Hampshire Legal July 2015

HAMPSHIRE LEGAL SUMMER 2015

JOURNAL OF THE HAMPSHIRE LAW SOCIETY www.hampshirelawsociety.co.uk

› Happenings in Hampshire › Focus on Probate › Cyber Security

Inside this issue:

Celebrating Magna Carta in Salisbury 2015 (cover story)

View our new website: www.thameswater-propertysearches.co.uk/HL

PUBLISHER Ian Fletcher Benham Publishing 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Tel: 0151 236 4141 Fax: 0151 236 0440 admin@benhampublishing.com email: web: www.benhampublishing.com

CONTENTS 20

ADVERTISING AND FEATURES EDITOR Anna Woodhams GRAPHIC DESIGNER Neil Lloyd ACCOUNTS Joanne Casey

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MEDIA NO. 1407 PUBLISHED July 2015

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© The Hampshire Incorporated Law Society Benham Publishing LEGAL NOTICE © Benham Publishing.

None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. Benham Publishing would like to point out that all editorial comment and articles are the responsibility of the originators and may or may not reflect the opinions of Benham Publishing. No responsibility can be accepted for any inaccuracies that may occur, correct at time of going to press.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

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DISCLAIMER The Hampshire Incorporated Law Society welcomes all persons eligible for membership regardless of Sex, Race, Religion, Age or Sexual Orientation.

All views expressed in this publication are the views of the individual writers and not the society unless specifically stated to be otherwise. All statements as to the law are for discussion between member and should not be relied upon as an accurate statement of the law, are of a general nature and do not constitute advice in any particular case or circumstance.

Members of the public should not seek to rely on anything published in this magazine in court but seek qualified Legal Advice.

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COVER INFORMATION The cover image from: © Wikimedia Commons

COPY DEADLINES Autumn Winter Spring Summer

7th October 2015 6th January 2016 3rd April 2016 27th June 2016

Members wishing to submit material please contact the Editor, Alison Plenderleith, before copy deadline.

Email: bdo@hampshirelawsociety.co.uk Anyone else wishing to advertise or submit editorial for publication in Hampshire Legal please contact Anna Woodhams before copy deadline.

Email: anna@benhampublishing.com Tel: 0151 236 4141

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INTRODUCTION

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CONTACTS

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HAPPENINGS IN HAMPSHIRE

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LEGAL AWARDS

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HILS ANNUAL DINNER

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MANAGEMENT

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SOCIAL EVENTS

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CYBER SECURITY

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NEWS

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LEGACIES

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PROBATE

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CONVEYANCING

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EDUCATION & TRAINING

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NOTICES

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Introduction

PRESIDENT’S REVIEW SUMMER 2015 The 15th June marked the 800th anniversary of the first Magna Carta signed by King John. Whilst this document may only have lasted a few weeks, it was the origins of the document signed by Henry III in 1225. There have been many celebrations to commemorate this event including a most informative lecture I attended at Salisbury Cathedral presented

by Lord Igor Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice. One of the four original Magna Cartas dating from 1215 is preserved at the Cathedral. As we are all aware, the Magna Carta is the foundation that supports fundamental civil liberties enjoyed by democratic countries across the world. Many see this document as the starting point for human rights and the protection of people from the power of government.

As I write this article, I read with interest the views of Michael Gove, the new Justice Secretary. He considers the Courts’ justice system is creaking and failing victims of crime. His comments indicate that he intends to tackle reforms of the legal system with the same focus and energy he used to overhaul schools when he was Education Secretary. Mr Gove’s brief includes overseeing the abolition of the current Human Rights Act, replacing it with a Bill of Rights. Clearly there are challenging times ahead for our profession.

The Law Society is currently reviewing how best it can support, promote and represent the profession for the next generation.

Changes in the legal market place, funding cuts, changes in regulation and advances in technology are some of the issues being addressed. A consultation entitled Law Society 2020 has been launched with the intention of developing a new strategy but the Council members of the Society need

your views on matters such as; what regulation should look like; the title of ‘solicitor’ and it’s value to the profession, to business and the public; the Law Society’s role in legal education and professional standards and how the Society should manage relationships, support and promote members. You are asked to email your thoughts to lawsociety2020@lawsociety.org.uk On a lighter note, we held our Annual Dinner at Tiger Tiger night Club, Portsmouth, on the 21st May. This proved to be an extremely popular event which was sold out. The guest speaker for the evening was the inspirational Olympic and World Champion cyclist Dani King, who explained how she was determined to succeed at her sport despite not being initially selected for the ‘elite training squad’ and described her journey of recover from serious injuries. We also held our inaugural awards ceremony - congratulations to all

the winners. A raffle was held raising an impressive sum of nearly £1200, which has been sent to the Periche First Aid Post in Nepal, in the foothills of Everest, as a donation towards disaster relief following the earthquake. A special thanks go to Alison Plenderleith and Nicola Jennings for organising the evening.

There are other social events planned this summer, and I particularly draw your attention to the BBQ planned jointly with the JLD, to be held at Queen Victoria Country Park, Netley on the 8 August. All are welcome! Please keep an eye out for details of all events planned in the weekly enews letter.

Ian Robinson, President

STOP PRESS...

At the Law Society AGM held on the 2 July, myself and April Watt, on behalf of HILS and the Isle of Wight Law Societies, had the great pleasure of presenting this fantastic portrait to Andrew Caplen the retiring Law Society President, this will hang in Chancery Lane, commemorating his successful year in office.

The painting was commissioned from local artist Jonathan Tetley.

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Introduction

HAMPSHIRE LAW SOCIETY CONTACTS The following is an up-to-date list of committee members’ names and addresses and the sub committees to which they belong:

COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND SUB COMMITTEES EDUCATION & TRAINING

PRESIDENT

LAW SOCIETY COUNCIL MEMBERS

Ian Robinson Churchers Bolitho Way 13-18 Kings Terrace Portsmouth PO5 3AL DX 2205 Portsmouth Tel 023 9288 2001 Fax 023 9286 2831 Email irobinson@cbwsolicitors.co.uk

Mr Andrew Caplen (President)

VICE PRESIDENT Matthew Robbins Jasper Vincent 44 Queensway Southampton SO14 3GT DX 2005 Portsmouth Tel 023 8063 3225 Email mrobbins@jaspervincent.com

DEPUTY VICE PRESIDENT Russell Evans Resolve UK Summerlands House Botley Road Curdridge Southampton SO32 2DS Tel 01489 797073 Email russell.david@yahoo.co.uk

HONORARY SECRETARY Rod Hursthouse 10 Hudson Close Liphook Hampshire GU30 7UW Tel 01252 622122 Fax 01252 774409 Email rodhursthouse@btinternet.com

Heppenstalls 75 High Street Lymington SO41 9YY DX 34053 Lymington Tel 01590 689500 Email andrew.caplen@yahoo.co.uk Mr Razi Shah (North Hampshire) Appleby Shaw Trinity House 15a Trinity Place Windsor SL4 3AS DX 3830 Windsor Tel 01753 860606 Fax 01753 860620 Email rshah@applebyshaw.com Mr Nick Gurney-Champion (Residential conveyancing) Gurney-Champion & Co Champion House 104 Victoria Rd North Southsea PO5 1QE DX 117953 Portsmouth Central Tel 023 9282 1100 Fax 023 9282 0447 Email ngc@championlawyers.co.uk

ADMINISTRATOR

HONORARY TREASURER

Miss Nicola Jennings

Miss Rebecca Foley Churchers Bolitho Way 13-18 Kings Terrace Portsmouth PO5 3AL DX 2205 Portsmouth Tel 023 9288 2001 Fax 023 9286 2831 Email rfoley@cbwsolicitors.co.uk

92 Chessel Crescent Bitterne Southampton SO19 4BS DX 52766 Bitterne Tel 023 8044 7022 Fax 023 8044 7022 Email administration@hampshirelawsociety.co.uk

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Simon Whipple The Carers Legal Centre 109 Burley Rd Bransgore Christchurch BH23 8AY Tel 01425 674844 Mob 07740 432159 Email carerslegalcentre@googlemail.com

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BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

Anthony Harris (Chair) ajharris@clara.co.uk Kristina Colmer Katharine West Alison Plenderleith Nicola Jennings

LITIGATION & DISPUTES RESOLUTION Russell Evans (Chair) russell.david@yahoo.co.uk Wendy Hewstone (Co-opted) Katharine West

MEMBERSHIP Charlotte Bromley (Chair) Cbromley@cbwsolicitors.co.uk Ian Robinson Roderick Hursthouse Alison Plenderleith Deglan Rowe

NON CONTENTIOUS Nick Gurney Champion (Chair) ngc@championlawyers.co.uk Matthew Robbins Simon Whipple Mr A Seddon (Co-opted)

REGULATORY Adrienne Edgerley Harris (Chair) Adrienneedgerleyharris@gmail.com Roderick Hursthouse Nick Eve (Co-opted)

SOCIAL Kristina Colmer kcolmer@cbwsolicitors.co.uk Sarah Hallett (Co-opted)

COMPLAINTS Matthew Robbins mrobbins@jaspervincent.com

PUBLICITY Mo Aldridge (Chair) maldridge@jaspervincent.com Katharine West Matthew Robbins Alison Plenderleith Nicola Jennings

Mrs Alison Plenderleith 47 Salisbury Rd Fordingbridge SP6 1EH Tel 07429 523183 Email bdo@hampshirelawsociety.co.uk

OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS David Ankcorn Sue Carter Mike Russell-Smith

Happenings in Hampshire

JASPER VINCENT ‘GIRLS’ WALK FOR LOCAL CHARITY Jasper Vincent were proud to support four of their ‘girls’ who took part in the Naomi House and Jacksplace Clarendon Walk this year.

Pictured: From left to right - Lynne Robbins, Emma Beckhurst, Hana Patel and Angela Pelleschi (partner)

The walk started from Broughton and finished at Winchester totaling 14 miles. Last year the walk raised an incredible £113,500.00 for the hospices, allowing them to continue providing a vital service to hundreds of families across central southern England. Jasper Vincent set a target of £200.00 sponsorship but the girls smashed this with raising in total (when all donations are collected) just over £1,100.00. There is a 26 mile walk which starts from Salisbury and who knows next year!!!

Family-run business to blossom under new management Leading commercial law firm Graeme Quar & Co has assisted in the sale of a family owned garden maintenance business in Fareham.

Merry Mower Services, which specialises in garden machinery repairs and maintenance, has been bought by Willoughby Garden Equipment for an undisclosed sum.

The company was founded by Jim Reeves more than three decades ago, and was run with the help of his daughter Alexandra and his son John.

Alexandra remains with the company, working in the sales department.

Jim said: “Merry Mowers has been a family owned company for the past 30 years. The recent sale to the new owners means its future is in good hands, and will continue to steadily grow within the garden machinery and tool hire sector.”

The sale of the company, which remains headquartered on the Boatyard Industrial Estate, was completed earlier in May by solicitor Gabor Kovacs.

Merry Mowers will continue to service the garden maintenance needs of gardeners, home owners, local authorities and businesses throughout Hampshire.

Jim added: “I am pleased with the work that Gabor has done for Merry Mowers. His support and dedication to our company is greatly appreciated.”

Merry Mower Services becomes the third familyorientated firm Graeme Quar & Co has helped sell in recent weeks. Notably, Graeme Quar completed the legal work to enable the management team at Williams & Co Plumbing and Heating Supplies to purchase the company from its chairman, Mick Williams, who founded the firm in Portsmouth in 1972.

As part of the 800 year celebration of the Magna Carta Salisbury has created a Barons trail which consists of 25 locally designed painted Baron’s scattered all over the city.

For more information visit http://www.thebaronscharter.org.uk/

Baron 1: The inspiration is drawn from the hand rendered beauty of the original calligraphy, intricate heraldic detail from the period, boldness of the seal itself and then merging with contemporary graphics.

This design merges two design aesthetics that span the 800 years between them.

