SNELS In Touch Magazine

In Touch The Official Magazine of Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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Contents

Issue 11 Spring 2017

A Message from the President

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From the Council Chamber

8

Annual Dinner – All shook up!

11

Junior Lawyers’ Division

12

The Law Society - Relationship Management

14

The Great Legal Bake

Published January 2017

17

Smart Reasons Not To Set Goals

© East Park Communications Ltd.

18

CPD – Goodbye To a Familiar Regime

24

Research Sheds New Light On Charitable Legacies

26

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

29

Select CPD Courses 2017

33

PRO/PLO Report

34

He Has HisFather’s Nose…

Editor Jon Armstrong

Features Christine Kettle Advertising Simon Castell

Design Matt Wood - East Park Studio Accounts Tony Kay

Media No. 1111 Legal Notice

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.

The appearance of advertising copy in this magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the individual advertisers by the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society.

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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Articles in blue are indepedant advertorials and not neccessarily the opinions of the Society

www.snels.org.uk

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Officers of the Society

Deputy Vice President Denise Head Bates Wells & Braithwaite, Ipswich Tel: 01473 219282 Fax: 01473 230804

Email: denise.head@bates-wells.co.uk Honorary Secretary Ivana Radovic Gotelee Solicitors, Ipswich Tel: 01473 211121 Fax: 01473 230387 Email: ivana.radovic@gotelee.co.uk

As you all know, the focus of my presidency is to try and increase the SNELS membership and involve the younger end of the profession. To this end, the Annual Dinner in November took on a slightly different slant to previous years and from the feedback we have received, it seems to have been a success. Christine, our Administrative Secretary, said that this was the first time in her 18 years of organising the Dinner that we have had a dance floor at this event. The dance floor was well used by all.

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

President Fiona Bailey Haywards Solicitors, Stowmarket Tel: 01449 613631, Fax. 01449 613851 Email fiona.bailey@haywards-solicitors.co.uk

Vice President Jon Armstrong Armstrong Family Law, Colchester Tel. 01206 848426 Email: jon@armstrongfamilylaw.co.uk

A Message From Our President

In order to promote SNELS we have re-launched the website, snels. org.uk. Over the coming months, this will be used to inform the local profession of events such as the Essex Law Lecture and the SELECT continuing professional development courses which are usually well attended and reasonably priced. If you have any information or events that you wish to publicise on the website, please e-mail our PRO/PLO on louise.goodenough@haywards-solicitors.co.uk.

I look forward to seeing you all at future SNELS events and hope that we all have a prosperous 2017.

Fiona Bailey

President, Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

Honorary Treasurer Richard Foyster Ashton KCJ, Felixstowe Tel: 01394 277188 Fax: 01394 670726 Email: richard.foyster@ashtonkcj.co.uk Honorary Council Member Roger Buston Asher Prior Bates, Colchester Tel: 01206 768331 Fax: 08700 543630 Email: rbuston@apblaw.co.uk PRO/PLO Louise Goodenough Haywards Solicitors, Stowmarket Tel: 01449 613631 Fax 01449 613851 Email: louise.goodenough@haywards-solicitors.co.uk

Education & Training Officer Amanda Timcke Birkett Long, Colchester Tel: 01206 217320 Fax: 01206 711348 Email: amanda.timcke@birkettlong.co.uk Administrative Secretary Christine Kettle Whitegate Cottage Coddenham Green Ipswich IP6 9UN Tel/Fax: 01449760731 email: snels@topcopysec.co.uk

Dates for the Diary Thursday, 16th February 2017

29th Annual Essex Law Lecture at the University of Essex, Colchester Guest Speaker: Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, on the subject of ‘Who are we? Hate, hostility and human rights in a post-Brexit world’.

Monday, 20th March 2017

Vice President’s Cocktail Party, Colchester – details will be e-mailed to Members nearer the time.

Thursday, 11th May 2017

JLD Careers Talk – details TBA. Thursday, 29th June 2017

SNELS AGM – more details in the June Newsletter.

Future Council Meetings for 2017:

20th March 2017

15th May 2017

18th September 2017 13th November 2017

If you would like any specific items discussed by your Council, please notify our Admin. Sec. (snels@topcopysec.co.uk) to ensure they are included on the agenda.

www.snels.org.uk

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From the Council Chamber

SNELS Council Member Report Chancery Lane - December 2016

CM Activity

Attended TLS Council on 13th-14th December 2016. Attended Property Section Executive Committee Meeting on 8th November 2016. The next TLS Council meeting is on 7th–8 February 2017. The next TLS Property Section Executive Committee Meeting is on 26th January 2017.

Summary Representing the Profession Previous CM reports having concentrated on TLS Governance, this report will prioritise its summary to note what TLS has been doing to position the profession apropos Brexit.

Brexit

There has been much productive engagement by TLS across government on the issue its implications for the profession and our clients, including:•

President TLS Robert Bourns attended a roundtable hosted

by Rt. Hon. David Davis, MP (SoS for Exiting the EU), and senior leaders in professional and business services on 24th October 2016. The discussion was constructive and the Minister is keen to hear the views of the legal sector. TLS will submit a paper setting out our key asks and evidence base in due course. The President and CEO TLS Catherine Dixon also met Lord Keen of Elie, MoJ spokesperson in the Lords.

• President TLS also met with Bob Neill MP, Chair of the Justice Select Committee. TLS submitted written evidence to the Committee on 11th November 2016 and expect to hear about oral evidence sessions shortly.

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•

TLS President and CEO further met with Rt. Hon. David Davis MP on 16th November to discuss key issues which Government should keep in mind for the legal profession when negotiating an exit from the EU. This was positioned as business enabling in that the legal profession is focused on supporting its clients to effectively do business across the EU and beyond also focusing on the importance of English contract law and the UK as a global law centre and jurisdiction of choice.

•

CEO TLS regularly meets Richard Heaton, PS to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). CEO offered continued support to MoJ in building a strong body of evidence for the best case scenario in justice and legal services post-Brexit.

•

CEO has also met with the Shadow Lord Chancellor Richard Burgon MP, Shadow justice minister Christina Rees MP, the Labour Law Officers, Baroness Hayter, one of the shadow Brexit ministers, and Kate Green MP, a Labour member of the Justice Select Committee.

•

TLS has also secured good coverage following the decision of the High Court in the Article 50 legal case, and the subsequent media criticism of the judiciary. President TLS was interviewed live on BBC News directly after the announcement. A further statement in support of the independence of the judiciary and the profession was released on Monday, 7th November; covered

by BBC News, The Guardian, The Times, CityAM, Solicitors Journal, TLS Gazette and others. The President was also quoted in a feature article on Brexit and the legal profession in the New York Times.

•

Further Brexit member taskforce meetings took place on 10th and 14th November. These were on digital single market, regulatory issues in the internal market, crime and security, and immigration and employment. Each was attended by an official from the Department for Exiting the EU (DExEU) and at least one other government department, e.g. Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), MoJ, and the Intellectual Property Office. The meetings were conducted under Chatham House rules, but the notes will inform submissions to DExEU, other government departments, stakeholders and select committees.

