Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Summer/Autumn 2019
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Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin
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Contents
Summer/Autumn 2019 Northamptonshire Law Society
EAST PARK COMMUNICATIONS Ltd. Unit 27a, Price St. Business Centre, Price St., Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 4JQ
5 The President Writes 6 Constituency Council Member’s Report 8 Welcome to New President 10 Special Educational Needs Law and EHCPs
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Northamptonshire Law Society Officers & Council Members 2019 Sharine Burgess
Welcome to this edition of the Bulletin.
Deputy President
Let me start by saying how delighted I am to be President of the Northamptonshire Law Society. The Society was founded 140 years ago so it is truly a great honour to represent such a well-established and enduring organisation.
Jabeer Miah
Immediate-Past President Oliver Spicer
Honorary Secretary Ika Castka
Honorary Treasurer Afua Akom
Constituency Member & Past President Linda Lee
Council Members:David Browne Laura Carter Michael Orton Jones Karen Shakespeare Euan Temple - Past President Edward St John Smyth- Past President Afua Akom Aimee Johns Amy Leech Lynsey Ward
Co-opted Members: Sarah Franklin Maurice Muchinda
Society Manager Carolyn Coles
Northamptonshire Law Society The Gatehouse,
Northamptonshire Law Society
President
The President writes...
For those of you who don’t know me yet let me introduce myself. I qualified as a Solicitor in 2000 and I currently work in the serious injury team at Shoosmiths, Northampton. I have been at Shoosmiths for 16 years so consider myself to be part of the furniture. I am originally from Lancashire but moved to Northampton for work reasons and have never looked back. It is a great County with a lot to offer those in legal practice. We have some fantastic firms and a whole load of talent which makes for a vibrant and successful legal community. The Society is at the heart of this and my overriding objective in my year as President is to make the Society bigger and better without losing sight of our core values. I want to move the Society forward for the next generation but without forgetting our rich history. We can all play a part in this and over the next few months I will be engaging with you in order to ensure this can be delivered. I would very much welcome your ideas and comments so please feel free to contact me as I would love to hear from you. You can find out more about my strategy for the coming year inside the Bulletin. I would like to thank Oliver Spicer for doing a terrific job as my predecessor. Oliver is remaining as a Council member and will continue to have an active role in our Society. No doubt his support and advice will be invaluable in the months ahead. I would also like to thank the Council members who really are an exceptional group of people. I am fortune because not only do they have a wealth of knowledge and experience but they are fully committed to the Society and keen for it to grow and prosper; it really is a pleasure to work with them. I am particularly pleased to welcome on to the Council our newest members Afua Akom, Aimee Johns, Amy Leech and Lynsey Ward. These young lawyers bring with them masses of enthusiasm, creativity and hopefully a lot of bright ideas. I would also like to thank Jabeer Miah who will be working alongside me as Vice President this year. Jabeer’s energy and commitment to the Society is second to none and we are lucky to have him. A final word of thanks to Carolyn Coles who earlier this year took over as Society Manager from the legend that is Phil Smith. Phil was always going to be a hard act to follow but Carolyn has risen to the challenge and is doing a great job of running the Society. Happy reading! Sharine Burgess
Stable Lane Pitsford
Northampton NN6 9NG
Tel: 01604 881154 Email: Sec.nls@outlook.com
Sharine Burgess
President Northamptonshire Law Society
All Council members should in the first instance be contacted through the Society Manager. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Northamptonshire Law Society
Constituency Council Member’s Report September 2019 Complaints handling data, new pilot at LeO, hard PII market, post 6 year run off cover. LSB update-changes to the standard of proof and new internal governance rules. Analysis of firms’ complaints handling processes. Complaints made by dissatisfied clients directly to the firm who provided their legal services are classed as First Tier Complaints (FTCs). Firms have eight weeks after receiving an FTC to provide their final written response. If clients remain dissatisfied, they can then make a complaint direct to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO).
A complaint made to LeO increases the cost to the firm of handling the complaint and the firm concerned may have to pay a case fee to LeO and face the prospect of the complaint being published.
This year, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) conducted a review of the handling of FTCs. The number of complaints has risen, and clients are now more likely to complain if they are unhappy.
The number of FTCs received increased from 26,570 in 2012 to 28,113 in 2018. In addition, monitoring by LeO suggests that the number of clients known as ‘silent sufferers’ – dissatisfied clients who do not make a complaint- has fallen from 49% in 2017 to 35% in 2018. The most common complaints received are about: delay, failure to advise and excessive costs.
The good news is that the percentage of claims resolved by firms has increased from 72% of all complaints received in 2012, to 81% in 2018. Saving the individual firms and the profession as a whole money.
LeO Update As from 1 April 2019, complaints relating to Claims Management Companies will now be dealt with by the newly established Claims Management Ombudsman, part of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Around 15 % of complaints received by LeO relate to costs. LeO have now published updated guidance on costs . This takes into account the new transparency rules. LeO advises firms to ensure that they keep a record of the information displayed on their websites, and when and how it changes. The guidance states that if a client makes a complaint in the future about the initial costs information this record will assist in demonstrating what the client would have seen at the time. The SRA have indicated that whilst figures on the website will not be binding, it should be made clear that process may vary and for what reason and in what circumstances. It would seem sensible for firms to keep screenshots of the price transparency pages at regular intervals in addition to a log of changes. LeO have also launched a series of 5-minute videos on YouTube covering the top five areas of law where it receives 6
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the most complaints: residential conveyancing, personal injury, family law, litigation and wills and probate. The videos look at the common types of complaints; how LeO investigate and resolve such complaints; case studies and practical tips on avoiding complaints. September 2nd saw the launch of LeO’s new mediation pilot. This is closely following the scheme operated by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. Both parties will be asked if they agree to take part in the mediation. As there is no investigation, if the mediation is successful the complaint would be dismissed and therefore there would be no publication of an ombudsman’s decision or payment of a case fee. It should be swifter and it is hoped that clients whose cases are settled by mediation will be more satisfied with the outcome of the process.
The parties taking part in the mediation, will not meet but will be contacted by a mediator, by telephone. Full details of the process will be given to the parties prior to making a decision to take part in the pilot.
Any information that LeO is given about the mediation process on a given complaint will come from the firm and be sent to a dedicated inbox. Calls will also be recorded to allow for verification if necessary. I will be meeting the new Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive of LeO, Rebecca Marsh in October. Please contact me if there are any particular points you would like me to raise with her, although I will not be able to discuss individual cases with her.
Post 6-year run-off. A reminder that the SRA’s decision to close the Solicitors Indemnity Fund Ltd from September 2020 will impact on those whose firms closed after professional indemnity insurance moved to the open market on 1 September 2000.
Solicitors’ Professional Indemnity Insurance is on a claimsmade basis. That means the insurance covers claims that are made and reported during the policy period only and not once the policy period is over. When a firm closed, the partners/owners were obliged to pay for 6 years run off cover, to meet any claims made in the first 6 years after closure. Cover after that time was provided free by utilising monies still held by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.
There has been a misconception that claims do not arise after a firm has been closed a few years. However, data produced by the SRA in 2016 revealed that 24% of claims were brought between three and six years after the work was completed, and 10% took place between six and 15 years after the work was completed, with 1% of claims brought more than 25 or after the work was completed. Lobbying by the Law Society and others failed to persuade the SRA to continue to offer free indemnity cover post 6 years or to permit the Law Society to use the monies remaining in SIF as seed capital for a new scheme. There has been very
There are concerns as to the availability of premiums or availability at a reasonable price. It is particularly unfortunate that the SRA changes will take place at the time the PII market generally is hardening, with premium rises in estimated at between 10 to 25% this year. The reasons for the hardening market are complex but follow the Lloyds review of the market which identified solicitors indemnity insurance as unprofitable and as a result, several underwriters left the market, particularly those offering first layer of top up after the primary layer (£2 to £3 million on Minimum Terms and Conditions) and the exit of the unrated insurers.
The Law Society continues to attempt to find solutions to these problems. I will be attending a roundtable with insurers and brokers looking at this and other PII related matters in November. If you have any matter you would like me to raise or would like to tell me of your experiences or concerns on an anonymous basis, please do contact me.
Northamptonshire Law Society
little interest by insurers in offering a product to cover post 6 year run off cover. Those who were partners in firms that are closing or have closed (and possibly fee-earners who were contractually obliged to personally cover any uninsured losses) need to be alert to the changes.
Roundtable In September, I will be hosting a roundtable meeting with the Junior Lawyers Division to look at issues facing junior lawyers and how we all can take steps to improve the quality of training and avoid some of the difficulties seen in recent SDT cases. A full account will be in my next report.
