The Birmingham Law Society Bulletin June 2020

BULLETIN

THE MAGAZINE OF THE BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY

KEEPING LAW FIRMS WORKING REMOTELY

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THIS ISSUE

ADVERTISE HERE INSIDE THIS ISSUE THE BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY BULLETIN IS PUBLISHED

BY FRASER URQUHART MEDIA. To advertise your business to Birmingham Law Society members call Fraser Urquhart Media on 0116 2533445 or email jon@fu-media.co.uk or kevin@fu-media.co.uk Editorial enquiries to info@fu-media.co.uk and editorial@birminghamlawsociety.co.uk Disclaimer: Copyright Fraser Urquhart Media. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy in compiling this publication, the Publisher cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies, omissions, breach of copyright or otherwise since compilation. The Publisher cannot be held responsible for any material submitted to the publication, not excluding advertisements. The views expressed within this title are not necessarily the views of the Publisher. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply recommendation by the Publisher. © Fraser Urquhart Media 2020.

4.

A Message from our Officers.

6.

News. A round up of what's been happening at the Society, members' and city news.

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City News. Birmingham reopens and reacts after lockdown.

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Sarah Ramsey, Dean of the Birmingham Campus at The University of Law, talks about taking the University online overnight.

14.

National Free Will Writing Month

16-17.

Regulation Report. Jayne Willetts on The Freelancer Option.

18.

Opinion. Does Legal Professional Privilege Apply To Paralegal Lawyers?

20.

Spotlight on... Birmingham Law Society’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion And Membership Committee

24.

Last Word. Contingency planning with Quill.

CONTACT US Birmingham Law Society Suite 101, Cheltenham House 14-16 Temple Street Birmingham B2 5BG Tel 0121 227 8700 info@birminghamlawsociety.co.uk www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk @birminghamlawsociety Officers April 2020 - July 2021 President – Linden Thomas – University of Birmingham Vice President – Inez Brown – Harrison Clark Rickerbys Deputy Vice President – Stephanie Perraton Squire Patton Boggs Hon. Secretaries – Pardeep Lagha- Gateley Plc and Stephanie Brownlees- Eden Legal Services Ltd The Board 2020/2021 Chair: Dee Kundi Director: Karen Bailey Director: Caroline Coates Director: Laura Daly Vice Chair: Professor Bernardette Griffin Finance Director: Ben Henry Director: Professor Luke Mason Director: Tony McDaid Ex Officio: Linden Thomas Contact c/o Birmingham Law Society www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 3

PRESIDENT’S LETTER A MESSAGE FROM THE OFFICERS On 23rd March the UK was placed in lockdown, in a bid to limit the spread of Coronavirus. As we approach the eighth week of this the Government has now announced its plan to release the country from lockdown, in stages, over the next few months (Coronavirus infection rates permitting). Although we have been provided with some, limited, guidance law firms have been left to make their own decisions as to how best to put in place adequate safety measures to protect staff returning to work, client relationships and interaction with suppliers.

Although many of our firms will have taken advantage of the Government’s financial support, the devastation caused by the Coronavirus lockdown cannot be underestimated – at a local and industry-wide level. In particular we are all aware of the significant 4 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

financial impact that this has had on those firms operating in sectors directly affected by the lockdown (for example property, hospitality and manufacturing).

Understandably, this has been (and will continue to be) a worrying time for those leading and working within our firms.

We would like to reassure you that BLS is committed to supporting you all as well as trying to identify new initiatives to help firms to adjust to what is becoming the ‘new normal’.

At BLS we want to play an active role in helping our members through these difficult times. The reality is this lockdown (or a version of it) will be in place for some time and, as a result, we understand that many of you will have questions or might benefit from conversations with others in our legal community. We are here to help. We have set up a Covid19 advice page on our website that will be updated regularly. In

addition, we are working closely with The Law Society of England and Wales to ensure that regional members’ questions and requests for assistance are addressed at a national level.

Most importantly, we are here to support you locally. If you have any questions or suggestions as to how we can help you, please do get in touch with us at events@birminghamlawsociety. co.uk.

Here are some of the ways we’re supporting our Birmingham-based members: • A new online forum that we would encourage members to use; • Free webinars with BLS partners i.e. Chambers and sponsors; • Weekly calls with Birmingham Law Society;

to the ‘new normal’ by ensuring that hearings court hearings can still take place by video link or telephone. However, naturally the lockdown has led to delays in relation to non-essential hearings.

• At the end of April, HM Courts & Tribunals Service agreed to expand their pilot digital service allowing solicitors to issue personal injury proceedings online.

This service operates under existing Practice Direction PD51S and is an alternative to posting a completed paper N1 Claim to CCMCC. The claim form can then be downloaded ready for service.

• On 13th May, regulations were put into force allowing general estate agent activity to resume in England and Wales, which includes visiting an estate agent or letting agent, viewing a property to rent or buy and moving home.

• Sharing news and advise across social media platforms • The e-version of the bulletin • Senior Partners virtual discussion - looking at the future to see how we can adapt and deliver what our members want In addition, we’re working hard to update members on the ways in which various sectors are being affected during the lockdown. Some examples of this include: • The government has confirmed that key workers include those “essential to the running of the justice system”, including solicitor advocates, duty solicitors and other similar categories.

Naturally, we are all aware that the Coronavirus situation is changing rapidly – as is the Government’s advice. At BLS we will continue to monitor the situation and listen to your concerns.

RIGHTS BASED CHARITY SEEKS PRO BONO SUPPORT Changing Our Lives is a rights-based organisation, that works alongside disabled people and people experiencing mental health difficulties, of all ages, as equal partners to find solutions to social injustice and health inequality. All of their work is rooted in the belief that no one is too disabled and no one’s mental health is too complex to lead an ‘ordinary life’. Their approach rests firmly on the social model of disability. As such, they believe people’s lives should not be limited or defined by labels and diagnoses and are committed to reframing how society views mental health and disability.

In order to maximise the impact of their work in tackling social injustice and health inequality they recognise that they need to enhance their ability to draw on legal frameworks, in particular, the Human Rights Act, the European Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and other relevant community care law.

Changing Our Lives is looking for interested experts in the field of community care law and/or human rights law to work with them to identify how they can become better informed as a team and use legal frameworks more successfully in their work. They are open to suggestions as to the format that this pro bono support might take and would welcome hearing from anyone who would be willing to have an exploratory conversation with them. Call Jackie Taylor Senior Development Officer on 07498 025641

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Please keep in touch, email us with your suggestions or concerns and please keep safe.

Inez, Linden, Stephanie and Tony. Birmingham Law Society Officers

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NEWS

TWO BIRMINGHAM LAWYERS PROMOTED TO PARTNER AT IRWIN MITCHELL The Birmingham office of law firm Irwin Mitchell has announced that Employment lawyer, Elaine Huttley, and Family Law expert Mark Hands, have been made up to Partner as part of this year's promotion round at the Group.