• A breakfast roundtable on Brexit and financial services took place on 7th Dec. CEO TLS also participated in the CityUK’s legal services group meeting, and shared information about the work we are doing at TLS to influence government. A podcast of an interview with the President and Jeremy Browne was recorded and is available to view on TLS website.

•

Evidence was given to HoL EU Internal Market Sub-Committee on the impact of Brexit on trade and professional services. TLS also attended a roundtable hosted by Lord Price, minister for trade policy in the Department for International Trade on trade and professional services.

TLS is developing a campaign focused on promoting England and Wales as global legal centre and the governing law of international contracts. The campaign’s aims are: 1. Ensuring that the law of England and Wales continues to be the governing law of international contracts up to and following Brexit; 2.

Ensuring English and Welsh courts continue to be the international forum of choice leading to and following Brexit; 3. Ensuring London continues to be seen as the internationally preferred seat of arbitration leading to and following Brexit.

• In addition, CEO has been asked to join the Mayor of London’s expert advisory committee on Brexit.

The audiences to include business (in the UK and overseas), decision makers (including the Govt), members and the public.

• President TLS spoke to BBC News about the potential impact of Brexit on legal services, highlighting the economic value of the legal profession to the UK, the standing of English and Welsh law globally, and the issues that law firms will be considering to minimise any negative impact as a result of the vote to leave the EU. This can be viewed here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ uk-politics-37682827

TLS is developing core campaign messages, to form the backbone of external communication on this issue, developing a promotional leaflet, available shortly, and other promotional activities in England and Wales and globally.TLS has had positive conversations with Govt. and the Mayor of London’s office regarding the campaign, and will work in partnership with them on this issue.

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MOJ joint statement - Transforming our Justice System

In the response TLS highlighted the importance of accessibility which is integral to the success of these reforms. An inaccessible system which precludes users from engaging effectively with the courts cannot be considered as a process that delivers justice.

This fundamental principle should not be limited to the design and development of any Assisted Digital service, but to all aspects of the proposed reforms, end to end, from virtual hearings to digitised divorce.

The consultation process has been subject to change. TLS noticed that there were issues with the content of impact assessments that should have been available at the time the consultation was published, one was incomplete and a new document appeared on the MoJ website on 12th October 2016. TLS raised the issue of the incomplete documents with the MoJ, suggesting that a four week extension should apply to all stakeholders, including those who had already submitted a response. The MoJ agreed to an extension of time for all stakeholders. The MoJ are to issue their response to the consultations early in the New Year.

Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE)

On 3rd October 2016 SRA published a consultation on SQE. This is a second consultation on the topic which follows on from TLS and other stakeholder’s strong arguments and extensive campaign

Promoting the Profession Solicitor Brand Campaign

The campaign officially launched on 1st October 2016 supported by an article in the Gazette and highlighted in Professional Update to all members.

The brand values which the campaign is promoting are that solicitors are:• experts in their field • client focused • value for money • honest and honourable • approachable and accessible • making a positive contribution to society Roger Buston - TLS Council Member SNELS, Asher Prior Bates Office

: 01206 768331

email

: buston@apblaw.co.uk

Mobile : 07770 305977

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

TLS submitted a first response to the MoJ consultation ‘Transforming Our Justice System: Assisted Digital, Online Conviction and Statutory Fixed Fines’ on 10th November 2016. This was formulated following a wide scale consultation with a number of policy committees and drafted with additional assistance from the Criminal Law Committee and the Mental Health and Disability Committee.

following SRA’s first consultation. Many of the issues we raised in the first consultation have been acknowledged – including recognition that entry qualification should be degree level and that two years’ work based training should be maintained.

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

Annual Dinner – All shook up!

Sponsored by AON, JM Finn, Wesleyan & Williams~Wroe

The 82nd Annual Dinner, held on 4th November at the awardwinning Stoke by Nayland Hotel, was completely different from anything we have ever done before and was a resounding success. The event was sponsored by AON, JM Finn, Wesleyan and Williams~Wroe.

With over 130 people attending, it was one of our largest Dinners and certainly one of the liveliest with well-received entertainment provided by Dave Bates performing his Spirit of Elvis tribute act. Dave is an energetic and engaging performer whose extremely professional act topped a very convivial social evening. Dave’s electric performance was matched only by members of a Colchester firm who tried literally to set the night on fire – or at least one of their tables!

A first for SNELS was the dance floor which was immediately put into action by our President and colleagues. Even a past President (who shall remain nameless) was seen strutting his stuff!

With formal dinners full of long yawn-inducing speeches now firmly in the past, we can look forward to more lively occasions which will hopefully encourage attendance by larger numbers of the younger members of the profession.

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www.snels.org.uk

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

2017 - The Unsustainable Care Sector.

Angela Gifford, MD. Able Community Care Ltd.www.uk-care.com

Once again in the last few weeks UK newspapers have the story of another domiciliary care agency pulling out of a local Government contract for home care. The reason quite simply is that the rates paid to the care provider do not cover the costs of providing care in a large rural area. (In this latest area, this is the second care provider to hand back their council contract). The result is that care workers have uncertainty of employment and they have to hope a new provider will be found who may take them on. The recipients of the care service, many of whom will be older people, will have an anxious and unsettling time and will need to go through the aggravation of being ‘signed in’ to a new provider, no one wins.

Regularly, I receive details of domiciliary care agencies up for sale. Care organisations who are getting out of the market place.

One sales sheet sent a couple of weeks ago also gave information about how long the agencies on the sheet have been up for sale, not sure why this was published as it sent a clear message that those care organisations that have most of their turnover based on Government subsidized care packages are not selling.

For care providers with most of their client base in the private, fee paying sector, the success of their care business is in their own hands. If they provide services their clients want at a price that is agreed then they will flourish. If their service falls below their client’s expectations then the business will eventually fail as there will be other providers eager to take their customers on.

If they respect and treat their care workers well, pay them appropriately then they will attract and retain them. If they only have low pay rates to offer to their care workers, recruitment and retention of staff is difficult.

Many Government subsidized clients are suffering as they receive a lower quality level of care e.g. missed visits, too many different care workers in their home, reduced hours of care, untrained care workers, care workers without statutory checks being made, etc.

Short cuts are taken, care workers leaving a few minutes early so they can get to their next client, the visit to each older or disabled person becomes task orientated only, no time to have a chat, the true quality of care drops, care workers become demoralised at the low pay rate and conditions of work and care homes find they cannot afford to take state funded residents, which leaves many with empty beds which are a financial liability.

The care system’s problem is financial and unless a financial solution is found, as the aging population increases, the situation will continue to get worse. The NHS and Community Care Act 1990 heralded a new beginning of optimism for both older and disabled people but this optimism has now long gone.

Eligibility for state funded care now means that people who used to receive some care if they had low or moderate care needs are now unlikely to be deemed eligible to receive it. Some individuals who had been assessed as requiring a number of hours of care have now been re-assessed and as result the hours of care provided reduced.

The lack of sufficient funding in the care sector is leading to a second class care system for many whilst those fortunate enough to be able to pay for their own care can purchase the quality services of choice.

Ring fenced ‘care’ taxation has been offered as a possible solution and suggestions are made that families need to contribute more towards taking responsibility for their older members both in practical and financial terms including contributing to the cost of their relative’s care service. The reality is that somewhere a solution has to be found.

