issue 48 Autumn 2021
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Qualifying in lockdown
A Junior Lawyer‘s experience on page 9
Also this issue: • The Solicitors Indemnity Fund • How Healthy is your Legal Website? • A Landmark Moment For Legacies • EWI Conference 2021 Review • Flood Data Insights and much more...
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Contents
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Contents issue 48 Autumn 2021
4
Council Members for 2021
12
A Level Playing Field
24
Flood Data Insights
5
From the President
14
A Landmark Moment for Legacies
26
Marketing your Service in the New
6
Herts University Law School
16
Conveyancing Products & Services
Conveyancing Landscape
6
A Busy Few Months
18
St Francis‘ College
28
EWI Conference Review
9
Qualifying in Lockdown
21
How Healthy is your Legal Website?
30
Make great client experiences your
10
The Solicitors Indemnity Fund
23
The Market Condition & your Practice
differentiator—introducing Clio Grow
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Published: Autumn 2021
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DISCLAIMER: the views expressed by the writers in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Hertfordshire Law Society
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Council Listings
Council Members 2021 President Neil Johnson HRJ Foreman Laws (Hitchin) Civil Litigation Vice President Steve Hamilton Taylor Walton LLP (Harpenden) Private Client Hon Secretary and Treasurer Jessica Moseley Debenhams Ottaway (St Albans) Immediate Past President Judith Gower Hertfordshire Local Government
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Members Marilyn Bell SA Law (St Albans) Family David Bird Crane & Staples (Welwyn Garden City) Private Client & Trusts Diana Kirsch University of Hertfordshire (Hatfield) Jeremy Chandler-Smith JCS Solicitors (Codicote) Sole Practitioner
Attia Hussain Crane & Staples (Welwyn Garden City) Family Jessica Moseley Debenhams Ottaway LLP Probate and Trusts Dilpesh Shah Pellys Solicitors Limited Property & Commercial Claire Sharp Debenhams Ottaway (St Albans) Private Client
(From January 2021 until 31 December 2022) National Council Member
The Law Society
Paul Davies Chair of the Membership and Communications Committee (Until 14th October 2021) Hamilton Davies (Stevenage) Employment, Family and Litigation
Relationship Manager – East Jack Dunkley
Josephine Duchenne National Council Member for Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire (from 15th October 2021)
Parliamentary Liaison Officer Judith Gower Paul Davies Board Member
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Editorial
From the President... Welcome to the autumn edition of the Hertfordshire Law Society Magazine. As I wrote earlier in the year, we are certainly blessed with living in interesting times. The impressive effort of the vaccine programme has created the opportunity for something like a return to normality in our working lives, with more time spent in the office and face-to-face meetings with colleagues and clients. Away from work, there have been more possibilities to enjoy music, sporting and artistic events but for many, whether as a result of hiked staycation prices or the logistical intricacies of overseas travel, the summer seemed more restricted than the pre-vaccine days of 2020. The current frustrations at the petrol pumps and pressures on the supermarket shelves can make it hard to embrace the coming winter months without a sense of unease. Within the criminal justice system, the backlog of cases, which stood at 60,692 according to the Ministry of Justice’s quarterly report in June, continues to stretch prosecutors and defence solicitors. As our President, I. Stephanie Boyce commented, ‘we are seeing the ability to run criminal courts at capacity hit by a lack of judges, court staff, prosecutors and defence lawyers’. This is an issue which is recognised by government but there seems little prospect of significant investment in the near future. The prime minister acknowledged the inadequacies of the criminal justice system, particularly with regard to cases involving violence against women and girls, in his interview on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on 5 October 2021. In his view the problem was ‘not just a question of money’ but was ‘to do with the way we handle the evidence and the difficulties which are presented by mobile phones, in particular when the defence is able to seize upon this or that piece of data and use it in court’. The civil and family justice systems are similarly stretched, with response times for correspondence submitted to the courts typically taking 30 working days to be processed. As I have experienced, sanctions have been issued by Judges on court files which have not been updated due to delays in processing documents which have been submitted in time. This leads to unnecessary (and unchargeable) time being incurred in having orders set aside and further delays in proceedings. I understand that similar frustrations are also experienced by private client practitioners in dealing with HMRC and the probate registries.
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In these circumstances, and as many of you may have read in a recent report from LawCare (‘Burnt out, sleep deprived and hiding mental illness: lawyers reveal struggles’ - Law Society Gazette 28.09.21), it is not surprising that 69% of lawyers, many at the junior end of the profession, report having experienced mental health issues over the past year. Encouragingly, just over half of this number have felt able to discuss these issues within their firms. Many, however, fearing that, quite understandably, discussing this subject within their firms would have implications for their careers, have kept silent. If you find yourself in this situation, then please consider contacting LawCare (https://www.lawcare.org.uk/). The other major recent issue is the introduction of the Solicitors Qualification Examination (‘SQE’). Recently introduced by the SRA, the SQE seeks to widen access to the profession by opening up qualification for those who may not have followed the traditional academic route but have instead gained two years of qualifying experience (effectively replacing the training contract requirement) through voluntary work, placements, paralegal work and apprenticeships. The SQE then provides a final assessment for all candidates, regardless of the route that has been taken to qualification, which must be passed in order to qualify. As to future events, I would encourage members of the Hertfordshire Law Society to attend our Annual General Meeting on 16 November 2021. We confirm whether the meeting will be by video conference or in person nearer the time and look forward to seeing you then. The Council is here to serve you but is also dependent upon practitioners participating in the Council. If you or anyone you know would be interested in joining the Council, please do not hesitate to contact us. As ever, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Council as we work toward the end of another challenging year. Neil Johnson President, Hertfordshire Law Society, 2021
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette 5▲
Editorial Articles
Herts University Law School
T
he University of Hertfordshire is well known for its great links with industry and the professions, its first-class teaching, high-quality facilities and dedicated staff. Our courses are taught by experts, many of whom are practising solicitors and barristers, and equip our students with all the up-todate, transferable, interpersonal and practical skills they need to pursue a successful career in the legal profession. At Hertfordshire Law School, we offer academic programmes such as LLB, LLM and BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as vocational programmes such as the LLM Legal Practice (incorporating the Legal Practice Course) [and the LLM Bar Practice, covering both branches of the legal profession]. Whilst we plan to offer the new SQE courses from 2022, the LLM Legal Practice remains a recognised route to qualification during the SQE/LPC transition period. Both the SRA and the Central Applications Board have published guidance for firms and students and we would also be happy to discuss any of these routes to qualification with you or your firm: lawadmissions@herts.ac.uk The innovative teaching methods used on our LLM Legal Practice programme
utilise experiential learning to prepare our students for the demands of contemporary legal practice, including our state-of-the-art courtroom where they can develop and hone their advocacy skills – a core component of [our vocational programmes] the LLM Legal Practice. Our students also have many opportunities to undertake co-curricular activities to strengthen their skills in areas such as commercial awareness, adjudication and family mediation and to participate in a range of pro-bono projects, including our award-winning Hertfordshire Law Clinic Our law clinic students provide free legal advice to members of the public in areas including Family and Employment law and IP/Commercial. This is a fantastic opportunity for them to gain practical hands-on experience and build their confidence and skills under the close supervision of solicitors. Hertfordshire Law School was Highly Commended at the recent LawWorks Student Pro Bono awards in the category of Best Contribution by a School.