Elaine has considerable experience of contentious and non-contentious employment work including tribunal litigation and advocacy, advising clients on day to day employment issues including disciplinary and grievance issues, drafting contracts and policy documents. She also deals with corporate transactional work and has a particular interest in high level employment disputes involving shareholders and/or senior executives.

Family law specialist, Mark Hands, represents people in the UK and

internationally and has successfully litigated in the most complex family law cases involving divorce, money or children. He has an established practice representing people across a wide range of financial claims on divorce and this includes advising in the context of third party intervenor claims.

Andrew Tucker, Group Chief Executive at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Once again I am immensely proud to announce our new partner promotions. When you take into account our new Associates and Senior Associates, this year we’ve promoted almost 100 people across our Group, which is another clear sign of the continued emphasis we place on investing and developing our people.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has made getting professional and timely advice more important than ever for people and businesses.

Our advisory services are seeing that demand from clients and it’s important we continue to build our group to support that.”

LEAP SOFTWARE KEEPS LAW FIRMS WORKING REMOTELY LEAP Helpdesk and Client success teams have been touching base with our clients to ensure that they can continue to remain productive during the crisis and in many cases clients are now beginning to understand the true value of LEAP. Paula Langley, Practice Manager, Bookers & Bolton says: “We love it! We are all happily working from home immediately and by taking our work machines home we have fully functioning desktops immediately.”

Ben Aslet, LEAP UK Marketing Manager, explains how law firms using LEAP’s cloud-based practice management solution are successfully adapting to remote working and how it’s as near as can be business as normal for law firms using LEAP. He said LEAP have talked to several law firms using the software to find out how they are managing with life away from the office.

The current health crisis means that more and more legal professionals are working from home. Many are showing resilience and agility in the face of the lockdown and those firms that are equipped and have remote-friendly software are faring much better than those have not.

Mike Leeman, BLJ Solicitors comments “We now have 50 members of staff working seamlessly from home, thanks to LEAP Legal Software UK.” LEAP have been working hard to support their clients to acclimatise during lockdown and the feedback that we have received has been incredibly encouraging with many very grateful that they made the transition to cloud software when they did so that their business can continue functioning remotely. Eliot Hibbert of Nexa Law adds: “LEAP is helping our lawyers continue to offer a seamless service in what is a challenging and unprecedented environment.”

6 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

Firms are benefitting from LEAP’s existing integrations with leading software providers such as LawConnect, for secure document sharing and collaboration with their client. As Stephanie Richardson, Office Manager, Evolve Family Law Ltd puts it: “We are able to create correspondence with all the enclosures without printing a single piece of paper, building bundles and briefs virtually with a click of a button and sharing securely via LawConnect.”

Many LEAP firms are using RapidPay which lets clients pay you quickly and conveniently online. Ms. Bushra Ali, Director and Head of Practice of Bushra Ali Solicitors and Immediate Past President of the Leicestershire Law Society says: “We can claim fees from clients much quicker and more efficiently.

LEAP made it possible for us to shift all our staff to work from home and to be able to operate the entire firm remotely.”

Since the beginning of lockdown LEAP have launched some additional exciting new features that will benefit law firms when working from home. Via the LEAP Mobile App, iPhone and iPad users can now make FaceTime video and audio calls to clients and other parties, time record these calls and can invite clients to prearranged FaceTime meetings.

LEAP now integrates with Microsoft Teams, meaning law firms can work across multiple locations and staff can share and collaborate on documents and matters, conduct audio or video calls across the team and schedule client call backs directly from LEAP using Microsoft Teams' instant messaging service.

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NEWS

WEST MIDLAND FAMILY FIRM CLOCKS UP 110 YEARS IN BUSINESS A West Midlands legal firm, which has remained in the hands of the same family for over a century, is celebrating a landmark anniversary.

Award-winning Adcocks Solicitors, which boasts offices in Lichfield, the landmark Crossway building in Birmingham, and also has facilities in West Bromwich, is still headed up by the grandson of the original founder, and is marking its milestone 110th birthday.

Founded just before World War One broke out, Adcocks can trace its roots back to 1910 and the original paperwork from its founding in West Bromwich, by Leonard Hedley Adcock, still survives to this day. Leonard was so dedicated to the firm that his obituary stated that he “collapsed and died at his desk”, the desk his grandson, Senior Director Mark Adcock, still works at as he continues at the helm of the business keeping his grandfather’s legacy alive.

In a wonderful obituary tribute, the Rev John B Hardy stated that Leonard, who died of a heart attack, was “greatly loved by all”, “was of outstanding help to all who were in need”, and “was one who put integrity and humaneness at the top of his list of priorities”.

He added: “I found him a great friend, and he helped me more than language is adequate to express. He was honest in life, and in his judgement of others was both kindly and helpful. This town has lost a great citizen, whose memory will live on.”

LANDMARK INFORMATION GROUP WELCOMES SAFE WORKING CHARTER TO RESTART ENGLAND’S PROPERTY MARKET Landmark Information Group is welcoming the announcement made by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, to restart England’s property market, which includes a Safe Working Charter plan.

Landmark Information Group was one of three leading organisations*1 in the home moving process that recently presented a four-step plan to government on how to kick-start the housing market. The aim was to include the progression of transactions and safe home moving in the first phase of the easing of lockdown restrictions.

In doing so, this would restart the property industry and release over 380,000 properties that were sold subject to contract but unable to complete, as well as provide an important fiscal stimulus for the economy.

Simon Brown, Chief Executive of Landmark Information Group, said: “The announcement by government’s Housing Minister not only supports consumers who have been caught in house moving limbo since March, but protects jobs across the entire property industry. Today, estate agents, conveyancers and removal firms can return to work and get the country moving again, within strict safety parameters.

Mark works alongside his son father-of-two Hedley Adcock and daughter Frances Di Pierri- Adcock, a mother-of-one, who are both directors, and their respective partners - all in all, at least 14 family members have worked in the firm during its long and enviable history.

Remaining true to its West Midland roots, the firm continues to serve businesses and individuals in the region where it’s continued to invest in job creation by extending its branches base and growing its client base across the UK and overseas.

8 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

“The move also supports new-home construction industry who have to turn costs in to income through the sale of their new-house stock, be that on or off plan transactions.

Importantly, the property market acts as an important catalyst for the wider economic recovery, with home movers spending £12 billion per annum, on average, on furnishings, improvements and appliances, which also supports small businesses, the high street and the wider economy.”

For more details regarding Landmark Information Group, visit www.landmark.co.uk.

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CITY NEWS

COLMORE ROW'S 200 DEGREES REOPENS FOR TAKEAWAYS

Coffee lovers can pick up freshly roasted coffee, other hot and cold drinks, and cakes to go at 200 Degrees Coffee’s Colmore Row shop in Birmingham city centre, following its reopening.

