October Birmingham 2013 - Birmingham Law Society · If you are a lawyer and a member of the Birmingham Law Society, you can be added to the mailing list by emailing: [email protected]

One Region I One Profession I One Voice

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL “MEET YOUR SOLICITOR” EVENT

October2013Birmingham

The Birmingham Law Society’s Membership Magazine

Birmingham Solicitor’s Group Rounders Tournament

Thoughts On Common Pitfalls For Solicitors

Birmingham Community Law Centre

Will Licensing Private Investigators Reassure

The Legal Sector?

Where Now For The SRA And Its Financial

Stability Reviews?

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Will Licensing Private Investigators Reassure The Legal Sector?

FEATURE | 15

Get Your Nominations In Today!

LEGAL AWARDS 2014 | 09

Greaat200Leaders Launches Growth Board •Mills & Reeve Appoints Non-Executive Director •

LEGAL NEWS | 12

Where Now For The SRA And Its Financial Stability Reviews?

REGULATION REPORT | 14

Dates for your diary

EVENTS | 22

George Green Expands Its Real Estate Team •Birmingham Lawyers Confident Of An Economic Upturn Invest •

MEMBERS’ NEWS | 20

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Contents

President’s Report, Martin Allsopp

Thoughts On Common Pitfalls For Solicitors

1904

Another Successful “Meet Your Solicitor” Event

11

The Latest CPD Courses From BLS

LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT | 16


FEATURE | 06

Birmingham Solicitor’s Group

FEATURE | 08

President

4 | www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

As I dictate this report I have just digested the

September Bulletin only to be told that I have a

deadline today (30th September) to complete

my President’s Article for the October Bulletin –

time does certainly fly!

I chaired a full Council Meeting earlier this

week, when I was able to report that there

are obvious pleasing signs of recovery in the

property market certainly south of the city

where the number of instructions have literally

tripled over the last two months, which is not

only an encouraging sign but in my experience

a most unusual feature for late September. I

was encouraged further having spoken to a

number of the Partners of the city firms about

the improvement in the commercial market

– wouldn’t it be a pleasure for all of us to see

those ‘to-let’ and for ‘sale signs’ in the city

centre be dismantled as soon as possible.

Directors of our leading companies here in the

West Midlands across the board specialising

in many forms of manufacturing are also

indicating signs of recovery and I was full of

beans when I opened the Council Meeting.

The President is expected to comment on all

spheres of Law however and I was brought

down to earth very quickly when we turned to

the matter of Family Law and Criminal Law.

Legal Aid cuts are certainly taking effect.

Despite commendable regional and national

efforts to fight off the severity of the cuts, it is

clear that a number of our practices here in

Birmingham that specialise in Criminal Legal

Aid in particular will either have to merge,

consolidate, diversify or close. At its most

drastic, I hear that of some 75 firms locally up

to 65 firms may have to consolidate or cease

to practice and soon there will be a limited

number of firms able to provide Legal Aid work

across the region. Solicitors specialising in

Family Law may be even harder hit by reason of

the abolition of Legal Aid in most areas of that

subject. I speculate whether if there are indeed

continued statistics to indicate improvement in

the economy whether the Government might

reconsider its attitude as to the severity of Legal

Aid cuts but I suspect that everyone reading

this Article knows the answer to that particular

question.

The news is not all doom and gloom however.

As I say, there are many firms that will be able

to look forward to continued improvement and

hopefully expansion of their Practices sufficient

to take on additional Training Contracts for

those about to enter into the profession. Before

I next write, we shall have held our newly

qualified event at the Hyatt on 24th October,

when I really am looking forward to welcoming

our newly qualified Solicitors across the region.

Prior to then we shall have held our Pro Bono

event at No5 Chambers on 14th October – an

event that will have held more significance

than ever given the circumstances that I have

highlighted. We shall also have held our open

meeting with the SRA on 17th October at the

impressive offices of Wragge & Co which, as

this Article goes to press, is more than two

thirds subscribed. Time permitting there will be

an opportunity for all who attend the event to

raise their concerns with the SRA – I hope to

provide a synopsis in the next Bulletin.

Finally, you will have noticed in the Headline

photograph that our Sutton Coldfield event

took place in mid-September. The event was a

tremendous success and I was so pleased to

see members of the public engage both with

the Officers and with members of the local

firms. On behalf of BLS I really am trying to

promote the regions of the city and to ensure

that High Street Practices continue to survive

and thrive in their existing locality. n

Martin Allsopp

President Birmingham Law Society

P.s. I have just been able to offer some

personal advice to a small firm affected

by the withdrawal of Berliner from the PI

market. If any of you are having problems in

renewing PI insurance and would welcome

the assistance of BLS please do contact us

or call me confidentially to discuss. You are all

aware of the consequences of trading without

professional indemnity cover!

PRESIDENT’S REPORTBy Martin Allsopp | President, Birmingham Law Society

Good morning everyone

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Coventry Law Centre is establishing a specialist

legal advice service in Birmingham to provide a

foundation that will develop to fill the gap left by

the closure of Birmingham Law Centre. Our plan

combines the expertise, local knowledge and

contacts of some of the staff who were employed

by BLC with the organisational strength,

management and leadership capability and

experience of Coventry Law Centre. Together we

will create Birmingham Community Law Centre.

We have attracted funding from Barrow Cadbury

and other local trusts, and we are bidding (by

invitation) to The Baring Foundation/Comic Relief

and Unbound Philanthropy.

What are we bringing together?

The service will initially be based on a core of

specialist expertise that had been established

within BLC before its closure: a migrants’ rights

team. The migrants’ rights team developed

a very specific legal aid practice dealing with

cases where immigration, housing and benefits

join together. They built up an extensive network

of friends and other agencies that referred

clients directly to them. Some of these partner

agencies are at the forefront of understanding

and developing new and innovative challenges

to public bodies with reference to the clients

they serve. These agencies include ASIRT, Red

Cross, Refugee Council, Hope Housing, Lifeline

Options and Asylum Support Appeals Project.

There are very few practitioners dealing with

this area of work and the casework undertaken

by BLC before it closed demonstrated an

enormous need in Birmingham for this work. The

advisers involved also demonstrated an ability to

undertake complex and challenging casework:

1. For the last two years BLC has been

challenging the DWP over their refusal to award

Social Security benefits to Zambrano carers.

This is a particular type of migrant family where

EU law grants a derivative right of residence to

a third country national who is the sole carer

of a British child. Connections made with the

barristers at Garden Court Chambers led to

other work: BLC joined them in a test case

on section 17 Children Act and suitability of

accommodation and levels of financial support.