Linda Lee
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 Regulatory Processes Committee and a member of the Policy and Regulatory Affairs Committee and Access to Justice Committee. She is current Chair of the Solicitors Assistance Scheme. Linda is an experienced litigation solicitor and is a Consultant at RadcliffesleBrasseur where she specialises in solicitors’ disciplinary, compliance and regulatory work. She can be contacted by email at: lindakhlee@aol.com
Legal Services Board (LSB) Update On 28 July 2019, the LSB announced that it had approved rule changes to permit the standard of proof at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to move from the criminal to the civil standard. This will be effective for all cases brought on 25 November 2019 onwards. The latest review by the LSB of the regulator revealed three areas where the LSB indicated the SRA was behind schedule: publishing of disciplinary outcomes on the Roll, reviewing the quality standards of solicitor advocates and transparency of its own decision-making, following its decision not to publish minutes of its Board meetings. The SRA has now published details of its research into the standard of criminal advocacy which, despite comments by the judiciary, is found to be generally competent. The SRA will be producing further details of its proposals for advocacy standards in due course.
The LSB has published new Internal governance rules on 24 July 2019. This determine the way in which the SRA and the Law Society interact to satisfy the requirements of the Legal Services Act. These have been amended year on year to enforce greater separation and reduce any oversight by the Law Society. These now appear to prevent the Law Society Council approving the SRA budget which it has done each year since the SRA was formed. It will be interesting to se what impact this will have on budget setting by the SRA.
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Welcome to New President Over the summer I caught up with our new President, Sharine Burgess, to find out about her journey to becoming President and what we can expect from her over the next 12 months‌ by Carolyn Coles. Northamptonshire Law Society
How do you feel about becoming president? It is a great honour and a real privilege to become the President of the Northamptonshire Law Society (NLS) in its 140th year. Back in 1879 when NLS was founded the world was a very different place but our core values have remained the same namely to be the voice of solicitors, to drive excellence in the profession and to safeguard the rule of law.
When did you become involved in NLS? I have been a member of NLS since 2003. In 2017 I won Solicitor of the Year at the NLS Awards and it really brought home to me what a force for good NLS is so I decided to take a more active role and subsequently became a Council member.
Why is NLS important? In essence, NLS exists to represent the professional interests of all its members in all matters which may affect them at a local and a national level. So its purpose is to represent, support and promote members interests. It encourages collaboration and unity between practitioners in the County which serves to strengthen our legal community. Whether this is by networking events, debates etc. the aim is to ensure effective lines of communication are maintained between our members. It ensures members are kept up to date with important issues which affect the profession and provides training and education.
What are the challenges for NLS? The real challenge as I see it is for NLS is to adapt to the ever changing legal landscape, to provide new and interesting services to its members and to remain relevant and a focal point for our local legal community.
What is your strategy for your year in office? During my term as President I want to build upon the good work done by my 8
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predecessors in the 140 years previously and to make NLS bigger, better and relevant for the next generation. My objectives are to engage with the current membership to understand what they want from NLS and how we can provide better services; to increase the membership by working hard to encourage new members to join and to deliver what they want; to work closely with young lawyers to ensure that we have a strong Society that will serve our legal community in the future. In this respect I am looking forward to working with Amy Leech the Chair of the Northants and Bucks Junior Lawyers Division who recently became a NLS Council member. I intend to focus on community projects because I believe that as lawyers we have a responsibility not only to the clients we represent but to our local communities and wider society. We are often caught up in our work and it often seems there aren’t enough hours in the day. However, it is important that we take a step back and ask ourselves how we can make a difference whether that be by undertaking pro bono work, supporting charities and organisations in our communities or mentoring students. There are a lot of opportunities in Northamptonshire where we can make a positive contribution and I would like our
members to get involved.
Why did you become a Solicitor? I did a work experience placement at a local solicitors firm when I was at secondary school. I got to go on a 5 day murder trial as the firm was representing the accused. I got to go into the cells with the prisoner and watched the court proceedings unfold. I remember feeling terribly sad when the guilty verdict was read out but it was really exciting and front page news in the local paper. So that is probably where my interest started. That being said I didn’t go on to practice criminal law. I did lots of legal work experience as a student in different settings e.g. local authority, traditional firms and I was a volunteer at the local law centre when I was at University all of which was terrific experience so I guess I knew what I wanted to do reasonably early on and set out on that path. That was so many years ago now I am feeling quite old! I am glad that I became a solicitor as contrary to how we are often negatively portrayed on the television (and I am thinking in particular of Adam and Imran in Corrie!) the profession is an honourable profession where we uphold and deliver the highest professional standards and act with honesty & integrity.
What do you enjoy about being a Solicitor?
I am passionate about supporting injured people. To me this involves more than providing high quality legal advice and ensuring a fair settlement. It is about treating a client as an individual with specific needs and requirements. It is about listening to a client and understanding his/her concerns. It is about giving a client continuing support and guidance. Many of my clients live with complex conditions in challenging circumstances. My clients have suffered life-changing injuries and have developed serious illnesses. My job is to support these individuals and their families through the legal process and help them come to terms with what has happened in order to move forward in a positive way.
Singing4Breathing is a singing group for people diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory conditions. The group was set up in 2015 in Northampton has now close to 600 chronically ill people attending groups weekly in the County. It is a great project as academic research has proven that singing can benefit people with respiratory conditions by working the diaphragmatic muscle and therefore helping to improve lung function. Singing is also a good way to practice deep breathing and a great way for people to come together to share their experiences and gain support. I was really proud to help organise “An Evening with Singing4Breathing and Guests” which took place in April 2019 in Northampton. The concert was performed by singers who suffers from respiratory illnesses from groups in Northampton, Corby and
Wellingborough. It was a privilege to work with such an inspiring group of people and the concert was a great opportunity for them to showcase their considerable talent. We also raised over £4000 which will be used to open more groups in the County. This is what I mean by how we can make a difference.
Northamptonshire Law Society
The work I do in the serious injury team at Shoosmiths can be really challenging but is also so rewarding. I act on behalf of injured people and their families and deal with a wide range of cases including workplace illness and disease claims, stress at work, abuse and military claims.
I am also very fortunate that I get to work with some fantastic organisations and have the opportunity to really make a difference. This year I have really enjoyed working with Singing4Breathing.
I am also involved currently with The Back Up Trust a charity who work with people affected by spinal cord injuries. I have been lucky enough to be invited with my colleagues to attend wheelchair skills training in hospitals and spinal centres and started this in July with other sessions taking place throughout the year. It is a great charity doing incredible work.
What do you do when you aren’t working? I mainly am a taxi service for my daughter Eve who at aged 9 has the most active social life of anyone I know! I have got into spinning (group cycle for those who don’t now) this year. I enjoy it although it is quite addictive. However, my idea of heaven is to relax with a good book and a large G&T. Cheers!
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Special Educational Needs Law and EHCPs by Victoria Federico
Every fellow solicitor has the potential to come into contact with a child or young person with special educational needs, either professionally or personally. Many solicitors specialising in clinicial negligence and personal injury will be well versed in handling matters for children or young people who have additional needs, for example due to an acquired brain injury or cerebral palsy. However, for other solicitors we are told it is coming up increasingly often given the current financial climate and budget constraints within Local Authorities. Northamptonshire is not alone in being an area with an increasing amount of children with additional needs, high pressure on special school places and appeals to the SEN Tribunal. More and more families are not receiving the support their disabled child requires and often ask a trusted legal adviser, in another field, for a suggested solicitor to assist. Therefore, I hope you will find the below interesting and useful for any potential client query or personal matter. Getting the best education for their child is something that every parent worries about. For children with special needs, that is even more important. So what can parents do if they are concerned that their child is not in the right school, or is not getting the specialised help they need? Parents can request an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment leading to the issue of an Education, Health and Care Plan (‘EHCP’). An EHCP is a legal document that describes a child’s special educational needs, the additional support required and the right school place (among other things) in which those needs should be met. It is a vital document and one that forms the bedrock upon which the best possible education can be built.
