Leicestershire Law Society Magazine issue 24 - Summer/Autumn 2022

magaz ne issue 24 • Summer/Autumn 2022 Follow us on Twitter ne@LeicLawSocietyLeicestershire Law Society PATRONS & BUSINESS PARTNERS Photo gallery on pages 15-17 Also: Civic Dinner Report, Induction of The New High Sheriff, Website Compliance and Transparency & much more... Awards 2022Leicestershire Law Society

CONTENTS SUMMER/AUTUMN 2022 CONTENTS03 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk magazine contact Published by: EAST PARK COMMUNICATIONS Ltd. Unit Price27a,St.Business Centre, Price St., Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside CH41 4JQ Tel: 0151 651 2776 simon@eastparkcommunications.co.uk www.eastparkcommunications.co.uk Advertising Simon Castell Managing Editor Sameer Karim Sameer.karim@d-w-s.co.uk LLS Society Manager Kauser Kauser.patel@leicestershirelawsociety.org.ukPatel Design David Coffey East Park Studio AccountsAugustPublished:2022 Tony Kay Legal Notice © East Park Communications Ltd. None of the editorial or photographs may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publishers. East Park Communications Ltd 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 East Park Communications Ltd. Correct at time of going to press. www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk Leicestershire Law Society, 3-5 Welford Road Leicester LE2 7AD CONTENTS 4 Editor’s Intro 6 President’s Report 7 Correct and incorrect networking 8 Web compliance and transparency 10 Synergy Personnel Services 11 BuildX Solution Case Study 12 LLS Civic Dinner 2022 14 New guide tackles lack of empathy in law firms 15 LLS Awards 2022 18 The new High Sheriff 20 Council members’ report 21 Law Society News 22 Membership Pages 24 Ground hazards and due diligence 26 Rallying cry for wider adoption of UPRN 28 EWI Online Conference 2022 30 Review: The Streets and Voices of Greyfriars 31 Social Care in the UK before and after Lockdown 32 ‘Spice’ abuse in family cases 33 Reducing the cyber risk exposure of legal practices

EDITORIAL04 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk EDITOR’S INTRO

The leading feature in this issue is the gathering of Leicestershire's vibrant legal community at our annual Law Society Awards dinner.

To that end, I would like to say: “What a fabulous city Leicester is and there are so many reasons to be proud to live and work here.”

SameerYours Karim, Editor Sameer.karim@d-w-s.co.uk

This is of course where we take a look back at the glittering night celebrated by all as well as congratulating the worthy winners. We obviously have quite a busy events calendar up to the end of the year and I am pleased to shine a light on highlights that have already taken place within the Leicestershire legal community and the Royal Jubilee event.

The Magazine Project is firmly off the ground and I am delighted to bring to you an issue with even more variety including stories about the Jubilee celebrations as well as the annual Leicestershire Law Society Awards.

Thank you for all your positive feedback and support on issue 1 and please do keep your ideas and suggestions coming. As always, I am keen to hear from our readership with articles, ideas for future editions and ways to make the magazine even better. I look forward to hearing from you.

PRESIDENT’S

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veryDinnerbyEventShortlistingheldearlierthehappenedhassincelasteditionthisyear.WehaveourAwardsfollowedtheCivicatthelovelyCity

Rooms. It was a very special evening. The University of Leicester Choir sang to us. We had the honour of an address by the National Law Society Vice President Lubna Shuja. Lubna takes office as National President in October. She will become the first Asian, first Muslim and only the 7th female president of the Law Society of England and Wales. In May we held our Awards Ceremony at Athena for the first time in three years. It was a wonderful night. Many congratulations again to all of those shortlisted and to the worthy winners. Thanks to our panel of eminent Judges and to the team who worked so hard on organising the event. We continue to benefit from the support of our Patrons: University of Leicester, De Montfort University, DG Legal, Marsh Insurance, Severn Trent Water, Synergy and FraserAndStretton.fromour Business Partners: Freeline Creative, Cross Productions and Kazoo computer solutions. We continue to raise money and profile for my nominated charity Leicester Children’s Holidays. On September 8th we have our Charity Golf Tournament at Kirby Muxloe with teams of 4 competing. I hope you can attend. LLS continues to represent the interests of solicitors in Leicestershire. We pride ourselves on being one of the most active and diverse local Law Societies in the country. We are responding to Consultations. We continue to liaise with the National Law Society on a range of issues. At the time of writing this address we are arranging to send a delegation of delegation of LLS Main to Parliament,Committee membersalongwithrepresentatives from other local law societies in order to lobby Members of Parliament. We continue to hold training sessions for local solicitors both online and in person. For more details I recommend that you take the time to visit our website. The website has been refurbished and upgraded. You will find details of all courses, events and member benefits and much more. If you or your firm are not yet members then I encourage you to get involved. It would be great to have the benefit of your input. Enjoy this edition of the magazine. Many thanks to the editorial board for their work in putting it all together. Take care of yourselves and one another and see you , I hope. Best, Matthew Olner President, LLS

FROM THE PRESIDENT

www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk byREPORTMatthewOlner

Welcome to this second LLS magazine of 2022. I hope you are all well. A lot

Redgate Farm Animal Sanctuary was founded in August 1986 at Shaw Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire by the Redmile family. All the Animals in the care of the Sanctuary need support, we have many cats, rabbits as well as some rodents who are all looking for their new forever homes. We also have ducks and chickens looking for kind new homes too. For our permanent, elderly and sick animals at the sanctuary, there are many ways in which you can help them. You can do this by becoming a Friend of Redgate, or Sponsoring an animal. If you feel you can help more, please contact the Sanctuary. Why not caLL us today to discuss leaving a gift in your will? a legacy could make a huge and lasting difference to the many animals in our sanctuary. tel: 01530 243 www.redgatefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk925

• I’m uncomfortable doing a 45 to 60 second “pitch” about who I’m trying to attract as a client.

• It takes too much time out of the office which affects my chargeable billing time.

1. Avoid a 'me first' attitude. At an event, I observed a solicitor who looked extremely confident. He immediately introduced himself to the group and handed out his business card. The recipient rejected the solicitor’s approach and rebuked him stating “I didn’t ask for your business card!”

Many newly qualified solicitors (even more experienced ones) that I speak to tell me that they don’t like networking. Why is that? Some of the reasons include: -

Ouch!The learning point is that there is an etiquette when it comes to networking. Asking for business straight away without developing any rapport or listening is an instant turn off.

2. Be your natural self Unless invited to do so, it’s advisable not to talk “shop” too soon. Focus on small talk first to build synergy. Try to establish commonality by asking non-related work questions. This is a good start. Avoid potentially contentious topics such as politics or religion.

4. Preparation Just like legal submissions in a case, think about who you want to meet and why your services would be ideal for that prospect. What’s your message? Are you able to provide examples of how you previously assisted a client with a similar issue to provide context to your services?

5. Education If you are the Head of Department or Team Leader, think about educating your team (who effectively are the firm’s sales force). Obtain their buy in. Remind them why business development is essential for career development, and the dos and don’ts of networking.It’sunfair to assume that everyone is adept in networking – after all many of us did not have this training. It’s not about how many business cards you can dispense (in the hope of being instructed). It’s more about what YOU can do for the other person or their community to develop fertile connections.Insummary, the pandemic battered many businesses. All the more reason than ever why networking should be embraced as a friend to maximise fee income opportunities. Do it well and it could make all the difference between staying in the same position or enhanced career progression. I welcome your views or comments. For further information do not hesitate to contact Austin Ogbata, Partner, at DWS Legal on 0116 2161122 or email: austin.

HOW NETWORKING DONE INCORRECTLY CAN DAMAGE YOUR FIRM www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk ARTICLES07

• I wasn’t trained in sales – I was trained to provide legal advice.

3. Change your mind set Although we went to law school, we are salespeople. We trade our time/legal services for money. Remember, that before someone instructs you, they need to see the value of what you offer and how you are going to improve their situation.

1. Networking is a SOCIAL event It’s an opportunity to meet like-minded fellow professionals – to understand what they do, what challenges they may have, and whether you can genuinely help. That is where you deliver value.

Austinogbata@d-w-s.co.ukOgbata DWS Legal

• I don’t really understand how to network properly.Thatused to be me. Do any of those points resonate with you? This is a common problem. If you are not trained how to network properly, or understand the art of networking, the impact can seriously damage opportunities to build a following, limiting your ability to maximise fee income and your firm’s profitability. What is the solution to overcome this problem? There is no magic answer. However, here are some suggestions that you might find useful.

The SRA introduced the Transparency Rules on December 6th 2018, to help potential clients make informed decisions about legal services. In December 2021, the SRA revised some of its rules and is now pushing for more pricing transparency, alongside firms having a more detailed complaints procedure. Our short guide is a starting point to ensure that your website is compliant with the latest SRA requirements.