Graeme Quar added: “It has been a pleasure to complete the legal work involved in the sale of Merry Mower Services, and we are delighted the family, through Alexandra, will remain a part of the firm under its new ownership.

“Merry Mower Services is a well-regarded firm in its sector, having been founded and built up by Jim Reeves. We would like to wish the new ownership team at Merry Mower Services well, and to wish Jim and John success for the future.

“We are sure that under new management and with the ongoing support of Alexandra, the company will continue to grow.”

Baron 2: Conrandin is a medieval name meaning bold counsel, which is fitting for a Magna Carta project. The design is influenced by medieval illustration of the guilds and craft workers who helped create Britain.

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Happenings in Hampshire

INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF SOUTHAMPTON APPOINTS LEADING LAWYER AS ITS NEW PRESIDENT One of the south’s leading litigation lawyers has been appointed president of the Insurance Institute of Southampton.

Kelvin Farmaner, who is a partner at Trethowans Solicitors, will take on the role of driving forward the institute’s ambitious programme and supporting its professional members for the next 12 months.

“It is unusual for a solicitor in private practice to be appointed president because most council members are drawn from insurers and other insurance professionals, such as brokers,” said Kelvin.

“However, I feel strongly about supporting the institute’s efforts - and I feel my experience in this field means I have much to offer. The

environment I work in also gives me a crucial understanding of the insurance market.”

The Insurance Institute of Southampton dates back more than 100 years and provides a forum for all those working within the industry to develop their skills, network with other professionals, attend social events and support local charities.

“My aim for the next 12 months is to innovate with new projects whilst at the same time upholding the long tradition and history of the institute,” added Kelvin. “We have already started work on new projects - including joint

events with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, a CPD conference with the Bournemouth Insurance Institute and a charity ball for next month.”

Kelvin has been working with insurers and insurance professionals for more than 15 years - beginning his involvement with the Insurance Institute of Southampton after moving to the city from the south west of England almost five years ago.

TWO LEADING SOUTHERN LAW FIRMS JOIN FORCES Two of the south’s leading law firms have announced they are to merge in a deal which will create one of the largest law firms in the central South region.

Trethowans, which has offices in Southampton and Salisbury, is joining forces with Poole-based Dickinson Manser with the official merger set to take effect in October.

of its leading lawyers ranked by independent industry body, Chambers.

The deal will see the two firms combining their expertise to offer clients enhanced legal services in a range of specialisms. The firms boast commercial clients including international and national household brand names, owner-managed businesses, entrepreneurs and major regional employers across the UK. They also work with individuals, such as landowners, local families, property developers and Trustees.

The new firm will continue to be known as Trethowans and current managing partner Chris Whiteley will continue in his role.

Trethowans has been providing high quality legal services for nearly 150 years and has 22

Chris Whiteley said: “We’re delighted to announce the merger with Dickinson Manser, which is a well established and respected practice. The deal comes just five months after Trethowans expanded into new Southampton offices and operating in a third location is key to the ambitious plans we have for the future.”

Dickinson Manser senior partner Gary Pick, added: “Trethowans operates with values that match our own and by joining forces we will be able to offer an even greater depth of expertise to clients. As a team we remain committed to providing the best possible legal advice to both private individuals and commercial enterprises.”

LAW FIRM SUPPORTS BREAST CANCER CHARITY A breast cancer charity which is establishing a regional centre near Fareham is being supported by a leading regional law firm in the Central South. Hampshire based solicitors, Paris Smith, have chosen The Haven as its charity of the year for 2015.

Statistics from Cancer Research UK reveal that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime and 80% of breast cancer diagnoses arise in women aged over 50 Breast cancer incidence has increased by 72% since the mid 1970s.

The Haven which was established in 1987 provides expert complementary therapies to those diagnosed with breast cancer and their families. It is currently establishing a new regional centre in Titchfield near Fareham to enable provision of its services to be accessible for those living in the Wessex region.

Peter Taylor, Managing Partner of Paris Smith said " The Partners and staff of Paris Smith are delighted to

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do what they can to raise funds so as to enable and assist The Haven to deliver, from its regional centre in South Hampshire, its expertise to people who have to cope with all that a diagnosis of breast cancer brings.

Breast cancer touches so many both and we are keen to play our part to help relieve the suffering and aid recover of those whose lives are sent into turmoil by the condition."

He added "The passion of the team at The Haven is truly inspirational and their dedication to change the lives of others for the better and in such a positive manner matches the values and beliefs of Paris Smith."

Heidi Rehman said “We are thrilled to have been chosen as the nominated charity by Paris Smith.

Their support means so much to us and really will help make a difference to so many. This is a crucial stage of our appeal with our centre due to open in early autumn. With 3,000 people currently in treatment within the region there is a great need for the free services that we will offer.”

Happenings in Hampshire

ADDISON LAW SOLICITORS PROVE THAT WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY Addison Law Solicitors, of North Street, Emsworth, have proved that where there is a Will, there is definitely a way, by raising over £10,100 for charity during November 2014’s Will Aid campaign. Will Aid clients were offered a basic Will and asked to consider making a voluntary donation instead of paying the firm’s usual fees. Local will-makers responded with enthusiasm and gave generously.

The money raised is shared by 9 UK charities, including ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF in Scotland, Sightsavers and Trocaire in Northern Ireland.

The funds raised are already being put to work by the Will Aid charities.

The firm has taken part in 9 Will Aid schemes, and this year’s fantastic result means they have raised a grand total of over £50,400 for the Will Aid charities.

Christian Aid’s Fiona Daborn visited the firm to thank the staff involved and to present their Will Aid certificate. She said:

“Christian Aid really appreciates Addison Law’s support for Will Aid. The campaign is very important to us, as not only do we receive a significant amount in donations, but the campaign also provides an opportunity for people to leave Christian Aid a legacy.

Legacy gifts are crucial in enabling our work to eradicate poverty and change the systems and structures which cause it. Legacies of all sizes are incredibly valuable to Christian Aid last year our income from legacies could have more than paid for all our work in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Solent based solicitors, Churchers Bolitho Way, were recently voted Hampshire Law Society Large Firm of the Year for 2015. As CBW prepares to celebrate its 130th anniversary the Partners have been taking some time to celebrate the values that set them apart.

Francis Worsley, Partner, said “The vast majority of Partners and staff have been local residents their entire lives. Our friends and families live and work in the communities we serve.” Staff turnover at the firm is extremely low: Nicki Murray, Conveyancing Executive, and Jo Gilholm, Chartered Legal Executive, celebrate 25 years service this year.

“It’s fairly common for us to take instruction from someone whose family has been looked after by us for several generations, many of them going back to before the Second World War. Whether it’s will writing, drawing up trusts and deeds, or negotiating the sale of a business you feel a certain kind of privilege to be part of the continuation of a family tradition.”

The restructuring and consolidation of the legal services market and economic uncertainty have meant increased pressure on business owners over recent years.

Francis Worsley points to good planning, a strong team spirit, and an emphasis on doing the right thing as being key factors in the success of the Firm. He goes on to say that contributing positively to the local community “goes to the very heart of the organisation. 2015 has been really exciting year. Receiving Special Recognition for Community Contribution at the Portsmouth News Business Excellence Awards made us stop to think about how we’ve not only got an exceptionally resilient workforce, but one that does truly great things.

We’re extremely proud.”

Partner, Chris Matthews, said “A significant amount of pro bono work is offered to vulnerable or disadvantaged individuals and groups. Many of us serve on management committees, get involved in fundraising, act as Trustees for not-for-profit organisations, or have volunteering commitments.”

Chris Matthews, who specialises in advising on inheritance tax and the administration of estates, has recently been appointed a Trustee of the Thorngate Almshouse Trust. He takes over from Partner, Ian Sandilands, who is retiring this month after 40 years with CBW. Chairman of Thorngate Almshouse Trust, Honorary Alderman Don Lucas said “Churchers Bolitho Way have been at the forefront of helping those in need since Emmanuel Churcher set up the Thorngate charities with the Thorngate brothers in 1868. I am delighted that this tradition has continued with Ian Sandilands and now we can look to the future with Chris Matthews coming on board with his excellent experience of our sector.”

Chief Executive, Anne Taylor, explained “Thorngate Almshouse Trust exists to help older people in Gosport through its supported housing and large modern care home. Governing a charity with three regulators is a complex activity and the help and support that Churchers Bolitho Way have provided through Partner, Ian Sandilands, over the years has been invaluable. I am already enjoying working with Chris Matthews to continue our objectives of helping as many local people in Gosport as we can, maintaining the tradition of our founders.”

Pictured: Fiona Daborn (Christian Aid) Christopher Halliwell (Addison Law)

Addison Law’s Partner, Christopher Halliwell, commented on the success of the campaign: “We’re always delighted to take part in the Will Aid scheme; it’s an excellent way to do our bit for the local community and for charity.

The generosity of the people of Emsworth means that they often give more than the suggested donation to the charities.”

Dutton Gregory is pleased to announce the appointment of Jeremy Tucker as the new head of its Private Client Department.

Jeremy’s career began in the private client tax department of an accountancy firm before he became a private client solicitor practising in the East Midlands. He has a wide range of experience including dealing with estate administration, the creation and administration of trusts, preparation of Wills, powers of attorney, deputyship applications and estate planning.

Jeremy is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, Solicitors For the Elderly and the Chartered Institute of Tax. Outside of work he has a passion for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!

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Happenings in Hampshire

Trethowans strengthens team with key promotions

LARCOMES - SUPPORTING PORTSMOUTH YOUNG CARERS

South coast law firm Trethowans has announced a number of promotions across its offices in Hampshire and Wiltshire.

In Portsmouth alone, national research indicates there are approximately 3,000 young carers.

However, only 822 are currently known by Portsmouth Young Carers service. This figure is not higher because often young carers of substance-using parents and parents suffering with mental illness are more likely to be silent about being a young carer.

The move comes ahead of the firm’s merger with Dorset-based Dickinson Manser and is part of long term expansion plans for Trethowans.

Managing partner Chris Whiteley said the appointment of a new senior associate and associates are part of a long term strategy for Trethowans.

“We opened a new Southampton office seven months ago and our forthcoming merger places us in a strong position for growth,’’ said Chris. “These promotions reinforce our commitment to ensuring the best staff are in place to fulfill our ambitions.”

outstanding work as a solicitor in the personal injury team.

Private client solicitor Jessica Johnston has also been promoted to associate. She qualified in 2011 and recently passed her Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners diploma. She works on a range of work including wills, powers of attorney, trusts and probate.

“We are delighted to reward some of our most outstanding members of staff with these promotions,’’ added Chris.

As part of the new appointments Will Sclater has been appointed senior associate in the commercial litigation department. He has worked in the team for the last seven years and has been instrumental in developing the property litigation offering.

Being a carer can have a profound effect on children and it is vitally important that young carers are identified and supported to give them a chance to have the same opportunities as other children and a voice to speak with others who are young carers.

everyone in Portsmouth to get behind their new community initiative to raise funds for the Portsmouth Young Carers.

The firm have begun fundraising and have run a series of car boot sales (with another planned in the Summer), held a tea party at their offices and in September a Larcomes team will be swimming the Solent with all the proceeds of their fundraising going to help support young carers. The firm will be creating a JustGiving page in July/August and would ask everyone in the community to get behind this charity swim and donate to help.

Winners of this year’s Hampshire Law Society Small Law Firm of the Year Award, Larcomes LLP are calling upon

New associates include Karen Lush who is team leader for licensing and handles a number of large restaurant chains. She joined Trethowans almost 30 years ago and has worked in licensing for the last 15 years.

Frances Gillett has also been appointed an associate for her

Quality Solicitors Clarke & Son Raise Over £2,000 for Southampton Hospice Basingstoke legal firm, Quality Solicitors Clarke & Son, has raised over £2,000 for Southampton’s Countess Mountbatten Hospice.

