and interpretation that offers wider peace of mind.

www.landmark.co.uk *Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown Copyright and Landmark Information Group Limited 2017. All rights reserved.

Northamptonshire Law Society

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Senate House Chambers founded on the four pillars of‌ Integrity, Respect, Professionalism and Strength Senate House Chambers is the largest set of Barristers Chambers based in Northampton. Senate House barristers are highly experienced Family Law specialists and appear in leading cases in all areas of family law in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal. We have three Leading Counsel and our esteemed door tenant Mr Larizadeh QC appears in the Supreme Court also. Senate House barristers are widely recognised by professional and lay clients and the judiciary as being experts in their field.

Senate House sets itself apart from other chambers by strict adherence to our four founding pillars of Integrity, Strength, Respect and Professionalism. All of our barristers, clerks and staff are committed to ensuring that these values are at the heart of everything we do.

The barristers and staff at Senate House recognise the importance and value of teamwork, not only in driving performance standards even higher but also in building self-esteem and creating a supportive environment for growth and development. Each of our barristers therefore has the constant benefit of the knowledge and experience of every single other member of Chambers.

Whomever is instructed at Senate House therefore has the force of the specialist expertise of our entire legal team behind them. We apply our collegiate approach to our relationships with our solicitors also. We offer an open door to those who instruct us. We will always offer help, assistance and guidance to any of our solicitors, whenever they may need it. Our solicitors are provided with direct contact details for any barrister that they may instruct, maintaining open lines of communication as well as our professional relationship.

Senate House strives to deliver exceptional service across the board. From the time of a first contact being made with our clerking team to the conclusion of our billing process and everything in between. We understand the importance of reliability, professionalism and accuracy and seek to deliver these essential elements at every stage. We value our instructing solicitors above all else and are grateful for the work that they instruct us to undertake. We equally appreciate the faith in our team, demonstrated by our solicitor colleagues and their continued instruction.

At Senate House, we understand that our solicitors have a choice of counsel and are grateful for every brief that they elect to send our way. In return, we strive to honour their faith and confidence by delivering exceptional service to them and to their lay clients.

At Senate House Chambers, We are committed to supporting charitable causes. The help that Chambers can provide is an extremely important focus for our business and we regularly support a wide variety of child focused charities, both in the UK and abroad.

14 Albion Place, Northampton, NN1 1UD DX: 15624 Northampton 3 01604 210 979, 01604 622 283 clerks@senatehousechambers.com

One Bar: Threats, Opportunities and Strengths

Northamptonshire Law Society

THE ANNUAL BAR & YOUNG BAR CONFERENCE 2017

As assessment by Phillip Taylor MBE, Reviews editor, “The Barrister”, and Head, Richmond Green Chambers

The Tragedy of the Young Bar Uncovered The annual Bar Conference never disappoints and this year’s 32nd get-together in London was no exception.

For readers who have never attended the event, it is organised to cover high-profile key note speakers and a series of “break out” sessions to cover specific areas of practice. .

Described as a “fl agship event”, both the Bar and Young Bar now hold their Conferences together. Not surprising really because the state of the Young Bar remains perilous!

The Chairman of the Bar, Andrew Langdon QC, opened proceedings with a hard-hitting series of statements. Langdon began on a reasonably optimist note about our future, but it did not take long before we got to the heart of the current agenda- the threats to our existence.

“Our demise has been prophesied since I was called 31 years ago”, he said. “But you cannot keep a good idea down” referring to the tripling in the size of the Bar during those three decades. Langdon went on to cover the big current issues of the moment: ‘fl exible operating hours’; women in practice; technology; and judicial morale.

But worse was to come – the shrinking of the junior Bar, with Langdon saying, “we are currently losing young barristers who see how hard it will be to pay back the debts they incur in training”. A conclusion which ran through the entire day was the event’s peroration with many attendees believing that “the lack of confi dence in public funding is partly what has caused chambers to recruit fewer members.”

Which brings us to Duncan McCombe, chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee, who presented a message “of hope tinged with caution” according to one commentator although behind the public face there remains a deep-rooted concern at the huge drop in younger people attending the Conferences and being able to stay the course of early years at the Bar. McCombe was impressive and did not rock the boat, but the tragedy of the Young Bar is upon us unless action is taken.

And that applies also to training contracts for trainee solicitors.

He fi nished with these words: “The practice of farming out junior practitioners for heavily reduced rates or nothing at all, so that larger Crown Court briefs can be brought in for those higher up in Chambers is exploitative. It must stop.” He is right, and sadly it is not just about the Junior Bar, either. When we all started as lawyers we needed the initial work experience which is more diffi cult to get today (because of legal aid cuts) so we need such exploitation to stop or there will not be new people following us in the profession.