Example: We estimate the fixed cost of our Probate service to be between £2,200 and £2,750 plus VAT. There will be additional disbursements which will need to be paid.* Fees apply for a straightforward grant of Probate and estate Administration for estates in England and Wales

Below is an example of text that can be used. We aim to give you the best service possible. However, if at any point you are unhappy or have concerns regarding your matter and the service you are receiving, please inform us immediately so we can resolve the problem.

• How and when a complaint can be made to the SRA

Price Transparency Transparency rules protect clients and make them understand the cost involved when taking on your services. These rules don’t affect how much you charge for your services or the charging model your firm chooses to adopt. It just needs to be clear to clients.

Steps to follow: Step 1 Speak with your point of contact or the solicitor that is handling your case. Please explain your concerns, and we will do our best to resolve any issues to ensure we meet your expectations. However, if you would like to make a formal complaint, please read our full complaint procedure (here – this is where you would insert your link to your full complaints procedure). Please note that making a formal complaint will not affect how we handle your case.   Step 2 The Legal Ombudsman can help you further if we can’t resolve your complaint. They will look at your complaint independently and impartially. Making a complaint to The Legal Ombudsman will not affect how we handle your case. However, before they accept a complaint for investigation, The Legal Ombudsman will check with us that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. Once this has been verified, you can then take your complaint to The Legal Ombudsman within six (6) months of receiving a final response form to your complaint from us. No more than six (6) years from the date of act/omission or no more than three (3) years from where you should reasonably have known there was cause for a complaint to be made. If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

• No outstanding debts other than utility bills

•where:Nomore than one (1) property in the sole name of the deceased No more than three (3) bank accounts

• The estate is being passed to a single beneficiary There are no *Disbursementscomplicationsareadditional

• How and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman

The website’s fee structure should include the service’s total cost; if this is not possible, you should indicate the average expected fee. You should also make it clear if you are VAT registered and if VAT is included in your fees or not. We recommend stating the VAT amount to ensure clarity. Where an average expected cost applies, you need to make this clear.You also need to indicate the basis for your fees, including hourly rates or fixed fees. Your pricing structure also needs to include any disbursements and how much they will cost, with clarity if VAT is applicable, including the VAT amount. If you use conditional fee or damages-based agreements, you must give examples where a client may need to pay for your services, including any payments that must be made from any damages they receive.

• There is a valid Will appointed executor

Although we will attempt to make an application before any fee increases, we can’t guarantee this due to the process and reliance on third parties.

• Complaints handling procedure

Please contact us for a bespoke quote concerning your specific circumstances. Complaints Procedure Under Rule 2.1 of the Transparency Rules set by the SRA, firms and individuals must provide a complaint procedure. The complaints procedure needs to include:

costs related to your matter and are payable to third parties. ** Government fees are subject to any increases in the future.

WEBSITE COMPLIANCE AND TRANSPARENCY 08 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk SPONSORS

Contact details Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00. Email:  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ If you are unhappy with our behaviour The Solicitors Regulation Authority, also known as the SRA, can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or mistreating you because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority   https://www.sra.org.uk/ SRA Badge All firms, regardless of area of practice, must display the SRA’s digital badge. The digital badge is a unique for firms to show they are regulated by the SRA. The band is available to use by any regulated firm and can be added to the footer of your website giving consumers confidence that they are using a regulated firm for their legal services. Privacy & Cookie Policies Clear Privacy & Cookie Policies should be displayed on your website. Both can be combined into one, and should clearly state how you will handle your clients, data, alongside any data that is captured or tracked when a user visits your website. Examples of headings in these policies can include: • Conditions of data processing • Contractual obligations • Legitimate interest • Legal compliance • Consent • What information we collect • How we handle your information • Website and third party sources • How we use your data • How we protect your data • How long to we keep your data Who do we share your data with • Where is your data processed • Right to withdraw consent • Your rights The regulator (ICO – Information Commissioner’s Office) Accreditations You should display your accreditations with their logo on the bottom of your footer. Contact LLS Business Partners Freeline Creative If you would like a review to ensure your website is compliant, email me at amit@freelinecreative.co.uk or call me on 0116 216 6920 09 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk SPONSORS

SYNERGY PERSONNEL SERVICES –LEICESTERSHIRE LAW SOCIETIES NEWEST PATRON

Leading up to 2012 I had worked for and experienced all that recruitment companies had to offer both in the UK and Australia. I had seen enough of an industry which I concluded was falling short of clients’ expectations and was convinced I could do better. It was time to stop shaking my head at my desk and to act, to be able to offer clients something better, to use my industry knowledge and to set up a business that puts the client first in everything we do. It was time to set up Synergy Personnel Services.  I run Synergy with essential core values dictating everything that we do.  I would summarise these in 5 key points:

Gavin Dilkes MD, Synergy Personnel Services

2. Don’t be concerned with a USP, just excel on the business fundamentals (our values) - easy to do business with, accessible, passionate, smart, committed, trustworthy, honest and loyal.

010 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk SPONSORS

3. To recruit into our business enthusiastic, dynamic and motivated staff who demonstrate and buy-in to our company values and to develop these individuals to fulfil their potential.

5. Take yourself seriously enough so that you believe passionately in what you are doing but be prepared to smile, laugh and learn when it doesn’t quite go to plan. I take great pride in boasting that Synergy is a recruitment company with a big personality, flexible, smart, evolving, client-focused and always easy to do business with. Expertise and success in different sectors has allowed us to develop our portfolio, and currently recruitment within the Legal sector is our largest growth area.Synergy will provide you with a highly trained and dedicated member of my team who will quickly understand your business needs and have total clarity around the profile of candidates that you are seeking. Imagine recruiting 81% of the candidates that you interview? That’s the target we achieve for our clients enabling them to spend less time thinking about recruitment and more time focusing on their core business.

1. Be friendly enough that a client would invite us for an informal lunch whilst professional enough for them to recommend us to their biggest customer.

4. Listen to our clients and understand their needs. Our business is successful job matching not taking chances and wasting people's time. This ethos has allowed us to deliver an 82% success rate for job offers from first interviews.

“Another key feature with BuildX is the ability to automatically alert developers once the searches have been paid for and returned, ultimately reducing the transaction process timeline for all parties involved.

“Clients are happy, the developers are happy and so are we. It’s a win-win-win situation and we have now referred several developers to the BuildX team, so work can begin with data providers to get information ready for the searches in advance.”

With over 100 staff spread over three offices, Fidler & Pepper is a leading law firm based in Nottinghamshire and has been using Dye & Durham’s BuildX service for conveyancing solutions for new home builds. BuildX, a Dye & Durham solution, is the result of a collaboration between developers, panels of law firms and the search company which means search data is sourced and prepared upfront. The award-winning BuildX service now supports new build conveyancing teams, reducing the average Local Authority Search time for plots from weeks, down to just a few Accordingminutes.to

For further information, please Amanda.Giles@dyedurham.comemail: Dawn Boddice

FIDLER & PEPPER011ADVERTORIALwww.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk

FOREFFICIENCYOPERATIONALIMPROVES

Dawn Boddice, Business Development Manager at Fidler & Pepper, BuildX has been an invaluable tool for the firm’s operations. “We started using Dye & Durham’s BuildX for searches at the start of 2021 and now use the service for the majority of our new build searches. The fact that it takes just a few minutes to access the BuildX platform, request the searches and have them returned so quickly has significantly improved our operational efficiency, simplified and streamlined our processes, and ultimately allows us to better serve our clients. “Any conveyancing firm will know how challenging it was to get local authority searches returned during COVID-19. There was up to a nine-week delay in our area. These kinds of issues have a knock-on effect for builders and exchange deadlines. Being able to access the BuildX platform and have searches already available and returned in moments and not weeks means these challenges are a thing of the past.

For the BuildX team, collaboration is key for overall success. “By working directly with the developer and our data partners, we gather, digitise and compile all of the data in real-time, allowing us to deliver property searches on new build plots almost instantly via our ordering platform, ” says Amanda Giles , Business Development Manager at BuildX. “With over 300 development sites nationally and more being added every week, conveyancers and new build teams can dramatically reduce the time taken between the homebuyers’ reservation and exchange of contracts, in many cases cutting weeks off the process. Searches are backed by a £10 Million indemnity for full peace of mind.”

DYE & DURHAM’S BUILDX SOLUTION

LLS DINNERCIVIC2022 012 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk CIVIC DINNER

013 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk CIVIC DINNER

Client Journey Report 2021 NEW

Joanna Swash, CEO of Moneypenny said: “This guide reminds lawyers of the commercial necessity for empathy and shows how they can engrain it into their practices and service delivery –reassuring clients that they’re not only being heard but also listened to and “Theunderstood.”pandemic has changed the relationships we have with each other – our peers, colleagues, and clients –and it’s made human connection more appreciated than ever. The legal business winners of the last two years prioritised empathy and have reaped the financial rewards for doing so. But as the world returns to normal we have to make sure we don’t forget the importance of these behaviours.” Bernadette Bennett, head of the legal sector at Moneypenny said: “As a business that handles inbound and outbound communication around the clock, we know first-hand that empathy shapes client experience. It underpins how we connect with others and has the power to transform reputation. Actively listening and displaying empathy not only puts nervous and vulnerable clients at ease but offers valuable insights that can shape service delivery, and put you at the forefront of your market.”