November 2014, saw solicitors Charles MarchantWhite, Paul Cowdery Adam Leszczynski, William Anderson, Sheldon Owen, and Simon Horwood join

the Movember Challenge. They aimed to raise £300 for Southampton’s Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity (CMHC). As the legal team’s facial hair grew, so did the donations and the original fundraising target was swiftly reached. Spurred on by partner, William Anderson, and to everyone’s delight, the donations grew and grew. On 28th February 2015 the final total had reached £2,140, an amazing 585% of the original target.

Fundraiser Adam Leszczynski, a Trainee solicitor at the firm, said, “We are very grateful to everyone who has generously donated to our Movember fundraising effort. We are delighted to be passing on such an amazing sum to the Countess Mountbatten Hospice Charity.”

Pictured: Commercial Solicitors Emma Morris (left) and Will Anderson presented the cheque to Pam Bates, Fundraising and PR Manager at CMCH.

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The fundraising efforts were on behalf of our late Senior Partner, Charles Marchant-White, who very recently

experienced, first-hand, the support and care that CMHC provide. Charles nominated CMHC as his charity of choice as a way of thanking the Hospice and its staff who provided invaluable support to Charles and his family.

Partner, Julie McKinney said; “Countess Mountbatten came to Charles in his hour of need. He was under their care as an inpatient for a number of weeks and the care and attention of every member of staff as well as the volunteers, the longer visiting hours, the ability to bring in and see his puppy cocker spaniel made a world of difference and it was great to be able to make a small contribution to aid their cause to help others. Thereafter he continued to receive help as an outpatient as well as receiving care from them at home. I know he thought it was an absolutely amazing organisation that needs all the help it can get.”

Solicitors from the firm William Anderson and Emma Morris presented a cheque to Pam Bates, Fundraising and PR Manager, at CHMC. She said, “Quality Solicitors Clarke and Son are such a positive and friendly team, who have supported us very well over the past year. It is staggering that they raised over £2,000 for the charity from such a simple idea, and we very much hope they will repeat the event again.”

Happenings in Hampshire

Pictured: Clare Lee, Managing Partner, Paris Smith LLP

PROMOTION AT PARIS SMITH Southampton based solicitors, Paris Smith, have promoted Associate solicitor, Clare Lee, to be a Partner in the firm. Clare is a specialist commercial property lawyer in the regional law firm.

The firm, which has offices in central Southampton, recently announced its expansion and the acquisition of prestigious offices in Parchment Street, Winchester.

John Mansell, Partner and Head of Commercial Property comments "Clare is an excellent property solicitor who is held in very high regard by her clients and colleagues alike. She has developed a strong reputation in the field of retail and leisure property work which will continue to flourish."

Peter Taylor, Managing Partner at the firm said "We are delighted that Clare has committed her future to the firm. In addition to being a very talented lawyer, Clare's positive outlook on life and a "can do" attitude reflects the qualities and culture of Paris Smith. She will lead a team serving the needs of a large range of clients including a number of national retailers."

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR BISCOES! Senior Partners Jean Evans and Richard Williams have recently retired from Biscoes.

Jean was the Managing Partner at Biscoes and the remaining Partners appreciate and will miss her years of service and dedication. Biscoes are fortunate that Jean will continue to be involved with the firm working as a Consultant in the Probate Department and Richard will be enjoying more time in France with his partner Karen.

We offer them our very best wishes and thanks.

David Prew will be joining the firm as the head of the conveyancing department based at our Portsmouth office. David is an experienced and well known conveyancer and we look forward to David joining the team in June 2015. David has

Samantha Davies has also recently joined the firm working out of our Portsmouth office. She is also joined by Nicki Cox undertaking conveyancing work at Portchester.

After completion of a successful audit process, Biscoes have been awarded the Lexcel quality mark and new Managing Partner Alison Lee has commented that the Lexcel quality mark is the appropriate recognition for the long-standing procedures in client services that have been always been incorporated by the firm but now fully recognised. “Lexcel accreditation will reassure existing and new clients of a quality legal service” says Alison.

Biscoes is also pleased to announce that Karen Coffin, Franca Webb, Nicola Cleverly, Katharine Hetzel and Kevin Richardson have all been appointed associate status within the firm in recognition of their contribution and client care development.

Biscoes are also excited to announce that it will incorporate into company status as from 1st May 2015, becoming Biscoes Law Limited. Biscoes are proud to share this new status which will enable the company to continue to provide excellent services from its 6 offices in a modern and innovative way.

commented that he is looking forward to joining the conveyancing team at Biscoes and looking forward to being part of the conveyancing team in a firm with both Lexcel accreditation and membership of the Law Society conveyancing quality scheme.

THREE ASSOCIATE PROMOTIONS FOR WARNER GOODMAN LLP Hampshire law firm Warner Goodman LLP have recently announced the promotion of Torion Bowles, Alexandra Savage and Emma Lee, to Associate Status.

Torion started with the firm in 2011 within the Residential Conveyancing Team at Fareham as part of his cross qualification to become a Solicitor having previously qualified as a Barrister. After moving to our Southampton office in 2013, Torion transferred to the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution team in March 2014 where he has built a successful business focused civil litigation practice. Torion now undertakes matters concerning a number of different areas of law including property litigation, intellectual property, commercial disputes, construction and debt recovery.

It is his expansive knowledge and dedication to his clients and colleagues that has seen him progress.

Alexandra joined in April 2012 as a Trainee Solicitor, spending two out of her three seats within the Commercial Property department assisting with both residential and commercial transactions. Alex assists in large property portfolio transactions whilst maintaining a variety of residential and commercial matters. Her success within the team, her excellent rapport with the

clients and keen eye for detail has resulted in her promotion to Associate status after becoming a permanent member of the team upon qualification in April 2014.

Emma is also a member of the Commercial Property team. After initially joining the firm in 2006 as a general office assistant, she moved to the Commercial team in 2007. Since this time her knowledge of property conveyancing has grown greatly. In recent years Emma has been studying towards becoming a Licensed Conveyancer in her spare time and is due to sit her final exam in the coming months. Emma’s relationship management with the clients is exceptional, spending a great amount of time getting to know everyone and their specific requirements.

“As a firm we strongly believe in internal promotion and our trainee and solicitor retention rate is exceptional. The dedication and enthusiasm of Torion, Alex and Emma has not gone unnoticed over their years with us and I’m pleased to show our appreciation with this progression and investment in their future careers at Warner Goodman LLP.”

Ian Curtis, Managing Partner of Warner Goodman LLP, commented,

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Happenings in Hampshire

CHURCHERS BOLITHO WAY LAUNCHES DEDICATED COURT OF PROTECTION TEAM As a constantly evolving area of practice, clients are increasingly in need of specialist advice and assistance in proceedings before the Court of Protection. Whilst the firm has provided this service to clients for many years Churchers Bolitho Way have now formed a dedicated Court of Protection team. Encompassing expertise from the Private Client and Mental Health departments, the team can provide advice about both financial and welfare matters.

The Court of Protection is a specialist court which makes decisions and resolves disputes about the affairs of adults who lack capacity. This may be as a result of a life long condition such as a learning disability, or a degenerative dementia. Applications to the court may be made by family members or carers of a person who lacks capacity, by the local authority or by the person who is deemed to lack capacity.

of liberty and the options available in challenging this. The team offers the expertise to guide clients through this complex process.

Whether the financial affairs of a vulnerable adult need to be dealt with via an application for deputyship, or there is a dispute about a person’s welfare needs, the team are on hand to assist.

To launch the new Court of Protection team, Churchers Bolitho Way are hosting an open ‘Meet & Greet’ event on 17 September 2015 between 4pm and 7pm at the firm’s Isle of Wight office in Union Street Ryde. Please feel free to pop in to the office, allow the team to introduce themselves and discuss the work that they do.

Equally, advice may be required about the lawfulness of a person’s deprivation

Of course, funding is an important consideration for clients. In some circumstances, legal aid is available.

The firm holds a legal aid contract for this area of work and the team are happy to discuss the individual circumstances to establish eligibility.

BASINGSTOKE LAW FIRMS JOIN FORCES FOR LOCAL CHARITY Simon Says - Child Bereavement Support Charity Caring legal firms throughout Basingstoke are pulling together to support local bereavement charity Simon Says. QS Clarke & Son, Lamb Brooks, Wills Chandler, and Brain Chase Coles will be working together to help raise funds with their Summer Wills Campaign. The law firms will be offering professionally drafted Wills in lieu of a donation to the children’s charity.

Simon Says aims to support every bereaved child and young person under the age of 18 in the county. As well as running a network of six support groups throughout Hampshire, Simon Says runs a helpline and offers written resources to assist the families of bereaved children.

Local schools wishing to support pupils who have lost someone can also be assisted by Simon Says as the charity offers advice, support and training for professionals working with bereaved children and young people.

Nia Wharry, Partner and Head of Wills and Estate Planning said, “as a parent and working in the legal area that I do, I am very aware of the impact losing a

loved one can have on children. Simon Says is a small charity with the ability to make a big difference to children and young people at a vulnerable point in their lives. QualitySolicitors Clarke & Son is proud to be able to support this amazing charity and delighted that so many local legal firms are joining forces.”

The Simon Says charity relies solely on donations and receives no government funding. As well as donations, they welcome anyone who can volunteer their time to help children and young people through a very difficult time.

Georgie Bennett, Chief Operations Officer of Simon Says, said, “I have been overwhelmed at the support we have received from QS Clarke & Sons and the other law firms to help raise awareness and much needed funds for Simon Says. Through their support we hope that more families and professional organisations will become aware of the charity and the support we can give to bereaved children in the Basingstoke area and beyond.”

SOUTHAMPTON LAW FIRM ANNOUNCES PROMOTIONS Leading Southampton law firm Moore Blatch has promoted Sarah Crookall, Andrew Reid and Siobhan Thomas to Associate status within the firm. Both Sarah and Siobhan are graduates of Southampton Solent University (formerly Southampton Institute).

Moore Blatch, is one of the largest law firms in the South East with offices in Southampton, Lymington, Richmond and the City of London, employing 300 people.

Sarah Crookall, works as part of the commercial, IP, IT team as team leader and is an expert in the area of commercial law specialising in commercial contracts, e-commerce, IT, franchising, telecoms and intellectual property. Sarah has been with Moore Blatch for almost eight years. She studied at Southampton Solent University and Guildford Law School.

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Hampshire Legal

Andrew Reid specialises in claims against negligent professionals, typically in relation to financial advice, legal services and property surveys.

He has been with Moore Blatch for seven years. Andrew is also a member of the British Computer Society.

Siobhan Thomas, works as part of the personal injury team as team leader specialising in employer’s liability, occupiers’ liability and public liability claims. Siobhan has been with the firm for 23 years and is a graduate of Southampton Solent University.

Damian Horan the senior partner at Moore Blatch said about these promotions: “Sarah,

Andrew and Siobhan share a common goal; that is to provide the very best legal advice and support to our clients. They have worked very hard in providing excellent support to their clients and thoroughly deserve their promotions. These promotions are indicative of the excellent staff we have throughout the firm where many talented individuals are collectively helping Moore Blatch’s ever growing reputation for legal excellence.”

Happenings in Hampshire

Photo: shows Graham Quar team and Mark Hoban former MP for Fareham.

TOP SOLICITOR SAYS ELECTION RESULT IS A WIN FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Small and mid-sized businesses across Hampshire will benefit from a Conservative government, a leading commercial solicitor has said.

Mr Quar said: “During the past five years the coalition made huge inroads into stabilising the economy and in making funding available for small businesses to start and to flourish in this area in particular.

“Some of the austerity measures have been unpopular but necessary to cut the national deficit, and we have actually seen employment levels rise despite this.

“This work will provide a platform for

increased investment in our smaller businesses, which has long been recognised as the quickest way to achieve sustained economic growth.

“What I would urge the government to do now is to look again at business rates and how they can help very small businesses such as high street retailers, for example, thrive.

“A majority Conservative government is, I feel, the best news for small businesses and the economy.”

Trade-only plumbing and heating merchant Williams & Co has been acquired from the Williams family by its management team and staff for an undisclosed sum.

Founder Mick Williams retains a minority share, and will continue as non-executive chairman after the buyout, which was finalised on Thursday (April 23).

