Sole Practitioners Group Magazine. Autumn 2021

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TO INSPIRE, TO PROMOTE, TO LEAD SUPPORTING SOLICITORS IN SOLE PRACTICE.

24 Annual Conference th

solo POWER UP for the New LEGAL WORLD!

Autumn 2021

In this issue: Get to know the Exec Team: Sushila Abraham The Who, How and What to do of Cyber Attacks Landmark Moment for Gifts in Wills

24th

at The MacDonald Berystede Hotel, Ascot.

Guest Speakers: Mark Stephens CBE District Judge PD Richmond • Brett Dixon Francis Fitzgibbon • Sean Jones

contents autumn 2021

solo

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From the Chairwoman

18

The Who, How and What to do of Cyber Attacks

5

Exec Team Profile: Sushila Abraham

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Putting your best foot forward in a challenging

6

LegalEx: where the Legal community meet

insurance market

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SPG Executive Committee

22

What can a District Judge NOT do at a Financial

11

Outsourced Transcription Providers as a Resource

Dispute Resolutions in the Family Court?

12

Council Member’s Report

23

Opportunities to train and ‘grow your own’ staff

14

Honorary Secretary’s Report Summer 2021

24

Landmark Moment for Gifts in Wills

15

The launch of R&R Solutions

28

Marketing in the new conveyancing landscape

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All your Conveyancing needs in one place

30

Why Should You Instruct a Costs Lawyer?

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From the Chairwoman Nevertheless, this feels like a liberation after so many months of restrictions. And of course, it means that we can hold our wonderful annual conference and annual general meeting this year in person after the disappointment of the cancelled Malaga event.

I am delighted to confirm that this year’s programme includes Mark Stephens CBE as our Keynote Speaker, a high-profile media human rights and defamation lawyer whose regular appearances in the media have made him a force to be reckoned with in the legal world. We have an informative and educational programme relating to practice, specialisms and business issues, as well as a longawaited set of social events for enjoyment and networking.

I am particularly looking forward to the Gala Circus Ball on Saturday night and the all-female Morris dancers on Sunday morning who will encourage those brave enough to have a go at jingling!

Dear Members.

As the children return to school and we all resume at least part of our normal routine, we hope that the main crisis of the pandemic is over. Live meetings, events, office attendance and social life is returning to normal. We are all still being sensible, wearing masks wherever it seems a little crowded, and maintaining social distancing as far as possible.

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I am also deeply honoured and excited at being shortlisted as Sole Practitioner of the Year for the Law Society Awards 2021, the winner being announced on the 7th October, immediately before our conference is held on the 8th to the 10th October.

Whether or not I am fortunate enough to win, I have been humbled and amazed by the letters of support filed by colleagues, clients, and professional contacts, which of course were instrumental in the short listing process. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the conference, and I know that once again this will be a sparkling, informative, and revitalising event for all of us and our businesses.

This is my last Solo as your Chair, as I am handing the baton over to the accomplished and effective Joanna Connolly after the Conference, having been Chair due to the pandemic since April 2019. In that period, we have increased our regular communications online to members, particularly successful in our programme of Webinars which are also available through the Website. We have welcomed a new approach to our administration which is now run seamlessly by Anika Holm and conference organisation

by Jennifer Houlihan, and I thank all of the Executive Committee for their support and efforts on your behalf, in particular the Officers and Council Members Clive Sutton (Honorary Secretary and Council Member), Kem MasinboAmobi (Treasurer), Joanna Connolly (Vice Chair), and Lubna Shuja (Council Member and Vice President TLS). I wish you all the very best for your professional futures and thank you for honouring me with the position as Chair which has been challenging and satisfying. I wish all the best to Jo for the forthcoming year.

Penny Raby SPG Chairwoman 2021 – 2022 Please contact me at pennyraby@harmony-house.co.uk

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Get to know the Exec Team -

Sushila Abraham

On 18 May 2021 Councillor Sushila Abraham became Kingston’s 186th Mayor. The Mayor signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office at a small, socially distanced event outside the Guildhall in central Kingston.

1. Why Law? I have seen a lot of in justice and felt that I should do something about it. My mother encouraged me to read law and I have not regretted it one bit 2. What is your favourite thing about your career?

I have been able to help those most vulnerable.

3. What motivates you?

The satisfaction of seeing how I have been able to help those in need and to see their happiness. Those who work for me in my practice have my same ethos and that helps me a great deal and pushes me everyday to do my work.

4. What did you want to be when you were a child?

I was always community orientated and was always there for others though I did think of going into teaching.

5. What was your first job?

A lawyer 6. What are your hobbies?

I love cooking, being outside walking, gardening, playing golf and travelling.

7. Favourite part of the uk? Why? Just the countryside, the sea and the hills. It is open space and beauty that we appreciate 8. Sun, sea, sand holiday or city break?

My husband and I love travelling and also travelling around the UK 9. How would your friends describe you?

A long term friend and someone they can trust.

councillor as at that time a councillor had just died and there was going to be a by election and they felt that my community spirit and being known locally would help. My Husband encouraged me to go for it and I only had less than five weeks to campaign. It was very successful and I won with a very good majority.

12. What does the role of Mayor entail?

I represent the Borough and attend meetings and functions within the borough and out of borough. Opening local shops, attending school functions and other events like disability awareness day, community functions and always having to speak at events and many more. Children in schools always like to see the Mayor and ask questions so the history of the borough is important bearing in mind Kingston is the first Royal Borough and it is said to be the place where England began.

13. What charities do you support as Mayor and why? When is your next charity event?

The theme of my Mayoral year is mental health and wellbeing. I have chosen two organisations – Anstee bridge and Milaap Multicultural Day Care centre.

Both a very small organisations in Kingston but the work they do with the community is massive. Anstee Bridge support the youth and Milaap the vulnerable and elderly.

I will be having a Quiz Night on 26th November at the Guildhall in Kingston.

14. How do you juggle family life, work and the duties of being Mayor and councillor?

Fortunately, my son has his own family and I have a very supportive husband and my friends and family support me a great deal. My faith and the grace of God help me through each day.

10. How many languages do you speak? What are they? And which one is your favourite?

I speak four languages only two fluently. No favourite one

15. How do you hope to inspire the younger generation to consider going into politics?

People should look at politics with an open mind. What they really want to happen and how they go about it. You must be community orientated as residents will always need your help and guidance.

11. What inspired you to become a councillor?

I was getting fed up with the council’s planning department. My local Ward Councillors came to see me and instead of helping coaxed me to become a

Watch Sushila “Mayor Makin Ceremony” here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj0saGK4O1M

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LegalEx: the event where the legal community meets Expert keynotes. The latest legal tech. Networking with industry insiders. LegalEx is back as an in-person event this November.

LegalEx 2021, taking place on November 10 11 at ExCeL London, is the must-attend event to meet industry thought-leaders, regulators at the forefront of legislation and code of conduct changes and experts in client success, technology and business development.

Your FREE registration via legalex.co.uk gives you access to two days of educational seminars from some of the world’s top legal experts, innovators and forward-thinking speakers. Criminal barrister and TV host Robert Rinder will be discussing why legal aid is in crisis and what we, the legal community, can do about it while Ian Evans, Managing Director, EMEA at OneTrust, will be discussing GDPR: three years on, helping you to navigate heightened compliance considerations and giving you insight on enforcement, data breaches and the future of privacy.

If you want to keep your legal knowledge sharp and up to date, then LegalEx is the place to

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be, with free sessions from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. These talks will cover AML, SQE, regulations and more, with presentations on ‘Safeguarding Client Money’ and ‘Continuing Competence’ equipping you with everything you need to maintain high standards at your firm.

