Northamptonshire Law Society Bulletin www.northamptonshirelawsociety.co.uk Autumn 2021
Northamptonshire Law Society Published by: Unit 27a, Price St. Business Centre, Price St., Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH41 4JQ
Contents 5 The President Writes
Tel: 0151 651 2776
6 Council Member Report - Linda Lee
simon@eastparkcommunications.co.uk
8 Members
www.eastparkcommunications.co.uk Managing Editor - Carolyn Coles Advertising - Simon Castell
9 Karen Jones bulletin 11 Northamptonshire Law Society Awards Event 2021
Key Account Manager - Denise Castell
14 Questions for Tony Hughes
Design - East Park Studio
16 Remember A Charity Press Release
Accounts - Tony Kay Media No. 1111
Autumn 2021
17 Remember A Charity Press Release
Published September 2021
21 Expert Witness Institute - Online Conference 2021
Legal Notice
23 Euan Temple - EU data protection adequacy decision
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Bulletin
24 Lokton - Minimising the impact of the Insurance Market condition 26 An introduction to the NLS New President - Jabeer Miah 27 Landmark Academy - New Data Insights Report 29 Geodesys - Marketing your service in the new conveyancing landscape 31 And Finally… - Carolyn Coles
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Northamptonshire Law Society Officers & Council Members 2021 Jabeer Miah
Deputy President Maurice Muchinda
Immediate-Past President Sharine Burgess
Honorary Secretary Ika Castka
Honorary Treasurer Afua Adane
Constituency Member & Past President Linda Lee
Council Members: David Browne Laura Carter Michael Orton Jones Euan Temple - Past President Edward St John Smyth Past President Afua Akom Lynsey Ward Sarah Franklin
Society Manager Carolyn Coles
Northamptonshire Law Society The Gatehouse, Stable Lane Pitsford Northampton NN6 9NG Tel: 01604 881154 Email: Sec.nls@outlook.com All Council members should in the first instance be contacted through the Society Manager.
Hello, Salam Alaikum and Welcome to this edition of the Bulletin I am delighted to be the first President of colour in the history of the Society which was established in 1879 and consider it a great honour and privilege to represent such a well-respected organisation and to be able to bring diversity to the organisation. The legal profession locally is vibrant and successful and it will be a pleasure to represent such a community. For those who I have not had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Jabeer Miah, and I have been a solicitor since 2009. I graduated with a first class LLB Law honours degree from The University of Northampton and have kept a close affiliation with the University ever since by mentoring a number of law students and keeping in regular contact with the faculty of law. I am the senior partner of a local firm; Shepherd and Co. Solicitors based in Towcester which was established in 1973, where we provide a personalised and high quality service to the local business and personal community serving South Northants, Northampton and the wider County. Being involved in a small practice presents its challenges, and as the saying goes “the buck stops with me”. The positive side is that I am actively involved in matters and have a personal rapport with clients and can ensure that the elevated level of service that our clients expect is delivered. It has been an opportunity to bring a fresh approach under the watchful eye of the founder Robin Shepherd. Shepherd & Co. provides clients with a broad spectrum of legal specialisms including probate, trusts, private client work (such as wills and powers of attorney), conveyancing and family law and I specialise in Commercial and Residential Property heading up the Real Estate team. I do believe this stands me in good stead to ensure the smaller practices are well represented by the Society given the most recent past-presidents have been from the larger corporate firms. Outside of my work, I have other business interests particularly related to property and development which compliments the work I do and I am involved in our family restaurants based in Duston and Kingsthorpe. I also sit as a Magistrate and was sworn in 2011 and sit on the Northampton Bench and have found this experience invaluable and hope this will enable me to assist our fellow criminal law practitioners. I come from a large family, who mostly live within a small distance of each other, which proved invaluable when I became a parent for the first time to my son Adeel in November 2020. His arrival forced me to gain a better work life balance, but also reminded me of much I used to enjoy sleep! As I take up the position of President, I would like to take this opportunity in thanking Sharine for steering the Society through the unprecedented times we all experienced during the Pandemic, and I am very much looking forward to continuing her marvellous work of building the profile of the Society amongst other sectors within Northamptonshire. As we can now congregate and socialise the Council and I are looking to get the training back to a face-to-face environment, and to hold some social networking events to enable us all to meet and have a much needed catch up. I welcome our new Vice President; Maurice Muchinda who is also the first Vice President of colour and a former trainee of mine and it will be a pleasure to work Maurice to achieve further success for the Society. I do hope to increase the membership and promote the work of the Society to other local organisations and to ensure the Society takes a role in community and charitable activities locally. I look forward to hearing from you our members, on what you would like to see your Council deliver, and how we may support you and I welcome your ideas and suggestions. I can be contacted at jm@shepherdandco.com Best Regards
Jabeer Miah
- President Northamptonshire Law Society
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Northamptonshire Law Society
President
The President Writes...
Northamptonshire Law Society
Council Member Report Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher wrote, ‘The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.’ i With slight tweaking, this could be a maxim for all solicitors. Our work is subject to scrutiny and challenge and any error could well be subject to a professional negligence claim or regulatory action. Some areas of practice are particularly high risk such as conveyancing, family law and litigation and increasingly probate. In a continuing hard market, a professional negligence claim can result not only in a professional embarrassment but for some firms, premiums at a level they simply cannot afford. All solicitors need to be vigilant in respect of their own work and that of their firms to ensure that they are not vulnerable to challenge.
Insurance The Legal Services Board (LSB) have indicated that they would like to look at how professional indemnity insurance (PII) works across the whole legal sector. Given the difference in the PII requirements of say the Bar from solicitors, it is a tall order. It is not only Solicitors who are facing difficulties in the PII market. Licensed Conveyancers had a master policy until 2016 when they moved to the open market. A Call for evidence has now been launched to consider future arrangements for PII. The Licenced Conveyancers Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC) provides for a minimum level of cover of £2m for every claim and integrates run-off cover for closing firms so that no premium is payable at the point of closure, with an aggregate of £2m cover for the six-year period. However, it is reported that in July, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) had to take action when some 6 firms were unable to obtain cover and after two PII insurers had offered cover which did not meet the MTC. The policies did not in some cases offer cover for run-off meaning that a separate premium would be payable on closure. Other firms had offers with high excesses and for those with high-risk work such as buyer funded development the premiums were so high it was doubtful that firms could meet the cost. The CLC offered the firms affected the choice of immediate closure or allowing them to continue trading provided they met conditions. These included ensuring funds were held in escrow accounts to meet the cost of the excess, should it arise. The CLC is now reviewing its PII arrangements and in June called for evidence ahead of that review. Its
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By Linda Lee
preliminary findings are yet to be published, but in its call for evidence, it recognised that there were significant problems in a hardening market. At the time of writing, The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have still not indicated what if any changes will be made to the Minimum Terms and Conditions (MTC) regarding ‘silent cyber’ claims and it is not clear if separate cover will be required for this renewal year.