2. BLC has won some high-profile cases in the

Court of Appeal in the past few years including the

housing benefit private sector bedroom tax case,

Burnip, Trengove and Gorry as well as the local

authority’s duty to accommodate migrant families in

Birmingham City Council v Clue. Currently they have

Sanneh v SSWP going through the Court of Appeal


The new service is based at the Bangladesh Centre

in Sparkbrook, directly on the Number 8 bus

route – which connects the eight inner-city wards

where deprivation is highest and where the migrant

population is 76%. Unemployment, low income

and destitution levels are therefore much higher

amongst migrant communities, who historically

have relied on services such as that provided by

BLC to access services to which they are entitled.

For example, migrant families with ‘No Recourse

to Public Funds’ who are entitled to support and

accommodation from local authorities are being

turned away by social services at an alarming rate

as councils look to reduce expenditure in the face

of large budget cutbacks. Frequently, the only way

in which these families can obtain an assessment

let alone access services is by threatening the local

authority with judicial review.

Sparkbrook itself is the second most deprived

ward in Birmingham and, contained within it, is

an area which is within the most deprived 5%

nationally. It has a very long established migrant

community: 64% of the local population is from

the South Asian community with just under 10%

from the Caribbean. There are growing numbers

of Somalis, including refugees and asylum seekers

as well as those who have moved here directly

from other countries in the European Union. The

Sparkbrook ward also has the youngest population

in Birmingham with 40% below the age of 20 .

77.6% of the population is defined as non-white in

the 2011 census and 42.5% were born overseas.

Many people live in overcrowded conditions with

several generations sharing accommodation in

order to reduce living costs. According to the

2011 Census data, 22.5% of households are

overcrowded - almost double the percentage

for Birmingham as a whole. Home ownership is

high at 43% although many also live in rented

accommodation privately owned by other

members of the community . The local area is

well served by shops that stock most items that

the local community particularly likes and need

and the shops are run by members of the same

local community who share a common culture

and language. There is thus little need for many

members of the community to leave the local

area: much of daily life can be conducted by

walking a short distance to the shops or to family

or other community members’ houses. More

than 50% of local residents have no access to a

car. There continues to be a great emphasis on

face-to-face contact in daily transactions.

At 18.8%, unemployment is also higher than the

Birmingham average and average household

income is lower than £20,000. Compare

this with the Moseley and Kings Heath ward

where unemployment is at 8.8% and average

household incomes are in excess of £50,000 per

year. The combination of low income and greater

numbers of children means a greater reliance on

child benefit and child tax credit although, unlike

other deprived areas, there is evidence of under

claiming ESA and Disability Living Allowance.

What will the new service offer?

We will build on the partnerships BLC had with

a number of other migrants’ rights organisations

to provide practical legal solutions to problems

as they arise. For example, three years ago,

asylum seekers making the transition from asylum

support to mainstream benefits immediately after

being granted refugee status were frequently

left without funds. BLC developed a system

of interim payment applications for delayed

benefit payments, including challenges by way

of threatened judicial review for continued delay.

This approach successfully unlocked access to

support for over 100 refugee families. The interim

payment mechanism was then shared with partner

organisations, who were then able to make the

applications themselves on behalf of their service

users, alerting the DWP to the need for a much

quicker response - which eventually avoided the

need for judicial review for delayed payments.

We will also work closely with Birmingham

CAB, providing specialist advice within a

partnership of advice agencies that is funded

by Big Lottery. In this partnership, we will take

the same approach as described above: we will

use our specialist legal expertise to support and

empower the work of other advice agencies in

the city: using the law to provide solutions to

problems caused by inefficient and ineffective

systems and working together to ensure that

those who are marginalised and disadvantaged

have their rights upheld. n

Feature

BIRMINGHAM COMMUNITY LAW CENTREA new specialist legal service based in Sparkbrook, Birmingham


Increasing client and commercial requirements

resulted in the need for an innovative administrative

set-up with flexibility to balance significant

quantities of dictations created by fee-earners

with rapid processing in order to achieve speedy

reports. It was vital that the Wilkes Partnership had

the most intuitive document workflow available.

Mark Abrol, Managing Partner, investigated the

concept of digital dictation systems with the

intention of boosting internal productivity. He

found Birmingham-based dictation specialist,

SpeechWrite Digital on his doorstep. Mark

specified that the solution developments not

only had to prove its efficiency internally, but

had to result in a tangible “value for money”.

SpeechWrite led a technical consultation and

recommended a complete dictation overhaul,

opting for the reputable Philips brand and

supplying Philips Digital Pocket Memos,

SpeechMikes and SpeechExec Pro transcription

kits to Wilkes’ fee-earners and secretaries.

The SpeechExec Pro software allows the firm’s

partners to view dictations and document

processing in a more “company-wide” view. This

means that, departmentally, entire work load and

live document processing information is visible

for monitoring and influence. This interaction

supports the firm’s adopted attitude towards

shared working; the accessibility and visibility of

“live” work and work-profiles (including urgency

and confidentiality) are now open to view and the

opportunity to “share” work from an overloaded

transcriptionist to a less-active site is now possible.

This element has resulted in massive

productivity increases amongst the individual

teams and the firm as a whole, and on a

reputation scale, has prompted a better

response time to clients.

Mark Abrol comments on the developments: “The

digital dictation solutions have totally supported

our new ethic – the migration has been massively

beneficial to the team and the company. We saw

a total change of attitude of our support staff –

the practice of sharing work to boost our internal

productivity was becoming a “norm” and we are

able to deploy our resources better. Each team

is now pro-active in seeking outstanding tasks

for processing in advance of them becoming

urgent, and along with optimised response times

to clients, our internal employee satisfaction has

been maximised by work-loads being shared and

unmanageable influx of tasks reduced.”

The Wilkes Partnership

www.wilkes.co.uk

Feature

CENTRAL BIRMINGHAM LAW FIRM SEES THRIVING PRODUCTIVITY WITH A DIGITAL DICTATION SOLUTION FROM SPEECHWRITEEstablished in 1933, the Wilkes Partnership LLP holds proud position of being one of the leading independent medium-sized UK law firms operating from the Midlands with 147-staff and 4 offices.


The evening was a great success and saw

Berrymans Lace Mawer/The Connexion

Partnership taking away the winners’ medals.

The BSG would like to thank Robert Walters for

sponsoring the event.

A drinks event to welcome the newly qualified

solicitors to the BSG was also held on 25

September 2013 at Primitivo. It was great to

see many new faces at the event, which would

not have been possible without the support of

sponsors Wesleyan for Lawyers and Robert

Walters.

The BSG’s annual dinner will be held on

18 October 2013. If you would like more

information about this event, or the BSG, or

would like to become a member, please see our

website at: www.birminghamsolicitorsgroup.

com. n

Feature

BIRMINGHAM SOLICITOR’S GROUPBirmingham Solicitors’ Group would like to thank everyone who attended the rounders tournament on 15 August 2013 at Harborne Cricket Club.