Planning, Commercial Law, Commercial Property Law and Private Acquisitions.
In addition to the full range of compulsory modules on the LLM Legal Practice, we also offer the following elective modules to reflect the needs of both local and regional firms: Employment Law, Family Law, Immigration Law, Personal Injury, Private Client and Estate
Hertfordshire Law School has helped graduates forge successful careers for 40 years. Study with us and you’ll benefit from our reputation for being forward thinking, innovative, and responsive to the world around us.
As well as embedding key professional skills into all of our programmes, we work closely with the University’s Careers & Employment Service to organise career talks and events to support our students in gaining the relevant knowledge, skills and experience needed to enhance their employability in the legal profession and other graduate roles. For example, we have a series of ‘conversation with’ sessions involving alumni and other speakers who share their career journeys and tips for success. We run and participate in graduate and law fairs, as well as hosting our annual law ‘speed-networking’ event with local employers. Please contact us if you or your firm would like to discuss our programmes, get involved with careers events and/or the Law Clinic: probono@herts.ac.uk
Mews of the World: A Busy Few Months but I think most of the contents of the family house are in Hertfordshire! (It’s not). They haven’t been away much and if they go away it’s only for a short time.
Gigi and Henry
W
ell a lot has happened since I last gave you my wisdom. My hooman mother has retired which means that both of them are home most of the time. They seem to have stopped going to Lancashire so much
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I have had a very successful summer controlling the mice population and practising my dissection skills as I thought that I might train to be a surgeon but they don’t like the bits I leave around the place. Before they went away to the Isle of Wight I hid some innards in one of my mother’s shoes. Apparently she only found it when she went to put it on.
to show him how to treat a princess. He does always come with toys. Do you like the picture of the two of us? I do like to be able to snuggle up on people and dry off if I’m wet, particularly on lovely clean bed clothes. Now life is getting back to normal I will write more regularly. @princessgigi2019
I finally got to meet the young human who is their grandson. He was alright before he could move but now it is getting harder to get out of his way. Apparently he has his own cat who is a lot bigger than me – I need
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Education
Qualifying in Lockdown
W
hen I started my training contract at SA Law on 1 November 2018, I never expected to qualify as a solicitor at home with celebrations consisting of a Chinese take-out on my couch. When I began my training contract I could join my colleague’s client meetings, easily ask stupid questions, and collate hard copy bundles of documents. All things I missed once we began working from home. We all know how horrendous the past year and a half has been and all lawyers have had to adapt to a working life of 10-step commutes, Teams calls and no printer access. Despite this, my day-to-day work stayed the same albeit with the introduction of a range of new technology platforms. Once I qualified, I expected my life to change. I expected myself to know more and be more articulate. The reality is that nothing changed
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apart from my email footer and although I am now more confident in my skills as a lawyer, with two years of training behind me, I am still learning and will continue to do so. Junior lawyers have generally had a difficult time adjusting to the “new normal” working environment. I have been fortunate to speak to many junior lawyers over the past year and a half about the joys and woes of remote working, and most notably reported is the lack of adequate supervision. The Law Society has produced a good practice guidance for the remote supervision of junior lawyers (available at https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/en/ topics/hr-and-people-management/supervisiongood-practice-for-remote-supervision-of-juniorstaff-and-trainee-solicitors), and I highly recommend that all lawyers regardless of PQE read it. The
route
to
qualification
is
changing
following the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) on 1 September 2021 with training contracts being replaced with two years of qualifying work experience. Whilst we transition to this new form of qualification, it is imperative that firms ensure that they continue to provide adequate training and supervision to their junior lawyers. If you have any concerns or questions about studying, training or supervising a junior lawyer please do not hesitate to contact the Hertfordshire Junior Lawyers Division at hertfordshirejuniorlawyersdivision@hotmail.com. Lizzy Lim (née Trueman) Hertfordshire Law Society Junior Lawyers Division Representative National Junior Lawyers Division Hertfordshire Representative
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Law Society
The Solicitors Indemnity Fund
Statement to Council on 19 May 2021 by Nick Gurney-Champion, chair of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee.
I
'm going to open these discussions with a short statement, and I'm going to cover the following aspects. • The history of where we are including correcting some commonly held myths. • The regulatory constraints that the Law Society has to work within. • What the Law Society has been doing over the last 18 months. • Challenges and communications • What we are trying to achieve • What Council members can do to help. • History and correcting commonly held myths SIF was formed in 1987 and provided PI for solicitors through a mutual fund. In the late 1990s, many firms believed the SIF premiums were far too high and the larger firms were subsidising smaller firms. It was believed that an open market solution would be far cheaper for the profession. A ballot of the profession took place and the profession voted to bring it to a close and obtain PII on the open market. As a result of this decision by the profession, SIF was put into runoff and closed to new entrants in September 2000. Those firms that had closed prior to September 2000 were told that they would continue to be covered by SIF indefinitely and that remains the position. Firms that closed prior to September 2000 remain covered by SIF; and that will continue even if the SRA proceeds with its intention to close it in September 2021. One of the misconceptions that has been going around is that all firms have been assured by the Law Society or others that they will be covered by SIF indefinitely. That assurance has never been given apart from for those firms that closed prior to September 2000.