LegalEx also provides the perfect opportunity to upgrade your wellbeing practice by attending Neil Seligman’s inspiring keynote delving into how meditation guided him to transform his career from Civil Law Barrister to Corporate Mindfulness Advocate. This talk will leave you with a suite of tools and practices to help better manage stress, improve wellbeing and inspire your mindfulness practice.

Those in administrative roles attending the live event will also be able to learn more about programmes and software used within their day-to-day roles from a range of exhibitors such

as Access Legal, Cloud Geeni, LEAP and more.

Many of these innovative tech providers will also be giving immersive seminars on key legal IT and legal services topics, meaning you can discover the very latest on strategies, practices and technology solutions for the legal sector all in one place.

Concerned about safety after a year of being locked at home? Don’t be, this year’s LegalEx event has enhanced safety measures with improved cleaning, hygiene and protection and detection precautions to ensure all visitors are safe and concern free. LegalEx continue to liaise with the ExCeL and the Association of Event Organisers, who have the most up-to-date information regarding the prevention and spread of COVID-19, and strictly follow all guidance set out by them. At LegalEx, your safety is the number one priority.

So, what are you waiting for? Register for your FREE ticket now at legalex.co.uk.

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Sole Practitioners Group Executive Committee 2021 Penny Raby Chairwoman Penny has been a SP specialising in family law for 20 years, working with her husband Mike a Forensic Accountant on divorce cases involving business and complex asset and income tracing and Inheritance Act disputes. She won Worcestershire Family Lawyer of the Year award in 2014 and was nominated for the National Family Law Magazine Family Law Firm of the Year for 2015. She has appeared on radio and television and, with Mike, has toured their networking pantomime ‘Snow White and the Seven Small Business People‘ internationally, including a notable performance at the 2016 SPG Conference in Prague!

T: 01386 555 114 Email: pennyraby@harmony-house.co.uk Penny Raby & Co, Harmony House, 7-9 Church Street, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 1DT

Joanna Connolly Vice-Chairwoman Joanna is well known in courts throughout the country as an expert in the complex field of consumer credit law. She is a Solicitor Advocate, with Higher Rights of Audience, qualified to represent clients in the Higher Courts of England and Wales.

Joanna is highly experienced and passionate about helping people which is reflected in her exceptionally high success rate. Joanna and her dedicated team run a thriving practice where they deal with clients from all over the country and have built a reputation for being the ‘go-to’ consumer credit defence firm in the UK. T: 0330 053 9340 Email: jo@joannaconnollysolicitors.co.uk Joanna Connolly Solicitors, 33 Cheadle Avenue, Liverpool L13 3AE

Kem Masinbo-Amobi Honorary Treasurer Kem qualified as a solicitor in November 2002 under the tutelage of Mr Martin Mears (former President of the Law Society). Kem has over sixteen years commercial experience gained in a variety of demanding and challenging environments.

Kem’s employment history includes time spent at some of the most prestigious legal firms in Suffolk and Norfolk. A keen gardener, Kem has completed the RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture and her other hobbies include reading, travelling and cooking in true “Nigella” fashion.

T: 01473 760 046 F: 01473 760 058 Email: kem@kmasolicitors.co.uk KMA Solicitors, Pishon Gold House 12 Old Foundry Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP4 2AS

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Clive Sutton Honorary Secretary Clive specialises in litigation covering most aspects of private and commercial work and has been a sole practitioner in Lymington in Hampshire since leaving a partnership in 1998. His other interests are as Chairman of his local Amenity Society in Lymington and Trustee of the New Forest Centre Museum in Lyndhurst. In the past he has served as Chairman of the local Citizens Advice Bureau and Churchwarden and in the early 70s as a Resident Magistrate in the Seychelles.

Clive has been an SPG committee member since 2000 and served as Chairman, and then as Hon Secretary and Chair of the Insurance Subcommittee from 2006. He was on the Law Society Council Membership Committee for 10 years and since 2017 has been the SPG Nominated Law Society Council Member, serving now on the Councils Scrutiny and Performance Committee.

T: 01590 672 595 F: 01590 671 466 Email: solicitor@clive-sutton.co.uk Clive Sutton Solicitor, 3 The Old Print Works, 85b High Street, Lymington, Hants SO41 9AN

Sushila Abraham Solicitor Sushila has lived in Surbiton, Surrey for over twenty years.

She decided to start her own practice locally because she wanted to offer quality and care to the local community. She also wanted to be free from pressure to overcharge clients in order to meet the profit and billing targets set up by some of the bigger law firms. She is married to Mathew a barrister, and they have one son who has also qualified as a barrister.

In addition to being wife and mother, running her practice in Surrey, and her role on the SPG Executive Committee, Sushila is also ‘Cllr Sushila Abraham’, having been elected as Lib-Dem local councillor in the Borough of Kingston in a by-election in February 2013 and then re-elected in May 2014. Sushila was also President of Surrey Law Society and was elected as Law Society Council Member for Surrey. She is also a Board member of the Membership Board at the Law Society and a Trustee of ICLR representing the Law Society. Sushila is a very community minded person and had run cookery classes for local school children, which she called “Suzie’s Kitchen”, believing in the importance of teaching life skills.

T: 020 8390 0044 F: 020 8241 0601 Email: office@sabrahamsolicitors.co.uk S Abraham Solicitors 290a Ewell Road, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7AQ

Sukhjit Ahluwalia Head of Marketing Sub-Committee Having worked in some of the most prestigious banking and consultancy organisations, Sukhjit opted to provide a more personal one to one service and believed that this could be best done through his own practice. He has been based in Goodmayes in Ilford since 2003. In his private life, Sukhjit likes to get involved in a number of charitable activities, working with organisation to assist people from all backgrounds and ages in reaching moral excellence either in their private life or in their professional capacity. Whilst he is quite a shy person, Sukhjit has been part of two documentaries exploring the changes that have taken place in the traditional arranged marriage process. His children are still young and take up a great deal of his time but when he does have time for himself, Sukhjit likes to sit, read a good book and watch the world go by.

Tel: 020 8215 0884 Email: sukhjit_ahluwalia@ae-law.co.uk Avery Emerson, Gloucester House, 335 Green Lane, Ilford Essex IG3 9TH

Moses Ajayi Solicitor Moses was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 1987. He has also been admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Moses is a Sole practitioner and specialises in Human Rights and Immigration. He is also engaged in general civil and criminal matters on a private fee basis. In his spare time he enjoys sailing and has participated in many sailing events around the world. He also enjoys discovering new places and spending time with his family.

T: 020 7733 6506 Email: brazenglow@aol.com Slade and Fletcher Solicitors Highland House, 165 The Broadway, Wimbledon London SW19 1NE

David Barton Editor of Solo David qualified as a solicitor in 1982.

For 20 years he was a partner in a medium-sized mid Kent firm from which he retired in 2003 to start his own practice as a sole practitioner.

Since then, he has specialised in solicitors’ professional misconduct and criminal road traffic work. In April 2002 David was awarded the Higher Court’s (All Proceedings) Qualification. From 1996 until 2016 David was one of the SRA’s external prosecutors. He also advised and represented solicitors and their firms in regulatory difficulty, and now does that exclusively. David is married with 3 grown up children. He is a keen cyclist, golfer, walker, traveller, and reader.