Birmingham Solicitors’ Group has nominated

Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham

as its chosen charity for 2013/14. Ronald

McDonald House provides free ‘home away

from home’ accommodation for families with

children staying at Birmingham Children’s

Hospital. Going to a hospital far from home

can be a frightening experience for a child

and for the family it can mean financial

devastation, splitting the family unit and

even sleeping in cars to ensure they can

be near their seriously ill child. Ronald

McDonald House exists to keep families

together and provide a safe and supportive

environment for them to live during this

difficult time. Each year, the House looks

after more than 1,000 families. Many come

from across the West Midlands, UK and

even from abroad so their children can

access the specialist services provided by

Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Jessica and Clive Barzillia stayed at Ronald

McDonald House Birmingham when their

son Isaac had an operation on his liver and

later returned when he had to undergo a

liver transplant that saved his life - “Ronald

McDonald House Charities provides a real

life-line to families in times of great worry.

I can honestly say I don’t know how we

would have coped, emotionally or financially,

without the House. We were able to chat to

other parents with children in the hospital

and struck up some enduring friendships.

Thanks to their help and support we were

able to focus all our energy on helping our

baby through a very lengthy and difficult

recovery, and managed to retain some sanity

and humour along the way.” n

If you would like any further information

or want to get involved in fundraising for

the House, please contact Birmingham

Solicitors’ Group CSR Officer Kyleigh Bland

at [email protected]




HIGH STREET EVENTOn a breezy Saturday morning (14th September) BLS

brought its banners and stand to the High Street of

Sutton Coldfield. Unlike the Solihull event, the breeze

was a paltry force and the newly acquired Gazebo

was constructed with minimal difficulty.

Having learnt from the Solihull event that members

of the public wish to shop first and ask legal

questions later, we arranged for our event to

run from 10.30am to 14.30pm. The stand was

constructed at the opening to The Parade Shopping

centre and proved to be a real success. Many

shoppers stopped by, glancing inquisitively at our

stand with the BLS Officers and members of various

Sutton Coldfield firms available to offer advice

throughout the morning and early afternoon. My

thanks go to my Officers and the solicitors of the

local firms who attended; Safeer Choudhry from

ESN Solicitors, Adrian Denton, Craig Robinson

& Lucy Johnson from Bell Lax Solicitors, Heather

Bacon Campbell of Rutherfords.

As you will see from the photograph a number of

shoppers took the opportunity of making various

enquiries as to Probate, Employment issues,

Boundary Disputes and the like and in particular a

request from one family as to the whereabouts of

their Wills following the closure of their Solicitor’s

firm a number of years ago.

We were able to engage on a friendly and informal

basis and following telephone calls subsequent to

the event were able to introduce members of the

public with specific legal issues to firms within the

Sutton Coldfield area.

Following our experiences both in Solihull and in

Sutton Coldfield I am absolutely convinced of the

need to engage on the High Street with members of

the public, who appear to be far more comfortable

in asking legal questions on their own territory so

to speak. It is also a useful opportunity for BLS to

demonstrate that it has the ability to deliver advice

to the public on a pro bono basis.

Another event is planned for early Spring, hopefully

the weather conditions will be just a little warmer!

My thanks go again to my Officers and those

Solicitors firms in Sutton Coldfield who were able to

support the event.

Martin Allsopp

President

Birmingham Law Society


H iggs & Sons has been

instrumental in shaping the

future of two Midlands companies

who are joining forces in a deal

steeped in history.

Addison Saws is taking over

Cradley Heath-based Dynashape

in the deal overseen by specialist

corporate lawyer, Jamie Partington

from Higgs & Sons. Associate

solicitor Stewart Coles dealt with

the related property arrangements.

Addison Saws, based at Lye, near

Stourbridge, is the market leader

in importing state-of-art metal

sawing machines while Dynashape

pioneered the use of sophisticated

machinery to resharpen blades.

Both companies – founded in 1956

and 1961 respectively - have since

branched out into wider areas of

the sawing market.

Gary Knight, managing director of

Addison Saws, said the new deal

made perfect commercial sense

for both companies – but also had

a sentimental feel.

Mr Knight said Addison Saws

currently employed 32 people

while 18 people worked at

Dynashape. All the jobs would

be safe and staff would continue

to operate at both sites for the

foreseeable future: “Both are long-

established Midlands companies

which have led the way in their

respective fields and I am delighted

that we have been able to bring

them together in this way. There is

certainly a sentimental element to

the deal because of the histories of

the companies involved, but it also

makes hard-headed business sense.

Mr Knight also paid tribute to the

work done by Higgs and Sons’

corporate lawyer Jamie Partington in

helping draw up the deal: “We have

had excellent advice from Jamie and

his colleagues at Higgs. As well as

pro-actively protecting my commercial

interests they have acutely understood

the sentimentality behind the deal.”

Jamie said the deal had taken

around a month to take shape:

“It is particularly pleasing that

we have been able to help two

Midlands companies with such a

proud heritage as a result of this

arrangement.” n

HIGGS HELPS TO CUT THE RIGHT DEAL FOR TWO RESPECTED BUSINESSES

GREAT200LEADERS LAUNCHES GROWTH BOARD

The great200leaders scheme -

created by Birmingham City

Council as part of the Business

Development Programme to

help SMEs implement growth

and expansion plans - has

announced the creation of

a Growth Board, backed by

Birmingham professional firms

The Wilkes Partnership LLP,

Orbis Partners LLP and Clay

Rogers & Partners Limited.

The great200leaders scheme is

a unique personal performance

and business growth scheme.

Aimed at individuals and

companies in the Greater

Birmingham and Solihull LEP

area, the scheme offers 200

business leaders the chance

to receive over 100 hours of

coaching and mentoring, with

financial assistance available for

qualifying businesses.

Legal News

Left to right Jamie Partington and Stewart Coles, Higgs & Sons and Gary Knight, Addison Saws

Philip Chapman,

of Stourbridge

based law firm Wall

James Chappell,

is providing

specialist advice

to CMA Moldform

in relation to its exciting new deal

as the casting manufacturers for

Hawk Wargames, a brand new

company, dedicated to the design,

development and production of class

leading miniatures and wargames.

Hawk’s first venture is the 10mm

scale sci-fi massed battle game,

Dropzone Commander and their

greatest ambition is to provide a

whole range of innovative and high

quality wargames in multiple scales,

and multiple game universes.

Mr Chapman explained “CMA are

an ambitious Birmingham based

manufacturer. I have been working

closely with the company for the last

two years to help put in place the

right deal for this exciting venture.”

Hawk Wargames recently exhibited

at GenCon Indianapolis 2013,

the gargantuan American gaming

show was held in August where

Hawk launched their two player

Starter Kit and displayed the new

Resistance Race kit. Another

big success in their world-wide

marketing campaign. n

STOURBRIDGE LAW FIRM ADVISES ON WORLD CLASS SCI-FI WARGAMES DEAL

NATIONAL LAW FIRM MILLS & REEVE APPOINTS NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

UK law firm Mills & Reeve has

announced the appointment

of Christopher Newell as a non-

executive director.