       

        

       

  



www.snels.org.uk

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

T: 01787 222 079

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www.snels.org.uk

Ben Saraci of Birketts Chair of the SNEJLD Email: Ben-Saraci@birketts.co.uk jld.sne@gmail.com

New Year New JLD!

Following the elections on 30th November 2016, a new committee has been elected. Take a look at the new committee via our new website - www.sne-jld.co.uk

A list of current Firms and Reps can be found at http://www.sne-jld.co.uk/jld-reps.

JLD Representatives

Ashtons Legal

Fisher Jones Greenwood LLP

Barker Gotelee LLP

Jackamans Solicitors

In order to improve our accessibility the SNE-JLD is aiming to have a designated Representative within each firm. The intention is to have someone who has attended JLD events in the past and who is on hand to introduce new Junior Lawyers to the JLD. If you would like to put yourself forward to be a JLD Representative please do not hesitate to contact us at jld.sne@gmail.com.

PLANNING: CAN YOU PREDICT FUTURE DEVELOPMENT RISK? The increasing pressure on land needed to meet the housing requirements of a growing population is undeniable. The National Audit Office recently said that 147,000 new homes need to be built every year in England to hit the Government target of one million new homes by 2020.

Like it or not, UK residents need to accept that greenfield development – even controversial development – is coming, and sooner than some of them would like.

Despite the Government’s 2012 pledge that any scheme that, ‘destroys the environment….builds on the green belt…[or] builds outside a town centre,’ would not be allowed, such developments are already going ahead, with more in the pipeline.

The current planning system is probably more pro-development than it has been for a generation. Unfortunately this often leads to bad planning decisions. For example a green field in the middle of Cornwall, used as a seasonal caravan site, now has planning permission for 50 houses.

A ridiculous decision, for such a remote location. So, why was it granted? Simply because Cornwall has failed to identify a fiveyear supply of housing. In such circumstances, the decision is a presumption in favour or development. Put simply, the benefit of new houses outweighs the harm.

It’s believed that 75% of councils in England and Wales fall into this ‘under-provision’ category.

In East Anglia, the chance of property purchasers being exposed to a major or significant risk of change within a 75 metre radius varies according to location. In Norwich it is one in ten; in Ipswich

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

JUNIOR LAWYERS’ DIVISION

Attwells Solicitors LLP Birketts LLP

Birkett Long LLP

Burnett Barker Solicitors Ltd Ellisons Solicitors

Gotelee Solicitors LLP

Kerseys Solicitors LLP Prettys Solicitors LLP SEN Legal Ltd

it is one in five; but in Cambridge it is almost one in three – putting Cambridge more at risk of being exposed to significant change than London.

“We all know that ‘location, location, location’ are the three most important words when buying a property,” said Stuart Whaley, who heads up Index Property Information in East Anglia.

“However, it’s the one thing homebuyers never really investigate properly. Without an active location-specific investigation, no one knows what planning applications are being promoted in any area.”

Index offers its conveyancing clients access to DevAssist products, which are designed to inform buyers of local policy, Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) sites, allocated sites, potential sites and live planning risks, as well as looking for any development potential that exists within the subject property boundaries.

A DevAssist report covering all these factors is available from Index and will give your clients valuable knowledge about the property they are looking to buy.

For example, an SHLAA report and is designed to identify land and buildings with potential for new housing, and gives your client a greater insight into which landowners are motivated to see their land developed. Where any risks are identified by DevAssist they are attached to the report.

Paul Addison is managing director of DevAssist, which works closely with Index Property Information. He’s been involved in the residential property business for 25 years and says, “What people need is a better understanding of their immediate area so they can understand what can and can’t be developed.

“Then, and only then, can they make a truly informed decision.”

DevAssist from Index can help conveyancers give their clients the most diligent service – indeed some have described it as the most important report they order.

To find out more about DevAssist reports, contact Index at eastanglia@indexpi.co.uk or call 01485 524320. www.snels.org.uk

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The Law Society, Eastern contact details Relationship Manager: Jack Dunkley Email: jack.dunkley@lawsociety.org.uk

Relationship Management Hello and welcome to the Relationship Management report for the East. We hope you find the report useful and encourage you to share it with your members and colleagues. If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the future development of our monthly report, please let us know.

Law Society Events in the East for February 2017 For a full list of events, further detail and to book, please visit our events page at events.lawsociety.org.uk

The Law Society President takes a look at issues affecting solicitors in 2017 In the first in a series on the key issues concerning solicitors in 2017, Robert Bourns looks at threats to access to justice.

Read the article at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/blog/ a-look-at-2017-access-to-justice

Update on Personal Injury Read the recent article in the Independent, Insurers, not lawyers, are the bad guys when it comes to whiplash http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/ insurers-not-lawyers-are-the-bad-guys-when-it-comes-towhiplash-a7511076.html The Law Society has responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation. Read our full response at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/policy-campaigns/consultation-responses/ personal-injury-claims-process-reform-response/

Take a look at the Law Society’s Professional Development Centre The Law Society’s Professional Development Centre has been designed to meet legal professionals’ learning and development needs. http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/News/Stories/continuingcompetence-with-help-from-the-pdc/

Update on Brexit A round-up of recent Law Society activity in relation to Brexit available at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/stories/ recent-law-society-activities-related-to-the-eu-referendumdecember-2016/ Read the latest articles on Brexit at http://www.lawsociety. org.uk/support-services/brexit-and-the-legal-sector

The apprenticeship route into law From 2016 new legal apprenticeships are being offered as an alternative to the traditional graduate route to qualification, and it’s now possible to qualify as a solicitor, paralegal or chartered legal executive by completing an apprenticeship.

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Interested? Further information is available on the Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) website and the government’s Get In, Go Far website. http://www.getingofar.gov.uk/ The Law Society supports the government’s apprenticeship initiative and supports alternative routes into the solicitor profession, as long as these meet the equivalent standards of the current routes to qualification. Jaymi Wooldridge is keen to hear your views and to gauge your level of interest in legal apprenticeships.

Call Jaymi on 0207 320 5868 or email her on jaymi. wooldridge@lawsociety.org.uk

Urgent clarity needed for tax hike on property Unconfirmed reports of a planned tax hike on a key part of the house-buying process prompted the Law Society of England and Wales today to urge HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to clarify the position. Read more at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/press-releases/ urgent-clarity-needed-for-tax-hike-on-property-transactions/

Take a look at the Law Society’s Professional Development Centre Modern Slavery Act and Section 54 This practice note is intended to help solicitors comply with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 by providing practical advice and highlighting examples of good practice.

Read more at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/ advice/practice-notes/modern-slavery-act-and-section-54/

Insolvency of a participating insurer A firm whose participating insurer has become insolvent needs to act immediately to put new qualifying insurance in place. This practice note acts as a guide for solicitors who find themselves in this situation. Read more at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/ insolvency-qualifying-insurer/

Take a look at the Law Society’s Professional Development Centre Modern Slavery Act and Section 54 This practice note is intended to help solicitors comply with section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 by providing practical advice and highlighting examples of good practice.

