North West Law

The Monthly Publication of the Manchester Law Society

April 2015NewsHRC Law continues to grow

page 6

Jefferies Solicitors launch motoring services page 7

Private screening of war movie for Irwin Mitchell page 10

Double family Silk celebration on Circuitpage 12

Julian Goode joins Exchange Chamberspage 13

FeaturesMLA 2015 pages 15 - 20

Court FeesManchester Law Society’s response

page 25RegularsRegulatory Affairs Update page 5

Members Reward CardSee your latest offers page 34Monthly CompetitionWin a meal for two with a bottle of Beuve Champagne at Rosso

page 40

Single issue £3.50, 12 month subscription £54.00free to members

In association with

Welcome Manchester !!The Manchester Legal Awards 2015

Fran Eccles-Bech, Chief Executive Manchester Law Society

High Fives for Eversheds

Once again the Manches-ter Legal Awards at theMidland Hotel was a sellout event with over 600guests attending thehighlight in the legal cal-endar.

The champagne receptionwas sponsored by DocutechOffice Solutions, giving theguests the opportunity tomingle before being ush-ered into the AlexandraSuite for Dinner and theAwards. Louise Straw, thePresident of ManchesterLaw Society started theevening by saying “Wel-come Manchester, the bestlegal profession in the coun-try” which was met with en-thusiastic applause.

Louise went on the thankthe Manchester EveningNews for their support ofthe Awards and for the legalcommunity. She alsothanked the sponsors forthe event; Docutech OfficeSolutions for the cham-pagne reception, the DXwho sponsored the band,The Rush, the sponsors ofthe individual awards andthe evenings principlesponsor’s Moneypenny andConverge TS.

Louise said that the numberof nominations grew eachyear and the quality of theapplications was incrediblyhigh. She added that judg-ing was a very difficult andlong process and thankedall of the judges for givingtheir time over the Christ-mas period.

The President then said thatthe profession continued toface challenges and that Ac-cess to Justice was underthreat. She said it was ironicin the year that we celebratethe 800th anniversary of theMagna Carta that only thewealthy can afford to usethe courts.

Concluding, Louise said thatthe purpose of the evening

was to celebrate the wealthof legal talent in Manches-ter and wished all of the fi-nalists the best of luckbefore handing over toAdam Jupp, Head of Busi-ness at the ManchesterEvening News.

Adam said that MEN Busi-ness were, once again,proud to support the Man-chester Legal Awards andrecognised how much timeand effort went into organ-ising such an event. He saidthat the level of entries wasan illustration that Man-chester has the strongestlegal sector outside of Lon-don and should be cele-brated.

The MC for the evening wasEamonn O’Neal wholaunched the proceedings,with the first award forChartered Legal Executivegoing to Rachel Stevens ofWeightmans LLP and Chairof the Manchester branch ofILEX.

Eversheds LLP scooped five

continues on page 15-20 withmore reports and photographs

Louise Straw, President of Manchester Law Society and Adam Jupp, Head of Business, MEN

3Manchester Law Society President’s Column

From the President

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Oh my goodness, what anight it was at the 6th Man-chester Legal Awards on the5th March. I hope that allwho attended enjoyed theevening as much as I did.Once again, my congratula-tions to all the finalists andthe winners; Manchesterhas shown once again thatit is home to some fantasticlawyers. As with the previ-ous winners of the LifetimeAchievement Award, thecontribution to the LegalProfession makes MichaelRedfern QC a worthy recipi-ent of this particular award.It was wonderful to see thedelight on the faces of thewinners and you will beable to read their thoughtson the awards and see thepictures inside this editionof the Messenger.

My thanks again to all thesponsors, especially Mon-eyPenny and Converge TSas principle sponsors for thesecond year and of coursethe Manchester EveningNews.

I would also like to expressmy thanks to everyone whomade a donation to thePresident’s Charity – Child-line Schools Service North

West. I am delighted to an-nounce that you raised over£6000, which will go a longway to training volunteersto go into the primaryschools in Greater Manches-ter, helping children to say“Now I Know!”.

One piece of advice toMichael Hardacre for nextyear – wear flat shoes; myfeet are still killing me! Fi-nally a huge THANK YOU toFran for all her hard workwithout which the eventwould not be possible.

This month I have also hadthe pleasure of attendingthe University of Law, Man-chester to once again pres-ent two awards on behalf ofManchester Law Society.Manchester Law Society hasa long standing relationshipwith the University of Law,which is one of the leadingInternational ProfessionalLaw Schools.

The awards are made firstlyto the student whoachieved the highest marksin the LPC and secondly tothe student who achievedthe highest marks in theGDL. This year I am de-lighted to announce that

Rebecca Benbow is the win-ner of the LPC prize andArash Dashtgard or the GDLprize. Well done to both stu-dents. Maybe we will seeone or possibly both receiv-ing awards at the Manches-ter Legal awards in years tocome.