of those funds would be used to provide post 6-year cover for the firms which closed post 2000 without a successor practice. At that time it was decided that this additional cover would continue for claims notified prior to September 2017. It was when the Law Society set up this post six-year run off cover by SIF that it was envisaged at that time it would close in September 2017. Regulatory constraints Now in 2007 we have the Legal Services Act and the creation of the SRA and separation of representative and regulatory functions. The internal governance rules were born. From 2007 the SRA have had the exclusive jurisdiction to deal with the regulation of solicitors to the exclusion of the Law Society. The Legal Services Act defines regulatory functions as including indemnification arrangements. SIF falls within the definition of indemnification arrangements. The IGRs required the Law Society to delegate regulatory functions, which includes indemnification arrangements, to the SRA. Therefore, by virtue of the Solicitors Act, the Legal Services Act and the IGRs, the SRA have exclusive jurisdiction to decide on the continuation of or the closure of SIF. The Law Society cannot make that decision. Furthermore, even though the SRA have made a decision that post six year run off cover is not a regulatory requirement and not required for client protection, because of the constraints upon the Law Society by the Legal Services Act and the IGRs, the Law Society as the representative body are not allowed to fill the gap caused by the closure of SIF.
By 2004 SIF had built up considerable reserves. It was recognized that SIF had far more reserves than were needed to deal with the claims of those firms which closed pre-September 2000.
This is the reality that we have to work under and unfortunately a lot of people have not fully understood the constraints that the Law Society is under.
So, in 2004 the Society decided that some
Following a request by the Law Society
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in 2013, the SRA agreed to extend the closure of SIF until September 2020. You will recall that when the Law Society set up this additional SIF cover it was due to close in September 2017. In 2016, the Law Society again invited the SRA to extend the closure of SIF until September 2023. The SRA declined to do so. What has the Law Society been doing over the last 18 months? I took over as chair of the PII Committee two and a half years ago. Since then I have had the potential closure of SIF as top of the committee's agenda. For the last 18 months to two years, myself and staff members from policy and the commercial teams have been in discussion with brokers, underwriters and insurers to see if there was any appetite for a market solution to fill the gap caused by the closure of SIF. I've probably had in excess of 30 meetings over that period, and these meetings are ongoing. Although some encouraging noises were made by a few brokers, as we got closer to the September 2020 deadline it became clear that there was little if any appetite for a commercial SIF replacement. I made my concerns on this known to the Chief Executive and the chair of the Board, and in early 2020 the SIF Working Group was set up to address this issue. It consists of Paul Tennant, Robert Bourns, Michael Garson, Lubna Shuja (who was at the time Chair of MCC and is now Vice President), Pieter de Waal and myself as chair of PIIC and also in attendance was the policy officer of the PIIC and Anika Patel from the commercial team. We have met regularly over the last 18 months and more so in recent months. In about April or May of last year, the Working Group agreed that from the evidence we had obtained a SIF replacement in the market was not going to happen, and with COVID in full force, the ability of our retired members to obtain alternative cover caused by the closure of SIF was going
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Law Society
to be impossible. Therefore, a further request was made to the SRA to extend the closure of SIF for a further three years. The SRA board considered this request and, I think reluctantly, agreed to extend it for a further year until September 2021. The reasoning behind their only granting a one-year extension was that they believed a further extension beyond one year was unaffordable. I dispute that. We can come to that later. Over the last 12 months ongoing discussion have taken place with brokers and insurers to try and find some solution which the market could offer and which the Law Society could endorse and recommend to its members. Those discussions are ongoing. Some interesting and possibly helpful suggestions have been made. It is too early to say whether those discussions will provide any workable solution. The PI market at the moment and the Covid situation have very much hindered progress, but I remain hopeful. In tandem with this, the SIF Working Group decided to take advice from leading counsel as to the Law Society’s position under the Legal Services Act and the IGRs . We wanted clarity on what we could do within the rules and what we could or could not force the SRA to do, not only with keeping SIF open but also with regard to the SIF surplus. Leading counsel confirmed: 1. That the Law Society itself carrying out indemnification arrangements for its members is a nonstarter. 2. That the decisions as to SIF Closure are the sole domain of the SRA 3. That in exercising its regulatory functions, the SRA must act within the statutory duties of the Legal Services Act. They must act in a way which is compatible with the regulatory objectives and they must act reasonably and rationally. In March of this year, the Law Society wrote to the SRA asking them to
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fully explain, in accordance with the requirements of the Legal Services Act, why they have made the decision to close SIF. The SRA responded in early May and failed to deal with the specific questions. The Society wrote again in forceful terms, asking them to properly and fully answer questions and to give detailed reasons for their decision and we understand this is to be considered by the SRA Board at its meeting on the 8th of June. They have specifically been asked to delay closure of SIF. In addition to this, approximately 2 months ago Pieter de Waal, Simon Thomson (Law Society’s policy adviser) and myself had a meeting with the LSB consumer panel to appraise them of the imminent closure of the SIF. They were horrified, as would be expected, and indicated they would raise this with the LSB and with the SRA. A few weeks ago, Stephanie, our President, had a follow up meeting with the LSB Consumer Panel, as a result of which I know that a joint letter has been prepared and is shortly to be sent to the SRA setting out our joint concerns for consumers and for members and requesting the closure of SIF be put on hold. In recent weeks high level conversations have been taking place with the LSB who are now taking an active interest in our concerns and a three-way meeting between the LSB, the SRA and the TLS has been set up for the 26th of May. Communications and challenges I and others within the Law Society have had meetings with interested groups to appraise them of what is going on around SIF and on a possible replacement. The publicity through the Gazette and direct communications with local law societies has been on going over the last 12-18 months but has considerably ramped up over the last few months. One of the challenges we have is making direct contact with retired members. Sadly neither the Law Society nor the
SRA have data for our membership going back more than about six or seven years. Trying to make contact with firms and members who closed down since 2000 has been extremely challenging. What are we trying to achieve ? • First, we are putting substantial efforts into persuading the SRA to extend the SIF closure date. The recent letters have been designed to assist with a potential formal referral to the LSB if the SRA do not do what we want and a possible judicial review if the LSB endorse a decision to close SIF. • Secondly, we are putting substantial efforts into trying to find a market solution to fill the gap if SIF does close.• Third, we are ramping up the communications to members and retired members. Unfortunately we are unable to offer solutions at this time. I am hopeful that there will be one or more solution that we will be able to offer to our members, but unfortunately at this time those are not certain enough or in detail enough to be made public. What Council members can do to assist? First, assist with getting the message out, especially to retired members, possibly through your local law societies or through other contacts you have with retired member groups. Secondly, clarify the many misconceptions that are flying around. This is not a decision being made by the Law Society. It is only a decision that can be made by the SRA. Thirdly, encourage members to write to the SRA and the LSB expressing their concerns with the closure of SIF, particularly as a client protection issue rather than the protection of solicitors, though that is important as well. I hope that clarifies where we are and why we are here and what we're trying to achieve.
