The Pears issue 28

Issue 28 Summer 2018

Lawyers go bright for Sight Concern Harrison Clark Rickerbys let it all hang out at the charity’s Colour Run

ALSO: Lawyer’s gold award crowns success for young entrepreneurs • Ed Pepperall QC appointed High Court judge • Mediation Tips and more...

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This edition...

Issue 28 Summer 2018

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Committee Members and Member Firms

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The Kili-Billies Charity Climb

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President’s Introduction

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mfg Charity Golf Day and Dragon Boat photos

6 News

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Thursfield’s Fundraising Champion

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Ed Pepperall QC appointed High Court Judge

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mfg win the Retro Rounders Tournament

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Harrison Clark Rickerbys News

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Lawyer’s Gold Award

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mfg News

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An ever-changing risk landscape

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Index PI

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Data Handling

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mfg promotion

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How Equity Release can help your clients

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Law Society News

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Which completion certificates are required from a seller?

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The Three Peaks Challenge

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But for the accident...

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Mediation Tips

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Outsourced Cashiering

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Summer 2018

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Committee Members

Visit our website: www.worcestershirelawsociety.com or follow us on Twitter: @worcslawsociety

Patricia Beeching President Family Law Consultant, Hallmark Hulme Solicitors.

Law Society Council Member for the Welsh Marches.

Pat.Beeching@hallmarkhulme.co.uk

Priya Tromans Treasurer Harrison Clark Rickerbys tel: 01905 746469 ptromans@hcrlaw.com

James Osborne Vice President Harrison Clark Rickerbys josborne@hcrlaw.com

Laura Bligh Admin and Events Headturner Search

Lisa Kemp Thursfields

Alex Phillips Secretary MFG Solicitors LLP alexandra.phillips@mfgsolicitors.com

Andrew Chandler Editor of Pears mfg

Hailey Nip hnip@hcrlaw.com

John Aldis Pupil Barrister St Phillips Chambers jaldis@st-philips.com

Lara Wilkinson lwilkinson@russell-law.co.uk

Robin Appleyard Silverback Law

Nick Hughes Painters Solicitors NAH@painters-solicitors.co.uk

Simon Hocking Silverback Law

Hannah Yates Social Secretary hannah.yates@stiveschambers.co.uk

Rebecca Rogers MFG Solicitors LLP

Worcestershire Junior Lawyer Division JLD George Charteris Treasurer George.charteris@hallmarkhulme.co.uk

Ellie Day Social Secretary ellie.day@mfgsolicitors.com

Charlotte Perry Vice Chair cperry@thursfields.co.uk

Rachael Wheeler National JLD rep rwheeler@hcrlaw.com

Shauna Halls Social Media representative shalls@thursfields.co.ukk

Luke Crocker Secretary Luke.Crocker@hallmarkhulme.co.uk

Jessica McSorley Social Secretary jessica.mcsorley@mfgsolicitors.com

Joe Rollins Social Media representative jrollins@thursfields.co.uk

Hailey Nip Chair hnip@hcrlaw.com

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President’s Introduction Welcome to the first edition of the Pears in

Solicitor changes firms within the county, Career progression is a matter of planning

my (second) Presidential year. Those with

and pride. We are all becoming, of necessity, more tech-savvy and “agile working” is

long memories may recall the first, in 2005, in

the aim of the moment. Amidst all these changes, some may question whether the

the aftermath of the Clementi Review which

Worcestershire Law Society and indeed, The Law Society nationally, are still relevant.

effectively created the framework for legal practice in which we all work today.

I would answer that by referring to the aims of the Society: to support, promote and represent the Solicitors’ profession. Those aims are as relevant today as ever.

I should like to thank the Committee of the Worcestershire Law Society, in particular our out-

Support – for those areas of the profession under pressure, notably criminal

going President, Alexandra Philips and Secretary,

defence lawyers, Legal Aid practitioners generally and those campaigning for early

Priya Tromans, for all their hard work and exceptional fund raising activities last

advice to be restored;

year. At the time of writing, Alex and Priya have yet to undertake their greatest

Promotion – presenting our profession as the reliable, trustworthy, regulated

feat – the ascent of Kilimanjaro in August in aid of the Worcestershire Maternity

source of advice and assistance to our clients

Bereavement Suite. We wish them well.

Representation – ensuring our members’ voices are heard in every area of decision making that affects us.

I am pleased to report that Alex has agreed to assume the role of Secretary this year and Priya, that of Treasurer. I am most grateful for their continued support.

I very much look forward to serving the Society this year as both President and Council Member for the Welsh Marches. Your Society aims to be responsive and

In the 25 years I have been practising law in Worcester there have been many

forward-looking. We welcome your comments, queries, criticism and input at all

changes. Firms have disappeared entirely or taken on new guises. Who now

times. Please let us hear from you.

remembers Linton Connell Smith, Hulme & Co, Morton Fisher, Simpson & Co. March & Edwards and my own former home, John Stallard & Co? The profession is arguably

Patricia Beeching,

younger now and more diverse. Eyebrows are no longer raised when a young

President

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News News News News News News Commercial law specialist Ed Pepperall QC appointed High Court judge He remained in the city for his pupillage and early career at Birmingham’s 2 Fountain Court. The set merged with 7 Fountain Court to become St Philips in 1998. Ed, who was called to the Bar in 1989, took silk in 2013.

He was appointed as a Recorder in 2009 and was made a Deputy High Court Judge in 2016, sitting in the Chancery and Queen’s Bench Divisions, including the Technology and Construction Court.

He is a Justice of the Court of Appeal of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and was a member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee between 2010 and 2016. He is also a contributing editor of the White Book.

Ed said: “I am extremely honoured to be appointed a High Court judge following a rewarding career at the Bar. Although I have practised regularly in London, Birmingham has always been my legal home. The city is a centre of excellence and boasts many advocates of the very highest standard.

“I am delighted to have been a member of St Philips since its inception in 1998. St Philips’s obvious commercial strength helped me to achieve my ambitions and I wish the set the very best for the future.”

With a forensic eye for detail, Ed was regularly instructed in multimillion pound commercial and professional negligence litigation with particular expertise in business sale disputes, restraint of trade, confidentiality and commercial fraud work. Among other blue chip clients, he represented the Royal household, the UK’s five largest brewers, a Formula 1 racing team and a sitting judge.

