Autumn Issue 2016
The
Bournemouth LAWYER
B O U R N E M O U T H & D I S T R I C T L AW S O C I E T Y M AG A Z I N E
The New President’s Address (see Page 08)
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Contents PUBLISHER Benham Publishing Limited 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY Tel: 0151 236 4141 Facsimile: 0151 236 0440 email: admin@benhampublishing.com web: www.benhampublishing.com
ADVERTISING AND FEATURES EDITOR
introduction 4
List of Officers
5
President’s Column
6-7
AGM Meeting
local issues 9 -14
Anna Woodhams
Local News
employment
STUDIO MANAGER
15
John Barry
Interview With Leilani Reader.
financial
ACCOUNTS Joanne Casey
16
Welcome to the New World of Retirement.
17
Tesco Law Is Dead!
probate
MEDIA No. 0001
spotlight on
PUBLISHED June 2016 © The Surrey Law Society - Benham Publishing
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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.
conveyancing focus 19
The Client-focused conveyancing case management.
20
Why Conveyancers must employ enjoyable technology.
21
Make Residential conveyancing Profitable.
21
Thames Water Residents’ Update.
22
A history of innovation in specialisation.
23
Act early to ensure your client benefits from valuable tax relief.
property
DISCLAIMER The Bournemouth & District Law Society welcomes all persons eligible for membership regardless of Sex, Race, Religion, Age or Sexual Orientation.
Guy and Chris Setford- Joint CEOs of Setford Solicitors.
employment law
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.
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Can you read your employees’ e-mails?
25
Partners behaving badly.
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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Consumer Credit and CPD.
27
Being Authorised by the FCA.
management risk & compliance
cyber security
COVER INFORMATION The cover image:
28
Why Cyber Security Matters.
Carol Maunder, President, Nigel Smith, Senior Vice President.
Copy Deadlines October 2016 is December 2016 is
business strategy 31
anna@benhampublishing.com 0151 236 4141
Anyone wishing to submit editorial for publication in Surrey Lawyer please contact Mandy Health, before copy deadline. Email: Tel:
How to ensure your practice management software is truly cloud based. Cyber Security: Are you covered by your IT Managed Service Provider?
7 September 2016 16 November 2016
Anyone wishing to advertise in The Bournemouth Brief please contact Anna Woodhams before copy deadline. Email: Tel:
29 30
office@bournemouthlaw.com 01202 587551
Only Wind and Water.
legacies 32
Negligent Will Drafting.
33
Vet Charity PDSA launches Free Will scheme.
33
Wine 0f the Season.
34
Canine Care Card.
TheBournemouthLAWYER 3
officers
president
commitee member
CAROL MAUNDER
TAMMY GROVES
DUTTON GREGORY LLP Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
THE MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
senior vice president
commitee member
NIGEL SMITH
PATSY WHITFORD
ELLIS JONES SOLICITORS Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk
LACEYS SOLICITORS LLP Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk
honorary secretary
commitee member
MARK KITELEY
LINDSAY HALLIWELL
KITELEYS SOLICITORS Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
STEELE RAYMOND LLP Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
treasurer
office manager MANDY HEATH
FIONA KNIGHT KITELEYS SOLICITORS Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
BOURNEMOUTH & DISTRICT LAW SOCIETY Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
assistant hon secretary: SHAMI DUGGAL RAWLINS DAVY Resolution House, Riverview, Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, GU1 4UX DX 2403 Guildford 1 Tel: 01483 887704 Fax: 01483 887758 Email: msb@hartbrown.co.uk.
membership details Annual Subscriptions: Corporate Subscriptions: Solicitor Solicitor Honorary Membership: Associate Membership:
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£95 per person, per year. (20+ fee earners) £1,800 per year (not in private practice) £60 (not practising) £35 free free - no voting rights
To apply for membership please contact: Mandy Heath, Office Manager Bournemouth & District Law Society Borough Chambers, Fir Vale Road, Dorset BH1 2JJ Web: www.bournemouthlaw.com DX 7616 Bournemouth Email: office@bournemouthlaw.com Telephone: 01202 587551
president’s column
President’s Column August 2016 Well, as I was promised, 6 weeks in and the start to my Presidential year has been very busy!
AGM - Wednesday 25 April 2016 The AGM was held at the Carlton Hotel on Monday 25 April and was well attended. Congratulations once again to Julie Pick on her year as President and thank you Julie for all your “top tips” for the year ahead. Please see Mandy Heath’s report and photos on pages 1 and 2. Annual Presidents’ and Secretaries Conference at Chancery Lane - Friday 6 and Saturday 7 May 2016 Mark Kiteley the BDLS secretary and myself attended the Annual Presidents and Secretaries Conference at the Law Society in Chancery Lane, London. Representatives attended from 55 local law societies. We are a medium size law society with, including trainees, approximately 500 members.