Opening seven days a week for takeaway service only, 200 Degrees will be serving its signature freshly roasted coffee, as well as its full range of hot and cold drinks, and a selection of pre-wrapped cakes and sweet treats, ideal for those who are working in the city centre, commuting from the nearby Snow Hill and New Street stations, and for passers-by enjoying their daily exercise.

To fall in line with social distancing regulations, a limited number of customers will be allowed into the shop at any one time and floor markings will be in place to help customers move around the shop safely. In addition, there will only be two members of staff working behind the counters which have new Perspex screens in place, and payments will be cashless only, either via card or the digital 200 Degrees app.

The Birmingham Colmore Row shop is located at 21 Colmore Row and will be open for takeaway service Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm, Saturday 9am – 4pm and Sunday 10am – 4pm.

EXPLORE NATURE WITH THE BIG BRUM BIOBLITZ Birmingham Museums is launching a new nature challenge to encourage families, young people, and adults to become environmental explorers with the Big Brum BioBlitz.

Over the coming months Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, part of Birmingham Museums Trust, is encouraging local people to find and identify as many species of plants and animals as they can see in a short period of time, giving a snapshot of the natural environment.

There are four easy steps to follow – observe, record, identify and share. Find out more at www. birminghammuseums.org.uk/blog/posts/the-big-brumbioblitz.

10 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

HEART OF ENGLAND EXTENDS A HAND TO MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES ACROSS THE REGION Designed to de-stigmatise the topic of mental health and encourage people to find the support they need, there has never been a more pressing time to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week: with reports showing that charities across the UK will see £4bn lost in donations during the pandemic, Heart of England Community Foundation has been rallying to ensure that the service providers across the West Midlands are still able to support those who need it most. With a reported increase in people feeling anxious due to the ongoing pandemic, more and more people are turning to local services to get the help they need.

So far, Heart of England Community Foundation has funded over 265 projects across the West Midlands and Warwickshire, all of which are fundamental to communities. Awarding over £780k, the Foundation has awarded funding to the likes of mental health charities Hope into Action, You Can Flourish, Ordinary Magic C.I.C, Nightlife Outreach and TastlifeUK. Covering the breadth of the region, each one offers mentoring and support to those who find themselves struggling.

If you wish to spread kindness in the way of a donation to the Coronavirus Resilience Fund, please visit: http://virginmoneygiving.com/fund/crf.

For more information about the funding and how to apply, please visit: https://www.heartofenglandcf. co.uk/coronavirus-resilience-fund/

LEARN A POST LOCKDOWN SKILL Birmingham’s Bike Project is helping people to get set up on two wheels and stay on the road safely whilst supporting refugees and asylum seekers living in Birmingham at the same time.

The start of lockdown saw more people buying bikes than ever before. With the extra £2 billion cycle and walking package, and a national cycling plan to be unveiled next month, this trend is set to continue. But only a fraction of us know how to properly fix our bikes and service

COLD WAR STEVE TAKES ON PRE-RAPHAELITES FOR LATEST BIRMINGHAM COLLAGES

LAURA ASHLEY SPILLS THE TEA ON SOME SUMMER REFRESHERS Laura Ashley The Tea Room has shared their recipe on how to brew your own refreshing Earl Grey and lime and mint iced tea at home - perfect for these long hot days!

Satirical collage artist Cold War Steve, Christopher Spencer, is revealing two new collages online which feature characters from notable PreRaphaelite works in Birmingham’s Museum Collection.

The two new collages - Cold War Steve vs The PRB, hosted online at www. thesocial.com/cold-war-steve-vs-the-prb/ - see Cold War Steve using his humorous style to place characters from the work of Pre-Raphaelite artists, such as Henry Wallis and John Everett Millais, into unlikely scenes, with the aim of bringing them to new audiences.

they have launched online first. All three collages will go on display when BMAG is able to re-open.

You can pre-order a poster of Benny’s Babbies here for £15. Sales go towards supporting Birmingham Museums, and the valuable work the team does with local communities, while the doors to the nine museum sites are temporarily closed.

The first sees the actor Steve McFadden, who regularly appears in Cold War Steve’s satirical scenes, on the top deck of a Birmingham bus surrounded by Pre-Raphaelite figures. The second piece uses John Byam Liston Shaw’s Boer War (1990-1901), Last Summer Things Were Greener as the backdrop to a surreal scene which includes Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, and Dominic Cummings.

The three Cold War Steve works were due to be revealed at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG), but due to the temporary closure of the gallery,

Earl Grey & Lime Iced Tea (above) Ingredients: 200ml Earl Grey tea 1.5tbsp Lime cordial Ice cubes Sliced lime for garnishing Method: Brew one large pot of Earl Grey tea in freshly boiled water for three minutes.

Add lime cordial to the hot tea and stir, then leave to cool. Mix the cool tea with ice cubes into a serving jug, add slices of lime to finish.

Mint Iced Tea Ingredients 100ml Peppermint tea 50ml Sugar syrup 50ml Apple juice 1 tbsp Lime juice Mint leaves Ice cubes Method Brew a pot of peppermint tea in freshly boiled water for three minutes, then leave the tea to cool. Once the peppermint tea is reduced to a cordial, pour into a storage bottle. Stir in the sugar syrup, apple juice and lime juice. Mix the cool tea with ice cubes into a serving jug. Add the mint and stir.

Find out more about how to support Birmingham Museums at www. birminghammuseums.org.uk/support-us.

charges can add up. The need for some core bike maintenance skills has never been higher.

To support refugees and asylum seekers and to help the rest of us with our post lockdown skills, The Bike Project is offering virtual one on one Dr Bike sessions with pro mechanics and sells perfectly refurbished second-hand bikes. During the online session, people will receive help from an expert and learn new essential skills. The cost of each session and the sale of every bike goes straight back to helping refugees and asylum seekers who desperately need two wheels.

Visit The Bike Project to sign up for a Virtual Dr Bike Session, donate towards the Emergency Appeal or give your old bike a new life at www.thebikeproject.co.uk

OPINION

UNIVERSITY WENT TO ONLINE ALMOST OVERNIGHT We are now delivering employability sessions, study skills workshops and open days and events for prospective students online with hundreds of students signing up for online events. Regular staff team meeting, quizzes and virtual drinks via Zoom are now the new normal.

Many students at the Birmingham campus rely on the University’s IT equipment so we had to arrange laptop loans and in some cases financial assistance for students who needed help with equipment, broadband and data costs. As part of our commitment to widening participation we continue to support students in need and also ensure that our Welfare and Counselling services moved online. We are very grateful to Steve Bavington and his team at Chaplaincyplus who continue to support our staff and students remotely.

We will continue to liaise with our colleagues in the legal community as to how we can ensure that students can complete their courses. We are working with the SRA and BSB to agree how we can adapt our assessments and have agreed with the SRA the ways that we can continue to deliver the PSC online while maintaining the rigour and integrity of our courses and assessments.