EHCPs EHCPs cover the age range from birth up to 25 years and there is a real focus on the views and wishes of the children or young person and their family to be taken into account by Local Authority Special Educational Needs Departments when drawing up EHCPs. An EHCP is a powerful tool, but it is only effective if it specifies and quantifies exactly what support a child needs. As EHCPs are legal documents it is crucially important that the content is right, and all the required support is detailed within them. The majority of EHCPs that we review for clients who have had no 10
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specialist advice are woefully inadequate and unlawful. The impact of this is that the children and young people are not receiving the vital therapies and provision they require, and are often placed in the incorrect school or college. The provision and support that a child or young person requires within school or college must be very clearly detailed, ‘specified and quantified’ in order to be legally enforceable and for the correct level of funding to be provided by the Local Authorities. If special educational provision within an EHCP is withdrawn by a Local Authority, or not provided for any reason then it is possible to judicially review the Local Authority. This is only possible if there is no ambiguity within Section F of the EHCP about the provision that must be arranged and funded. An example of this is for a child who has written into Section F of their EHCP that they “must be provided with physiotherapy, direct from a qualified physiotherapist for a minimum of 30 minutes per day”. EHCPs must be reviewed at least every 12 months. The school, parents/carers, child or young person, Local Authority representative and any relevant other professionals should be invited to attend and contribute to this review. This is a good opportunity to request any amendments to the EHCP, if the content is no longer sufficiently clear or if the child/young person’s needs have changed. The Local Authority makes a decision following the review about whether or not any
Victoria Federico - Solicitor and Head of Education Law, Shoosmiths
amendments to the EHCP will be made. If no amendments are made, but were requested then an appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal may be pursued. If amendments are to be made then an amended draft EHCP will be issued and comments invited. If parents are not happy with the final amended EHCP then they will also have a right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
Appeals to the SEN Tribunal Parents, and young people themselves can challenge the content of an EHCP, and this is done by appealing to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. There is a requirement for mediation to, at least, be considered before any appeal is lodged. Appeals are a relatively complex and paperwork heavy process, with many parents and young people opting to receive legally based advice and assistance rather than tackle it on their own. Local Authorities will often instruct solicitors and barristers to represent them in these appeals. The strength of any appeal and the prospects of success are determined by the evidence available and how it is presented to the Tribunal and Local Authority, as respondent to the appeal. Seeking expert advice, ideally before lodging an appeal is
“...If special educational provision within an EHCP is withdrawn by a Local Authority, or not provided for any reason then it is possible to judicially review the Local Authority...”
going to give the case the best prospects of success.
Case Study
The effects of being in the wrong school with little or no provision was felt by the whole family. The fact he was not
His parents wanted him to attend a local independent special school that was able to meet his needs. The Local Authority refused to pay for the placement, despite it only being £5,000 more expensive per year than his current school. I was instructed by the parents to undertake an appeal on their behalf to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal. As a result of my assistance and expertise this appeal was successful and their son now attends the parent’s independent special school of choice.
“...Every fellow solicitor has the potential to come into contact with a child or young person with special educational needs, either professionally or personally. Many solicitors specialising in clinicial negligence and personal injury will be well versed in handling matters for children or young people who have additional needs...”
The Appeal to the SEND Tribunal was ultimately successful, but only because expert advice, evidence and opinion was obtained to support the case. Some of that was in the form of my legal advice, but marshalling advice and opinion me relevant experts was also crucial. The parents recently got in touch to thank me and said it’s like having their son back, as he is so happy to go to school, is making progress and the family as a whole is much happier. Having my help and expertise not only secured the right result at appeal for their son, but also took a lot of the stress out of the process.
Northamptonshire Law Society
I recently dealt with a tribunal appeal for Oscar Gerring, whose parents spent months trying to obtain an EHCP specifying a specialist school that would appropriately meet their son’s needs. The youngster was attending his local primary school, which his parents knew was not suitable. The school seemed to have little understanding of the impact of his autism - how he was able to engage with learning and how he could make progress - and his high anxiety.
receiving the support he needed led to him threatening self-harm and he was under the care of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
I am often instructed internally be colleagues, but also increasingly externally by fellow solicitors, case manager and independent experts. Expert advice in this complex and niche area of law is essential and I hope by having read this article you will feel more informed to assist clients, colleagues, friends and family to be more aware of their legal rights in relation children with special educational needs. I, and my team, are always happy to speak to anybody with an initial query and we often run seminars and workshops for parents and professionals.
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Enriching Lives Through Horses Here we take a look at one of the many local Charities supported by the Shoosmith’s Dress Down days You may have seen the Riding for the Disabled Association featured on Countryfile recently, as it was celebrating its 50th year of offering therapeutic riding lessons to disabled children. Here in Northamptonshire, over 40 years ago, a number of local ladies with an interest in horse riding decided to form their own group to help local disabled children. Thus the Kettering & District Riding for the Disabled Group was born. The group currently operates from an equestrian centre at Alley Farm in Lowick. The quiet countryside location provides an ideal setting for the children and their lessons. They currently work
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with 4 local special schools, giving lessons to children on Wednesday and Thursday mornings during term times. There are clear physical benefits to the lessons – the children get to spend a morning outside in the fresh air and the riding provides them with some light exercise. On some occasions they are also lucky enough to get some sunshine! In addition to the physical benefits, it is clear that being around and riding the ponies gives the children great enjoyment and satisfaction. It can even increase their self-confidence. For some of the children just touching a pony is a great achievement and a big step into a new world. The group owns four lovely ponies, all of which were chosen for their calm temperament and for how comfortable they are around children. They are a joy for the children to ride and stroke.
The group has to constantly fundraise to keep the ponies in their livery stables (a ‘boarding’ stables where you pay a weekly or monthly fee). They receive no government grants or financial assistance. They have approximately 30 helpers, all of whom are volunteers, and they even still have a few of the founding members attending! Staff at Shoosmiths were fortunate enough to volunteer recently and they had a great time meeting the group, the ponies and the children. They also raised over £1,000 for the group through their weekly MUFTI (non-uniform) days, which will help the group continue their great work. The group is always looking for new members and if you would like to join them, or simply see what they do, please call Rosi Greenall on 0780809151. You can also find out more online at https:// www.rda.org.uk
by Euan Temple
The European Court of Justice (CJEU) in Amazon EU Case C-649/17 has ruled that online sales platforms are not necessarily obliged to always provide consumers with a contact telephone number in order to meet statutory obligations. Other means of communication via which the consumer can communicate quickly and efficiently with the company may also be sufficient. Background The plaintiff, a German consumer protection association sought a declaration before German courts that an online sales platform was violating its statutory obligation to provide consumers with an efficient means of making contact. In particular, the association alleged that consumers were not informed in a clear and understandable manner of the platform’s telephone and fax number. According to the association, the callback service that was set up did not fulfil the duties to provide information as many steps were required to contact with the company. It stated that, under German law, a businessperson was obliged to always provide a telephone number before concluding a consumer contract in cases of distance or off-premises selling.
Northamptonshire Law Society
Online sales platforms
Euan Temple - Council Member & Past President
that, provided direct and efficient communication between the consumer and the businessperson is enabled, the Directive does not preclude selecting an alternative means of communication. Finally, the CJEU takes the view that it is a matter for the national courts to judge whether the means of communication provided to the consumer enable him or her to contact the businessperson quickly and efficiently and whether the information provided in this regard is clear and understandable.
Comment With this ruling, the CJEU rejects a narrow interpretation of the duties of businesses in the area of customer service. On safeguarding consumer interests, the CJEU emphasises once more the importance of a proportionate balance between consumer protection on the one hand and the freedom to conduct a business on the other (cf. CJEU, judgment of 23 January 2019 (C‑430/17) – Walbusch Walter Busch, margin no. 41 f.).
The German Federal Court of Justice sought clarification from the CJEU on whether Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/ EU precludes a provision of national law such as this and whether an online sales platform can rely on other means of communication such as online chat or a call-back system.
Ruling The CJEU rules that an online sales platform is not obliged to provide the consumer with a telephone number; instead, it is free to choose the means of contact. It states that the Consumer Rights Directive precludes such a limiting provision of national law and that, under the Directive, the decisive point is that direct and efficient communication is guaranteed. The Court holds that the Directive does not oblige a businessperson to set up a new telephone, fax connection or email account in order to enable the consumer to make contact. The provision of such numbers or of an email address is held to be obligatory only if the businessperson already had these means of communication with the consumers at his or her disposal. In overview, the CJEU clarifies that the purpose of the Directive is to ensure a high level of protection for consumers, but that there should be a balance between a high level of protection for consumers and the competitiveness of businesses. The Court asserts that any unconditional obligation on the part of the businessperson to always provide the consumer with a telephone number or even to set up a new telephone connection or email account seems disproportionate. It finds www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Northamptonshire Law Society
ARE YOU BEING HOUNDED BY OUT OF DATE MULTIPLE DWELLINGS RELIEF CLAIMS? HAVE YOU RECEIVED A PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL LETTER ALLEGING PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE? IF SO, DON’T SETTLE UNTIL YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO US!
www.griffithsallen.co.uk office@griffithsallen.co.uk Telephone 0118 40 50 025 Griffiths Allen Summer 2019.indd 1
06/09/2019 12:26
IF YOU ARE CONCERNED THAT YOUR STAMP DUTY LAND TAX KNOWLEDGE IS NOT AS IT SHOULD BE, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU GET IT RIGHT. CALL US - OUR FEES ARE FIXED TO AVOID SURPRISES www.griffithsallen.co.uk office@griffithsallen.co.uk Telephone 0118 40 50 025 14 Griffiths www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Allen Summer 2019.indd 2
06/09/2019 12:26
Northamptonshire Law Society
Junior Lawyers’ Division Amy Leech, one of our junior representatives on the Northamptonshire Law Society’s Council, is the current Chairperson of the Northants Bucks Junior Lawyers Division (NB JLD).