A gala dinner was held on the Friday evening in the transformed common room, along with pre-dinner wine and beer tasting and post-dinner port and cheese in the reading room, all very civilised! Presentations were given during the day by both the president of the law society, Jonathan Smithers and the vice president Robert Bourns with a very entertaining after dinner speech given by the deputy vice president Joe Egan. There was also a rather heated discussion on the Saturday morning following a presentation on “Governance review update”. As always with conferences the value was in the networking and sharing of ideas. Annual Doctors’/Lawyers Dinner - Thursday 12 May 2016 The Bournemouth Doctors/Lawyers’ annual dinner was held on Thursday 12 May 2016 at the Escoffier Restaurant at the Bournemouth & Poole College. 57 people attended a fabulous 5-course meal prepared by the talented young trainee chefs. Please see my report on page 3.
I enjoyed talking to the other Presidents who came from all over the country and represented small up to very large law societies. On one occasion I was sat next to two presidents, one of whom was from Trafford with a membership of 30 and the other from Birmingham with a membership of 4,000. It was interesting to see how the different law societies are run.
Hampshire Law Society Annual Dinner, Portsmouth Thursday 19 May 2016
We attended a number of breakout sessions including “Raising money: what can sponsors do for you?” “Changes in CPD”, “Small and medium sized local law societies: sharing ideas”. The most interesting session I attended was one called “Innovative ways to run your local law society” which was hosted by a past president of the Liverpool law society. He gave a very inspiring presentation on his mission to encourage children from working-class backgrounds to consider a career law.
The Hampshire Law Society’s president, Matthew Robbins held his annual dinner at Portsmouth’s historic dockyard. Pre-dinner drinks took place from 6pm in Action Stations, the interactive Royal Naval Museum where I had a go at crashing a helicopter in a simulator. We then moved on to Boathouse Number 7 for the dinner. Approximately 250 people attended this prestigious event where there were three after dinner speakers: Mr Joe Egan, deputy vice president of the law society, Mr Matthew Robbins, president
A LIST GUEST LIST: Top table guests at Hampshire Law Society Dinner.
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president’s column Hampshire Law Society Annual Dinner, Portsmouth Thursday 19 May 2016 (continued) Mr Robert Bourns, vice president of the law society, was the guest speaker. Robert gave a passionate speech about solicitors being active within the law society and about the changes affecting the profession imposed by government. Robert takes over as the president of the law society for England and Wales in July 2016. He also made the point that whilst law society presidents traditionally are involved in a lot of foreign travel, promoting the rule of law and the English legal system abroad, it was his intention to focus his efforts on the UK. 5-a-side Football Tournament Sunday 22 May 2016 A LIST GUEST LIST: Kevin Keegan, Carol Maunder and Jon Dowty, Carol’s husband
of the Hampshire law society and the guest speaker, the well-known Liverpool footballer, Mr Kevin Keegan; billed as having influenced the hairstyles of a generation. It was quite a long evening with an early start at 6pm and a late fi nish after midnight, but Kevin was a real trooper. He arrived early, joined in the fun at Action Stations and then, as well as giving his speech, made a point of visiting as many tables as possible during the course of the dinner, to chat with people, have his photograph taken with them and sign autographs. He even stayed until the very end and beyond until everyone who had wanted to meet him had done so. A very sociable, down-to-earth and all round fun person to have at a party.
My thanks to Nigel Smith (Senior Vice President of the BDLS) who kindly attended on my behalf, to present the prizes at the annual BDLS 5-a-side football tournament at Pelhams Park in Kinson. Report page 4. Private Client Conference - Tuesday 24 May 2016 Following the success of our first all-day conference on private client last year, our second private client conference was again held at The Village Hotel on the 24 May. There were 37 delegates, a variety of speakers and a buffet lunch. n
CAROL MAUNDER, B&DLS President
Following dinner the winners of the 6 categories of the Hampshire law society legal awards were announced and I was delighted to see that my own firm, Dutton Gregory, won the “Large Firm of the Year” award. After driving back home to Poole, grabbing a few hours’ sleep and going in to work the next day, it was then time to head out to Dorchester for the… Dorset Law Society Annual Dinner, Dorchester - Friday 20 May 2016 The Dorset law society annual dinner was held at the Wessex Royale Hotel in Dorchester. The event was sold out with approximately 85 people attending. It was a very entertaining evening with a magic circle magician and a Shakespearian theme. This theme was reflected in the menu with such dishes as “the taming of the stew” (potage of lamb) and “Much ado about pudding” (lemon posset). Even the Master of Ceremonies, Barry White, was dressed in full Shakespearian costume. The president of the Dorset law society Mrs Katharine Jones, gave thanks to her committee for their revitalising of the Dorset law society.