Christopher is a non-executive

director and chairman of

the audit committee of the

London-based subsidiary of

the Japanese bank, Mizuho.

He was also a founder director

of corporate finance firm,

Altium Capital Ltd, and fund

management company, Artemis.

Mark Jeffries, senior partner

at Mills & Reeve, said: “We

are delighted to be welcoming

Christopher to the board. He

will bring a completely different

perspective to the table. As an

‘outsider’, Christopher will have

a clearer view of external factors

that could affect the firm and will

provide constructive challenge to

our strategy and objectives.”

Christopher added: “I am

delighted to join the board of Mills

& Reeve. I have been impressed

by the firm’s ambitious growth

plans and I hope that I can assist

in developing the strategy to

bring these to fruition.” n

The Wilkes Partnership Solicitors

will be providing mentoring

support to participants on legal

issues, whilst Clay Rogers will be

available on employee benefits,

auto-enrolment and wealth

management and Orbis Partners

on funding, corporate finance

and exit planning. All three

are urging ambitious business

owners and directors in the West

Midlands to make the most of

the pioneering £8m programme

designed to create the next

generation of business leaders

and entrepreneurs. Each will

contribute to the programme

covering core issues that directors

and shareholders of growing

businesses need to know, as well

as offering one to one workshops

with each participant. n


WHERE NOW FOR THE SRA AND ITS FINANCIAL STABILITY REVIEWS? Earlier this year the SRA unveiled its ‘Risk

Outlook 2013’ at a major conference here in

Birmingham. The risks were categorised as ‘current,

emerging and potential’. It is perhaps no surprise

that top of the list of 11 major considerations was

‘financial difficulty’, with even the most cursory

checks of the legal publications reporting time

and time again on the adverse factors bearing

down on law firms of most types and sizes.

Continuing this rather gloomy theme the SRA

has now reported on a large scale exercise that it

undertook earlier this year to probe the finances

of about 2,000 firms that were known to be reliant

upon personal injury or legal aid work. Explained

as being part of its work to ‘help firms struggling in

tough economic times’ around 700 of these firms

were already under ‘active supervision’. Of the

remaining 1300, about 1,000 firms (77%) provided

financial information and 300 failed to respond.

At the time of writing this article the SRA is still

assessing and evaluating the information that

it has collected, but in a recent ‘glass half full’

announcement it is reported that ‘around 50%

of the firms that responded are not scoring at all

on any of the financial indicators, demonstrating

that there is no evidence of financial difficulty

requiring engagement at this stage’ No doubt many

such firms (500 in total) will be wondering why

they were put to the trouble of responding to the

SRA when there were, apparently, no problems

to report. It seems a fair question to ask why a

financially stable firm should be required to spend

management cost and time - in some cases

instructing external accountants - in order to assist

the SRA in its understanding of the sector. Some

may feel that on this occasion the SRA has acted

more like a research institute than a regulator.

Well managed firms are already aware of their duty to

report to the SRA should they be undergoing ‘serious

financial difficulty’ as per Outcome 10.3 of the Code,

meaning that there should be no need to require solid

firms to respond to surveys for the SRA’s benefit.

One must also question the significant SRA

resource being expended on ‘active supervision’

of those firms which are in financial difficulty,

especially as such firms do not contribute to

the cost of that exercise. Does the rest of the

profession consider it justified to fund the work

with these firms in helping to nurse them back to

financial health, or would the SRA be better served

simplifying and streamlining the procedures for

firm takeovers and closures? The barriers to a

take-over can be substantial if a narrow view of

client confidentiality is taken, making it difficult to

transfer a body of work to a more secure operation.

All in all it does seem that a considerable amount of

the SRA’s time and energy is being spent on firms

in financial difficulty at the expense of its other

services. We are all aware of reduced activity on

the investigation and disciplinary front and the 30%

reduction in applications to the Solicitors Disciplinary

Tribunal during the last 12 months. Applications

for authorisation even as a sole practitioner are

estimated to be taking around 15 weeks.

The Supervision Team is expanding to deal with

the increased workload. A recent open day at

the Cube encouraged interest from potential

candidates ‘to liaise with law firms on a regular basis,

advising them of potential risks and ensuring their

conduct is in the best interests of their clients’.

It is now two years since the concept of ’outcomes-

focused regulation’ was imposed upon the

profession. Two of the most senior personnel

responsible for this strategy have recently announced

their departures for pastures new. Is it now time for

the profession to ask whether the SRA is pursuing

the right priorities in the most appropriate manner? n

By Jayne WillettsSolicitor Advocate

Jayne Willetts & Co - Specialists in Professional

Regulation

Jayne Willetts is a director of Infolegal Ltd – providing the Colpline practice advice

helpline and consultancy advice for law firms – www.infolegal.co.uk

Regulation Report

When it was announced on Tuesday

3rdSeptember 2013 by Keith Vas, Head of the

Public Select Committee that he was giving

an ultimatum to SOCA (Serious and Organised

Crime Agency) to reveal the names of the

companies, including Legal practises, that had

been involved with ‘rogue investigators’ who

had supplied them with illegal or unlawfully

gained material, this got me thinking about

what effect this type of media and the potential

for Licencing has on the investigative industry

and raises 2 fundamental points:

1. What value reputation holds and how will it

now be tarnished from all involved, be a client

or investigator?

2. How can you be sure the information

supplied is lawfully obtained?

I believe that reputation is one of the most

valuable assets the industry can have. Expert

Investigations reputation has been hard fought

and hard won in an industry which is currently

unregulated. An investigator may have earned

the reputation for gathering information at

any cost, legal or otherwise but I suggest that

once unlawfully gathered it then ceases to be

evidence as it cannot be introduced into any

legal forum for fear of disclosure.

As a legal entity, its assumed that you

would want your sub-contractors to act in a

lawful and ethical manner and whilst maybe

instructing in good faith you can then find that

you are documented in the disclosed list by

either SOCA or Mr Vas, or if an organisation

that wilfully turned a blind eye or profess

ignorance then that negligence may now have

a disreputable effect on the reputation of the

company. Care needs to be taken.

I conduct many presentations within legal

practises under the title of ‘The Role of the

Modern Investigator in the Legal Sector’, which

cover the subjects’ of ‘blagging, computer and

phone hacking’ and found delegates are always

eager to learn what the lawful position is and

to understand what can lawfully be gathered

for disclosure which then in turns enables

an educated request for lawfully obtained

information.

This leads into point 2, how sure can you

be that an investigator is acting lawfully and

ethically? My view at present (no guidance

has been given from Government yet as to

what Licensing will entail however suggest

training, registration and a criminal records

check), is that Licensing will not prevent ‘rogue

investigators’ despite measures, you can still

‘blag and hack.’ Equally just because you

are members of various associated bodies

does not allow the investigator to be ‘policed’

effectively.