Undertakings Solicitors’ undertakings are vital in commerce but particularly in the conveyancing process, where they bridge the gap between sending the purchase monies and the transfer of title being effected. The SRA defines undertakings as, ‘a statement, given orally or in writing, whether or not it includes the word “undertake” or “undertaking”, to someone who reasonably places reliance on it, that you or a third party will do something or cause something to be done, or refrain from doing something’ii. Generations of solicitors have been trained to only give undertakings in very specific circumstances and to ensure that the wording is precise as to its meaning. The consequences of any error in relation to undertakings can be considerable. An undertaking is in effect an enforceable promise, and what the solicitor intended to promise can be of less importance than what the benefitting party understood the solicitor to mean and the reliance they placed on that promise. Although an undertaking may be enforced as a claim in contract through the courts, an undertaking can also be enforced by an application to the court for it to exercise its jurisdiction to order a solicitor (as an officer of the court) to comply with their undertaking. Failure to honour an undertaking promptly or at all is a breachiii and can result in disciplinary action by the SRA. The case of Harcus Sinclair LLP & Anor v Your Lawyers Ltd iv has caused consternation in some circles with calls for urgent parliamentary intervention to ensure that undertakings given by incorporated law firms, particularly Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and Alternative Business Structures, can also be enforced by the courts. It has to be said that some have remained completely unconcerned perhaps wrongly assuming that the system is well understood and will always continue to work.
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The background to the Harcus Sinclair case is that in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency alleged that some diesel Volkswagen vehicles had been fitted with a “defeat device” which detected when the vehicle was being tested for compliance with emissions standards and manipulated the results. A firm called Your Lawyers recognised the potential for a group action and sought after the event insurance (ATE) cover for claimants. They sought assistance from Harcus Sinclair and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) was signed which included a non-compete clause, preventing Harcus Sinclair from acting for parties in the planned group action, without the permission of Your Lawyers Limited. A dispute then arose following the revelation that Harcus Sinclair had begun acting for a significant number of Claimants. Your Lawyers alleged that in failing to comply with the non-compete clause there was the breach of a solicitors undertaking and it sought an order from the court. In the High Court, it was held that the non-compete undertaking took effect as a solicitor’s undertaking, but that the court’s supervisory jurisdiction was not available as the court’s supervisory jurisdiction over solicitors was confined to solicitors as officers of the court and did not extend to limited liability partnerships and companies through which solicitors might conduct their practice. The judge also held that the court’s supervisory jurisdiction was not available against the individual solicitor, because he gave the undertakings contained in the NDA expressly on behalf of Harcus Sinclair. The Court of Appeal decided that the non-compete undertaking was not enforceable as it constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade but agreed with the High Court findings concerning the limitations upon a solicitors’ undertaking. The Supreme Court considered 6 issues arising from the facts of this case: (1) Is the non-compete undertaking a solicitor’s undertaking? (2) Does the High Court have an inherent supervisory jurisdiction over incorporated law firms, whether limited liability partnerships, such as Harcus Sinclair, or limited companies such as Your Lawyers, through both of which solicitors practise? (3) Can the High Court’s inherent supervisory jurisdiction be exercised in this case in relation to Mr Parker? (4) If the non-compete undertaking constitutes a solicitor’s undertaking
that in principle is capable of enforcement against Harcus Sinclair and/or Mr Parker, should it be enforced notwithstanding that, applying contractual principles, as the Court of Appeal held, the non-compete undertaking constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade?v
(5) If the non-compete undertaking was a solicitor’s undertaking, was the Court of Appeal wrong in holding (if it did) that this was irrelevant to the question whether the non-compete undertaking was contrary to public policy on the grounds of restraint of trade? (6) Was the Court of Appeal wrong in holding that the non-compete undertaking constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade?’ The Court considered that questions 2 to 5 depended on whether the non-compete clause was a solictor’s undertaking and accordingly considered question 6 first. It concluded that the Court of Appeal was wrong in holding that the non-compete undertaking constituted an unreasonable restraint of trade. The Court then reviewed the history and law relating to solicitors’ undertakings and whilst the clause used the expression ‘undertakes’, it concluded that the non-compete undertaking was not a solicitor’s undertaking. It decided that this was a business arrangement and in giving the ‘undertaking’ Harcus Sinclair was acting in a business capacity rather than a professional capacity. It was “part of the commercial relationship between solicitors”. Although not obliged to, it went on to consider the remaining questions and concluded that the wording of the undertaking was such that the solicitor who signed the undertaking did so on behalf of his firm. It could not be r egarded as a personal undertaking and as the supervisory jurisdiction did not extend to LLPs.
The Court accepted that it would have been open to it to extend the supervisory jurisdiction in respect of solicitors to cover undertakings given by incorporated law firms. However, it declined to do so in this case because any decision would have been obiter, and the Court had not received submissions from professional bodies or regulators. Further the view expressed was that the issue may be better dealt with by legislation. The Court noted that those dealing with incorporated law practices would probably be unaware that the undertakings they received were not subject to the court’s supervisory jurisdiction. The Law Society is planning to issue guidance, but it is not yet known when this will be available. Given the current climate, it seems that even if there is an appetite for legislation it will not be swift. It would be prudent for every firm to review its protocols on the giving and acceptance of undertakings, particularly if the firm giving the undertaking is not a traditional partnership. Firms should consider obtaining greater clarity by seeking a personal undertaking from the individual solicitor as well as the partners/members of the corporate entity on whose behalf the undertaking would be given. Thought should also be given as to whether a firm acting for a buyer should for example, elect to discharge a mortgage direct rather than rely on an undertaking. The wording of any undertaking should reflect any consideration, so that there is no difficulty in suing for breach of contract if the need arises.
Guideline rates reviewed The Master of the Rolls has accepted the changes recommended by the Civil Justice Council’s working group on Guideline Hourly Rates, and has asked that the recommendations are implemented, with a view to the new guide being used from 1 October 2021.vi The guide to the
Rferences: i)
The Art of War 5th Century BC
ii) SRA glossary https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/glossary/#undertaking iii) 1.3 of the Code of Conduct for solicitors and 1.3 of the Code of Conduct for solicitors iv) [2021] UKSC 32 vv) Para 42 ibid vi) https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/master-of-the-rolls-accepts-recommended-changes-to-guideline-hourly-rates vii) https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Guide-to-the-summary-assessment-of-costs-2021.pdf viii) https://www.lawcare.org.uk
summary assessment of costsvii contains helpful information for litigators on the assessment of costs. The new guidelines contain the table for hourly rates. Leicestershire and Northamptonshire are both in the lowest band, National 2, described as, ‘All places not included in London 1-3 and National 1’. The hourly rates will be as follows: Grade A- Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience: £255 (26.78 % increase) Grade B- Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ experience: £218 (23.2 % increase) Grade C -Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience: £177 (21.3 % increase) Grade D-Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners: £126 (13.5 % increase) The Master of the Rolls has indicated that he would like a further review of hourly rates within the next two years.