Brilliant client service experiences are built on empathetic interactions. That’s how you keep your clients loyal and make your employees feel empowered.”

014 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk ADVERTORIAL

Calling on its experience handling 2 million customer interactions for more than 1,000 UK legal firms each year, Moneypenny’s guide includes include practical tips to improve empathy in legal practice and ensure employees’ use of language hits the mark. It also addresses the importance of active listening and the need for empathetic leadership, plus it also includes a short quiz to help firms ascertain just how empathetic they are.

Leading outsourced communications provider Moneypenny has compiled the free guide to help lawyers improve their reputation for client care, build more valuable relationships with clients, reduce client churn and maximise profits.

1 Research from Insight 6’s Professional Services GUIDE TACKLES LACK OF EMPATHY IN LAW FIRMS

As data reveals UK legal firms often fail to deliver the personal touch1 – a new guide has been launched to help improve client care and service delivery with empathy.

The guide was developed with insight from emotional intelligence expert and founder of the EI Evolution, Sandra Thompson. Sandra is the first Goleman emotional intelligence coach in the UK and an experienced customer experience management consultant. Sandra Thompson said: “Neuroscience tells us that it’s impossible to know exactly how someone else is feeling, yet the value of demonstrating that you’re doing your best to understand is huge –particularly when it comes to business.

The guide is available to download for free on Moneypenny’s website, at empathy-at-the-heart-of-customer-care/resources/blog/free-resource-putting-https://www.moneypenny.com/uk/

Established in 2000, Moneypenny is the world’s market leader for telephone answering, live chat, outsourced switchboard and customer contact solutions. In total, more than 21,000 businesses across the UK benefit from Moneypenny’s mix of extraordinary people and ground-breaking Fortechnology.moreinformation about Moneypenny’s work with the legal sector, visit www.moneypenny.com

Moneypenny’s 95-strong team of dedicated legal receptionists provide firms with outsourced switchboard, managed live chat and outbound calling support – delivering scalable solutions that help legal practices remain agile, protect reputation and deliver a first-class client experience.

SupportWeightmansPartnershipStaffMember of the Year Hira Asif of Parity Legal Stan Owens of Hollingsworths Solicitors

015 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk AWARDS

Matthew Olner President LLS 2022 SolicitorFINALISTSoftheyear (Five years PQE) Parvien Akhtar of Bright Legal Solicitors Shaazad Raja of SKR Solicitors Junior Solicitor of the Year (NQ To Four PQE), Sponsored by the University of Leicester Reema Patel of BP Legal Harpreet Kashb of Parity Legal Kayleigh Brown of Wilson Browne Solicitors Small Law Firm of the Year (Up to Six SponsoredPartners)byKCH Garden Square Josiah PattersonJohnsonHinksAstillsCommercial

Barristers of the Year Emma Burden of New Street Chambers Moira Ashton-Walsh of KCH Garden Square Chambers of the Year New Street Chambers The 36 Group KCH Garden Square

Trainee Paralegal of the Year, sponsored by De Montfort University Connie Kitchener of Affinity Law Giacomo Ciccognani of Hollingsworths Solicitors

Photography by Hitesh Rao

Our 2022 Awards evening was held at the wonderful Athena on May 20th.  It was long awaited – the first in person Awards for three years. The evening had a 1950’s theme, we were treated to live music from the Blues Irregulars and a beautiful solo piece by Cristina Ruiz. The Chair of Leicester Children’s holidays the President's charity for the year gave an address highlighting the work that this great local charity does for children in and around the city. There was a casino table and other games to help raise money for the charity. Most importantly, the Awards themselves. The best of Leicestershire’s legal talent was on display. It was a demonstration once again of the breadth and depth of legal expertise across our county.  Very many congratulations to all those shortlisted and to all our worthy winners. The night ended in with our traditional disco and dancing into the early hours. Well done everyone and we are already looking forward to next years Awards Night.

Law Parity Legal ZMS Solicitors Large Law Firm (seven Partners or More) sponsored by The 36 Group Smith

2022Awards

SPONSORS

the Winners

the crowdmadding

One example - having been contacted to help with a policing initiative to use sport to engage and empower young people in an effort to prevent them from getting involved in violence and knife crimes, I was able to help make important connections between the Police, the community and Leicestershire County Cricket Club.

• Do you get paid? No. It is a voluntary role with no financial or other support.

It has been a whirlwind 4 months no doubt seen by those following me on social media as I have shared the journal of most of the engagements and events I have attended through this medium.

• Are you the first Asian woman to be High Sheriff? No. Freda Hussain, a former head of Moat Community College was the first.

• What is your role? It is a ceremonial role. High Sheriff’s represent the Sovereign in their Counties in upholding all matters relating to law and order. High Sheriff’s also lend their support to charities and the community.

• It is one of two Royal appointments in any County – the other being that of the Lord Lieutenant.

• Other women include Sally Bowie, Diana Thompson and Alison Smith. I am the sixth woman in over a thousand years.

• Do you need to be a lawyer to be High Sheriff? No. It is not a prerequisite.

• Do you have a theme? My theme for my year is quite simply, connecting communities.

So far, I have met new people from all corners of our County, visited many charitable organisations, attended services, visited places of worship, sat in the Crown Court with a Judge, been on patrol with the response team from the local police station and had the privilege of supporting the community in many different ways. Giving speeches at a moment’s notice is now something I have become quite accustomed to. Choosing my Charities was not easy –with health, sport, education, and Law and

• Did you apply for the position? No. The High Sheriff is nominated ( unbeknown to them) and then approved by a panel of people from the City and County, known as the shrieval panel. The nomination is then approved by the Lord Lieutenant and the Privy Council.

• How long do you serve? 12 months.

As a lawyer involved in health care and patient safety, a former teacher, a former Chair of our County Cricket Club, it seems befitting to consider the connections between Law and Order, between Sport, Health, mental health, and Education, and its importance not only in the prevention of crime but at a broader level, for the well being of our society.

FORMER LLS PRESIDENT NOW HIGH SHERIFF OF LEICESTERSHIRE 018 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk EVENTS

Just before the end of March, I found myself at St Martin’s House in a long black coat with steel cut buttons and frills, a hat with a sculpted burnt ostrich feather in it and an enormous sword making a solemn declaration to truly serve The Queen’s Majesty in the Office of High Sheriff of Leicestershire.

It is a huge privilege and an honour to have the opportunity to serve the Community that I have been a part of for almost 20 years; I left Blackburn at 18 to go to Cambridge, and never really went back. I have now lived in Leicester longer than I have lived anywhere else; for me it is home. It is where I started and built my business, it is where my daughter grew up and went to school and it is where I have been given the chance to serve the people of this City and County in many different ways. My journey began as the President of Leicestershire Law Society back in 2015/2016. Not long after I completed my year as President of Leicestershire Law Society back in 2016 I was nominated by Surinder Sharma DL, the then High Sheriff. There are some questions which I am frequently asked and perhaps this is a good opportunity to address them.

Order in mind, I chose Warning Zone, Healing Little Hearts, Steps, and Leicestershire County Cricket Club Foundation. I have been lucky enough to have the support of two Police cadets –Phillip Scarborough and Anna Barnes, three consorts, Vijay Sharma, Krishna Kotecha, and Diana Esho and two Junior consorts, Evony Higgins and Zaara Moosa. The Very Reverend David Monteith is my Chaplain and spiritual advisor and Helen Johnson,also a former President of LLS, is my Under Sheriff. EVENTS Earlier in the year we had a celebration of fasting when members of the secular and non - secular community from Leicestershire, nationally and internationally, came together and fasted from sunrise to sunset, billed to be an annual event. In July we had a sponsored walk around the Bosworth battle area with a tour guide raising just under £6,000.00. Date for your Diary – 6th September 2022 Join@4pmus on 6th September 2022 when we have a Connecting Communities Cricket Match and Festival at Leicestershire County Cricket Club, followed by The High Sheriff’s Community Awards –Celebrating Unsung Heroes – 6th September 2022 @730pm ( Charles Palmer Suite)

‘The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others’ If you know of anyone deserving whom you want to nominate then you can find the nomination form on the website –www.highsheriffleicestershire.com

019 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk EVENTS

The Moosa-Duke team of 18 continues to support vicitims of medical negligence all over the country through cases against the NHS and other medical professionals, continues to act for victims at inquests and raise awareness of Cauda Equina Syndrome.  Award winner Daniel O’Keeffe, who is also currently President of the Leicester Medico Legal Society, was honoured to be the only lawyer to be asked to take part in a new Cauda Equina Syndrome pathway, being created for Lancashire and South Cumbria.Byadvising the doctors on the pathway, Daniel is able to directly contribute to a scheme, designed to improve the continuity of the service for suspected Cauda Equina patients both in the North West of the country and nationwide.  This will hopefully speed up diagnosis and avoid anyone suffering avoidable life changing injuries. Moosa-Duke has recently joined the legal Panel of the Cauda Equina Champions Charity.  This Charity does amazing work  supporting those who have suffered Cauda Equina Syndrome.  It is a great recognition  for the firm, as Moosa-Duke Solicitors are the only small firm on the Panel, which includes many national firms.  It is a reflection of the reputation Moosa-Duke Solicitors have built in this niche area of law.  Moosa-Duke Solicitors look forward to working with the Charity going forward, to increase awareness of Cauda Equina Syndrome among the public and also with health care professionals as it continues to campaign for patient safety through its membership of the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL).