Tel: 01580 292409 Email: davidbarton@dblaw.co.uk David Barton Solicitor Advocate Limited Flagstones, High Halden Road,

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Rahil Chaudhuri Solicitor Rahil Chaudhari is a Senior Solicitor at Arlingsworth Solicitors. Rahil secured an LLM at University College London and then went on to train and work at some of the most prestigious law firms in the City before joining Arlingsworth in 2005. Rahil is a highly experienced and versatile solicitor and has practiced in the fields of immigration, family, commercial, employment and litigation for the past 20 years. He now specialises predominantly in immigration, human rights and company law.

Rahil has become a leading authority in these areas. Rahil’s client base spans a wide range of sectors from multinational companies to private individuals. Rahil always works tirelessly to achieve successful results for his clients and he is driven by providing exceptionally high standards of client care.

Tel: 01273 696 962 Email: rahil.chaudhuri@arlingsworthlaw.co.uk Arlingsworth Solicitors Ltd, 145 Islingword Road Brighton, East Sussex BN2 9SH

Dorcas Falode Solicitor Dorcas is a Sole practitioner, at home and abroad. She has been an SP for over 12 years with offices in London and Lagos. She flies in and out of the UK on a regular basis dealing with a variety of cases. She specialises in Immigration Law dealing with entry clearance cases, settlement, visitors’, and students’ visa applications. The practice also deals with family and education cases, giving a voice to the weak and defenceless. She recently authored a book called Nigerians Inspire which serves to promote the image of Nigerians against a backdrop of bad publicity caused by a minority and to encourage young people believe in themselves and won the Gathering of Africa’s Best (GAB) Award of excellence for contribution to the promotion of positive image of Africa and Africans through motivation. Dorcas is married with four children.

When she is not busy attending to clients, she works as a counsellor, nurse, cook, Taxi driver and tutor of her four young adults. She loves to travel and finds shopping very therapeutic.

T: 020 3223 1061 F: 020 3223 1067 Email: df.solicitors@yahoo.co.uk DF Solicitors, 791 Sidcup Road London SE9 3SB

David Hinde Solicitor David is a dispute resolution specialist with over 20 years’ experience dealing with civil and employment law matters. After reading law at the University of London he trained and qualified in the City of London working at leading law firms before starting his own niche practice as a sole practitioner based

in Covent Garden. Acting for individuals and SME companies he has dealt with a wide-range of cases ranging from judicial review in the European Court of Justice to contract and property disputes in the High Court and County Court. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and speaks French. Married with a son who keeps him very busy when not in the office, he is also a school Governor of his local Primary School and enjoys reading, cycling and the cinema.

Tel: 020 7112 5209 Email: admin@hinde-law.com Hinde Law Ltd, 71 - 75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ

Hamish McNair SRA Liaison Lead Hamish is based in Fulham, London. Having initially specialised in copyright and trademark work, both in the City and New York City, his practice now includes conveyancing, wills trusts and probate, as well as litigation. Married with three children, when Hamish is not in the office or involved in SPG matters he enjoys open-air swimming, sailing, overnight bike rides, and also has a passion for the theatre.

Tel: 020 7371 7896 / 020 7371 7988 Email: hamish.mcnair@mcnairlaw.co.uk McNair & Co, EBC House, Ranelagh Gardens London SW6 3PA

Oluwakemi Mosaku Solicitor Kemi was called to the Nigerian Bar as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1989 and admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2004. She has a varied work experience which includes working in the immigration department of the Home Office, private practice both in legal aid and privately funded matters in the UK. Her last role was head of immigration department in a firm before setting up as a sole practitioner. She specialises in Immigration and Human Rights Law. She also undertakes family law work. Outside of work Kemi enjoys spending time with her sons. She also enjoys keeping fit, music, networking, reading biographies and current affairs.

Tel: 01634 780 230 Email: info@emeraldsolicitors.co.uk Emerald Solicitors, The Old Courthouse, 1 The Paddock, Chatham, Kent ME4 4RE

Tahira Shaffi Past-Chairwoman Tahira has been a practicing solicitor for 20 years. She set up as a sole practitioner after being made redundant in 2010. She has found the SPG to be an extremely helpful point

of contact on so many issues which are affecting the whole profession whilst paying particular attention to the needs of Sole Practitioners. Tahira understands that being a sole practitioner can be a lonely experience but networking with like-minded individuals makes all the difference. She is glad that there is an independent body outside of the Law Society that is working hard to look after its members interests. Tahira is based in Bury, Greater Manchester where she lives with her family. She has lots of interests outside of the law including politics. Tahira was previously an LEA school governor and has stood as a candidate in the local elections and is passionate about civic duty and putting something back into the community. It is a lot to juggle with but Tahira is proud of the work of the SPG because she believes in better representation for Sole Practitioners!

Tel: 0161 222 6092 Email: info@mikhaellaw.co.uk Mikhael Law, 197 Rochdale Road Bury, Lancs BL9 7BB

Lubna Shuja Council Member Lubna qualified as a solicitor in 1992.

She is currently the Vice President of the Law Society and is due to become the first Asian President in October 2022. She has been a Law Society Council Member since 2013 representing the interests of sole practitioners. She is also a member of the Law Society Board. Lubna has been a sole practitioner at Legal Swan Solicitors in Birmingham since 2007 where she specialises in professional discipline and regulation. Lubna works with various regulators as a Chair of a number of Disciplinary/Fitness to Practise/Investigating and Professional Conduct Committees. She is a Mediator (CEDR accredited) conducting both civil and family mediations. She is a past Chair of the Solicitor Sole Practitioners Group (SPG).

Tel: 0121 551 7866 Email: info@legalswan.com Legal Swan Solicitors, 1st Floor, 168 Hamstead Road, Handsworth, Birmingham B20 2QR

Nicholas Woolf International Arm Nick was admitted as a solicitor in 1979 and was a junior partner in two firms in London before starting his own practice in the West End in 1987.

In 2011 he moved on to create a niche international commercial and family practice in Chancery Lane. He is a Member of the Solicitors Family Law Association and has trained other professionals on family law matters and anti- money laundering. Nick is married with four children, and he has a range of hobbies which include travel, music, tennis, reading and photography.

T: +44 (0) 20 7520 9553 (Direct Line) Email: nick.woolf@swanturton.com Swan Turton LLP, 3rd Floor, 8 Baltic Street East London EC1Y 0UP

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The Pandemic Effect: The Outsourced Transcription Provider as a Resource The pandemic, and its subsequent lockdown, hit many law firms hard. As a result, this has made firms reevaluate business continuity planning, and to look at what efficiencies can be made to improve the bottom line.

As a sole practitioner it is even harder: not only do you have to provide great service to your clients; you also need to spend time nurturing your business, to make it thrive and grow.

Dictation versus Typing The simple fact is we can all speak considerably faster than we can type: “The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute” i; and a “good rate of speech [for dictation purposes] ranges between 140 -160 words per minute” i i.

for specialist equipment or software licenses.

They also provide a great business continuity solution to enable law firms to access typing support that expands (or contracts) with your firm’s specific needs on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Testing the Theory These statistics show that simply dictating a document/email, is approximately four times more cost effective than typing. Add to this formatting and editing, this cost saving could stretch further.

Some of the more established transcription companies have smartphone apps that allow you to dictate direct from your mobile phone allowing you to trial without purchasing any equipment.

Taking typing out of the mix allows practices more time to concentrate on increasing chargeable hours, whilst leaving more time to deal with WIP, release valuable lock up, social media or marketing.

Why not take five minute of your time to investigate?