Well-being and Mental health LawCare will be releasing the findings of its ‘Life in the Law’ research study at the end of September on its websiteviii. The findings will be used by LawCare to improve the support it provides to legal professionals by enhancing its understanding of the issues that arise in relation to mental health and wellbeing. It will enable LawCare, in collaboration with others to better drive cultural change across the legal sector to create mentally healthy workplaces. In doing so, it is hoped that this research will benefit both present and future generations of lawyers. Linda Lee Council Member 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 Chair elect of the Professional Indemnity Insurance Committee and a member of the Policy and Regulatory Affairs Committee, Regulatory Processes 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
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Northamptonshire Law Society
Northamptonshire Law Society
Members Welcome to our new feature page in the Bulletin, for updates on the personal and professional activities of all of our individual members. If you have recently qualified, been promoted, got married, completed an unusual lock down challenge, or anything else you think other members would be interested in, please tell us all about it. It is more likely to be printed if you can include a photograph that we can publish. Sarah Franklin Solicitors Welcome New Recruits... Ferdus Hussain Graduate CLEX Member Ferdus is a Graduate CLEX Member, having chosen the non-traditional route to qualifying as a lawyer. She has worked within family law legal firms for a little over 3 years and will be qualifying in March 2022 as a Chartered Legal Executive. She has recently joined the expanding team at Sarah Franklin Solicitors, based at the Kettering office. She is enthusiastic in her approach in helping and assisting families when they are going through changes, difficult times or just need advice in relation family life and the laws that surround it. Ferdus is one of six siblings and a twin, so her house can be pretty noisy ad her life outside of work very busy!
Chloe Shipley Family Solicitor Chloe is an experienced family Solicitor, having worked in family law for 16 years, and has recently moved to join the expanding practice of Sarah Franklin Solicitors in Kettering. Chloe is also a mother of 5 (4 children and 1 dog – Luna the cockapoo). Chloe is passionate about justice for families and always strives for the ‘right’ result. Chloe can’t wait for international travel to reopen properly so she can get back to the ski slopes, which is where she feels she can wind down with her family.
It has been an eventful year for Max Engel not least because of the uncertainty we have all faced in the pandemic. At Max Engel we pride ourselves putting the staff first and want to acknowledge and celebrate our wonderful employees who bring the best of themselves to the firm and our clients’ alike. Having missed so many social opportunities during the year we were finally able to get together on what should have been ‘Freedom Day’ to mark many of the missed celebrations. It was a lovely afternoon; despite the original plan to celebrate the end of lockdown we focussed more on celebrating all the milestones and events in our lives and work which we had been unable to celebrate during the lockdowns or in between. Among other things we celebrated a birth, a 21st birthday, a new pregnancy and some amazing and exceptional contributions throughout the pandemic from some of our team members who went well above and beyond the call of duty to help keep us and our clients moving (literally and figuratively!) throughout the pandemic, especially in the early days when so much was uncertain and unknown, and despite facing so much upheaval at home with many of us also responsible for home schooling. We also celebrated the fact that we have made it through relatively unscathed (with hindsight at least!) despite some very stressful moments and worrying times. That we all came together as a team, accepting the difficult situation without animosity or conflict and offering our best is a very positive demonstration of the strength of our team We are happy to announce that we are growing as a firm building on the success of the last year or two, with Ana-Maria Badeanu joining us as a solicitor in the Corporate and Commercial Property team and another new solicitor will shortly be joining us in the Litigation team. We are currently in the search for another ambitious lawyer to join us in our growing Commercial Property Team, and if anyone knows of someone who might be interested further details can be found on our website!
If you wish to be included in this section for future issues, please email sec.nls@outlook.com
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Karen Jones
I am delighted to have been appointed the new Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of Northampton. I took up my post at the end of April 2021 having previously worked at the University of South Wales for nearly 18 years in a variety of roles, the last being as a Deputy Dean in the Faculty of Business and Society. I am a qualified Solicitor and I still hold a current practising certificate although my opportunities to utilise this have over the past few years been focused on the supervision of students in pro bono work. Prior to entering Higher Education, I was a dispute resolution solicitor for nearly ten years. I trained in a London City firm and have worked in both City and provincial firms in both England and Wales. I have a wealth of experience in leading learning and teaching excellence and my particular focus has been on creative
curriculum design in particular partnerships with industry sectors and the development of experiential learning environments for students e.g a pro bono law clinic and a business clinic. I am also very passionate about Universities’ engagement with industry and business and I will be focussing on this in my new role in order to support the Faculty of Business and Law to develop the way the University supports the local and regional economy, and also to further enhance the student experience within the Faculty. I know that we are living and working through challenging times, not only for Higher Education, but for our students and staff, and the community around us I believe that the Faculty of Business and Law, has an important role to play in supporting the social and economic recovery of Northampton, and the wider region. I am keen to engage and work with both our Business and Legal communities to facilitate this. Please do get in touch with me if you would like to work with us or have anything that we can assist you with. My contact details are Karen.jones@northampton.ac.uk
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Northamptonshire Law Law Society Society Northamptonshire
Meet the new Dean of faculty of Business and Law at uon
in t e l l u B x
Northamptonshire Law Society Awards Event 2021 Northamptonshire Law Society
As with so many great events last year, our Annual 2020 Awards fell victim to the Covid pandemic. The Society was delighted to take the 2021 Awards online, courtesy of Luke Carey and Ross New of the multimedia team at Shoosmiths. In a novel twist, BBC Radio Northampton presenter John Griff pre-recorded his compering at the Deco theatre. President Sharine Burgess had chosen a local charity, “Singing 4 breathing “to benefit from the event and it participated in the evening. Singing 4 breathing is an award-winning singing group for people living with respiratory conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. Founder James Wyatt and his team of volunteers demonstrated their many achievements, including forming a new group for those suffering from the effects of Long Covid.
James Wyatt from Singing 4 Breathing explained how the charity was formed, and how it had grown since its creation in 2015.
President Sharine Burgess, in attendance of the Awards Event.
The shortlist was announced... The judges commented on the very high standard of entries this year and found it very difficult to shortlist. Congratulations to the finalists in each category:
Junior Lawyer:
Luke Thomas - Shoosmiths Jamie Christie - Wilson Browne
Solicitor of the year:
Sarah Cunliffe - Shoosmiths Sarah Franklin - Sarah Franklin Solicitors
Law Firm of the Year: Shoosmiths Wilson Browne
Community Person of the year:
the late Maria Cartwright - SP Law Naomi Edwards - Wilson Browne
The Sarah Banner Award - Sponsored by Shoosmiths This is a newly named award in honour of the late Sarah Banner. Many will recall Northamptonshire Law Society’s former president Sarah Banner. She was the youngest president that the society had had – and was destined for great things within the legal community. As an ambassador for the Society, she embodied the best of the profession but in a down to earth and very approachable manner. Sarah possessed a wonderful – and perhaps irreverent sense of humour. Sadly, Sarah’s journey came to a tragically short end in 2020 – she was just 40. Both nominees were very impressive – dedicated to their chosen specialism, and their contribution to pro bono work. Ultimately the winner, Jamie Christie proved that dedication by always reaching his targets and pushing himself along the way. He developed his role by building relationships with clients and not only giving legal advice but also emotional support. He was empathetic in his approach and the judges were particularly impressed by his non-traditional route to qualification and his focus on an increasingly important area of client care via The Court of Protection Team .