The takeover consortium was led by managing director Ray Stafford and financial director Rachel Moore, and sees more than half of Williams & Co’s employees (62 per cent) invest a total of £500,000 in the business.

Ray said: “Rachel and I are overwhelmed by the incredible buy-in from the management team and staff. “It’s a huge expression of support and belief from everyone involved. Words can’t express how proud we are to lead such a fired-up team, or how fortunate we are to retain Mick’s matchless

THE LOCAL CHILDREN’S CHARITY, THE SUSSEX SNOWDROP TRUST, WHICH PROVIDES NURSING CARE FOR CHILDREN WITH LIFE THREATENING OR TERMINAL ILLNESSES AND SUPPORT FOR THEIR FAMILIES, HAS BEEN CHOSEN BY LAW FIRM GLANVILLES LLP AS THEIR CHARITY OF THE YEAR. “Glanvilles LLP has a strong family ethos which is in tune with Snowdrop,” says partner and commercial property specialist, Damien Newton who heads up Glanvilles LLP Chichester office. “Now that we have established our new Southgate office bringing our legal services to local businesses and the people who live and work here, we wanted to take that positive difference a step further - and Snowdrop quickly became the obvious choice.

experience in the boardroom.”

“It’s wonderful to be able to support such a worthwhile cause at the heart of the local community which is so vital for the children and families who rely on the nursing care at home provided by the charity’s wonderful Snowdrop nurses.”

Mick added: “After four decades at the helm, there was always going to be a moment when I took a less active role, and I am delighted that this solution permits the company to retain its unique character and values.”

Glanvilles LLP has pledged to fundraise for Snowdrop with several key events planned including a mid-summer barbeque in the grounds of Cams Hall, a 300 year old listed building which is home to its head office.

NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL PLUMB INTO FIRM’S CONTINUING SUCCESS Hampshire commercial law firm Graeme Quar & Co have assisted the management team at a respected regional plumbing and heating merchant complete a buyout of the company.

SNOWDROP BECOMES GLANVILLES CHARITY OF THE YEAR

Graeme Quar, who provided his legal expertise to the management team, said: “Williams & Co is one of the region’s success stories, since it was set up

by Mick in a corner shop in Portsmouth in 1972, and we are delighted to have been asked to complete this work on the company’s behalf.

“Credit should be given to Richard Barnett, who has provided Williams & Co with property legal advice for more than a decade, and solicitor Garbor Kovacs who worked on the corporate law aspects of this project. Both were invaluable in ensuring this acquisition went smoothly.

“We would like to wish both Mick and the company well. We are sure the company, under its new management structure and with Mick still a part of it, will have a very successful future indeed.”

Says Snowdrop’s co-founder and chairman, Diana Levantine, “Somehow children accept their illness, the operations and procedures, but all they want is to be in their own home, in their own bed, surrounded by family and friends. We help make that possible and are honoured that Glanvilles has chosen to support Snowdrop as its Charity of the Year. We are looking forward to establishing our partnership and working together over the coming months to raise as much money as possible for the benefit of our Snowdrop children and their families who so desperately need us.”

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Happenings in Hampshire

LEGAL AWARDS The inaugural Hampshire Legal awards were a great success; over 15 local solicitors entered their colleagues or their firms into 4 categories: • • • •

Solicitor of the year Junior solicitor of the year Firm of the year (15 or more partners) Firm of the year (fewer than 15 partners)

They were judged by our panel of expert judges from Brighter Law, Wilkins Kennedy, IFS, JLT and Landmark on some of the following criteria: •

Involvement in interesting, challenging or new areas of law

•

Dedication to your clients

•

Support for the profession which may include non-fee earning work/activities Contribution to the community including pro bono work Training initiatives and accreditations received/being worked towards (e.g. Conveyancing Quality Scheme) Appreciation and recognition by clients and other firms Dedication to development and welfare of staff

• • • •

The entrants and results were as follows:

4. YOUNG SOLICITOR OF THE YEAR

1. SOLICITOR OF THE YEAR

Sean Reeves, Bernard Chill & Axtell (Winner)

Edward McMullan, Blake Morgan (Winner)

‘Clear and significant positive impact on the business. Unselfish attitude to colleagues and client care as evidenced by an impressive work-rate. Sean is clearly recognised as an asset.’

‘Clear and significant positive impact on the business. The submission indicates someone who’s performance has significantly outpaced expectations, which is noteable in itself.

The fact that Ed has achieved what he has while still working extensively in the wider community speaks volumes.’

Emma Morris, Clarke and Son (Runner up) ‘Professional, commitment to networking and gaining new business, enthusiastic, committed and competent.’

Richard Hopgood - Larcomes (Runner up)

Laruen McIntosh, CBW (Runner up)

‘The submission made on behalf of Richard paints a picture of someone who’s focus is completely on the best interests of the client.’

‘Lauren is clearly well thought of and diligent as evidenced by the extensive and in many cases seemingly unsolicited client testimonials.’

Nia Wharry - Clarke and Son

Faye Evans, CBW Gemma Robinson, Paris Smith Carina McFadden, Blake Morgan Daniel Toop, Penningtons Emma Beeson, Penningtons

2. FIRM OF THE YEAR - large Churchers Bolitho Way (Winner) ‘Felt that both firms represented examples of firms who cared about their staff, invested in their growth an development and rewarded and valued success.’

Warner Goodman (Runner up)

3. FIRM OF THE YEAR small Larcomes (Winner) ‘Very professional outlook and excellent community support.’

Swain & Co (Runner up) ‘Swaine and Co were making themselves very accessible to their clients.’

Clarke and Son

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Happenings in Hampshire

HILS ANNUAL DINNER “An exciting and enjoyable event” was how one guest described the HILS annual dinner and awards ceremony which was held in the somewhat quirky venue Tiger Tiger, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, a venue more used to a younger more casually dressed clientele!

The event which was hugely popular with 180 attendees was sponsored by Landmark, IFS (Independent Financial Solutions), Brighter Law, JLT, Lexis Nexis, Metro Bank and Wilkins Kennedy took place in the upper floor restaurant, a fine evening allowed pre dinner drinks to be served on the balcony making the most of the unrivalled views of the Spinnaker Tower and the Isle of Wight.

Ian Robinson President of HILS spoke on how the Law Society is currently reviewing how best it can support, promote and represent the profession for the next generation. Changes in the legal market place, funding cuts, changes in regulation and advances in technology were some of the issues addressed.

After dinner entertainment was provided

by Dani King, the inspirational gold medal

cyclist who spoke of her determination to succeed despite initial rejection by British cycling and serious injury. Dani who grew up in Hamble describes cycling as her passion and is determined to return to the track and British team.

Nearly £1200 was raised by the raffle for the Nepal earthquake appeal and the money has been sent to the Periche First Aid Post in Nepal, in the foothills of Everest.

The inaugural Hampshire Legal Awards were also presented during the evening and full details on the entrants and winners can be found on the opposite page.

Speaking of the evening HILS Vice President Matthew Robbins said “to attract so many local solicitors and firms is a great achievement and something to build on in future years, it continues to illustrate the success of the Society in engaging with our local Solicitors.”

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Social Events

VISIT TO SALISBURY CATHEDRAL AND MAGNA CARTA SALISBURY CATHEDRAL WAS LOOKING ITS MOST MAGNIFICENT TO WELCOME HAMPSHIRE LAWYERS AND THEIR GUESTS TO THE MAGNA CARTA EXHIBITION AND LECTURE FROM LORD IGOR JUDGE ON MAGNA CARTA AND THE LAW. A tour of the cathedral illustrated the opulence of the design with the curving marble columns, earliest surviving choir stalls and of course the Chapter House, with its beautiful ribbed vault, which is home to the best preserved of four surviving original Magna Carta sealed by King John in 1215.

MAKE 1000 LAKESIDE THE DESTINATION FOR YOUR MEETING OR CONFERENCE IN 2015/16 As the stunning 1000 Lakeside North Harbour Portsmouth development continues to gain a reputation as the destination for business on the south coast, you too can experience the buzz by using the newly refurbished conference and meeting facilities to make your event an outstanding success.

Set in acres of amazing grounds with an impressive lake and magnificent wildlife, 1000 Lakeside, with its full height glazed atrium and licensed Real Cooking Café, offers a versatile all year round venue.

Three temperature controlled rooms, seating from 4 to 50 people, offers free wi-fi, white boards, flip charts and local telephone calls - and with catering and audio visual equipment available as an option, your meeting is guaranteed to be remembered for all the right reasons. Rooms are available by the hour or on a day delegate rate, which includes catering.

Karen Tyrrell, Lakeside’s Sales, Marketing and Client Liaison Manager says: “1000 Lakeside’s onsite conference team will ensure

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your meeting goes perfectly. Having already set the room up to your brief, they’ll be on hand during the day should you have any last minute requests. Plus the Café and Atrium can provide light, airy and bright areas which can be used for registration or breakout space.

“With loads of free onsite parking and fabulous retail facilities, 1000 Lakeside is just minutes from junction 12 of the M27 and Cosham train station, making it one of the most accessible venues around.

We’re looking forward to welcoming businesses from around the area to our fabulous location.”

For more information call Carlly on 023 9231 3943 or email meet@lakesidenorthharbour.com

News

WOULD YOU TWIG IF YOUR FAMILY TREE WAS INCORRECT?‌ THE IMPORTANCE OF USING A PROBATE GENEALOGIST As so often in life the basics are sometimes overlooked: in similar vein, the importance of identifying all known heirs prior to distribution is often not given the thought and effort that it deserves.

Estate Research are a leading firm of probate genealogists with over 100 hundred years in-house experience and an array of specialist technology at our disposal to assist you with problems you may encounter in processing a probate file.

One of the services we provide is our family tree verification service. We are often approached by clients asking to verify a hand-drawn family tree that they have been provided by an administrator that principally stems from a client’s testimony.

By way of an example, by no means uncommon, we recently checked a tree for a solicitor who was on the verge of distributing an estate to a sole maternal cousin. The heir (also the administratrix) had provided a tree stating that the deceased’s father and paternal family had no family.

Fortunately, the solicitor involved asked us to verify the estate before he finalised the estate for distribution. Our subsequent investigations revealed that the paternal family had over 25 full blood heirs, some as far afield as New Zealand and Eastern Europe; however, even more crucially we discovered that the administratrix was actually a half-blood maternal cousin and therefore not entitled to benefit under intestacy.

Another case involved a large estate: the Administrator had stated he was the sole heir based mainly upon a family tree compiled from information he had discovered on the internet. The tree stated that numerous branches had no descendants. The administrating solicitor, mindful of the risk present to themselves and to the putative administrator, contacted us to investigate the family tree; again, we

discovered the tree was indeed incomplete and proceeded to locate heirs in South Africa and the US. If you are considering a missing beneficiary indemnity policy to address the risk posed by a missing heir or indeterminate family tree you will invariably be required to provide a genealogists report to the insurer.

As part of our family tree verification service we provide a free no-obligation quotation for you to consider.

The examples above highlight the necessity of confirming the family tree and the importance of instructing a genealogist.

Please refer to our website for further details.

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News

JUDICIAL COST WARNINGS, PRO & DISPUTE RESOLUTION We live in an age of Cost Schedules, Cost Limiting, Proportionality and Risk.

Russell Evans In recent times a number of broadsides have been fired by the Judiciary to solicitors and parties alike about costs, proportionality and case conduct with warnings of severe consequences and a sting in the tail lest heed be paid.

Indeed there have been comments by many judges including our illustrious, highly persuasive brethren in the Court of Appeal as to the need to cut bundles, court time and cut costs with a strong emphasis on the need for parties to actively seek out settlement.

Proportionality, Case Management & Control of Litigation Seagrove v Sullivan [2014] EWHC 4110 (Fam) concerned a trust of land dispute between an unmarried couple over land with a value of no more than £1m in value which had consumed £1.3m in costs, generated an 8 day hearing and produced a 3500 page court bundle and 32 case authorities.