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Advertorial
Levelling the legal services playing field Facebook, e-newsletters and even going back to traditional paper mailers. Our online content, whether that is video, blogs, website content, social media posts etc, should all convey our expertise on the subject matter. We should be setting out to help people find out answers to questions they want to know about legal services.
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e have never before seen a time when so many consumers are looking for professional legal services, with many now driven online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A YouGov consumer survey cited “quality of legal advice” to be the most important factor (87% of consumers) when choosing a legal services provider. Aside from cost, “ease of obtaining legal services” was important to 86% of those surveyed; 85% asked for “experience and qualifications,” and 70% wanted “local offices” and/or “face to face” contact. As we start to exit the most challenging 18 months many of us can ever remember there will be opportunities. Many of us have cut costs and reduced overheads. Some have been busy; many, many conveyancers and private client practitioners have been inundated, with the property market booming as a result of the Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday, and an increase in estate planning enquiries. As we move into what feels like the next phase of the “new normal” it is vital that you continue to invest in winning new work. We are already seeing a dip in new properties coming to market; private client enquiries have plateaued; we are now returning to a sense of normality and our activity must reflect this. Your slice of the pie Legal services remains incredibly fragmented, still very focused on delivery on a local level, despite the pandemic. Yes, it has driven clients online, but they are still searching for local search terms. “Solicitor in Woking”; “write a will near to me.” When you search on search engines like Google and Bing one of the first automated search terms pre-populates the question with “near me.” “Plumbers near me,” “electrician near me.” The results now incorporate a whole host of sources including websites, video and social…
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so, it is increasingly important that you have an online presence which will enable you to capture this traffic. We often forget about our own experiences when it comes to applying the same principles in our businesses. What do we really want when we’re looking for something… an answer! Increasingly we are using longer search terms to find what we want. And in order to capture this interest we need to be able to answer the questions people are asking. The search engine algorithms are geared toward finding answers. Google themselves have given us some guidance on their philosophy of EAT. The acronym stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness and each search result is ranked against these measures of credibility to try and deliver back the answer to the question being asked. Improving online engagement Our objective when we’re writing online then is to try and answer the questions that are being asked about legal services. We need to be able to engage people so that they start to feel that they know, like, and trust us before they commit their hardearned cash. In the same way you might hold a conversation with a client face to face, or over the phone, you need to be able to convey your authority, expertise and credibility on the subject to foster confidence. In the absence of face-to-face communication how do we establish this rapport and credibility in an online environment? Coming out fighting Instead of burying their heads in the sand, we are seeing businesses coming out fighting and looking at how they can best approach the uncertainty to come out the other side stronger… you might recall those that came out of 2007/08 strongest were the businesses that continued to invest in communicating with clients and prospects. We are seeing businesses adopt new (and old!) ways of communicating with their clients and users, using video, direct messages via
Using tools like Moz, Google Keyword Planner and Semrush you can research the terms that people are searching for around the subject matter. This will help to inform and prioritise what you write about. Cutting costs without cutting opportunity To help you deliver expert, authoritative and trustworthy online content, here are 6 quick tips we think will help you build up your online credibility without spending a fortune: • Demonstrate knowledge by providing informative articles and case studies on your website and to local newspapers and press. Be the “subject matter expert” and demonstrate your expertise through carefully written, “tell, not sell” articles and blogs. • People buy locally. You can raise awareness in your local area publishing articles and on social media about the methods you have put in place to provide your services without faceto-face contact. • Ask for client testimonials to prove your experience, ask for happy clients to post on your social media pages and on Google reviews • Update existing customers with a newsletter, or even brief e-shots with informative information which your customers won’t have read elsewhere. Encourage recipients to share with their friends and family. • Ensure you have a mobile friendly website. Like you, your customers will check out companies online before committing. Make your company look as professional online as you do when seeing them face to face. • Ensure that your website has a Google My Business listing.
Today’s Legal Content is part of Today’s Media, the publishers of the popular Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills and Probate and Today’s Family Lawyer daily news journals. Through expert SEO-considered articles on a range of B2B and B2B subjects we can help you build up your online content library and improve the effectiveness of your web presence. Contact Lindsay Gibson today on: Lindsay.Gibson@todaysmedia.co.uk or call 0330 1000 839
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Charity Expert Witness
Landmark Moment for Gifts in Wills 1 Million Charitable bequests donated over 10 years Consortium celebrates landmark legacy moment at start of Remember A Charity Week
06
September 2021, London: A landmark goal for charitable bequests has been reached with over one million gifts in Wills donated to charities over the past decade, according to figures released to coincide with the launch of Remember A Charity Week (06-12 September 2021).
With over 100,000 charitable bequests left in Wills each year, more than one million gifts were donated from 2010/11 to 2019/20, data from Smee & Ford shows. Over that time, cumulative legacy income to UK charities exceeded £23 billion, funding vital services across the country. Appetite for legacy giving continues to grow and, despite recent delays at probate, the number of charitable bequests is predicted to rise by 30% over the decade.* The
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200-strong
charity
consortium
Remember A Charity launches its weeklong public awareness campaign today, encouraging people across the country to consider leaving a gift in their Will. A collaborative initiative, the campaign brings charities together with 1,300 legal professionals to champion legacy giving across the UK. Head judge of Dancing with the Stars, Len Goodman, is supporting the campaign, having altered his own Will to include a charity.
the sector as we strive to build back and strengthen resilience for whatever the future holds.
Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “Legacy giving can be transformational for UK charities and it’s wonderful to consider the phenomenal impact of those gifts. Donations have long been on the rise, but the global pandemic has accelerated that growth, shining a spotlight on the critical role of charities in our communities and the importance of Will-writing. This funding is critical for
Remember A Charity runs a Campaign Supporter scheme for legal professions, offering information and resources for solicitors, Will-writers and professional advisers about raising the topic of gifts in Wills with clients.
“Remember A Charity Week is a great opportunity for legal advisers to open up conversation about gifts in Wills and to help ensure that all clients are aware of the opportunity of including a gift in their Will, after taking care of family and friends.”
Find out more at: http://www. rememberacharity.org.uk solicitor *Source: Legacy Foresight, 2021
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
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Advertorial
Providing innovative products and expert searches for the ever-busy conveyancing sector X -Press Legal Services is a property search company that provides expert reports to solicitors and conveyancing professionals across the county. The company has been supporting the conveyancing sector throughout the past 18 months, as the property market boom has seen increased demand and pressure across the sector.
Owner of X-Press Legal Services Essex, Herts & Cambs, Jo French comments: “We have been working at out due to the increased demand for our searches, which are a real measure of demand in the property market generally. We have seen higher levels of searches than ever before, increasing 50% since the stamp duty holiday started.” With a 27-office network across England and Wales, X-Press Legal Services provides a
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complete range of property searches and reports.
Jo continues: “Law firms are increasingly turning to us as we can provide all the same products and services as larger search companies, but also provide the customer service of a local company.
We are able to get to know our clients personally and form strong relationships, an important factor during an increasingly digital age. “Our products are constantly being innovated, ensuring your data is absolutely safe in our hands. Many new clients who came onboard during the pandemic were attracted by our range of digital services and our security innovations, including being the first search company to achieve a Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation and a Gold Standard partnership with FormEvo and SDLT.co.uk.
“We pride ourselves on making it as easy as possible for conveyancers to deliver legal services to their clients, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for all your search needs. We save our clients time and money with our product range and specialist reports, helping to ensure property transactions reach completion with the minimum of fuss.” With over 20 years’ experience, X-Press Legal Services is one of the top ten search providers in the UK. Trusted by more than 500 legal practices in England and Wales, the firm produces a staggering 400,000+ conveyancing searches and reports each year. For more information about X-Press Legal Services See: https://xpresslegal.co.uk/o ces/essex/ or please call Jo French on 0330 159 5356.
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Advertorial
A warm welcome to our wonderful school prides itself on building intellectually creative minds. We have strong traditions in art, dance, drama and music. The recycled fashion Show is a popular annual event, and the girls are adept at developing their own photographs in the dark room. Annual dance and drama productions from Kindergarten to Year 13 are held in our professional Theatre and our serene Chapel hosts regular music concerts.
St Francis‘ College
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ounded in 1933 and set amidst the green residential environment of Letchworth Garden City, the world’s first garden city, St. Francis’ College stands tall in this enviable location. Letchworth is conveniently located half way on the main train line connecting London and Cambridge.
their own aspirational targets and we encourage them to nurture self-belief. This means that good results happen naturally. And it is this philosophy and approach that has become an essential part of the St. Francis’ Way.
At St. Francis’ we believe that given the right stimulus, the right environment, the right focus and support, and with effort and commitment, your daughter can be anything she wants to be. As one of the top all-girls’ independent schools in the country, St. Francis’
You can board at St. Francis’ from Year 6, and there is the option of weekly or flexi boarding, although the majority board full-time. Our school has everything you would expect and more: there’s a 330-seat purposebuilt theatre, a 20-metre indoor heated swimming pool, gymnasium, dance studio, hockey pitches and five courts for both netball and tennis.
Run by an educational charity, St. Francis’ College has been providing a firstclass education for girls for decades. Now a day and boarding school for girls aged 3-18, welcoming girls of all faiths and none, we blend traditional values and a modern vision. Our academic achievements are outstanding and we have a solid tradition of academic rigor. However, we believe that academic success should be balanced with personal success in everything the girls do. Our girls learn to set
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Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Education
SQuiz
- How healthy Fis your legal website? rom September 2018 the University of Hertfordshire’s Law School will be
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Is your website driving work to your law firm or driving it away? Take this quiz to find out. Are you confident that you know if your website is working as hard for you as it could? Do you know what points make it effective, increase your online visibility and drive leads to your firm? This quick quiz, created by Orion Legal Marketing, will help you identify how healthy your website really is. 1. If you Google the key practice areas your law firm would like to grow, does your website appear: A. In position one on Google? B. On page one on Google (but not at the top)? C. It’s invisible e.g., page 2 or beyond?
10. A. B. C.
Do you review Google Analytics regularly so that you know: Who is visiting your website, what pages they are viewing and how they got there? A rough idea if the number of visitors is going up or down? What’s Google Analytics?
2.
11. A. B. C.
If you view your website on a mobile device, does it: Automatically resize and provide the best possible viewing experience? Looks okay but a bit hard to read/ navigate? Yikes, I didn’t realise it looked that bad!
When you appear in Google results, does the meta tag description (the 1–2-line summary of your website page): A. Succinctly and powerfully explain the benefits you provide? B. Give a general description of your firm? C. Pick a random line from your website? 3. A. B. C.
Does your website load: Instantly? In a few seconds? Yawn, unsure, I nodded off
4. A. B. C.
Does your home page: Clearly say what you do and what you want the visitor to do? Talk about you, but not so much about your clients? Ramble on about nothing in particular?
5. Does your website navigation enable a website visitor to access key information in: A. Under 3 clicks anywhere on the website? B. Between 3-5 clicks C. They are likely to get repetitive strain injury 6. A. B. C.
Do the colours and images used on your website: Reflect and strengthen your branding? Look nice but they are a bit abstract? No idea, just there to look pretty
7. A. B. C.
Does your website have: A call to action (e.g., ‘contact us form’ on every page?) On some pages? Just on the Contact us page?
