Legal News - OCTOBER 2018

LEGAL

NEWS

OCTOBER 2018 THE MAGAZINE OF THE CONFEDERATION OF THE SOUTH WALES LAW SOCIETIES

THE CLASS OF 2018

CARDIFF & DISTRICT LAW SOCIETY ADMISSIONS CEREMONY 2018 BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE NOW! SEE PAGE NINE

LEGAL NEWS

CONTENTS

PRESIDENT REPORTS

4 Johnathan Hine

And So They Reached The End

FEATURES

6 Clive Thomas

Autumn in Full Swing!

8 Mel Bevan-Evans

Added Value For Members

10 Andrew Hopper QC: A Farewell

Editorial Board

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Emma Waddingham - Editor Michael Walters - Secretary Johnathan Hine David Dixon

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Printed By Stephens & George The articles published in Legal News represent the views of the contributor and are not necessarily the official views of the Confederation of South Wales Law Societies, Cardiff & District Law Society, or of the Editorial Board. The magazine or members of the Editorial Board are in no way liable for such opinions. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this issue are accurate, we cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or late changes.

No article, advertisement or graphic, in whole or in print, may be reproduced without written permission of the publishers.

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PRESIDENT REPORTS

AND SO THEY REACHED THE END This will be the last of these columns that I will write for Legal News as President of the Confederation, as I have taken the decision to resign from both the Presidency and the Treasurer ship with immediate effect.

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his was a decision that I did not reach easily or quickly. As the only remaining founder member of the Confederation, I have sat on the Council since its formation (save for a period of two years when I adopted my two children). Throughout more than 20 years I have undertaken the role of Treasurer and, latterly, that of President for the last three years. In all that time I have been privileged to serve on Council with a number of colleagues whose enthusiasm and devotion to the organisation has been outstanding.

The brainchild of Roger Jones, former Law Society Council member and revered Solicitor of Cardiff, the Confederation was created to attempt to give a stronger and louder voice to Solicitors in South Wales. At the time of its creation, there was a strong perception that Solicitors living and working outside of the M25 were seen as ‘beyond the pale’. The Confederation was an attempt to redress that perceived imbalance and I was proud to be among its ranks at the start and for the time I have remained. Little did I suspect, at the first tentative meetings in the Courthouse Pub in Caerphilly, that I would still be here over 20 years later!

The Confederation has had its ups and downs. In its halcyon days it provided popular, good value CPD training, equality and diversity consultation and social events that brought the profession in South Wales together at some eclectic venues. With the changes in the CPD regime, the emphasis has shifted and the precise role of the Confederation going forward is less clear. I remain convinced, however, that there is a definite role for the Confederation in the professional landscape of South Wales. I entreat my successor to pursue that role with the determination and energy that I have, of late, been unable to muster for a variety of personal reasons.

I have been privileged to sit on Council with a variety of notable individuals from the profession in South Wales. I have already mentioned the incomparable Roger Jones. Following Roger was David Dixon, also a Law Society Council member and every bit as effective as President as Roger had been. David’s tenure was followed by the late and much missed Simon Mumford. What remains to be said of Simon that has not already been said? A stalwart of the profession in Cardiff and South Wales, his devotion to the Confederation was matched only by his enthusiasm for his asparagus trenches and the Cardiff Ackies! I was privileged to be able to call Simon my friend. In conjunction with many I miss his presence, personality, humour and enthusiasm. The profession lost a true advocate when he left us. Following Simon, Gaynor Davies took up the mantle of President. Gaynor’s inimitable style and flamboyance was an asset to the Confederation throughout her tenure as President. Then it was my turn!

I have greatly enjoyed my time as President. I count it as a singular honour to have been blessed with this role. I am not quite sure of the contribution I have made looking back, but I have enjoyed all of it none the less! The evaluation of my effectiveness I am content to leave to posterity.

I cannot end without saying a big thank you to all those who have sat on the Council of the Confederation with me during all the years I have been

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involved. To all of you, my heartfelt thanks. The role of a volunteer is never easy and, oftentimes, appears a thankless one. Your enthusiasm, drive and good humour have been greatly appreciated over the last 20 or so years.

Amongst all those not already mentioned above, there are two people in particular who deserve my special thanks. The first is Richard Fisher.

Richard’s calm, thoughtful and wise counsel throughout his time with the Confederation was both an outstanding contribution to its work and an invaluable support to those tasked with its management. Richard has appeared unflappable, despite all those around him losing their heads at times. I cannot express sufficiently my thanks and appreciation for all he did for us in his time as a council member of the Confederation.

Lastly, but by no means least, Mike Walters. Mike has fulfilled the role of administrator of the Confederation since Allen Oliver stood down. Mike’s contacts in the legal profession as well as his inimitable approach to running of events, has stood the Confederation in good stead for many years. Without Mike, the CPD programme and the annual dinner would not have been possible, not only for the organisation that he brought to it all, but his uncanny ability to fill the numbers needed for the event from his wider friends and family! My sincere thanks to you Mike for all you have done and the support you have shown me over the years.