The recipient of the inaugural Sarah Banner junior lawyer of the year award was Jamie Christie.
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Law Firm of the Year – Sponsored by Landmark Both firms demonstrated their commitment to corporate social responsibility and provided impressive examples of commercial growth and notable case work over a particularly demanding time.
Northamptonshire Law Society
Both have rightly received national recognition for their work - however the judges felt that Wilson Browne demonstrated an eagerness to grow the firm whilst holding on to their core principles of serving and supporting their local community. The Winner of the Law Firm of the Year 2021 was Wilson Browne. Wayne Jenkins accepting the award on behalf of Wilson Browne.
The Fiona Moore prize -Solicitor of the year – Sponsored by Wilson Browne Both nominees scored highly with the judges. But the winner Sarah Franklin particularly impressed with her achievements as a family law practitioner. Sarah had also developed a locally and regionally important specialism linked to her passion, motorsport. Sarah also demonstrated her commitment to pro bono work. The judges were also impressed by her initiatives to ensure effective support for clients and colleagues during the pandemic.
The Winner of the Sarah Banner Award 2021 Sarah Franklin. As pictured here with Milo, accepting the award.
Community Person of the Year- Sponsored by Hawsons Chartered Accountants This category provided a particular challenge for the judges - all the nominees deserve acknowledgement for their outstanding commitment and sense of social conscience in supporting others in the community. But one nomination stood out that of the late Maria Cartwright of SP Law, her personal kindness to clients and colleagues shone through. Sadly, Maria passed away recently – a sad loss to her family, friends, colleagues, and clients alike. The award was accepted on behalf of her family by her daughter Shelley. Maria’s remaining children, Liss and Matt, were able to attend virtually.
Shelley Cartwright accepting the award on behalf of her family.
Maria’s family said, “Mum had a huge impact on so many; not only her family and friends, but also the people she worked with and the clients she met. She certainly wouldn’t have wanted a fuss, but would be very touched to receive this award, which is a true reflection of her dedication, and the support Mum gave to the community. Mum had the natural ability to make everyone feel happier after a conversation with her, genuinely caring about people and going out of her way to make them smile. Mum’s sense of humour and willingness to be involved really shone through. Kind, and considerate, Mum always thought of others first. She enjoyed organising charity events, making a difference to so many by doing all she could to raise as much as possible. We are super proud of her achievements and are keen to continue to support these charities. Mum was a real people’s person who is irreplaceable.”
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The Final Award of the evening was...
The NLS Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement (Best Undergraduate Dissertation) There has always been a link between Northamptonshire Law Society and UON, but in recent years, a more pro- active relationship has developed to provide support and advice to the upcoming legal talent, in addition to the annual prize awarded to UON students. Final year Law students Sherelle Atuba and Daniel Siggins received top marks in their dissertations and announced as the winners of the Best Undergraduate Dissertation Award. Northamptonshire Law Society
Student, Sherelle Atuba, said, “I had an unconventional journey to university. From the ages of 12 to 17 I had been to several schools, of which I had either been suspended or expelled. I did a lot of self-reflection and worked hard to get into university. I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated for Best Undergraduate Dissertation and honoured to be a recipient of the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award. To be acknowledged for the work I put into my dissertation is rewarding in many ways, considering my background, and I am extremely grateful.”
Daniel
Student Daniel Siggins commented, “I was absolutely delighted to have received the Best Dissertation award from the Law Society. I have thoroughly enjoyed my course at the University of Northampton, it is exciting looking to the future and all the opportunities my time at Northampton studying law has given me. Special thanks to my dissertation supervisor Sarah Willis and all my lecturers on my degree course for their continued support and outstanding guidance. I leave the University of Northampton with a degree and this award, but also fond memories, great friends and the chance of a fantastic future.” The President (on behalf of the Society) wished Daniel and Sherelle every success in their future careers. As the Online awards event drew to a close, the President gave special thanks to our patrons for their continued support...
- THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON - LANDMARK INFORMATION GROUP - HAWSONS CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS - CHARTLANDS CHAMBERS - MARSH
Sherelle
We very much hope that the awards event of 2022 will see us being able to mingle and network and enjoy a more traditional evening celebrating all that is great within the legal community of Northampton. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Questions for
Tony Hughes
Northamptonshire Law Society
Joy Pinkham Barrister from Chartlands Chambers in conversation with His Honour Judge Antony Hughes; (Circuit Judge, South Eastern Circuit, since 2006; Designated Family Judge, Milton Keynes and Oxford, since 2007;DFJ of Northampton since 2014 Deputy High Court Judge, since 2007). Could you firstly write a few paragraphs about your personal life and family, and a brief synopsis of your professional life. I was born in Tanzania in 1953 in a place called Moshi , just under Kilimanjaro . My father was a colonial forest officer and later an Oxford don . In Africa I was able to run wild, either by default or design , before being sent back to school in England to be civilised . I have been married for 44 years to Ann . She is the blood of my heart . We have three daughters and six grandchildren . As Wellington would have put of the grandchildren :
My professional career as a lawyer looks like this : a Circuit Judge, South Eastern Circuit, since 2006; Designated Family Judge, Milton Keynes and Oxford, since 2007; DFJ of Northampton since 2014 Deputy High Court Judge, since 200. EDUCATION King’s Sch., Canterbury; Coll. of Law. CAREER Articled with Cole & Cole, Oxford, 1973–77; admitted as solicitor, 1977; Partner with Linnell & Murphy, then Linnells, subseq. Borneo Linnells, Solicitors, Oxford, 1979–2006; NP, 1985–2006; Dep. Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, 1993–2000; a Recorder, 2000–06.
QUESTIONS: 1.
If you had your time again, would you still become a lawyer? If not, why not? What would the alternative career choice have been? – The only other career I had in mind was the Army which would probably have seen me retired in my 50s , having inevitably failed Staff College . At least with the law , I can still make a contribution in my dotage.
2. Best day as a lawyer/judge. 3.
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Worst day as a lawyer/judge? - I can take 2 and 3 together . On the day I qualified in 1977 I was sent by my firm to represent an aircraftsman at RAF LYNHAM , who was charged with theft before a Judge Advocate at a Court Martial . To say I hadn’t got a clue was an understament . I even had the wrong tabs . Luckily the
‘ I don’t know what effect these … will have upon the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me. ‘
kindly judge took over my cross examination and even suggested a half time submission of no case to answer which I gratefully adopted and to my astonishment my bewildered client was acquitted . Overnight I became the firm’s expert in Courts Martial . It was an agonising day which still comes back to me . Disaster and triumph in a single day.
4.
Any funny moments from practice / as a judge? - As a very young solicitor in Oxfordshire I was tasked to go to Witney Magistrates Court. I was very late as I had to call at the Oxford Hospital Accident and Emergency Dept. as I had a pen stuck in my ear for reasons that still confuse me . I explained this carefully to an irate Chairman of the Bench who told me that she did not believe a word and if I was late again she would phone my mother !