Read more at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/ advice/practice-notes/modern-slavery-act-and-section-54/

Insolvency of a participating insurer A firm whose participating insurer has become insolvent needs to act immediately to put new qualifying insurance in place. This practice note acts as a guide for solicitors who find themselves in this situation. Read more at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/ insolvency-qualifying-insurer/

Protecting your firm if you fall victim to a scam

MoJ consultation on Transforming Our Justice System The Law Society has responded to the Ministry of Justice consultation which invited views on broad proposals for ‘assisted digital’ services as they move to greater digitisation of the court system, composition of the judicial panel available for tribunals and putting certain low level criminal processes online. Read our full report at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/policy-campaigns/consultation-responses/ transforming-our-justice-system-consultation-response/

The Law Society’s Planning and Environmental Law Committee recently responded to a Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) call for evidence on basement extensions and the planning system. Read the full response at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/policycampaigns/consultation-responses/call-for-evidence-ofbasement-development-and-the-planning-system/

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

This practice note outlines the regulatory and legal requirements that apply when a firm’s client account has fallen victim to scammers. It provides advice which aims to help the firm overcome problems which might otherwise lead to its failure and forced closure. Read more at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/ protecting-your-firm-if-you-fall-victim-to-a-scam/

Call for evidence of basement development and the planning system

SRA Open Consultations Enabling innovation: Consultation on a new approach to waivers and developing the SRA Innovation Space This consultation concerns proposed changes to applications for waivers and the introduction of criteria and guidance to develop further the SRA Innovation Space.

Submission deadline 8th March 2017 Find out more at http://sra.org.uk/sra/consultations/enablinginnovation.page If you have any comments or suggestions regarding the future development of our monthly report, please let us know.

Thank you for reading.

Jack Dunkley - Relationship Manager - East Email: jack.dunkley@lawsociety.org.uk

A new route to qualification: the Solicitors Qualifying Examination

Mob:07969 022698

The SQE will provide a new, centralised form of assessment to set standards for entry to the profession which will alter the way in which solicitor’s qualify. The SQE will significantly alter the way in which solicitors qualify into the profession.

Read the full response at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/ policy-campaigns/consultation-responses/a-new-route-toqualification/

Email: jaymi.wooldridge@lawsociety.org.uk St Mary's ad Suffolk and North Essex Law Society Feb 2017 139mm h x 89mm w_

Jaymi Wooldridge - Relationship Management Executive London, South East & East Tel: 0207 320 5868 Mob: 07966 623966

Protecting your firm if you fall victim to a scam This practice note outlines the regulatory and legal requirements that apply when a firm’s client account has fallen victim to scammers. It provides advice which aims to help the firm overcome problems which might otherwise lead to its failure and forced closure. Read more at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/advice/practice-notes/ protecting-your-firm-if-you-fall-victim-to-a-scam/

The review of the Legal Services Board and the Office for Legal Complaints The Law Society has responded to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) review of the Legal Services Board and the Office for Legal Complaints. Read the full response at http://www. lawsociety.org.uk/policy-campaigns/consultation-responses/ response-to-the-review-of-the-legal-services-board-and-theoffice-for-legal-complaints/

Modernising judicial appointments In September 2016 the Ministry of Justice invited views on their five proposals to modernise judicial appointments. Read our full response at http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/policycampaigns/consultation-responses/modernising-judicialappointments-law-society-response/

Happy girls are high achievers.

A flying start to learning for girls and boys aged 3-4 in our purpose-built Kindergarten. Excellent academic results and opportunities for the arts, music, sport and adventure at our Lower School for girls 4-11 and Senior School for girls 11-16.

St Mary’s Colchester

Come along to our Spring Open Days: Lower School and Kindergarten Saturday 18 March, 9.30-11.30 Senior School Tuesday 28 Feb, 10.30-12 & Saturday 4 March, 10-1 For more information: 01206 216420 www.stmaryscolchester.org.uk www.snels.org.uk

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

We hope you can bake with us for The Great Legal Bake 2017 Sign up and fundraise for free legal advice in your community!

What is the Great Legal Bake?

The Great Legal Bake is an event which brings together the local legal and advice communities to celebrate the work of the entire profession in enabling access to justice for all.

The Great Legal Bake is a way of promoting the work of charities which offer free legal advice and support to vulnerable people otherwise denied access to the legal system and the legal profession, whose support of the sector is vital.

Teams for local firms, chambers, advice agencies, law schools and courts come together to bake and raise money for the Eastern Legal Support Trust to support the provision of free legal advice in the East of England.

Why should we bake?

Jayne’s case is just one of many where, without the support of the free advice sector, there would be no access to justice.

Advice charities support some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in our society; enabling them to understand their legal issues, access their rights and giving them the ability to regain control of their lives.

The legal profession has directly witnessed the effect of the recession on our clients; increased poverty and the consequential need for free legal advice services has clashed with the reduction in funding for both the profession and legal support services.

The ELST raises money directly from the legal profession and grants solely to organisations which provide the free legal advice services which are so desperately needed and, in many cases, relied upon.

Our work can’t overcome the effects of the continued funding cuts but we can continue to ensure that as many of the people most in need get the help they need but would otherwise have been unable to access. Following the recession, many working families’ household incomes have decreased, making paid- for legal advice unattainable. As the number of people desperately in need of free legal help rises, funding for free advice services is being continuously cut.

By fundraising at the Great Legal Bake we can help secure vital funds which make a huge difference to people’s lives, reducing debt, poverty and homelessness, and combating discrimination and injustice.

The Eastern Legal Support Trust (ELST) was established to raise money to support the free legal advice sector. We award grants to charities to ensure vulnerable people can access the help and support they need.

With your help we can help secure access to justice.

How to get involved: Join us for the Great Legal Bake during the week of Monday 20th – Friday 24th February and raise funds which protect access to advice for those who have nowhere else to turn.

1. Register at http://www.lsteventregistration.org.uk/elst-great-legal-bake.html You can see the other organisations who have already signed up at http://www.elst.org.uk/our-bakers.html

2. We provide all the materials you need to hold a successful bake sale! Check out our website at http://www.elst.org.uk/ legal-bake-materials.html for posters, email footers, bunting and even price labels!

3. Get baking (and eating!) Our handy top ten tips for a successful bake sale can be found at http://www.elst.org.uk/ fundraising-hints-and-tips.html

With your support we can continue to ensure that free legal advice services remain available and effective for those who are most in need. If there’s anything we can do to help or if there’s any further information you need please don’t hesitate to get in contact.

Best wishes,

Laura Cassidy - Fundraising and Development Manager - The Eastern Legal Support Trust PS: Remember, if you are...

• •

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a legal advice agency 100% of the funds you raise are kept by your charity! a law firm or chambers you can raise 50% for your favourite legal advice charity and 50% for the ATJF by telling us which partner agency you want to raise for.

www.snels.org.uk

Will you remember the horses at

Redwings

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

Horse Sanctuary?

Remember Redwings in your Will and save the lives of hundreds of horses in desperate need for years to come.

Call 01508 481030 or email legacies@redwings.co.uk To find out how to leave a legacy today.