An Immediate Fix One aspect that has been in deliberation for many years is fee earners typing their own documents and emails. Consider the following: Did you know that a Grade A Solicitor (at £409 per hour) who spends two hours typing their own documents/emails could lose their firm (after the deduction of transcription costs) up to £570.30 in chargeable time? Similarly, a Grade D Solicitor (at £138 per hour) could lose their firm up to £163.80.*

You will find that outsourcing your typing needs are considerably cheaper than direct employment (i.e. salaries, NI contributions, leave, unproductive time, sickness absence etc.). Outsourced transcription also enables fee earners to work remotely and dictate on the go, without the need

*Based upon court approved rates for London. Typing costs deducted using OutSec’s standard rate.

Citations: i https://www.livechatinc.com/typing-speedtest/#/ ii https://clearly-speaking.com/what-is-the-idealrate-of-speech/

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Report from Law Society Council Member and Vice President – Lubna Shuja The Law Society Council met recently on 14 July 2021 and 2 September 2021. I set out below details of the main issues discussed at those meetings together with a brief update on developments since then.

Afghanistan and the Rule of Law The Law Society has been gravely concerned about the situation in Afghanistan, and all those working in the Afghan justice system who now face a potentially difficult future as the Taliban takes power. On 23 August 2021, the Law Society joined G7 Bar leaders in urging governments to protect those at risk including human rights defenders, in particular female judges and lawyers in Afghanistan ahead of the G7 meeting on 24 August 2021.

Together with the Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, the Law Society was especially concerned about the situation of at least 250 women judges in the country who were considered to be at particular risk.

The UK government was urged not to abandon these courageous defenders of the rule of law and to offer evacuation, safety and asylum in the UK to women judges and their families as well as to other members of the Afghan legal profession who were in danger.

Now that British troops have left Afghanistan, it is important that the UK government continues to put pressure on the Taliban to allow safe passage to the UK for those Afghans and British nationals left behind. The Law Society continues to monitor

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the situation, providing recommendations to the government based on expertise and information from members and the wider international legal community. There is further information on the Law Society website including guidance on how members can offer pro bono support. If you are interested in offering pro bono support to Afghan refugees, please send an email to projecta@ dlapiper.com with ‘Volunteer’ in the subject matter and indicate if there are any times or dates you are not available to offer advice.

consultation in early 2022. Detailed proposals will be forthcoming in late spring, with a view to implementation by late summer.

The Solicitors Indemnity Fund Since my last update, you will have no doubt read that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has agreed to extend the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) to 30 September 2022. The SRA now regards post six year run-off cover (PSYROC) as a regulatory issue. It will launch a public consultation on:

Probate Fees The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation containing proposals to increase fees for probate applications. The current fees are £155 for professional users and £215 for nonprofessional users. The proposals are for these to change to one single probate fee of £273.

The consultation closes on 23 September 2021.

The Law Society will be filing a response having obtained feedback from members. Members likely to be affected by the proposals are invited to do the same.

• whether there is a regulatory place for PSYROC • evidence of other comparable run-off cover arrangements • finding the right regulatory balance between consumer protection and issues of proportionality, affordability and the wider public interest • the viability of possible options and discretionary uses of the SIF surplus, including the possibility of a hardship fund I am a member of the Law Society SIF Working Group. We have recently consulted with retired members, local law societies, sole practitioners, small and medium firms and city solicitor groups on their objectives and concerns. We have written a letter to the SRA setting out the issues emerging from these meetings and pointing out the importance of dealing adequately and effectively with the issue of PSYROC for the continued protection of the public and the profession.

The SRA’s formal consultation is due to launch immediately after the October PII renewal. There will be a second, more targeted

The results of the upcoming consultation are likely to influence the PSYROC debate for the foreseeable future. It is therefore essential that all those who have an interest in PSYROC respond to the consultation. I would urge each and every one of you to make sure you engage with this and make your views known.

Dispute Resolution The Ministry of Justice has also launched a Call for Evidence on civil dispute resolution.

The government is looking particularly at how disputes can be resolved before they get to the litigation stage. It is considering the use of mediation and other forms of ‘alternative dispute resolution’, as well as how new technologies can be used to enhance these processes.

The areas covered are extremely broad – ranging from low value civil disputes all the way up to multi-million pound commercial disputes, as well as family, employment, and everything else in between. The Call for Evidence specifically asked for ‘frontline insights with tangible examples’ and the Law Society sought feedback from members to assist with its response to the consultation.

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination

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On 1 September 2021, the SRA introduced a new route to qualifying as a solicitor - The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Under the SQE, candidates will need to complete at least two years full-time (or equivalent) qualifying work experience (QWE). There is a gradual transition from the current system to the SQE system, but it is important that you are fully aware of the changes to routes to qualification. The changes will affect different people in different ways depending on where they are in their journey towards qualified status. There is guidance about the requirements of QWE on the Law Society website at https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/ career-advice/becoming-a-solicitor/solicitorsqualifying-examination-sqe/. Brexit On 8 September, the Law Society’s Brussels office will meet the head of the UK mission to the European Union, Lindsay Croisdale-Appleby to discuss the high-level, strategic issues relating to the current UK–EU relationship, the operation of the trade and cooperation agreement for legal services and related issues, such as the Lugano and Hague Conventions.

Work in Wales The Law Society’s Wales Office is due to have an introductory meeting with the new Chair of the Senedd’s Legislation, Justice and Constitution (LJC) Committee. At that meeting, the Law Society will highlight problems with access to justice in Wales, including housing advice deserts, criminal legal aid deserts and our work with the new Law Council of Wales.

Following the Senedd election in May this year, the Senedd Committees and its members were established prior to the summer recess.

This meeting marks the beginning of the Law Society’s work over the autumn to build and establish relationships with the members of the LJC Committee, and to influence their work as a committee over the next five years.

The Law Society Annual General Meeting – 14 October 2021 The Law Society’s Annual General Meeting is due to take place on Thursday 14 October 2021 at approximately 3pm (tbc). Subject to any change in government advice, the meeting will be a hybrid event allowing members the option to attend in person or remotely. Details are on the Law Society website. I would be delighted if you would be able to join me at that meeting.

The Law Society Council Elections The Law Society Council elections are currently underway. There are a number of contested seats and if you are eligible to vote, you should have received an email from Civica inviting you to elect your Council representative in an online ballot. Polls remain open until Monday 27 September 2021. The constituencies with contested seats are:

• • • • • • • • • •

Central Government Central London Childcare Commercial Property Criminal Prosecution Services Ethnic Minorities Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Junior Lawyers Major Corporate South (postcodes: BH24-25, PO1-17 and PO30-40, SO, SP 10-11, RG21-29, GU14, GU30-35 and GU51-52) • Yorkshire If you are eligible to vote in any of these and have not received an email from Civica inviting you to vote, first check your junk mail, then please contact: councilelections@ lawsociety.org.uk.

Please remember to register your address and areas of work/ interest on My Law Society on the Law Society website to make sure that you receive invitations to vote in future elections.

on the Law Society’s Board and Audit Committee.

I am looking forward to working with Nick over the next two years.

Finally, please do have a look at the Law Society website and register on My Law Society if you have not already done so. This will also enable you to access Law Society Connect which is an online secure private portal for sole practitioners and small firms to network and support each other.

Please also follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter (@ lubnashuja) to keep up to date with Law Society work. If you would like any further information on Law Society activities, or wish to discuss any issues affecting sole practitioners, or indeed, if you would like me to raise any matters with the Law Society on your behalf, please do not hesitate to contact me on Lubna.shuja@lawsociety.org.uk or on 07980 725626.

Lubna Shuja Vice-President of the Law Society of England and Wales SPG Law Society Council Member Member of the Law Society Board

New Deputy Vice President I am delighted to inform you that Nick Emmerson is due to become the new Deputy Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales on 14 October 2021.