We will be looking for members of the community ( those of different ability, men, women, children and young people) who embody this saying from Mahatma Gandhi

MOOSA-DUKE SOLICITORS CONTINUE TO FIGHT FOR INJURED PATIENTS

2023 will be the firm’s 20 year anniversary, having been founded in 2003 by Mehmooda Duke MBE DL ( currently High Sheriff of Leicestershire).  Moosa-Duke Solicitors began with just one lawyer in a flat on London Road. Over the last 2 decades,  Moosa-Duke has remained focused on this one area of law and built up a national reputation. Moosa-Duke looks forward to celebrating its 20 year anniversary in May 2023 and building on the firm’s success in the years to come  with considerable determination not just to deliver a first class service to victims of the system  but most importantly to ensure that it contributes to the changes needed to make healthcare better and safer for the public.

The 2020 Law Society Awards evening which  took place by Zoom in September 2021 due to the Covid pandemic was a big night for Moosa-Duke Solicitors. Moosa-Duke Solicitors were awarded Small Law Firm of the Year and Director, Daniel O’Keeffe won Senior Solicitor of the Year.  The work that the firm does on Cauda Equina Syndrome cases played a significant part in the firm’s award successes.  MoosaDuke Solicitors are a niche clinical /medical negligence firm, with a national reputation for medical negligence cases and in particular Cauda Equina Syndrome cases.  These are cases involving damage to the spine.Delays in diagnosis and corrective surgery can leave patients with severe injuries  such as bladder and bowel incontinence, loss of sexual function, chronic  pain and loss of mobility.  These are life changing injuries requiring specialist legal expertise which Moosa-Duke Solicitors provide on a regular basis achieving high value settlements for their clients.

Latest Law Society guides: Probably a good idea to sort out your personal Law Society account before you fly out as Practice Notes are accessible only by those with a Law Society account (available to anyone who signs up) and it now has to be updated to permit a two-stage authentication requirement. Register of overseas entities (ROE) Property lawyers acting in property transactions involving overseas entities are no doubt fully prepared for the requirement to register overseas entities from 1 August 2022.

The position regarding undertakings given by corporate entities requires careful consideration case by case.

‘IncreasingConsultations:the use of mediation in the civil justice system’

Writing this report at the end of July, with the August holidays looming, I thought you might benefit from a summer reading list1, to pack for the beach.

Over the period to 31 January 2023 there is also work for your in-tray upon return with a requirement for retrospective registration of transactions from 1999. However, at the time of writing neither the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) nor HM Land Registry had produced their technical guidance. It is hoped that this will be available shortly.The Law Society have produced an ‘Interim note for real estate/property lawyers: New register of overseas entities (ROE)’ which gives guidance to property lawyers acting for: • overseas entities in property transactions, or • clients based in England and Wales buying or leasing property from overseas entitiesItshould be noted that the Republic of Ireland is an overseas jurisdiction for the ROE.

Parties will have to attend a free Mediation appointment with HMCTS’ Small Claims Mediation Services before their case can progress to a hearing. It will be possible to apply for an exemption, but this is discouraged. This will apply to cases worth less than £10,000, other than in Housing disrepair and Personal Injury cases, where lower limits will apply. The intention is that it will ultimately extend the requirement to mediate to all County Court users, although it does not appear at this stage that free Mediation will be available to higher value cases. A short Consultation at only 26 pages with 16 questions, you may want to consider responding or alternatively looking up training courses to become a mediator!

Civil Justice Council - Costs Review

Undertakings: For those who prefer a lighter read, you may recall that back in August 2021, I reported on the case of Harcus Sinclair LLP & Anor v Your Lawyers Ltd4 which caused consternation in some circles with calls for urgent Parliamentary intervention to ensure that undertakings given by incorporated law firms, particularly Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and Alternative Business Structures, could also be enforced summarily by the Courts. Not surprisingly, there are no plans to legislate, but the Law Society has produced a practice note, ‘Professional undertakings5‘ which is estimated as a twenty-seven-minute read. It is a thorough review of the law and regulatory issues relating to undertakings and serves as a good reminder that the processes and systems surrounding the giving and receiving of undertakings needs to be kept under regular review. It reminders readers that even if the firm which gave the undertaking no longer exists, any individual who gave that undertaking will still be bound, a ‘must read’ for all solicitors.

This Consultation7 opened on 30 June 2022 but does not close until 30 September.

This concerned a low value RTA case pursued through the RTA portal which settled pre-issue. Costs recoverable from the RTA Defendant were limited to fixed costs plus Linda Lee has been Council Member for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland since 2003. She is a past President of the Law Society of England and Wales and is the current Chair of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee and is a member of the Regulatory Processes (RPC), the Policy and Regulatory Affairs (PRAC) and Access to Justice (A2J) Committees of the Law Society. She is current Chair of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme.

COUNCIL MEMBER’S REPORT JULY 2022 020 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk COUNCIL NEWS

Linda is an experienced litigation solicitor and is a Consultant at Weightmans where she specialises in solicitors’ disciplinary, compliance and regulatory work. She can be contacted by email at: lindakhlee@aol.com

For those who like to plan their autumn months early, this Consultation6 was published on the 26 July 2022 and closes on 4 October.

The Law Society has also prepared guidance entitled, ‘Register of overseas entities: what solicitors should know about verification’2 which leads to the detailed guidance, ‘Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 – communication for solicitors when undertaking verification responsibilities’. Solicitors are not obliged to verify an overseas entity purchasing UK property. However, it is anticipated that clients may well ask their solicitors to verify the entity. If solicitors do choose to verify but are not compliant with the law, they will leave themselves open to criminal prosecution and may be professionally negligent. Property lawyers involved in such transactions will be well advised to keep an eye on the Register of overseas entities in force on 1 August: how property lawyers can comply page3 on the Law Society website for the latest developments in advice and guidance.

The Civil Justice Council is conducting a wide-ranging review of civil costs, including costs budgeting, guideline hourly rates, the wider impact of fixed recoverable costs, and the impact on costs of pre-action protocols and digitalisation.TheConsultation will also consider the distinction between “party and party” costs and “solicitor and own client” costs. At present, the assessment of solicitor and own client costs is governed by section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (“the Solicitors Act”) and by CPR 46.9. These provisions are due to be considered by the Court of Appeal at an adjourned hearing of the appeal against the decision in CAM Legal Services Limited v Belsner.8

It is hoped this will assist the SRA to, ‘develop future thinking on how best to improve access to legal services while still ensuring the proportionate levels of public protection are maintained.’

Richard Atkinson

NOTES 1

The SRA also announced10 that its plans to increase its fining powers from £2,000 to £25,000 for solicitors, traditional firms (recognised bodies or recognised sole practices) and the individuals who work in them would take effect from 20 July 2022. This has had a mixed reception. There is the view of those who hope that the increased fining powers will ensure that cases are dealt with by the SRA, rather than be referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and lead to speedy resolution and lower costs. Others question the increased power of the regulator as investigator, prosecutor and judge (and express concern that admissions may be made by the innocent because of their fear and impecuniosity) and in the case of small entities the pressure to settle in borderline situations. In order to enable Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) to stay open to new claims for a further year, until September 2023, the SRA has resolved the question of the guarantee11 and will not be calling on the Law Society to provide the guarantee as happened last year. The SRA is planning further engagement in coming months to determine SIFs long term future. Finally: You may prefer the advice of Mark Twain who said, ‘“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles – by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. It’s the healthiest thing a body can do.” holiday reading 2022 Regulatory solicitor style 2 register-of-overseas-entities-what-solicitors-should-https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/property/ know-about-verification 7increasing-the-use-of-mediation654august-how-property-lawyers-can-complyregister-of-overseas-entities-coming-into-force-on-1-https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/property/[2021]UKSC32https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/regulation/professional-undertakings#sub-menu-dy13https://consult.justice.gov.uk/dispute-resolution/ advisory-bodies/cjc/working-parties/costs [2020] EWHC 2755 (QB). 9 servicesunregulated-legal-market-provision-unreserved-legal-https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/research-10https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/statementfining-powers/ 11 extension-july-2022https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/sif-

CRIMINAL LEGAL

https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/

list, there are lots of uplifting reading lists available online. Happy summer! Linda Lee Council Member August

3

Criminal law specialist Richard Atkinson has been elected as incoming deputy vice president of the Law Society. He will join the team in October and looks forward to highlighting the important role solicitors play in upholding justice. Richard Atkinson has specialised in criminal law for 30 years, with a focus on serious crime litigation. He is a duty solicitor and a higher rights advocate, representing clients in court. Richard said: “I am honoured to be elected as deputy vice president of the Law Society.”

