Newsletter May 2013 by Mariam Aumeerally

Newsletter May 2013 Volume 2, Number 4

In This Issue • Pharmaceutical law update • Career Development • In the Spotlight: • Helping Grove House • Past Events • Event Calendar 2013 • Summer Boat Party Invitation

The HJLD is the regional branch of the National Junior Lawyers Division. We represent all student members of the Law Society enrolled through the SRA, trainees and Solicitors with up to five years’ active PQE who live, study or work in Hertfordshire. Our aim is to promote both professional and personal growth within the legal field through social and professional events and seminars. We shall keep you informed of important matters that concern junior lawyers, arrange CPD sessions that are either free or at reduced rates, and organise inclusive social events throughout the year. We will strive to make your voice heard and support the National JLD who works directly with the Law Society.

Are you interested in Regulatory Pharmacy Law? Here are some articles to give you an insight. Hannah-Marie Palmer, Communications and CPD representative for HertsJLD and a solicitor in Debenhams Ottoways Dispute Resolution team who specialises in the areas of Pharmacy and Healthcare Regulation provides us with some articles relating to current issues in the pharmaceutical industry. We would also like to thank James Williams, Trainee at Debenhams Ottaways who also contributed to these articles. If you have any questions on the articles below, please do not hesitate to contact hp@dolegal.co.uk

GPhC response to investigations suggesting London pharmacies are selling prescription drugs illegally The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has responded to a BBC Inside Out London investigation which has immerged that some pharmacies in London have illegally sold prescription only drugs without prescription. The Chief Executive of the GPhC, Duncan Rudkin, said: “Patients can be put at serious risk if they are supplied with prescription only medication unlawfully, without having a consultation with a health professional who is qualified to prescribe. As the regulator, our role is to protect patients who use pharmacy services and we will investigate any concern that we identify through our inspection regime, or that are brought to our attention, including the concerns raised by Inside Out London.” The BBC Inside Out investigation was aired on the BBC in the London Region on Monday, 15 December 2013. During the investigation several London pharmacies sold the undercover reporters the prescription drug Diazepam (valium) without a prescription for up to £85. As a result of the investigation Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham MP, demanded an urgent review and suggested that watchdogs may not be “fit for purpose”. The only occasion upon which pharmacies can sell prescription only drugs without a prescription is if it is a medical emergency and then only if the patient has been prescribed that medication before by a doctor.

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Duncan Rudkin further commented that the GPhC “will investigate any concerns brought to our attention. We are already investigating a number of allegations that pharmacies in London have supplied medication illegally and would urge anyone with concerns to contact us”. As a result of the GPhC’s investigations, three pharmacists have each been given 18 month interim suspension orders.

Your views count! HJLD newsletter is here to provide young lawyers with relevant information. If you have any ideas for articles or events, or feedback in relation to the newsletter, please contact: mail@hertsjld.com

Committee Tweeters:

Kate Shearer @trixie_dixie

Liam Colville @colville1983

Mariam Aumeerally @mariam_lawyer

Laura Mathew @LadyLauraLawyer

Nathan Kerntiff @Peterhail1

Alexander Neale @Nealooo

Pharmaceutical law continued….