It’s imperative that the individual investigators

police themselves and their staff and build a

reputable reputation. At Expert Investigations

we have always adopted an open and honest

approach and provide an audit trail for all

investigations we carry out whether they

be financial enquires, fraud investigations,

surveillance operations, covert vehicle tracking

deployment or computer data investigations.

This process ensures all information is fully

documented to enable our client to feel at ease

that the evidence can be used in any legal forum.

In conclusion I believe that putting actual

efforts into understanding lawful investigations,

building close, honest business relationships

and investigators establishing internal audit

trails will offer a much better financial and

reputational outcome and provide confidence in

the evidence being given! n

If you or your team would like to discuss a

presentation or our services please contact

David Kearns directly on

[email protected] T:

02476 630498 M: 07879 482902

Connect on LinkedIn or follow Twitter

@ExpertDave

Feature

WILL LICENSING PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS REASSURE THE LEGAL SECTOR?By David Kearns, Managing Director- Expert Investigations



Learning & DevelopmentProfessional Services

BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY

Course List October - November 2013

Course Highlights

Full details of all our seminars are advertised on our website and regular emailers are sent out to our members. We are currently in the process of confirming further seminars, debates and conferences; if you have any specific training requirements or would like to suggest future topics, please do email me at [email protected]

Date Time CPD Hrs Course Title Area Speakers Fees £ Members Non Members

Please see our website for further seminars: www.birminghamlawsociety.co.ukTelephone: Elizabeth Dziergas, Professional Services Executive on 0121 230 1709Email: [email protected]

Theft, Fraud & Dishonest Employees *** Free seminar

Birmingham - TFDE Seminar

Date: Wednesday 2 October 2013

Time: 9:00 registration and breakfast, 9:30 - 12:30 seminar

Venue: Eleven Brindleyplace, Brunswick Square, Brindleyplace,

Birmingham, B1 2LP CPD: N/A Fees: FREE

To book your place, please contact: Expert Investigations marketing@

expert-investigations.co.uk or by telephone on 02476 630 498

Back by popular demand and due to various

requests, our bi-annual half day seminar is

coming to Birmingham. During the seminar

delegates will learn the methods and reasons for employee theft, fraud,

false absenteeism, fraudulent claims and employment issues which

require a lawful investigative approach to deal with the internal issues.

Questions that we will try and answer include: Who is the individual?

Why do they commit issues? Are investigations lawful? How can you

investigate, covering techniques & equipment, such as surveillance,

observations, covert vehicle & asset tracking, interviewing & general

investigation; Benefits of Computer data retrieval.

During the seminar delegates will examine case studies and live cases

in an informative, friendly and “eye opening” manner

The Price Is Right – “Come On Down”

An interactive and fun event focusing on share valuation issues


Time: 17:30 Registration and buffet 18:00 - 20:00 workshop

Venue: BDO, 125 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 3SD

CPD: 2 Hour CPD Accredited by the SRA Fees: £45 + VAT

Speakers: Sat Plaha, Paul McKeown & Michael Wong, Ed Pepperall QC

Birmingham Law Society’s Dispute Resolution Committee in

association with BDO, leading forensic accounting experts,

are looking for “contestants” to take part in a “Price Is Right”

event on Tuesday 8th October 2013. The event is aimed at lawyers who are

involved in disputes surrounding the valuation of a business and will provide

an insight in getting to the right price (or valuation) of a business. This event

will also include an interactive team/ table based competition (with proper

02-Oct-13 9:00-12:30 n/a Theft, Fraud & Dishonest Employees Regulatory Expert Investigations Free Free Birmingham - TFDE Seminar 03-Oct-13 9:00-12:00 3 Essential Update on Jackson with Commercial Prof. Dominic Regan Professor Dominic Regan and Ed Pepperall QC Ed Pepperall QC £120 + VAT £150 + VAT08-Oct-13 17:30-20:00 2 “The Price Is Right – “Come On Down” Litigation Sat Plaha £45 + VAT £45 + VAT An interactive and fun event focusing on Paul McKeown share valuation issues” Michael Wong Ed Pepperall QC 10-Oct-13 13:00-16:30 3 Hot topic: Data Protection Update Compliance Alison Matthews £99 + VAT £115 + VAT15-Oct-13 12:00-14:30 2 Mortgage Fraud: ‘How criminals are bucking Regulatory Stephen Carris £50 + VAT £70 + VAT the trend of a cautious lender market to secure LBSLegal millions fraudulently in 2013’ 17-Oct-13 12:30-17:00 4 Advocacy Training *** limited spaces Advocacy Ed Pepperall QC, £20 + VAT £20 + VAT (Oct Session) St Philips Chambers and District Judges 29-Oct-13 9:00-17:30 7 Management Course Stage One (MC1) Management Doug Robinson £170 + VAT £210 + VAT Kinch Robinsdon 29-Oct-13 12:30-14:00 1 Embedding cultures of Risk Management – Regulatory Stephen Carris, £50 + VAT £70 + VAT Like joining the gym? LBSLegal 31-Oct-13 9:00-11:00 n/a The Fraudsters that Got Away... NEARLY! *** Regulatory Expert Investigations Free Free Birmingham - TFDE Seminar 31-Oct-13 17:15-19:30 2 The Human Rights Act at 15 - Human Rights Elizabeth Isaac QC £25 + VAT £40 + VAT Coming of age or past its sell by date? Phil Shiner students £10 + VAT James Welsh 05-Nov-13 13:00-16:30 3 Annual Compliance Update 2013 Regulatory Jayne Willetts £99 + VAT £115 + VAT Matthew Moore 14-Nov-13 12:30-17:00 4 Advocacy Training *** limited spaces Advocacy Paul Bleasdale QC, £20 + VAT £20 + VAT (Nov session) No5 Chambers and District Judges15-Nov-13 10:00-15:30 n/a ILFM “Excellence in Leagal Finance” Practice Professor Stephen Mayson conference 2013 (London) Management Ian Smith check www.ILFM.org.uk for finer details Andrew Garbutt Brian Rogers


buzzers!) on a real litigation case study.

Speakers Comperee: Ed Pepperall QC, St Philips Chambers: Ed is

recommended as “excellent” for commercial litigation by Chambers

and Partners. He is said to “display an aptitude in difficult matters

which is little short of prodigious”. The 2009 Guide comments that “his

no-nonsense attitude and diligent, thorough approach ensure that he

remains a favourite”.

Sat Plaha, BDO LLP: Sat is head of Forensic Accounting Services in

the Midlands and South West and specialises in expert accounting

matters, with over 20 years’ experience. He regularly works with

lawyers to evaluate evidence and provide expert opinions on

accounting matters for civil litigation and arbitrations. He has specialist

expertise in S994 disputes, loss claims from contractual disputes,

expert determinations, business interruption and competition matters.

Paul McKeown, BDO LLP: Paul is head of valuations in Midlands and

the North. He specialises in both contentious and non contentious

valuations. He has advised on over 1,000 commercial valuations in

almost all market sectors and has extensive experience of valuations

of intellectual property, unquoted shares, businesses and investments.