Presiding Mr Justice Holman made it quite clear that he was not prepared to allow litigation to proceed in such uncontrolled disproportionate fashion. Indeed he emphasised the need to ‘ensure the proportionality of litigation.’ Except for the two skeleton arguments and chronology amounting to some 50 pages, he ordered every single piece of paper lodged up until then to be taken away from the courtroom.

He gave very clear indications that the parties should attempt to settle. If the parties had not however reached a settlement by their return, they would be limited to bringing one bundle containing 150 pages each of their choosing and no more than five authorities. The judge further indicated that he would time limit evidence.

Mr Justice Holman stated that the ‘costs, and also the scale and intensity of this litigation, have been, and are, completely disproportionate.’ In Seagrove the parties wisely paid heed to the judge’s remarks and the matter was settled by way of approved tomlin order the following day.

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Rarely however is the issue of proportionality as stark as in Seagrove.

Frequently there is a delicate balance to be struck between the work required to adequately prove a case or causes of action to the satisfaction of the Court and case expenditure.

Proportionality & Budgeting After the legal implications and legal excitement of Andrew Mitchell MP another Conservative Member of Parliament has added to the cost debate. Tim Yeo Mp v Times Newspapers Limited [2015] EWHC 209 (QB) concerned a claim for libel over allegations of involvement in ‘cash for influence.’

In his Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report, Jackson LJ stated ‘It does not make sense for the court to manage a case without regard to the costs which it is ordering the parties to incur.’

Mr Justice Warby exercising his judgment as to the CPR budget provisions slashed Tim Yeo MP’s cost budget in one fell swoop by over a third from £560,000 to £370,000.

Courts exercising their powers of cost budgeting can effectively limit any potential cost recovery. Save in exceptional circumstances it is rare for budgets to be amended. There is clearly an element of crystal ball gazing and divination. Cost Budgets are not however open to the illumination and intoxication of the Delphic Oracle let alone its creative ‘interpretation’.

Proportionality & Costs Savoy v Spicers Ltd [2015] EWHC 33(TCC) concerned a construction dispute and a claim worth almost £900,000. The claimant claimed costs of £200,000 amounting to 364 hours solicitors’ time. At first glance one may think that this is rather more proportionate than in Seagrove.

Mr Justice Akenhead, however, sitting in the Technology and Construction Court, on reviewing matters stated ‘I am led to the inevitable conclusion that a costs bill of

over £200,000, albeit in relation to a claim worth just under £900,000, must be considered to be disproportionate.' He proceeded to half the allowable costs to under £100,000.

What then is proportionate?

CPR Part 44.3(2)(a) requires the court on a standard assessment of costs only to allow costs which are proportionate to the matters in issue. Costs which are disproportionate in amount may be disallowed or reduced even if they were reasonably or necessarily incurred.

1. CPR Part 44.3(5)states: “Costs incurred are proportionate if they bear a reasonable relationship to (a) ) the sums in issue in the proceedings; (b) the value of any non-monetary relief in issue in the proceedings; (c) ) the complexity of the litigation; (d) any additional work generated by the conduct of the paying party; and (e) any wider factors involved in the proceedings, such as reputation or public importance."

Rolls Royce or Mini An imperfect job carries with it the risk of a case lost, a dissatisfied client and a negligence claim. Perfection of course carries with it cries of unreasonableness, significant cost non recoverability and a similarly dissatisfied client albeit for different reasons.

Where then is the balance to be struck? As practitioners we are frequently called upon to walk a tight rope between competing demands. Clients clearly need to be warned.

We all have different perceptions. Neither the cost draftsman nor judge can fully live the life of the decision maker. Everything is in reality an approximation or best guess. Costs which are a significant proportion or indeed multiples of the damages in issue should clearly however set alarm bells ringing.

News

PORTIONALITY

WINE OF THE SEASON with Conal Gregory, Master of Wine

Justice Turner

Justice Holman

New Court Fees, Proportionality & Mediation Courts have now substantially increased court issue fees.

With effect from Monday 9th March 2015 the court issue fee for claims above £10,000 increased to 5% of the value of the claim up to a maximum of £10,000. The court issue fee for a £50,000 claim will therefore be £2500, a £100,000 claim will be £5000 and a £200,000 claim will be £10,000.

The dramatic increase in court issue fees may add yet further attraction to the use of mediation which in many cases is just a fraction of the cost of the court fees which will be payable. The courts already apply sanctions against parties who do not mediate. In the Court of Appeal case of PGF II SA v OMFS Company 1 Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1288 the successful party lost £250,000 in costs for failing to mediate. In the recent case of Laporte & Anor v The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2015] EWHC 371 (QB) not only did the successful party not receive an indemnity cost order which it had anticipated obtaining but was penalised one third of its costs for failing to mediate.

As in many cases the submission that mediation would not work was given short shrift rejection by Mr Justice Turner.

Referring to the Halsey factors and quoting Lightman J in Hurst v Leeming [2003] 1 Lloyd's Rep 379 the refusal of mediation was characterised as a ‘high risk’ strategy and cases where mediation had no reasonable prospect of success were described as ‘quite exceptional.’ Indeed ‘what appears to be incapable of mediation before the mediation process begins often proves capable of satisfactory resolution later.’

Mr Justice Turner concluded ‘I am satisfied that there was a reasonable chance that ADR would have been successful in whole or in part.’

The days of full or substantial cost recovery appear to be over. Parties are under scrutiny and some may say under attack from all sides as to the issues of conduct, proportionality and costs. Solicitors will therefore need to tread carefully and with caution and ensure insofar as possible that their clients are kept up to date, aware of and indeed properly consider the use of ADR. In this 800th anniversary year of Magna Carta we are no longer called upon to overthrow regal prerogative. We are however called upon to act proportionately in the administration of Justice. Indeed proportionality and dispute resolution is the flavour of the day.

Russell Evans, Resolve UK Mediator & Deputy Vice President of Hampshire Law Society resolve@resolveuk.co.uk

Chile has a reputation for making wines of real character at an affordable price. One of the country’s family-owned wineries is Viu Manent, situated in the Colchagua valley. Founded in 1935, its strengths are Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.

Seek out Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, made largely still from vines over half a century old. The 2011 shows a raspberry red hue, inviting cherry fruits on nose and a rich, still tannin structure on taste. Great value at £11.90 (Spirited Wines).

For fish and poultry dishes this summer, the apricot and jasmine flower aromas of Viognier with appealing acidity are just right. Try Eagles’ Nest 2014 made at the foot of Table mountain in Constantia in South Africa. The grapes are hand-picked and the wine is barrel fermented for six months. Dry and stylish, it has real class. £22.90 (Handford).

Sponsored by NFU Mutual Bespoke, high-value home insurance tailored to protect everything you value, including art, antiques, fine wine and more.

Visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/bespoke for further information.

Hampshire Legal

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Probate

Investment Overseas and the Impact on Estates The complex world of asset repatriation

by Louise Levene

Godfrey: “Prosperity is just around the corner.”

Mike: “Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.”

(Source: “My Man Godfrey” 1936 (Universal Pictures; Director: Gregory La Cava) This bit of bleak humour from the depression-era screwball comedy “My Man Godfrey” never seems to lose its relevance, as the global economy bounces from boom to bust, or navigates the fragile limbo in between.

Picture: “My Man Godfrey” 1936 ©Universal Pictures

Throughout the prosperous 1990s, British daytime television was peppered with programmes which painted a pleasing picture of investment opportunities in Spain and beyond for British householders with a pot of equity to spend.

Disposal of a property, even at a loss, might meet one such duty, but retaining the property, even if it costs money to do so, might arguably meet a different one. There might be reason to hope the value of the property will improve.

translations of English probate documents.

When an intestate English estate includes immoveable property, there may be questions of forced heirship, where close family members must benefit from part of the estate.

You could have a retirement home or an investment, whatever you needed. Building companies in Spain responded to demand with a huge construction programme, some of which turned out to have been built almost literally on sand, with building firms granted unsustainable mortgages by banks on the rash promise of quick sales.

Even once the decision to sell the property, or transfer ownership to beneficiaries has been made, dealing with property in Spain can be slow and expensive. Spain’s laws are kinder to UK estates than others in Europe: Spain uses nationality to determine how an estate should be dealt with, but it will accept the renvoi from England & Wales.

Clients who bought retirement villas and flats on the Costa del Sol during that time might not have counted on a scenario in which they died, in the throes of a terrible recession. Spanish property prices have tumbled up to 40 percent since 2008.

The Spanish inheritance process needs to be followed, involving the services of a notary (‘notario’). Spanish notaries are responsible for the drawing up of deeds covering the administration of estates and the registration and disposal of property.

Since the financial crash of 2008, time has shown that there aren’t easy answers to that central dilemma of whether estate representatives should keep or sell Spanish property. Any sale within the last seven years might have been through necessity alone, but continuing uncertainty and year-on-year declines in Spanish property values since that time also made it difficult to wait, with confidence, in the hoped-for improvement in the market.

For lower-priced property in particular, this can leave the estate with a dilemma. Sell the Spanish property as quickly as possible, at a loss, or hold out in the hopes of a recovery at the mercy of European market forces, while the fabric of the property deteriorated every year?

They don’t all communicate equally effectively, and some struggle to interpret the English & Welsh concepts of domicile and Executors (although the recent EU Succession Regulation 'Brussels IV' has been designed to smooth the way for estates after August 2015). Spanish NIE (fiscal identification) numbers have to be obtained for the beneficiaries something that is not made easy for UK residents to obtain - and tax clearance paperwork submitted.

Investors know, or are expected to have some idea about, the risks they are taking.

But it is the executors that have to juggle those risks against their occasionally conflicting duties as estate representatives when the investors die.

Personal representatives must gather in estate assets, and act promptly in administering and preserving the estate.

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Registration of title to the property must be transferred out of the deceased’s name before it can be sold. It can be difficult to get Spanish bank accounts closed. The Spanish authorities need official, legalised

For now, there are signs that the drop in values may have bottomed out, but UK property owners in Spain might still be glancing warily at Europe’s tribulations, and wondering which corner that much-needed prosperity will turn out to be ‘just around’.

Louise Levene is asset services manager at Finders International. For an initial, informal discussion about valuing or disposing of Spanish property, obtaining NIE numbers or closing bank accounts in Spain, or to discuss any estate matters with an overseas asset element, contact Louise on 020 7490 4935 or, in the UK, 0800 085 8796, or by email louise.levene@findersinternational.co.uk

Probate

Hampshire Legal

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Probate

HEIR HUNTERS SHED LIGHT ON LONG LOST BROTHER WHO SPENT LAST 25 YEARS IN MAKESHIFT HOME A CHESHIRE WOMAN HAS DISCOVERED HER LONG LOST BROTHER’S UNIQUE PAST THANKS TO TV HEIR HUNTERS’ SEARCH. Mr Millen died without leaving a Will, giving no indication of who he wanted to inherit his valuable estate.

As an ex-meteorologist who spent many years at the Met Office and learnt his craft in the military, Mr Millen enjoyed the outdoors.

team of leading genealogists and international probate researchers, dedicated to tracing missing beneficiaries to unclaimed estates.

It was only when probate research firm Fraser and Fraser, who star on BBC One’s daytime show Heir Hunters, tracked down his sister, that the family discovered his unusual way of life.

Neil Fraser, Partner at Fraser and Fraser said: “We sometimes get unusual cases such as Mr Millen’s which can make it harder to track.

Once we located his birth certificate, however, the family tree started to unravel.

Offering their skills to solicitors, finance professionals, large corporations and local authorities, their services, including International Bankruptcy Searches, Missing Beneficiaries Insurance and Probate Property Services are tailored to each individual’s needs, and are there to offer support to the legal profession with every step of estate administration.

Anne King had not seen her brother for over 25 years after he chose to tie off all forms of contact.

When the London based firm contacted Mrs King, she said she felt a “feeling of relief that at last I would know what had happened to him”.

Mrs King last saw her brother at their mother’s 80th birthday over a quarter of a century ago.

Although her other brother, Boyd, had tried to find him, no one managed to get back in touch.