Pharmacist struck-off for stealing drugs to cope with Depression

The Fitness to Practise Committee of the General Pharmaceutical Council (“GPhC”) has decided to strike from the Professional Register a pharmacist, who was found to have taken more than 400 diazepam and dihydrocodeine tablets to help him cope with his depression. Mr Evans referred himself to the GPhC in September 2010 when his doctor addressed concerns that he might be becoming dependent on the prescription-only medication. Mr Evans admitted to the Committee that between November 2009 and August 2010, he had been involved in the removal of the drug from the pharmacy at which he worked. He did not take the medication from the regular pharmacy stock but from returned patients’ medications. He was able to extricate the tablets gradually, by taking small quantities at a time. He explained that he would take the odd cut section of foil packs to avoid detection. The medication included diazepam which Mr Evans said helped him “switch off and get off to sleep” as well as dihydrocodeine to treat “various aches and pains”. In addition to these medications, Mr Evans also admitted to taking barbiturate after it was returned by a patient. The Committee found that Mr Evans’ fitness to practise had been impaired. The Chairman, Mr Simon, said that fitness to practise involved a 2-stage test. First, the Committee, judging upon the evidence before it, had to decide whether there had been misconduct. Second, if it found misconduct, the Committee would address the question of impairment. Mr Simon noted that conduct became serious misconduct when it was “conduct which would be regarded as deplorable by other fellow practitioners”. The Committee found that Mr Evans’ conduct was such that other pharmacists would find his actions deplorable and as “conduct falling significantly below that to be expected of a competent pharmacist”. In relation to impairment, Mr Simon concluded that “it seems absolutely clear that Mr Evans’ actions, particularly as they arose in the course of his professional practise and spanned an extended period of time, have brought the pharmacy profession into disrepute, breached fundamental principles of the profession of pharmacy and demonstrated that Mr Evans’ integrity cannot be relied upon”. Despite Mr Evans’ “previously embellished career” and depressive illness and stress, the Committee concluded that these mitigating factors were outweighed by the aggravating circumstances. If Mr Evans had believed that his condition had warranted the taking of diazepam, “it had been open to him to obtain the drug through the legitimate channels”. The Committee concluded that the removal from the Register was proportionate to fulfil the public interest in the case.

Critical Decisions for Career Development As a junior lawyer, you will probably already have given considerable thought to your future in the legal profession. The decisions you make, whether relating to the practice or specialism, type of firm or industry you choose to work in, will impact upon your career in a number of different ways and the range of options can be confusing. With the economic outlook remaining uncertain as we enter 2013, the legal marketplace has become increasingly competitive and as a result, identifying the right decision for you and your future can be even more difficult. As recruiters we have access to a network of legal professionals at all levels, both in private practice and in-house. This insight enables us to advise and equip other lawyers with the necessary market intelligence to make informed career decisions. Our most recent market update, the 2013 Salary Survey, has enabled us to identify the following key trends for lawyers at the NQ – 5 years’ PQE level:

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• When asked to select what would be the main motivating factor behind moving if they were to leave their present employer, the majority of lawyers at both NQ-1 year and 5+ years’ PQE, identified better salary as the biggest pull factor. • However, there are benefits that can be seen to outweigh remuneration when making a move, reflected by those in the 2-4 years’ PQE band, who selected better career prospects as their biggest motivator • When asked to identify what was most important in their ideal role, the above PQE bandings were unanimous in selecting career progression over salary, job security and range of interesting work. There are a number of different routes to achieving your career objectives in today’s market, whether you wish to progress in private practice or in-house or pursue permanent or interim opportunities. For more information about opportunities across the legal market, how changes in the industry may impact upon you, or to request a copy of our latest salary survey, please contact a member of the Pure team via our website: http://www.puresearch.com Pure Search is a specialist legal recruiter, covering in-house and private practice opportunities at all levels. For more information please visit www.puresearch.com

CPD Event: Hertfordshire Family Forum, Tuesday 21 May 2013 (6pm for 6.30pm) Venue: University of Hertfordshire’s School of Law at the De Havilland Campus, St Albans Road West, Hatfield AL10 9EU. Lecture Theatre N002 on that Campus.

In the Spotlight: In House Lawyer at the Police Federation The aim of “In the Spotlight” is to share the experience of young lawyers within different areas and aspects of law. In the last issues we interviewed a commercial in house lawyer at ManpowerGroup, a newly qualified commercial property lawyer from Debenhams Ottaways Solicitors and the Founder of the Urban Lawyer. In this issue we interview Jibin Philip a dual qualified lawyer working in house at the Police Federation. What is your job title? In-house Assistant Solicitor of Police Federation of England and Wales, a statutory body representing all police constables, sergeants, inspectors and chief inspectors in the 43 home office police forces of England and Wales. How long have you been qualified? I qualified in the common law background in June 2007 and then pursued Masters in Law (LLM International Commercial Law) from University of Nottingham. I qualified in England and Wales through the non-traditional route of Qualified Lawyer Transfer Test (QLTT) in March 2011.