Of course, we received the most welcome Susskind treatment as well. Now Richard Susskind can be misunderstood but his keynote to the Young Bar was unmistakable- assessing how technology can make access to justice more accessible, so it will be a choice of whether to compete or embrace new technology for the excellent Heather Hallett reminded us “having highly skilled specialist advocates is a good idea… and you cannot keep a good idea down”. Thank you, Heather, for that very positive sound bite which ran through all the sessions.

We are, of course, keeping the best moment to last although if you have not been to this Annual event before do come next time. There is so much to off er from the top of the profession because there is normally at least one treat in store- this year it was the indefatigable Henry Brooke who never fails to surprise us.

We don’t get many standing ovations, that is for political Conferences which are normally fi xed. However, Henry Brooke got one for a most passionate speech. Readers will be familiar with Henry from his time on the Bench and his courage in fi ghting for a cause, whether prison reform or legal aid. It was legal aid this time and his quiet and carefully constructed delivery made the Conference.

The fi nal word will go to the Bach Commission report. We had both the Attorney General and Solicitor General present at the event - they treat our deliberations very seriously, so we know the message gets back to the top. The point from 2017 onwards is that legal aid has wreaked havoc, especially in lower proceedings where the savings have been big but not as brilliant as the Treasury (and some MPs- we know who you are) hoped.

As Brooke indicated referring to a letter from a district judge who wrote, the day in court “is a long nightmare”, for “so very many have mental health problems, drugs, language, learning diffi culties”. That unnamed DJ said, “I cannot no longer do justice or protect the vulnerable child or adult”. He wrote - “I am in despair”.

It doesn’t have to be like this and that is the message from these Conference sessions for me for we can go forward being positive and avoid what could be big tragedies for the future as the legal agenda changes in post-Brexit Britain. Thank you to everyone for making this event so memorable at a clear turning point for the profession.

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

My day at Westminster Abbey to mark the opening of the legal year

Article from by Laura Carter

Partner at VSH Law

I was honoured to have been invited to the service at Westminster Abbey to mark the opening of the legal year on the 2nd October 2017. The service, which is affectionately known as the judges’ service is held annually to mark the opening of the legal year. The judges’ service is a time honoured tradition, which has its origins in the religious practice of judges praying for guidance at the beginning of the legal term. This custom dates back to the middle ages when the High Court was held in Westminster Hall and judges would walk over to Westminster Abbey for the service.

The annual service is attended by the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice, senior judiciary and other judges, clerks and members of the legal profession, barristers and delegates from the representative bodies of some of legal professions.

Shortly before the service, with the judiciary and the profession assembled and attired in their full traditional dress, right down

to the gold buckled pumps, the entrance hall of the Abbey was a sea of gold, red and mauve representing the various branches of the judiciary and legal professions. Friends and colleagues greeted each other enthusiastically and conversations were struck between strangers united by their common calling to the law.

A strict order was followed for the procession into the Abbey for the service, which was conducted by the Dean of Westminster.

After the service, we took the short walk over to the Palace of Westminster where a reception was held in Westminster Hall.

Luckily it was a sunny day, although a bit breezy, so there were plenty of tourists who were treated to an impressive procession of the judiciary and legal profession in full ceremonial dress.

After we had all been given the opportunity to be personally greeted by the Lord Chancellor, the reception itself was less formal with plenty of time for more socialising. Overall, it was an impressive day and an honour to have been given the opportunity to attend this most historical tradition.

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Northamptonshire Law Society

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Northamptonshire Law Society

INCREASE FEES BY BUILDING YOUR BRAND Having to dedicate non-chargeable time to marketing activities for many lawyers is a necessary evil. To market a law firm effectively, maximise your time and return on investment, it is vital to have a clear understanding of your existing client base, core competences, current strengths and weaknesses and a vision for the future.

Having a strategic direction will not only save you time but also money. This strategic focus will enable you to build your brand.

A brand is as much about ‘perception’ as it is about reality.

Whether you are a sole practitioner or larger fi rm, having a strategic marketing plan in place provides focus for your tactical marketing activities. Brands are built over time, building and enhancing reputation.

Finding the most eff ective way to communicate with your potential client depends entirely on the clients’ that you wish to attract i.e. small businesses, family, property, HNWI’s, charities, farmers, corporate etc. Your organisation may be

Article from by Sue Higgins

able to cover many of these areas if it has a large enough budget to compete.

In this digital age of ‘information overload’ the importance of a strong brand, whether locally or nationally, is even greater.

The way we communicate is rapidly changing so we all must adapt. Individuals now communicate instantly on mobile devices; potential clients look for endorsements and reviews via Facebook, Twitter and other social media, and video and voice are beginning to play greater roles.