And so we reach the end. As Sameh Elsayed said: “The greatest challenges humans face throughout their lives are two: The challenge of where to start and the challenge of when to stop.”

I will not pretend that the decision to end my time with the Confederation was an easy one. It was brought on by family circumstances that, at the end of the day, must take precedence over everything else. Having reached the decision I have, it feels right. After my lengthy time on Council it is time for new blood, new drive and new direction. I wish my successors well in all that they do and to all that they aspire.

My very final thanks is to you, the members of the constituent law societies of the Confederation, for putting up with me for so long and, equally, for putting up with the rubbish I have spouted in this column over the years. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve you. My grateful thanks for that opportunity. l JONATHAN HINE PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATION OF SOUTH WALES LAW SOCIETIES JONATHANH@JACKLYNDAWSON.CO.UK

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PRESIDENT REPORTS

AUTUMN IN FULL SWING! I hope you have all enjoyed the summer - it has certainly been a busy time for Cardiff & District Law Society!

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n August, I joined the SRA delegation and lawyers from some of the Cardiff firms, for the Pride Cymru parade through the City to promote diversity and equality in the law. It was an excellent event and really well supported by those on the streets of Cardiff. I am sure many more law firms would like to have been represented and we have agreed to work with the SRA in publicising how they can get involved next year.

I have also attended the opening of the legal year in Antwerp in Belgium in September. This was an excellent event and I have reported on it fully later in this publication. It was so interesting to find that we share so many common issues with the profession in Europe.

I have met with Brinley Hurford, the President of Swansea Law Society about greater collaboration between our societies going forward. Just because the football fans have a keen rivalry doesn’t mean we can’t work together more! I look forward to hearing more about all the great initiatives going on in the Swansea legal community.

I said in my last report that we would be holding a series of events to promote the concept of #LegalCardiff. The first of those events is ‘The Sky’s the Limit’ event at Cardiff Airport on the 4 October 2018. I am delighted that Richard Moriarty, the CEO of the Civil Aviation Authority and former Chief Exec of the LSB, has agreed to be our key note speaker.

We will also have members’ spotlight presentations from Eversheds Sutherland, JCP and CJCH about the overseas work that they do. I hope members find this inspirational and Malcolm Davies will be present for the Welsh Government, should anyone wish to discuss what support may be available for plans to develop international work.

Following on from this, we will be holding a Legal tech course at Cardiff and Vale College at its Dumballs Rd site in the wonderful ‘Classroom’ – with views all across Cardiff on the 1 November 2018. The event will

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include presentations from Swansea University, the University of South Wales and Cardiff and Vale College about the work it is doing around Legal Tech, AI and the LTC4 with legal technology core competencies and certification. HMCTS will also attend to tell us about its digitalisation and reform agenda and the digital skills and technology that will be needed to interact with the courts in future. We also have a global law firm Squire, Patton, Boggs talking about its practical experience of the benefit of increasing the legal tech skills of its staff.

As a final note, a reminder to book your tickets for the Cardiff & District Law Society Annual Dinner 2019, to be held on 10 May 2019 at The Exchange Hotel in Cardiff Bay. All our event information and booking links can be found on the events page on our website: cardifflaw.org. l CLIVE THOMAS PRESIDENT OF THE CARDIFF & DISTRICT LAW SOCIETY

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PRESIDENT REPORTS

ADDED VALUE FOR MEMBERS We have had an eventful summer at the Society and the monthly social events at the Pod are continuing. I hope to see many of you at The Pod on Thursday 13 November – this is a regular event on the second Thursday of the month, every month. The street food at The Pod Newport is delicious and I highly recommend it!

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e held our Managing Partners lunch on Friday 21 September at The Celtic Manor 2010 Clubhouse. This was a fantastic event and we were very pleased with the turnout. The event was sponsored by Lloyds Bank and Paul McClusky gave an informal talk about cyber security update, new image clearing system, use of overdrafts and designated bank accounts!

Emyr Evans of Watts Gregory Accountants, our sponsors, also talked about the very interesting case of HMRC v Brabners regarding VAT being payable on disbursements. This is a very important area and we at the Society feel that we should arrange a more in depth talk about this subject as it affects all of us. The Law Society we understand are supporting Brabners in relations to this matter so as to come to a conclusion as to exactly how we should be dealing with VAT on disbursements, charging to clients and paying to HMRC. I will provide details of a date for this talk when it has been finalised and this will be advertised on our website and Facebook page. Viv Williams of Symphony Legal also gave a talk on changes on the legal horizon. All in all it was a very enjoyable informal event and thank you for those attending making it such a success. This is an annual event and we will be arranging the same for next year soon.

I attended the Wales Dealmakers Awards on 27 September in Cardiff as a guest of our sponsors TSR Legal Recruitment, along with Clive Thomas, President of Cardiff & District Law Society and other solicitors in the area.