If you would like to attend, What area do you specialise in? please telephone: 01707 My specialisation is employment and discrimination law. In addition to this, I also deal with commercial law matters including drafting and negotiating contracts, research agreements and intellectual property matters. 286203 Cost at £10.00. Please ensure you book in advance. The University is unable to accept payment by cash on the night

What have you found different? I really enjoyed the transition from a practising role to an in-house position. In an in-house role, you get opportunities to gain exposure in wide areas of law beyond your core specialist areas, which is quite an enriching experience. Also, the working hours are more certain which make it easier to manage one’s work-life balance. What have you found most enjoyable? Providing assistance to various departments of the Federation as and when required gives me an opportunity to understand the type of work they do. Thus, getting to know and work with different departments, right from the Facilities through to Treasurer’s department, helps me to understand the overall functioning of the organisation both internally and externally, which is exciting and challenging at the same time. Further I am also involved in delivering in-house trainings. I very much enjoy every bit of my work. What have you found most interesting? Most of the terms and conditions of police officers’ employment are regulated by Police Regulations and Determinations. Therefore, when dealing with an officer’s employment claim, along with the standard employment legislations and directives, I have to consider the Police Regulations and sometimes the practices across different Forces in the country. Further, police officers have restricted employment rights and most of their claims are complex discrimination claims which are very intriguing. What are your top tips for success in your area? To be a successful in-house lawyer, firstly, develop a good knowledge and interest in different areas of law than one specific area as you are your employer’s first point of contact for any legal assistance; secondly, understand and align with the strategic imperatives of your employer to add value to the organisation. By Jibin Phillip, Assistant Solicitor at Police Federation of England and Wales If you would like more information in relation to this article please do not hesitate to email mail@hertsjld.com

Working with Grove House On Saturday 16th March Nathan Kerntiff, Student representative, helped raise money for Grove House by assisting with a charity collection in St Albans city centre.

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Grove House has kindly let us have use of their hall later this year where we will be holding a quiz night and raffle open to all JLD members. As well as being an enjoyable event we hope to raise some more donations for the hospice.

What is Grove House? (visit: www.renniegrove.org)

Grove House – part of Rennie Grove Hospice Care - is a registered charity providing specialist care and support to people in Harpenden, St Albans and Dacorum whose lives are affected by cancer or other life-limiting illness. We believe that every local patient with advanced, progressive life-limiting illness should receive the care they need to live as fully as possible at home or wherever they choose to be, to the very end of their life. We aim to give patients that choice through our 24-hour responsive Hospice at Home service, specialist care in our Day Hospice at Grove House in St Albans and our range of Family Support services. We rely on the generosity of the general public for 85% of our £6.5 million annual running costs. Thanks to your help we’ve been able to support more than 10,000 local families over the last 25 years.

Past Events Wesleyan for Lawyers “Managing your finances” HJLD members enjoyed a rare trip to East Hertfordshire in January for a dual event: a seminar entitled “Managing Your Finances” hosted by Wesleyan for Lawyers, followed by drinks in Baroosh. Tees Solicitors in Bishops Stortford kindly made their boardroom available for the seminar which was presented well and covered financial topics targeted at all levels of junior lawyer. One topic was dealing with your student loan which everyone found useful; another was thinking about savings both now and in the future. The seminar also focussed on some specific financial concerns such as buying a house and obtaining a mortgage, and thinking about pensions. Many thanks to the junior lawyers at Tees who were all very helpful, polite, and generous in offering everyone a hot drink upon arrival. The drinks social at Baroosh (also in Bishops Stortford) was very well attended and continued well into the evening. Hopefully the East Hertfordshire event will become a regular fixture on the HJLD calendar!

Bowling at Hollywood Bowl The Herts JLD went bowling in Watford on 26th February. It was lovely to see some new faces and to welcome back some old! After meeting everyone at the bar for a drink, attendees were split into two teams and the bowling commenced. Some people had clearly been practising as they were able to hit strike after strike and land those tricky split shots. Others amongst us were glad to just get the ball down the alley in a straight line - it was decided that bumpers weren't allowed. It was good to see the competitive spirit alive and well in the young lawyers of Hertfordshire. After two hard fought games, Kate Shearer (Chair) came away having won the title of 'most improved' and Alex Neale (Social Secretary) won the title of 'best all round'. Lucky Alex was the winner of a voucher for three free games.

Amnesty International Seminar ‘HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY’ The University of Hertfordshire, in collaboration with Herts Law Society and the Hertfordshire JLD presented an Amnesty International seminar on “Human Trafficking and Slavery” on 12th March 2013, at University of Hertfordshire, de Havilland Campus.