I write this eight weeks to the day when The University of Law took the decision to cease face to face teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic writes Sarah Ramsey, Dean of the Birmingham Campus at The University of Law. As with our colleagues in the legal profession, we have had to shift rapidly to working from home, while also ensuring that students could continue their courses.

We had been planning how we would cope with the shutdown of a campus or indeed all campuses across the country, since it became clear that COVID-19 was heading to the UK but it is probably fair to say that the speed with which we had to transition was faster than anyone could have anticipated.

We already deliver a number of courses online, so we were confident that we had the necessary tools to do this but it involved a massive effort to move all face to face teaching online. Through a huge combined effort involving all departments, from IT to Academic, and Student Services to the Media team we recorded over 200 online lectures within days and now have more than 400 tutors delivering over 2000 Collaborate sessions weekly.

We are also looking ahead to the future. We are exploring new Pro Bono initiatives that can be delivered online, free webinars on remote working and leadership and, of course, planning for the next academic year.

The ULaw Study Guarantee confirms that students will be able to start their courses regardless of whether we can open or not in September, with provisions to deliver content online and for students to join face to face when they are able to.

There are still no clear answers as to what the next academic year will look like but we continue to plan for all eventualities. We will continue to keep our client firms updated on our plans for our business and those involving students on the GDL, LPC and apprenticeships. What this crisis has shown is the resilience and commitment of our staff and we have more creative options in terms of delivery to students than we otherwise considered. Despite the challenges we are all facing, we have been able to continue with our core mission to provide excellent teaching and training and to educate the next generation of legal and business professionals.

INDEX PARTNERS WITH THIRDFORT FOR REMOTE CLIENT ONBOARDING Lockdown and social distancing has presented inevitable difficulties when verifying client identity with clients unable to obtain certified copies and sending original documents to their solicitor’s office is no longer an option. This has left solicitors with two options: time-consuming and frustrating workarounds; or risk carrying out insufficient and unsafe CDD checks, potentially exposing themselves to fraud and heavy fines from the regulators.

Index has partnered with Thirdfort to enable solicitors to carry out fully remote and automated 12 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

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OPINION

THE NATIONAL WILL REGISTER - FREE WILL REGISTRATION MONTH distribution of an estate, and the issues that surround an unknown Will coming to light, but also the loss of probate work because the Will and the law firm that wrote and stored it are unknown to the executors and beneficiaries.

Sydney Mitchell Solicitors have registered their Will Bank. Tracy Creed, Head of Wills, Trusts and Probate and Partner comments: “Registering our clients’ Wills, old and new, not only ensures that the last Will is being used to distribute an estate but it proves that registration of all our Wills ensures that they are located quickly and efficiently.”

It is a natural assumption that because a Will is written it will be found upon death. This is not always the case. In 45% of the searches carried out directly by members of the public (as opposed to through their solicitor), a Will was found through a Certainty Will Search.

Certainty the National Will Register are holding their annual Free Will Registration Month from Monday 18th May until Thursday 18th June. Providing law firms with the opportunity to register their Will Bank with Certainty the National Will Register completely free of charge, which provides many benefits to a law firm and their clients.

Registering your clients’ Wills can assist those searching for a Will by ensuring that it can be easily and quickly located by the next-of-kin or Executor following a death. The National Will Register has seen an increase during March and April (during the lockdown period due to Covid-19) from solicitors and Will writing firms wishing to start to register their clients’ Wills.

For over a decade, Certainty the National Will Register has built a significant National Will Register and Will Search service that protects law firms, testators, executors and beneficiaries each and every day.

Thousands of solicitors and Will writers use Certainty the National Will Register, ranging from sole practitioners to over 50% of the Legal 500 and the majority of the most respected firms in the country.

There were over 750,000 additional Wills registered in 2019 which has contributed to the 8.6 million Will registrations that are now in the system. This number continues to rise daily thanks to law firms and their clients who recognise the benefits of Will Registration.

Registering a client’s Will not only protects against the incorrect

Will Registration has ensured that law firms who register their Will Bank with Certainty the National Will Register receive more probate work. The highest reported amount of additional probate work received, due to Wills being registered by a single firm, was 86 probates. The firm stated that if their Wills had not been registered, then they would not have won the probate work (in the majority of cases, they would not have known their clients had died!)

You can register any of your clients’ Wills that were made prior to May 2020 for free. Law firms that have not yet uploaded their Will Bank can also upload their archived Wills for free throughout Free Will Registration Month.

SYDNEY MITCHELL ANNOUNCE SENIOR PROMOTIONS Amanda Holland – Senior Associate, Gemma Parker – Senior Legal Executive, Kirran Kauser – Senior Solicitor, Sarina Sheinmar – Senior Compliance and Costs Officer and Adam Kerr – Associate.

Karen Moores, Senior Partner, Sydney Mitchell LLP, commented: “We are proud to announce promotions recognising the great work that our people do for our clients and even more so the amazing support given during these most unprecedented times. All the Partners at Sydney Mitchell raise a ‘virtual toast’ to their hard work and celebrate their success. We look forward to celebrating further at the end of the lockdown.”

Sydney Mitchell LLP is pleased to announce a number of senior promotions within the firm; rewarding hard work and determination.

Senior promotions awarded are: Roy Colaba – Senior Associate, Shelley Collingbourne – Senior Associate, 14 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

Sydney Mitchell LLP’s specialist teams include employment, commercial property, company and commercial services, litigation and insolvency. Private client teams include family law, residential property, dispute resolution, immigration and wills and probate, tax and trusts and personal injury.

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REGULATION REPORT LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: THE FREELANCER OPTION WRITTEN BY JAYNE WILLETTS, SOLICITOR ADVOCATE, JAYNE WILLETTS & CO SOLICITORS. With the Law Society warning of widespread problems for firms “large and small” unless the Government’s financial support is extended to most solicitors’ firms, thoughts turn to the future and how the profession will manage its way out of the Coronavirus lockdown.

Those who find themselves no longer gainfully employed, but who do wish to continue in legal practice, may wish to give serious thought to the option of becoming a freelance solicitor. This new form of practice, which became possible last year as part of the SRA’s Standards and Regulations reforms, may now become more mainstream than anyone predicted at the time as a result of the market volatility that we are all now facing.

Sadly, it is now clear that many firms will not survive the current crisis and many more will have to cut costs by laying off staff.

THE REGULATORY BACKGROUND The provisions relating to this new form of practice will be found in the SRA Authorisation of

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Individuals Regulations from last November.

They introduced what was quite a controversial change at the time by allowing solicitors to practise on their own account without the need to undergo the formal SRA authorisation process so as to become a recognised sole practice.

Those choosing this option will therefore be personally regulated by the SRA, and subject to the Code of Conduct for Individuals, but will not be part of an entity which is duly authorised as such.