Nick has been a Law Society Council Member since 2015 as the constituency member for Leeds. He also sits

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Honorary Secretary’s report for Autumn 2021 will need support from the Executive and I am sure she will be happy to talk to potential new Executive Committee members.

Unfortunately, there is no retirement mechanism for the Hon Secretary or Hon Treasurer, although Kem having served us as Hon Treasurer for three years or more will be giving up her post at the conference.

In my last note I reported on the Group’s representation on the Law Society and now Lubna Shuja is well into her post as Vice President of the Law Society with a natural progression to President of the Law Society at the Society’s AGM, probably in October 2022. Both hers and my seats came up for renewal this October.

In my report for the last edition for Summer 2021 I hoped that we would soon be seeing each other in person, whether with or without facemasks.

Unfortunately, our last meeting of the Executive Committee of the Group was at a time when there was an increase in transmissions, and we all agreed to hold that meeting remotely.

The next executive meeting is on 23 September and this time I hope we can now finally meet in person as a prelude to the conference on the 8 – 10th October.

In my Summer Report I gave you a fairly comprehensive resume of the Group’s activities which continue and Penny will have amplified them in her report.

We are moving towards the formalities of the annual general meeting of the Group and nomination of Executive Committee members and officers which has been delayed since the last AGM in summer 2019, to the forthcoming AGM on 9 October 2021.

The present members of the committee comprising 16 members are set out in this edition as always.

We welcome fresh blood and potential new members are welcome to talk to myself or our chair Penny Raby about becoming members of the executive committee, either officially at the next AGM at the conference, or by meeting us at the conference and coming to future meetings as observers and being co-opted onto the committee pending the next AGM election.

I’m sure there will be less need to attend personal meetings as in the future no doubt some meetings will be online or hybrid meetings for those who find it difficult to attend in person.

While speaking of the committee I will endorse what Penny will no doubt say in her report about the serious road accident suffered by our executive committee member David Hinde, and we wish him all the best for his recovery.

Penny has been a very active Chairwoman for her extended term from summer 2019 through to winter 2021 when Joanna will take over. Joanna

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Whilst up to now, council member representatives of various groups have been accepted by nomination of the respective groups executive committees, obviously on the basis of that committee being democratically elected, the view of the majority of the Society is that council members should in future be elected by all the constituents who they represent, and so in future elections there will be a ballot amongst all the members of the group for the election of council members.

In the meantime, Lubna’s and my Council membership has been extended by one year until there can be a database of sole practitioners to form the basis for a formal election in a year’s time.

Accordingly, the procedure on this occasion has been by notification to our members of the opportunity for any member to stand. I have to say that didn’t produce any new names and accordingly on the basis that Lubna and I were prepared to stand for a further year, we were selected again by the Executive Committee and nominated to the Law Society.

I can say that the Law Society have realised the necessity for serving Officers of the Law Society not to be liable to lose their offices during their period in office and a rule is being passed permitting Officers to remain in post for the period of their office regardless of whether they have been re-elected or not.

What I, and I would imagine others did not realise, was that the SRA, having washed its hands of its responsibility for post six-year run-off cover, has now taken on that mantle again and is now in the process of consulting as to how that duty should be discharged.

I have to say we saw the problem as one for the protection of the retired members, but the SRA are now technically looking at it as one for the protection of former clients which may lead to some form of compulsory insurance which will be a very difficult and expensive problem for the insurance industry to handle.

The simplest answer would be for the continuance of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund to be topped up as and when necessary by contributions from the profession bearing in mind that as things stand at the moment any member of the profession could end up requiring run-off indemnity in the long-term.

I fear the days when sole practitioners can sell their practices to a competitor and leave them with the run-off are now disappearing and I would imagine that most of us will have to make some arrangement to cover our ongoing run-off position.

I have also said that in this time of turbulence in the provision of legal services, even the most senior members of important firms could decide that it was in their interest to branch out on their own and become a sole practitioner with the consequent eventual run-off problems.

There are also examples of large firms that have closed and whose members are in run-off even though they may have started alternative practices.

The SRA are now in a “consultation mode” with the terms of the consultation now being discussed and to be put out to the public, hopefully before Christmas to establish the SRA’s position from which, the position of any third party such as insurers and the Law Society can be established, in stepping into whatever framework the SRA says is required.

I hope I have not confused you too much about the election procedure for the Law Society. That for the Group’s Executive Committee is much simpler.

Just request a nomination form and get yourself nominated by two members to join the committee. I think constitutionally there is room for 25 committee members and so your nomination will ensure your election to the committee.

I fear I can see this procedure going on into next year with a period of concern as to whether the situation will be resolved before there is a further threat to close the fund again.

Solicitors indemnity fund

I will keep you up-to-date with this situation through my reports in the winter and spring of next year and by any necessary email notifications.

The other subject of great concern to sole practitioners is of course the continuance or otherwise of the run-off cover provided by the Solicitors Indemnity Fund. As you saw in the Stop Press to the last edition, the SRA had agreed in principle to the fund remaining open for a further year.

This turned out to be on the basis of a guarantee by the Law Society in respect of any additional liabilities which the fund might suffer. That guarantee has been given and the extension confirmed to 30 September 2022.

You will be pleased to know that Lubna as Vice President is currently involved in the working group overseeing Law Society’s response to this problem.

Finally, how many people got to the end of my last report and found it was dated ‘August 2019’. I have checked my original draft and all I can say is: “not me Guv”. However, if any of you spotted that you deserve a brownie point and a place on the Executive Committee!

Clive Sutton Honorary Secretary September 2021

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R&R Solutions launches to help retiring solicitors and restructuring law firms Recovery First, best known for their work in maximising recoveries in distressed situations, are launching their new brand, R&R Solutions, specifically to work with retiring solicitors and restructuring law firms. R&R Solutions works alongside accountants, solicitors, restructuring lawyers, and restructuring specialists to ensure the most profitable outcome is achieved in realising work in progress (“WIP”) assets.

David Johnstone, Managing Director, stated “The decision to restructure a law firm can be a difficult one, but once made it requires a process that is going to provide the best possible return to the firms for their hard-earned WIP and look after their clients ensuring the least possible disruption.

Retirement is often a much harder, and frequently an emotional decision, with many partners relying on the value obtained as their pension.

Our experience in handling such situations allows

us to flex our model for each unique project.

By working backwards from the end objectives, we can truly provide a tailored solution in any situation”.

assisting a medium-sized law firm whose personal injury department was overseen by one partner.

The partner planned to retire, and thus, the firm decided to exit the PI market completely.

Law firm restructuring: A recent project R&R Solutions recently assisted a law firm that made the strategic decision to exit the claimant personal injury market so that they could focus on more profitable areas of law. We assisted the firm by phasing the process over several months before the final date of closing their PI division, recovering more than 100% of the expected WIP value.

We assisted this firm by providing them with an exit route from the PI market, retaining their full WIP value for their files, whilst allowing the practice to continue working on other areas of law.

Using a phased approach allowed the staff in the exiting department to focus heavily on the files that were capable of settlement before the final exit date, whilst, in many cases, retraining in other areas of law, allowing them to remain in the employment of the company.

Retiring solicitor: A recent project R&R Solutions worked on a project that involved

How can R&R Solutions assist your firm?

R&R Solutions can assist any firm looking for a structured exit from an area of law due to retirement or restructuring, whilst retaining maximum WIP value.