The digital age also provides us with the ability to measure our performance by reviewing analytics, establishing trends and understanding our client’s current needs from searches.

Sue Higgins FCIM has worked in professional services marketing for more than 20 years. Her commercial experience, combined with her strong analytical skills, provide her with the ability to focus on the key issues confronting law firms. For further information about strategic marketing, branding and digital communications call Sue Higgins at Brand Elevation on info@brandelevation.co.uk

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0800 085 8050 customer.services@geodesys.com www.geodesys.com/events

Anti-Money Laundering:

CPD ad September 2017_amended.pdf 1

03/10/2017 15:08:38 14:58:19 14:59:36

What’s changed and what this means for UK conveyancers The European Union’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive was implemented into UK law on June 26th. As a result there are changes to how law firms must conduct customer due diligence and an increased focus on the need to incorporate ongoing and documented risk assessment.

What’s the risk?

There are regulatory and legal / criminal penalties in place for non-compliance. This includes fi nes of up to £1 million and prison sentences from two to seven years.

What’s changed?

1. Customer due diligence and risk assessment

Under the new legislation the choice regarding level of due diligence is more limited. There is no longer any automatic exemption from enhanced due diligence. A decision to apply simplifi ed due diligence needs to be evidenced by a documented risk assessment. In simple terms, this means that all conveyancing clients must be risk-assessed, regardless of country of origin, services purchased or delivery channels. Moreover, the risk assessment now needs to include Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and Financial Sanctions screening.

2. Ongoing record-keeping and transparency

Risk assessments must be kept and made available to regulators. This is worth noting as it is the fi rst time that fi rms are explicitly being told to document and fi le risks in this way.

How an electronic AML search can help An AML search facilitates risk assessment by combining all processes and records in one automated system. It enables fi rms to search for adverse information on a client more thoroughly than they would be able to do manually, and it ensures that compliance procedures are adopted fi rm-wide.

A typical AML search offers: Automated risk assessment

This includes automated screening of Sanctions, PEPs and alert lists and multiple confi rmation of identity, address and birth.

Choice of due diligence level

Users can opt for either simplifi ed or enhanced due diligence. Simplifi ed due diligence is typically for “low risk” transactions whereas enhanced due diligence is for “medium or high risk work”.

On-going compliance

The system continues to monitor risk-assessed clients, alerting you if documentation or data may aff ect the result of the original assessment.

Automated record keeping

An AML search also automates record-keeping and audit. Users have the option to add, certify and manage customer documents within the due diligence record.

Geodesys offers an AML search at a cost of £6 (inc VAT) for enhanced due diligence.

For more information please see our frequently-asked questions on AML for conveyancers at www.geodesys.com/aml-directive-faq

Northamptonshire Law Society

Data protection law evolves into a new niche We are at present seemingly swamped by marketing materials which are keen to point out the financial consequences of non compliance with the new EU wide data protection regulation, the GDPR , which is due to come into force on 25th May 2018. This legislation, despite the inevitable cost to business in terms of change to process and procedure, is badly needed for the protection of all of us. The stealing of personal data for nefarious reasons is becoming more and more common and it is right that the law evolves to protect its citizens. Hailed by many as a “revolution”, we prefer to think of it as an “evolution” to fill a niche largely created by e-communication.

For those of us involved in resolving family law cases using DNA testing technology, there are now some additional considerations, notably those relating to genetic information that could have derived from, say, a paternity test. For the first time, these data, along with biometric data are specifically mentioned in the legislation and are classified as sensitive personal information, along with religious beliefs, physical and mental health and ethnic origin. This is long overdue.

Nothing is closer to your very being than your own unique genetic code. Analysis of your genes can already tell a lot about you, in the future this will be substantially more. Predicting (yes predicting, not just diagnosing) diseases, abilities or preferences all come under the spotlight. For those of you that think that the ability of ISPs to present advertisements based on your surfing activity is bad enough, it is truly

little compared to what could be done with access to your genetic data.

The key to unlocking your code is the physical DNA itself, which can be isolated from a bodily sample, most simply a cheek swab or saliva sample to collect some cells from inside the mouth. In a paternity test we look at regions of DNA that are to be found throughout your personal DNA code (your genome). For the most part, these regions (the DNA profile) have no functional consequence, they are just markers in the sand. They are powerful enough though, to identify your immediate family and who is, or is not, the father of a child. It is this DNA profile that you may hear about as being stored on DNA databases and retrieved for example, in connection with a crime.

More imperative to consider is the rise of companies which obtain your DNA sample and sequence the entire genome or make a detailed map, thus providing you with a report on say, your distant ancestry or changes in your genome which relate to disease pre-disposition or other characteristics. These data are necessarily far from complete and conclusions are far from absolute, yet these providers often continue to hold the DNA, sample and data. Consumers may find that they have agreed to retention of their DNA and the sharing of their genetic data (sometimes with payment) with third parties for other purposes. The consent these companies have obtained from consumers is not a fully informed consent as there may be risks and consequences that currently cannot be foreseen.