The relative lack of bureaucracy in

More on all aspects of being a freelancer appear in the SRA’s guidance note on this subject: https:// www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/ ethics-guidance/preparing-to-becomea-sole-practitioner-or-an-sra-regulatedindependent-solicitor/ What regulatory considerations are there for the freelancer?

Since the freelancer will not be part of an authorised practice, the Code of Conduct for Firms will not apply, nor will the Accounts Rules (as cannot hold client money except as explained above).

Those parts of the Code of Conduct for Individuals that will be particularly important will include most of section 8 dealing with client care, including the complaints handling procedures at paras 8.2 – 8.5 and the need for information as to the regulatory controls that the advisers is subject to. In this regard the freelancer will be “regulated” by the SRA, but not “authorised and regulated” by them, as are firms and recognised sole practices.

The Compensation Fund will be available to their clients and those parts of the Transparency Rules that relate to costs information, complaints and insurance must also be complied with, but not the need to display the “clickable logo” as that is reserved for authorised practices only.

becoming a freelancer will offer obvious advantages to those needing to resume paying legal work at short notice.

As to the ongoing advantages, there will be no annual regulatory firm fee to pay and no bulk renewal form to complete. Full compliance with the Indemnity Insurance Rules will not be required but insurance to a level that is “adequate and appropriate” will need to be in place. The freelance solicitor will nonetheless have to have a current practising certificate and so will be required to pay that fee.

The more detailed rules for freelance practice will be found at r.10.2. This permits solicitors to practise on their own account to provide non-reserved and reserved legal services alike without the need for the firm to be recognised.

Those providing reserved legal services, however, are subject to certain conditions, to the effect that they must:

• have practised for a minimum of three years since admission; • be self-employed and practise in their own name, and not through a trading or service company; • not employ anyone in connection with the services provided; • be engaged directly by the client with fees being paid directly to them; • have a UK practising address; • have adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance for all of their legal services; • not hold client money other than when it is permissible to do so in office account under the exemption from normal client account requirements at r.2.2 of the Accounts Rules and the funds are limited to fees and unpaid disbursements on account.

An SRA Freelancer Notification Form must be completed and submitted to the SRA before a solicitor can commence practice under this model and a DBS check might be required if the area of intended practice will encompass regulated work under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.

There will be those for whom freelance practice will be preferable to the more conventional model but for others it may well come to be a lifeline to continue making a living from legal practice in the changing world that is now unfolding before us.

With thanks to my Infolegal co-directors Bronwen Still & Matt Moore for their assistance with this article

Jayne is also a director of Infolegal Ltd www.infolegal.co.uk which provides compliance services to law firms

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 17

OPINION

DOES LEGAL PROFESSIONAL PRIVILEGE APPLY TO PARALEGAL LAWYERS?

BY AMANDA HAMILTON, CEO OF NALP, AND JANE ROBSON, DIRECTOR OF COMPLIANCE AND REGULATION AT NALP

and barristers but covers the whole gambit of legal professionals, including paralegals. So, if this privilege is a Human Right, and a paralegal is, by definition, a lawyer, why is it not clear that Privilege extends to the relationship between a client and their lawyer if that lawyer is a paralegal?

The Legal Services Act 2007 (section 190) states that, where a person (P) is not a solicitor or barrister but “provides advocacy services as an authorised person in relation to the exercise of rights of audience” then “Any communication, document, material or information relating to the provision of the services in question is privileged from disclosure in like manner as if P had at all material times been acting as P's client's solicitor.”

An interesting question was raised in the office this week – are Paralegals covered by Legal Professional Privilege? Those paralegals who work for solicitors and barristers are covered under their employer’s umbrella, but what about those Paralegals who work as independent legal advisers? Where do they fall?

Under the Legal Services Act 2007, provision of legal advice is no longer a Reserved Activity – i.e. one that can only be undertaken by an ‘authorised’ person or body, such as solicitor, barrister, legal executive or actuary, etc.

Couple that with the virtual removal of the availability of legal aid, there has been a massive surge of Professional Paralegals in the industry providing legal advice directly to clients. Many courts and judges are allowing paralegals who are members of a professional membership body, such as NALP, to represent their clients in court, but even this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are afforded the rights of Legal Professional Privilege.

Legal Professional Privilege is seen as a fundamental right under the law, not just in England and Wales, but in the rest of the UK and even in the USA. It has been part of Common Law in the UK for over 400 years and is even enshrined under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which, whilst protecting the right to keep all correspondence between individuals confidential, goes further to strengthen these rights when it comes to any exchange of information or correspondence between a lawyer and their client.

In a Factsheet published by the European Court of Human Rights in January 2019, it was explained that this additional protection was justified by “the fact that lawyers are assigned a fundamental role in a democratic society, that of defending litigants. Yet lawyers cannot carry out this essential task if they are unable to guarantee to those they are defending that their exchanges will remain confidential.” We must also remember that it is a right of the client, not of the lawyer, with only the client having the right to waive Legal Professional Privilege.

The term ‘lawyer’ is defined as “one who practises or studies law” so it is not restricted just to solicitors 18 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

As Paralegals may be providing advocacy services to their clients in places such as before a District Judge in a Small Claims Court or before the Chairman of a Tribunal, where they do have a right of audience, it would then follow that a client who chooses a Paralegal to provide the legal services they require, should be able to enjoy Legal Professional Privilege, wherever it may be applicable in those scenarios.

This being the case, it should logically follow that if a Judge in a higher court, such as the County Court, has accepted an application for a paralegal to advocate on behalf of their clients, any exchange between that paralegal and their client should also be covered by Legal Professional Privilege.

We also need to look at the fact that there are some paralegals who are authorised to instruct barristers directly or even those who are Police Station Accredited. Surely those attended by such Paralegals should be able to rely on being covered by Legal Professional Privilege in such circumstances?

Whilst one would like to think that most Judges would look at a circumstance on its individual merit, this is no guarantee that Legal Professional Privilege would be granted. From what we have been able to find, it would appear that the subject simply has not been raised in a situation whereby it has gained sufficient publicity for the legal sector really to take note. This may mean that courts are routinely allowing the rights of privilege, but without it being tested, we are not going to know for sure.

Something that also makes this a very grey area is the existence of some judgements that would seem to run parallel to this argument; for example, in 2013’s Supreme Court ruling over Prudential plc and Prudential (Gibraltar) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and HM Inspector of Taxes which concluded that Chartered Accountants providing legal advice to their clients in respect of tax law were NOT covered by Legal Professional Privilege.

The legal sector has changed significantly in recent years, with the role of the Professional Paralegal Lawyer coming more and more into its own. With this in mind, perhaps it is also time that we cleared up the grey areas on such fundamental issues as the application of Legal Professional Privilege.