We had a great evening networking with colleagues.

The Summer Ball for next year will take place in the same venue, The Celtic Manor and we are going to make a bid for the Annual Conference to take place there! The date for the Summer Ball will be decided very soon and will be advertised on our website and the facebook page.

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We are holding an informal event to honour Geoff Sandercock for his commitment and dedication to the Society over the years and this will take place on Tuesday 13 November at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny.

I am due to attend the Annual Dinner in Plymouth on Friday 5th October and I am very much looking forward to the Event. There are a few upcoming Dinners with our Associated Societies in the South West coming up and my diary is getting somewhat full!

The Annual Conference this year is taking place in Leicestershire on 16 and 17 November and a few of us from the Committee will be attending this Event to show our support.

I will be attending a meeting of the Association of South West Law Societies of which I am now Vice President on Thursday 18 October and I will report back in my next article.

I am pleased to say membership is increasing and if you are not yet signed up as a member, please contact me by email at mel@beandc. co.uk for a membership form. The Society is there for all of us to promote Solicitors in Monmouthshire. The more members we have the stronger presence we have. l MEL BEVAN-EVANS PRESIDENT MONMOUTHSHIRE INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY

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FEATURES

ANDREW HOPPER QC: A FAREWELL Roy Morgan, bids a very fond farewell to the epic Andrew Hopper QC who died at home in South Wales on 25 July. He was regarded as one of the UK’s leading solicitor in the field of the regulation of legal professionals, a ‘maverick’, a ‘genius’ and incredibly passionate about his clients.

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ow do you characterise the life of a man, who did not fit the norm; described as a maverick, a genius, a caring and compassionate chum, a constant beacon of hope, a saviour, a lifeline? How to consolidate the plethora of heart wrenching stories from those whose careers, practices and, in at least one case I know of, a life, have been saved by the resilience, commitment and stubborn drive of one individual. One who would not take no for an answer; who would successfully challenge the unchallengeable and do so with the most wickedly dry sense of humour?

Andrew Hopper was admitted as a solicitor in 1972, appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2001, being the fifth solicitor appointed as QC. A former partner in the Cardiff firm of Adams and Black, he later developed a niche practice, as a sole practitioner, specialising in solicitors’ regulatory work.

In the late 70s he acted for the Law Society in disciplinary and regulatory proceedings as the principal prosecutor in the Tribunal for over a decade.

He later ended his prosecuting days to concentrate on assisting solicitors in regulatory difficulties. This was the area he enjoyed most, undertaking many cases pro bono to ensure that injustice was avoided.

Co-author and co-editor of many books dealing with the regulation of the profession, Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors, Cordery on Solicitors, The Solicitor’s Handbook to name a few; a member of the Law Society’s Regulatory Affairs Board and former chair of its Regulatory Processes Committee.

Chambers and Partners described Andrew as “the oracle of all things relating to solicitors’ disciplinary proceedings” Specialist representation saw Andrew appear regularly before the Master of the Rolls who heard appeals against SDT decisions. His character and early confidence in legal argument is summed-up by his long-time colleague, Greg Treverton-Jones QC, who I hope will not object to me poaching the following from his wonderful obituary in the Law Society Gazette: “I first came across Andrew in about 1990, when I started to receive instructions from the Law Society. He was, to put it mildly, a little different from the average instructing solicitor. His swept back fair hair was longish. He rarely wore a suit unless he had to. If a judge asked me a question to which I did not know the answer, Andrew would supply it in a stage whisper loud enough for the judge to hear. If he felt that the judge was being a little slow on the uptake, that too would be conveyed in the same loud stage whisper...”

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My first encounter with Andrew came when he was a partner in Adams and Black, a firm traditionally providing local Coroners. Andrew was on his feet in the magistrates court prosecuting on behalf of the Post Office.

His locks flowing longer than any advocates wig, his presence in court was clear even then. However, I suspect prosecuting was never in his heart, as became apparent in later life.

Alongside private practice, we both taught advocacy. Conducting mock trials, we had to differentiate when sitting as a judge and when providing feedback. Andrew had a unique method. He wore a baseball cap backwards when sitting as a judge, removed when feeding back.

Dinner with Andrew was always an entertaining experience – another bottle of wine was another occasion when “no” was not an answer. On the last occasion he was able to dine in London, he broke the news that he had suffered a rare defeat – his fight against cancer. In his own inimitable style, he saw it as an opportunity to hold a series of parties.

Unfortunately time was not on his side.

In April 2018, Cardiff and District Law Society officially recognised Andrew’s services to the law and the legal profession, offering him the annual ‘lifetime acheivement’ Simon Mumford Award. Sadly, he was too ill to attend the dinner at which the award was made.

Many hundreds of solicitors owe their continued professional existence to Andrew - a unique lawyer and a true friend.

RIP Andrew. l

Roy Morgan is a Council member of Cardiff & District Law Society, is a Solicitor Advocate and CFE, and the lead advocacy trainer at Kaplan Altior.