Mr Millen used to live in a house boat along the canal, but when the council deemed it unfit for habitation, he chose to build his own home.

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“Mr Millen actually have £10,000 worth of premium bonds with the rest sitting in a bank account - something which the four heirs, including his sister, can now enjoy.

“In cases where the deceased is elderly, we often find the beneficiaries are further down the tree, but here we managed to find near kin, as well as Mr Millen’s nieces.”

Fraser and Fraser located four heirs on this case, the majority in the Cheshire and Liverpool area.

With over 90 years of experience, the firm are a

If you are searching for next-of-kin in order to distribute an estate to the rightful heirs, get in touch today. We understand that each case is unique and so offer our quote on a case-by-case basis. Once Fraser and Fraser begin to work a case, a full report will be provided, showing how the estate will be distributed at maximum value and as efficiently as possible.

Management Probate

The SRA’s new approach to CPD How Title Research can help LAST YEAR, THE SRA ANNOUNCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE WAY IN WHICH SOLICITORS AND LEGAL PROFESSIONALS NEED TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR CONTINUING COMPETENCE. The move away from a rigid continuing professional development (CPD) structure was intended to refocus the profession’s attitude to training and development, bringing an end to the ‘tick box’ attitude which many saw as limiting the effectiveness of CPD for the majority of legal professionals.

Instead, the new approach aims to enable solicitors to tailor their CPD activity in order to reflect the legal areas in which they operate more accurately. This will also ensure that more emphasis is placed on the outcome of the activity and the value that this offers the individual, rather than the process by which it has been achieved.

The new approach will become compulsory for all legal professionals from

November 2016. However, you can already opt in to the revised scheme and many are choosing to do so given the increased flexibility that it offers.

wide range of subjects impacting on trust and estate planning professionals, including risk management and compliance issues.

So what do the new regulations mean in practice? One of the most significant changes is that the CPD activity that you undertake no longer needs to be accredited. Adoption of the new standards means that you can now identify a wider range of training opportunities that can count towards your CPD activity.

We can deliver this service to you in the comfort of your own office at a convenient time for you and your colleagues, free of charge. If you would like to find out more about how you could benefit from a free CPD presentation, please contact Nicholas Beetham, Senior Relationship Manager at Title Research, on 07714 853651 or Nicholas.beetham@titleresearch.com

Title Research has provided free training and support to the legal profession for many years, drawing on our 50 years’ of experience as specialists in the estate administration market. Our team of experts regularly speak at industry events on a

Alternatively visit www.titleresearch.com for information on how we can support you and your clients with any asset repatriation or people tracing services.

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Education and Training

Hampshire Law Society is delighted to be able to offer members a comprehensive and value for money CPD programme.

The programme which will be emailed in full over the summer has provisionally been organised as follows: All seminars will take place at a venue near Southampton 10 Nov 2015

Probate

Keith Biggs

19 Jan 2016

Property

Peter Reekie

Jan/Feb 2016

Company

2 Feb 2016

Family Financial

No18 Chambers

23 Feb 2016

Wills

Prof Lesley King

March 2016

Conveyancing

Paul Clark

March 2016

Criminal

3 Paper Buildings

26 April 2016

Court of Protection

Denzil Lush

17 May 2016

Civil Litigation

No18 chambers

May 2016

Employment

Gary Self

21 June 2016

Conveyancing

Richard Snape

June 2016

Family

DJ Simmonds

5 July 2016

Property

Edward Denehan

Pricing: 1.5 hour lecture - £40.00 (Non Member £55.00) 3 hour lecture - £75.00 (Non Member £115)

HAMPSHIRE LAW SOCIETY Regulation and compliance conference 2015 Sept 2015 (tbc) Eastpoint, Southampton Hampshire Law Society is delighted to present a one day conference on regulation, compliance and best practice on.

September 2015 at Eastpoint conference centre, Bursledon Road less than 5 mins from J8, M27.

The conference for which full details will be emailed in the next couple of weeks will include speakers from the Law Society, SRA, LSB, Legal Ombudsman as well as other experts from within the profession.

Topics will include: • The future of regulation • A debate on regulating the profession • Complaint handling • Ensuring competent practitioners, CPD/training etc, SRA • Anti-money laundering • Avoiding negligence claims • Social media for lawyers • Changing face of legal technology • Financial update • Law Care

The cost will be: Members £95.00, Non members £145.00

ABOUT INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS Independent Financial Solutions (IFS) is a firm of highly respected independent financial advisers (IFAs) with offices in Portsmouth, Emsworth and London.

Established in 1989, we have over 25 years’ financial services industry experience. We are regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and offer a full range of financial planning and management services to private, professional and corporate clients.

The IFS way

IFS financial services

The IFS Client Portal

We are committed to providing the highest standard of service to our clients and we believe in long-lasting relationships based on mutual respect and trust. Our principals are David Stamp, Michael Reidy, Jon Foster and Joe Freire, all of whom are highly experienced specialists. They head up a team of fully qualified IFS financial advisers, each of which has at least four support staff, a ratio that is quite unique in the UK financial services industry.

Our qualified financial advisers help private clients get the best deal when it comes to everything from homebuying, pensions, estate planning and long-term care to investments, tax, ill-health protection and life assurance.

The IFS Client Portal gives our clients instant access to their financial portfolios and the ability to manage their investments. With their details easily accessible in one place, they can keep track of and update their investments, assets and plans wherever they are and whenever they want.

As IFAs, we work independently for our clients rather than representing a financial institution or bank. We offer independent, unbiased advice on financial matters and can recommend suitable financial products from across the market. We can find products that meet the specific needs of each client.

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With regard to our corporate clients, we offer a range of services that are designed to help companies run smoothly and successfully. Our qualified advisers specialise in corporate tax planning, employee pensions and benefits schemes, and HR advice and guidance services.

We also offer Tier 1 Investor and Entrepreneur visa services for overseas investors, at the core of which is the provision and management of FCAregulated investment solutions, and a range of specialist financial services for medical professionals, including pension, practice finance, protection and tax planning.

Available to all our clients, this online investment management tool can be used on the go, whatever mobile device they use, and, because our portal uses the latest security software and encryption technology, their data are always fully protected.

IFS. Independent financial advice that your clients can trust.

To find out more about how your clients can benefit from IFS financial planning and management services, contact us on 0800 980 4136 or visit www.ifsnet.co.uk

Management Legacies

PENSION FLEXIBILITY 4 MONTHS ON George Osborne's decision to overhaul the money purchase pension system, came into effect on the 6th April 2015. Now, 4 months on from these changes, we review how the pension changes have affected both client and provider experiences.

First a summary of what was introduced: 1.

2.

A new flexible drawdown system (FAD) designed to allow members of money purchase pension schemes to take what they liked from their pension while the remainder remained invested removing any previous limits imposed by the Provider.

A new retirement system called Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS). UFPLS allows a member to draw a lump sum from the untouched money purchase pension fund as 25% tax free and 75% as taxable income.

3.

Increased annuity flexibility allowing payments to vary up and down subject to predetermined conditions.

4.

Changes to the treatment of death benefits, including the reduction in the rate of income tax from 55% to 45% for deaths on or after age 75 and the introduction of intergenerational transfers.

5.

New contribution rules with the introduction of a new £10,000 money purchase annual allowance and stricter provisions on recycling tax free lump sums as further pension contributions.

There was nothing in the legislation forcing providers to offer these new retirement options. Some providers limited their options to full pension encashment, annuity purchase or transfer away. Pressured by the Regulator to be the "2nd line of defence", providers have asked clients to confirm they sought advice before accessing their pension pot.

The complexity of these pension changes has no doubt increased the need for good quality pensions advice. The Government's Guidance Guarantee via www.pensionwise.gov.uk allow people to access free pension information but it is emphasised this was not a replacement for financial advice. Client experiences have been mixed with many seeing Pension Wise as yet another barrier to accessing their funds. Concerns have also grown about the rise of pension scammers offering free pension reviews, legal loopholes and one off investment opportunities.

The Treasury is set to receive £360M this year from pensions access, but according to Pension Providers, many clients were unaware of the tax treatment of pension withdrawals. With only the first 25% of a pension fund available to be taken tax-free, the rest is taxed as income, those who took large withdrawals in April 2015 suffered emergency tax code deductions, leaving clients to seek rebates later via HMRC. Media speculation about the death of the annuity seems overplayed. Many clients now consider a blended approach choosing an annuity to underpin incomes together with the new FAD option, however financial advice should always be sought to ensure that what is chosen best suits a client’s individual circumstances.

This article is intended for qualified lawyers and solicitors and is not to be distributed to retail clients, it is for illustration purposes only and based on our understanding of current legislation.

The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you can lose some or all of your money.

Steven Vallery - Business Development Director - S4 Financial Limited Contact: 0127634932 Jonathan Lochery - Director - I.P.M. SIPP Administration Limited Contact: 08451303443

The new intergenerational transfer facility has meant pension providers have re-written their Expression of Wishes documents to ensure greater death benefit flexibility with providers able to pay income to a beneficiary in addition to the lump sum option.

Once a client has accessed the new freedoms, they are capped on future pension contributions down from £40,000 to £10,000 per annum losing the ability to access carry forward of any previous unused relief.

With greater freedom comes responsibility. A no cap, no limits sounds straightforward, but with unintended consequences and potential pitfalls, the need for good quality financial advice has never been greater.

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Cyber Security

A PROACTIVE CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY WITH SERO SECURITY

by Ben Millar, Director, SERO Security

VERY FEW ORGANISATIONS ARE AWARE OF WHAT PENETRATION TESTING ACTUALLY IS AND THE BENEFITS IT OFFERS IN TERMS OF REDUCING THE RISK OF NETWORK BREACHES. Penetration Testing is a pro-active method of identifying vulnerabilities and configuration weaknesses within your information systems, network infrastructure and IT procedures. By identifying these vulnerabilities and weaknesses, your organisation is able to significantly reduce the risk of being compromised by hackers and cyber criminals during cyber attacks.

Organisations commission Penetration Tests for a number of different reasons.

Any savvy Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO) will commission a Penetration Test to ensure that the risk to their information from external threats is as low as possible. And in other cases, they are commissioned to meet compliance requirements.

Lexcel is an accreditation within the legal sector, indicating quality in relation to legal practice management standards. The Lexcel "Standards for Legal Practices" guidelines make several references to Information Security Management and confidentiality of client data. In order to satisfy these requirements and achieve compliance, all compliant legal practices are required to demonstrate that their client information and digital assets are safe and secure from external threats. This can be achieved by conducting regular penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities and risks so that they can be reduced or completely mitigated.

Many legal practices use third party IT companies to manage their network infrastructure and services. But in some

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cases, these third party consultants are putting your information at risk by using very poor security practices, as one of our clients found out (described in the case study).

Case Study

business and trading to a complete halt.

This would have taken the law firm weeks or months to recover from. And if the hacker had chosen to delete all of the information they had access to (including backups), the firm may not have been able to ever recover.

A law firm that SERO tested were using For more information please contact: external IT consultants to manage their IT Tel: 01489 559485 network infrastructure and services. The firm had placed their trust in the consultants, assuming that they were using the most secure practices to manage their IT SERO Security provide expert network. It wasn’t until penetration testing services the firm to help identify the weakest commissioned a areas of your cyber defences.

Penetration Test that This enables your organisation they learned how to mitigate vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of vulnerable their being compromised during network and Cyber Attacks. information really was.

Would your Legal Practice be able to withstand a Cyber Attack?

SERO were able to remotely breach their external network defences and gain administrator access to the whole private network and all information stored on it. If a hacker had gained this level of access they would have been able to cause enough damage to bring the

>

Identify vulnerabilities in your information systems

>

Secure your intellectual property and sensitive information

>

Protect your digital assets from hackers and cyber criminals

Speak to a specialist on 01489 559485 or email info@serosecurity.com www.serosecurity.com

Cyber Security

Cyber risks:

How safe is safe?

Protecting confidential client information is an essential requirement of any law firm and it must ensure confidentiality to comply with SRA guidelines. So how do you best protect yours and your clients’ data?