Ed Pepperall QC, who has been appointed a High Court judge St Philips Chambers in Birmingham is honoured to announce that Ed Pepperall QC has been appointed a High Court judge, assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division.

Ed will take the customary Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath at a swearing in ceremony before the Lord Chief Justice and commence to sit as The Honourable Mr Justice Pepperall at the Royal Courts of Justice on October 1.

Ed has enjoyed a distinguished career at the Birmingham Bar and was a founding member of St Philips Chambers, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The married father-of-three has strong connections with Birmingham in addition to his legal work. His grandfather, Sir Harold Gurden, was the Conservative MP for Selly Oak for 19 years (1955-1974). Ed studied law at the University of Birmingham – the first member of his family to attend university – and graduated in 1988.

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His final case as a QC was a five-week trial in London relating to a share warranty claim valued at $75 million.

In addition to the usual Queen’s Bench diet of civil, appellate and serious criminal work, Ed is likely to sit in the Technology and Construction Court in London.

His elevation to the High Court Bench is the seventh judicial appointment from St Philips this year, following on the heels of three Circuit Judges, two District Judges and a First-Tier Tribunal Judge.

St Philips said it was extremely proud of Ed’s appointment and wished him every success in his judicial career.

For more information, please contact Liquid PR: Richard McComb T: 0121 285 3760 e: richard@weareliquid.com

News News News News News News Growing real estate team welcomes new senior lawyers

Lawyers go bright for Sight Concern Shedding their business suits and getting plastered with colour to raise money for Sight Concern, lawyers from Harrison Clark Rickerbys supported the charity’s Colour Run on Sunday July 1 at Churchfields Farm, Droitwich.

The firm not only sponsored the event but a 15-strong team led by partner Fiona Hayles took part in the 5km event which drew more than 500 people last year, both running and walking. This year’s event was accompanied by live music, bubbles and a chance to try specially-created Colour Run ice cream, created by Churchfields Farmhouse Ice Cream.

Harriet Murray-Jones, Chrissie Doherty, Philip Parkinson, Clare Day and Matt Hayes

The growing real estate team at Harrison Clark Rickerbys has welcomed two new senior members, bringing the number of partners to 15, and boosting its strength across the region, with 59 fee earners in the team, and a recent accolade for its commercial property lawyers in Worcester, chosen as the best in their field in the county.

New partner Clare Day (nee. Titchener) joined the team at the firm’s Wye Valley office – she specialises in real estate finance and all areas of property investment, with experience of freehold sales and acquisitions. She deals with secured lending and has considerable experience with large scale transactions. She joins the team from Clarke Willmott.

Chrissie Doherty has joined to lead the residential property team in Worcester – she’s familiar with both local and London property markets. Having trained and worked in the Midlands, Chrissie then focused on the London property market, so she is used to matching her pace to the speed needed in that arena. She has acted for a wide range of clients, including professional sportspeople, musicians and actors.

Their arrival strengthens the firm’s real

estate division still further – at the start of the year, Harrison Clark Rickerbys created a New Homes team, to broaden the expertise on offer. With planning, construction and dispute resolution experts on hand as well, the team offers a complete property service to private and commercial buyers, sellers and developers.

Fiona said: “I’m really pleased that we can support the charity – our charitable trust has given them funding in the past to help local blind and partially sighted people so that they can lead independent lives, and it’s something we want to continue. It’s such a fun event – how often do you get the chance to throw paint at your colleagues, friends and family?”

Matt Hayes, lead partner in the firm’s real estate team, said: “Not only do we now have outstanding expert advice to offer clients, but we also retain our commitment to excellent client care – we know that property decisions can be challenging, and we support our clients throughout. I know that Chrissie and Clare share that commitment and we’re delighted to have them on board.”

Harrison Clark Rickerbys has 470 staff and partners based at offices in Worcester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Birmingham, the Wye Valley, the Thames Valley, Cambridge and central London who provide a complete spectrum of legal services to both business and private clients, regionally and nationwide. The firm also has a number of highly successful teams specialising in individual market sectors, including health and social care, education, advanced manufacturing, agricultural and rural affairs, defence, security and the forces, and construction.

For more information on the event, or to sign up or donate, please go to http://www. sightconcern.co.uk/colour-run.

The run was followed by a free live music festival and family-friendly entertainment throughout the afternoon, including refreshments from Churchfields Farm, bouncy castles, face painting and crafts.

Droitwich Athletics Club, Young Firefighters, Droitwich Lions and Droitwich Rotary provided the event’s marshals.

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News News News News News News Ms Dwerryhouse will work closely with partner Susan Morrissy, supporting and advising the firm’s rural clients which include farmers, landowners food and drink producers.

Iain Morrison, partner and head of mfg’s agricultural and rural affairs team said: “Sophie is highly regarded across the rural business community and her appointment adds another dimension to a hugely specialist team.

“Sophie’s experience over the past five years within our commercial property team has helped her development greatly and she is already proving to be a brilliant addition.

Robert Capper, Charlotte Thornton-Smith and Richard Knight

Worcester lawyers celebrate new lease of life for porcelain site A new lease of life for part of the former Royal Worcester Porcelain site on Severn St gave Worcester lawyers Harrison Clark Rickerbys the ideal venue for their summer reception and a preview of the new facilities.

More than 100 staff and guests admired the new venue across the courtyard from the Museum of Royal Worcester, which is now home to The Nest Worcester (an expansion of the successful Ledbury café), as well as the Henry Sandon Hall, which will host cinema, music and theatre events, and the Samuel Driver White Suite comprising a large art studio which will house workshops and a board room which will be available for meetings. Mr Driver White was a former senior partner of the firm.

a circus artist and face painting over the weekend of Saturday 30 June - Sunday 1 July.

Sophie Dwerryhouse joins mfg Solicitors’ agricultural team A Worcestershire legal firm has bolstered its award-winning agricultural department with the addition of a new member of the team. mfg Solicitors, which has offices across the county and in Shropshire, has appointed Sophie Dwerryhouse into its team – with her moving across from the firm’s commercial property division after five successful years.

“Working alongside Susan, Sophie will play a key role in helping to grow and develop our offering to farmers, landowners and rural businesses across the region.”

Ms Dwerryhouse added: “It’s a wonderful opportunity at this stage of my career to work closely with Susan and in such a high profile and admired team.