Please join the “Bournemouth & District Law Society” Linkedin group. We now have 210 members! An ideal place to discuss any issues and keep up-to-date with events. www.linkedin.com/groups/4374938/profile 6 TheBournemouthLAWYER
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BDLS AGM 2016
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NEW PRESIDENT ELECTED Monday 25 April 2016, Carlton Hotel, Bournemouth This year’s AGM was held at the Carlton Hotel on Monday 25 April. The pre-AGM presentation was from Robert Rutherford on “What Can Legal Firms Learn from another ‘Service Provider’ - an IT Firm?” when he discussed and challenged the current thinking within legal fi rms. Such as why do so many fi rms in effect use their best technical people to network and sell their services, when they may not be the best people to do so? How innovation and speed of execution is a key strength in a sector going through real disruption, and how firms can start to innovate and improve the decision making process, along with providing examples of how his business deals with similar challenges and opportunities. He proceeded to give examples on how simple key performance Carol Maunder, President, with indicators and other management Nigel Smith, Senior Vice President information can be used to continually improve the operations within a law firm, delivering measurable improvement on the bottom line. He then elaborated on how the demands of current and future clients are shaping the industry from outside and how billing methods and strategies need to develop to compete in the shifting market. At the end of the talk Robert explained why law fi rms are under sustained attack, how a fi rm’s leadership needs to take ownership of the problem, and how they can do so. If anyone would like a copy of his presentation, please email him at Robert.Rutherford@quostar.com The AGM commenced shortly afterwards with the following appointments for the year 2015/16:
LEADERS: Carol Maunder, President, Nigel Smith, Senior Vice President.
We hope that they all enjoy their terms of office with the Society. Before handing over to Carol Maunder, Julie Pick gave a short presentation. Julie mentioned that she has thoroughly enjoyed her term of offi ce for this Society and it has been a great honour and privilege. She urged all members to give serious consideration about standing as President and for the respective firms to give their support to those interested individuals. Following her election at the AGM, our new President, Carol Maunder, gave a short address to the members. Carol is a Partner at Dutton Gregory Solicitors in Bournemouth town centre and heads her fi rm’s Clinical Negligence Department. Before qualifying as a Solicitor, Carol worked as a Cardiac Technician and this medical background from service in the NHS and the private sector has helped her better understand the complexities of putting together a successful clinical negligence claim. In her address Carol said it was a great honour to be elected President and went on to mention that it must mean that she has now become suffi ciently old enough to be considered for this sort of position - rather like the lifetime achievement awards given out at the Oscars to some old codger
Honorary Secretary: Mark Kiteley Kiteleys Solicitors
Carol has a number of events booked already for her presidential year. On 8 February 2017, Chris Barrie has been booked to speak at the BDLS Annual Lunch at The Pavilion. People will know Chris from the Brittas Empire and also Red Dwarf as well as being an all-round impressionist and comedian. This year already we have held the Doctors/Lawyers Dinner on 12 May at Bournemouth & Poole College and the European Conference to Nice/Monaco on 15 October.
Treasurer: Fiona Knight Kiteleys Solicitors
The BDLS Quiz Night will be on 29 September at the Marsham Court Hotel and the Wine Tasting evening on 17 November.
President: Carol Maunder Dutton Gregory LLP Senior Vice President: Nigel Smith Ellis Jones Solicitors
Assistant Hon Secretary: Shami Duggal Rawlins Davy General Committee: Tammy Groves The Mental Health Practice Patsy Whitford Laceys Solicitors LLP Lindsay Halliwell Steele Raymond LLP
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Finally, Carol congratulated Julie Pick on her year as President and thanked her for all her support and her “top tips” for the year ahead. After the AGM, members enjoyed the drinks and buffet whilst socialising with other members of the profession.n CAROL MAUNDER, B&DLS President
BDLS AGM 2016
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER: Carol Maunder, President, with Julie Pick, Past President.
GUESTS: Anne Watson-Lee and Andrea Rohr.