8. A. B. C.
The profile images on your website, are they: Professionally taken and up to date? Professional but over 5 years old Taken on someone’s phone, whilst on holiday, about 10 years ago
9. A. B. C.
Does your website provide: Valuable content for the visitor in the form of blogs and downloads? A few articles but they have not been updated in a while? No articles section – ‘I have no time, or inspiration, to write anything’
12. Do the staff biographies on your website: A. Contain recent work examples, outline your work style and the benefits your experience brings B. List a selection of facts from your/their CV C. Were written when the website was launched/ you joined the firm and not been touched since
Your results Mainly A’s – Your website is fighting fit, just remember that to stay in shape and optimised you need to keep to a regular marketing health routine. Mainly B’s – Your website needs a marketing specialist check-up as it’s not performing as well as it should and has some fundamental issues, so a marketing health check would be advisable to prevent any long term damage occurring. Mainly C’s – Oh dear. Your website barely has a heartbeat and it may be driving potential clients away (if they even find it). You need to see a marketing specialist ASAP or this may be terminal.
Contact Orion Legal Marketing for a free website check-up and quote “WEBSITEHEALTHCHECK” to get free advice on how best to get your website performing at its best on T: 0118 380 5980 or email enquiries@orionlegalmarketing.co.uk
Advertorial
Putting your best foot forward in a challenging insurance market I
n the past twelve months, we have seen the pressures on firms continue to grow amid furloughs, lockdowns, and the stamp duty holiday. Disruption, staff shortages and mounting workloads are factors that can lead to the breakdown of some of your usual risk management processes, and this raises concerns for underwriters. In addition, insurer premiums are rising due to various factors, making it difficult for firms to secure the right cover at an affordable cost.
To secure the best possible terms on your cover amid these challenging conditions, firms must demonstrate effective management of claims risks. We recommend reviewing some key areas to present your business in the best possible light to insurers. Supervision and file reviews Firstly - it is crucial to determine whether your staff are following procedures correctly. While the recent global disruption will undoubtedly have caused challenges to your existing processes, it is important to demonstrate that you have adapted to whatever the ‘new normal’ is for your firm. Supervision will help you determine whether employees across the firm are conducting legal work correctly. Firms should consider whether increased home-based and hybrid working has affected the way staff follow procedures. It is also vital to ensure that administrative errors are picked up, given that the vast majority of mistakes do not relate to the law at all. File reviews improve the likelihood that employees will record dates accurately, take notes, progress matters, and maintain strong client communication. Undoubtedly, many firms will have had fewer opportunities to overhear whether someone is struggling, and in some cases, managers will choose to skip one-to-one meetings. To counter this, it may help to schedule more regular catch-ups or team meetings to discuss issues. Given the above, it is also vital to get reviews back on track. It might be appropriate to conduct more reviews/meetings to ensure employees can manage their cases. Staff training Training has always been an important element of the legal profession. While this will likely have taken a new shape during the last 18 months, now is the time to
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review it to ensure it meets the standards of your firm.
Recent recruits will likely have received a different kind of training from their colleagues due to the constraints of the global pandemic. If there are gaps in the knowledge of junior team members, these will soon start to present themselves and may lead to complaints or claims under the PII policy. While training largely remains remote, employers should take the time to schedule follow-up meetings to make sure this has been digested and understood. From experience, these issues can be messy and time-consuming to untangle, so it is best to avoid them in the first place. Insurers expect training and professional development to form a fundamental part of your practice and will be interested to know what you are doing. Learning by watching and listening to others helps us to assimilate ideas, knowledge and even technical skills. Hearing others in your team explain a problem or deal with an issue provides a valuable resource. Many law firms have coped despite a fragmented workforce, with some staff members completely isolated when dealing with numerous challenges, often completely alone. It remains vital to check in regularly with employees to ensure they are coping with their workloads. Managing caseload capacity Solicitors often face enormous pressure in their roles due to incredibly tight, often unavoidable deadlines. In reality, it is very easy to miss a deadline when you are struggling, feeling overwhelmed or overloaded with work. In order to maintain good risk management practices, it is paramount to be aware of what your colleagues have on their desks. Caseloads are a big topic of conversation for law firms, and with good reason. But it is hard to achieve the perfect balance. To keep things manageable and organised, you should maintain a detailed, relevant checklist. This should include information on necessary steps, documents, strategies and deadlines for cases, while also identifying the parties involved in the process. The optimal caseload allows firms to be profitable and solicitors to achieve a good work-life balance. It is okay to ask for help, say no to client demands and choose not to take on any more instructions. Many firms closed their doors to new conveyancing instructions
during the stamp duty relief period because the pressures became too much for their team. This won’t be appropriate for all and may not be right for your practice, but it shows one of the many ways that firms have chosen to mitigate risk. Adapting existing procedures for a new environment In the vast majority of cases (excluding sole partners or very small practices) old policies will not be fit for purpose. A classic but simple example of this is confidential waste disposal. In an office environment, there may be a confidential waste bin or shredder but how does this work at home? There are ways to check compliance in the office – you can go through bins if you are so inclined – but it’s not so easy when working remotely. Those operating on a network may have experienced difficulties when printing documents on a local printer. This often means sending documents to a personal email, on perhaps an unsecured laptop. In which case, it is unlikely this will meet client confidentiality requirements or comply with data protection laws. It is crucial to ask yourself: “does this policy work for our new set up?” If the answer is yes, you are winning. However, it is more likely that certain aspects will need to be amended and enhanced for remote working. Technology should also be reviewed to check that it is covering all the things you need it to do. In the coming months workplaces will see a variety of requests for agile working and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. All you can do is adapt your processes and procedures and make sure that it works for you. Culture is important to compliance but cannot really be taught. It comes from working in an office environment surrounded by people doing the same or similar job. To counter this, you need to build a strong, clear compliance framework that everyone understands and buys into. We regularly add guidance notes, templates and content to our client portal, but if you need help with something specific, please contact any of the Lockton team who will be delighted to help. Samantha Pye Lockton Solicitors solicitors@uk.lockton.com / 0330 123 3870
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Advertorial
Flood Data Insights from Landmark Information
D
ata from the first in a new series of Data Insights Reports from Landmark Information has shown the broad extent to which flooding poses an ongoing threat across England and Wales.
approximately one in every six properties in England are considered to be at risk of flooding. This is forecast to grow as climate change continues to translate into shifting impacts on both current and evolving land use.