The retention of genetic information is in fact broader than that too…such information is being held by healthcare providers and by universities and indeed, sometimes without limitation of time. You may have heard of “biobanks”, where genetic information is held for the purpose of “research”…i.e. DNA data mining, which is often carrying a tenuous rationality.

This is precisely why GDPR is needed, consent buried in T&Cs is not a fair consent and the explicit “opt-in” required under GDPR will mean that consumers genetic data cannot now just be held in the expectation that an opportunity will arise for the testing company, without the consent of the donor to the use of their data in the new circumstances. GDPR also means that there will need to be accountability for the genetic data stored and how it is used. This is in no part a complete block on important genetic developments; GDPR is quite rightly asking for accountability for the DNA data, as it does with other pieces of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

In family law cases, which generally involved DNA profiling, reasonable steps must be taken to protect clients data. Given the complexity of the cases we generally have to deal with, e.g. multiple solicitors representing different clients, the involvement of social services and local authorities, court orders, private individuals and international cases (including immigration), there is a veritable minefield of responsibility which must be attended to under GDPR. Coupled with the need of many to improve general internal practices (location of data, how it is used and shared, accessing from off site, cloud storage) GDPR will bring significant audit responsibility to the legal profession and it subcontractors.

We stand ready to work with you on these complex issues. What will arise will be a better system where genetic and other data is properly accounted for.

Dr Neil Sullivan, BSc., MBA (DIC), LLM, PhD. General Manager, Complement Genomics Ltd. (trading as www.dadcheckgold.com) 1 The General Data Protection Regulation see https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-thegeneral-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

Northamptonshire Law Society

Bending Over Backwards:

Expert Witnesses confer and convene with legal high fliers on costs and other awkward questions You always know it’s autumn when the conference season kicks off. And it is usually the Conference of the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) that starts it in considerable style.

This year, on 21st September 2017, over 100 EWI members made their annual pilgrimage, as it were, to their usual conference venue of Church House, looking customarily impressive in its leafy, campus-like location in Westminster, not far from Westminster Abbey and Parliament.

As in previous years, the Conference was notable for its roster of distinguished speakers, from Lord Justice Rupert Jackson, who gave the keynote speech -- to the inaugural address delivered by Martin Spencer QC (now Mr Justice Spencer) who, in addition to his role as a High Court judge, has assumed the chairmanship of the EWI. Presided over by EWI Governor and Conference Chair, Amanda Stevens, this is a gathering where lawyers are well placed to garner important insights into the role of the expert witness in court -- and where expert witnesses can meet, greet and compare notes with each other, as well as with the lawyers whom they might possibly advise, or for whom they might well receive instructions.

Expecting an especially memorable conference this last year, the delegates were not disappointed.

The Keynote Lawyers of course will need no reminder that it was Jackson who, in 2009, accepted the monumental task of constructing the famed and often controversial ‘Jackson Reforms’ on the vexed question of costs, implemented finally in 2013. His keynote speech referred throughout to his latest supplemental report published on 31st July 2017. The title -- ‘Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Supplemental Report Fixed Recoverable Costs’ -- is self-explanatory.

Interviewed just prior to his keynote address, Jackson mentioned that his reforms have been the subject of some negative comment. The criticisms in his original report were aimed primarily at legal fees of the exorbitant, outrageous and disproportionate variety. Many have argued of course that what is termed disproportionate by the consumer of legal services is not necessarily considered so by the legal team which provides them.

Controversies on Costs Herein lie the seeds of controversy, not surprisingly, which have been germinating for some time. Meanwhile -- especially transatlantically --- the matter of ‘pricing’ legal services has

become almost a separate discipline, presided over by consultants – not necessarily lawyers -- who claim special expertise in this area. It’s equally unsurprising that these and related developments have pointed up the need once again, for Jackson’s latest Report.

Affable and erudite -- note that he has been editor-in-chief of The White Book since 2010 -- Jackson explored more than a few key areas of scrutiny on fixed recoverable costs. As expert

“It would seem, however, that his criticisms of ‘too high’ court fees, have been met with indifference. ‘I might as well bleat at the sea like King Canute,’ he said” witnesses can and do provide testimony in court which can turn the course of a case one way or another, they do expect to get paid – proportionately and preferably on time. Judging by certain searching questions from members of the audience, issues of costs at this conference began to emerge as a major concern.

Jackson therefore referred to the causes of excessive costs identified in his initial costs review. While most of his recommendations have been, in his words, ‘bedded in’ following their implementation in 2013, there are six remaining that haven’t -- and in which apparently little or no progress has been made.