“I know the farming industry well and hope that will help as we expand our services to more rural clients in the months and years ahead.”

Headed by Mr Morrison, mfg’s 10-strong agricultural and rural affairs division represents clients across Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Aside from Susan Morrissy, its senior team includes partner Miles Dearden and associates Helen Gough, Nick Playford, Alexandra Phillips and Hannah Taylor.

Guests enjoyed locally-sourced food and drinks as well as the music of Kringo Blue – taking the art theme through the evening was artist Mikey B, who produced caricatures for guests to take home in exchange for a donation to the firm’s charitable trust.

Charlotte Thornton-Smith, head of the firm’s Worcester office, said: “This is a brilliant venue to have right in the city centre, and I’m so pleased to see that the Royal Worcester site has come to life again.

I hope it goes from strength to strength, because it provides such a great outlet for local talent and produce.”

The new venue will celebrate its official opening with live music, a local food market,

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l-r Iain Morrison, Sophie Dwerryhouse, Susan Morrissy, Nick Playford, Helen Gough, Tom Bell and Alexandra Phillips

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News News News News News News For advice on care-related matters, readers can email amanda.piper@mfgsolicitors.com or call 0845 55 55 321.

mfg Solicitors announce seven partner and associate promotions Worcestershire law firm mfg Solicitors has announced the promotions of seven legal specialists as it sets upon another period of expansion.

The Private Client Team

Specialist joins law firm’s growing Private Client department A period of unprecedented growth has seen one of Worcester’s leading legal teams adding to its ranks.

The Private Client division at city centre law firm mfg Solicitors, which advises individuals and families across the West Midlands, has appointed inheritance and estates specialist Sam Freeman to the department.

Based at the firm’s offices on The Tything, the 27 year-old will work alongside experienced lawyer Amanda Piper, the firm’s head of elderly care, advising clients about Lasting Powers of Attorney, the Court of Protection, as well as probate, wills, trusts and estates.

“As a firm we have seen a large increase in demand for our services, including in the field of care for the elderly, which is why we’ve appointed Sam to boost the team and grow even further.

“The matters that the Private Client team cover are often those that people would rather not have to think about, so it’s important to me to get issues such as wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney out of the way for people as quickly and as simply as possible, so families can go on being families but with peace of mind.”

Employment law expert Darryll Thomas, who joined as an associate in February 2016, is promoted to partner within the firm’s award-winning Employment and HR Services department where he continues to advise employers and individuals.

The second promotion sees residential property conveyancing lawyer Jane Morley becoming a partner. With a 32year legal career, Ms Morley has been with mfg since 2013, when the firm acquired Bromsgrove’s Scotts, Holt & Sellars.

Five lawyers have also been promoted to associate level.

Andrew Chandler, an expert in complex wills, trusts and estates matters, has been promoted within mfg’s nationallyrecognised contentious probate team where he will continue to work closely with partner Robert Weston.

l-r Andrew Chandler, Sarah Coyne, Sharon Lerry, Rhiannon Clark and Ben Rothery with Chairman Maynard Burton

Her appointment comes as Ms Piper has overseen a 40 per cent increase in client instructions at mfg’s Worcester office, with clients recommending Ms Piper for her service and attention to detail on issues including wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, estate administration and legal considerations surrounding the care of elderly relatives.

Ms Piper, who is now into her 15th year with the law firm, said: “Sam has already made a great impression as she has been getting to know our clients and helping them navigate what can be complex and often highly emotional matters.

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News News News News News News In another key promotion, medical negligence and personal injury expert Sarah Coyne becomes an associate within mfg’s litigation division.

Meanwhile, within the corporate and commercial property division, lawyers Ben Rothery and Rhiannon Clark become associates, while respected residential property specialist Sharon Lerry is also promoted within the residential conveyancing department.

Maynard Burton, partner and chairman of mfg Solicitors said: “These seven promotions are each fully deserved. Not only do they underline the breadth of expertise we have, but they also highlight the talent and quality of our rising stars across the firm.

“New partners Darryll and Jane have exceptional track records and continue to excel for their clients. Andrew, Sarah, Ben, Rhiannon and Sharon, meanwhile, all deserve to step up into their more senior roles after continuing to impress clients with a high quality, consistent service.”

Worcestershire law firm grows corporate team with appointment of new partner

l-r Maynard Burton, Clare Lang, Stephen Wyer and James Hayes of mfg Solicitors

has joined the 33-partner firm which has its county offices in Worcester, Kidderminster and Bromsgrove.

She will work alongside existing corporate and commercial partners, Stephen Wyer and James Hayes.

Based at the firm’s Kidderminster headquarters, she will focus on growing mfg’s corporate and commercial client base and advising clients across the region on mergers and acquisitions, business disposals, management buy outs, reorganisations, and a series of business-related finance matters.

Worcestershire legal firm mfg Solicitors has strengthened its corporate and commercial offering with the appointment of a new partner.

Maynard Burton, partner and chairman of mfg Solicitors said: “Clare is a first-rate and hugely admired corporate and commercial law specialist who will add significantly to an already respected team.

Widely respected business specialist Clare Lang, who has 16 years of experience advising and supporting businesses,

“Having successfully worked closely with both large and small businesses for 16 years, she has the credentials, track

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record and professionalism we look for in a partner.

“I am looking forward to Clare contributing to our success in the months and years ahead. She is already making a brilliant impact within the firm and with our clients regionally and nationally.”

Clare Lang added: “Joining Stephen, James and the rest of the team at mfg Solicitors presents an exciting

opportunity for me to grow and develop our corporate offering.

“The firm’s large client base of corporate businesses and high net-worth individuals is well recognised and impressive.

I’m looking forward to strengthening the range of services provided by the firm and helping to cement mfg’s reputation as a premier provider of corporate and commercial legal services.”

Is

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News News News News News

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The Three Peaks Challenge O

n 30th June 2018, a group of 5 from Worcester’s oldest law firm Hallmark Hulme started a gruelling challenge of completing the National 3 Peaks within 24 hours. The team were raising funds for Midlands Air Ambulance who provide crucial emergency life saving support in the West Midlands area without any government funding, the charity relies entirely on charitable donations to operate.