GUESTS: Lindsay Halliwell and Patsy Whitford.
GUESTS: Kay Donalson, Chris Clifford and David McWilliam.
GUESTS: James Stelfox and Robert Rutherford from Quostar.
GUESTS: Simon Steele-Williams, James Stelfox and Mark Kiteley
GUESTS: Lee Taylor and Michael Newbold.
GUESTS:Tammy Groves and Sean Waters.
Photography by Adam Lynk of Lynk Photography Email: hello@adamlynk.com | www.adamlynk.com
TheBournemouthLAWYER 9
local news
ANNUAL DOCTORS/LAWYERS DINNER
Thursday 12 May 2016, Escoffier Restaurant, Bournemouth & Poole College, Lansdowne That eagerly awaited gourmet date in the calendar, our Annual Dinner with the Doctors, was again held at the Escoffi er Restaurant at the Bournemouth & Poole Catering College. Kindly organised by Dr Tim Battcock and Mr Gary Pick, the event was sold out with 57 people attending. As always it was an informal occasion with no speeches and the emphasis being on the delicious food and good company. The 5-course meal was perfectly rounded off with hand-made petit fours and coffee. All the food was prepared and served by the students of the college under the supervision of Nikki, their restaurant manager. The food, service and wine was impeccable. The menu consisted of an appetiser, a choice of starter of red mullet or goats cheese lumaconi pasta followed by a truly amazing mango and cucumber sorbet. Our taste buds were then treated to a main course of either slow cooked beef or truffled haricot bean hotpot.
This was then rounded off with a trio of desserts which included mine and everyone else’s absolute favourite, a hot blackcurrant soufflé which received a round of applause all to itself. A truly masterchef experience. The restaurant is open during term time both at lunch times (great for business lunches) and in the evenings from Tuesday to Thursday. The quality of the food and service is excellent and great value for money. The wines are also very reasonably priced. Please continue to support this popular event next year.
dates for the diary 2016/17 29 September 15-18 October 17 November 8 February 2017 17 March 2017
Quiz Night European Conference to Nice & Monaco Wine Tasting BDLS Annual Lunch BDLS Annual Dinner
at Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth at Cumberland Hotel at The Pavilion, Bournemouth at The Hilton Hotel, Bournemouth
BDLS GOLF GROUP Tuesday 10 May 2016
After a rearrangement of the Spring meeting due to bad weather which did not materialise, the meeting took place at Moors Valley a week later than planned. It was a very close competition this year with Ed Holmes winning the Rose Bowl and just beating Bill Oliver who in turn just beat Paul Turner for the Wells Cup. Martyn Hudson hit the longest drive while Bill Oliver was nearest the pin. I am very grateful to everyone who attended and in particular for Bill Oliver for flying back to the country and for Bob Boyce flying up the fi rst fairway to join us on the second tee after going to the other valley. The Autumn meeting will be in September with date and venue to be confirmed. Edward Holmes, Golf Secretary
THE 19th HOLE :L-R: Simon Forshaw, David Walton, Bill Oliver, Bob Boyce, Ed Holmes, Paul Turner, Martyn Hudson and David Steele
BDLS WEBSITE ACCESS - THE PASSWORD HAS CHANGED! www.bournemouthlaw.co.uk To access the Members’ Only sections of our website:
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Please make a note the password is now: Society
The Username remains the same: Member
local news
FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT Sunday 22 May 2016 Pelhams Park Leisure Centre, Kinson
Ellis Jones retain 5-a-side Trophy. We had a good entry of seven teams for the 5 a side competition, including a debut from BDLS Junior Lawyers Division. Entrants included previous winners Lester Aldridge, last year’s runners up, Pengillys, and an experienced Kiteleys team featuring former President Peter Fowler. In a league format, all teams won at least one game. The early frontrunners were Ellis Jones and Aldridge Brownlee, who drew 1-1 in a tight match. Preston Redman then beat Aldridge Brownlee 3-2, coming back from 0-2 at half time. Junior Lawyers Division, with the benefi t of youth, then became the main challengers to last year’s winners Ellis Jones. The crunch game was JLD v Ellis Jones. The JLD goalkeeper had conceded just one goal in their other fi ve matches, but the Ellis Jones fi repower proved to be too strong, with Ellis Jones winning 4-1. Nigel Smith, the Vice-President, presented prizes to all teams and trophies to Preston Redman (3rd), Junior Lawyers Division (2nd) and Ellis Jones (winners). Daniel Francis, Football Organiser
Dan Pidgley of Ellis Jones with Nigel Smith, competition winners
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junior lawyers