5.
Best way to relax after a long day in court? - a carefully made Gin and tonic , plenty of ice , thick slice of lime and double tot of gin …allow 90 secs to cool …
6.
You’re head of the Family Judiciary for a week and you have magical powers. What would you do? The merits of FDAC and PAUSE are well established . I would conjure up the funds to have them introduced in every DFJ area . Just as importantly , magically make provision for secure therapeutic establishments for the very large
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cohort of troubled teenagers who are at risk of trafficking , self harming and often have acute mental health challenges , whose welfare is being seriously let down in the present climate. 7. Favourite book? The Lord of the Rings. 8. Favourite film/TV series? David Lean’s ‘ Lawrence of Arabia ‘. 9. Desert Island Discs… What would be your luxury item? My Big Green Egg BBQ. 10. Favourite piece of music (or genre) – The Dream Of Gerontius by Elgar. 11. Favourite place on earth for holiday destination? – Barbados. 12. If you had the opportunity of a career move now? - Churchyard grass cutter. 13. You have won the raffle and are given the opportunity to draft a new piece of legislation. What would it be? Ramping up penalties for spitting in the street and anti-social behaviour to include a spell in the stocks. 14. If you had judicial tourettes what might we expect to hear? – I am afraid it would all be in Swahili … 15. Which actor would play you in a movie about your life? - MARTIN CLUNES but you would have to let George Clooney down gently. He will be gutted.
Northamptonshire Law Society
Northamptonshire Law Society
PRESS RELEASE
LANDMARK MOMENT FOR GIFTS IN WILLS –
ONE MILLION CHARITABLE BEQUESTS DONATED OVER 10 YEARS Consortium celebrates landmark legacy moment at start of Remember A Charity Week
06 September 2021, London: A landmark goal for charitable bequests has been reached with over one million gifts in Wills donated to charities over the past decade, according to figures released to coincide with the launch of
Remember A Charity Week
(06-12 September 2021).
With over 100,000 charitable bequests left in Wills each year, more than one million gifts were donated from 2010/11 to 2019/20, data from Smee & Ford shows. Over that time, cumulative legacy income to UK charities exceeded £23 billion, funding vital services across the country. Appetite for legacy giving continues to grow and, despite recent delays at probate, the number of charitable bequests is predicted to rise by 30% over the decade.*
The 200-strong charity consortium Remember A Charity launches its week-long public awareness campaign today, encouraging people across the country to consider leaving a gift in their Will. A collaborative initiative, the campaign brings charities together with 1,300 legal professionals to champion legacy giving across the UK. Head judge of Dancing with the Stars, Len Goodman, is supporting the campaign, having altered his own Will to include a charity. Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “Legacy giving can be transformational for UK charities and it’s wonderful to consider the phenomenal impact of those gifts. Donations have long been on the rise, but the global pandemic has accelerated that growth, shining a spotlight on the critical role of charities in our communities and the importance of Will-writing. This funding is critical for the sector as we strive to build back and strengthen resilience for whatever the future holds.
Media queries: Contact Lucinda Frostick, Turner PR;
“Remember A Charity Week is a great opportunity for legal advisers to open up conversation about gifts in Wills and to help ensure that all clients are aware of the opportunity of including a gift in their Will, after taking care of family and friends.” Remember A Charity runs a Campaign Supporter scheme for legal professions, offering information and resources for solicitors, Will-writers and professional advisers about raising the topic of gifts in Wills with clients.
Find out more at: http://www.rememberacharity.org.uk/ solicitor *Source: Legacy Foresight, 2021
lucinda@turnerpr.co.uk
07712 045 308
Remember A Charity Week Remember A Charity Week (6-12th September 2021) is an awareness week organised by charity consortium Remember A Charity, which aims to shine a light on the importance of gifts in Wills to charities.
Remember A Charity Remember A Charity was formed in the year 2000 as a consortium of charities working to encourage more people to consider leaving a gift to charity in their Will. A representative voice for the sector with over 200 charity members, the campaign works with Government, the legal profession, and employers to help normalise legacy giving. Remember A Charity is part of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, which is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC000910) and is a charity registered in England and Wales (No. 1188764) and Scotland (No. SC050060).
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PRESS RELEASE
Northamptonshire Law Society
REMEMBER A CHARITY CALLS ON LEGAL PROFESSION TO TALK GIFTS IN WILLS This September, the legal profession will be joining forces with 200 charities to celebrate Remember A Charity Week (06-12 September 2021). Together, they will be raising awareness of the option of giving to charity from your Will, after taking care of family and friends. Throughout the week, people will be encouraged to consider how they might change the world for future generations by leaving a gift in their Will. The Remember A Charity consortium is now calling on solicitors and Will-writers across the country to join its network of over 1,300 legal professionals, taking part in this year’s campaign and sharing information with clients about gifts in Wills. Legacy giving is gaining appeal with the British public, with the consortium reporting that 40% of the over 45s saying they would be happy to leave a gift in their Will and 100 people now writing a gift to charity in their Will daily .
These donations raise over £3 billion for good causes annually, funding vital charitable services. Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, says: “The global pandemic has been a real catalyst for change, encouraging more people to write a Will and shining a spotlight on the critical role of charities in our communities. Increasingly, people are choosing to give back to the good causes they care about at the end of their lives. And the legal profession is playing a key role in providing impartial information for clients about how to go about it, while ensuring that people’s wishes for family and friends are met.” “Legacy giving can be transformational for UK charities and, in recent months, this income stream has been all the more critical. From homeless shelters to animal rescue services, hospital equipment to mental health helplines and more, gifts in Wills are enabling charities to sustain and even upscale services at a time of urgent need.”
Remember A Charity Week serves as a springboard to raise the topic of Will-writing with clients. The Campaign Supporter scheme gives legal professionals access to exclusive resources ranging from posters to social media assets and imagery, helping them open up conversation with clients about gifts in Wills. 2021 marks the twelfth year of Remember A Charity Week, a collaborative initiative to highlight the importance of legacy giving. To find out more or join the existing network of 1,300 campaign supporters, see: www.rememberacharity.org.uk/solicitor Media queries: Contact Lucinda Frostick, Turner PR – lucinda@turnerpr.co.uk / 07712 045 308 One Poll, 2019 Smee & Ford, 2020 The Law Society, 2020 (The Law Society reports that 7% of the UK public wrote a Will during the first national lockdown of 2020.)