The committee contains paralegals, trainee solicitors and qualified solicitors from firms within Northampton including Toller’s LLP, The Family Law Group, Howes Percival, Shoosmiths LLP and Wilson Browne Solicitors.
The NB JLD organises educational and career based seminars and networking opportunities in order to promote the interests of Northamptonshire’s and Buckinghamshire’s junior lawyers, young professionals and students. A ‘junior’ lawyer could be a paralegal ranging up to a solicitor who is 5 years qualified. The NB JLD works closely with the University of Northampton, the Northamptonshire Law Society and other professional networking groups within and around Northampton.
To date this year the NB JLD has hosted successful events in Northampton including a social networking event and a newly qualified solicitors careers event. The NB JLD are hosting their annual winter ball this year in Northampton – date and venue to be confirmed shortly. Individuals can email northantsbucksjld@outlook.com to sign up to the NB JLD’s mailing list and to express interest in attending or sponsoring the winter ball.
www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Since winning the leadership contest and becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has stated his intentions of injecting a long-overdue boost in to the UK’s property market. This is certainly welcome news to everyone – buyers, sellers and the professionals involved in the chain – to help revitalise what is currently a relatively flat market. The impact of such stagnation is not only felt by consumers but the entire economy. A great example being conveyancing firms where consolidation has seen a reduction of approximately 10% of the number of firms compared to just five years ago. Of course, consolidation is for a number of reasons but the stagnating property market is clearly a factor. The Prime Minister has suggested he is considering abolishing Stamp Duty on homes worth less than £500,000, which he has been reported as saying is “choking the market”. In doing so, it is reported that around 300,000 property buyers would no longer need to pay the duty – equating to almost three quarters of all residential sales becoming exempt from the charges.
“...If the Government is able to kickstart the property market by revising the duties related to a significant percentage of property transactions, the shackles will certainly be removed in many thousands of purchases. In my book, that will be a positive step forward for us all....” This move, if it were to happen, would help unlock the sub-£500k market. If we look at Government figures from the first quarter of 2019 alone, there were 146,500 reported transactions – of those only 21,400 were for transactions on properties £500,000 or over, showing the impact this change would have. Any step to rejuvenate the market should be considered and would be welcomed. The next step is to then look at ways the process can be made faster. Research from Gazeal1 has revealed that the time it takes to sell a home in the UK has increased by a week in the last year, with large regional variances of up to 20% increases in Luton, for example. In addition, a recent ‘time to sell’ benchmark study2 suggested that, on average, it takes between 129 – 176 days to sell a property. This trend can largely be attributed to the challenging
Northamptonshire Law Society
A long-overdue boost in to the UK’s property market.
Article from Tony Rollason, Regional Manager Legal, Landmark Information Group
market conditions in the UK residential property sector. The time it takes to complete a sale has also seen a significant increase since 2016 – except for Scotland and Wales – with all other regions experiencing an upward spike in average timescales. London and the South East are most noticeable with London increasing from just over 150 days to almost 180, according to Rightmove. In recognising that that property transactions can take a great deal of time, from offer to completion, I believe that there are opportunities for suppliers to offer additional layers of flexibility to help smooth the process. For instance, at Landmark, we have recently launched a free re-order service for our all-in-one environmental report, RiskView Residential. This aims to provide complete peace of mind to home movers and property professionals, by enabling a report to be re-ordered up to three months after the original purchase took place. So, if a chain is taking longer than anticipated to complete, the very latest due diligence can be assessed prior to completion, which takes in to account any recent environmental changes that may have occurred. Of course, whilst Landmark, along with our partners across the property industry, are doing everything we can in our areas of specialism to make the housing transaction smoother and faster, we also understand that some things may be outside of our control. By offering property lawyers and conveyancers the opportunity to re-order environmental due diligence reports for free, everyone can take comfort in that fact that the very latest search data is being assessed, and they are in the most informed position ahead of one of the greatest investments they are ever likely to make. The accumulation of services like this can only benefit the process overall. Now we will wait with bated breath as to what steps the Prime Minister will take to reinvigorate the market as a whole. It’s going to be an interesting last few months of the year, particularly when you also consider the looming Brexit deadline. If the Government is able to kick-start the property market by revising the duties related to a significant percentage of property transactions, the shackles will certainly be removed in many thousands of purchases. In my book, that will be a positive step forward for us all. www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49235452
www.landmark.co.uk www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Navigating the challenges ahead Northamptonshire Law Society
The PII renewal season is now fully underway and the forecasted challenges suggested by many are seemingly coming to fruition. With only three weeks until a number of practices renewal dates will be upon them, I wanted to share with you some of the reasoning why there is a challenging marketplace but most importantly measures that can be implemented to weather the impact of the current market conditions. A number of factors are influencing the prevailing market conditions, but the two most impactful are: Lloyd’s of London financial performance showed that between 2016 and 2018 60% of syndicates were unprofitable and underperforming. This identified non US PII as the second worst performing class of insurance within Lloyd’s and corrective measures are taking place. Many syndicates have reduced capacity, and have implemented rate increases throughout 2019; when you combine these two factors, it results in many of the syndicates having a limited new business appetite or ability for growth.
Claims An increase in claims severity - with multiple loses breaching the compulsory primary layer of insurance. The most sizeable claims emanating from the following areas of practice:
It is likely you will be vying for the attention of underwriters with hundreds of your peers in a short space of time. With this in mind, it is important to provide a quality presentation that provides the underwriters with a good insight and understanding of your practice.
Select the right representative for your firm Direct access to leading insurers It is incredibly important to prevent unnecessary links in the chain. Ignoring the delays that this may create in the event of a claim materialising, the immediate issue could well be in the forthcoming negotiation. Additional and unnecessary links in the chain distance your practice from the underwriter and insurer. It can create unnecessary delays in the process and could result in your message to insurers being diluted. The more people in the process can mean increased premiums or that you do not get appropriate service.
• Commercial Work
Experience and expertise
• Depositor Funded developments
Work with a broker, who has an understanding of the legal profession and the ability to appropriately articulate your practice to insurers. Choose a broker who can guide your practice and provide appropriate advice to you on policy and issues that may affect you. Furthermore, whilst no practice wishes to experience claims, you may wish to select a representative that has the appropriate resources and expertise to help you, when you will need it most should the need arise.
• Escalating Ground Rent provisions • Litigation • Wills and Probate • Cyber Crime A number of these practice areas have generated losses that have impacted both primary and the first excess layer insurers which could have a bearing on some insurers’ rates. The claims activity has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of insurers willing to provide coverage for the first excess layer above the compulsory primary layer, premiums for this layer of insurance have increased from what they were last year. At the start of the article, I had promised guidance on the measures that can be implemented to weather current market conditions. Despite the challenges, I am pleased to advise that practices can still make a difference to the impact upon them providing that Insurers are presented with a detailed presentation and crucially they are supported by some expert broking. Throughout this current renewal period, we continue to witness that those active insurers wish to align themselves with good businesses. It is therefore important that you take a proactive approach to demonstrate this to insurers. Whether you have submitted your proposal or are in the midst of doing so, you are still able to make a difference, if you have submitted your forms, there is nothing stopping you adding to what has been provided. You can make a difference by following these steps: Distinguish yourself from the crowd - As a proposal form generally provides the numeric data that an insurer can use to load up their pricing tool. It is the softer facts about your practice along with some expert broking that provide them with the necessary ingredients to deviate away from their technical pricing with this in mind, it would be prudent to provide a foreword about your practice. 18
by Brian Boehmer
This may include, a brief history how you have got to where you are today, the management and structure of the practice, your client base, along with your approach to quality control and risk management it is however important to be proud of the accomplishments of your practice.
www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
Completion of your proposal form – do so with utmost care and attention, ensuring that your work split adds up to 100% and that you answer all the applicable questions. If any question specifically requests additional or supporting information, please make sure that you provide this. If a yes or no answer does not quite work for your practice and the way that you do things, please make clear reference and provide further explanation. Wherever possible complete the proposal form on a computer to ensure that it is legible and easy for an underwriter to understand. Claims information - Provide updated claim summaries even if you have had no claims as insures will require this information to satisfy their underwriting file. Your representative should be able to obtain these for you with your writing permission. If you have had claims or there are open reserves then an overview of what happened, and what lessons have been learned to prevent these from occurring in the future. If you have notifications open with no reserves, provide your view on both merit and quantum. If you want a second opinion, please do not hesitate to contact me or a member of the Lockton Solicitors team who will be very happy to help.
Brian Boehmer, Partner Lockton Companies LLP T: 0207 933 2083/ E: brian. boehmer@uk.lockton.com
Northamptonshire Law Society
Playing our clients’ tune since 1966.
Over 97% of our clients renew with us. Lockton has been proudly independent for over 50 years. With no shareholders to answer to, our clients always come first. And when clients come first, they tend to come back.