We were also joined by teams from Nicol & Co estate agents, FT Images photographers & Lawson Keys recruitment. Jonny Arr and Zoe Ryan also tagged along for Jonny’s last fundraising event of his testimonial year.

The challenge itself involves summiting Ben Nevis (1345 metres), Scafell Pike (978 metres) & Snowdon (1085 metres) within 24 hrs including driving 460 miles between locations. The total distance hiked is 23 miles.

We all knew this would be a massive physical challenge and had been training for at least 6 months. However, we had not prepared for the weather which that weekend was unbelievably hot! It meant we needed to carry more water than we had expected and the physical exertion in high temperatures was very draining.

We managed to complete Ben Nevis in a maximum time of 5 ½ hours and then moved onto Scafell, which we summited as the sun was setting which meant we descended in the dark (bringing further challenges of hiking in the dark) completing the mountain in 3 ½ hours.

Photo – from left to right: George Charteris, Rebecca Widdowson, Kate Walton, Jess Hathaway & Luke Crocker Photo: FT Images We nicknamed it ‘The Descent of Doom’.

We had a fall on the descent from one of our team members but fortunately no serious injuries.

Finally we moved onto Snowdon which was lovely & cool early in the morning but as we turned a corner on the Pyg track, found ourselves in full sun again in which we remained until we finished Snowdon in 4 hours. We were all totally shattered but massively proud of achieving the challenge in 23 hours.

So was it worth it? Yes, I am sure it was - the toughest personal challenge I have

Snowdon Base

done to date (I cannot speak for all of our team but think most will agree) along with raising £6000 for the Air Ambulance is reward in itself.

On top of team HH’s individual fundraising efforts, the group as a whole raised £13,500 for the Air Ambulance and with each flight costing £2,500 I am pretty sure that potentially saving 5 lives is something we all can be immensely proud of.

Adam Williams, Corporate Partnerships Executive for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity adds: “As a charity which receives no Government or National Lottery funding, donations raised from local people and businesses is essential to help fund the next lifesaving air ambulance mission.

“We’re truly grateful to Hallmark Hulme for their continued support, and would like to congratulate them on completing a gruelling challenge, fantastic achievement!”

Scafell Pike

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Mediation Tips Ali Tabari Barrister and mediator at St Philips Chambers

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ave you ever been in a mediation at 4.45pm, wondering whether the past 8 hours of your life could have been better spent? Not to mention the time spent preparing the Position Statement and the bundle, all of which will count for nought as the day drifts away into an unsatisfactory impasse? Here are my 4 top tips for ensuring that you and your client maximise the chances of a good day at the office.

Top tip #1: Untie the shackles Your client will need to have the maximum flexibility to negotiate a settlement. We all know this is harder when representing large corporates, as there are usually several layers of management to penetrate before someone is given a wide scope of authority, but I can assure you that there is nothing more frustrating that getting to what looks like a workable deal at the end of the day, only to find that a middle manager many miles away refuses to authorise it over the phone. Your client’s hardest work is to get their boss not to shackle them to fixed negotiation parameters, and it’s often useful to remind them that the success of the day might well depend on it.

Top tip #2: Don’t go with the flow

the misguided idea that settlement is the only option. Yes, we have to tell them about how litigation looks in terms of stress, cost and risk; yes, it’s true that nobody leaves a mediation happy because that’s what compromise is all about; but, ultimately a client will be more content to settle if they feel like they have the right to say ‘no’ at any point. Sometimes, no deal is better than a bad deal, and you are more likely to achieve a good outcome for your client if they know that it is truly their choice to settle, and that they’ve not been pressured into it.

One more for luck...

One final thing I’ve learned from a couple of mediations recently.

If it looks likely to rumble on past office hours, make sure that your arrangements on access to the building are completely on point – it doesn’t help the flow of negotiations to either be locked inside a building because you don’t have a fob (particularly when the client is a smoker!), or being interrogated by a sceptical cleaner before being allowed back in (“Look, why else would I be wandering in here at 8pm?! Please!”)

Good luck with your mediations this summer!

Most mediators will want you to conduct a joint opening session, if only for the clients to shake hands, look each other in the eye and to resolve to settle the matter today. This is fine, until you learn the hard way that the litigants can barely agree what day of the week it is, let alone what a fair settlement figure is. Your day will be wasted peeling your client off the ceiling due to some perceived slight (or smirk, or shake of the head) from the other side, or hearing a detailed account of a meeting 7 months ago in which so-and-so said such-and-such.

If keeping things rational and focussed means defying convention or pushing back against a suggestion from the mediator, do so – you could save the train falling off the tracks.

Top tip #3: Healthy body, healthy mind You would rarely suggest to your friends and family that they ought to spend a whole day cooped up in one room, plying themselves with caffeine and biscuits, and then undergoing a stressful combat situation. So why we do we do it at mediations? Make sure your room is given healthy food throughout the day, that there is much more water than coffee available, and that you and your client regularly go out to stretch your legs and get some fresh air. This is particularly important when your client is also conducting their day-to-day business during the lulls in the day – you need to ensure that they are sharp and in the best possible frame of mind, even if that means ‘nudging’ them in the right direction through diet and environment.

Top tip #4: No deal is better than a bad deal In my experience, the one thing clients hate most at mediation is

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News News News News News News

mfg charity Golf Day for Emily Jordan Foundation on 12 July 2018 held in conjunction with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce and Nicklins LLP.

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hursfields lawyer’s new role as Prince’s Trust fundraising champion

Kirsty Underhill A lawyer at Thursfields Solicitors has been appointed to a new role to champion the fundraising efforts of the Prince’s Trust in Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Kirsty Underhill, a solicitor in the Corporate & Commercial department at Thursfields’ Worcester office, has become chair of the charity’s Development Committee in the region.

The voluntary position will see Ms Underhill setting and leading the direction for the committee, which has so far raised over half of the £25,000 goal set for the 2018-19 year.

Ms Underhill said: “I’m really excited to be helping to raise as much money as possible to support disadvantaged young people across the two counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Photo of Race the Dragon team on the River Severn where 16 mfg employees took part on 01 July 2018;

“The Prince’s Trust in this region is lucky to already have the ongoing support of many local businesses, and my aim is to build on our achievements by continuing to raise awareness, build connections in the local professional community and diversify fundraising events with some new ideas.”