In response to the obvious need for a further review, the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls commissioned Jackson in November 2016 to develop proposals for extending the principle of FRC – Fixed Recoverable Costs. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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An EWI First

Northamptonshire Law Society

Judging from Jackson’s additional remarks just prior to the speech, the EWI members attending this conference were among the first to have sight of – or at least detailed information about – the latest recommendations in his supplemental report.

As the Report was first published in July of 2017, government ministers who were to be its first recipients, were all away on their hols and therefore not available for comment. However, by the time this article sees the light of day, they will indeed have seen the Report, one hopes, and noted its contents. But considered in the light of experience, it is not even remotely possible that the newly published recommendations will be implemented before Jackson’s retirement in March 2018.

His wide-ranging speech to Conference, however, covered many more issues, including matters such as guideline hourly rates… ‘not satisfactorily controlled’, and inadequate numbers of staff and IT facilities in the civil courts.

He pointed a critical finger at other factors that bump up costs: ‘time consuming court procedures’ are one example -- and ‘the complexity of the law’ another, in certain areas of litigation.

The obvious remedy, which again is hardly likely to come to pass all that soon, is simplification, which would certainly benefit bemused members of the public and the growing numbers of litigants in person.

‘I believe we can be the definitive body of experts in only a few years,’ It would seem, however, that his criticisms of ‘too high’ court fees, have been met with indifference. ‘I might as well bleat at the sea like King Canute,’ he said. ‘Instead of being reduced, they’ve gone up. I’ve made harsh comments about that, but no one has taken any notice!’

[Sorry, we can’t help mentioning here that King Canute gets a bad press on this one. What he was really trying to do was convince his sycophantic courtiers that even he, with all his earthly power, couldn’t control the sea -- any more than anyone can turn back the rising tide of new and ever-evolving legislation, as well as burgeoning costs.]

Turning his attention to matters of medical negligence -- ‘a very difficult subject’ – Jackson expressed the view that most such cases worth up to £100,000 were not suitable either for the fast track, or even the new ‘intermediate’ track which he has recently proposed for other matters. However, other medical negligence claims of under £25,000 could -- or might -- be dealt with by a ‘bespoke process’ and a grid of fixed costs.

The Executive Summary As for the Supplemental Report itself, ‘read my Executive Summary,’ is Jackson’s best advice – and a good suggestion too, as it functions as a precis and guide to the main document, while reiterating crucial points.

The first of these is a reminder that ‘In England and Wales, the winning party is entitled to receive costs from the losing party.’

Now there’s a grim reality that many overseas/transatlantic

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clients (you’ve probably got at least some of those) just simply don’t get. In their view it is: (a) incomprehensible; (b) unbelievable and (c) grossly and manifestly unfair.

A Flawed Recipe The consensus here is that each side should jolly well pay its own costs, thank you very much – which is not out of line with Jackson’s considered opinion that this winner-takes-all policy is quite simply ‘a recipe for runaway costs.’ Now though, it appears that the ‘recipe’ isn’t going to be changed in a large hurry.

Jackson nonetheless retains his staunch belief in fixed recoverable costs, stating unequivocally that ‘the only way to control costs effectively is to do so in advance.’ Agreed fees up-front…or in advance -- or whichever way you want to put it - should in most circumstances, be the order of the day.

Martin Spencer QC As the new EWI Chair, Martin Spencer QC, in his inaugural address, discussed the challenges as well as the opportunities which face the expert witness as an individual and the EWI as an organisation.

As a leading clinical negligence practitioner, it was throughout his practice as a barrister, he said, that he had experienced at first hand the crucial role that expert witnesses play, particularly in cases in which judges are not experts, either in clinical matters, or in other specialist fields, (from accountancy to zoology, for example) -- nor can they be expected to be.

He mentioned the ‘age-old problem of getting paid’, (speaking of costs) with which he was very familiar in his thirty-six year career as a barrister. Referring to his recent appointment as a High Court judge, he looks forward, he said in somewhat jocular fashion, to at least getting paid regularly!

So it was appropriate that the conference later included a panel discussion on ‘Experts Getting Paid’ which followed a Fixed Costs Session featuring, among other things, government plans to introduce fixed recoverable costs for clinical negligence.

Advocating an active approach to media, marketing and communications in a digital age, Spencer revealed an expansive and optimistic vision of the future for the EWI. ‘I believe we can be the definitive body of experts in only a few years,’ he said, recommending the development and implementation of a quality mark that lawyers could depend upon as an assurance of expertise.