He has Stock Exchange accreditation for valuations under the City

Code and is on the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ approved list

for appointments in valuation disputes. Paul has reported as expert on

many occasions and has given evidence in the High Court.

Michael Wong, BDO LLP: Michael is the valuations regional senior

manager based in the Midlands He has experience of advising on

the valuation of share options, unquoted shares, and businesses.

Coupled with a background in engineering and tax, he has advised a

range of clients across various sectors and industries including retail,

media, automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, technology, electronics,

engineering and telecommunications.

Hot topic: Data Protection Update

Date: Thursday 10 October 2013

Time: 13:00 registration and lunch 13:30 - 16:30 seminar

Venue: Birmingham Law Society, 43 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS

CPD: 3 Hours CPD Accredited by the SRA

Fees: member: £99 + vat, non-member: £115 + vat

Speaker: Alison Matthews

Chapter 7 of the SRA’s Code of Conduct requires practices to comply

with data protection legislation, but do your staff understand the

difference between personal data and sensitive personal data and

what to do with a subject access request? With the SRA’s focus on

risk and the powers of the Information Commissioner to levy unlimited

fines, legal practices need to ensure that their systems and controls

are robust enough to manage data protection risks. This course is

designed to provide practical assistance on how to improve your

systems so you and your staff comply with your data protection

obligations. Led by Alison Matthews, compliance consultant, formerly

data protection compliance officer at a national law firm and author of

the Data Protection Toolkit (to be published by the Law Society) you

will consider; Data Protection Act – overview; The eight principles;

Data controller or data processor? Assessing the risks; Systems

and controls; Subject access requests; Protecting data/information

security; Monitoring compliance; Horizon scanning – a new regulation

Alison Matthews is renowned as one of the UK’s leading experts on

money laundering and professional conduct, she has been advising

on AML for over 18 years. Her practical, commercial and no nonsense

approach to compliance comes from 10 years’ experience in a top

10 law firm, at a senior level, including being MLRO. Her 12 years in

Professional Ethics at the SRA (10 years giving guidance as the Senior

Investment Business Executive) ensures a deep understanding of

regulation and what lies behind the Code of Conduct. She chaired the

Money Laundering Taskforce between 2008 and August 2012, having

been a founder member in 2000 and represented the legal sector on

the Government’s Money Laundering Advisory Committee and SOCA’s

SARs Regime Committee. Her AML Toolkit was published by the Law

Society of England and Wales in November 2012 and she has recently

lectured on AML for the LSEW, the Law Society of Scotland and the

Isle of Man Law Society.

Advocacy Training *** limited spaces (October Session)


Time: 12:30 registration & lunch, 17:00 finish

Venue: St Philips Chambers, 55 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS


Birmingham Law Society is running an advocacy

training program for those lawyers who have limited

experienced at attending District Judge appointments

in civil/commercial claims. The aim of this training is to provide an

introduction to advocacy in District Judge appointments and to ensure

that our local lawyers are meeting the minimum standards of advocacy

that are expected by the Courts.

The program for Thursday’s advocacy training will consist of: an

introduction to advocacy at St Philips Chambers where Ed Pepperall QC

(and others) will offer an interactive workshop covering the basic elements

of good advocacy; This will then be followed by a tour of the Birmingham

District Registry and a meeting with one or two District Judges who will

discuss the “do’s and don’ts” of advocacy before District Judges.

We have limited spaces available for this event and so will be operating

a “first come, first serve” basis. The program will begin at 12.30pm and

should finish at around 5pm. The cost of this event has been limited

to £20 per person. If you are interested in attending please book your

place online.

Management Course Stage One (MC1)


Time: 9:15 registration, 9:30 - 17:30 workshop, *lunch included



Fees: £170 + vat for members, £210 + vat for non-members

Speaker: Doug Robinson

Why MC1? It’s compulsory for all solicitors, to be completed within the

first three training years post qualification.

Why this MC1? You will get a clear understanding of: the challenges

facing law firms in the current economic climate; law firm finances,

in a way that will help you understand how your actions affect profit

and cash flow; how you can change your behaviour to contribute

more effectively to your firm’s performance and financial results; how


Learning & DevelopmentProfessional Services

BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY

you can help your firm to develop a competitive advantage; and the

key changes affecting law firm regulation and the Code of Conduct

effective 06 October 2011

The course features a realistic law firm simulation allowing participants

to see exactly how to apply learning back into the workplace.

Course Content: The day is split into three sections covering core

elements of the SRA’s syllabus: Managing Finance: Business

planning; Key Performance indicators; Funding and solvency;

Understanding profit; Controlling costs; Working capital control and

cashflow

Managing Clients: Understanding what motivates clients; Delivering

what clients want in the way they want it; The retainer, and solicitors’

professional obligations; Organising client relationships effectively

Managing People: Delegation and managing other people’s work;

Effective teamwork and decision-making processes; How to get the

most from a meeting; Motivation and performance appraisal

Using a model firm, participants will assess the impact of management

decisions, develop their own approach to good management, and

share ideas on current best practice. The course will also review

the SRA Handbook and changes to the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct

effective 06 October 2011.

Key Outcomes: As a result of attending the course, participants will

be able to: appreciate the importance of planning; understand financial

data and key performance indicators; act confidently on information

contained in financial reports; recognise what impresses clients and

eradicate what upsets them; organise their relationships with clients to

deliver great service; delegate more effectively; and manage meetings

and make decisions which lead to improved performance.

The speaker Doug Robinson is a director of Kinch Robinson Limited,

the accredited course provider. He is a Chartered Accountant who has

worked exclusively in the field of professional development since 2003.

Doug teaches Management Course Stage 1 and 2, PSC Financial

and Business Skills and a range of other financial and management

courses aimed specifically at lawyers in practice. His clients include

top 50 UK law firms, regional firms and local Law Societies. He is a

consultant to the College of Law, regularly delivering training on public

and in-house courses.

If this is a compulsory course for you, please ensure you attend for the

full day to comply with SRA requirements. Participants cannot claim

for attending the course if they arrive late or leave early. If the SRA ask

whether a participant has attended the course, notes of arrival and

departure times will be passed on to them; so please ensure that you

arrive at the venue on time. If you arrive late or have to leave early you

may be required to repeat the course.

Mortgage Fraud

‘How criminals are bucking the trend of a cautious lender market

to secure millions fraudulently in 2013’


Time: 12:00 registration & lunch, 12:30-13:30 seminar



Fees: £50 + vat for members, £70 + vat for non-members

Speakers: Stephen Carris, LBSLegal

In its 2013 Annual Fraud Indicator report, the National Fraud Authority

estimates the annual loss attributed to mortgage fraud at £1bn

statistics suggest that in 2013, mortgage fraud is more rife than ever

before. A report by Experian says that attempted mortgage fraud rose

to 38 cases in every 10,000 applications in 2012. Effective customer

due diligence measures on your client and robust, effective risk

management controls internally are at the core of a legal professionals

duties and responsibilities in these uncertain regulatory times. This

seminar aims to address the current trends and criminal methodologies

adopted to exploit you and your practice, in relation to Mortgage Fraud

and in doing so, offers practical steps in which to meet the challenges

head on and limit the risks of being targeted successfully by criminals.