Over 40 JLD members and non-members made use of the exclusive Garden Den area at Lost Gardens in Bournemouth on Friday 22 April. All attendees enjoyed the drinks vouchers that were included in their ticket prices and the 2-4-1 offer on cocktails. There may have been a few sore heads on Saturday...! On Thursday 19 May, we enjoyed a very interesting presentation from Anne from LawCare on the topic of “The Offi ce: Life/Work Balance”. This was a very informative and helpful talk which looked at balancing our lives to beat stress, working smarter through time management, effective use of email, how to be a good manager in a 21st century law form and spotting the warning signs of stress and how/where to seek help. Thank you to Lester Aldridge for the use of their facilities. We are extremely pleased and proud of our JLD football team who came 2nd in the BDLS Football Tournament on 22 May! The Team, made up of Dan Gardner, Shaun Guppy, Jono Sherman, Wesley Gifford, Gareth Hale and Lee Taylor,
LOST GARDENS: Laura Stone, Lucy Benjafield, Hayley Collis and Rebecca Buxton
JLD Football Team
was in with a shot of the title up until they met eventual winners Ellis Jones and took a bit of a beating. Nonetheless they rallied to fi nish a deserved second. We’ll aim for the title next year! The Foodbank collection is continuing to work its way around the fi rms. We are very grateful for the support the individual fi rms and their staff have provided to date. Huge amounts of food have been collected for the Poole and Bournemouth branches so far from Ellis Jones, Morris Scott & Co, Turners and Coles Miller. The boxes are now in the hands of Dutton Gregory for the month of June. Don’t forget to take pictures of your collections and spread the word on social media. Marie Rowe-Cousins, Golf Secretary
Danielle Slater from Turners Solicitors
L-R Sally Durow of Intergage, Darren Francis of Coles Miller & Roan Fair of Intergage
SBA THE SOLICITORS’ CHARITY TO INCREASE CHARITABLE SPENDING BY NEARLY 50% SBA The Solicitors’ Charity has adopted the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s “Minimum Income Standard” (MIS) as its threshold for assessing applications. This pivotal decision for the charity will signifi cantly increase its charitable spending on grants and interest-free loans to solicitors and former solicitors facing personal financial hardship. It also means that SBA’s criteria for establishing personal financial need are visible for the first time in its 158-year history. MIS figures are produced by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University and form the basis for the UK’s Living Wage (not to be confused with the government’s “national living wage”). Underpinning research looks in detail at what households need in order to have a minimum acceptable standard of living. This includes a reasonable level of participation in society as well as life’s necessities. SBA now invites all potential applicants to use the MIS on-line calculator, where it is possible to specify up to 107 variations in household size and composition. These can be further sub-divided by type of locality (such as village, rural town, urban area, London). The resulting calculation indicates net income needed per week. By using this free, anonymous tool, potential applicants can check for themselves if they are likely to be eligible for SBA’s fi nancial assistance before they apply. For solicitors unable to support themselves financially due to illness, disability or because they are over State retirement age, MIS levels will not only determine eligibility for SBA’s help. They now also form the basis for considering the level at which an SBA award might be made.
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Though SBA retains full discretion to augment, limit or curtail any award it makes, the overall effect of changing over to MIS means that SBA’s annual charitable spend is set to rise from £864,860 in 2015 to over £1.25M in 2016. It also means that most existing beneficiaries will receive higher awards. For those whose principal need is to find work, SBA’s assistance will continue to focus primarily on referring eligible candidates for short-term help with career transition. Tim Martin, SBA’s Chief Executive, welcomes the changeover to MIS. He said, “Drawing on this much admired research means that SBA The Solicitors’ Charity can demonstrate transparency in how we target resources to solicitors and former solicitors in personal financial need. Times are tough, especially for colleagues in Sole Practice, Small Firms, Personal Injury and Criminal Justice. As the profession’s own dedicated charity, we want to do all we can to help support them.” To find out more, visit www.sba.org.uk or telephone in confidence on 020 8675 6440.