Get in touch with a member of the Lockton Solicitors team today to explore your options for Professional Indemnity insurance ahead of renewal.
T: 0330 123 3870 E: Solicitors@uk.lockton.com Lockton Companies LLP. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A Lloyd’s broker. Registered in England & Wales at The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AG. Company No. OC353198. www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Northamptonshire Law Society
If you’re using any Drainage and Water report other than the CON29DW…
Good luck. A CON29DW uses all known water company information, including both free and paid-for data. This ensures that the FULL picture on drainage and water is presented. The Geodesys CON29DW presents the information in plain language; provides useful detail; includes two high-quality Ordnance Survey maps (one for water and one for waste and drainage); and uses an interactive format to make it easy for you to retrieve relevant information. Some Drainage and Water reports simply infer answers from the proximity of the pipes nearby, rather than checking the billing and connectivity data that the water company holds. Or they can ignore water company data, such as the information on whether a property is at increased risk of internal flooding. The lack of an answer to this question is often covered by insurance in some reports. Whatever the example, the home buyer, lender and conveyancing solicitor are all exposed to risk.
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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
When it’s your reputation on the line, do you really want to leave it to luck?
It’s your call…
CON29DW from Geodesys.
No inferring, no ignoring, no insuring.
The lender Lenders need to focus on property risk as well as applicant risk – and a key concern is drainage and water. The CON29DW answers all 23 drainage and water questions from the Law Society, covering areas such as connections, pipe and drain locations, and risk of internal flooding. Other reports can infer and ignore answers, using insurance to cover the risk.
The conveyancer If a less than full picture of the property leads to drainage or water issues, a law firm’s PI insurance usually covers any remedial work – but it can’t cover the time and effort required, nor any damage to reputation. Plus the homeowner may have to carry out costly work in the future.
The CON29DW from Geodesys offers the following key features: • a crystal-clear front-page customer dashboard • clear identification of potential issues • easy-to-use interactive navigation • two formats: interactive PDF and usual print format • thorough information on drainage and water legislation • a ‘plain English’ guide • a modern design created by industry
The home buyer Whether a dream house, a desperately needed upgrade or a first-time purchase, complex drainage and water problems are a major setback for any homeowner. Even if covered by insurance, there’s still the pain of sorting out an issue that could have been identified before – and the buyer may not have gone ahead if they’d known. Call: 0800 085 8050 Email: customer.services@geodesys.com www.geodesys.com/con29dw-goodluck www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk 21
Northamptonshire Law Society
Assessing drainage and water risk can be a tick-box exercise, but with the CON29DW you’re guaranteed a factual, reliable and secure approach. It’s a choice that impacts three separate, but connected, parties in the home buying process:
Northamptonshire Law Society
More protection for Whistle blowers? by Euan Temple
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Whistle blowing (APPG) has recently called for enhanced protection for UK “whistle blowers” and action at the EU level is also in the pipeline to enhance whistle blower rights. APPG Findings and Recommendations n 1998 the UK was the first EU state to introduce legislative protection for individuals who expose wrongdoing or perceived wrongdoing on the part of an organisation, often their employer, with general protections later supplemented by special initiatives in the banking and health sectors. Despite these initiatives, however, cases continue to emerge where whistle blowers have been ignored or suffered retaliation by organisations determined to protect their reputation. In light of this the APG was launched in July 2018 and in July they published a report on their findings. The APPG has made a number of detailed recommendations for changes to the UK regime to broaden its scope, create more effective remedies and encourage and protect whistle blowers. These include a broadening of the current statutory protections, a public awareness campaign to raise awareness of whistle blower rights and also the establishment of an “Independent Office for the Whistle blower” with powers to set standards, enforce protections, and administer meaningful penalties to not only organisations but also individuals within organisations.
Euan Temple - Council Member & Past President
What should businesses be considering in response? Whilst there is no certainty that any of the specific APPG proposals will gain traction and Parliamentary time, all businesses would be well advised to consider the report and reflect critically on the robustness of their own procedures and practices. As the report notes, effective procedures are good for business: Whistleblowing is one of the most effective means of identifying and addressing risk enabling companies to protect themselves from the negative effects of misconduct. In addition, irrespective of the question of legal sanctions, a badly handled whistle blower situation can cause extensive reputational damage. Businesses may also wish to consider the EU proposals. Assuming Brexit takes place in October 2019, the UK will not fall within this regime. However, there may nonetheless be domestic pressure for the UK to establish similar protections and, from a practical perspective, businesses with EU operations may prefer to take a harmonised approach across their business units.
the hampden consultancy Building services (mechanical & electrical) consulting engineers Expert witnesses / Expert advisers / Expert assessors
Future EU developments in the pipeline Businesses also need to be aware of other changes coming through at the EU level. A new EU Whistle blower Directive is expected to come into effect in 2021 covering all employers of more than 50 employees. This will require such employers to adopt formal whistleblowing procedures and will establish certain other protections for whistle blowers.
S
ince 1993 we have specialised in assisting clients in resolving technical and contractual problems with respect to mechanical & electrical engineering services that can (and often do!) occur on many construction projects, whether during the pre-contract or construction phases, or indeed post-contract. As such we have been retained either as expert advisers, party-appointed experts or as single joint experts in respect to disputes between building owners/end-users & their contractors or between contractors & their subcontractors concerning technical and/or contractual aspects related to mechanical & electrical engineering services. We have also acted for clients in issues involving professional negligence of M&E consulting engineers.
Please call Bob Swayne EngTech AMIHEEM for an initial discussion without obligation on 01494868868 or 07768497005 or visit our website on www.thehampdenconsultancy.com for more details.
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www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk The Hampden Consultancy.indd 1 12/03/2018 12:55
14/05/2018 14:40
Nothing stays the same;
Northamptonshire Law Society
is everything changing? by Amanda Stevens, EWI Annual Conference Chair
Well that certainly seems true at the moment. Political, economic, social and technological factors continue to have a significant impact on society. And what better forum to consider these than this years’ annual conference?
They offer a complete portfolio of debt collection services ranging from sensitive mediation through to legal and insolvency action and as part of the partnership, will be offering EWI members a discounted commission rate of 10% commission (typically 15%).
We have a great line up for you again this year. Our Chair, Sir Martin Spencer, will be donning his judicial cap and telling us what he believes is the challenge for experts in 2019. Continuing our conference theme, The Rt Hon Lady Justice Nicola Davies and His Honour Judge Richard Roberts will be joining a panel discussion to further explore these issues; including the impact of artificial intelligence on the judicial system, the importance of vetting (in the light of the Andrew Ager case), and what Brexit may mean for expert witnesses.
You’ll also have the chance to meet the Governors as well as network with other experts, instructing parties and senior members of the judicial system at break times and during our evening drinks reception.
We’ll hear from Chris Easton who will be discussing the role of the Single Joint Expert and how to make it work for both experts and instructing parties.
To find out more and book your place visit: http://bit.ly/EWIAC2019
We are also pleased to welcome David Marshall (Vice Chair of the Civil Justice Council fixed costs in clinical negligence working group) who will be providing an update on fixed costs, Kenny Shealey (National Legal Aid Training Co-Ordinator and Senior Law Costs Draftsman) who will be explaining how to make sure we are paid when the client has legal aid, and we’ll also hear again from His Honour Judge Richard Roberts who will be talking about the new disclosure rules affecting experts and costs budgeting for experts.
Mr Sameer Singh MBBS BSc FRCS
It has never been more important to have a credible voice for expert witnesses, highlighting the critical role they play in our justice system. So please do come along and join your fellow colleagues for what promised to be an interesting day of discussion and debate.
We have some great exhibitors as usual and are particularly pleased to welcome Redwood Collections as our lead sponsors for the event. Redwood Collections as their first Supplier Partner which is a new scheme recognising organisations who supply goods and services to the Expert Witness community.