Course content: The characteristics of mortgage fraud –

‘Opportunistic’ and ‘Large scale’; Other methodologies; The warning

signs; The importance of identity and ownership; Conflicts of

interest and mortgage fraud; When to tell lender; When to inform the

authorities; Tipping off concerns; Summary

Speaker: Stephen Carris - Stephen has been delivering training for

over eight years, and is a TAP standard, experienced professional

trainer with an extensive background in course structure, design

and delivery in professional services sectors. As Head of CPD

Training with LBS Legal, Stephen manages and facilitates all learning

to clients across all subject matters, specialising in anti-money

laundering. Stephen has trained thousands of employees in business

management solutions beginning with Care UK in 2005 where he

was part of a small team charged with the facilitation of the roll

out of training risk management systems, operational policies and

administrative procedures on a national scale over a three year period.

Much of his training style was nurtured while training in a classroom

type environment of up to around 20 delegates. This has been

further translated and, where possible, incorporated into the larger

presentational style platforms he has also held since when delivering

theatre style training presentations to audiences of 200+.

In 2008 Stephen joined Enterprise plc and worked extensively over

three years on a change management contract for the Ministry of

Defence delivering training to personnel on military bases across the

UK. In 2011 Stephen was headhunted to join LBS Legal, the challenge

and remit; to overhaul and bring a fresh and engaging approach to

LBS Legal’s training in historically dry subjects such as, among others;

Anti Money Laundering, Data Protection and Equality & Diversity. In

the time since he has joined LBS Legal Stephen has trained over 2000

lawyers in the UK in areas of regulatory compliance, for which he

continues to receive outstanding feedback, largely for his engaging,

though provoking and animated style of delivery.

Stephen is a dedicated and personable trainer, happy to train either on

a one to one level or to a theatre full of professionals. He summarises

“The best feeling you can get as a trainer, is when people tell you, not

only that they enjoyed the training, but most importantly that they feel

they’ve learned something new”.


One such “little thing” is a good attendance

note. What a tedious topic. Maybe; but it is

unquestionably the case that many a claim

against solicitors would not be pushed so

far or would settle at a lower figure if the file

contained good attendance notes. And that

reaults in a better claims history. So how can a

good attendance note make your life easier?

Attendance notes are saviours on two fronts:

proactively (as a reminder of what has been

discussed and helping to form an action plan) and

defensively (as a record of what was discussed in

case there are disputes). As a professional indemnity

lawyer, picking over the bones of other people’s files,

it is that second element with which I am interested.

The Courts take the view that the duty of a solicitor

is, in part, to unearth the wishes of the client. As

Rougier J highlighted in Gray v Buss Murton [1998],

it is the client who knows what he wants done but it

is for the solicitor to ascertain accurately the wishes

of the client. If there is a dispute as to what those

wishes appeared to be and the solicitor does not

have a detailed note, how is he or she to show that

no duty was breached?

It is often (wrongly) said that when there

is a dispute between solicitor and client as

to what was said, the client will be believed.

That isn’t wholly accurate. Rather, the Court

seeks to determine the reliability of memory

when facing two conflicting versions from the

solicitor and client. Frequently, for the client,

the interaction with the legal system is a rare

and memorable event but, for the solicitor, the

interaction with a client is a daily and common

event. The solicitor can, of course, say what

would be their usual practice, what they would

have advised; but, as so many claims flow from

a solicitor inadvertently failing to do what they

would usually do, that may not help. When an

attendance note is sparse (maybe more of an

aide memoire) the Court might not regard the

solicitors recollection as accurate - see Robins v

Meadows Moran [1991]. But, I hear you say, if a

particular point or issue was not discussed, how

do I show that: how do I prove a negative? With

a full and detailed attendance note. So decided

the Court of Appeal in Walker v Medlicott [1999]

when the disputed instructions of a testatrix

were found not to have been given to a solicitor

because they were not recorded in his full

and detailed attendance note. In contrast, if a

solicitor has given clear advice and it is rejected

by the client, the absence of comment upon that

in a note is likely to act against the solicitor.

A good contemporaneous attendance note,

recording all if the cogent elements of advice

given, is worth its weight in gold. For those of us

who do not regularly make detailed attendance

notes, I would urge a change in habit. Some

years ago the Telegraph reported that it takes

66 days to form a habit: let’s hope none of our

clients turn on us in the next two months! n

Eamon Mooney

Partner

Kennedys

Feature

THOUGHTS ON COMMON PITFALLS FOR SOLICITORSOne of the noticeable aspects of defending solicitors who are facing professional negligence claims is the way in which consistent themes arise. It is often not the case that a firm finds itself at risk because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the law but because of a failure to deal with practice - a failure to do what the solicitor knows should be done. The little things are important and can be very expensive.

Members’ News

DBS Law has awarded new

solicitors training contracts

to three in house legal executives.

The decision to invest in the future

comes as DBS Law management’s

optimism about the economy and

firm’s prospects is at an all-time

high.

Jascaran Chahal, Neeru Karra

and Khameeza Akhtar begin their

two year journey to become fully

qualified solicitors this autumn

after only three years with the firm.

CEO Rob Bhol said “Solicitors

training contracts represent a

significant financial commitment

and are like gold dust at the

moment because of the economic

situation and the turbulence in

the legal sector brought about by

damaging government changes

to legal aid and NO Win No Fee

arrangements.

I’m delighted to say the DBS Law

has weathered the storm and

is in a strong financial position

going forward. I’m even more

delighted to be awarding these

training contracts to our own home

grown talent. It’s a vindication of

our people focused management

philosophy and it’s a fitting reward

for the hard work and loyalty that

Jas, Neeru and Khameeza have

shown us.”

All three of the trainees work in

the firm’s nationally advertised

personal injury department but will

now get an opportunity to get a

taste of every other department as

they rotate through their training.

Neeru is looking forward to getting

her teeth into commercial law

particularly intellectual property.

While Khameeza and Jas both

love the work they have done

in personal injury but are open

minded about what they tackle in

future. n

BIRMINGHAM LAWYERS CONFIDENT OF AN ECONOMIC UPTURN INVEST IN THE FUTURE


Stourbridge Breakfast Club

is set to welcome two of

the Midlands’ biggest names in

cuisine and brewing including

a renowned Michelin starred

chef known as the ‘godfather of

modern Birmingham food’.