BACK TO BUSINESS: HELPING LAW FIRMS ALONG THE ROAD TO RECOVERY Written by Matthew Newton, Oosha

HELPING YOU ALONG THE ROAD TO RECOVERY As a partner of Birmingham Law Society and a technology company focused on the legal sector, we have been working with a number of specialists to provide insights to law firms - to help you through these uncertain times.

We have been running regular educational sessions with independent experts in leadership, risk and compliance, business strategy, cyber security and remote working. Everyone of our guests specialises in helping law firms with short term challenges, while providing some perspective on the longer-term picture.

You can watch recordings of the following sessions: ● Survive and thrive in the pandemic era ● How law firms can manage the risks of COVID-19 ● Leadership during the pandemic ● How law firms can adapt to remote

working ● Using technology to improve back office operations ● An introduction to Microsoft Teams for professional services ● How law firms can get more from their data

The Coronavirus pandemic is arguably one of the legal profession’s greatest challenges, but perhaps its biggest ever trigger for change. An opportunity to modernise and to move away from outdated practices.

In this rapidly evolving environment, no single course of action will be right for every firm. Nevertheless, those best positioned to prosper in the longerterm will right now be focusing on the fundamentals - maintaining client relationships, taking care of their people and building resiliency.

Today, most firms have moved beyond crisis response, and are looking further ahead - reimagining the shape of their business as it adapts to the next normal.

They will be trying to achieve the right balance between a focus on near-term

pressures, while laying the groundwork to move into recovery mode as quickly as possible, when the opportunity comes.

This will result in strategic initiatives being reinstigated and likely adapted - in some cases they may even be accelerated. It might mean building new capabilities or enhancing practice areas that are still performing.

For some, it will mean innovation in service delivery and operations to improve client retention and the productivity of their teams. And for others, it will undoubtedly lead to the greater use of technology to support a remote workforce and to improve business continuity.

● Turning to cloud for resilient business continuity Visit www.oosha.co.uk and click on the link to ‘Road to Recovery’ at the top of the homepage.

We’ll be adding new sessions and other practical insights every week - you can just sign-up to receive notifications. And, if there is anything you’d like us to cover just email your suggestions to: info@ oosha.co.uk

Now is the time to prepare for many different future scenarios, while navigating the short term. www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 19

SPOTLIGHT ON:

Birmingham Law Society has 14 professional committees, dealing with different areas of legal practice and/or areas of common interest to the profession. They are the engine room of the Society, undertaking work that keeps our members updated with developments in their areas of law; ensuring they are well connected with key stakeholders such the courts, police and other bodies and representing their interests, and those of their clients, to Government, regulators and others. All of our committees are made up of volunteers drawn from the Birmingham legal community.

In this issue we shine a spotlight on the work done by the Equality, Diversity And Inclusion Committee chaired by Karen Bailey, Bailey Wright & Co and the Membership Committee charded by Caroline Coates.

A full list of Birmingham Law Society’s committees can be found on our website, along with contact details of the committee chairs. If you are interested in joining a committee, please do get in touch with the chair.

What is the role of the Equality, Diversity And Inclusion Committee committee?

To increase the understanding and awareness of the issues affecting those groups with characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010 and developing practical ways of addressing those issues.

Tell us about some of the main events/activities that your committee has worked on?

The Gender sub-committee organised the 100 years of Women in Law event at Marco Pierre Whites, which was very extremely well attended and informative and launched our interorganisational mentoring scheme for women. It was a real celebration of the achievements of women in the legal profession over the last 100 years as well as an inspiration for what can be achieved in the future.

The Disability sub-committee coordinated an insightful and thought20 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

provoking panel discussion on the issues facing those working in the profession with disabilities or being a carer for someone while working in the legal profession. The evening was most informative and a great success.

Another successful occasion was the Raising Aspirations in Law event (RAIL – putting young lawyers on the right track) that was held at Aston University. A number of law students from various institutions mingled with employed lawyers in order to learn more about the practice of law and tips for entering the profession.

What would you say will be the biggest issue in the area that your committee focusses on in the next 12 months?

The nature of the committee means that there are always a number of issues that need to be considered, and we will continue to be led by those issues our members tell us are important to them.

BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY’S EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AND MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

What is the role of the Membership committee?

The membership committee aims to ensure that the Society delivers on the objectives of being a members' organisation by retaining existing members, targeting new members and considering the criteria for membership and subscription rates.

Tell us about some of the main events/activities that your committee has worked on in the last year?

During 2019/20 a review of the subscription levels concluded that significant changes to the subscription model was not appropriate at this time but that a small rate rise was necessary as there had been no increase for several years.

Some additional smaller changes were introduced to bring consistency to the charging rates, as approved by Council and Board. Membership has continued to increase including new members from the Bar and universities.

What would you say will be the biggest issue in the area that your committee focusses on in the next 12 months?

For the next 12 months, the committee will continue to focus on subscription rates and delivering value for money for the Society's members.

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OPINION

FIVE THINGS EVERY LAWYER SHOULD BE ASK

Ian Biddle & Richard Olive, Midlands based senior financial consultants at Wesleyan, the specialist financial services mutual for lawyers, answer the five questions that everyone should be asking.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is having an impact on all parts of life, and personal finances are no exception.

Whether it’s investments, pensions, insurance or savings, it’s important that individuals are best prepared to manage the impact of the outbreak and here are answers to the five questions that everyone should be asking when discussing their finances.

22 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

What about protection cover?

The possibility of disruption to your day-to-day life from coronavirus underlines the importance of protection cover to help mitigate the financial impact of any sort of illness or injury.

If you haven’t already done so, a good first step is to review what cover you have in place, and whether this is the right level for your current needs, personally and professionally – this includes understanding and checking if existing company benefits apply to you.

Options could include solutions such as a professional expenses

plan to help cover any costs in a business that you’re responsible for, or to help meet the costs of hiring someone else to carry out work, if you are unable to.

It is critical that individuals ensure that they understand exactly what their policies covers should they need to claim. Your financial consultant can help with this process.

What does coronavirus mean for my investments?

Coronavirus has had a global impact, and there isn’t anyone that hasn’t felt the effect of the pandemic on their investments in one form or another.

KING THEIR FINANCIAL CONSULTANT RIGHT NOW With the right strategy, this could be a good time to invest. Consider first how current market conditions align with your appetite for risk and remember that investing is generally carried out over the long term – at least a period of five years.

could mean further down the line.

Whether you’re considering accessing capital tied-up in the market, or thinking about making new investments, talk to your financial consultant before making any big decisions.

As a first step, it’s important to consider factors such as where savings are held, as well as what proportion of money is immediately at hand, and what proportion is tied-up in investments.

What does it mean for my pension?

I’m over 55, should I access it now?

If you think you might need to use your savings, consider exactly how much you will need, and then work to redirect some funds into instant-access savings accounts if necessary so you can access the money quickly and easily when required

Coronavirus could have pension implications – particularly for those in a defined contribution (DC) scheme, where the value of their pension pot is driven by the performance of its underlying investments.