Funds raised so far have included £8,350 from a golf day at Worcestershire Golf Club, £1,687 from a rugby day at Worcester Warriors and £3,125 from the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce’s awards night, where the Prince’s Trust was the chosen charity.

Future plans so far include a gin-tasting event in Worcester, an annual quiz night sponsored by Thursfields and an afternoon tea.

The committee is also interested to hear from any business or individual who may be able to offer their support by sponsoring an event or making a donation, with anyone able to donate £1,000 or more being eligible to become a Committee Ambassador.

Ms Underhill, who first joined the committee in 2016, has herself helped to raise more than £9,000 in the last two years by organising two quiz nights sponsored by Thursfields and running the Birmingham half marathon in 2017.

Anyone interested in helping to raise money for the Prince’s Trust can contact Ms Underhill at kunderhill@thursfields. co.uk.

mfg winning the Retro Rounders tournament which raised money for both St Paul’s Hostel and the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

The photo is of Javed Ahmed (captain) and Ben Rothery holding the winners’ cup.

Javed commented “The tournament was well organised and we as a team had a very enjoyable time. It was great seeing business within Worcestershire come together to raise awareness and money in aid of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity and St Paul’s Hostel.

The tournament was played in good spirits but at the same time being competitive and everyone in the team thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We all agreed that we would attend next year if it is re-organised as we need to defend the trophy!!”

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Lawyer’s gold award crowns success for young entrepreneurs the award – for me, the real success is to see so many young people venturing into business for the first time and learning from every step they take on their journey, whether they win awards or not.

“Our keynote speaker was Sam Smith of Waylands Yard, and his business journey was fascinating – his message to the teams was to learn from their experience and consider plenty of career possibilities, because your first choice is not necessarily the one for you.”

Paul Moult of Worcester Bosch, chair of Young Enterprise for Worcestershire, who presented Joanne with her award, said: “Jo is a person who only ever

Paul Moult and Joanne Hodgetts

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ommitment to supporting young entrepreneurs across the Three Counties was rewarded when lawyer Joanne Hodgetts from Harrison Clark Rickerbys received a gold award for outstanding services to Young Enterprise at the charity’s county finals.

Joanne, a litigation lawyer, who is also chair of the Hereford and Worcester branch of the Institute of Directors, has supported the charity’s efforts to encourage enterprise and business skills among young people for several years, judging competition entries and supporting teams who take part.

Aimed at senior school pupils, Young Enterprise’s Company Programme supports them to set up and run their own

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company, from deciding on the name and product to creating a business plan, managing the company finances and selling to the public at trade fairs.

She is one of several staff at the firm who give their time to support teams from across the region who enter the annual competitions - each team has a mentor from the commercial world, and entries are judged by businesspeople.

Alison Scott and Rupert Seldon mentored the team from the King’s School, Worcester, (The Bottom Line), while in Herefordshire former team mentor Ellis Walby was a judge. In Warwickshire, fellow litigator Fiona Hayles was on the judging panel.

Joanne said: “I am very honoured to have received

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says yes and can only ever offer solutions. She has become a very important part of Young Enterprise and her commitment and passion for the charity is second to none.

“Her support is not confined to Herefordshire and Worcestershire, where she is a board member in both counties, but in the West Midlands and beyond. If she can help, she will; if she can’t, she will think of someone who can. It was my honour to present the award to such a deserving recipient.”

To find out more please contact: Rachel Evans 07970 101451 revans@hcrlaw.com

An ever changing risk landscape…

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he risk landscape law firms are faced with today continues to grow and evolve, and the regulatory regime along with new legislation play their part too. Like many modern businesses, law firms are becoming increasingly more reliant upon technology, whether to improve connectivity with clients, to improve processes and efficiency, to help mitigate risk through the use of case management systems, or to access things on the go.

This means the cyber risk to the legal profession is on the rise.

Only banks or financial institutions have greater sums of money passing through them than the legal sector. When you also factor in the amount of highly confidential information passing through law firms, it is no wonder that the Legal profession is a target for cyber criminals. While the SRA requires law firms to carry an appropriate level of coverage to protect their clients, there is no consideration as to what coverage will protect the law firm itself.

The Legal Profession of England and Wales have one of the broadest policy wordings in the professional indemnity marketplace, yet despite this breadth of cover it is important to appreciate that PII cover provides third parties (generally a law firm’s clients) with protection in the event of an error act of omission. PII is not designed to provide firstparty coverage e.g. business protection.

Whilst Professional Indemnity Insurance should respond to a “Friday Afternoon Fraud”, “Phishing”, and other types of social engineering to put your clients back into the position they were previously, PII will not respond to all of the cyber risks that the legal profession is faced with today.

Some of these risks include but are not limited to: • Denial of access to your systems – A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack prevents any connection to the internet and is increasingly combined with malware that corrupts the corporate network data. This is where the criminals have scanned the vulnerabilities remotely and found many weak points. They identify that the business relies on always being connected to the internet. The then use ‘exploit kit’ to bypass off-the-shelf firewalls and anti-virus protection.

The cost to the criminal is modest compared to the prize of the ransom

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that people will pay to get their business up and running again.

• Loss of client data - Could result in fines or penalties being imposed by regulators such as the SRA or ICO, which given the new powers of the ICO could cripple a firm but if the financial impact of the fine did not, the reputational harm could be irreparable.

• Impersonation - An average-level criminal will be able to manipulate your clients or member of staff quite easily because it is brutally effective for their aims and it really undermines the trust they place in you. This may happen because you do not have encrypted communications, or a protected website that has security certificates or email controls e.g. DMARC, or perhaps you allow private emails on home computers.

There are many examples of these and most remain unreported in the public domain. You need to be available to your clients, but it’s worth noting this can encourage them to trust non-secure interaction.

• Reputational harm following the spread of a virus. A law firm may be liable if found to be the cause of transmitting malicious code to others.

It is important to appreciate there is always a human being at the other end of a cyberincident. The level of sophistication adopted increases along with the ability of the malware that they may use. This is now a big business and it shares many characteristics with established commercial ecosystems – there are sales pipelines, money transfer services or “money mules” and some markets on the dark web looks like Craigs List or Ebay style shopping sites to cater for all types of nefarious intent. The patience that these criminals are willing to show means that we need to be on our guard at all times.