“My congratulations go to Richard Atkinson, who emerged as the winner from a strong field of candidates,” she said. “I wish him all the very best for his three years as a Law Society office holder.” AID SOLICITOR WINS LAW SOCIETY

8

President I. Stephanie Boyce was delighted to welcome Richard to the Law Society.

“I stood for office because of my strong belief in our profession, its values and the work it does to support our clients and uphold the rule of law,” he explained.“Aslawyers, we need to be courageous and speak out on behalf of those less able and for the institutions that are key to a functioning democracy. Many of these are under threat –not least our criminal justice system.”

Richard will take office in October 2022 –becoming vice president in 2023 and president in 2024 to 2025, when the Law Society will mark its 200th anniversary.

021 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk COUNCIL NEWS disbursements. Ms Belsner had signed a conditional fee agreement (CFA) with a 100% success fee. The costs payable by Ms Belsner were potentially greater than the sum of damages she would recover. The matter was adjourned by the Court of Appeal to hear specialist evidence on costs and is due to return to the Court later this year.

Question 3.3 at Annex B asks, ‘Is there a need to reform the processes of assessing costs when a claim settles before issue, including both solicitor own client costs, and party and party costs?’ The Consultation also seeks views on whether the distinction between non-contentious and contentious costs should remain but with no indication of where this will ultimately lead. SRA website After a busy year, the SRA has wound down for the summer with the announcement that they will be commissioning research9 by Frontier Economics, a leading economic insight consultancy.Theaimof the research is to: 'better understand the size and scope of the market for unreserved legal activities – as provided by both regulated and unregulated providers identify potential risks and opportunities the unregulated sector may present for consumers.'

Reject my

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The Leicestershire Law Society (LLS) is a fantastic organisation, offering great value to it's members and we are very keen to make sure that we tell you about all the Society has to offer. You will find this section in every edition of the magazine, to provide you with information about what is going on and what you get for yourWemembership.arealwayslooking to hear from members with any comments they have about their membership and particularly about any suggestions they have about how they feel the LLS could be improved.

THE MEMBERSHIP TEAM In the Winter 2020/21 edition, members saw a change in The Membership Team as Zainab Zaeem-Sattar of Summerfield Browne Solicitors took over the reins of heading up the membership sub-board. Zainab has been working hard behind the scenes to continue bringing members benefits and is currently looking for members to join her in the subgroup.Ifyou are interested and would like to know more or if you have any queries or comments in relation to membership, then please do contact Zainab on zainab.zaeem-sattar@ outlook.com

LEICESTERSHIRE LAW MEMBERSHIPSOCIETY PAGES

Zainab Zaeem-Sattar (Chair) Zainab qualified as a solicitor in April 2019 and works for Runnymede Law. She joined LLS in 2018 as a sub board member and became a Main Committee member in May 2019. Zainab further chairs the Equality and Diversity sub board and also sits on the team for Education & Training sub board. Aside from volunteering her time at LLS, Zainab is also a legal mentor for De Montfort University’s employability mentoring scheme and also volunteers her time for Leicester University’s legal clinic, as well as mentoring students for Birmingham University’s Women in Law and Women High Up’s mentoring scheme. Zainab is also part of Muslim Lawyers Action Group (MLAG) and heads up their Social & Well BeingZainabgroup.is a radio presenter on Ramadan FM with two shows each month; ‘Breaking Stereotypes’ and ‘Law in Action’, and when she isn’t doing all of the above, Zainab takes her motorbike for a spin!

MEMBERSHIP022 WELCOME TO THE LATEST MAGAZINE.SECTIONMEMBERSOFTHELLS www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk08thSeptember,CharityGolf morning @ Kirby Muxlow Sponsored by Fraser Stretton 22nd September, Summer Garden Party @ Trinity House, De Montfort University 11th October LLS Annual General Meeting @ Provincial House, New Walk LEICESTERSHIRE LAW SOCIETY PRESENTS IT'S CRIMINAL LAW COURSES FOR 2022! Our informal and friendly courses are aimed at all levels of practitioner from the police station and paralegal stalwarts to the dizzy heights of Queen’s Counsel. Both prosecutors and defence lawyers are welcome. Our courses are presented by a speaker who is in practice and understands the difficulties we all face in the Criminal Justice System. During the year, we will run a series of updates courses covering: Offences • Defences • Evidence • Procedure • Sentencing Costs • New legislation Got a topic you’d like to learn more about? Let us know - we can include it in one of our courses. 28thDATESOctober 2-5pm and more throughout the year! LLS EVENTS 2022

MEMBERSHIP023 FULL LIST OF LLS MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS: NEW GroundedOFFERKItchen 10% off in store and online. Discount available for both collection and delivery orders. Use the code LAW01 at the time of placing the order to ensure you receive the Onlinediscount.via the app ‘Vita Mojo’ or Instore Groundedlocations: Kitchen Fosse Shopping Park Unit 6 food central GroundedAndLE19Leicester1HY Kitchen 59 Baxter LE11LoughboroughGate1TH Shafs Beauty and Laser Clinic – Facials; 15% off microdermabrasion facial and all standard facials. Use code “LLS BEAUTY”discount only available when booking with 237Ammaarah.Goodwood Road, Leicester LE5 6TR Tel : 0116 2125 317 shafina.faruk@gmail.com Net Nerd Use the code ‘LLS’ for 50% off any annual hosting package. Tel: 0333 222 4080 Email: sales@netnerd.com Gayatri Beauty Clinic 28 Gipsy Lane, Leicester LE4 6RB £30 off Microblading treatment Contact Gayatri Samplay Tel: 07984888058 or Gayatri_patel@hotmail.co.uk Jonstar Free initial energy review to all LLS member firms. Plus £10 donation to Prost Aid, for each energy review. Tel: 01162704686 or email a recent bill for each meter to: info@jonstarenergybrokers.co.uk Finance FinancialLabPlanning Consultants 1 Cradock Street FreeLE5Leicester3AWinitial consultation for all new clients and also a free ‘second opinion’ service for all LLS members and their clients on their current pension and investments.

TYPES OF MEMBERSHIP There are various different ways of becoming a member of the LLS All members are entitled to attend our courses, social and networking events and can take advantage of our membership benefits.

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP This is for firms of solicitors. You only pay for the Partners in the firm. Corporate membership covers all solicitors, trainees and paralegals in the firm, so it is a great way of enabling the whole firm to make use of LLS membership.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP Individuals can become members of the LLS. This is available for all current and former legal professionals.

SPECIAL MEMBERS BENEFITS

GROUP MEMBERSHIP This is for businesses that are not law firms but employ lawyers.

As always the membership team has been working hard to get new deals and discounts with local businesses for our members.

www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk

PUBLIC BODY MEMBERSHIP This is for public body organisations that are not law firms but employ lawyers.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP This is for barristers‘ chambers and covers all barristers at the chambers.

As always the membership team has been working hard to get new deals and discounts with local businesses for our members. We have further great offers from local businesses in the pipeline and we will update you on these in the next edition of the magazine.

Beauty Refinery 1st Floor, 101 London Road, Leicester. Tel: 0116 254 7940 Up to 15% discount dependent on treatment from the price list on Monday – Saturday between 10:30am – 2:30pm (this cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers).

Dr. Tim Farewell, Head of Science, Dye & Durham https://dyedurham.com/insight-data-risks/ To learn more about the Climate Report or to obtain a free sample, email Insight-sales@ dyedurham.com or visit com/insight-data-risks/https://dyedurham.

FOR TODAY

To ensure that home buyers have a clear understanding of possible hazards or restrictions that have the potential to affect their future home, a diligent property professional will always recommend undertaking a variety of searches for every residential transaction.

Future Insights from the Climate Report

Modelling Future Hazards for Homebuyers

Last October, the Law Society published a Climate Change Resolution*3 that outlined the role solicitors can play in addressing the climate crisis, which included a call to action to develop a climate-conscious approach to legal practice.Butwhat does this mean for property lawyers and conveyancers? We believe there is the potential to help clients understand climate change impacts by providing data insights as part of the conveyancing due diligence process.Dye& Durham’s market leading Climate Report launched to help property lawyers and conveyancers protect homebuyers’ best interests and make informed, future-facing decisions.Inaddition to subsidence, the Climate Report models a range of hazards for individual properties, including coastal erosion, flood risk exposure and extreme winds, over the next 60 years.The report has been designed to cover both physical hazards and delve into how extreme climate conditions could affect properties over time.Ultimately, robust climate science indicates that we will see more hotter, drier summers and wetter winters as a result of our changing climate. These conditions are of real concern as they are likely to result in an increase in both the severity and frequency of climaterelated impacts to our homes, infrastructure and, more worryingly, the health of vulnerable members of our communities. In conveyancing, there is a tendency to look backwards to determine risk levels, however it is time to start using insight and data to look forward:Ifwe, as an industry, can increase awareness of climate change and its potential impact on our homes and communities, more people will become engaged and want understand how this may affect their property in the future and take steps to help mitigate risks posed by the changing climate. If you would like to discuss this topic with me directly, you can connect via LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timothy-farewell-26557116/www.