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch with our Directors, David Johnstone via email (david.johnstone@r-rsolutions.co.uk), telephone (07887 796 989) or Sally Dunscombe (sally.dunscombe@r-rsolutions.co.uk), telephone (07774 205 870), or visit our website r-rsolutions.co.uk

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Guidance for Legal Practitioners The Who, How and What to do of Cyber Attacks The legal sector deals with valuable and often confidential data, it facilitates large transactions on a daily basis and provides access to all kinds of businesses across the supply chain.

All these factors make law practices extremely high value targets for cyber attacks.

Who is attacking you?

1. The majority of cyber attacks are carried out by criminals who are motivated by financial gain.

As highlighted by Crowe UK, statistics show that cyber crime now accounts for over half of all crimes committed.

2. Threats can also come from your competitors or through your supply chain.

3. A significant threat, often under-estimated, is one from your own staff. A disgruntled current or former employee can act to get revenge or simply for financial gain.

How are you being attacked?

Threats to law practices involve the full array of cyber-attack methods, including phishing emails, ransomware, hacking, denial of service attacks, and the ever-evolving strategies of social engineering.

Due to the frequent movement of funds through company bank accounts, law firms are particularly vulnerable to fraud. Conveyancing fraud is now so common that it even has its own nick name.

It involves those who are about to complete on a sale or purchase of a new home. Someone from the finance team in the solicitor’s office may be conned by a fraudulent email or phone call advising them that client account details have changed, or indeed the customer may be deceived into paying a large payment into a criminal account. Sadly, those involved realise too late that they have been victim to ‘Friday afternoon fraud’.

Untargeted attacks Cyber criminals attack law firms intentionally, yet also and more commonly, indiscriminately. In fact, the majority of cyber attacks are untargeted and use commodity tools to attack large numbers of devices, services and users at the same time in a random way. Most cyber attacks are made up of repeated stages that are probing for further information that can lead to a more targeted attack. These attacks exploit basic weaknesses that can be found in many organisations such as poorly configured firewalls, software that hasn’t been updated and legacy computer systems that

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are no longer supported. 90% of all cyber attacks starts with a phishing email (a fraudulent email sent by cybercriminals that mimics a legitimate communication from a trusted source). Vishing is the name given to a fraudulent phone call, where someone pretending to be from your bank, a trusted company or service, or even the police will try to trick you into revealing personal or confidential information. These can be part of a wider campaign where fraudsters are gathering information for a larger attack.

Ransomware In the last couple of years, ransomware has become one of the most popular cyber-attack methods that cybercriminals use to target law firms. A typical ransomware attack begins with a phishing email which usually contains a link and a message designed to encourage the recipient to click the link. Once clicked, the ransomware installs on the computer. Ransomware encrypts an organisation’s files rendering them inaccessible until either a ransom is paid, or the organisation reverts to backups to bring the network back online.

Ransomware can also be delivered into a practise’s system by hackers who are able to exploit a vulnerability somewhere in the network.

The attacker is often able to access the company network so they can sabotage systems and steal information.

Double-extortion ransomware Many organisations are now prepared and have appropriate backups in place to mitigate a traditional ransomware attack. A doubleextortion ransomware attack, however, allows the attacker to increase the likelihood of receiving a ransom payment by threatening to leak stolen data onto the internet. Sensitive and confidential information appearing on social media can clearly be a reputational disaster for any practice.

Distributed denial of service attack It is not difficult in today’s world to arrange a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS) against someone’s website or online services. A DDoS attack is launched using an army of connected devices (known as a botnet) that are infected with malware in order to allow them to be controlled by a central computer. The attacker can then command the botnet to bombard the website server with a flood of requests which overloads the server until it crashes, taking it out of use.

Hacktivism Law firms who are linked to politically or environmentally sensitive cases could be the target for hacktivism. This is the act of hacking, or breaking into a computer system, for a politically or socially motivated purpose.

Insider data breaches An “insider” data beach describes a breach which has been generated by one of your staff. The majority of insider data breaches are accidental and the best way to combat these are through training and robust processes and controls.

However, insider data breaches also include employees stealing confidential information from the firm, often in order to leak to competitors, cybercriminals, or take to a new job.

How do you protect yourself?

The Cyber Essentials controls will help an organisation defend against most un-targeted attacks. The process of putting in place the five core controls will eliminate all the common security gaps that up to 90% of cyber attacks rely on.

Remember, even targeted attacks, usually start with simple attacks such as a phishing campaign.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) recommends a multi-layered set of mitigations to improve your organisation’s resilience against phishing attacks.

Cyber Essentials focuses on five technical controls that form key elements in the layers that will help mitigate a phishing attack and other un-targeted cyber attacks.

• Even if a malicious link is clicked, securely configured devices decrease the impact of malware on the wider system or stop malware installing in the first place.

• Security update management can prevent attackers from using known vulnerabilities.

Using supported software and devices and making sure they are kept up to date with the latest software updates, as well as buying software and apps from trusted sources, reduces the opportunities for hackers.

• Accounts can be made more secure by adding two factor authentication to the log-in processes. This will mean that, even if credentials have been compromised, an attacker cannot gain access. The number of accounts with privileged access should also be limited to the absolute minimum to reduce the potential damage from a cyber attack.

• People with administrator accounts should

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not use these accounts to check email or browse the web and this should prevent users accidentally installing malware from phishing emails or malicious websites.

• To limit any potential issues from former employees, immediately remove or suspend accounts that are no longer being used, It is also good practice to limit or block the use of USB and other portable removable media and devices.

• One of the largest human-factor risks are staff re-using their passwords on different on-line accounts, especially where they reuse personal passwords on work accounts. When this happens, a breach of any of the accounts where that username-password combination is used can result in access to all accounts.

Consider reviewing your password policies, doing so may reduce the likelihood of staff re-using passwords across home and work accounts.

Ensure that passwords are changed if it is suspected that one has been compromised.

• Anti malware software will block most malware from downloading and prevent users accessing insecure websites.

Supply chain risk If you outsource your IT to a third party provider, the security risk to your network remains your responsibility. Do you know the cyber security status of your IT provider? Never take this for granted as being an IT expert is not the same as understanding cyber security. It is recommended that your IT provider is certified to Cyber Essentials as a minimum. Third party

IT providers may look after the networks for numerous businesses and have administrative privileges to all their systems. It is vital that you are reassured of the security measures that your provider has in place to protect you and itself.

IASME Governance is a comprehensive yet affordable risk-based standard for SMEs that covers the 5 core controls of Cyber Essentials, focused on defending against internet threats, as well the other, critical aspects of cyber security in your organisation . These include having a risk assessment and a security policy, security awareness training for staff and all the GDPR requirements. IASME Governance also covers other important areas such as backing up your data, and having an incident response and business continuity plan.

IASME Governance is aligned to a similar set of controls as the international standard, ISO 27001, but is more affordable and achievable for small and medium sized organisations to implement. In recent years, an increasing number of large organisations have started to accept the audited IASME government certification as an alternative to ISO 27001 for the small companies in their supply chain.

Counter fraud It is widely recognised that up to 90% of fraud is now cyber enabled, however a great deal

of fraud still occurs through interactions with people, whether it be a scam phone call, or a dishonest employee. The Counter Fraud Fundamentals (CFF) scheme was developed

by IASME and a team of counter fraud experts in partnership with Open Banking Implementation Entity. The scheme is an ideal way for any business dealing with financial transactions to prove to their customers and supply chain that they take their responsibility to combat fraud seriously.

The process of working through the CFF self-assessment questions helps a practise identify whether they have adequate counter-fraud measures in place to prevent, detect and respond to fraud. It provides an opportunity to improve. The questions are centred around the company, it’s employees, the responsibilities for reporting fraud, and managing and documenting fraud risk.

