News

SUPPORTING IN A PANDEMIC

2020/21 was a year when we all saw our lives changed forever. For charity’s like the Child Brain Injury Trust the pandemic was not something we had planned for and it came as a complete shock to us as we listened to the emerging situation not knowing where it would lead writes Lisa Turan, Chief Executive of the Child Brain Injury Trust.

Not only were we concerned for the families we exist for, but also our team and supporters. We were fearful for everyone and what was happening across the world. We had so many exciting plans for 2020 all of which had to be put on hold and our priority turned to doing our very best whilst remaining safe.

Families continued to be affected by childhood acquired brain injury both existing and newly acquired. A number of children had accidents in their homes and outside and suffered illness that resulted in brain injury. Families were struggling and our team ensured they were able to access support and to reach out to us when other services had paused.

Much of our time was spent on zoom and the phone, providing emotional and practical support to any family that needed it and to professionals who had nowhere else to turn . We provided emergency grants to families facing financial difficulties and educational support for families home schooling their children. We maintained our network and provided some virtual social activities as well as online training. Many of the pathways normally available simply stopped, so one of our priorities was to link with the NHS to provide support to them to ensure families had the follow up support they needed across the UK. Needless to say, our service was in high demand and we stepped up to ensure we could provide what was needed.

Clearly all face to face fundraising stopped, but it didn’t stop us working with our supporters to engage in ‘virtual fundraising’ which was popular and helped us to engage with the wider community. We were fortunate to be selected as the Presidents chosen charity for the year, and although at first this seemed like a challenge, Inez Brown President of the BLS 2020 was an inspiration who was an extremely proactive and creative president.

She harnessed support across Birmingham and wider creating an innovative fundraising calendar of events which included a virtual Legal Awards, online quizzes attended by a large number of contestants, two wonderful ‘evening with’ which saw Inez interview Cherie Blaire CBE, QC and The Right Honourable Stuart Lawrence. Both evenings were inspirational and enabled viewers to hear about their extraordinary lives.

A golf day and football tournament are planned for September along with the annual president’s dinner to celebrate Inez’s incredible year.

We are extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed and supported what many might say was one of the most challenging fundraising years in modern times.

We couldn’t be more proud of the Birmingham Law Society and the way they have supported the Child Brain Injury Trust with their energy and enthusiasm to ensure our ‘chosen’ year has been a success.

OBITUARY: CHRISTOPHER JAMES Past President, Birmingham Law Society (1983-84).

Christopher was born on the 20th March 1932, to John Thomas Walters James, MC and Cicely Hilda James. He married Elizabeth Marion Cicely Thomson in 1958, and they had one son and one daughter.

Christopher was educated at Clifton College in Bristol, and later went on to study at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He served in the Royal Air force as a Lieutenant from 1951 to 1952, and in the TA from 1952-1960.

He was admitted as a solicitor in 1958, and worked as a Partner at Johnson & Co, Birmingham, and a senior partner from 1985-1987. He then became a Deputy Senior Partner at Martineau Johnson from 1987-89, before becoming Senior Partner from 1989-94. Christopher was a director of the Birmingham Building Society, then the Birmingham Midshires building from 1980-96, and was Chairman from 1990 to 1996.

He was the General Commissioner for Income Tax from 1974-1982, before becoming President of Birmingham Law Society from 1983-1984. He was chairman of the Kalamazoo Trust from 1997 to 2001,and was a council member at Edgbaston High School for Girls, and was Chairman from 1987-1990. He was a governor at Clifton College from 1980-1999. In his spare time, he enjoyed photography, railways, trying to get the better of his computer and water colour painting.

STEPS TAKEN IN FAMILY COURTS TO DEAL WITH BACKLOG OF POST-PANDEMIC CASES

As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic, waiting times for cases to be heard in Court have increased. This has left some families already involved in the Court system, in a state of limbo, unable to finalise matters and move forward. As a direct response to this, incentives are being introduced in an attempt to ease the burden on the Court system or reduce delay. Sara Morton, a Senior Solicitor in the family team at Enoch Evans LLP, explains.

What is the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme?

The Court system already tries to encourage families to use other methods of dispute resolution, where possible, and only use the Court system as a last resort. As a direct result of the Covid 19 Pandemic, the Government has introduced the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme to try to encourage more families to consider Mediation, as a way of resolving disputes. Under the scheme, subject to eligibility, parties can receive a financial contribution of up to £500 towards the cost of mediation.

The scheme is time-limited and although all cases are not eligible under the scheme, disputes regarding children and family financial matters (where there is also a dispute regarding children) are specifically identified. Parties can only claim once per family/case for the £500 contribution and only mediators authorised by the Family Mediation Council (FMC) are taking part in the voucher scheme. The voucher scheme came into effect in March this year and it may well be that the financial support being offered avoids parties incurring the legal costs and inevitable delay in pursuing their dispute through the Court system whilst at the same time, potentially alleviating some of the pressures currently on the Court system.

What is the best way to go about mediation and finding out if I am eligible for the voucher scheme?

Before making some applications to the Court, parties should consider Mediation and, in appropriate circumstances, at least one party should have attended a short meeting with a qualified mediator known as a Mediation Information Assessment Meeting (MIAM) before an application is made. At the MIAM, a Mediator will assess whether the circumstances and issues involved would be suitable for Mediation and, whether the eligibility requirements for the voucher scheme are met.