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Online Conference 2021 Friday 28th May 2021
WE MISSED YOU ALL – BUT SEE YOU NEXT YEAR IN PERSON! An appreciation by Elizabeth Robson Taylor MA of Richmond Green Chambers and Phillip Taylor MBE, Head of Chambers, Reviews Editor, “The Barrister”, and Mediator Lord Hodge, Deputy President of the Supreme Court, and the new EWI President from October 2020, gave an absorbing keynote speech at this year’s online EWI Conference, chaired throughout by Saba Naqshbandi, whom we welcome to the role. To state the obvious (for some), it was a somewhat surreal experience this time round without the face-to-face chats and the nattering and meeting up with old colleagues: coronavirus was the unfortunate theme throughout, too. However, two speeches stood out for the 2021 Conference this year: those of Lord Hodge and Sir Martin Spencer. Lord Hodge: The Keynote Speech Lord Hodge spoke of what the court expects of a competent expert witness reflecting on his own experience of expert witnesses, both as a judge and advocate. He described the critical role of the expert witness in the administration of justice, together with judicial expectation. His lordship also shared thoughts on the impact of the pandemic on the courts saying that the title of the conference, ‘Lawyers and Experts: Facing the Future together’, “felt particularly apt”. Hodge set out what he felt the court expects of a competent expert witness, and we have highlighted some of these points: •
Independence and Impartiality. While this might seem obvious, he felt it was concerning that in a 2019 survey 25% of expert witnesses had felt pressurized to change their report in a way that damaged their impartiality, and 41% indicated that they had come across other expert witnesses they considered to be a ‘hired gun’
• Expert evidence must be ‘expert’,
• In addition, an expert witness had to undertake the task of ‘being an expert’, being aware and competent in their duties to the court, • Continual critical examination of their own work or opinion. •
Ownership, or, as expressed by McFarlane LJ in a 2018 speech in one word: ‘Clarity’. Both clarity of thought and clarity of expression or presentation of the evidence will assist the judge greatly. Hodge stressed that it was “imperative that expert witnesses take full responsibility throughout the process of preparation and presentation for his or her opinion evidence”.
“Judges, lawyers and experts have to face the future together”, said his lordship, reflecting on this theme and the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the courts. “I am very much aware that life had not been easy for expert witnesses during the pandemic both in terms of carrying out physical site visits or examinations and in financial impact, be that through postponed trials, or delays in payment”. Sentiments felt by all of us! Although some may not agree, Hodge observed that “not all consequences of the pandemic were bad”. The court’s operations during the pandemic were, from the words of the Lord Burnett, that it is “the biggest pilot project the justice system has ever seen.” It was important to take time to reflect on what had worked well and how this could be harnessed more broadly to improve the overall function of our system of justice, concluded Lord Hodge. “The task of transforming our justice system”, he continued, “required the input of all actors in the court system”. He repeated that we “have to face the future together”, so this conference presented an opportunity “to enhance the contribution of expert witnesses and those lawyers who work with them in support of that aim”. Sir Martin Spencer It is always a pleasure to hear from the EWI Chair, Martin Spencer. Sage advice as always, and he offered these words concluding the conference: “Since our last conference, we have worked through two further periods of lockdown from the Covid19 pandemic, and we have all continued to adapt to new working practices”. “But”, he continued, “as social distancing measures ease, even the Lord Chief Justice has said that ‘remote and hybrid hearings will still play their part in managing footfall in courtrooms and public areas.’ We suppose so, but some return to normality is to be yearned for in 2022. So, this year’s conference theme is, says Martin, “very relevant in considering how both Lawyers and Experts can learn from each other and embrace many of the changes as we move forward”. Speaking of the panel discussions and breakout sessions, he said that “this year we have brought together a formidable team of speakers, knowledgeable and influential in their fields, with a huge breadth of experience”. It should not go unsaid that every recent annual conference we have attended broadens the mind! A virtual “au revoir” until 2022 and let us hope we can all meet up together in person once more to enhance the panel and breakout sessions!
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“Lawyers and Experts”: Facing the Future Together
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EU data protection adequacy decision, hurrah and just in time
Adequacy will allow the UK to benefit from continued unrestricted data flows between the UK and the European Economic Area. Broadly, this is the EU Member States plus UK, Norway and Iceland. ‘Adequacy’ means that GDPR-covered data subjects can be confident that their personal data will be protected if it is transferred to the UK. The two Adequacy Decisions will also facilitate the exchange of personal information in matters of judicial cooperation. However, the Adequacy Decisions are not permanent and include strong safeguards - the UK’s Adequacy will expire after four years and will only be renewed if it satisfies ongoing scrutiny. Adequacy can also be revoked by the European Commission prior to expiration. Failure to get a positive decision would have risked plunging British businesses into disarray, leaving industries (from banking to logistics) scrambling to set up more costly, bureaucratic alternatives to share data. The above decisions were published just two days before the end of the Transitional Period provided for in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Its publication therefore prevents entities wishing to transfer data to the UK and/or the EU from needing to adopt additional mechanisms (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) to legitimise international transfers on a temporary
basis, as was originally envisaged if Adequacy Decisions were not formalised during the Transition Period. The key elements underpinning the Adequacy Decisions are: *The UK’s data protection system continues to be based on the same rules that were applicable when the UK was part of the EU. *The UK has fully incorporated the principles, rights and obligations of the GDPR and the Law Enforcement Directive into its post-Brexit legal system. *Personal data accessed by public authorities in the UK (ie for national security reasons) is covered by strong safeguards, specifically:
The Adequacy Decisions will expire automatically four years following effectiveness, after which the adequacy findings can be renewed if the European Commission determines that the UK continues to ensure an adequate level of data protection; During the four-year adequacy period, the European Commission will monitor the UK and can intervene at any point if the UK deviates from the level of protection currently in place; and If the European Commission decides to renew the UK’s adequacy, the adoption process must start again.
a) the collection of data by intelligence authorities must be authorised in advance by an independent judicial body and any measure needs to be necessary and proportionate to what it intends to achieve; b) any person believing they been the subject of unlawful surveillance may bring an action before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal; and c) the UK is subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights and must adhere to the European Convention of Human Rights and the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, the only binding international treaty in the area of data protection (these international commitments are key aspects of the UK’s Adequacy Decisions);
Article by Euan Temple
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Northamptonshire Law Society
British data protection standards are “adequate”, the EU has ruled in a long-awaited decision. On 28 June 2021, following the agreement of the EU Member States’ representatives, the European Commission adopted two Adequacy Decisions for the United Kingdom - one in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Brussels, 28.6.2021 C(2021) 4800 final and the other in relation to the Law Enforcement Directive (LED).
Northamptonshire Law Society
Minimising the impact of the Insurance Market condition on your practice In recent months, much has been reported on the current condition of the professional indemnity insurance market. Unfortunately, experience tells us there will not be a quick resolution to these prevailing market conditions. Insurance companies are commercial enterprises; just like legal practices, they want to turn a profit or at worst, break even for the transferring of risk. However, several leading insurers are unable to do this in the current climate. Right now, claims activity in the legal profession surpasses the premiums collected, and both the severity and the frequency of claims are also on the rise. Indeed, not all practices experience claims, and firms that have may be unlikely to repeat them. Either way, the insurance policy has to respond in the event of a claim. Losses experienced will impact insurers’ premiums in the relevant practice areas, with this adjustment likely to affect even claim-free practices. Those that experience claims are likely to be impacted more severely, as these could influence the base rates of their practice areas. If the claims burn cost (explained below) is impacted, premiums could be affected.