Thank you

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Is the “partnership”

By Fiona Hotston Moore – Ensors Chartered Accountants

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

model broken?

The problem with the typical partnership model is the blurring of ownership and management which can cause firms to lose control and direction at a time when the rapidly changing legal services market requires strong leadership.

The partnership model can also facilitate financial incompetence. Typically, in most partnerships, all the profits are shared and distributed annually leaving little for unplanned contingencies or investment. The taxation of Partnerships, including LLPs, drives this distribution policy as few partners would wish to pay tax on monies they haven’t seen in their bank account. Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen law firms either fail or fall on hard times forcing a merger. In a few extreme cases monies set aside for partners’ tax liabilities have been used for working capital leaving partners with personal liabilities when firms have failed.

A further awkward truth is that a surprising number of smaller law firms are run by grey hair and have no succession plan.

With PI run off cover becoming increasingly expensive this can be a further headache as simply closing up shop can involve substantial unplanned costs.

Few, if any, law firms fail because the lawyers are technically weak. Often firms that fail have lawyers with excellent clients and technical credentials. To be the best lawyer however

is not enough to stay in the game. Legal firms need the full engagement of their partners in the financial and business strategy and larger firms should consider appointing NEDs or even a CEO from outside the firm to bring commercial experience and objectivity. All too often partnerships are not in fact “partnerships” but a group of sole traders all attempting to run their own business.

Whilst an audit may not be required due to the size or chosen structure of the practice, law firms need robust external advisers who are willing to challenge the partners on the sustainability of the firm.

Cash remains king.

In recent years, to address both succession and the changing market, firms have looked at mergers. However mergers alone are not enough. After the popping of the champagne corks, the implementation of a strategy to deliver the anticipated synergies and integration will require strong leadership and a communicated clear vision of the new firm.

In my opinion, whilst the partnership model may be flawed, the flaws are not fatal and the wounds are often self-inflicted.

With strong leadership, shared values and robust financial reporting law firms can still succeed and generate substantial returns for all the stake holders.

Fiona Hotston Moore Forensic accounting partner & accredited expert witness Ensors Chartered Accountants M: 07770 642 491 | E: Fiona.hotstonmoore@ensors.co.uk | @hotstonmoore Member of NIFA & The Academy of Experts 16

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Smart reasons not to set goals Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

If you ever wondered about the real value of goal setting, then you`re not alone.

Despite the mantra that goals are good, the process of setting and achieving beneficial goals is harder than it appears.

It`s common practice amongst lawyers, (except for the feather quill and ink type) to take part in at least an annual goal-setting exercise, usually at the time of annual appraisals. Woe to those who don’t make their goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely). However, do these goals really work? In somecases, it’s arguable that goals, may do more harm than good.

The negative effects produced by goal-setting include a potential rise in unwanted behaviours, over-focus on one area whilst neglecting other parts of the business, distorted risk preferences, damage to law firm culture, and reduced selfmotivation. Used wisely however, goals can inspire employees and improve performance, but shouldn`t be used by themselves to increase productivity.

When employees care exclusively about reaching a goal and fail to perform other activities that are valued and needed by the firm, unacceptable behaviours such as cheating goes up.

Time recording targets (a goal) are a classic example of this, and may partly explain why so many firms are sitting on such high levels of work in progress.

Whilst some may argue that an individual`s behaviour, such as a lack of integrity, not the goals, are to blame, it’s easy to predict that the fear of failing to achieve a goal may lead to dysfunctional behaviour. A system of goal setting almost encourages bad behaviour unless managed correctly. Creating an indefectible system for managing performance is a key challenge for law firm leaders.

still might want to use goals, but strong leaders will need to model appropriate behaviour, and provide oversight to prevent both unethical behaviours, and increased risk taking, whether intentioned or unawares by their employees.

The alternative to setting employee goals is creating environments where people want to achieve, and where they want to do so in an ethical manner through responsible business practice. Research shows that an even stronger effect than goals is self-motivation, having individuals do an activity because they find the work rewarding in and of itself.

Given that goals can undermine this intrinsic value of work, sometimes the best solution is no specific goal at all.

Kimberley Williams, Law Management Consultant. kwilliams@williams-wroe.com Tel: 0781 4499375 www.linkedin.com/in/kimberleywilliamswroe

If you want employees to engage in positive social behaviours (e.g., helping others in the firm) and/or to act ethically, then care must be taken not to set ‘performance goals’ which relate solely to tasks. ‘Learning’ and ‘mastery’ goals have much more positive effects on an individual`s overall performance and their internal motivation, than the achievement of ‘performance’ goals.

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Goals have however been shown to be extremely successful at improving measured behaviour when set correctly, and their impact doesn`t create unmeasured behaviours. Goals are appropriate when you know exactly what behaviours you want, you aren’t concerned about secondary behaviours, and unethical behaviour is not a big risk. In other cases, you

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A focus on achieving goals may distort an employee`s perception of what is acceptable behaviour so that they are less likely to consider the ethical implications of their actions, for example, claiming credit based on the false belief that their role in a team project was more important than reality would dictate, and failing to realise how they have overburdened their co-workers.

Call our auction centre manager, Geoffrey Barfoot, to talk through how we may be able to help you.

Clarke & Simpson Auction Centre, Campsea Ashe, Nr Wickham Market, Suffolk IP13 0PS t: 01728 746323 www.clarkeandsimpson.co.uk

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17

CPD – Goodbye

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

to a familiar regime

The demise of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) regime has been signposted for over two years but not everyone will be ready for what replaces it. Most solicitors currently practising have not known any other system of professional development.This leavesplenty for firms to reflect on before the new requirements become compulsory on 1 November 2016.

The current CPD regime has not changed dramatically since it was introduced by the Law Society in 1985 (the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) did not become the profession’s regulator until 2007, following reforms introduced by the Legal Services Act 2007). The current requirement that all solicitors should complete a minimum of 16 hours CPD activity every year will cease at the end of October.

The SRA has been concerned for some time that the current CPD regime is not fit for purpose. Its main concerns are that the regime is overly prescriptive, focuses on a set number of hours without any focus on how the training achieves competence and is difficult to enforce.One thing notmentionedspecifically in its consultation was the abuse to which the regime was subject.

A common sight at seminars and conferences every September and October has beenthe delegate who is clearly only interested in clocking up CPD ‘hours’. Sitting at the back dealing with e-mails and slipping out to take calls, they pay no attentionto the subject matter of the conference. Some of the worst abuses were from individuals who turned up at the start of the course, registered for CPD and then disappeared.

The regulatory context for the new rules stems from Principle 5 in the SRA Handbook 2011 which requires all solicitors to provide a proper standard of service to their clients. This principle isexpanded on in theSRA Code of Conduct 2011 at Outcome 1.4 (solicitors must have the skills to carry out their clients’ instructions), Outcome 1.5 (the service that solicitors provide must be competent) and Outcome 7.6(firms must train those working for them to maintain a level of competence appropriate to their work and level of responsibility).

However, those obligations are not new, as they have been in place for nearly five years. What is new is the competence statementthat will shortly replace the CPD requirements inPart 3 of the SRA Training Regulations 2011. The competence statement is made up of three parts: •

a statement of legal knowledge;

•

the threshold standard; and

•

the statement of solicitor competence.