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Slavery is defined to include trafficking, debt bondage and forced labour. We have slavery in the UK today, in many different guises. Frighteningly, statistics show that at least 2.4 million people were trafficked as of 2006 and the problem is thought to have become worse over recent years. Although the “modern world accepts that slavery is a great evil and there are many international documents that denounce it and make it illegal”1, the laws that are in place to prevent slavery are often lacking in implementation and enforcement.

Using the example of a domestic worker, Anti-Slavery International representative, Michaela, told the audience how official documents, such as a passport or VISA, are often confiscated by the employer when the domestic worker first arrives. Pay is not forthcoming, despite the domestic worker being employed to work, and written contracts are very rarely in place or, if they are, they are not adhered to. Further, the domestic worker is often forced to work many more hours than she should and is locked up in the home, a prisoner. Physical abuse of domestic workers is not uncommon as she is considered as a slave of the family. Employers also threaten the domestic workers by telling them that they are in the country illegally and that, if they ask for help, they will be arrested or deported. This is despite the fact that most domestic workers are in work under valid VISAs and are not illegally working. Further information on the issues raised in the seminar can be found here:http://www.antislavery.org/english/ http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=11641&gclid=CKLj26_ViLYCFcHHtAodGz8ASw by Laura Mathew

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/modern/law.shtml#top

Events Calendar 2013. **NEXT EVENT***: Wednesday 17th April

Title: Living within the Law: Professionalism – 1 CPD points

Management

Stress,

Ethical

Dilemmas

Time: 6:30 – 8:00 Venue: Debenhams Ottaway office, 107 St Peter’s Street, St Albans Price: Donation monies to go to LawCare. Please visit www.lawcare.org.uk To book a place contact mail@hertsjld.com Thursday 20th May

Legal Walk – London http://londonlegalsupporttrust.org.uk/ Herts Junior Lawyers Division has signed up to take part in the London Legal Walk taking place on Monday 20th of May 2013. This event is now the largest annual gathering of lawyers and the judiciary with over 6,000 in 2012 walking 10km around some of London's best-known legal landmarks. Previous years have seen the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the Chairman of the Bar Council and the Attorney General take part. Teams already signed up include the judiciary, law firms, chambers, government departments, in house legal teams and law schools. If you would like to join the HertsJLD team and take part in the sponsored walk, helping to raise money to provide free legal advice for those in need please email: mail@hertsjld.com with the subject line ‘London Legal Walk’ and include your name, email, and contact number within the email. Charity Fundraising Website: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiserweb/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action ?userUrl=HertsJuniorLawyers&isTeam=true

Sunday 9th June

5K Run: Last year the St Albans 5k Run kicked off our sporting events. Once again, we are eager for you to get involved. Please register on http://www.stalbanshalfmarathon.co.uk/Event_Information/5K_Race.htm and email mail@hertsjld.com to ensure we let you know our meeting place.

Saturday 29th June

Summer Boat Party: James Bond Theme. (see advert on the last page) The ‘Golden Star’ boat will take us on a four hour scenic voyage on the Thames. We expect to see attendees dressed either as their favourite character from the Bond films, or simply looking sharp in their tuxedos or dresses. Tickets cost £30 and includes a hot buffet on the boat, and a welcome drink. Please send £30 by cheque to Liam Colville, Hertfordshire Junior Lawyers, Ivy House, 107 St. Peter’s Street, St. Albans, Herts, AL1 3EW. All cheques should be made payable to ‘Hertfordshire JLD’. Alternatively you can pay by bank transfer quoting ‘HJLD Boat Party and your name’ using the following account details; A/C No: 10168622 Sort Code: 16-30-24. Please also confirm your attendance by Wednesday 29 May 2013 by email using the following address mail@hertsjld.com

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August/September

Annual Dog Races at Henlow, Bedfordshire - TBC

September/October

Committee elections

Thursday October

17th

Grove House Quiz – more details to be confirmed.

October/November

CPD Event – TBC

If you would like more information in relation to any event or wish to put your point of view across, please do not hesitate to email mail@hertsjld.com

NEXT NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2013

Next issue to contain Summer Boat Party Photos and details of the Committee Elections…..