GROUND HAZARDS:

We have undertaken some analysis of our National Ground Risk Model (NGRM): Climate™, which models future climate-related environmental hazards, and identified that more than 7.65 million properties in Great Britain could be exposed to medium or high risk of soil subsidence by the 2080s. This is an increase of over 1.89 million individual properties, and is as a result of climate change.*1Withall climate models projecting hotter, drier summers in the future, there is increasing likelihood of soil shrinkage, which can create downward movement in buildings located on vulnerable soils. This shrinkage is worse in clay soils, which are commonly found across the south east of England, and has the potential to move foundations, cracking walls and ceilings, resulting in expensive insurance claims and repair bills. Our data suggests that more than 5.76 million properties in Great Britain are today exposed to medium or high subsidence risk.  This increases to approximately 6.64 million in the 2030s.  Specifically, just over half a million more properties (547,317) could be at high exposure in the next 60 years, compared to today’s figures. Looking at Leicestershire, our data shows that more than half (54%) of the county’s area will see soil subsidence hazard risk increase from moderate to high by the 2050s. In fact by the 2050s, our data shows us that over 80 counties across the UK are likely to experience an increased risk of soil subsidence hazard to some degree, moving from low to moderate, moderate to high, or high to very high, as a result of our changing climate. In particular, additional parts of Middlesex, Hampshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and Surrey could move to the highest subsidence hazard classes by the 2050s.*2

A contaminated land or flood search are often routinely undertaken by many, regardless of location, property type, size, proposed use or client.Yet,other well-known environmental issues such as subsidence, which has the potential to create a problem with lending and insurability if identified, are not always a go-to search. While this hazard may not be an issue everywhere in the UK today, we do believe it is an issue that should be taken seriously, particularly as we look into the future. We know that subsidence can be caused by a number of issues, including the shrinkage and swelling of soils in response to changing moisture conditions, the impact of trees, aging infrastructure or man-made disturbances. To date, subsidence searches have looked at historic data to understand if such risks pose a threat to a property address, however with the changing climate, we believe it is vital to instead look forward to model future hazards.

References: 1 Climate change data has been calculated for Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRNs) in Great Britain, based on a Medium Emissions Scenario (RCP:4.5 Equivalent to 2.4°C global warming by 2100s) 2 Climate change data has been calculated based on a High Emission Scenario (RCP 8.5, Equivalent to 4.3°C global warming by 2100s) 3 approach-to-legal-practiceclimate-change/creating-a-climate-conscious-https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/ DUE DILIGENCE AND THE FUTURE

024 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk ADVERTORIAL

There is a risk that wider adoption will become a catch-22 situation. The results of the Today’s Conveyancer survey show that wider adoption amongst property lawyers will be dependent on a demonstrable improvement in the conveyancing process, something only achievable if each side of the transaction is using UPRN. Indeed a number of comments from the survey indicate that UPRN confuses the issue, with some respondents indicating that title numbers are, in effect, unique.

But a Today’s Conveyancer survey of conveyancing practitioners at the end of 2021 identified that awareness across the conveyancing sector was growing with 65% of respondents suggesting they understood what UPRN are, and of those 85% suggested they would be “useful in providing a single point of focus for data on property.”

UPRN will also provide greater surety of location. “How many times have you had to provide more information about a parcel of land or check the plan to ensure you’ve included the full boundary of the “UPRNproperty?”will map out property locations, including any additional parcels, and ensure the search covers the full outline of the property.”

MomentumADVERTORIALissteadily

However only 11% of respondents suggested they used UPRN “Every time” or “Often” in the course of a transaction. In April UPRNs were included in the Buying and Selling Property Information (BASPI) protocol, developed by trade bodies from across the home buying sector to support the digitisation of property information and enable the collation of up front information from consumers. A “single source of truth,” the BASPI has been designed to reduce the huge duplication of information collected in the course of a conveyance and bring it into a single space. “The idea behind UPRN is to provide greater certainty around the location of property and uniformity of addressing” Says Ellie Player, Head of Geodesys. “We have incorporated UPRN search into the Geodesys platform for a number of years, alongside postcode and address look up. The Geodesys system works by linking a UPRN to a title number so you have the benefit of either because of how we match them up. “It’s another step in supporting the industry wide adoption of UPRN which we believe will bring huge benefit throughout the conveyancing process”.

“Title numbers are unique to the conveyancing process. UPRN are designed to help capture data beyond the home moving process, such as emergency response, HMRC and other govt departments, and have the potential to build a “property passport” or “property logbook” as an immutable single source of truth to tie property data to” says Ellie. “We must, as an industry, embrace adoption to be an enabler in the digitisation of property data, rather than risk holding back progress and missing this critical opportunity to improve home ownership.”

The adoption of Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) presents an opportunity to simplify and speed up the conveyancing process, according to Geodesys

RALLYING CRY FOR WIDER ADOPTION OF UPRN 026 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk

Property portal Zoopla has announced it is heavily investing in UPRN at a recent conference. It believes that by improving data quality around the home buying process, it is possible to reduce fallthroughs and speed up conveyancing.

growing behind the wider adoption of UPRN across the property industry. Currently, the main barriers to adoption are awareness and the availability of using the UPRN through a transaction with all parties.

Ellie adds that from a search point of view

The Modern Expert: Relevant, Current, and SponsoredEvolving by MLAS, Redwood Collections, and Bond Solon An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA and Phillip Taylor MBE of Richmond Green Chambers

Of great interest to the

EXPERT WITNESS INSTITUTE ONLINE CONFERENCE

2022 Friday 20th May 2022

Martin Spencer Lord Hamblen

www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk

EVENT028REVIEW

Hamblen’s Keynote Speech

We know the Expert Witness Institute (EWI) is the true voice of the expert witness community. Its aim is to champion experts from all professional disciplines and the lawyers who use their services. So, this annual conference was an excellent way to network even virtually. EWI’s mission supports the proper administration of justice plus early resolution of disputes through highquality expert evidence from specialists. And this year, we were very fortunate to hear from Lord Hamblen from the Supreme Court. He gave an absorbing, erudite, informative, and positively compelling keynote speech, excellently chaired throughout by Saba Naqshbandi, whom we welcome to the role. It remains a somewhat surreal experience for 2022 without the face-toface chats, the nattering, and meeting up with old colleagues: coronavirus still hung around our thoughts.

withreallyConferencetheattendees,began HamblenLord offering up a summary of his professional background, and what a background. This included the various kinds of expert evidence which he had encountered, both as a barrister and judge. He described how he used to work with experts as counsel, what he had found particularly useful in terms of expert assistance, and how he would seek best to deploy that assistance. When discussing his experience as a judge, he suggested how an expert can best assist judges, including some key ‘do’s and don’ts’ based on his general experience. And then he raised current issues relating to expert evidence from recent cases which can be seen in the recording of the speech from EWI. Over his career, Lord Hamblen has encountered a great variety of different areas of expertise and experts. And his distinguished career surprised some of us!

The Do’s: Understanding Working with experts as counsel, Hamblen suggested the key issue was “understanding”. “To think on their feet in cross examining an expert a barrister needed to be able to think like an expert”, he said. Other key “Do’s” included clarity, structure, reasoning, building trust and confidence. The Number One Don’t Number one “Don’t” was to ensure that the expert is avoiding anything which might compromise their independence and impartiality. Secondly, avoid being an advocate. “It is counsel’s job to argue the case”, he said, and we are sure all advocates attending would agree. “It was not the role of the expert”, in his view, “because they make points, explain points, but do not argue them.” Sound advice, we think, and probably one of the most important messages we took away from the day. The third, related “Don’t”, according to Lord Hamblen was: “know the limits of your expertise”. Which we are sure, everyone does. Hamblen illustrated the importance of all these “Don’ts” from recent cases regarding his view of the proper approach to expert evidence. “Despite the basic rules regarding expert evidence being well known, and the applicable principles changing little in recent times”, he noted that “there has been a notable recent uptick in cases expressing concerns about inadequate expert evidence”. And, he said, he “lamented the fact that recent case law suggests that the principles set out in the ‘Ikarian Reefer’ (now summarised in CPR 35) are frequently not being adhered to”. Ruefully adding, “the principles are being duly recited, but not acted upon”. Lord Hamblen also referred to Mr Justice Fraser’s list of points to be considered by experts and those instructing them, taken from the ICC case. His discussion of cases was always going to be another main point for those watching when he referring to these specific areas: partiality, relevant expertise, conflicts of interest, and failure to comply with expert duties highlighted relevant quotes from the Hamblenjudgements.concluded with the hope “that the personal insights he had provided”, plus recent cases “offered a helpful basis for thought and discussion at the conference”. Indeed, it did! And such insights would provide some guidance to those in the important role that they perform as experts before the courts. He commented that “more and more cases seem to involve experts of one kind or another and that they play a very important role in dispute resolution, whether that be through settlement, mediation, arbitration, or litigation”. As always, it is a pleasure to hear from the Chair,EWI SpencerMartin concluding, proceedings. We all welcome the launch of the EWI’s Core Competency Framework for Expert Witnesses as the final plans for the re-launch of Certification is awaited. It has been a long time as we have reported on the need for certification for some years. Sage advice as always from Martin ending the virtual performance on a high note. So, another virtual “au revoir” until 2023. Perhaps we can all meet up together in person once more to enhance the detailed panel discussions and future breakout sessions!