The level of success that they can achieve is largely down to the core security controls you put in place. A number of controls will not be too difficult or expensive to put into place either. It is however imperative that you do not rest on your laurels and you evaluate your security control with some level of frequency.

It is important to understand that outsourcing IT functions does not mean you outsource your responsibility. You are still a data controller and there is no system available, however robust it may be that will be 100% secure, as the cyber incident at the Pentagon revealed. If you do outsource your IT function, it is important to understand how much support can and will they provide to you in your hour of need, after all response times are key to mitigate the damage but

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also as there is only a finite window to meet your regulatory obligations.

You cannot expect clients and staff to identify all of the fake emails during the course of daily business, and trying to understand how the hackers were able to monitor and intercept the email traffic is, at this point, of secondary concern. The single most powerful way to combat this is to create a unique link between the index numbers and the plain text name of your email domain (what appears after the @ sign in an email) to prevent such impersonation. This type of authentication is already available with the free to use DMARC control, therefore we encourage every law firm in the UK to engage their IT team or service provider in discussing this topic further after which I think it is prudent to explore what insurance is available to support your business. Also, as a fairly recent development, some banks are now requiring DMARC controls across their entire supply-chain and some insurance companies are asking for it too.

There are many cyber products available, which vary quite considerably in the scope and quality of cover they can offer. Lockton is an independent broker and has access to the wider insurance market but we also have a suite of products that have been designed specifically for the Legal Profession of England and Wales. This includes a product called Inter Lock which is the only fullyintegrated solution combining your SRAapproved PII policy with regulatory defence cost, cyber and first-party crime coverage.

There is no regulatory requirement to do so, so why should you look into this? If you were going on a driving holiday or expedition would you do so without break down cover in place? If not why would you run your business without appropriate business owner’s protection in place that can protect your cash-flow and reputation? A good Cyber policy provides you with access to the appropriate experts to minimise the damage, help you identify and rectify the problem but perhaps most importantly getting your business operational swiftly.

What is clear is that risks are guaranteed.

Protection, however, is optional and you can’t assume a cyber attack will never happen to you.

by Brian Boehmer If you’d like to learn more about Inter Lock or speak to a member of our team please email solicitors@uk.lockton.com or phone 0330 123 3870. Visit www.locktonsolicitors.co.uk for more information.

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Data Handling - Elastic Handcuffs for IT & Marketing Directors after GDPR

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e’ve all experienced our email Inboxes a couple of months ago bulging with requests to continue opting-in to marketing mailing lists, demonstrating all too clearly just how confusing interpreting the new GDPR rules has been in terms of practical application to business operations.

Which lawful basis should marketers rely on, and just how sensible is it to use Legitimate Interest? Recital 47 was seized on by many as the easy ‘get out of jail’ card, but actually applying Legitimate Interest (and doing the required 3-test assessment to justify it) is not so straightforward.

Just because you need to promote your business’ products or services doesn’t automatically mean you have a ‘necessary’ permit to process personal data. And on top of this, businesses have to understand the new rules in conjunction with existing laws and industry codes of practice - for example, FCA, FPS, MPS, TPS, CTPS, and (by no means least) PECR - many of which it is clear some marketers were not as aware of as perhaps they should have been.

Getting your marketing strategies aligned with the requisite rules around electronic privacy (PECR) and data protection rules as well (GDPR) is a delicate balancing act, and often raises more questions along the way (e.g, given that PECR’s interpretation of consent now has to align with the definition in the GDPR (Art.4 (11)), just how should you now treat cookies on your website?).

The confusion displayed at the end of May suggests that even expert advisors were none too sure exactly how this was all to play out, and may well have inadvertently added to the fear of noncompliance by being perhaps too diligent or cautious (or maybe in some cases just plain wrong or in breach of existing laws!). Of course understanding will settle down as the rules get accepted into general practice and the regulators add more clarification, but we still need to keep an eye on up-coming regulatory changes which may re-shape the playing field still further (the new version of PECR, expected by early 2019 perhaps, could result in radical impacts on business marketing, needing re-thinking of the compliance approach done for the GDPR).

Combining all of this and mapping the stages into one Control Process Methodology – for Charities as well as Businesses – has taken DataWise Intelligence some time. But we are here to help loosen the data handcuffs and, helping you stay well within the law, know what Intelligence needs to be gathered and used to assist those leading Sales and Marketing efforts regain momentum.

Peter McCann DataWise Intelligence Ltd Wych Innovation Centre, Walwyn Rd, Malvern, Worcestershire. WR13 6PL Email: peter.mccann@datawiseintel.com www.datawiseintelligence.com Tel: 0208 938 3545

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How Equity Release can help your clients

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quity Release schemes, particularly Lifetime Mortgages, have come a long way since their inception and apart from the typical reasons for equity release such as: • Asset rich, cash poor people, that simply want to improve their lifestyle • Those with interest only mortgages coming to an end, re-mortgaging • To provide purchase funds when moving home or buying out a partner • Retirees reducing withdrawals from taxed pension funds, by accessing some of the capital tied up in their property tax free.

We’re now seeing equity release schemes being used as tax efficient ‘family planning’ vehicles.

If the intention is for children and maybe grandchildren to inherit, why not consider advancing some of that wealth now, perhaps when it’s needed most. Future beneficiaries currently faced with funding children’s school / university fees or providing housing deposits / rent etc. may, as a result have large mortgages as well as other loans or credit card debt at comparatively high interest rates, with no real prospect of repaying such until they eventually receive their inheritance.

With the additional benefits that the equity release is tax free to the property owner and the loan is a debt against the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes, such schemes, when viewed as an analysis of the cost vs benefits for the family’s combined financial situation, can be very efficient and challenge the usual mantra of ‘Equity Release isn’t for me as I must leave the house to my children.’

More and more people have found it incredibly rewarding to be able to help their children, whilst still being around to witness it.

Of course, equity release may not be an ideal solution for everybody and this highlights the need to seek expert guidance from a professionally qualified and independent adviser.

A recent addition to what’s available are schemes for Buy to Let properties and second homes, with potential Capital Gains Tax / Inheritance Tax advantages.

Robert Levy is a Malvern based equity release specialist with The Right Equity Release and a member of the Equity Release Council. robert.levy@therightequityrelease.co.uk www.equityreleaseworcestershire.co.uk Tel: 07730 517671 Tel: 0800 145 5399

Which completion certificates are required from a seller?