“...Political, economic, social and technological factors continue to have a significant impact on society. And what
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Mr Sameer Singh is an experienced expert witness in personal injury and medical negligence cases relating to his specialist areas of expertise. These include: • All aspects of trauma soft tissue and bone injuries • Sports Injuries • Upper and Lower Limb Disorders and Injuries • Whiplash Injuries His practice concentrates on shoulder, elbow and hand disorders, using techniques that are tailored to patient needs and utilising accelerated rehabilitation techniques to promote faster recovery and reduced time off work. Mr Singh completes over 200 medico legal reports per year and offers an efficient turnaround within 10 days from receipt of all relevant documentation. He can take instructions for cases on behalf of either claimant or defendant. Clients can be seen in clinic locations in Bedford and Milton Keynes.
better forum to consider these than this years’ annual conference?...” T: 01908 305127 M: 07968 013 803 • www.orthopaedicexpertwitness.net E: orthopaedicexpert@gmail.com • www.shoulderelbowhand.org
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Using DNA testing to aid the transgender community The increasing societal commitment to the well being of those wishing to express different gender identity and gender expression together with the legal recognition of same, is important for the protection of individuals, their dignity and their health. Recent instances however, concern the ability of transgender people to amend the birth certificate of a child to reflect their own changed gender, which in one 2015 case was rejected by the Registrar and also by the High Court. This has obvious implications for DNA testing in terms of checking for Parental Responsibility and in carrying out the work, whereby intimate details may be revealed. There are two cases (one ongoing) which highlight the need for fresh consideration of how we might integrate transgender rights into legal parlance and process. In the aforementioned case (the first of its kind) a person male at birth who was undergoing transition to female requested that the Registrar of Births amend her child’s birth certificate to reflect her new name. This was refused and resulted in proceedings under Article 8 (respect for private life) and Article 14 (discrimination on the basis of transgender identity ) of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This was rejected on the basis that the interference with the Article 8 right was justified but not material, since it would only be under rare situations (we expect paternity testing to be one of them) that the transgender female would be required to produce the child’s full birth certificate. A changed certificate might record the sensitive information or require disclosure, but of course, it would only need to be be revealed to those with an obligation of confidentiality, despite the fact that in this case she had identified herself as transgender on social media. Furthermore, a birth certificate can only be altered to correct minor errors or when parents marry or enter into a civil partnership following the birth . The Registrar of Births does not have discretion concerning the categories that are recorded on the birth certificate, which are “child”, “father”, “mother” and “informant”. Indeed, the Registrar successfully argued that point in terms of the legitimate aims of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953. There was justified interference with the claimants rights under the ECHR because there was a need for; a) an administratively coherent system for the registration of births and b) a need to respect the rights of others such as those of the partner and child of the transgender person and, of particular relevance, the fundamental right of a child to know the identity of his or her biological father. In a subsequent case , a person female at birth and living as a male (TT) had a child (YY), biologically theirs, by artificial insemination. At the point at which the child was born, a
valid Gender Recognition Certificate was in place, so the biological mother was male. The Registrar has decided that the birth mother must be registered as “mother” on the birth certificate. This is against the wishes of TT who asserts that as a matter of domestic law, he should be regarded as the father or secondarily, in a gender neutral manner as “parent”. Failing that and assuming he has to register the birth as “mother”, then he considered that this would be a contravention of Article 8 of the ECHR. If upheld on the other hand, YY will be the first person born in the UK without a mother on their birth certificate, since other transgender males have accepted the “mother” annotation. Those acting for YY have issued an application for TT to be declared YY’s father under the Family Law Act 1986, s55A. We await the final judgement on this case, but in any event the outcome will have profound implications. Society is in the process of normalising its institutions to accept the status of transgender persons but of course in this case must also take into account the separate needs of the child; their Article 8 rights should not be compromised by the decisions of a parent. If the status quo is not upheld, then as a DNA testing company we will inevitably at some point detect a biological female registered as the father, maybe with another registered father or father unknown or a biological male registered as the mother. The biological facts of course, cannot be denied . In 1953 social motherhood and fatherhood were presumed to reflect biological motherhood and biological fatherhood. The increasing complexity of social relationships since that time have been recognised by the law and provide interesting points regarding the registration of the birth of a child in situations of surrogacy, adoption and assisted reproduction, which may provide precedent and guidance as to how the parentage may be best recorded when one of the parents is transgender. In any event, in all three cases, once the child has attained the age of 18, the respective legislation allows for the child to obtain information on their biological parentage. We will discuss these points in the next article and by then, we will hopefully have the judgement on TT vs YY. About the author: Neil Sullivan, BSc, MBA (DIC), LLM, PhD is General Manager, of Complement Genomics Ltd (trading as dadcheck®gold). The latter is a company accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969”. Please see: http://www.dadcheckgold.com. Tel: 0191 543 6334, e-mail sales@dadcheckgold.com
Sex and gender - some definitions There has been a neo-logistic expansion of terminology concerning sex and gender…here are explanations for a few of them ! The difference between Sex and Gender “Sex” relates purely to biology and refers to the genetic make up, which is either male (an X and a Y chromosome), female (two X chromosomes) or intersex. Gender on the other hand, is largely a social construct relating to behavioural, social and psychological characteristics; it may take many forms . Sex and gender may overlap, but should never be confused. Biologically, humans are most often classified as binary, i.e. either male or female. Transgender Transgender (often applied to non-binary gender identities) is an umbrella term that describes a diverse group of people whose internal sense of gender is different than that which they were assigned at birth. It refers to a gender identity which does not align with the gender assigned at birth. Gender dysphoria applies when the individual has a sense of dissatisfaction with their gender. To attain transgender status in the law, an individual must be diagnosed with gender dysphoria by a professional and then apply for a gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act, 2004. Whilst this piece of legislation allows transgender persons to obtain a new birth certificate for themselves, it expressly precludes the fact of gender reassignment as a means to alter the status of the transgender person as the mother or father of the child and thus ensures the continuity of parental rights and responsibilities . Intersex It has long been recognised (since ancient times) and in different cultures that some people are neither male nor female (in whole or in part) or, are a combination of male and female. This is driven by genetic, hormonal or physical features, that is, by their intrinsic biology. For example, some intersex people may have XXY as their chromosome set. Presently in the UK, intersex people may not change their sex classification unless they declare that they are transgender - then they would have to seek a professional diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Equating intersex with transgender is not appropriate. 1, for the Home Department & Anor [2015] EWHC 990 (Admin) (20 April 2015) 2, Goodwin v United Kingdom (2002) 35 EHRR 18 and PV v Spain (11 April 2011) (Application No 35159/09) 3, Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, sections 29,14 and 14A 4, Administrative Court and Family Division in the Matter of TT and YY [2019] EWHC 1823 (Fam) 5, As Lord Simon noted in the Ampthill Peerage Case [1977] AC 547, page 577: 6, “Motherhood, although also a legal relationship, is based on a fact, being proved demonstrably by parturition”. 7, https://genderfluidsupport.tumblr.com/gender Trans - Exploring gender identity and gender dysphoria - by Dr Az Hakeem, 2018, Trigger Press ISBN 978-1-911246-49-7 8, https://www.gov.uk/apply-gender-recognition- certificate. 9, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/7/ notes/division/4/12
Northampton High School GDST students do themselves proud Once again, we are delighted to announce excellent A Level results for Northampton High students in the 2019 season. At a time when the media focus is on the human cost of the school league table system, we are proud that our Y13 students, with the support and nurturing guidance of staff, coped superbly with the pressures of the examination system. Fearless and focused as they were throughout, they have thoroughly earned the plaudits they receive today – with 50% of students achieving all A*-B grades and 24% earning three or more A*/ As. The Headmistress, Dr Helen Stringer, paid tribute to the girls and staff, commenting, ‘I congratulate the girls on their impressive achievements and send out a wholehearted vote of thanks to all my colleagues who have contributed to these successes. The splendid grades speak for themselves, of course, but what I am most proud of is the fact that every individual has compiled a compelling portfolio of qualifications plus skills and experiences with which to launch onto an ambitious path which is all her own. It is a particular pleasure to see the girls enjoying success in a dizzying range of fields, both traditional and innovative. To illustrate this with just one example, two- thirds of our students studying Maths, Further Maths and Physics achieved A*/A
grades and our success in preparing our aspiring medics was tremendous and, at the same time, almost a fifth of girls are going on to pursue courses in creative and performing arts, including music conservatoires and courses in emerging areas such as fashion imaging. We know how important it is for our students not only to get a place on the course of their dreams but also to be able to flourish and excel when they get there. I have enormous confidence in every member of the Class of 2019 to do exactly that, because they have already pushed their own boundaries with us, whether that be via an EPQ (with 83% of submissions at A*/A this year), in Electives and MOOCS or through social action and work experience. Drawing on the expertise and energy of our exceptional staff, both teaching and support, and fuelled by the power of the GDST network, we know that there is no limit to what our students can achieve in the future. Today is about honouring the hard work and collaborative success of the past and also about sharing in the collective excitement about what the future will hold for our leavers.’ We are delighted to publish our students’ A Level results 2019: 24% of all students achieved 3 or more A*/As 50% of all students achieved all A*-B grades 70% of all grades at A*-B 86% of all grades A*-C 100% pass rate 83% EPQ graded at A*/A www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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Preparing the women leaders of tomorrow We believe in our girls, and they believe in themselves. We’d love to get to know your family and show you how your daughter can grow with us. Book your personal tour of our school today at northamptonhigh.co.uk/visit-us
How Do You Find Out About Care Services for Older People?
Social Care and Loneliness
Older people, single, having no children, having children, it makes no difference. When a crisis occurs and knowledge about the care sector is needed, the amount of information that people of all ages have is sadly lacking. The result being that when an older member needs care support, the usual situation is that no one knows much about the subject or the practical realities of accessing an appropriate service. Where and who do you go to for help and information? Social Services both in Social Care and Health are the natural link to information. Many social workers are part time, many have large caseloads and with an increasing number of Angelaseeking Gifford, information MD. Able Community older people needing care, more social workers are needed. It is a fact that many people from Care Ltd. social services are not given comprehensive information.