WhenADVERTORIALthisreviewer

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LEGAL LEICESTER: THE STREETS AND VOICES OF GREYFRIARS. REVIEW

came to Leicester in 1969 the local Solicitors` profession was almost exclusively concentrated in the Greyfriars area of the City. It consisted on the whole of small general practice firms, often bound together by ties of kinship and friendship, and it was entirely white male led. What a difference the last fifty years or so have made! While a few old style practices still cling to the traditional location, commercial work is now the domain of incoming national and regional large firms dispersed throughout the city and its environs in modern office blocks, while we find a considerable number of specialist niche practices often female and or ethnically minority led, many of whom cluster in the area of De Montfort Street. Hardly ever has the maxim “Get big, get niche or get out” been more graphically illustrated. Iain Jones and Jane Kennedy have put together their archaeological, anthropological and legal skills to trace this development. They ask why the local profession centred itself in the Greyfriars area in the late 18th Century, why it grew and developed there in the 19th and the first part of the 20th Centuries and why it has quite rapidly changed form and location within the last forty years or so. To do this they have used various techniques including mapping and the Oral History method of interviewing those who have lived though the period of change. Thus much of the text is the testimony of Solicitors and their staff, mostly now retired, who attest to the changing pattern of practice, while at the same time giving us humorous sideways glimpses into the incidents of practice such as the ghostly goings on in New Street! Overall this is a highly readable and informative study, and it is somewhat embarrassing to point to faults. However, it must be said that the proof reading leaves something to be desired in places, in particular with regard to the spelling of certain names and titles. In addition there is that old error which this academic pedant finds annoying: “it`s” when what is meant is “its.” “It`s” means “It is.” How often I had to correct that in students’ essays! There is also a factual error which involved me. When in 1980 the Leicestershire Law Society moved its library into the Harry Peach Room in the Law Faculty building at Leicester University I had a particular job of moving the existing collection around to find space: a dusty and thirsty task! Sadly despite what the authors say the collection only stayed for a few years before it was sold and carted off to London, leaving me with the equally dusty and thirsty task of rearranging the remaining books to fill the shelves. We had to say farewell to titles such as “Oliphant’s Law of Horses” and the inappropriately titled “The International Law of Peace, 1939 Edition!” These comments apart, it must still be said that this is a useful contribution to local legal and historical studies as it places in our City’s context the social and economic forces which have so altered the form, location and nature of legal practice. The book costs £7.50 per copy and should be available from the authors, though Past President Christl Hughes has a few for sale. Net sale proceeds will be given to The Solicitors’ Charity (formerly known as the Solicitors’ Benevolent Association.) Professor David Hughes.

Home care workers were specified as having a similar short-term date for their immunisation; however, this was cancelled before it could take place. Social Service staff across all areas of care support, during lock down, were working from home or were on furlough. In 2022, many have not returned to workplace settings or have left the care sector. This is due to stress levels and higher wage opportunities elsewhere. Recruitment to address the shortage of front-line care workers has not been successful mainly due to no nationwide, training schemes in place or career structure. Currently it is estimated that there are 238,000 social care vacancies.

The position in the UK care sector pre pandemic was that of a failing system. Simply put, demand was exceeding the services that were available related in the main, to the economic cost of providing these services and the consequences of poor recruitment and care worker, retention levels. State funded individuals, the economic backbone of the care sector, living in their own homes were being allocated funds which were not covering the cost of their home care. People who needed a residential care setting but were reliant on the State for their fees were rarely given a choice of care home but offered one that could provide the care at the price offered. State funding throughout the UK, administered by councils, were offering different hourly/residential care rates to care providers A post codeVaryinglottery.reports had been done on the sector, including the Dilnot Report commissioned by Government, but in essence nothing was in place to improve the situation of an aging population, numbers of which were rising exponentially. In 2019, for care providers across the sector and for many hundreds of thousands of individuals needing care support, the reality could be grim.Then Lockdown. The Lockdown re-enforced the problems and added more problems to the mix. Individuals needing care support in care homes, a person in their own home needing to see a GP or an inpatient in hospital, were all denied visits or visitors. Social Services Staff, Health Commissioning Staff, GP Surgery staff, voluntary bodies, support groups, all were working from home or ceased operating. The Care Quality Commission (the UK’s regulatory inspection organisation) stopped onsite inspections, and the care sector sunk into levels exacerbated by the number of care staff going down with the virus and self-isolating. Mandatory specifications that from November 2021 all care home staff had to be vaccinated, reduced by thousands those who worked in care homes as they exercised their right not to be vaccinated.

Home care providers as a result are desperately short of staff and care workers themselves are ‘selling’ their skills to the highest bidder especially in the 24/7 care support arena.

For care providers who have State funded clients, the Minimum Wage Rate is all they are able to pay to their front-line workers and therefore care workers will prefer to work with fee paying clients for a higher wage. As a result, many care providers have and are handing back State contracts as not financially viable. Free personal protective equipment and lateral flow tests which had been free, are now not available, apart from some specific situations and have to be Hospitalspurchased.aredischarging older people without support care in place, there is also a shortage, in all disciplines of nursing and the deficit gets worse each day. Until the UK Government gets hold of the problem with a plan that can be funded and rolled out in the coming months, the tipping point for care support will be passed and the sector will descend into a catastrophe.

Angela Gifford Owner of Able Community Care Ltd. www.ablecommunitycare.com

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SOCIAL CARE IN THE UK BEFORE AND SINCE LOCKDOWN

The toxicity of Spice compounds is not well understood, and their use has resulted in numerous fatalities. The potency of these chemicals outstrips that of most recreational drugs and Spice can be up to 800 times more potent than cannabis and significantly more potent than heroin and cocaine. An active dose of street heroin can be from around 50-150mg and a typical line of cocaine might contain 50-100mg, but most variants of spice are active at just 1mg or less, an amount barely visible to the naked eye, making accurate dosing impossible and fatalities an inevitable consequence. Synthetic cannabinoids are cheap, readily available, and often lead to a loss of consciousness for the user. They cause significant stress on the heart, hypertension, hallucinations, vomiting, seizures, memory loss, somnolence, respiratory depression, acute anxiety, psychosis and death. Synthetic cannabinoids are continually evolving, with new and emerging versions introduced regularly, with over 350 synthetic cannabinoids formed in the past 15 years. Surprisingly, the majority of those created just 5 years ago are rarely, if ever seen today, and this constantly changing landscape represents a significant challenge to Toxicology laboratories. Spice is also one of the most difficult substances to detect in the field of drug testing, generally because of the very small amounts needed to produce a ‘high’ also because many Spice compounds are not readily incorporated into hair. Consequently, the levels of Spice found in the hair of many users is well below the detection limits of most laboratories testing for Spice. Furthermore, compared to drugs like cannabis, cocaine and heroin, laboratories receive relatively few instructions to test for Spice and on only one occasion in the past 10 years have FTS been instructed to test for a specific Spice compound. There are over 40 synthetic cannabinoids actively used presently, which are constantly changing. Therefore, it is unrealistic for Local Authorities, City Councils and Private Solicitors to keep pace with what they need to instruct for. Data accumulated over the past 5 years by FTS (Forensic Testing Service) has shown that most laboratories testing for Spice are testing for compounds that have not been used in the UK for several years. Furthermore, in addition to testing for the wrong compounds, this data shows that Laboratories’ testing for these compounds would not detect most Spice users because the levels found in users are regularly below the detection limits of the test methods used. This presents a considerable risk in the field of child protection because use of these compounds is going undetected and therefore parents who use Spice are significantly increasing the risk profile for the child. It is also a concern that most of the public funding being used to test for Spice is being wasted and instead of assisting the courts, is only serving to mislead the courts. When the courts are presented with reports providing ‘Negative’ or ‘Not Detected’ results for Spice, not unreasonably, it is assumed that Spice doesn’t present a risk to the child, when this couldn’t be further from the truth in many cases.FTS work with various partners including the Manchester Metropolitan University and Manchester Metropolitan Police on a Drug Testing and Knowledge Exchange project called MANDRAKE. This is a licenced scientific resource, based at Manchester Metropolitan University, working in partnership with key stakeholders to facilitate rapid, robust, and cost-effective chemical analysis for both harm-reduction and intelligence sharing. This project involves the testing and research on emergent and new drug trends closely monitoring substances that are actively used on the ‘street’ and links into other similar initiatives around the country.