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act for the buyer of a residential property. Which completion certificates are required from a seller pursuant to the Law Society Property Information Form (TA6)?

The seller's solicitors should provide completion certificates for the following works: - glazed windows, roof windows, roof lights or glazed doors that were installed on or after 1 April 2002.

- electrical work that was carried out on or after 1 January 2005.

- a central heating system or renewable energy system that was installed or other changes that were made to the water or plumbing system on or after 1st April 2005.

Competent person schemes were introduced to allow individuals and enterprises to self-certify that their work complies with building regulations as an alternative to submitting a building notice or using an approved inspector. A contractor needs to register with a scheme approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

Contractors registered with the following bodies may be competent persons, able to self-certify their work: • Windows: FENSA or Certass • Electrics: ELECSA, NICEIC or NAPIT • Gas: Gas Safe Register • Solid fuel: HETAS • Oil: Oftec The above are some of the more common completion certificates, but it should be noted that other property specific issues may require other certificates or consents.

For further information, please see the Law Society’s Conveyancing Handbook (24th edition) and the Law Society Conveyancing Protocol.

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But for the accident...

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iability and causation are matters for lawyers, but there is then the problem of what a claimant could be expected to have Chris Makin earned but for the RTA, the clinical negligence, or the criminally inflicted injury. Early editions of Kemp & Kemp had a chapter on how to calculate the employed person’s earnings for special damages to trial date and to provide a multiplicand for Ogden, but it concluded with this: “There may, however, be many imponderables in the case of the selfemployed.”

How true! But practitioners need more guidance than this.

This was brought home to me quite forcibly when, some years ago, I gave expert evidence for the claimant, who had been injured in an RTA. This man was a severe workaholic. He ran a 180acre farm, with no help. He dug ditches, laid hedges, harvested his own crops. He had a plant hire business, being the main JCB operator. He dealt in plant, anything from lawn-mowers to roadsweepers and mobile cranes. He was renovating his Grade II listed mansion. He converted his disused farm cottages into homes for rent, and disused farm buildings into science parks.

The difficulty was that his annual accounts showed low earnings, because he had taken so much time away from his core business to renovate his mansion and convert buildings for future rental income. Livingstone –v- Rawyards Coal Co [1880] 5 AppCas 25,39 (see Kemp at 1-009.1) tells us that the Court must restore the status quo ante so far as money may allow, but in this situation, how could that be done? The claimant still had his business acumen, his contacts, his farm; but he was no longer able to dig ditches, drive a JCB, or replace floors and roof tiles.

The expert for the defence looked at past accounts, saw that earnings were low, and based loss of earnings on those low annual amounts. I disagreed, since this approach had no regard for the value of house renovation, the labour now required on the farm, or the benefit of building up future rental income. My approach was to quantify the loss on the amount it would take to employ a

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labourer to perform the physical tasks which the claimant could no longer do.

Buy him a man, and the status quo would be restored.

At the end of a three-day hearing, the judge asked both counsel to provide closing submissions in writing overnight.

The claimant’s counsel came to me, and asked for the precedents for the quantification method I had used. Panic!

I hadn’t seen any precedents; I had just used common sense to understand the business.

That night I rang David Kemp QC at home (I knew him, having looked after the tax chapter in Kemp for some years) and another QC, and both said that there was no precedent, but that my methodology was sound. And the judge agreed, to the penny.

From this came the suggestion, with which David Kemp readily agreed, that I should write a new chapter for Kemp & Kemp on how to quantify loss of earnings for the self-employed and family company director. It appeared in Kemp for some years, but has now been subsumed in the re-write which took place after David Kemp’s death. It ran to only 9 pages, but gave a simple explanation of the factors one should consider, such as: • Gain a thorough understanding of the business; this business in its unique setting.

• What are the fixed and variable expenses? How would they vary with revenue?

• Do the past accounts show a reliable pattern of gross profit margins?

• What are the internal limiting factors?

Capacity of machinery, of premises; ability of the owner to manage all the staff?

• What are the external limiting factors?

What is the size of the market, and the share which this business could hope to win? What is the catchment area?

Delivery distance? Could trade be increased by internet sales?

• What competition is faced, bearing in mind that competitors will try to increase their market share in similar ways?

• Technological change: are the products facing obsolescence? Or are manufacturing costs being undercut

by Chinese imports?

• Hours in the day: just how much time could the claimant have spent in the business, allowing for sleeping, eating, travel to work, leisure time, DIY, holidays? Is there a DIY claim which

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could not be supported after the hours the claimant says he would have spent in the business?

• Seasonal variations: an ice cream vendor at the seaside may have lost most of a year’s profit if injured at Whitsuntide, but nothing if injured in November.

• Regression of trade: if a claimant is away from business for several months, the loss of earnings would continue until he had re-won or replaced his lost customers, which could take several months after physical ability is restored.

• Financial strain: it is surprising how many owners of small businesses introduce their own money into a business to keep it going. Look out for overdrafts, increasing creditors, proprietor’s capital reducing, and consider whether an Ogden multiplier should recognise that the “life expectancy” of the business may be much shorter than the working lifetime of the owner.

• Do not confuse profit with drawings: it is also surprising how many lawyers think that the amount drawn out of a business is the measure of earnings. The profit of a business may be £50,000 and drawings £30,000; or profit £50,000 and drawings £80,000.

In both cases the claim must be based on post-Gourley earnings of £50,000; though with the second example, one should worry about the life expectancy of the business.

There is more, but this gives an indication of the matters which an experienced forensic accountant must consider when quantifying loss of past earnings and a multiplicand for future lost earnings, in personal injury, clinical negligence and fatal accident cases. If you want a copy, please ask.

It is not the case that a forensic accountant is needed in every PI case, but where the claimant was selfemployed or a key director in a family business, the “many imponderables” need to be considered by an expert who really understands business.

Biog: Chris Makin was one of the first 30 or so chartered accountants to become an Accredited Forensic Accountant and Expert Witness. He is also an accredited civil & commercial mediator and an accredited expert determiner. He has given expert evidence at least 100 times and worked on a vast range of cases over the last 30 years.

For CV, war stories and much more, go to his newly relaunched www.chrismakin. co.uk - with videos!

FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS Peter M Swann FAE FFS Independent Consultant to the Legal Profession A former Home Office Adviser with five decades experience in all aspects of finger print and crime work.