For most principals running small and high street law firms, common sense can go a long way to ensuring that your systems protect your information. But there are three major threats to data security.

Threat # 1: Benign Neglect The most common threat to data is the failure to regularly make checks that the data on the backup can be restored. Twenty years ago when computers were less reliable, the need to make backups was front of mind.

However, when disaster strikes, the consequences are far more damaging.

Threat # 2: Your staff Some people who work in law firms are dishonest. The best thing you can do is ensure that your staff are properly trained.

There is no point in giving a junior staff member, responsibility for making backups and then not providing training.

You can’t prevent a staff member from carrying confidential information off the premises. How many times have you or one of your staff taken a physical file home to work on? This is incredibly common and also incredibly risky.

Staff also do stupid things on work computers. Create a culture in which good computer behaviour is the standard. A lot of work is usually the best cure. Busy staff don’t have time to surf the net or download suspect programs.

Threat # 3: Do you use email?

Many emails containing your client information have confidential documents attached. Very few law firms encrypt emails because recipients aren’t able to open the encrypted data. Sending an email to the wrong recipient might be the single biggest threat to data security, and yet it relies almost completely on common sense to prevent mishaps.

RICHARD HUGO-HAMMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AT LEAP LEGAL SOFTWARE, LOOKS AT SOME OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED, AND RECOMMENDS SOME SIMPLE STEPS OF HOW TO MINIMISE CYBER RISKS IN A LAW FIRM. Threat # 4: The bad guys out there!

In reality, the information that a small firm has on its systems is unlikely to be of interest to hackers. There is however a risk, and it is particularly important for you from a compliance perspective because your income depends on your practice certificate.

The SRA are justifiably concerned about all these threats.

Threat mitigation: a legal cloud software solution for small firms Some people are concerned about using cloud software but we have all done online (i.e. cloud) banking for years. Many of us post information on Facebook and LinkedIn. Cloud software. In reality we use it all the time, and the good news is that data stored in the cloud is far safer than almost every other common data storage mechanism.

Here is a 5 point checklist for you to use when you consider making your data as safe as possible:

1 Location Many people like the idea of having a physical server in their office, or in the office of their IT provider. This seems safe but is risky. World leading cloud software products run on servers are located in secure data centres with the world’s best practice for access not only to the data, but to the facilities in which the servers are housed.

This is where we keep data for our clients.

It is secure and constantly backed up. With cloud software location risk is eliminated.

2 Communication between your workstation/devices and the Servers Make sure that your software supplier utilises Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and RSA data encryption ensuring all communication between workstation and server is encrypted and protected from interception. These technologies are also used by financial institutions to protect client data.

3 Data Security on the Servers The world’s best practice security controls include industrial strength Firewalls, Antivirus and Anti Malware detection, Security Patch Management, System Security Hardening, N+1 redundancy and a host of other acronyms that are difficult to understand and that you don’t need to worry about anymore.

Make sure your technology provider is taking proper precautions. For example at LEAP our servers are hosted in Amazon Web Services data centres in Dublin. I would suggest that it is impossible for any small law firm to be able to afford similar levels of data security on their own.

4 Workstation Security A cloud application cannot protect your workstation and you should always ensure it is properly secured with the latest security updates from a reputable provider with anti-virus, malware detection and firewalls if necessary. Don’t open suspect attachments or download programs from untrustworthy sources. A good policy it not to allow personal use on work equipment.

5 Passwords You need a good password and you need to keep it secret. These are like security locks on a house; they keep 95% of potential intruders out. Don’t use: • 12345 • Password1 • Welcome • Your initials or date of birth • Your present or deceased pets’ names.

A final word on backups Make sure your technology system backs up your case management and accounting data. Implement smart, safe practice management software into your firm and your cyber risk is near to nothing. www.leap.co.uk 08437130135

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Cyber Security

TARGETING CYBER SECURITY A recent survey highlighted ‘Cyber Security’ as one of the greatest concerns of small and medium law firms within the UK. Legal technology today is a source of competitive advantage in many instances and, at the very least, a driver of efficiency and innovation. It is also often the mechanism by which many solicitors share information both between themselves and between themselves and their clients.

Thus, it is fair to say that the majority of information within a modern solicitor’s firm is held in a digital form and is, therefore, a potentially lucrative target for digital criminals.

Many such criminals target smaller firms because they believe they will have less resources available to protect them but will still hold much extremely valuable data. In essence, there is a very real threat to small and medium sized law firms and the data they hold. The question being asked across the sector is what can be done to reduce this threat? To properly understand what can be done, it is first necessary to understand from where the threats emanate.

Traditionally ‘Security’ was predicated on the notion of erecting an impenetrable exterior and only allowing known people through, an approach based on the assumption that threats were primarily external. In IT terms, this meant having a firewall to prevent unauthorised entry to the systems and protecting the systems with passwords.

In a World where sharing information is second nature to increasing numbers of people, many otherwise diligent workers can create situations where the data held by a firm is placed into less than secure environments. Research indicates that the majority of security breaches emanate from within organisations rather than from external attacks and that many of these are inadvertent rather than malevolent.

Many staff will access information from a variety of devices and a proportion of these staff will use the same passwords for their work accounts as they do for personal, less secure accounts. It is human nature to adopt repetitive simplicity when selecting passwords and it is this behaviour that creates the perfect opening for cyber criminals. The modus operandi for many cyber criminals today is the gathering and analysis of fragments of data which they can then use to launch very specific attacks.

For example, many firms will use an employee’s e-Mail account as their primary identifier for systems. Establishing a valid eMail address is a relatively simple task and so the cyber criminal already has half the information needed to access a system. And the password? Some of the most common passwords in use are 123456, password, qwerty and letmein.

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Even where more complex passwords are used, users often make it relatively simple for cyber criminals to uncover this last line of defence by using the same password for multiple accounts both personal and work related and the personal ones are often much easier to breach. Staff may send work to personal accounts to enable them to work out of the office or carry data on portable devices which are easily lost. We have become careless in our use of technology and this carelessness is the source of much valuable information to cyber criminals.

So is it all about the users? Absolutely not.

There is still a requirement to invest in proper security systems and processes and to review where data is stored, how it is accessed and by whom.

The cloud is often the source of much discomfort about security but is probably the one area where security is actually greater than more traditional IT solutions. The data is usually located in highly secure physical locations and the majority of cloud providers invest significant amounts of money in surrounding the data with both preventative and detection technology and have proven rapid responses to security incidents. Cyber criminals are less likely to waste time and effort attacking such environments when one known user account will provide them with direct, unhindered access.

Simple steps such as using token based authentication in addition to passwords and

reiterating to users that data protection is as much their responsibility as that of the IT function can significantly reduce risk. Regular audits and ethical hacking attacks can also reduce risk. Security requires a multi-faceted approach and requires consistent awareness and adoption by all members of a firm. There also needs to be an acceptance that you will be compromised at some point and establishing an effective response and counter-measures plan is equally as important as seeking to prevent the breach.

There is no panacea for cyber security. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and so establishing good security requires vigilance, constant education of the users, closing down the sources of information to potential hackers and frequent auditing and testing of the solutions that are in place.

Above all it is a constant process not a one off activity.

Simon Ratcliffe Consultant Advanced Computer Software Group For more information please contact: 0844 815 5575

Cyber Security

Brighter Law’s Trevor Hellawell advocates a pragmatic approach to cyber security Simple steps to safer security by Trevor Hellawell The risk of being hacked, or being groomed into revealing sensitive information to well-rehearsed and very plausible fraudsters is now well-known.

Not only can open email be intercepted, but con-men are increasingly winning the trust of law firm staff and (often successfully) inviting them to reveal additional information about clients, and client account access codes.

Such techniques can not only result in client money being siphoned off to fraudsters, but also in sensitive information being used to the detriment of clients and others. Information about a person’s or a company’s legal dealings can be every bit as valuable as cash.

The implications are frightening: - breach of Mandatory Principle 10 (protecting client money and assets) - breach of Accounts Rules protections - breach of trust to lenders and clients - breach of confidentiality - breach of DPA rules - lack of insurance indemnity - loss of reputation.

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Some simple everyday steps can be taken by all staff to reduce the risk, on the ‘burglar alarm’ principle. The steps won’t deter a determined hacker, but may put off the opportunist. To fail to take them would appear negligent, given current states of awareness and understanding.

Simple steps:

To find out more call 02392 316107 Email: Lana.Humphreys@marriotthotels marriotthotels.com

1. be AWARE that hackers and crooks target the least suspecting and more innocent targets - if you don’t think you are one, then you probably are

Terms & conditions apply

2. be AWARE that fraudsters are VERY

From £33.00 per person

plausible - be sceptical at all times - just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you 3. never reveal sensitive information in telephone calls - always ask to call back, and always from a separate phone line 4. if sent a link in an email, hover the mouse over the link without clicking on it - it may reveal a URL address that suggests it is a fraud 5. never send sensitive data in an open email - use encrypted PDF files or something similar that are less easy to intercept and alter 6. always double-check bank account details just before remitting funds to it - give the other side a call to check the details 7. consider allocating a client number to clients or third parties (a PIN number or transaction code) that they can quote as testimony of their genuineness before we do anything ‘sensitive’ for them 8. don’t send PIN numbers, or encryption codes by open email, especially not the same email that includes the encrypted attachment 9. beware ‘emergencies’ and threats con-men often strike when the pressure is on 10. check anything you are not sure about with your COLP.

On a deeper level, firms should consider: • triaging clients according to their sensitivity • adopting protocols as to who has authority to deal with highly-sensitive clients/matters • discussing enhanced cyber-security measures with their IT/ISP teams • adopting enhanced IT systems and measures • if not already in place, adopting an IT policy.

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29

News

INTANGIBLE ASSET TANGIBLE BENEFIT

Naomi Nesbit, Wilkins Kennedy

The concept of tax relief for Research and Development activity is not new and yet there continues to be a gap between the Government’s expectation of the number of companies which could claim this valuable relief, and the actual number and quantum of claims being made.

Added to this, when you also consider the relatively new patent box regime and potential tax benefits arising therefrom, there is a persuasive argument for proactively recommending a professional tax review to those clients where you are involved in reviewing or advising on IP strategy and protection. Perhaps not quite falling within duty of care, there is nevertheless a real opportunity to direct your clients to seek advice on some of the most valuable tax legislation in the UK.

Research and Development R&D tax relief can be claimed by a company if a project seeks to achieve an advance in overall knowledge or capability in a field of science or technology and there is uncertainty as to how the planned advance can be achieved. There are two schemes available; the Small and Medium Enterprise (“SME”) or large company scheme. Perhaps not surprisingly, the SME scheme is more generous in its rates of relief, but in fact relatively large companies are considered to fall within the relevant definition for these purposes:

An SME is defined as company with fewer than 500 employees and either of the following:

• an annual turnover not exceeding €100 million; or • a balance sheet not exceeding €86 million.

From 1 April 2015 the rate of tax relief increased to 230% of qualifying project expenditure under the SME scheme; that’s up to an incredible 46p tax reduction for every £1 spent on R&D. If a company is loss-making, tax credits are available to allow it to claim a refund from HMRC even where it has paid no tax in the past.

Patent Box regime The second half of this duo is the patent box, introduced and being phased in gradually since April 2013. Considered by some of our European Counterparts as ‘excessively generous’, the scheme as it currently stands is being replaced by a new, more restrictive version for any companies who haven’t ‘opted in’ by 30 June 2016. At the moment therefore, there is still time for your clients to act in order to take advantage of the generosity of the current rules.

Broadly, the patent box regime allows a company to claim a reduced rate of Corporation Tax, just 10%, on profits generated through the exploitation of patents.

With the combination of significant tax relief on R&D, and reduced tax rates on profits derived from patents, the UK is presenting itself as an extremely competitive market for the development of IP; but the ability to enjoy a benefit requires first of all a knowledge that the benefit itself exists. As a trusted advisor, there is perhaps a role for you to play in promoting your clients’ awareness of these schemes.