Experts and Expertise Galore Certainly, there was a wealth of expertise and experts all in one place at this remarkable conference. Sadly, space doesn’t allow detailed description of many of the other conference speeches and debates, most of which dealt with highly specialised topics, from forensic science to soft tissue injury, with more than a few led largely by lawyers. The food wasn’t bad either and the networking opportunities were top drawer.

The date of the next EWI Conference, scheduled for September 2018, is one you should definitely include in your Chambers diary.

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Northamptonshire Law Society

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Mr Ian Reilly

t: 01908 305127 M: 07968 013 803 e: orthopaedicexpert@gmail.com W: www.shoulderelbowhand.org 61 Church End, Biddenham, Bedford MK40 4AS

50093 ROCH2>MH>03.10.14

MSc, FCPodS, FFPM RCPS (Glasg)

Mr Reilly is an expert witness for Podiatry and Podiatric Surgery cases and has completed the Bond Solon Report Writing for Expert Witnesses course.

He has written personal injury and medical negligence reports. Fully referenced reports are prepared within agreed timescales and in accordance with current guidelines.

Mr Reilly qualified in 1996 and has performed over 7,000 surgical procedures, has a particular interest in bunion and soft tissue surgery and has lectured internationally on plastic surgical procedures of the foot.

www.podsurgeon.co.uk

01604 885003 The Woodland Hospital, Rothwell Road, Kettering Northamptonshire, NN16 8XF The Three Shires, The Avenue, Cliftonville, Northampton Northamptonshire, NN1 5DR www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

5 reasons to outsource your payroll The clock is ticking for UK employers who haven’t yet gone live with auto enrolment workplace pensions.

The final staging dates are imminent and The Pensions Regulator is now routinely publishing details of employers who’ve been ordered to pay fines for ignoring new pension rules..

If you’re not compliant already, now’s the time to act. However, if you’re battling to get to grips with auto enrolment (and we wouldn’t be surprised; it hasn’t been labelled “the biggest shake up of pension reform for a generation” for nothing!), there’s never been a better time to outsource the increasingly burdensome payroll function.

“You’re bound to say that!” we hear you shout. And, yes, we agree with you. As an outsourced service supplier, it’s in our best interests to promote outsourcing at every opportunity.

But, we anticipate some scepticism which is why we’ve helpfully compiled a compelling list of five good reasons in our attempt to convince you that we’re not being entirely selfish. We’re actually doing our bit to help you cope with mandatory pension reform and avoid costly financial penalties or irreversible reputational damage.

So, without further delay, let the five reasons begin:-

1. Auto enrolment applies to everyone Even if you employ just one person, you’re still obliged to provide a workplace pension. In other words, there’s no avoiding it. It’s the law. Whether you’re a small, medium or large-sized business, you have a legal requirement to comply by your allocated staging date.

We strongly recommend checking your staging date as soon as practicably possible. It’s easy to do. First, hunt out your PAYE reference. This is conveniently located on all your company’s HMRC documents. It takes a 3-digit, 7-character format, for example, 913 / WZ5121A. Armed with your unique identifier, go to the online staging date tool at www.thepensionsregulator. gov.uk/employers/staging-date.aspx, enter your PAYE code, complete the recaptcha box and click the ‘Show my staging date’ button.

2. Punishments are enforced Just as with any breaches of the law, there are punishments for non-compliance. The Pensions Regulator is empowered by the UK Government to regulate and fine businesses who don’t comply, whether deliberately or unintentionally. Financial penalties range from £400 fixed penalty notices right up to £50,000 civil penalties for companies failing to engage with auto enrolment or pay contributions due.

And it’s not just the financial cost, although this is obviously deterrent enough. The negative publicity surrounding your unlawful activity may cause irreparable damage to your professional reputation. As a legal service provider, this is extremely embarrassing. Even worse, you may lose clients as their trust in you becomes questionable and, as a result, they begin to conduct their legal affairs elsewhere with one of your (delighted!) competitors.

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3. Managing work-based pensions is demanding and complicated Even before your staging date arrives, there’s a lot to do.

This includes assessing your workforce to see who’s eligible (against defined criteria), choosing a pension scheme (from an auto enrolment ready pension provider) and communicating with your staff regarding their options.

One of your earliest decisions relates to the individual pay components which determine your employees’ qualifying earnings, for example overtime, commission and bonuses. It’s up to you to make a reasonable judgement as to whether each element fits within the definition of qualifying earnings.

All this lengthy preparation is stressful enough without a lastminute rush by businesses who’ve left it until the eleventh hour to prepare. Much more so, if you have!

And, even when you’ve reached your staging date, your responsibilities don’t end there. Employees must be reassessed, contributions re-calculated, opt-ins added, optouts removed with refunds given each payroll cycle. Not forgetting general record keeping and reporting which is partand-parcel of maintaining a clear audit trail of transactions.

It’s a mammoth task and one which needs tackled every few weeks ad infinitum.