MICHELIN STARRED CHEF SERVES UP BREAKFAST TREAT FOR LOCAL NETWORKING EVENT

QualitySolicitors Talbots

launched Stourbridge Breakfast

Club over ten years ago as

a networking event for local

business people. It has attracted

many leading names as

speakers but the appearance of

Simpsons chef-patron Andreas

Antona is a real coup.

“Andreas has long associations

with QualitySolicitors Talbots”

comments Mark Hodgson

(Director – Business Services),

“as we have acted for him on

a number of matters over the

years. To have him and Paul give

up their time to speak at our

October event, however, is a real

coup for us”.

Andreas will be joined by Purity

Brewing Company managing

director, Paul Halsey. The pair

have recently joined forces with

former Mitchells and Butlers

director Martin Hilton to create

Pure Bar and Kitchen in Waterloo

Street, Birmingham city centre

– and Breakfast Club attendees

will hear first-hand about this

new exciting venture.

Chef-Patron at one of only three

Michelin starred restaurants in

Birmingham, the new venture

will create a new craft beer

bar in Birmingham. Mr Antona

said: “The Pure Bar and Kitchen

brings together Paul’s passion

and knowledge of beer with my

30 years experience working

with food and 10 years setting

up restaurants”.

QualitySolicitors Talbots has an

exciting programme of speakers

planned as Rob Brighouse,

Managing Director of Chiltern

Railways is the speaker in

Career CoachingGet the best from you and your team. I have 15 years’ experience working with lawyers and law firms and offer the following areas of expertise:

• Career Development• Soft Skills Development• Maternity Coaching• Advanced Intervew Techniques• Outplacement

Member of the Association for Coaching.Qualified Psychometric Assessor.

Nicola AtkinsCOACHING FOR YOUR CAREER

Nicola Atkins: 07745 228835W: www.nicolaatkins.comE: [email protected]


B lack Country law firm George

Green LLP has expanded

its Real Estate team with the

appointment of solicitor Paul Kettle

as an Associate .

Paul who qualified in September

2005 will be based at George

Green’s branch office in Waterloo

Road, Wolverhampton and will

be working alongside team head

Kevin Styles, Rebecca Taylor and

rest of the team.

Before joining the firm, Paul

worked for Rees Page Solicitors

after graduating from Aberystwyth

University in 2003 with a law

degree and, more recently,

for Talbots Solicitors in their

Wolverhampton office.

Paul specialises in the acquisition

and disposal of both freehold and

GEORGE GREEN EXPANDS ITS REAL ESTATE TEAM

Members’ News

November - and every attendee

will receive a first class railway

ticket to London.

The Breakfast Club meets every

second Wednesday of the

month at Hagley Hall – should

you wish to attend please speak

to either Emma Rose or James

Gwilliams on 01384 445 850, or

email emmarose@talbotslaw.

co.uk. n

leasehold commercial properties.

He is also experienced in all

aspects of business leases and

provides corporate support in

relation to the property aspects of

business transactions.

Head of Team Kevin Styles said, “I

am delighted that Paul has joined

us which supports our view that

market activity is increasing. Paul

will provide additional depth and

experience to our growing team.”

Paul commented, “I am

looking forward to working

with Kevin and the rest of the

team. I am also pleased to be

involved in developing George

Green’s growing reputation in

the Wolverhampton business

community.” n


Events

Pro Bono Networking Event Location: No5 Chambers

Monday, 14 Oct 2013

18:00 - 20:30

Free - Book your place online at www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

Following the success of last year’s Networking Event, the

Pro Bono Committee are holding a further event. Since last

year, the Jackson Reforms have come into force and there

has been significant changes in the legal market. Rebecca Hilsenrath,

Chief Executive of Law Works will give a keynote speech. There will also

be an opportunity for lawyers to meet pro bono organisation and find out

how they can get involved in pro brono in Birmingham.

This free event is sponsored by No.5 Chambers.

An Audience with... The SRA Senior Team Location: Wragge & Co

Thursday, 17 Oct 2013

05:30pm - 07:30pm

Free - Book your place online at www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

At this event there will be an

opportunity to hear from key

members of the team which is

responsible for implementing and regulating change in what is becoming

a challenging legal landscape. There will be a unique opportunity to put

your questions directly to the SRA’s senior team.

If you require any further information or if you would like to book onto any of these events please visit www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

Birmingham Law Society now accepts payment by card so if you would like to pay for any of the events by card please call: 0121 230 1707 with your card details or request a booking form by emailing [email protected]

Translations


Classified

Expert Witnesses

LITIGATION SOLICITOR

with over 20 years wide ranging experience

available for permanent, part-time or

temporary assignments

Contact: [email protected]

Situations Vacant

Law Costing

Newly Qualified and Pupil Barrister Celebration Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel

Thursday, 24 Oct 2013 06:00pm - 08:00pm Free

Book your place online at www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

Birmingham Law Society will be holding an event for the newly qualified

solicitors and pupils from Barrister Chambers of Birmingham to welcome

them to the local professional community. To mark both the success

of the many newly qualified solicitors and pupils within our region it is

with great pleasure that I invite you to Birmingham Law Society’s Newly

Qualified Drinks Reception. We shall have a selection of complementary

wines and canapés and we have also arranged for a professional

photographer to be available to capture this special occasion.

President’s Dinner 2013 Location: Edgbaston Stadium

Thursday, 21 Nov 2013 07:00pm - 01:00am

£75.00 (without tax) £90.00 (with tax)


The President’s Dinner

2013 will be at the new

venue the Edgbaston Cricket Ground and will be for up to 300 guests,

people drawn predominantly from the professional legal sector of the

Birmingham business community with the following also attending:

the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, High Sheriff of the West Midlands, The

Chief Constable of the West Midlands, Leader of the Birmingham City

Council, President of the national Law Society, the Presiding Judge of the

Midlands Circuit, the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands and a number

of other local dignitaries. The main purpose of the evening is to network

and meet and mingle with fellow professionals and senior contacts, with

the formalities restricted to four speeches, including the President.

BLS Charity SleepOut for St Basils Location: St Philips Chambers

Friday, 29 Nov 2013 8:00pm - 06:00am £10.00


Birmingham Law Society are organising a charity SleepOut in

aid of St Basils. We invite you to support the charity by sleeping

‘rough’ for one night outside St Philips Chambers. All participants must raise a

minimum of £100 sponsorship. Participants must be at least 18 years of age.

Networking Event Location: Pitcher & Piano

Wednesday, 04 Dec 2013 06:00pm - 08:00pm

Members = Free

Non Members = £10 plus VAT


Birmingham Law Society invites you to an evening of champagne

and canapés at the Pitcher and Piano in Brindley Place. Join us for

an opportunity to meet new and past colleagues in a venue ideal for

business and pleasure. All members and non members are welcome!

Places are limited so apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

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Documents

October Birmingham 2013 - Birmingham Law Society · If you are a lawyer and a member of the Birmingham Law Society, you can be added to the mailing list by emailing: [email protected]