The report provides land and property industry professionals with insightful snapshots of rich flood data to explain the true impact risk upon communities across the country. It highlights the local authorities that have the highest rate of properties located in Flood Zones 2 and 3, and reveals that 37 out of the 335 local authorities have at least a fifth of properties in Flood Zone 2 within their jurisdiction.
“It is no secret that flooding poses a continued risk across our country – whether from surface water floods from heavy rainfall, groundwater flooding, through to coastal erosion and rising sea levels. It is something property professionals in all sectors need to be highly tuned to.
The report also identifies that more than 27,000 (6.7%) notable Listed Buildings are based in areas deemed to be at the highest Flood Risk parameter (3), in addition to almost 12% of all 200,000 Scheduled Monuments are situated in Flood Zones 2 or 3, which include highly notable buildings like the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Caerphilly Castle. The new series of Data Insights Reports, which will be published every quarter, will focus on specific themes, from a review of planning updates and the local and national impacts, to uncovering information relating to a range of environmental hazards. Chris Loaring, managing director of Landmark Information (Legal), said, “According to the Environment Agency,
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“We are therefore pleased to share a series of Data Insights Reports that provide valuable and revealing insights derived from our data and help better inform those working across the property industry who can benefit from a clearer view of the future. Data: the lifeblood of the property transaction “In the two decades that Landmark Information has been supporting the property industry with vital due diligence, the way the data is captured, accessed, assessed and delivered has shifted.” “From paper-based reports, CD-ROMs and PDF reporting, now the transition is taking us to digital. The reliance on documents and PDFs will ease and we will see an increased appetite for digital data that feed directly into an organisation’s existing workflow. Instead of capturing a single moment in time, the data will instead be continuous and provide a current flow of data that is relevant at any given moment in time.
“Flood data, alongside planning datasets, is one of the most dynamic risk types. The data is continually changing, driven by many factors – from local community and infrastructure updates, to the changing picture of the global climate. Having access to data that considers historical flood events while assessing modelled data relating to future impacts offers precise insights that developers and purchasers need, in order to make informed decisions. “From a legal conveyancing perspective, the way you manage – and access – that data is critically important to ensure the most appropriate advice is provided. Live data feeds will provide the most up to date picture, and this approach will herald a significant new chapter in the evolution of due diligence in the property sector. “We are proud to be driving forward this digitised approach and working closely with industry stakeholders to consider how the continued evolution of data feeds can benefit every part of the property industry.” Landmark Information has an extensive wealth of data that is used across the property industry, every day, by developers, property lawyers, environmental consultants, estate agents, surveyors, architects and planners to help in confident decision-making and in transactions. For more information visit, https://www. landmark.co.uk/news-insights/industryreports/. www.landmark.co.uk
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Education
The
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romSIF September the University Currently, provides2018 ongoing cover to of Hertfordshire’s Law School will be firm Both
http://www.hertslawsoc.org.uk/
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Advertorial
Marketing your service in the new conveyancing landscape Once the conveyancing industry emerges from the current high numbers of instructions and stamp duty deadline, what’s next?
E
nsuring your practice remains competitive in the face of online conveyancing, panels and agency referrals can see like an uphill battle, and, without a dedicated marketing resource, you may feel that your business development efforts can be limited. Luckily there are plenty of approaches and tools that all the conveyancing team can take advantage of, and many of these can managed in-house. We present some clear steps to help you reach new and previous homebuying customers, whatever the marketing budget and resource you have available to you.
receive about their service and, for busy conveyancers in particular, it can be difficult to find the time to analyse enquiries in a useful way. In the same way as the branding exercise, however, it’s amazing what can learnt from reviewing different conveyancing enquiries received by your practice. All members of the team can be involved in this exercise and can brainstorm how responses ought to be handled. Ask colleagues to come up with ideas on the main benefits of instructing your firm and the best of these ideas can incorporated into different approaches used for outbound calling.
Branding and differentiation In this digital age it can be easy to forget the importance of brand in conveyancing. There are thousands of definitions of “brand” but, keeping it simple, it’s really about differentiating your service, adding to the value that your service offers and communicating this effectively. Whilst building a strong brand may seem more relevant to heavy-lifting consumer companies, it’s not out of reach to smaller, more traditional businesses and, no, not even to conveyancers!
Having the right skills It’s also worth considering whether you are using the right people to follow up enquiries. Administrative staff may be highly skilled in providing conveyancing information and quotes, but may not be engaging with customers particularly well. Analysing the success of different colleagues involved in responding and call-backs can be useful in identifying if any have a natural talent for converting enquiries into business. Successful approaches can then be replicated. Although universally unpopular, role-playing different phone conversations can be really good for training staff and helping them to optimise calls to potential clients. If you don’t have anyone with the right skills internally though, this is an area where investment in external sales training can really pay off. There are some very simple techniques that used to improve confidence and raise conversion rates.
Buying a property is an significant commitment and the nature of the conveyancing process presents lots of opportunities for the conveyancer to build and communicate value to their customers. Customer insight is key to this. As a conveyancer you’ll be used to dealing with different types of client, but can you truthfully say that you know what your clients look like, what’s important to them and structure this information in a useful way? If you have a marketing team, some of this work may have been completed, but even without a marketing resource, a lot of useful information can be gleaned from customer feedback. This can come to you directly or via Google, but if you’re not getting that all-important insight, why not consider a quick customer satisfaction survey, or hand out a short questionnaire to new customers or at any local events you may attend? The findings can often surprise you and can help you shape your brand, content and messaging to the needs of your market. There’s often a wealth of knowledge hidden within the company so working with colleagues to structure this can be invaluable, supporting brand building and possibly even a simple customer client segmentation to information the experience for different types of home-buying clients. Optimising the value of client enquiries All businesses can lose sight of the quality enquiries that they
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Timing As mentioned above, customer experience is incredibly important when dealing with a conveyancer. If your team has been providing a great customer experience, you should have no problems in attracting back former clients, but the key, of course, is to know when they are back in the market for your conveyancing services. Using a service to alert you to former clients listing their property for sale allows you to contact them at precisely the point they require a conveyancing service. And neither GDPR nor the SRA Publicity Codes are barriers to using such a service. Conveyancers can use Legitimate Interest as the basis for processing former client data, and Version 19 of the SRA Code excludes current and former clients from the prohibition on unsolicited approaches. Conveyancing Alert services are often offered by search providers and can be tailored to your budget. Ready to give it a go?