The main reason cited by businesses postponing their staging date is an inability to cope with the excessive amount of prescribed paperwork. Despite being on the horizon for years, firms are continually caught unawares by the sheer volume of work involved preparing for auto enrolment.

4. Selecting a pension provider is a difficult decision Pension providers are much of a muchness, offering the same service for the same fee, right? Wrong! With no restrictions on charges, some providers are applying additional administration costs. Providers’ benefits, such as range of investment options and web-based software support, vary drastically too.

Your choice of pension provider will influence the costs to your business of auto enrolment as well as determine the administrative processes involved. So, the small print matters and needs to be carefully checked, compared and questioned before you sign on the dotted line.

5. There are other payroll duties to manage too To top it all, your payroll clerk (who may also be your business manager, accounts clerk, general administration assistant, receptionist or everything combined!) has all his / her existing responsibilities to take care of. Your employees’ salaries, for instance. After all, unless they’re working on a voluntary basis, at the end of each month, your employees have to get paid.

On a standalone basis, payroll management can be a full time job, covering salary processing, SMP, SPP and PAYE payments, payslip production, in-year and year-end reporting, as stipulated by ever-changing HMRC legislation.

As a Bacs-authorised bureau (more on this later), we’re permitted to perform your payroll function on your behalf, including transferring money from your business bank account directly into your employees’ bank accounts to pay their monthly salaries, thus significantly lightening the load on you.

These five reasons are specifically related to payroll and pensions. There are, of course, many other reasons to outsource complex, heavily regulated back office business functions. For example, lower operational costs, enhanced risk management, compliance assurance, availability of value-added support, automatic emergency planning, built-in disaster recovery, scalability, healthier cash flow and business development assistance… to name a few.

the substantial list of benefits is equally resonant when the topic’s focused on outsourced payroll.

Northamptonshire Law Society

A heavier workload resulting from the introduction of auto enrolment pensions and, suddenly, the role assumes unmanageable proportions. The net result of overwork is often stress at work. This isn’t pleasant for your struggling employee, who may require long-term sickness leave for recovery purposes, or for you dealing with the fallout, sharing your absent staff member’s duties between present employees or recruiting temporary stand-ins.

To wind up, then, hopefully by now you’ve gained a better understanding of what’s demanded by auto enrolment. You may also have come to the conclusion that you simply don’t have the capacity to cope in house with your already-stretched human resources. In which case, our Quill Payroll outsourcing service is an increasingly appealing option.

HMRC approved, Bacs registered, Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals accredited, 40+ years experienced, Quill Payroll is a service you can depend upon, leaving you free to focus on running your business with complete confidence that your payroll and pensions couldn’t be in safer hands.

Visit our dedicated Quill Payroll website at www.quillpayroll. co.uk, email info@quillpayroll.co.uk or phone 0845 226 2587.

Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and is also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association.

Quill is the UK’s largest outsourced legal cashiering provider with 40 years’ experience supplying outsourced services and software to the legal profession.

Read our earlier “Ten reasons to outsource your cashiering” guide at www.quill.co.uk/10-reasons for full details because, although specifically related to outsourced legal cashiering,

PAYROLL HEADACHES? Ever-changing Legislation...Late Pay Runs...Missed Deadlines Hard to Manage...Complicated Processes...Insecure Data Feel-good RTI & auto enrolment compliance Pain-free secure electronic payslip delivery Instant pension management cure option Healthy 'silent partner' bureau service Vigorous personal, flexible service Painless payroll management

Call or click for a fast-acting remedy

0845 226 2587

info@quillpayroll.co.uk www.quillpayroll.co.uk/headaches www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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Northamptonshire Law Society

Making your (Trade) Mark in Lower-Cost Litigation Article from by Aaron Wood

The development of fixed cost regimes and ever greater scrutiny of costs budgets should have led to ever-greater access to justice. Whilst some areas of law have developed well, one particular area has remained stubbornly expensive: intellectual property.

Despite the law often being needed by creative individuals and businesses with modest means, and despite it being an area concerned with ideas and creativity, it has remained stubbornly expensive with little or no innovation. Why is this and what can be done to change the direction?

There are multiple legal professions acting in the intellectual property field. Alongside solicitors and barristers are patent and trade mark attorneys (such as our firm). Historically trade mark and patent attorneys only dealt with the registration of the rights, passing the litigation work on to solicitors (who reciprocated with registration work). This generally means multiple layers of, and some firms took advantage of changes with the Legal Services Act 2007 to offer conduct of litigation.

A very small number of firms (such as ours) have also obtained rights of audience to allow for a one-stop-shop. It might be said that this followed the drying-up of referrals from solicitors who had launched their own one-stop-shops.