FTS has a programme of continual development to address this challenge and are the only laboratory working in this sector that can offer reliable detection of these compounds as they appear on the street. They are the only laboratory that have the capability to detect many of the most abused Spice compounds and crucially, their associated metabolites for confirmation. Furthermore, FTS are one of the few laboratories that have the testing methods with the extreme sensitivity required to find the very low levels often seen in the hair of many users. Instructing the FTS Spice panel ensures that currently abused synthetic cannabinoids will be detected, and use can be differentiated from passive exposure, ensuring Spice misuse is not missed and children are not exposed to unnecessary risk. This also prevents the waste of public funding that is presently spent on testing for Spice compounds that have not been used for several years or get reported as ‘Not Detected’ because they are below most laboratories’ detection limits.

If you would like further information on Spice compounds, please contact the FTS Customer Support Team on 01924 480272.

‘SPICE’ ABUSE IN FAMILY CASES 032 www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk TYPICALLY,ADVERTORIAL50 TIMES THE POTENCY OF HEROIN, WIDELY ABUSED, YET MOST USERS GO UNDETECTED. WHY?

A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in computer software that could allow an attacker to use the software in a way not intended by its creator. Usually, the attacker exploits the flaw to perform malicious and unauthorised actions within the computer system.  When vulnerabilities are discovered, they are generally added to a public list of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) and given a CVE ID or number, in the format RegardlessCVE-2021-12345.oftheindustry,sector or profession, there is an expectation from insurers that their insureds will continually Continues overleaf...

Expected Standards and Underwriting Approach

The professional indemnity market continues to be challenging but there are signs that the steep increases legal practices have experienced during their professional indemnity renewal will not be felt quite so widely across the marketplace. Whilst potentially welcoming news, it does not mean that premiums will lower. Instead there is an expectation that a much more stable rating environment is on the horizon. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the cyber insurance market, which is currently experiencing an unprecedented claims environment across all sectors.

The Claims Environment  A dramatic rise in both frequency and severity of loss has been experienced across the cyber market, which has curtailed the appetite of insurers significantly. Numerous insurers previously active in this space are now exiting from underwriting the class entirely, making the availability of coverage quite scarce. Those insurers that remain active are increasing premiums and policy excesses as a result, whilst sometimes also reducing limits of indemnity, and sub-limiting and/or restricting coverage. Given the vast sums of money that pass through the legal professions’ client accounts, along with the volume of data typically held, the legal profession continues to be an attractive target for criminals.  The scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and even the most diligent and careful business can find itself a victim to attack. Recent examples include Simplify Group’s cyber-attack in November of 2021 which caused significant disruption in the property market with many transactions being delayed significantly as a result, causing huge stress on impacted clients.

• As a proportion of all claims that our Cyber team has witnessed, those arising from external factors, such as data theft, malware, and social engineering have increased 59% between 2019 and 2020.

The barrier to obtaining cyber coverages has historically been quite low, with some insurers offering coverage without the requirement to provide any specific risk related information. These practices are now obsolete with insurers undertaking a more comprehensive risk assessment. As a result they are requesting much more detail about the specific risks associated with businesses before they will even entertain providing any cover, however restricted this coverage may be.

• claims frequency increasing at an average of 13% year-on-year BUT • Severity, (the total loss amount) has increased at an average of 80% over this same period.

Looking more broadly across all industries, our Cyber Claims Team has reviewed data from the last 5 years of claims that show:

In April of this year the Bar Council advised that it was a victim of a malicious cyber-attack. These are just two examples affecting the legal profession that have hit the headlines recently but there are hundreds of incidents that do not make the headlines, notwithstanding the considerable cost and significant distress to impacted businesses and their clientele.

REDUCING THE CYBER RISK EXPOSURE OF LEGAL PRACTICES www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.ukADVERTORIAL033

The appearance of zero-day vulnerabilities in the last 12 months (e.g. the log4j/log4shell zero-day vulnerability identified in November 2021) reminded the insurance market of how cyber risks do not always come in the form of targeted attack and can arise from what many would have considered to be simple, non-risk software. What would constitute a vulnerability?

Ransomware-specific claims were the cause of about 5% of claims notified to Lockton in 2018, accounting for 10% of the total incurred. By contrast, in 2020, ransomware claims accounted for 17% of all claims, and for more than 80% of the total incurred.

ADVERTORIAL improve all their risk procedures over time; the speed of evolution is expected to be much quicker for cyber-related risks, and what was acceptable in 2020 may no longer be so. It is not that these measures implemented are no longer “en vogue”, but unfortunately these alone offer little defence to the criminals of today. What Should You Do? Whilst many practices may outsource their IT function(s) and infrastructure to third parties in full or part, it is likely that the burden of responsibility remains with the law firm. The regulators, whether that be the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) or Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) may well come knocking. Recent history has shown us that no practice is too big or too small to be a target for these criminals; it is therefore incredibly important that practices take stock and address cyber risk fully and in a timely manner, to avoid becoming an unfortunate statistic. Whilst we advocate the transfer of risk and therefore encourage firms to investigate obtaining appropriate cyber coverage if they do have this already, a cyber policy should only complement strong business resilience measures that are in place. Once implemented, it is important to evolve and upgrade these measures regularly.

• MFA (Multi Factor Authentication): Required for ALL remote access, administrator/privileged account access, Remote Desktop Protocol, third party access (e.g. vendors) and online backups. Ticket-based MFA is becoming the market minimum standard and requires a randomly generated code to be inputed into the application before access is granted. This code is either sent to a user’s phone or generated by an application, removing the sole reliability on a username and password.

The disruption caused by experiencing a cyber event is one thing, but the reputational harm to your business should not be underestimated.

• Business Continuity plans and Incident Response plans: These plans are required to be reviewed and updated regularly and reassure insurers that the insured knows how to react if they are a victim of a cyber-attack.

• Anti-Virus / Firewalls: In place and updated on at least a quarterly basis. Anti-virus software constantly scans to detect and record any malware whilst a firewall filters incoming and outgoing information by creating ‘blocks’ which filter the data.

• Training: All employees must undergo annual cyber security training including phishing. People are still considered the weakest link in cyber security and regular training helps keep this matter at the forefront of their minds and is proven to reduce the rate at which phishing links are clicked on.

• Secured PC and server builds: Computer/Server builds which only allow specific services which are required on the devices to run and do its particular job.

• Security policies and procedures: Policies and procedures which explain an insured’s baseline security controls, and which must be adhered to. These can provide insurers further comfort that the insured has as strong understanding of the potential cyber risks. If you have any questions relating to cyber or your professional insurances, please do not hesitate to contact myself or a member of the Lockton Solicitors Team.

• Backups: Data must be backed up at least weekly and stored offsite/offline/ in the cloud and protected via MFA, encryption and separate credentials. If backups are not adequately segmented and protected, they could potentially be encrypted during a cyber-attack making them useless for restoring encrypted/lost systems.

• Patching: Critical patches must be implemented within 30 days; however, many insurers are now requiring this within 7 days. If a software provider releases a patch, which looks to remove a potentially exploitable vulnerability, then insurers require their clients to install this quickly to reduce their potential exposure to this vulnerability. This includes handheld devices too such as an iPhone it would be using the latest iOS (which is version 15.5 at the time of writing this).

Reducing the cyber risk exposure of legal practices, continued...

• SIEM (security information and event management) monitored 24x7 by a SOC (Security Operations Centre): The SIEM software collects and analyses aggregated log data, whilst the SOC operator looks at the aggregated data to spot any potential anomalies.

The minimum cyber requirements of a law firm today include:

• Intrusion Detection and Prevention systems (IDS/IPS): Devices which can detect and prevent intrusions into the network.

• End of Life: End of Life Systems, where no further software updates are being released, must be segregated to prevent full network spread of malware.

Gold Standards In addition to all of the above being implemented, the following are currently recognised as the “Gold Standards”:

• Email filtering tools: Required to be implemented on any form of email and is used to pre-screen emails for potentially malicious attachments and links. This helps reduce the number of malicious emails that are sent to employees, further reducing the likelihood of a successful phishing attempt.

• Network segmentation: Segmentation implementation, with a special focus on protecting critical information and services. Segmentation helps prevent a threat actor moving laterally across a network, reducing the likelihood they can access sensitive data.

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• Removal of local administrator rights from staff and separate credentials for domain administrators: Administrator rights can allow users to change vital computer settings, therefore, if one of these accounts were compromised a threat actor would be able to change security settings which allowing them potentially to move undetected.

• Privileged access management tooling: This software is the gold standard for protecting privileged accounts. Locks access to administrator accounts behind MFA,only releasing their use for a short period of time (e.g. 30 minutes).

• Endpoint Protection for all servers and workstations: This software examines files, processes and system activity and provides a centralised management console for administrators to monitor and investigate potential incidents.