Counter fraud measures involve awareness, staff training, staff monitoring, and having polices and strategies in place to prevent and detect crime.

The Cyber Security certifications address the technical side of a cyber breach which could be used to commit fraud, whereas, Counter Fraud Fundamentals fully addresses the human element of fraud, the intention to trick or deceive, which can of course, take place against an organisation without a cyber element.

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Putting your best foot forward in a challenging insurance market In the past twelve months, we have seen the pressures on firms continue to grow amid furloughs, lockdowns, and the stamp duty holiday. Disruption, staff shortages and mounting workloads are factors that can lead to the breakdown of some of your usual risk management processes, and this raises concerns for underwriters. In addition, insurer premiums are rising due to various factors, making it difficult for firms to secure the right cover at an affordable cost.

taken a new shape during the last 18 months, now is the time to review it to ensure it meets the standards of your firm.

To secure the best possible terms on your cover amid these challenging conditions, firms must demonstrate effective management of claims risks. We recommend reviewing some key areas to present your business in the best possible light to insurers.

While training largely remains remote, employers should take the time to schedule follow-up meetings to make sure this has been digested and understood.

Supervision and file reviews Firstly - it is crucial to determine whether your staff are following procedures correctly.

While the recent global disruption will undoubtedly have caused challenges to your existing processes, it is important to demonstrate that you have adapted to whatever the ‘new normal’ is for your firm.

Supervision will help you determine whether employees across the firm are conducting legal work correctly. Firms should consider whether increased home-based and hybrid working has affected the way staff follow procedures.

It is also vital to ensure that administrative errors are picked up, given that the vast majority of mistakes do not relate to the law at all. File reviews improve the likelihood that employees will record dates accurately, take notes, progress matters, and maintain strong client communication.

Undoubtedly, many firms will have had fewer opportunities to overhear whether someone is struggling, and in some cases, managers will choose to skip one-to-one meetings. To counter this, it may help to schedule more regular catchups or team meetings to discuss issues.

Given the above, it is also vital to get reviews back on track. It might be appropriate to conduct more reviews/meetings to ensure employees can manage their cases.

Staff training Training has always been an important element of the legal profession. While this will likely have

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Recent recruits will likely have received a different kind of training from their colleagues due to the constraints of the global pandemic.

If there are gaps in the knowledge of junior team members, these will soon start to present themselves and may lead to complaints or claims under the PII policy.

From experience, these issues can be messy and time-consuming to untangle, so it is best to avoid them in the first place. Insurers expect training and professional development to form a fundamental part of your practice and will be interested to know what you are doing.

Learning by watching and listening to others helps us to assimilate ideas, knowledge and even technical skills. Hearing others in your team explain a problem or deal with an issue provides a valuable resource. Many law firms have coped despite a fragmented workforce, with some staff members completely isolated when dealing with numerous challenges, often completely alone. It remains vital to check in regularly with employees to ensure they are coping with their workloads.

Managing caseload capacity Solicitors often face enormous pressure in their roles due to incredibly tight, often unavoidable deadlines. In reality, it is very easy to miss a deadline when you are struggling, feeling overwhelmed or overloaded with work. In order to maintain good risk management practices, it is paramount to be aware of what your colleagues have on their desks.

Caseloads are a big topic of conversation for law firms, and with good reason. But it is hard to achieve the perfect balance. To keep things manageable and organised, you should maintain a detailed, relevant checklist. This should include information on necessary steps, documents, strategies and deadlines for cases, while also identifying the parties involved in the process.

The optimal caseload allows firms to be profitable and solicitors to achieve a good worklife balance. It is okay to ask for help, say no to client demands and choose not to take on any

more instructions. Many firms closed their doors to new conveyancing instructions during the stamp duty relief period because the pressures became too much for their team. This won’t be appropriate for all and may not be right for your practice, but it shows one of the many ways that firms have chosen to mitigate risk.

Adapting existing procedures for a new environment In the vast majority of cases (excluding sole partners or very small practices) old policies will not be fit for purpose. A classic but simple example of this is confidential waste disposal.

In an office environment, there may be a confidential waste bin or shredder but how does this work at home? There are ways to check compliance in the office – you can go through bins if you are so inclined – but it’s not so easy when working remotely.

Those operating on a network may have experienced difficulties when printing documents on a local printer. This often means sending documents to a personal email, on perhaps an unsecured laptop. In which case, it is unlikely this will meet client confidentiality requirements or comply with data protection laws.

It is crucial to ask yourself: “does this policy work for our new set up?” If the answer is yes, you are winning. However, it is more likely that certain aspects will need to be amended and enhanced for remote working.

Technology should also be reviewed to check that it is covering all the things you need it to do. In the coming months workplaces will see a variety of requests for agile working and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. All you can do is adapt your processes and procedures and make sure that it works for you.

Culture is important to compliance but cannot really be taught. It comes from working in an office environment surrounded by people doing the same or similar job. To counter this, you need to build a strong, clear compliance framework that everyone understands and buys into.

We regularly add guidance notes, templates and content to our client portal, but if you need help with something specific, please contact any of the Lockton team who will be delighted to help.

Samantha Pye Lockton Solicitors solicitors@uk.lockton.com / 0330 123 3870

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What can a District Judge NOT do at a Financial Dispute Resolution in the Family Court?

It is now well established that an FDR can only lead to one of three results: 1. Settlement (by Draft Order or Heads of Agreement) 2. Adjournment 3. Failure to settle and listing for trial.

However, given the hugely overburdened administration of the court system, I am sure I am not alone in finding courts listing contested issues for hearing at the same time as the FDR at the last minute, leading to confusion and potentially wasted hearing time.

The basic rule is that ONLY the DJ hearing the FDR should see the FDR bundle, which is delivered to court a couple of days earlier for perusal. This is a without prejudice document which must be destroyed or returned to the parties after the hearing.

Unsurprisingly this is particularly difficult when dealing with a Litigant in Person, especially when they are the ones making the contested application and expect that the court will hear this on the same day and before the same judge as the FDR, because the court have listed both together.

Unfortunately I have on occasion been faced with a grumpy DJ who also thinks they should be able to deal with both – which is even more difficult.

It is helpful to have chapter and verse to clarify this issue quickly and avoid either a contested hearing which either side might apply to set aside for ultra vires, or simply a waste of court time while procedural points are clarified.

1. FPR r9.17(2) states that: (2) The judge hearing the FDR appointment must have no further involvement with the application, other than to conduct any further FDR appointment or to make a consent order or a further directions order.

R9.17(9) goes into more detail about what directions mean: (9) If the court does not make an appropriate consent order as mentioned in paragraph (8), the court must give directions for the future course of the proceedings including, where appropriate – (a) the filing of evidence, including up to date information; (b) fixing a final hearing date; and (c)any necessary directions for the filing of open proposals for settlement under rule 9.27A or rule 9.28.

2. This was further explained out by the Court of Appeal in Myerson v Myerson [2008] EWCA Civ 1376, [2009] 1 FLR 826: The judge involved in the FDR between the parties, who had been armed to conciliate by the provision of all the privileged communications, could thereafter do only one of three things: set up a further FDR; make a consent order; or make an order for further directions, practically speaking directions for trial. While any disagreement between counsel as to how the agreement between the parties should be expressed could clearly be referred to the FDR judge for determination, if there were subsidiary or peripheral issues to be agreed or determined by the

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court in default of agreement, the dispute must be listed before another judge.