The very detailed statement of legal knowledge was originally intended to apply to all solicitors but, in its final form, sets out the level of knowledge required by newly qualified solicitors.

All other solicitors can heave a sigh of relief, although they will still need to note paragraph A4c in the statement of solicitor competence and the footnote thereto. The threshold statement, and particularly level 3, has most application to newly qualified solicitors. It is the statement of solicitor competence that is generic and applies to all solicitors.

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Replacing Outcome TR1 which required solicitors to ‘maintain competence through relevant ongoing training’, the statement of solicitor competence runs to six pages. This takes regulation in a substantially different direction to the trend which has seen the SRA remove 200 or so pages of regulation over recent years.

The SRA defines competence as the ability to perform the roles and tasks required by one’s job to the expected standard.It is deliberately flexible to encompass changing job functions.

The statement of solicitor competence covers 4 key areas: •

ethics, professionalism and judgment;

•

technical legal practice;

•

working with other people; and

•

managing themselves and their own work.

There are 18 key requirements but if you include how these are broken down, there are well over one hundred individual requirements.

Some of the matters included are well recognised by insurers as being relevant to claims. For example, from November, solicitors will be expected to disclose when work is beyond their capability (A3a), to recognise when they have made mistakes (A3b), to spot issues that are outside their expertise (A4c), to assess information to identify key issues and risks (A5a), to assess, communicate and manage risk (B7b), to manage clients’ expectations (C2f), to supervise the work of others effectively (C3c) and to keep, use and maintain accurate complete and clear records (D2). However, the whole document requires careful study.With so much detail, assessing their performance against each requirement is not something that solicitors should leave until the last minute.

Compliance with the new regime falls primarily on solicitors, but the partners bear responsibility too (see Outcome 7.6 mentioned above). The COLP cannot escape either as he or she is responsible for ensuring that appropriate systems and procedures are in place across the firm, which would include the monitoring of CPD. The SRA decided that there was no need to place any additional obligation on the COLP as existing obligations were considered to be sufficiently allencompassing, as many will no doubt wryly agree.

The process will have to be managed carefully if tension between the firm and its solicitors is to be avoided. Whilst the onus is on individual solicitors to address their training needs, and firms will want to ensure that their solicitors are trained to deliver a competent service, a piecemeal approach could put pressureon a firm’s training budget.

As the training needs of one solicitor are likely to exist elsewhere in the firm, undertaking a firm-wide training needs analysis will help firms to avoid undue pressure on their training budgets by developing a co-ordinated approach. The well-managed firms will have done so already.

The new rules were announced by the SRA Board on 21 May 2014 to give firms time to adapt to the new requirements.

Those that have done so should be congratulated. Those that haven’t need to recognise that the new regime has flexibility but within a far stricter framework and that time is running out to get their homework done.

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

To comply with the competence statement, the SRA expects solicitors to reflect on what they do before identifying their learning and development needs. These should be recorded in a written training and development plan, although the format of the plan is left up to individuals. Solicitors must then implement the plan and keep a written record of learning activities undertaken, in much the same way that they were expected to keep a written record of CPD activity. As this should be a continuous process, solicitors should then evaluate the learning undertaken, update their development plan and so on in a rolling programme.

will tell, perhaps the new Competence regime will work better than the one it replaces.

Robin Dray, Associate Director, Aon UK Limited 01245 706709

Before renewing their practising certificate, solicitors will need to confirm that they “have reflected on their practice and addressed any identified learning and development needs”.

With no minimum level of training, some worry that the amount of training undertaken will fall, effectively replacing a dysfunctional CPD regime with one that is no better. However, with an ever more mobile workforce, solicitors looking to change firm may want assurances from a prospective employer that they will be supported in keeping to their development plan. On the other hand, when employers are looking to recruit, they may require details of a solicitor’s development plan and activity record so that they can assess the cost to the firm of meeting thecandidate’s training needs.Although only time

Providing Life Retired Horses Charity Number 1106722

Our Aim The Heartbeat Home for Horses Limited is a registered charity, whose aim is to care for horses who otherwise would face a very uncertain future. Our aim is to provide a lifeline for these needy, homeless animals, allowing them to relax in comfortable surroundings in retirement, with lots of tender loving care.

Do you agree?

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Flood risk – are you getting the full picture?

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

Law Society Practice Note The Practice Note on flood risk was updated recently (February 2016) and full details can be found on the Law Society website.

The Practice Note highlights that different parties will have different appetites for risk, but that conveyancers should consider: 1. advising the client to establish the terms on which buildings insurance, including flood risk cover, is available; 2. advising the client to discuss the level of risk with a building surveyor or flood risk assessment consultant.

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

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

Flood screen

Flood risk assessment

Insurability statement

Consultant opinion

Landmark Homecheck Professional Flood





(risk model)

Landmark RiskView Residential





(risk model)

Argyll SiteSolutions Residence





(fully manual)



(risk model)



(risk model)

Landmark Homecheck Pro Environmental



Landmark Envirosearch Residential



Groundsure HomeScreen



Groundsure Homebuyers



Groundsure Flood





 

 

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

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

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

Are you up-to-date on conveyancing risk and fraud?

Join industry experts at our forthcoming Geodesys CPD event Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

5 April 2017 at De Vere Theobalds Estate, Cheshunt 09:00 – 14:00 (including lunch) Learning outcomes ✔

Review the risks covered in an environmental search for the local area

✔

Understand Law Society guidance on contaminated land and flooding

✔

Find out more about ground stability and energy risks

✔

Identify the right report for your transaction

✔

Develop your knowledge of planning and development risks for property transactions

✔

Improve your understanding of conveyancing fraud and how to ensure your transactions are following due diligence.

“Brilliantly delivered, personable presenters with a sense of humour” Derek Young, HKB Wiltshires

“Great informative session, great use of case studies” Gemma Casey, Clapham & Collinge

“Excellent subject knowledge & presenting skills” Amy Dunn, Flagship Housing

For more information on this event and to book, please call Lauren Lieser on 07885 135314 or email lauren.lieser@geodesys.com.

You can find information on all our latest events at www.geodesys.com/events There is no charge for these seminars and three-hours CPD points are awarded.

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

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

Saturday 15th October 2016 at Westminster Park Plaza, London A short review by Phillip Taylor MBE, Richmond Green Chambers

A FUTURE BASED ON DIGITAL PROCESSES Phew! It is over now but what a lot was crammed into the hectic day. The figures speak for themselves: 590 attendees; 23 specific sessions from Brexit (of course) to online courts and dispute resolution; 22 exhibitors (all the usual suspects in attendance); the awards and the excellent winners; and the launch of the “Wellbeing at the Bar Portal”. In addition, for all those interested there was the Conference hashtag #BCYBC16 which I did try to use but became baffled quite quickly, as I did with Twitter (as usual).

THE CONFERENCES The one thing about both the main Conference and the Young Bar Conference is the continuing amount of choice available which gives attendees valuable variety of what to participate in. It aims, and succeeds, in catering for a very wide topic range with the ‘break-out’ specialist sessions when we are released from the full gathering.