One contributing aspect is that older relatives often lose touch with each other.
The local GP Surgery may offer some local care information but are not usually a resource centre. The emergence of Hubs which range and of health professionals and related are more likely to behis able to offer help and Brothers andcontain sister, anieces nephews do not always • staff A Live-in Carer taking client in his wheelchair to guidance, but these are not nationwide service bases. Depending on where you live, urban or rural, will mean therecake live close to each other. When we are young, keeping the park finishing up enjoying a piece of carrot may or mayby not be local voluntary organisations that can help and up contact visiting and celebrating family days ingive the out parkhelpful café. information. isAccess easy but as internet time moves on, as age increases, it to the can provide a wealth of information. However, where look,forward what to to look is not • One knowing older client stillto looks herfor weekly becomes more difficult. necessarily straightforward. Some telephone helplines are good of information, to know who sources ‘cut, wash and set’ at but her you localhave hairdressers taken they are and what the number is! Thousands of older people no longer drive, feel unsafe there by her Live-in Carer.
on public transport they make The common phraseand ‘Youoften don’tfind know what youexcuses don’t know’ is• particularly relevant gentle when seeking practical solutions Light gardening, exercise on a sunny day, not to visit; accept a wedding invitation; attend a to a care situation. Why is this? enjoyed by both client and carer. special birthday celebration or attend a funeral because trying persuade give up to exercise, to reduce weight, nobe public funded Visiting relatives whoetc livethere awayare can made easy with toUnlike arrange thetotrip is seenpeople as tooto much forsmoking, them to take advertisements giving guidance and direction when it comes to the aspects of care for older people. There are no their support. For example, a Grandmother attended part in. comprehensive, roadmap leaflets in libraries, pharmacies, health centres or resource centres. her Grandson’s wedding in France; a young man visited Loneliness is at epidemic proportions, (1.36 million his relations New Zealand and Mumtowent to visit Care must paidas for, who pays not, what are the eligibility in criteria? Where do youa look find the people are be lonely advised by and Agewho UK does for the period and stay with her son hundreds of miles away from her appropriate care needed? A person needs care, what are their legal rights and who protects them? What questions 2016/2017) and losing face to face contact with home. should you ask a care provider? What should you look for and ask about when visiting a potential care home? What, relatives can be part of an individual’s problem, whether if any, disability equipment might be needed; what is availableOur andLive-in how doCare I make contact to enquire? Service enables people to enjoy social they live in cities, towns or in rural and remote country activity, any time, any day. areas. There have been in the past ‘One Stop Shops’ or similar which were information points, but with reducing funding in the sector, these usually had short lives. Able Community Care provides Live in Care Workers Live-in Care support can help alleviate loneliness and UKPeople and Equalities) to be having supportive, with What isa needed is forprofessional a Minister of carer Aging living (akin to theyou Scottish throughout Minister for the Older means thatwith partspecific of theirdirections role is to to enable contact. appointed tacklesocial the problem of an increasing number of older people. Older people and helpabout to prevent loneliness and have families do have the ability to arrange, procure, ask questions,‘We makecan decisions care services but they do need • In the last month we have had reports of one of been so since 1980’ the tools to enable them to do so. This should be a priority, would bedoing cost effective and practical. our Live-in Carer’s taking a client to a Knitter Natter Able morning followed more chat overLive-in a coffee in Services a Able Community Live-in Care Community Careby offers nationwide Care and we can answerCare manyoffers of yournationwide questions about care us on 01603 764567 or visit our website www.ablecommunitycare.com today. localCall hotel. Services and we can answer many of your questions Angela Gifford. MD of Able Community Care Ltd about care today. Call us on 01603 764567 or visit our website www.ablecommunitycare.com
Live-in Care Because the choice to stay in your own home with your own front door is priceless. www.ablecommunitycare.com
For a free brochure on any of our professional care services call us today on 01603 764567 info@ablecommunitycare.com
Northamptonshire Law Society
Legal Profession Called on to Address Legacy Giving Myths this September
by Rob Cope
This September, 200 charities will come together with 1,300 solicitors and Will-writers to challenge the public’s biggest misconceptions about gifts in Wills for Remember A Charity in your Will Week (9-15 September 2019). In the build-up to the Week, Remember A Charity is calling on legal professionals to become campaign supporters, committing to help clients understand more about legacy giving and the relevant tax breaks. Resources will be provided for campaign supporters, including posters that encourage people to ‘pass on something wonderful’ by leaving a gift in their Will. Charitable bequests currently fund two out of three guide dogs, 6 out of 10 RNLI lifeboat rescue launches and almost 1 third of Macmillan’s income. Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “Raising more than £3 billion for good causes annually, legacies are a critical source of funding for charitable services across the country. “Solicitors have such a key role in helping the public understand the full range of options available to them when writing their Will, with research showing that even a simple reference to the opportunity of legacy giving can double the number of bequests made.” He continues: “Here in the UK, we have one of the most flexible will-writing environments in the world with generous tax breaks for legacy giving. Remember A Charity Week is a fantastic opportunity to get the conversation started and build understanding about how it all works.” This year’s campaign will address the most prominent myths and barriers that can prevent people from leaving a gift in their i Stages of Change Survey 2018, nfpSynergy, & OnePoll Survey, April 2019 ii Legacy Trends 2019, Smee & Ford
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Will. This will include addressing concerns that legacies have to be particularly large, that they are complex to arrange and that they might prevent people from passing on their estate to their families.
Awareness of legacy giving on the rise Now in its tenth year, Remember A Charity Week shifts its focus from raising awareness to building understanding of legacy giving among the public, with the most recent consumer tracking studies indicating that only 10% of the over 40s are unaware of the opportunity to leave a bequest in their Will. 40% of those surveyed said that they would be happy to donate in this way, up from 35% a decade previously. During that time, charities’ annual legacy income has grown from around £1.8bn to £3bn. Cope adds: “Appetite for legacy giving continues to grow, but there is often a disconnect between the 40% that intend to leave a gift in their Will and the 6% of people that currently do so. There remains far greater potential for raising vital funding for good causes through charitable bequests and the support of the legal profession in reminding clients of the option of including a charity in their Will has never been more important.”
To find out more or take part in Remember A Charity Week, visit www.rememberacharity.org.uk Rob is the director of Remember A Charity. He has overseen a growing and vibrant consortium over the past five years, developing partnerships with government and the private sector. He was previously deputy director of marketing and communications at The Prince’s Trust, including the youth charity’s 30th birthday appeal. Rob is a board director of Relief International and a keen runner.
Northamptonshire Law Society
Remember A Charity is part of the Institute of Fundraising, a registered charity in England and Wales (No. 1079573) and in Scotland (No. SCO38971).
!
All heart
As the registered charity for Northampton General Hospital (NGH) and the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT). We exist to make things better for patients, their families and staff. We provide funding for equipment, research, training and all of those extras that help to comfort people when in hospital.
www.nhcf@greenheart.co.uk Registered charity no: 1165702
Northamptonshire Health Charity Springfield, Cliftonville, Northampton General Hospital, NN1 5BE Tel: 01604 626927 | Email: greenheart@nhcf.co.uk www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk NHC Team Advert 89x134mm.indd 1
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Give the gift of a lifetime, and save lives, by including a donation in your Will. E RECEIVE N
G • DIN N
• G O VER
Call 0300 3045 999
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Northamptonshire Law Society
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Email legacies@theairambulanceservice.org.uk 30 of The www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Part Air Ambulance Service. Registered in England and Wales as a limited company by guarantee. Registered Company No. 4845905. Registered Charity No. 1098874.
New frontiers in lawtech innovation and data protection Trust us?
The GDPR recognises that technology is transforming the economy and social life. It also recognises the importance of creating the trust that will allow the digital economy to develop. This is, of course, an objective of the regulation as a whole. But within the regulation there are mechanisms for promoting innovation within a framework of trust. They are highly relevant to lawtech innovators.
The data protection impact assessment (DPIA) The first mechanism is the data protection impact assessment or DPIA. DPIAs are a structured process for
Data protection by design and by default The second mechanism is less specific. It is the concept of data protection by design and by default. The core idea is that appropriate technical and organisational measures that reflect data protection principles should be baked-in to systems and not, as so often happens, added as an afterthought.
Adding ‘noise’ For example, if you are collecting personal data for statistical purposes you may be able to add ‘noise’ to that data in a way that retains its statistical value but which minimises the extent to which it can be traced back to a particular individual. An example of poor practice would be to include mandatory data fields (such as data about age, income or political views) in an online query form requesting a report or a quote.