3. In Myerson there had been an agreement reached at an FDR. Quantum and timing of lump sums was agreed but the security for those lump sums had not been. Although only a subsidiary point, the FDR judge could not decide that issue in default of agreement. The Court held that there is no difference in principle between a Judge deciding a dispute following a complete failure to agree or a dispute of substance following a partial agreement (para 58).

4. Although considered possible in Myerson, it is not possible for the parties to waive this bar on the FDR judge’s future role: Shokrollah-Babee v Shokrollah-Babee [2019] EWHC 2135 (Fam). t: 01386 555 114 pennyraby@harmony-house.co.uk Penny Raby & Co, Harmony House, 7-9 Church Street Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 1DT

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Qualifying work experience – opportunities to train and ‘grow your own’ staff • nominate a training principal • offer two-year placements - up to four smaller periods of work at different employers can still count • sign off on a candidate’s competence - the SQE assessments are there to do that • All of this means there is greater flexibility for sole practitioners to take on and train aspiring solicitors in a way that works for their businesses. It also offers opportunities to develop existing staff who are well placed to gain their QWE and take the assessments.

Both options mean you can ‘grow your own’ with all that means for retention and your confidence in your staff.

The new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is now live. Instead of the current system where multiple training providers - and law firms - assess whether aspiring solicitors have met a certain standard, the SQE means there is now a single, rigorous assessment.

It should help bolster confidence of both the public and firms that everyone who qualifies has met the same, high standard. Importantly the SQE, in particular the approach to gaining qualifying work experience (QWE), also provides much greater flexibility around how people can train and gain the skills and experience they need to qualify.

Until now, all aspiring solicitors have to secure two-year training contracts, with prescriptive expectations as to what is covered, including until recently the need to offer different seats.

The result was that many good candidates often having spent many thousands up-front on the Legal Practice Course - became stuck, unable to get a training contract. It also meant that many employers - often sole practitioners and smaller firms, as well as in-house teams were put off taking on trainees.

What the new approach to work experience means for firms The SQE provides much greater flexibility in this area, creating new opportunities for candidates and firms.

The new approach to QWE means that every law firm or organisation offering legal services can play a part in training future solicitors themselves.

It is a lot less burdensome as firms no longer need to: • be authorised by us to offer QWE

If you work in a niche area of law, again this could present opportunities for trainee to work with you for a period, and go elsewhere, perhaps to another local small firm or sole practice, to gain different experience.

Confirming a candidates QWE For QWE to count, a solicitor (or compliance officer) needs to confirm the time a candidate has spent gaining meaningful legal experience. If you give a placement to a candidate, we will need you to confirm: • how long they worked for • that they gained experience of delivering legal services and had the opportunity to develop some or all of the skills outlined in our competence statement and • that no suitability issues that would raise questions about them being admitted to the profession arose.

When it comes to QWE, we do not prescribe what full time or any equivalent period might be – we will leave that to you as employers to take a common-sense view on what it might include.

We’re not asking you to confirm that they are good enough to be a solicitor. Nor do they need to be exposed to all competences, although it’s in their best interests to have as wide an experience as possible. But this is an important part of the process, and you must be in a position through your own work with the candidate to confirm their placement.

There is a responsibility on the candidate to provide evidence to the relevant solicitor that they had the opportunity to get exposure to some or all of the competences, so this isn’t a teacher/pupil relationship. You can find out more in our guidance about signing off QWE here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/colpsconfirming-qualifying-work-experience/.

What doesn’t count as QWE As long as a placement offers an opportunity for exposure to some or all of the competences, it meets the time criteria and is confirmed by a solicitor, it is likely to count as QWE.A firm or solicitor could not refuse to confirm QWE without good reason, in the context of our rules.

However, there are some circumstances where experience is unlikely to count. If somebody is doing an ongoing, single, repetitive and limited task for the duration of a placement, such as proof reading for 24 months, it is unlikely to be QWE. Also, simulated legal services will not count. It must involve doing real life legal work, so candidates get to experience how solicitors work in practice, with real clients.

Get ahead of the game Some of you might already be thinking about offering placements, developing staff or perhaps the potential benefits of taking on an apprentice, where training costs are covered through the apprenticeship levy.

If you haven’t had time to think about the opportunities - particularly given the challenges of the last 18 months - and want more information you can find helpful advice and tips about obligations in the QWE for employers’ section of our website: https:// www.sra.org.uk/trainees/qualifying-workexperience/qualifying-work-experienceemployers/ Even if you don’t think you want to take on any SQE trainees at the moment, you might also want to think through how you will manage a former employee or current paralegal requesting that you confirm their QWE. For instance, it would be sensible to think about keeping records in a way that would enable you to deal with requests for confirmation of QWE. And you might want to have conversations with staff to understand their expectations.

We know many people prefer to hear these types of changes talked through. So we have produced a series of interactive webinars on QWE, including what it means for law firms.

You can find them on www.youtube.com/ SRAsolicitors, or go to www.sra.org.uk/sqe for everything you need on the SQE. Jane Malcolm, Executive Director, External and Corporate Affairs

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Landmark Moment for Gifts in Wills One Million Charity Bequests donated over ten 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.

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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.

“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, Willwriters 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

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Marketing your service in the new conveyancing landscape Once the conveyancing industry emerges from the current high numbers of instructions and stamp duty deadline, what’s next?

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 inhouse. 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.

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 allimportant 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 enquiries in a useful way. In the same way as the branding exercise, however, it’s amazing what

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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 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 processing former client data, and Version 19 of the SRA Code excludes current and former clients from the prohibition on unsolicited approaches.

Conveyancing Alert services are often offered by search providers and can be tailored to your budget.

Ready to give it a go?

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An the Many family law, inheritance and social services Thus

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Why Should You Instruct a Costs Lawyer?

A costs lawyer is a specialist lawyer who deals with all aspects of legal costs. They can be employed in circumstances where there is a need to recover costs between the parties in litigation; ensure that clients are properly charged for their solicitor’s work where a dispute has arisen under the Solicitors Act 1974; and prepare claims for costs where a party is the recipient of legal aid.

An ‘Increasingly Complex and Specialised’ Area of Law Tyler McEwen Costs law is becoming increasingly complex and specialised, as acknowledged by Professor Stephen Mayson in the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation Report 2020.

Costs lawyers are regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board, meaning that as well as adhering to a code of conduct, they must hold professional indemnity insurance and undertake continuing professional development.

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A qualified and regulated costs lawyer will help to ensure that costs pleadings are compliant with the relevant provisions, prevent any avoidable shortfalls in costs recovery and obtain the best result for the client, whether recovering or opposing costs.

management. It can be beneficial to delegate costs work, such as costs budgeting and the preparation of statements of costs for interim hearings to professionals with the requisite expertise, allowing the solicitor to focus on implementing their winning case strategy.

Costs-Effectiveness

About Us

Whilst costs lawyers are entitled to claim Grade B and C hourly rates, in practice their hourly rates are often less than the conducting solicitor. Instructing a costs lawyer is usually cost-effective and their costs are generally recoverable from the paying party in principle, meaning that the instruction of a costs lawyer is often costs neutral.

Athene Legal is a firm of experienced costs lawyers that deal with legal costs in a wide range of practice areas on behalf of both small and large law firms.

It Allows the Solicitor to Focus on What They Do Best For law firms, instructing a costs lawyer allows the solicitor to focus their attention on case

The firm is led by Tyler McEwen, who has dealt with the legal costs in a number of high profile and international cases and was awarded the Association of Costs Lawyers Cup by Senior Costs Judge, Master Gordon-Saker.

Get in touch for more information about our services by emailing info@athenelegal.co.uk or calling 020 7459 4843.