In times like these, some people may be feeling under financial pressure, and – if they’re eligible to do so – might be considering drawing down pension funds to support their personal cashflow.

However, it’s important to consider the longer-term implications that this could have.

Given current market performance, withdrawing funds now could mean getting less out than six months ago and potentially less than what you might receive in six months to come.

Starting to access pension savings from a DC scheme now could also have implications on the amount that can saved tax-free into your pension scheme in the future.

Everyone’s specific circumstances will vary, however, in the current conditions it’s generally accepted that investments are best left untouched, if you can afford to do so.

While no one can say with any certainty how long it will take for global markets to recover, leaving investments in place could give them a chance to regain any value they’ve lost when markets improve. As with any investment activity, it’s important to remember that the value could go down as well as up, and that you may get out less than you put in.

On the other hand, current market conditions could also present new opportunities if you have capital to spare.

Certain flexible drawdown situations, such as putting a pension pot into a flexi-access drawdown scheme, can trigger the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) – a measure that reduces the amount that can be saved tax-free into a pension pot every year from £40,000 to just £4,000.

Those considering accessing pension funds now but hoping to rebuild, or continue building, pension savings in the future will need to keep this in mind – any contributions they make that exceed the MPAA will be taxed at their marginal rate of income tax.

As with decisions about general investments, take time to speak to your financial consultant to ensure you fully understand what any pension decisions

What should I do about my savings?

In the current climate, some people may need to access savings to help meet day-to-day costs.

With interest rates at historic lows, it’s advisable that funds are only kept in low-interest accounts to provide for emergency or planned expenditure over the short term – any longer and the value of money could depreciate in real terms.

What else should I be doing to support my finances?

Investigating the wider support on offer to help manage your finances could also be valuable if you experience personal financial pressure in at the present time.

One option is to consider seeking a ‘mortgage payment holiday’ – a temporary suspension or reduction of repayments on mortgages.

The Chancellor has announced that all lenders will offer mortgage payment holidays for up to three months to those affected by coronavirus.

While individuals will need to remember they will still be liable for any payments they defer, the temporary break could free-up cash during this uncertain time to help meet other day-to-day expenses.

For any financial-related questions you might have during the coronavirus outbreak, it’s important to seek specialist advice.

Should you need any further information visit www.wesleyan. co.uk or call 0800 980 2277

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 23

OPINION

2020 CONVEYANCING: ADAPTING TO A NEW NORMAL We’re half way through 2020 and what a year it has been so far. It’s fair to say it’s not necessarily the year we had all planned for when considering our resolutions or business ambitions back in January writes Tony Rollason, Regional Manager – Legal, Landmark Information.

At the end of March, we saw unprecedented restrictions come into force – essentially halting many business activities that could not be conducted safely, compliantly or from home. For property lawyers, while progress on transactions could happen behind the scenes for most, the inability of estate agents to actively market properties at one end of the chain, and for removers to support the physical moving process at the other, meant many transactions were in a state of limbo until the blockages at either end of the funnel could be removed.

As a business, Landmark Information Group worked with two other leading organisations that help to facilitate a property transaction, to lobby the Government on how to safely ‘kickstart’ the housing market.

A letter was written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, to detail their view of how government could quickly get the sector operating again and critically, bridge the gap until momentum gathers.

Working collectively to make the case to government, the aim was to support consumers while also protecting jobs across the property industry.

The group’s proposals included getting the home moving market working quickly by defining a ‘safe move’ and ensuring that the sector is one of the first to reopen under the phasing out of ‘stay at home’ measures.

In addition, ensuring that those who were part way through a transaction are protected by lenders continuing, where feasible, to honour mortgage offers. Providing a fiscal stimulus for the market, enabling a speedier recovery, as well as ensuring the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme was extended for businesses beyond the restart of the market, to allow firms to rebuild income.

Since writing to the Secretary of State shortly after the housing market was paused, the group held a number of 24 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

virtual meetings with policymakers across government.

Businesses across the conveyancing industry face particular challenges from Covid-19. The time it takes for the pipeline of transactions to be rebuilt, and the receipt of income on completion by many in the sector mean the right policy decisions by government are essential to support the market’s overall recovery. After all, the market has the potential to act as an important catalyst for the wider economic recovery: home movers on average spend £12 billion per annum on furnishings, improvements and appliances supporting small businesses and the high street.

On 13 May, the Government gave the industry the go ahead to restart England’s property market, which includes a Safe Working Charter plan.

In doing so, over 380,000 properties that were sold subject to contract but unable to complete were effectively released, as well as providing an important fiscal stimulus for the overall economy.

Following the restarting of the market, the West Midlands MP and housing minister Christopher Pincher wrote in the Shropshire Star: “For some people, one of the hardest aspects

of this has been that they have been unable to progress their plans to move, as the housing market came to an almost complete standstill. In the West Midlands, it has meant more than 30,000 home moves stalled, according to Zoopla. Restarting our housing market will also get our economy moving, helping pay for our vital public services that have been a lifeline for so many communities across the region.

Now, we are working in an evolving ‘new normal’ with conveyancers either continuing to work from home, or in socially-distanced safe working environments that adhere to the latest guidance. The flexibility provided by online working and cloud-based software has come into its own this year, and many businesses will be looking at ways of extending this further to provide additional enhancements.

We therefore await the next six months of the year to see what they will bring; one thing is for sure, property transactions will continue and we remain at your side to support you, your business and your clients. www.landmark.co.uk Tony Rollason is a Regional Manager of Landmark Information, which is the UK’s leading provider of land and property search information, including digital mapping and environmental risk reports for property professionals.

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Contact your Landmark Account Manager or search provider for details or visit www.landmark.co.uk/landmark-legal/riskview-conveyancer

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LAST WORD CONTINGENCY PLANNING WITH QUILL

BY JULIAN BRYAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, QUILL

The SRA expects its regulated law firms to ‘continue to meet the high standards the public expect’ and have ‘appropriate contingency plans in place for disruption’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

With that in mind, it should be no surprise that as the largest combined legal cashiering and payroll bureau in the UK, we at Quill have always been hot on our business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) planning.

And for good reason: if you were the back office for 7,000 lawyers and paralegals, with annual billing in the order of £1 billion or responsible for generating 8,000 payslips on 26 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

behalf of various employers with accompanying transfer of over £54 million to employees’ bank accounts, wouldn’t you be hot on it too?

As we’re now living and working through difficult times, this forethought is serving our clients well. I’m sure none of us could have made a New Year’s Eve forecast that we’d have an international pandemic on the scale of coronavirus within 100 days, and yet here we are navigating the biggest health crisis the world has ever experienced.