Intellectual property litigation (which covers arguments that third parties have infringed trade marks, patents, copyright, designs or trade secrets together with cases seeking the cancellation of registered rights and claims to ownership of existing rights) also suffers from the issue that the main remedy sought is generally an injunction, with damages often being a secondary and small issue when cast against the potential for a costs bill. The costs liability often well-outstrips the liability for damages or an account of profits. This means that damages-based assessments and CFAs typically do not work,

High Court Judges have begun to be far more demanding of the parties and to demand that all work proposed pass a cost/benefit analysis, limiting evidence or refusing permission where it does not pass. and litigation funders generally do not find IP a fruitful area.

Cost is also maintained because of the specialist nature of the litigation. In an uncompetitive market with the perception that all the “good” firms are hugely expensive, why shop around on price? A recent patent case regarding the validity of a patent for mobile phones technology with a four day trial led to costs of £1.5M on one side and £1.3M on the other, with each side spending well over £300k on the trial itself (excluding preparation) and the higher-spending side spending £580k on expert witnesses (a single expert on each side). Most IP firms 28

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

say that a case cannot be run for less than £400k, a ridiculous figure for the emerging fashion designer that has been ripped off or the photographer whose pictures have been spread around the internet. The enforcement cost has generally led to scepticism of the value of protection – the argument being what’s the point in obtaining rights if you can’t afford to enforce them – and this has dampened the non-contentious registration work over the years.

The steps to solve this dilemma have come largely from the judiciary: a lower-cost venue called the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court was reformulated and has staged cost caps and a ceiling cost cap of £50k with a damages cap of £500k; its “sister” small claims track with the same damages and costs as the small claims court generally, and; in standard proceedings before the High Court Judges have begun to be far more demanding of the parties and to demand that all work proposed pass a cost/benefit analysis, limiting evidence or refusing permission where it does not pass. Nonetheless, eyewatering figures still pass through the precedent H stage of review. The costs sought suggest that this is not just tactical quoting on the precedent H forms.

The issue lies with law firms, and a one-size approach to litigation. It is often the case in IP litigation that counsel is used to draft everything of note, even inter partes correspondence in some cases. This cannot be right, and we can but hope that this changes to embrace different forms of working according to case value. Some movement has occurred with the advent of patent and trade mark firms undertaking litigation: unburdened by the expectation of such staggering amounts of cash quoted elsewhere for seemingly uncomplicated cases, they quote lower figures and have the benefit of subject expertise, if not the games litigators play. With the Courts now shying away from gamesmanship and expensive points scoring this is less of an issue.

Where competition has not occurred, however, is in advocacy: still their monopoly, the other professions concluding that the skills gap was too large to bridge. Our firm hopes to change that with the use of inhouse advocacy services, and is seeing good take up from SMEs as well as white-label offerings to existing departments of top tier law firms. IP is about innovation – and we must innovate, too.

Aaron is a Registered Trade Mark and Design Attorney and is also one of a small number of Trade Mark Advocates and Trade Mark Litigators, having undertaken further study and work in civil litigation and advocacy.

Aaron is a member of CITMA and serves as a Council member.

Aaron has over 15 years experience and has been extremely fortunate to be able to help a range of clients on the full breadth of intellectual property issues. Aaron is also regularly asked to write or speak on intellectual property topics and also regularly chairs seminars and webinars on IP topics.

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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 last edition of the Bulletin in 2017.

Earlier in this edition you will have seen the report on the Annual Awards Dinner which once again was a very successful and enjoyable evening. If you or your firm have not attended an awards event in the past then please do consider attending next year. What better way to recognise someone who has made a difference and to be able to share their achievements with the rest of the local legal community.

“...I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year...”

I recently circulated details of the Rokart 2018 event organised in conjunction with the Nene Valley Rotary Club. I am pleased to be able to advise you that a Law Society night has been agreed for Tuesday 20th February and all 10 places for teams has been filled, thus guaranteeing at least one legal team will qualify for the finals. Watch out for a report on the event in our Spring edition.

Training courses continue to be well attended, especially those by Richard Snape on conveyancing with the next event being held on Monday 11th December. If you wish to attend I can accept bookings up until the 7th December. You may also wish to note the dates for 2018 that have been agreed with Richard. They are 5th February, 10th July, 5th September and 5th December.

Another date for your diary is Tuesday 1st May when we have been able to secure an afternoon course delivered by Gill Steel. This is one not to miss as Gill is a leading speaker in the Private Client areas of Wills, Probate, Elderly & Vulnerable client, Trusts and Tax. I will be circulating full details in the new year but if you wish to secure a place now then please email me to register.

I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phil Smith

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

email: philsmithdw@aol.com

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

Society Manager

0845 519 9371

office@northamptonhopecentre.org.uk 30

www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk

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