council members
COUNCIL MEMBER’S REPORT Wednesday 18 May 2016
Over 40 JLD members and non-members made use of the exclusive Garden Den area at Lost Gardens in Bournemouth on Friday 22 April. All attendees enjoyed the drinks vouchers that were included in their ticket prices and the 2-4-1 offer on cocktails. There may have been a few sore heads on Saturday...! • The Council meeting in Committee debated the recommendations of its independent lead Dr Nicola Nicholls who had undertaken a governance review designed to enable the Society to make decisions and implement policy more quickly and ensure that the organisation is representative of a changing profession. The recommendations included paid lay members in senior positions, a smaller Council meeting four times a year, a powerful nominations committee to vet and approve candidates for President and maximum terms of office for Council members. • Announced first in broad terms at the Presidents and Secretaries conference, the proposals were scrutinised in advance of the debate and proved controversial. The Vice President who chaired the debate recognised the mood of the meeting. The only recommendation which received support was that work should start upon the establishment of a senior or main board as the preeminent decision making body for the organisation and potentially emerging out of the current Management Board chaired by the Treasurer. At present all four Law Society boards covering management and finance, membership, regulation and legal affairs and policy are equal within a flat structure. • Christina Blacklaws MA (Oxon) has been elected Deputy Vice President of The Law Society. Ms Blacklaws is a family solicitor with Cripps LLP in
Tunbridge Wells and joined Council in 2002 where she represents the Women Lawyers Division (previously Association of Women Solicitors.) This means that the Office Holders for 2016-2017 will be; Robert Bourns, President, Joe Egan, Vice President, Christina Blacklaws, DVP and Catherine Dixon, Chief Executive. • Law Society policy on the death penalty. On the advice of the Human Rights Committee, the Council agreed to change the Society’s policy on the death penalty which ‘calls on states who still maintain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions.’ The new policy is in line with the UK government and the EU although contrary to the position of the American Bar Association. The Society now ‘calls upon states that maintain the death penalty to abolish it.’ • The Council agreed subject to a refinement of the wording, to submit to the AGM for approval a Bye-Law change providing for the automatic - as opposed to discretionary - suspension of a Council member subject to SDT or with minor exception criminal proceedings. • The Law Society of Scotland has announced that for reason of its own it is to develop an electronic portal for residential conveyancers modelled on Veyo. Tim O’Sullivan, Council Member
LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION SUB-COMMITTEE - NEW COMMITTEE After 8 years as the Chair of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee Adrian Harding has now retired from that position and I think we should all thank him for his hard work over the years. I have now taken over as the Chair along with Emma Hamilton Cole, who will be heading up any family matters and Carl Geary, who will be heading up any civil matters. The main functions of the Litigation and Resolution Sub-Committee has traditionally been to: 1. Act as the main point of incoming information for the Society (in conjunction with the office) and for its dissemination to members. 2. Act as a conduit for complaints, comments and suggestions regarding the court system and procedures to the court management, primarily the courts in Dorset and Southampton.
3. Represent the Society on court/tribunal committees by receiving views from the members relating to relevant topics, relaying them to the Committee and reporting back to members. 4. Leading the Society’s response (where appropriate) to different issues as they arise in conjunction with others, including members of the BDLS General Committee.
Emma, Carl and I are thankful to be appointed to this position and would readily welcome any feedback from any members of the Society in relation to anything they would like us to review, liaise back to court management or assist with. Our contact details are: Tim Flower Preston Redman LLP Hinton House, Hinton Road Bournemouth, Dorset BH1 2EN Tel: 01202 292424 Email: tf@prestonredman.co.uk
Emma Hamilton Cole Williams Thompson LLP Avon House, 4 Bridge Street Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1DX Tel: 01202 484242 Email: EHC@WilliamsThompson.co.uk
Carl Geary Frettens Solicitors The Saxon Centre, 11 Bargates Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1PZ Tel: 01202 499255 Email: cgeary@frettens.co.uk
Tim Flower, Chair of Litigation & Dispute Resolution Sub-Committee
MENTOR FOR NEWLY QUALIFIED SOLICITORS Immediate Past President, Julie Pick, is now the mentor for newly qualified solicitors. She can be contacted by email: garyandjuliepick@gmail.com TheBournemouthLAWYER 13
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CYBER RISKS: PROTECTING YOUR FIRM AND YOUR CLIENTS
The media has recognised the newsworthiness of financial crime and, in particular, criminals’ attraction to law firms and their client accounts. As a consequence, TV time and column inches have been dedicated to the plight of solicitors falling victim to scams. Insurers welcome the increased awareness generated by this publicity but, unfortunately, ongoing claims notifications demonstrate that the profession is still firmly in the fraudsters crosshairs. Law firms hold significant sums of money in their client accounts, particularly if they handle property, estate administration, trusts or high value personal injury and clinical negligence claims. Those sums are very attractive to fraudsters. Any successful fraud is a threat to your practice. The consequences vary from reputational damage to negligence claims, regulatory investigation, intervention and worse. If your business failed as a result and you were made bankrupt, you wouldn’t be the first solicitor to face such a bleak outcome. The consequences for your clients can be as serious if they end up losing a deposit saved up over several years.