Example of claims burning cost calculation Total value of claims over X years
taking time at regular intervals to assess the risks associated with your specialisms. Risks evolve, and if you do not dedicate the time to assess exposures and implement appropriate procedures, you will be increasing your chances of claims. Failure to implement an effective risk management plan could have significant consequences; some practices will experience much higher price adjustments due to the market conditions and loss deterioration. We recommend taking the following steps to protect your practice from tough market conditions:
1. Prepare a quality presentation, including detail beyond the minimum required information. Your PII presentation is effectively your shop window to insurers, so we recommend using this opportunity wisely.
Many practices claim to be ‘low risk’ in their activities, but few articulate why. Providing evidence for the underwriter’s file is absolutely critical, and we recommend providing additional information to support the numerical data in your proposal form. Be careful not to overdo this; if the documentation is too wordy, it will defend itself well from ever being read.
Your proposal should highlight x 100 = claims burn % the key and salient Premium collected points, focussing over X years on how you mitigate the risks associated with your specialism, In light of the above, today’s insurance market is a challenging environment for while also pointing out the accomplishments of your practice firms. The whole premise of insurance and its fee earners. is that the premiums of the many pay for the claims of the few. If this simple Please remember that your metric isn’t working, there will naturally presentation is not the only need to be a change. In light of the window a prudent underwriter will current circumstances, insurers’ look into, they will also check your appetites have been suppressed and web presence. PII insurance rates and premiums are typically increasing. Practices can, We recommend ensuring that your however, take steps to minimise the website accurately reflects what impact to them specifically. you actually do – this goes for imagery too. Firstly, to protect the short, medium and long-term costs of your insurance, Do also check the law society it is imperative to continue to evolving website does not contradict your your approach to risk management, presentation in any way. Look out
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by Brian Boehmer, Partner, Lockton
for the descriptions of your work, your staff and your accreditations – if you identify errors, you can request an edit. Any online reviews or any commentary from open sources will also need to be addressed.
2. Selection of the right representative is key. Comprehensive and direct insurer market access are crucial components, so anyone professing to be a specialist broker should be able to demonstrate these to you. You should be provided with a clear understanding (in writing) of the insurers that the representative plans to approach on your behalf. An important consideration in your selection is that, regardless of the size of your practice, a comprehensive market exercise cannot be undertaken without Lockton. This is due to sole distribution rights to various insurers.
You may also wish to check the representative’s claims infrastructure. While no practice wishes to experience claims, if this happens you want assurance that your representatives have the experience and expertise to assist you in your hour of need.
3. Start early. For those that renew in October, I would suggest that now is the time to start. While preparing your presentation, request your claim summaries to check that these are accurate. If you have experienced claims, a narrative will be expected around what happened, along with measures implemented to prevent a repeat occurrence. Insurers will also expect an explanation around any open notifications, including your view on merit and quantum.
Right now, the market is challenging, but Lockton can still create healthy competition and deliver innovative solutions for your business. To find out how we can assist you, or to request support as to what to include in your presentation, please contact me or another member of the Lockton team.
www.locktonsolicitors.co.uk
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Northamptonshire Law Society
An introduction to the NLS New President- Jabeer Miah I met with Jabeer at the grade II listed offices of Shepherd and Co. in Towcester, a local law firm that was founded in 1973 and spearheaded by Robin Shepherd; a past-president of the Society. Jabeer’s career in Law started in 2006, when he was the first of his 6 siblings to qualify with a first class honours degree in Law from The University of Northampton. At the time he was in two minds whether to take a gap year as he was unable to decide whether to pursue a career in Accountancy or Law, University clearing made that decision for him. He has seen his career go full circle. He started with Shepherd and Co in 2007 and after a period of eleven years during which he worked in several Law firms, including Shoosmiths, Eton Law and DW Law, saw him return as a partner. He has a passion to build upon the sound reputation of delivering a personal service to the clients of Towcester and the south of the county, but also to develop this across the residential and commercial markets within Northampton itself. Jabeer’s natural networking ability, prompted him to send an email asking how he could become a member of Northamptonshire Law Society and duly joined in 2009, and was elected to Council in 2017. He was passionate about bringing new initiatives, in building relations with the University, and to provide a link to the BAME communities. As he takes his official seat as President, Jabeer wants to focus on increasing member numbers by personally reaching out to the local firms, encouraging networking across all sectors with the Law community. He wishes to raise the profile of NLS through the various courts and chambers, across business sectors such as the Chambers of Commerce, and the ICAEW. As the meeting ended, Jabeer reflected on how recently becoming a father had impacted both his personal and professional life. The arrival of Adeel 10 months ago had given him a new perspective in being a more mindful employer and appreciative of his friends and family and had forced him to create a better work life balance for himself. Jabeer wants to make himself available to other organisations and charities to assist their work and in particular colleges and the University to support students and the lawyers of tomorrow. If you wish to speak to Jabeer regarding any of his initiatives, he is contactable via; JM@shepherdandco.com
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Landmark Academy: Northamptonshire Law Society
New Data Insights Report snapshots flood risk in England & Wales.
Landmark Information’s new series of reports offers insightful round-up of property, environmental and land-based intelligence. By Allie Parsons, Customer Success Consultant, Landmark Information (Legal)
Data from the first in a new series of Data Insights Reports from Landmark Information has shown the broad extent to which flooding poses an ongoing threat across England and Wales. The report provides land and property industry professionals with insightful snapshots of rich flood data to explain the true impact risk upon communities across the country. It highlights the local authorities that have the highest rate of properties located in Flood Zones 2 and 3, and reveals that 37 out of the 335 local authorities have at least a fifth of properties in Flood Zone 2 within their jurisdiction. The report also identifies that more that 27,000 (6.7%) notable Listed Buildings are based in areas deemed to be at the highest Flood Risk parameter (3), in addition to almost 12% of all 200,000 Scheduled Monuments are situated in Flood Zones 2 or 3, which include
highly notable buildings like the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Caerphilly Castle. The new series of Data Insights Reports, published every quarter, focus on specific themes, from a review of planning updates and the local and national impacts, to uncovering information relating to a range of environmental hazards. According to the Environment Agency, approximately one in every six properties in England are considered to be at risk of flooding. This is forecast to grow as climate change continues to translate into shifting impacts on both current and evolving land use. To access a copy of the Data Insights Report, visit: https://www.landmark.co.uk/newsinsights/industry-reports/ data-insights-report-flood-risk/.