Our contingency planning has most definitely benefited our clients as we’ve helped them maintain the compliance standards which the SRA and other regulators demand on behalf of consumers. That, coupled with our legal accounts, practice and document management applications all hosted in the cloud, has meant Quill and our clients have had a

relatively simple switch to a workfrom-home model. There’s been no service disruption whatsoever.

Of course, our industry regulator admits these are ‘mitigating circumstances’ and acknowledges that some processes – financial management duties, in the main – may not be completed on time. As such, a level of leniency is afforded around submission deadlines.

However, the SRA maintains its absolute focus on protection of client monies. Ultimately, cashiering tasks themselves still need to be done.

This means you need to have a contingency plan just in case we hit a second spike, or if your cashier is unable to work for health or shielding reasons.

We’ve put together some practical notes on the actions we took – and might well still need to take – to

keep our software servicing 7,000 legal professionals and our outsourcing staff servicing legal cashiering and payroll compliance. Hopefully you can draw inspiration for your own BCDR reviews: SMS system – We use an SMS alert system to send messages by text to any group of managers, teams, offices or rolebased employees. SMS is still the easiest and quickest cross-platform messaging tool and, with the right SMS system, you can alert staff by job title or location to attend an office or stay at home.

Even before the pandemic was a pandemic, we took the opportunity to double check our staff’s personal details were present and correct – that’s mobile numbers, next of kin, etc – and, of course, our database was fully up-to-date and GDPR compliant.

With a return to physical premises unlikely until sometime later in the summer, if you haven’t already done so, now’s the ideal time to check or collate your own list of employees with latest contact details and set up a similar text alert system to ours.

We use intellisoftware.co.uk.

Hardware & software – In the run up to lockdown and with the media getting increasingly excited – with hindsight, rightly so – we decided to our examine workingfrom-home arrangements team by team.

This helped us to iron out a few problems with regards to equipment at home.

It was only after we closed our offices that we realised one of our failings. We’d earmarked a pool of laptops that were put to good use during the trials but we hadn’t accounted for the fact we’d need every item in one pool simultaneously during the real-life event. A basic error!

Anyway, the problem was easily solved and we’re repurposing our hardware replacement strategy to a laptop-only model going forwards as we may end up with more home working, fewer desks in the office and more hot desking; something which is looking to become a plausible possibility for many organisations.

Is your own infrastructure fit for purpose?

Not only hardware but also software? For the latter – software – cloud systems have become a necessity these past weeks.

That’s exactly what we offer – a webbased complete practice management system. Even better, to help accommodate audits and reviews, it’s provided with a free accountant’s licence. Clients using Interactive can empower both their staff and accountant to work anytime, anyplace, any device with a straightforward online login thereby eliminating any impact from unforeseeable disaster.

Our own cashiering team utilise Interactive to manage clients’ accounts as well.

Whether you need cloud access to your matters, documents, legal forms, bundling tools or accounts, Interactive’s got you covered.

Phone system – Phones are the bane of every company but essential for communicating with existing and wouldbe consumers. Fortunately, we’d moved our phone system to the cloud several years ago. Clever functionality facilitated the diversion of our office phones to corresponding mobiles or landlines at home.

Now we’re enhancing our phone system by installing a soft phone on every laptop or PC. Together with a headset, every member of staff has our entire phone system functionality and address book to hand. We can receive and transfer your calls from home to home more readily.

But we mustn’t forget the loyalty and dedication of our staff typified by our receptionist – Lynda. She’s the glue binding everyone together across our offices. Being rather shy of techie things like soft phones, on lockdown she packed up her trusty phone kit and, with some careful labelling, re-assembled it on her dining room table!

"The SRA expects its regulated law firms to ‘continue to meet the high standards the public expect’ and have ‘appropriate contingency plans in place for disruption’ during the coronavirus pandemic."

Take our phone system advice and check out gamma.co.uk. It’s an infrastructure investment that’s proven to be worth every single penny at Quill.

Outsourcing services – Knowing that we’re the financial compliance backbone for so many practices and the payroll service provider for many businesses too, getting our staff socially isolated urgently whilst remaining in direct contact with clients, colleagues and team leaders was paramount. And with the SRA stressing the need for firms to put contingency measures in place, it might be somewhat easy to predict that we’ve had considerable interest in our outsourced cashiering services during the coronavirus outbreak. The same applies to our outsourced payroll and typing services.

The sudden move to home working has been quite a shock for certain individuals and companies. While Zoom has been a popular choice for many organisations, we’ve opted for Google Meet which allows for meetings to be open-ended, mimicking an open-door policy.

To try and keep morale high amongst Quill employees, we moved our regular staff ‘News, Views and Eats’ updates to Google Meet format and even held a two-hour all-staff AGM online at the end of April.

Emotions ran high in the early days as we acclimatised to the new ways of working.

As ‘accountable to you’ is our brand strapline and embedded into our ethos, we made a commitment to top up salaries for any furloughed staff, sent everyone some Easter chocolate and have branded facemasks in the pipeline!

The bottom line is this: we’ve always had fully operational legal cashiering, payroll and typing bureaus on hand throughout lockdown. If you’re working on a skeleton staffing level, or looking for a contingency plan short- or long-term, we can bridge the gap for as long as required or be retained on standby in case a future need arises.

Insurance – Early on, we reviewed our insurance cover regarding empty offices and home working. Our brokers, romeroinsurance.co.uk, have been truly fantastic and advised us to regularly inspect our offices to make sure our policy stays valid. Insurance cover has also been extended to address companyowned computer equipment being used by employees at home.

Is your insurance policy suitable for your new set up? Perhaps a check in with your own broker is due?

There are other practicalities to bear in mind at this time too. As per all of the above, enabling remote working is a key priority at the moment. When Boris told us on that fateful Monday evening that we should work at home with immediate effect, we were ready. Decamping to home offices was an orderly event. We activated our well-rehearsed BCDR plans beginning with an SMS alert to staff initiating migration to home working within a 24-hour period.

Which is exactly what we did.

The next stage is to begin planning for our collective returns to all of our offices.

The Law Society has issued a framework, based on governmental guidance, which is about conducting a risk assessment and protecting your staff within the on-site environment. Read the lawsociety.org.uk/ topics/coronavirus/practical-framework-forlaw-firms-and-sole-practitioners-on-returnto-the-office web page.

Get in touch with Quill to strengthen your BCDR plan today. Email info@quill. co.uk, call 0161 236 2910 or visit www. quill.co.uk.

Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and was also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association from 2016 to 2019. Quill has been a leading provider of legal accounting and case management software, and the UK’s largest supplier of outsourced legal cashiering services to the legal profession for over 40 years. www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 27

Five reasons to choose Index Looking to take the hassle out of property searches?

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To find out how we could help your business, contact Tom on 0121 293 1185 or email Tom.marriott@indexpi.co.uk.

8

www.Birminghamlawsociety.com

0121 293 1185 Midlands@indexpi.co.uk