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Expert Witness
Expert Witness Institute Online Conference 2021 “Lawyers and Experts”:
Facing the Future Together Friday 28th May 2021 WE MISSED YOU ALL – BUT SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN PERSON!
An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator
L
ord Hodge, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, and the new EWI President from October 2020, gave an absorbing keynote speech at this year’s online EWI Conference, chaired throughout by Saba Naqshbandi, whom we welcome to the role. To state the obvious (for some), it was a somewhat surreal experience this time round without the face-to-face chats and the nattering and meeting up with old colleagues: coronavirus was the unfortunate theme throughout, too. However, two speeches stood out for the 2021 Conference this year: those of Lord Hodge and Sir Martin Spencer.
Lord Hodge: The Keynote Speech Lord Hodge spoke of what the court expects of a competent expert witness reflecting on his own experience of expert witnesses, both as a judge and advocate. He described the critical role of the expert witness in the administration of justice, together with judicial expectation. His lordship also shared thoughts on the impact of the pandemic on the courts saying that the title of the conference, ‘Lawyers and Experts: Facing the Future together’, “felt particularly apt”. Hodge set out what he felt the court expects of a competent expert witness, and we have highlighted some of these points: • Independence and Impartiality. While this might seem obvious, he felt it was concerning that in a 2019 survey 25% of expert witnesses had felt pressurized to change their report in a way that
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damaged their impartiality, and 41% indicated that they had come across other expert witnesses they considered to be a ‘hired gun’ • Expert evidence must be ‘expert’, • In addition, an expert witness had to undertake the task of ‘being an expert’, being aware and competent in their duties to the court, • Continual critical examination of their own work or opinion. • Ownership, or, as expressed by McFarlane LJ in a 2018 speech in one word: ‘Clarity’. Both clarity of thought and clarity of expression or presentation of the evidence will assist the judge greatly. Hodge stressed that it was “imperative that expert witnesses take full responsibility throughout the process of preparation and presentation for his or her opinion evidence”. “Judges, lawyers and experts have to face the future together”, said his lordship, reflecting on this theme and the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the courts. “I am very much aware that life had not been easy for expert witnesses during the pandemic both in terms of carrying out physical site visits or examinations and in financial impact, be that through postponed trials, or delays in payment”. Sentiments felt by all of us! Although some may not agree, Hodge observed that “not all consequences of the pandemic were bad”. The court’s operations during the pandemic were, from the words of the Lord Burnett, that it is “the biggest pilot project the justice system has ever seen.” It was important to take time to reflect on what had worked well and how this could be harnessed more broadly to improve the overall function of our system of justice, concluded Lord Hodge. “The task of transforming our justice system”, he continued, “required the input of all actors in
the court system”. He repeated that we “have to face the future together”, so this conference presented an opportunity “to enhance the contribution of expert witnesses and those lawyers who work with them in support of that aim”.
Sir Martin Spencer It is always a pleasure to hear from the EWI Chair, Martin Spencer. Sage advice as always, and he offered these words concluding the conference: “Since our last conference, we have worked through two further periods of lockdown from the Covid19 pandemic, and we have all continued to adapt to new working practices”. “But”, he continued, “as social distancing measures ease, even the Lord Chief Justice has said that ‘remote and hybrid hearings will still play their part in managing footfall in courtrooms and public areas.” We suppose so, but some return to normality is to be yearned for in 2022. So, this year's conference theme is, says Martin, “very relevant in considering how both Lawyers and Experts can learn from each other and embrace many of the changes as we move forward”. Speaking of the panel discussions and breakout sessions, he said that “this year we have brought together a formidable team of speakers, knowledgeable and influential in their fields, with a huge breadth of experience”. It should not go unsaid that every recent annual conference we have attended broadens the mind! A virtual “au revoir” until 2022 and let us hope we can all meet up together in person once more to enhance the panel and breakout sessions!
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
Education
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rom September 2018 the University of Hertfordshire’s Law School will be
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Advertorial Expert Witness
Make great client experiences your differentiator—introducing Clio Grow
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hat is your firm doing to find—and retain—clients? Client expectations have evolved, and now more than ever before, clients expect a high level of service from their lawyer. If you’re not meeting those expectations, you could be missing out on vital opportunities for your firm. Client experience counts for a lot when it comes to choosing a law firm. With more than 180,000 practising lawyers in the UK today, your competition is stiff, which means that every contact with a potential client counts. How clients interact with lawyers has changed too. In the modern legal landscape, clients are no longer willing to play phone tag with a solicitor or to spend time chasing a firm that’s hard to reach. In an industry so dependent on referrals and reputation management, building better client relationships is the differentiator that will earn you lifelong clients and continue
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to help your business grow. Adopting the right legal client intake and relationship management software is key to this aim. The data* backs this up: In 2019, firms using legal client intake and relationship management solutions saw 16% more casework and over 20% more cases every month from February onward in 2020. Firms also saw a large revenue increase, too. In 2019, firms who used client relationship software saw 9% more revenue, per lawyer, with revenue continuing to increase in 2020, reaching a high of 26% more revenue in August. The right client intake and client relationship management solution could transform the way your firm does business. Take Clio Grow, Clio’s legal client intake and relationship management software, as an example. It’s designed to make it easier for lawyers to connect with clients. With it, you can:
• Use quick intake forms, scheduling, and e-signature tools to engage and retain new clients in moments, not days. • Nurture relationships by keeping clients updated with automated follow-up emails and reminders. • Get a bird’s eye view of your client pipeline using analytics and reporting tools so you never miss a single opportunity to connect. Available as part of Clio Suite, the legal industry’s only end-to-end legal software solution, with Clio Grow, you can watch your client base, billable hours, and reputation thrive. See for yourself how Clio can revolutionise the way you connect with your clients at clio.com/hertfordshire *All figures taken from Clio’s 2020 Legal Trends Report
Hertfordshire Law Society Gazette