Most data protection experts are familiar with the sinking feeling that comes from having to say ‘caution’ or even ‘no’ to an initiative that they have been asked to advise on only when it’s almost ready to launch. More often than not, the initiative could have been designed differently and in a way that would have been fully compliant if only they had been involved sooner!
Northamptonshire Law Society
Many people, including Elizabeth Denham the Information Commissioner, have pointed out that digital innovation relies on people handing over their personal data to companies. Properly respected and enforced data protection laws increase trust but, in the short term, enforcement action reveals unlawful and unethical processing that undermines public confidence. These include the prospect of some spectacular GDPR penalties for data breaches – the ICO has stated its intention to fine Marriott International over £99m and British Airways over £183m.
evaluating innovative, high risk initiatives for processing personal data. They involve systematic descriptions of the proposed innovation, assessment of the proportionality and risks involved, and identification of measures to mitigate those risks. Where high risk remains, data protection authorities provide written advice on how to proceed.
Robert Bond, one of the UK’s leading data protection by design practitioners and a partner at Bristows LLP will be leading a data protection by design session at the Law Society’s half-day New Frontiers in data protection, ePrivacy and workplace surveillance conference on Thursday 26 September 2019. Workshops include lawtech and GDPR, social media in law firms: the danger spots, and workplace surveillance: know your limits; helping you tackle the challenge of how law firms can combine the challenges of lawtech innovation and data protection compliance. The Law Society supports lawtech innovation.
www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk
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And Finally… Northamptonshire Law Society
... here is a round up of the topics, events and news that were not covered in this edition from Carolyn Coles, Society Manager. Well what a year! Twelve months ago I was approached by our lovely past manager Phil Smith, to consider taking on the role as the manager of the society. Originally from the banking and payments sector, Oh how little did I know when I went into ShoosmIths Office for a “chat”. I was thrown into the Legal sector, a completely unknown world to me with even more impressive acronyms than banking ! Thank you to all of you that I have met, or have had email contact with, I am slowly getting to grips with all of the protocol and hierarchy. In the last few months we have had the awards dinner, the AGM and the election of our new President Sharine Burgess. Sharine has taken over the reins from Oliver Spicer, and I am sure all members and those on Council would like to thank him for his sterling efforts As you will have read, Sharine has a real vision of what she would like to achieve in her Presidential Year. I am sure you will show her support for all of her campaigns. As always, I would love to hear from our members. I know that you are all busy, but It can get quite lonely in my little office. I send emails out on a weekly basis, and it would be refreshing to hear back from some of you out there ! The Bulletin relies on contributions from you the members. We are looking for volunteers to write updates on their areas of practice, particularly conveyancing, probate, family law and litigation.
We would like a new feature a day in the life: are you newly qualified, or have completed a work placement, are you retired -has practice really changed so much from your early days-it is always good for the reader to see how life is from another person’s perspective. Reviews of local amenities and restaurants are also useful to other readers. If you are interested please contact me or our editor Linda Lee to discuss what is involved. I hope that you all enjoy what remains of our summer, here are some dates for your diary. Oct 22nd 2019 - Problems in Probate by Keith Biggs Nov 08th 2019 - Andrew Duncan Presentation Nov 21st 2019 - ICAEW & NLS Quiz night Kettering Golf club Dec 11th 2019 - Richard Snape – Commercial Property Update Feb 03rd 2020 - Richard Snape – Topic TBC May 15th 2020 - Annual Awards Dinner Please email me any articles that you wish to be included to sec.nls@outlook.com I look forward to hearing from you !
Carolyn Coles
Carolyn Coles - Society Manager Email: sec.NLS@outlook.com Office Number: 01604 881154 My mobile: 07543 662572
EWI Annual Conference 26th September 2019 Church House Conference Centre, London The Expert Witness Institute Annual Conference brings together expert witnesses, solicitors, barristers and eminent judges to discuss the key issues facing the expert community, with a comprehensive programme of informative legal updates, vibrant debate and case law analysis. This is an unmissable opportunity to network with fellow experts and the legal community to strengthen your role in the legal sphere and increase your earning potential
http://bit.ly/EWIAC2019 32
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Fridays at Quill
By Julian Bryan, Managing Director, Quill
Northamptonshire Law Society
Nothing slows down on Fridays at Quill – or indeed in many places within the legal profession. We all know that Friday busyness is typified in the conveyancing sector when exchanges take place, dictated by most house buyers’ preference to move home at the end of the week.. And in other areas of law, legal cases don’t stop, court hearings or trials aren’t cancelled, and contracts don’t change their completion date just because it’s Friday. For anyone operating in law, Friday is as hectic as any other week day. For Quill, the last day every week has an even greater focus on compliance. Of course, our Interactive legal accounts software warns users of potential breaches at any time with exclamation marks denoting missing e-chit information, confirmation notifications for tasks that cannot be later undone and other system prompts for incorrect entries. However, on Fridays, our Pinpoint outsourced legal accounting service cashiers ensure any compliance issues are highlighted, reported and resolved. When you consider the plethora of problems that fall into the non-compliance category – from data loss and delayed payment processing to incorrect allocation of client monies into the wrong account and missed deadlines, plus everything in between – and bear in mind the volume of clients we currently service – 8,000 users altogether – you could be forgiven for thinking this an impossible task. In actual fact, by having robust systems in place and applying a disciplined approach, we’re able to address our clients’ compliance obligations successfully every Friday, without fail. As already intimated, for clients using Interactive, there are all manner of easyto-use features to support fee earners progressing matters, for cashiers to efficiently manage finances according to the stringent demands of the SRA’s legal accounts rules and HMRC’s Making Tax Digital legislation, and for compliance officers to generate compliance exception reports for rectification or reporting to the relevant regulatory body.
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Interactive is subject to an extensive software development roadmap with a strong focus on legal accounting enhancements. We notify clients of these new and improved tools via our monthly e-newsletters and ‘What’s new’ button located in our software’s top toolbar. In the past few months alone, we’ve upgraded functionality for associated ledgers for cases, e-chit/bank integration, MTD input and output screens, batch accounts postings, ‘keep’ options to avoid data input repetition, authorise and maintain screen additions, and multiple developments to both detail and summary accounts-specific reports. All of these software improvements are designed to simplify and strengthen your compliance procedures thereby making your Friday tasks that much more manageable. For clients using Pinpoint, we send a weekly batch of reports showing ledger balances for client and office accounts, unpaid bills and breaches. These reports act as a prompt for clients to tie up any loose ends by authorising payments and correcting breaches which are still outstanding. Our reports also streamline the process of recording failures and preparing reports on material breaches in the right format for the SRA, CLC or Law Society of Scotland. These important checks are actioned by our Pinpoint cashiers each Friday. As our cashiers work in teams of six, headed up by a supervisor, it’s then our supervisors’ role to oversee the accurate production and prompt delivery of these reports, and act as an escalation point for any ensuing queries. We take our responsibilities very seriously because it’s all part-and-parcel of providing a regulatory-compliance-guaranteed service. Aside from these typically Friday reporting jobs, a normal day for our cashiers comprises liaising with clients, completing bank reconciliations, processing day-to-day transactions, gathering information for month end and subsequently completing month end closures as well as posting legal aid submissions and sending VAT returns at quarter end to HMRC via MTD.
By acting in the cashier role on behalf of our clients, the only requirement for Pinpoint users is to log daily e-chits of inbound and outbound monies, and record fee earning activity and disbursements. We do all the rest. By lessening your workload, your Fridays are certain to be stress-free, at least from an accounting and compliance perspective anyway. Because of our unique provision of both Interactive and Pinpoint in tandem, our portfolio is superior quality in relation to other legal accounts software and cashiering service suppliers. That’s because it’s a common platform used by our cashiers and there’s a plethora of management information intelligence drawn from this one central software platform by our supervisors. And, as noted earlier, we’re also constantly researching new ways to improve our products further still. It’s these ongoing software enhancements, defined in our aforementioned roadmap, which go a long way to streamlining clients’ and Quill’s processes. Late Friday afternoon, to salute another successful week fulfilling our compliance requirements, the beer fridge is opened so everyone can have a quick drink before heading home for the weekend. This is one of the many employment perks at Quill. It’s a nice way to mingle with our colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere, celebrate a job well done with some paid-for-by-Quill refreshments, and look forward to two days of rest and recuperation by starting the weekend an hour early. After a typical Friday, it’s well deserved.
To discover more about Quill, please visit www.quill.co.uk, email info@quill.co.uk or call 0161 236 2910 Julian Bryan joined Quill as Managing Director in 2012 and is also the Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association. Quill has been a leading provider of legal accounting and case management software, and the UK’s largest supplier of outsourced legal cashiering services, to the legal professional for over 40 years.
Practice management & accounts software
Outsourced cashiering using Interactive
Outsourced cashiering on any software
Outsourced payroll service
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Don’t puzzle - choose Quill 0845 226 2587 info@quill.co.uk quill.co.uk
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