The introductory sessions contained all the information we were expecting and the Bar Chairman, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC, painted a most balanced picture of where we are today with the biggest and most pressing issues barristers face. Chantal has done a great job this year and was confronted shortly after the Conference with more headline making when the Lord Chancellor was criticised for not given sufficient support to the Judiciary over the little matter of use of the royal prerogative.

And the Chairman of the Young Barristers’ Committee, Louisa Nye, gave us a particularly impressive performance at a most troubling time for younger counsel covering her two themes: technology and Brexit. We could not get away from either subject then, or now as we enter 2017.

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

ANNUAL BAR CONFERENCE AND YOUNG BAR CONFERENCE 2016 One can only scratch the surface in a short appreciation of this year’s Conferences but these two appeal judges hold much of the responsibility for the immediate future of the Bar. They are both at the forefront of dealing with ‘computerisation’ or ‘digitisation’ if you prefer, of our systems to bring the legal profession up to date for the 21st century. And it was to their speeches that many will turn, not just at the Conference but afterwards as we grapple with the greatest changes since the Judicature Acts.

There was much to commend the 2016 Conferences by way of basic current information, and the frank exchange of views from the specialist sessions where the past lack of digital investment remained a common observation. It is to be hoped that 2016 which be a turning point for the Fourth Industrial Revolution we have just entered and the fears for the future eased by what we heard at Park Plaza.

ONLINE COURTS The Conference reports would be incomplete without a generous mention of Michael Briggs and his two reports on online courts: they will happen and things will be different.

The final version of the Briggs Report is now with us and its content was a major talking point in the coffee area (amongst other things, of course).

We have a way to go with full online implementation but the recurring theme (and it is not a platitude) of online change “to improve access to justice” which will “strengthen rather than dilute the rule of law” will be reality much quicker than we think if Fulford is to be believed: and I do believe him because we seem to have made palpable progress this year after a period of digital stagnation.

Our future is in digital processes taking the judge to the user and, no, I don’t subscribe to the gloom of my colleague, Richard Susskind, because it is never the end of lawyers… only a new digital beginning where the rules will be rather different sooner rather than later. And I bet they said that with the Judicature Acts 1973-5 all those years ago!

Thank you to all for a most invigorating Conference season this year, Brexit or no Brexit, as we are at a legal turning point.

TAKING THE JUDGE TO THE USER Summing up this 2016 Conference is quite simple because the dominant topic throughout for most of us is the changing technology and the current upheavals taking place. For me the two most succinct contributions came from two senior Lord Justices of Appeal: Adrian Fulford and Ernest Ryder.

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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

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

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

Findings of note from the report include that: •

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

•

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

•

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

Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: ‘Legacy giving has become increasingly important to UK charities in recent years, generating around £2.5 billion for good causes annually and its impact on charitable services is immense. But, despite being a highly philanthropic nation, a relatively small proportion of people leave a charitable bequest in their will. ‘Many simply don’t realise that legacy giving is an option for them; that they can provide for family and friends and still have the opportunity of including a charity if they wish to do so. The role of legal professionals is crucial in making clients aware of all the opportunities they might want to consider when writing a will.’ The research also surveyed the public on their views about solicitors raising the issue of leaving to charity when helping a client write their will. This survey showed 69 per cent of people indicated that they would be happy for their solicitor to raise the issue, and 46 per cent thought a solicitor had ‘a duty’ to raise the option of such a legacy giving when discussing a will. ‘We know that there’s a big gap between the 35 per cent of people who say they want to leave a charitable legacy in their will and the around six per cent of people actually do,’ said Robert Bourns. ‘By improving our understanding of how to raise this important question, solicitors will be better equipped to assist our clients in drafting a will that properly reflects their wishes.’

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24

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We always have lovely cats looking for loving homes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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

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

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

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

In the august yet convivial precincts of Church House, there will be much that you can learn to your advantage, so do come next year!

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

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

Specialisms include: Heating installations Hot & cold water services Chilled water & condenser water services Ventilation & air-conditioning systems (including issues pertaining to operating theatre suite ventilation) Thermal insulation (in respect to its selection & application to mechanical engineering services)

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

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

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

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Select CPD Courses 2017 A programme of Con nual Professional Development for legal professionals run by the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society (SNELS) and the University of Essex Why choose us as your CPD training provider? § Affordable training (fees as low as £90 - £95 for SNELS members and £130 - £150 for non SNELS members) § Easy access in terms of loca on § All courses are 3 hours, so do not take up a whole day § Speakers are of a high calibre § Free parking & refreshments Courses are accredited by the Law Society, the Solicitors Regula on Authority, and the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Booking Form: The booking form for Select CPD courses can be found online at h p://www.essex.ac.uk/law/cpd All enquiries: Penny Castagnino School of Law External CPD Co-ordinator University of Essex Wivenhoe Park Colchester Essex CO4 3SQ

Courses on offer:

Planning Ma ers – A Prac cal Overview for NonPlanning Professionals Anna Russell, LSR Solicitors & Planning Consultants 15 March 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Current Issues in Wills, Trusts and Probate Professor Lesley King 17 May 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Ancillary Relief Update Tina Harrington & Richard Balchin, Trinity Chambers 24 May 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Residen al Property Update Jonathan Achampong, Wedlake Bell LLP 21 June 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Private Children’s Law Update Dr Bianca Jackson, Coram Chambers 6 September 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Civil Procedure - Case Management 4 years PostJackson Mike Winston 27 September 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm Private Client Update Professor Lesley King 18 October 2017, 2.15pm – 5.15pm

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Venue: The courses will be held at the University of Essex Colchester Campus.

Travel details can be found at: h p://www.essex.ac.uk/about/colchester

Parking: Visitors should use the Valley Pay & Display Car Park at the University of Essex Colchester Campus and allow ten minutes to reach the appropriate room. A parking permit for free parking will be sent to you in advance.

Disclaimer: No responsibility or legal liability is accepted, whether for negligence or otherwise, either by any individual speaker or the par cipants in SELECT, in respect of any opinions, advice or documenta on provided in connec on with these courses.

LawWare joins the LSSA

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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

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

LawWare Managing Director, Warren Wander comments: “Together with the LSSA, LawWare is about to celebrate 20 years in the legal software industry.

To mark this key milestone, we are very pleased to join the LSSA to raise our profile even further in the

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

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

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The challenges of strategic planning in law firms This article shares recent experiences from Price Bailey’s consulting team on the challenges of strategic planning in law firms. Price Bailey act for around 150 law firms and legal professionals; we have seen dramatic change in the sector and witnessed examples of great success, failure and treading water.

The economic model of most law firms is to sell time. This means that, from an income perspective, the upside is limited by capacity and price, yet the downside is nearly unlimited. Organising and guiding a firm with the right strategy, in changing times, is therefore pivotal.

Strategic planning is effectively the process of agreeing and committing to a plan that focuses on the material decisions that drive an organisation, in an agreed direction. In people businesses with multiple owners this is inherently political as material decisions are often difficult to make unless forced. It requires a careful balance of insight, objectivity, commerciality, medium term thinking and, crucially, engagement and support from key people. Our experience is that many professional firms struggle to access these characteristics and transform them into plans that are delivered and work.