Prevention is better than cure and we would urge you to consider the followingsome simple but effective controls. Do not allow yourself to be panicked into doing something you have never done before. Understand what banks ask for in terms of security information. Do not use the number supplied by the caller to verify their bona fides. If you receive a suspicious call, end it immediately (or put them on hold while you ask someone else to contact your bank).
According to the City of London Police (confusingly for law firms known by the initials COLP), the two most common types of social engineering involve email (77%) and phone calls (12%), the remainder being made up of text messages, mobile phone calls and post. Vishing attacks are telephone calls which aim to obtain personal or financial information in order to commit fraud or identity theft. Do not underestimate how convincing fraudsters can sound, playing on their victims’ fears and persuading them to transfer significant sums to ‘safe’ accounts to protect them from attack. Five vishing attacks are reported to the SRA every week. One resulted in transfers totalling £1.9m after 3 hours on the phone. ActionFraud (www.actionfraud.police.uk) has produced reconstructions to demonstrate just how convincing vishing can be.
personal information, with online banking close behind. Many firms allow lawyers to use personal devices for business, but little more than a third of firms exercise any control over the configuration and security of such devices.
Establishing safeguards against low-tech criminal attacks is relatively simple and, we hope, being widely adopted throughout the profession. Phishing attacks target identity theft via a link in an email which includes malware. The link directs victims to a fake website where they are asked to provide user names and passwords in the belief that they are supplying them to a trusted organisation, such as a bank. Malware and botnets can lie dormant on your Partners should be sending strong leadership messages, at least annually, to computer for months or years. Soft (screen based) keyboards are as all personnel about the risks of fraud and the threat it represents to the firm. vulnerable to malware as physical keyboards. The risks Underlying this message should be written fraud can be minimised if everyone is reminded to think twice There is a worrying prevention and awareness training policies and before clicking on links in emails. supporting procedures to which all personnel are lack of awareness required to adhere strictly. These policies and A variation on phishing involves ‘man in the middle’ about how cyber procedures, and the adequacy of their performance, attacks. The fraudster joins a public Wi-Fi network and should be under ongoing review by a member of senior criminals use relies on an established connection to the victim’s device management, executive committee or similar senior public Wi-Fi hotspots to redirect emails through the attacker’s host network. team. This allows the hacker to intercept emails. Reports in the (270,000 in the UK alone Telegraph suggest that there are two successful cases A common threat arises from social engineering risk according to ActionFraud) involving property-related fraud every week, netting on which is a low-tech but still highly effective scam where to steal personal and average £1m per month for fraudsters. fraudsters raid information from social media and financial details. intercepted emails. Using this to make themselves There is a worrying lack of awareness about how cyber appear convincing and trustworthy, they manipulate their criminals use public Wi-Fi hotspots (270,000 in the UK victims into sharing confidential information or transferring funds. LinkedIn is as alone according to ActionFraud) to steal personal and financial details. The top vulnerable to attack as other types of social networking. two public Wi-Fi activities, emails and social networking, often reveal plenty of
A recent example occurred as the firm was about to complete a client’s purchase of a second home. The email incorporating the firm’s client account details was intercepted and altered. The client’s email back confirming transmission of funds was intercepted and edited to say there would be a short delay before the funds were sent - giving the fraudsters time to transfer the funds beyond reach, into other accounts or withdrawn in cash.
Please join the “Bournemouth & District Law Society” Linkedin group. We now have 210 members! An ideal place to discuss any issues and keep up-to-date with events. www.linkedin.com/groups/4374938/profile 14 TheBournemouthLAWYER
section header To minimise your exposure to man in the middle attacks: • Advise clients face to face and in writing (not by email) of your bank details, that they will not change during the transaction and to ignore contrary instructions by email. Also, only accept bank details from clients that are given face to face, by post or by another trusted method. • Think of your clients as well as yourselves. Warn them not to post details of their home move on social media as this makes it easier for fraudsters to mount such attacks. • Ensure that newly set up payee details are verified by more than one person. • Instruct your bank to place a restriction on the number of high value payments that can be made within a specified period of time. More generally, other steps that firms should take to protect themselves, include: • Training everyone on the risks and providing regular staff updates with intelligence bulletins. The people in your firm may unwittingly be your weakest link. • Avoiding passwords that can be guessed easily (such as ‘password’, 123456 or your postcode and avoid pets’ names which can be found easily on social media). • Keeping passwords secure and change them frequently. Don’t tape them to the underside of your keyboard where a cleaner could find them. • Keeping software up to date, as updates include the latest patches to combat vulnerabilities.