What else is happening to help ease the Court backlog?

CAFCASS is overstretched in terms of the amount of work they must deal with and under resourced. They have implemented a ‘prioritisation protocol’, to prioritise and manage high workloads, in areas where there is a significant strain on the family justice system, including Birmingham, the Black Country, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire and Herefordshire.

The intention of the protocol is for the Courts to work with CAFCASS to effectively, triage, cases in private law proceedings based on risk and capacity. Those families that are likely to need further involvement from CAFCASS will be sub-divided into those cases where work needs to start immediately and those which are less urgent and which will be allocated to a Practice Supervisor, to oversee until it can be allocated accordingly. In each case, a time to provide reports etc will be agreed, taking in to account the needs of each family and capacity of CAFCASS.

I would certainly recommend using a specialist family law Solicitor to help you navigate any recent changes or new options available on the breakdown of a relationship. If clients wish to discuss the options available to them to resolve disputes, we would be happy to speak with them to discuss these.

For further information, contact Enoch Evans LLP on 01922 720333 (Walsall Office) or 0121 7252293 (Sutton Coldfield Office).

93% NEWLY QUALIFIED RETENTION RATE

Irwin Mitchell’s latest retention figures for 2021 show that 52 out of 56 trainees are staying with the firm as newly-qualified (NQ) solicitors.

The firm has responded well to the challenges faced by Covid-19, switching marketing activity to digital engagement with clients and adopting a Flexible by Choice way of working. This is now also reflected in the latest figures representing a 93% retention rate, with four trainees only leaving due to NQ roles being unavailable in their preferred team.

The 52 newly qualified solicitors will work across Irwin Mitchell’s new Client Services Team covering business and personal clients. “Everyone can be proud of their achievements and we wish all our trainees well for their future careers. Our retention rates continue to be over 90% year on year and shows that Irwin Mitchell is among the best firms for NQ’s taking their important first steps in the legal profession.”

The figures are three per cent up on 2020 and reflect another strong performance by the trainees and their supervisors alike and compare favourably with an industry average of 80%.

Marissa Sanders, Head of Early Careers at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Our latest retention rates represent an outstanding result, by our own very high standards and when compared with the industry average. “I want to pay tribute to the quality of all our trainees this year, who have had to face the challenges posed by the pandemic while continuing to achieve outstanding results.

“The supervisors have also had their work cut out to offer the same levels of support trainees need and deserve, while working under the restrictions resulting from lockdown.

The news follows Irwin Mitchell announcing further support for all colleagues in the form of positive changes to its family leave policy. The firm was ranked among the top 15 best UK workplaces by the Great Place To Work Institute and the graduate training programme is recognised in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers, The Guardian UK300 and TheJobCrowd Top 50 companies for graduates to work for.

NEWS

INFOTRACK AND OSPREY

ANNOUNCE INTEGRATION TO OPTIMISE CONVEYANCING WORKFLOWS

Osprey clients can now access InfoTrack’s award-winning digital conveyancing platform via their case management system. Connected via seamless two-way integration, solicitors can optimise their conveyancing workflow end-to-end to digitalise internal processes; future-proofing their firm and exceeding client expectations.

Creating a centralised solution for information, firms can manage a matter from initial enquiry to case completion through one system using InfoTrack and Osprey. Access to electronic client onboarding (eCOS), conveyancing searches, AML, indemnities, Property Report, and post-completion solutions means firms can enjoy the flexibility to scale without limitation. The digitalisation of conveyancing workflows ends reliance on traditional, slow, and costly paper files and posting.

Using a secure web portal, clients can be onboarded digitally via eCOS increasing law firms’ route to market and helping them meet client demand. Timesaving automation reduces solicitors’ workloads, avoiding re-keying information, and minimising errors by using data drawn from the matter, with all searches and services ordered through InfoTrack automatically returned to Osprey. Jamie Connolly, Director at Thomas Flavell & Sons Solicitors says, “We have recently undertaken integration with Osprey and InfoTrack and the whole process was very quick and easy to implement. Since doing so the time savings on our firm are unreal. No more keying in duplicate information which is eliminating errors.”

Craig Matthews, CEO at Osprey comments, “The integration with InfoTrack helps us provide an enhanced software solution that will assist law firms to run a more efficient and streamlined operation that benefits the client service they provide. Helping them stay competitive, it reduces inefficient processes so firms can scale easily to take on more new clients to increase revenue and importantly profits.”

Scott Bozinis, Chief Executive Officer at InfoTrack adds, “Partnering with Osprey provides solicitors with an effective way to manage their conveyancing workflow using automation to increase productivity. Our shared emphasis on using great technology to centralise information for accuracy and compliance, resulting in delivery of an excellent user experience for firms and their clients, made the integration an obvious choice.”

Wherever you roam, client onboarding with eCOS is pitch-perfect

Technology that connects you, wherever that happens to be

Are you trudging through the process of gathering client information to start a transaction? Onboarding your clients shouldn’t peg you in. eCOS, our electronic client onboarding solution, brings together everything you need to achieve remote onboarding. Access to client care packs, verification of identity and source of funds solutions, onboarding questionnaires and Law Society TA forms, all integrated into your CMS. eCOS gives you visibility over your onboarding process within a single platform.

Embark on a new adventure. Start onboarding digitally with eCOS from InfoTrack.