In helping law firms develop and deliver strategies for growth, some common challenges, questions and limitations have emerged.

These are anonymously shared below:

Why am I an equity partner (to run a firm or because I enjoy law)?

This is a fascinating, highly individual, common question. However, aggregating the answer to this question from the partner team is crucial. As a partnership team goes through the various stages of growth, the needs of the business evolve and, a tipping point emerges when more than one person needs to focus on the business.

The consequences of mismanaging the aggregate answers to this question can be dramatic as this topic is, from a firm’s perspective, fundamentally about sustainability beyond the individual partner.

This has implications for succession, the capital account and the tactics used to grow.

The limit of saying “our fees come from relationships:” Most law firms we meet say fee income is driven by relationships. As the markets shift and a new generation of clients (and fee earners) emerge, this traditional strategy needs to evolve in order to avoid becoming a Curate’s egg. Challenges around accessing consistent profitable work, appropriate leverage and transferring relationships are rarely actively managed by partner teams. Perhaps more worryingly, our experience is that many associates / junior partners look, to their senior colleagues, to be not as skilled in ploughing and reaping their own relationships. The reality for many sectors of law is that the dynamics of the market have shifted and, what will work in the future may be different to what worked in the past. That does not mean the answer is switch to digital marketing – relationships are still key - but how those relationships are gathered and cultivated to make commercial sense has evolved and this needs to be understood and actively managed by firms.

What really drives profit?

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In any firm some partners understand what drives profitability, and others take the view that, “all you need to do is put time on the clock and bill it.”

Working with partner teams to help form a unified understanding on what really drives profitability is crucial to improving performance.

Understanding how the firm leverages staff across service lines, and then how utilisation and recovery rate form to drive income, and gross margin is key - especially as staff expect to be paid, and paid well!

Our experience is that firms with 5 to 20 partners in particular struggle with this as there is just enough complexity to mask commercial drivers but, often, not enough capability to recognise or address this.

Leverage: who do clients actually buy and who do we actually sell?

Different areas of law require different staff structures. These structures often represent shapes, for example a traditional triangle, where a partner wins work and pushes it down, and diamonds where the value is delivered by higher calibre mid-tier staff. Sometimes these structures are actively planned, sometimes they exist by accident as department heads are only thinking one or two recruits head and, as a result, find themselves with the wrong leverage and volatile levels of profitability year-to-year.

Each model has a different implication for budgeting, work force planning and ultimately, the type of work that can be delivered.

Linked to this are the challenges around recruitment, retention and the debate on why and how to deploy flexible working.

Solving these challenges These challenges resonate with many firms but should be addressed as part of a wider strategic plan, rather than be tackled alone. We are encouraged to see that, from May 2015, Lexcel v6 set out mandatory strategy requirements for accredited firms and we support firms through this process. Ultimately though, an effective strategy should get to the core of the material issues affecting the firm. Our consulting team help provide the insight, objectivity, and implementation to plan and deliver strategies for growth.

If you would like to talk to us about our experience dealing with the topics above, or to discuss how Price Bailey’s consulting teams can help support and guide you through developing and implementing an appropriate strategy then please contact Chand Chudasama on 020 3829 1739 on email chand.chudasama@pricebailey.co.uk for further information

Chand Chudasama is a manager in the Strategic Corporate Finance team, at Price Bailey. He is based in the City of London and works across the practice.

Chand’s work involves focusing on delivering greater returns to shareholders through the use of strategic planning and implementation. His team’s engagements involve a mix of organic and acquisition led growth projects, in domestic and international markets. This requires being able to get under the skin of an organisation and really understand what drives performance and value.

Chand has 7 years experience in strategy consulting and has experience of working in over 40 countries.

PRO/PLO Report Since the result of the referendum was announced the Law Society has been working with members of the legal profession, Government and Parliamentarians and has put in place a Brexit Taskforce. Some of the main areas and key priorities the BREXIT taskforce are negotiating on as Britain prepares to leave the EU are: • Continued access for UK Lawyers to practice law and base themselves in EU member states;

My role as your SNELS PLO is to feed back any issues or concerns lawyers within our region may have on BREXIT so these can be brought to the attention of the BREXIT taskforce and be used in negotiations of the separation agreement.

Therefore if there is anything members would like to have raised or put forward to your local MEP or the Law Society please email me louise.goodenough@haywards-solcictors. co.uk. If anyone would like a full copy of the Law Society report on ‘Brexit and the Law’ please contact me. I can also be contacted through our website www.snels.org.uk

Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

On 17th January I and other Parliamentary Liaison Officers (PLO) from the Eastern Region met at Chancery Lane. The main topic of the evening was the effect of BREXIT on the legal profession.

Louise Goodenough Haywards Solicitors

• Maintain mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments and respect for choice of jurisdiction clauses across the EU in civil cases; • Maintain collaboration in policing, security and criminal justice; • To promote England and Wales as the jurisdiction of choice, ensuring that legal certainty is marinated throughout the process of withdrawal.

At Price Bailey it’s all about you We’ve specialised in advising the professional services sector for many years, and work with a large number of small and medium-sized law firms.

We work closely with each client to develop a deep understanding of their business, goals and challenges.

This enables us to advise and guide them into the future.

It’s how we help them succeed and continue to grow.

For further information please contact: John Warren Partner T: 01603 709358 E: john.warren@pricebailey.co.uk

Chris Vines Assistant Manager T: 01603 709350 E: chris.vines@pricebailey.co.uk

The right advice for your business life

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Price Bailey ® is registered as a UK trademark of Price Bailey LLP. © 2016 Price Bailey. For more information about Price Bailey and regulatory details please visit www.pricebailey.com/legal.

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Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

He has his father’s nose…

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

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

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

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

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

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biologically related.

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

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

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

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

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

This public display of clues to either paternity or non-paternity has the effect of raising the stakes for mother, alleged father, rival males and associated social destabilisers (who may have a variety of motives). To gain certainty and quell rumours, individuals often turn to a DNA test as the only means of delivering parental certainty. The question of paternity may then spill over into the legal/social services sphere as a tactic in family disputes, where one or more party is trying to reduce their responsibilities or undermine another’s position with respect to parental investment or indeed, vice versa.

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

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

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

Both of Complement Genomics Ltd, trading as dadcheck®.

www.snels.org.uk Untitled-3 1

23/02/2016 16:32

WE MADE A PACT TO HELP ANIMALS I N 1995 A SMALL GROUP OF DEDICATED PEOPLE WITH AN ENORMOUS LOVE AND RESPECT FOR ANIMALS MADE A PACT TO HELP THEM. THEY SET ABOUT THE TASK OF RESCUE, REHABILITATION AND THE REHOMING OF THE UNWANTED AND ABUSED IN NORFOLK. NOW IN 2016 PACT IS THE LARGEST ‘ALL ANIMAL’ SANCTUARY IN EAST ANGLIA. PACT NOW CARES FOR OVER 1400 ANIMALS IN THE SANCTUARY AND IN 2015 MADE A DIFFERENCE TO ANOTHER 2200 LIVES OF ALL SPECIES HALF WERE WILDLIFE INCLUDING 580 BIRDS AND 550 HEDGEHOGS.

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