For further information please contact Naomi Nesbit, Tax Partner T: 01962 852263 E: naomi.nesbit@wilkinskennedy.com

‘TALK SOLENT’ - A New TV Show I would like to say hello to any lawyers and mediators out there who can’t wait to get on the TV. If you are delightfully opinionated on the state of the world - locally and nationally I have just the programme for you.

I am the Executive Producer of a programme called ‘Talk Solent’ which goes out daily on ‘That’s Solent’ a new television station which covers Portsmouth, Southampton and the Isle of Wight. Our studios are in Highbury College Portsmouth and I welcome three guests every day to talk about what they do as well as what is in the local and national newspapers that day. Topicality reigns supreme.

For those of you who do not know me I have a history of newspaper journalism, radio presenting and television work as a reporter and presenter. You may remember TVS and of course you will currently pick up Meridian. So far - as well

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Hampshire Legal

as politicians, businessmen and the odd celebrity - I have enjoyed talking to four of your number who have all enjoyed the experience and have returned.

I would also love to talk to some Barristers and/or a Judge or two if any are reading this and of course any of you who are retired are just as welcome.

We record Talk Solent at 2.30pm and it is transmitted on Freeview Channel 8 at 4.15pm and 8.15pm the same day. Sadly there is no payment but lots of guests tell me how much they enjoy being part of their community in such a fun and public way.

Your company will be mentioned on air.

Chrissie Pollard, Executive Producer ‘Talk Solent’

If you would like to come on please call me as soon as you read this. I am Chrissie Pollard, Executive Producer ‘Talk Solent’ on 07816 208406. My emails are christine.pollard1@virgin.net and mail@christinepollard.com Please reply to both.

I look forward to seeing you soon. You would be welcome as often or little as you like. I am of course aware you are very busy people. First come and give it a try.

I know you will enjoy it.

Legacies

LEAVING THEIR BELOVED FOUR-LEGGED FRIEND WITHOUT AN OWNER Some dog owners worry what might happen to their dog if they were to pass away first, leaving their beloved four-legged friend without an owner. Thankfully, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, offers the Canine Care Card, a special free service that aims to give owners peace of mind, knowing that the charity will look after their dog if the worst should happen. Not only does this offer reassurance to dog owners, it also helps to ease the minds of friends and family during what is already a distressing time.

Over the past 12 months, Dogs Trust has taken in a whole host of dogs across its 20 rehoming centres in the UK as part of the Canine Care Card scheme and helped them settle into happy new homes.

One of these dogs was Suzy who arrived at Dogs Trust Loughborough aged six-years-old when their owner sadly passed away. Scottish Terrier Suzy had spent most of her life with her previous owner so she was used to her home comforts. Dogs Trust Loughborough was able provide Suzy with a home away from home while she awaited her furrytale ending.

Dogs Trust never puts a healthy dog down, and works hard to match every dog with a responsible, loving home. After being cared for by Dogs Trust Loughborough, Suzy was soon rehomed and began settling in with her new family.

Adrian Burder, Dogs Trust CEO says, “Thanks to Dogs Trust’s Canine Card Card scheme, dogs in need of a new home are given a lifeline meaning that Suzy and many dogs like her are able to get a second chance at happiness and bring joy to a new family. If you decide to become a Canine Care Card holder, we will issue you with a wallet-sized card. It acts in a similar way to an organ donor card and notifies people of your wishes for your dogs, should anything happen to you. Dogs Trust also strongly recommends that you mention the care of your dog in your Will. That way, there can be no confusion about your wishes.”

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Conveyancing

Baby boomer home 'hoarding' means average property changes hands every 23 years compared to eight in the 1980s - First-timers buying later also behind decrease in housing turnover, say lenders.

- Rental properties stay in the hands of landlords longer.

- Cash makes up a bigger proportion of money spent on house purchases than mortgages.

Baby boomers ‘hoarding’ properties and firsttime buyers getting on the ladder later in life means homes in the UK change hands far less frequently than they did thirty years ago, a new report has found.

An analysis of the housing market over the past three decades has revealed that on average buyers hold on to the same property for 23 years before selling it, almost three times longer than in the 1980s, when it changed hands every 8 years.

The report argues that this is driven by a combination of factors, including the baby boomer ‘hoarding effect’, where middle-aged homeowners have a big slice of the housing stock and hold on to their properties rather than selling them.

The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association suggests that the decrease in housing turnover in recent years is also down to housebuilding not keeping up with the shortage of homes and younger people continuing to rent and managing to buy their first house much later than they did in the past.

Those rental properties stay in the hands on one landlord longer than had they been passed between owner-occupiers.

Peter Williams, executive director for IMLA, warned such situation could make it even more difficult for first-time buyers to get on the ladder in the future, with mortgage lending continuing to be subdued compared to past standards despite continuing to increase.

He said: ‘Quite simply, in the absence of a sustained rise in housebuilding and improved affordability and turnover, the fact that properties are coming onto the market less frequently severely limits the scope for wouldbe first time buyers to graduate to owning their own homes.'

Williams also warned that the growing influence of cash and equity was ‘sowing the seeds of a permanent social divide’ but added that we may start to see affordability improving as the market stabilises and wages rise.

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IMLA's analysis suggests that cash made up a bigger proportion of money spent on house purchases than mortgages. It said that just £4.17 of every £10 spent on house purchases in 2014 was funded by mortgages while cash or equity made up £5.83.

Mortgage lending to individuals has slowed down in the last year amid rising prices, which make properties less affordable, and following tighter restrictions since April’s implementation of the Mortgage Market Review.

Williams added: 'The introduction of the MMR and first use of macroprudential tools cannot be held entirely responsible for the slowdown over the last year, but we may be getting the first taste of how the new regulatory regime can engineer a more subdued market - even with the policy prop of ultra-low interest rates.'

The average house price now stands at another record high of £192,970 - up another £788 over the past month alone, according to the latest figures from Halifax.

Official data published yesterday showed borrowers' appetite for mortgages decreased significantly in the first quarter of the year, meaning lenders have seen demand fall more sharply than at any point since the financial crisis in 2008.

The Bank's Credit Conditions survey showed a sharp fall in demand for lending for

house purchase. By a balance of -40.8 per cent, lenders said demand had fallen between January and March.

It is the third three consecutive quarters of falling demand following readings of -46.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2014 and -27.4 per cent in the third quarter, the Bank of England said.

For more information please contact our office on 01276 451 203 or email us at threecounties@indexpi.co.uk

Conveyancing

RECONNECTING ASSETS WITH THEIR RIGHTFUL OWNERS

by Alison Douglas of Landmark Information Group

ACCORDING TO REPORTS EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE SEARCH WAS ON FOR OVER 73,000 PEOPLE WHO HAD NOT YET CLAIMED THEIR SHARE OF STANDARD LIFE’S £113MILLION WORTH OF UNCLAIMED ASSETS, FOLLOWING THE SOCIETY’S STOCK MARKET FLOTATION IN 2006. WITH THESE ENTITLEMENTS HELD IN AN UNCLAIMED ASSETS TRUST WHICH IS DUE TO CLOSE ON 9 JULY 2016 NEXT YEAR, TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR INDIVIDUALS TO CLAIM WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY THEIRS. The use of an asset reunification service would benefit anyone who believes they may be entitled to a share of the money, yet has been unable to locate any related documentation or perhaps believes a deceased loved one may have been eligible.

The legal profession can also take advantage of asset reunification services to connect unclaimed assets to individuals after a family member has passed away and

may not have updated the most recent asset information in their will.

In fact, a recent YouGov study that was commissioned

by Thomas Eggar LLP found that over half of those polled (55% of a total of 2,074) do not yet have a Will in place to make sure their estate is dealt with in line with their wishes, upon their death.

The study also found that almost one in ten who do have Wills have not updated them in a decade. Add to this, further research from Wills & Assets estimates that up to £175 million of assets could be left unclaimed, due to difficulties in tracking down assets after a family member has passed away.

At the end of the day, a ‘lost asset’ can occur for a number of reasons, such as a marriage breakdown, changed circumstances, a family member not

disclosing details of the asset, or perhaps a house move where the financial institution in question wasn’t notified of such changes.

The mystery of unclaimed assets can however be quickly rectified via one single search that probate professionals can undertake for their clients when administering an estate. Such asset reunification searches, such as Landmark’s Financial Asset Search, quickly help to identify potentially dormant, unknown or lost financial assets via one, online search service. This includes everything from pensions, life policies or unit trusts through to bank accounts, savings or shares.

If we go back to the Standard Life example mentioned earlier and consider the value of the assets that remaining unclaimed, including reports that one policy holder alone is due a pay-out of over £120,000, it is clear that there are advantages to using an asset search facility as part of the estate administration process. By doing so, it ensures that as much due diligence is undertaken as possible to help identify any potentially lost or dormant financial assets, and in turn reconnect them to the rightful beneficiaries.

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Notices

DOWNIE & GADBAN SOLICITORS OF ALTON HAMPSHIRE require experienced

RESIDENTIAL/ COMMERCIAL CONVEYANCER Partnership prospects offered Confident professional seeking to further career Competitive salary Please email your CV to simon.acworth@downieandgadban.co.uk

LOCUM AVAILABLE FOR FAMILY / MATRIMONIAL WORK: Miss Vivien Manfield, Solicitor, admitted 1981, Resolution Accredited Family Specialist January 2006 January 2011, based in Winchester, has been doing locum assignments since 1993 and is available for full or part time assignments.

Tel: 01962 853930 or email vivienmanfield@yahoo.co.uk for more information and c.v.

SENIOR PRIVATE CLIENT SOLICITOR 5-10 YEARS PQE Location: Salary:

Haslemere, Surrey Competitive

Burley & Geach have been established for well over 100 years with offices in Haslemere in Surrey and Petersfield, Grayshott and Liphook in Hampshire. We have an established client base, including high net worth and agricultural families.

We are looking for a senior private client solicitor to join our office in Haslemere where they will work alongside the firm’s Private Client Partner dealing with tax and estate planning, probates, trusts, wills and powers of attorney. We are looking for someone who is a full STEP. The successful applicant will be considered for partnership within 12-18 months and at this time, if suitable, will become Head of the Private Client Department.

Key responsibilities:- All aspects of private client work including advising clients (including high net worth clients, agricultural/land owning clients) on estate planning including taxation - Drafting Wills, Powers of Attorney and Trust documentation - Assisting with the administration of trusts and advising trustees - Providing assistance to and supervising Private Client team (long term) Skills, knowledge and experience:- Proven experience in all areas of private client work - Accuracy and attention to detail - Ability to provide a tailored service which meets each individual client’s needs - Excellent interpersonal skills, written and oral, at both client and peer level - Management/supervisory skills Please contact: angela.church@burley-geach.co.uk

MJP LAW MJP Law is seeking to expand its Family Law Department and is looking for a lawyer with three years plus PQE. Experience in both matrimonial and child care is preferable, but just as important is the realisation that team spirit is just as important for a happy working environment. IT skills will also be a feature to flourish in our paperless office. A firm with no glass ceilings awaits a lawyer wishing to be a part of a modern forward thinking firm.

Please send your CV to the Practice Manager Risa Moody: rm@mjplaw.co.uk

ALDRIDGE BROWNLEE SOLICITORS RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SOLICITOR/LEGAL EXECUTIVE - HIGHCLIFFE We are looking for an enthusiastic residential property solicitor or legal executive to lead the property team at our busy Highcliffe office. The ideal candidate should have a good grounding in all aspects of residential property work. This is an exciting opening for a proactive person to further develop an already busy office. An attractive employment package and the opportunity for advancement within the firm will be available to the right applicant.

Please send your CV with a covering letter by email to hr@ablaw.co.uk All applications received will be treated with the strictest confidence.

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Visit our website for an up to date list of vacancies, www.hampshirelawsociety.co.uk/vacancies To advertise on our website and in our quarterly magazine please contact Nicola Jennings administration@hampshirelawsociety.co.uk Fees for advertising are £125.00 for members and £150.00 for non members.