As part of the UK’s largest property and land data business, Landmark Information supports the entire value chain of the property industry. With more than 25 years experience, our data, technology and services power confident property and land decisions for architects, surveyors, estate agents, environmental consultants, mortgage lenders, real estate professionals, land developers, property lawyers and resellers to these markets. Our business consists of six specialist business divisions, which serve these market groups: Landmark Estate Agency Services, Landmark Geodata, Landmark Legal, Landmark Valuation Services, Landmark Solutions, Landmark Insurance Services. Landmark Information is part of the Landmark Information Group, which is a national business and a subsidiary of Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT). Visit http://www.landmark.co.uk/ or follow Landmark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LandmarkUK
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Marketing your service in the new conveyancing landscape high numbers of instructions and stamp duty deadline, what’s next? Ensuring your practice remains competitive in the face of online conveyancing, panels and agency referrals can see like an uphill battle, and, without a dedicated marketing resource, you may feel that your business development efforts can be limited. Luckily there are plenty of approaches and tools that all the conveyancing team can take advantage of, and many of these can managed in-house. We present some clear steps to help you reach new and previous homebuying customers, whatever the marketing budget and resource you have available to you. enquiries in a useful way. In the same way as the branding exercise, however, it’s amazing what can learnt from reviewing different conveyancing enquiries received by your practice. All members of the team can be involved in this exercise and can brainstorm how responses ought to be handled. Ask colleagues to come up with ideas on the main benefits of instructing your firm and the best of these ideas can incorporated into different approaches used for outbound calling. Having the right skills Branding and differentiation
In this digital age it can be easy to forget the importance of brand in conveyancing. There are thousands of definitions of “brand” but, keeping it simple, it’s really about differentiating your service, adding to the value that your service offers and communicating this effectively. Whilst building a strong brand may seem more relevant to heavy-lifting consumer companies, it’s not out of reach to smaller, more traditional businesses and, no, not even to conveyancers! Buying a property is an significant commitment and the nature of the conveyancing process presents lots of opportunities for the conveyancer to build and communicate value to their customers. Customer insight is key to this. As a conveyancer you’ll be used to dealing with different types of client, but can you truthfully say that you know what your clients look like, what’s important to them and structure this information in a useful way? If you have a marketing team, some of this work may have been completed, but even without a marketing resource, a lot of useful information can be gleaned from customer feedback. This can come to you directly or via Google, but if you’re not getting that all-important insight, why not consider a quick customer satisfaction survey, or hand out a short questionnaire to new customers or at any local events you may attend? The findings can often surprise you and can help you shape your brand, content and messaging to the needs of your market. There’s often a wealth of knowledge hidden within the company so working with colleagues to structure this can be invaluable, supporting brand building and possibly even a simple customer client segmentation to information the experience for different types of home-buying clients. Optimising the value of client enquiries
All businesses can lose sight of the quality enquiries that they receive about their service and, for busy conveyancers in particular, it can be difficult to find the time to analyse
It’s also worth considering whether you are using the right people to follow up enquiries. Administrative staff may be highly skilled in providing conveyancing information and quotes, but may not be engaging with customers particularly well. Analysing the success of different colleagues involved in responding and call-backs can be useful in identifying if any have a natural talent for converting enquiries into business. Successful approaches can then be replicated. Although universally unpopular, role-playing different phone conversations can be really good for training staff and helping them to optimise calls to potential clients. If you don’t have anyone with the right skills internally though, this is an area where investment in external sales training can really pay off. There are some very simple techniques that used to improve confidence and raise conversion rates. Timing
As mentioned above, customer experience is incredibly important when dealing with a conveyancer. If your team has been providing a great customer experience, you should have no problems in attracting back former clients, but the key, of course, is to know when they are back in the market for your conveyancing services. Using a service to alert you to former clients listing their property for sale allows you to contact them at precisely the point they require a conveyancing service. And neither GDPR nor the SRA Publicity Codes are barriers to using such a service. Conveyancers can use Legitimate Interest as the basis for p rocessing former client data, and Version 19 of the SRA Code excludes current and former clients from the prohibition on unsolicited approaches. Conveyancing Alert services are often offered by search providers and can be tailored to your budget. Ready to give it a go?
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Northamptonshire Law Society
Once the conveyancing industry emerges from the current
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And Finally… Since I last wrote, I have been busy organising various events. I was entrusted with planning the route for the Great Legal Walk. Having not originated in Northampton, I must admit I was slightly anxious about the task I had been set. I was given two parameters, to start out at the Courts, and to include St Andrews. The remainder of the route, providing we covered approximately 12 km was entirely up to me. You can read how I got on and more importantly how much we managed to raise for The Midlands Legal Support Trust in the next bulletin. Another first for me was organising getting the NLS awards event online, and although it was disappointing that we could not enjoy the event face to face, Ross New and Luke Carey from Shoosmiths media centre did an amazing job behind the scenes, to make sure it all ran like clockwork. The event was well attended, by not only nominees and their families, but also support staff from various firms- It was such a lovely sight to see individuals singing along to the music whilst we waited for the event to start. John Griff compered with his usual professionalism and wit and created a lovely ambience for all attendees.
Well done to all the nominees and worthy winners. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can celebrate in person next year! During the AGM held at the beginning of July we welcomed our new President Jabeer Miah, and Maurice Muchinder as Vice. Congratulations were delivered to Sharine Burgess as she stepped down from a very unusual and testing time in office. I would personally like to thank her for all of the support shown to me during her term. As we move out of lockdown, I am tentatively looking at organising training events. I would very much welcome your input/feedback on specific topics or sectors. I would also welcome news for the member’s page. Are you fund raising for a specific charity, have you recently qualified or are you retiring from the sector? Please give me a call, or drop me an email...
Carolyn Coles - Society Manager Tel: 07543 662572 Email: sec.NLS@outlook.com
LEAP announces partnership with The Law Society LEAP, the leading practice management software provider, is delighted to announce a strategic partnership with the Law Society. After a rigorous process of due diligence, the Law Society has appointed LEAP as a Strategic Partner for case management, accounting and other legal software. This agreement will see the two organisations work in tandem for the benefit of the Law Society’s 150,000 members, which includes all qualified practising lawyers in England and Wales.
“We are delighted to welcome LEAP on board as a Strategic Partner of The Law Society. An established provider of legal software, LEAP offers a leading, cloud-based, case management and accounting software, and through customer-led development and innovation, provides software solutions
to support and benefit small to mid-sized law firms.” - Fiona O’Mahony, head of partnerships, the Law Society. John Espley, Chief Executive Officer of LEAP UK, comments “We are extremely proud to work with the Law Society to support the legal profession in England and Wales. This strategic partnership is aligned with LEAP’s vision to deliver the best technology solutions to enable law firms operate more effectively, to survive and thrive in these uncertain times, and to make them more profitable. We are looking forward to meeting more of the Law Society members, showcasing our products at seminars and events and upholding the joint ethos of the two organisations. Focused on the needs of small to mid-sized law firms and with over 17,000 legal professionals using its software in the UK, LEAP is dedicated to developing legal practice management
software that helps generate efficiencies, profit and improve service. The solution enables legal professionals to access integrated matter management, document automation and legal accounting from anywhere, 24/7, and from any connected device. LEAP is committed to providing world-class practice management software. Innovation is at the heart of the company’s research and development, with an annual global investment of more than £12 million per year. LEAP delivers industry leading software that is attune to the ever-changing needs of its clients. For further information on the partnership visit: www.lawsociety.org.uk/membership/ offers/leap-legal-software
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Hello again, I hope that you have enjoyed flicking through the latest edition of the bulletin, and hopefully you have found some of the articles interesting, if not informative. I personally like to hear of what our members have been getting up to, and how they have adapted to living and working through the pandemic.
By Carolyn Coles