• Google your firm name regularly to ensure your profile has not been cloned. • Thinking about behaviour that you want to restrict or modify and then compare it against your email and internet policies. Update your policies and procedures as necessary. Fraud is so indiscriminate that most Professional Indemnity insurers have developed a comprehensive set of controls they would like their insured firms to adopt. If you are unaware of your insurer’s advice, we would strongly recommend that you contact them and check your policies and procedures against them. Aon’s clients have been sent correspondence on this subject. If you would like additional copies or you have any questions, please contact your Client Manager. The Law Society has also produced practice notes and other information relating to this pervasive risk. These can be accessed through the Law Society’s website. The opportunities that digital technologies, devices and media bring to firms are many and varied, but so are the risks, which are constantly evolving. Cyber risk is never a matter purely for the IT team. Whilst cyber risk insurance policies can provide some comfort, the COLP and COFA need to keep their firm’s processes constantly under review. For more information on this, please contact: Marco D’Ovidio, Associate Director, Aon UK Limited on 0117 948 5116
FORTHCOMING EVENTS BDLS QUIZ NIGHT Thursday 29 September 2016, Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth One of the President’s social nights this year will be a quiz evening. This is open to all so please bring your colleagues, family and friends along. We have sponsorship from Brighter Law Group which has enabled us to keep the ticket price down to a very affordable £7.50 per person to include a hot meal. Full details can be found on the attached flyer
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section header KITELEYS ACQUIRES MORRIS, SCOTT & CO Kiteleys Solicitors are delighted to announce their acquisition of Morris, Scott & Co Solicitors. Ian Richards and Andrea Rohr have been retained by Kiteleys as Consultant Solicitors, with Ian commenting “This is a hugely positive move for the Highcliffe offi ce and will, for the benefi t of all of our clients, add strength in depth to the resources at Highcliffe in the increasingly regulated environment that law fi rms now operate.” Kiteleys now have 9 offi ces across Dorset and Hampshire, but retain an ongoing appetite for discussions with likeminded, profi table fi rms who may wish to become part of a larger commercial organisation. Mark Kiteley, announcing the merger, said “Our agreement with Morris, Scott and Co is an exciting step forwards for Kiteleys. We are an ambitious company committed to offering a network of accessible branch offi ces, where clients may expect to receive expert legal advice from an experienced and professional team. This new acquisition reflects that commitment. Ian, Andrea and their team enjoy a superb reputation for client service, and we look forward to working with them to realise the opportunities that our agreement presents.”
L-R: Ian Richards, Andrea Rohr, Andrew Townsend, Sarah Townsend and Mark Kiteley
NEW APPOINTMENTS Lester Aldridge is delighted to announce that four associate solicitors at the firm have been promoted to partner from 1st May. L-R: Ian Oliver Phipps, Nicola Sutton, Catherine Rawles and Chris Evans
Three of the partners are based at the fi rm’s Bournemouth office: Chris Evans in the Dispute Resolution team, Oliver Phipps in the International Private Client team and Catherine Rawles in the Real Estate Development team. In addition, at the Southampton offi ce, Nicola Sutton became a partner in the fi rm’s Real Estate Development team. Lester Aldridge is also delighted to announce the appointment of Dan Geddes as a partner in the fi rm’s Banking & Finance group. The fi rm is also pleased to welcome Kevin Barnett as an associate in the Employment team. L-R: Kevin Barnett and Dan Geddes
PROMOTIONS AT ALDRIDGE BROWNLEE Congratulations to Nicola Bennetts who has been promoted to an associate solicitor within the family Nicola has been with the fi rm for three and a half years and deals with all aspects of family law. She is also a Law Society Accredited specialist in children and domestic abuse. The partners are also delighted to welcome Myra Doulton and Marc Del Llano to the partnership at Aldridge Brownlee. Myra joined the fi rm in August 1980 as a secretary and progressed her training to qualify as a legal executive in 2008. Myra deals with Wills, Powers of Attorney and guardianship matters. Marc joined Aldridge Brownlee in 2014 and has further expanded an already vibrant company/commercial department. Marc deals with commercial property and all types of general company/corporate work.
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L-R: Myra Doulton, Andy Pitt (Senior Partner), Marc Del Llano and Nicola Bennetts
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