A Fellow of the Academy of Experts, a Fellow of the Fingerprint Society, a Member of the International Association for Identification, a Member of the Forensic Science Society and included in the UK Register of Expert Witnesses.

Provides a full independent fingerprint service to legal profession, industry and other agencies.

Examination Development

Assessment Report

Briefing Expert Witness

Telephone: Wakefield 01924 264900 (Office) 01924 276986 (Home) Fax: 01924 265700 Email: peterswann@btconnect.com www.fingerprint-analysis.co.uk

Outsourcing your cashiering? Why choose Quill?

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nce you’ve decided to outsource your legal cashiering, any supplier will do, right? After all, the way these outsourcing providers manage your accounts and support your business is the same, isn’t it?

Surely the only difference will be the price you pay for the service, won’t it?

The answer to these conundrums is a resounding ‘no’! There are an increasing number of outsourced cashiering suppliers – legal software companies are forming partnerships with outsourcing bureaus to expand their offerings; new bureaus are being established; freelancers are setting up as virtual cashiers to work from home – so you’ve certainly got plenty of choice when it comes to outsourcing your back office accounts function.

While there are some familiar threads running between these various suppliers, in comparison to Quill, they’re poles apart.

We’re going to show you why…

Commonality: Shared use of Interactive Have a quick browse through the ILFM’s Software Guide and you’ll see the long list of legal accounts systems available in the market. This isn’t an exhaustive list either.

These competitive systems contain effective tools to help legal cashiers maintain accounts in a compliant, secure, due diligent manner.

But the way you perform an accounting task on one, let’s say posting your daily transactions, will vary on another.

Also, not all systems will contain warnings and notifications for actual and potential breaches of legal accounts rules. The range of functionality makes one system a very different beast to another.

As well as being the toolkit for in-house cashiers, these same systems are operated by outsourcing providers too. And, as any workman knows, his work is only as good as his tools. In other words, the ensuing service you receive will fluctuate pretty drastically from one supplier to the next, depending upon the legal accounts system opted for.

The inconsistencies between them can be fairly extreme.

In terms of our software, Interactive is backed by a dedicated software development team based in our Brighton office so new and enhanced functionality is constantly being rolled out, benefiting end users whose daily work is made easier, more efficient and categorically compliant as a result.

Interactive’s also a recognised market leader, having been around for 40+ years and boasting two ILFM software awards.

Not only is our software high quality, which enables us to work better than other outsourcing providers, it’s used universally

by Quill cashiers. It’s a common platform, facilitating common procedures, maintaining

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common standards, empowering a common experience for all users of our Pinpoint outsourcing service. No deviations. No inconsistencies.

and office accounts – and we pick up from there. We literally do everything else – billing, reporting, VAT returns, ledger and bank account management.

Overseers: Monitoring by senior staff As an additional guarantee of quality service provision, our cashiering operation is closely monitored by experienced, knowledgeable team members who cast a trained eye over completed tasks, checking for accuracy, speed, volume and consistency, reinforced by metrics from our powerful quality and performance management Interactive system, interpreting data processed by all the cashiers. Our cashiers work in teams of six with a supervisor heading up each group.

Any anomalies or discrepancies, including items highlighted by Interactive, are spotted and resolved straightaway, giving you confidence in error-free bookkeeping. No other cashiering bureau can boast access to such management information intelligence drawn from one central software platform.

It’s likely you’ll interact with your named cashier every working day. As such, you build a strong relationship. Pinpoint clients repeatedly tell us how their cashier feels like another employee, just someone not based in the same office. We rely on you to log all transactions. You rely on us to keep your accounts in order. By each fulfilling our side of the bargain, it’s a successful partnership.

Where speed’s concerned, any law firm knows about the strictly enforced deadlines for filing month and year-end accounts, including those all-important VAT returns.

Our system also holds key compliance dates specified by each firm’s designated regulator (SRA, CLC or Law Society of Scotland) to generate management alerts of overdue tasks.

For example, we can identify sites not being closed quickly enough at month end which is set as the 7th of each month by the CLC and track that VAT submissions are lodged in time for the relevant quarter. Close monitoring, and intervention if needed, ensures accounts are submitted on time, every time.

On the volume side of things, this behindthe-scenes management information also tells us how many e-chits are being processed by each cashier. This helps us to allocate the right mix of sites to our cashiers so everyone’s got a similar balanced workload and no one’s being overworked. For end users, you can be reassured that your assigned cashier’s got the capacity to give your accounts their proper attention. By not being stretched too thinly, we’ve got your back.

There are a plethora of reports within Interactive, accessed by the Pinpoint management team, supporting the delivery of consistency across hundreds of clients.

This starkly contrasts with other bureaus which lack the same control mechanisms thereby compromising consistent standards, and allowing opportunities for mistakes and bad habits to creep in.

Collaboration: It’s a team effort Pinpoint is a close alliance between you and us. We’re connected together by Interactive. You enter daily e-chits into Interactive – which is essentially a daily record of monies in and out to your client

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There’s a point to be made about team working within Pinpoint as well. You see, our cashiers don’t operate in isolation. If your assigned cashier doesn’t know how to rectify any accounts-related problem, he/she will simply call upon the help of his/her colleagues and supervisor. As the largest outsourced cashiering bureau in the UK employing some 50 legal cashiers, they possess a combined total of approximately 300 years’ experience. And that’s a conservative guess. We’ve seen it all before.

No issue is novel. You can bet your bottom dollar that we know the solution.

Automatic absence cover is provided with the service too. If your cashier is off work on holiday, sickness, maternity, paternity or other leave, as everyone is from time to time, his/her designated deputy will manage your accounts instead. Obviously you don’t get these advantages with a one-man-band type bureau.

Next step: Find out more If we’ve sharpened your appetite for more, read our earlier articles on the subject of outsourced cashiering, published on the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers website.

There’s ‘Outsourced cashiering and your bottom line’, ’Ten reasons to outsource your cashiering’ and ‘How outsourced cashiering works’ for beginners.

By Julian Bryan, Managing Director, Quill To find out more on our Pinpoint outsourced legal cashiering service, please visit www. quill.co.uk/Outsourced-Legal-Cashiering, email info@quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910.

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 outsourcing services and software to the legal profession.