Following on from my visitto Matrix 247, this month Iloaded the satnav and vis-ited MoneyPenny, based inWrexham. I received an ex-tremely warm welcome andspent time with KevinBishop and Bernadette Ben-nett discovering moreabout the business and theethos behind the business. Iwas also introduced toChristine Lawn, who is thevoice of Manchester LawSociety when the staff in theoffice are unable to take thecall. It was most enlighten-ing to listen in on calls com-ing into the office and seethe efficient manner withwhich they were dealt. I wasmost impressed with thefact that to ensure that callsanswered at night are dealtwith by staff who are on“day time hours”. This isachieved by the calls beingdealt with in New Zealand.This not only ensures a high

quality service but alsogives the staff a great op-portunity of spending a pe-riod of six months onsecondment in NewZealand. Perhaps I could goand visit them there on be-half of Manchester Law So-ciety! MoneyPenny alsosupports the “MoneyPennyFoundation”. This is ascheme offering a six monthintensive programme foryoung women from Wrex-ham who maybe have nothad the best start in life andrecently the first five “gradu-ated”. The six month trainee-ship gives them workexperience, coaching, men-toring and life skills and ex-periences and all have beensuccessful in securing fulltime employment. Welldone to them all.

Next month I am off to meetwith all at Viewpoint-AV tolearn more about the tech-nological solutions for con-ference and boardrooms.

Issues in relation to Accessto Justice continue. At thetime of writing the JudicialReview Appeal in relation tothe two tier Duty SolicitorCriminal Contracts is under-way. The hearing is listed for

two days although it is not known whether the decision willbe delivered immediately or deferred. The huge increase incourt fees was introduced on the 9th March, resulting insome cases of an increase of 576%. Letters written to the Ju-diciary on behalf of Civil Practitioners expressing their con-cerns appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as far as theGovernment is concerned.

And finally, you will all bepleased to know that the henstake after both their motherand god-mother (Mrs EB); youmay recall last month thelovely gym I had purchasedfor them to ensure that theywere fit and healthy. Well itwould appear to be of no in-terest what so ever to themand they much prefer diggingup the bulbs in the garden!The cats have expressed an-

noyance as they have not received the same publicity as thehens and so may I introduce you to Mellors!

Louise StrawPresident

Louise StrawPresident of Manchester Law Society

4 Manchester Law Society News

Upcoming EventsManaging with ImpactMonday 20 April, Thursday 21 May and Thursday 25 JuneHilton Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4LQRegistration 09:00, Sessions start 09:30, Sessions close 16:30 - 18 hours CPD

Management can be a tough gig. Amongst other thingsyou’ve got to deal with performance, conflict, development,feedback and motivation. Sadly there isn’t a pill that devel-ops you in all of these areas. Thankfully though, we’ve de-signed a programme that tackles all of these topics andmuch more head on.

Our programme is packed full of interactive group discus-sions, exercises, case studies, hands-on activities, tools andtechniques that will help you to become a more rounded,assertive and confident Manager. We don’t use ‘off the shelf’scenarios, we will use your own real life management issuesand problems so that the programme remains relevantthroughout.

The programme will be delivered by Mike Ode from Poten-tial Unearthed who has many years’ experience of bothworking in the Legal sector and developing Law Firm pro-fessionals at all levels.

What is it?A three day interactive programme with the one-day mod-ules spread across three months. The course is designed totake you through how to develop your team and your man-agement techniques. With this in mind it is essential youare able to attend all three dates.

Who is the programme aimed at?This programme is aimed at those who are already in amanagement position within a Law Firm but have not hadany formal training, or anyone who fancies a refresher andwho wants to learn more about the latest models, method-ologies and management techniques.

Cost to attend the three day course:MLS Members £299.00 + VAT (£358.80) Non-mem-bers £399.00 + VAT (£478.80)Price includes refreshments, lunch and course mate-rials for all three days.To book your place please complete and return theform overleaf or email CarlaJones@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk victoriaridge@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

Follow us on Twitter@ManLawSoc

Keep up to date with the latest event information at www.manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

ModuleModule 1:Building Foundations and Getting themOn SideMonday 20 April 2015Successful teams are underpinned by a soundculture, great relationships and total trust. Thefirst module focuses on creating firm founda-tions which in turn will ensure your team isable to maximise their potential. We will alsolook at the importance of having great com-munication skills and how yours and individualbehaviour can impact on your team both posi-tively and negatively.

Module 2:Proactively Managing PerformanceThursday 21 May 2015Your team is no doubt littered with reliablestars, some steady eddies, and an equalamount of slackers. This module will introduceyou to numerous practical tools and techniquesthat will enable you to proactively manage allthree types of employee. We will tackle chal-lenging conversations, conflict, managingchange and how to analyse underperformanceso that you get to the root of the issue.

Module 3:Team DevelopmentThursday 25 June 2015It’s all very well having firm foundations and astructured performance management processin place, but if your team are a little dysfunc-tional then it may all fall to pieces. This mod-ule looks at team dynamics and how to utiliseeveryone’s strengths and weaknesses for thebenefit of the whole team.

• What type of Manager/Leader do you want to be? What are your leadership qualities and attributes? What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• Understanding perceptions and why they are important – How do you see yourself and how do your team see you?

• Defining and translating the culture of your teamo Identifying the current cultureo Identifying what the culture should beo Identifying practical ways to change and adapt the culture• The importance of trust - Building trust across 4 main areas; Intent, Integrity, Capability and

Consistency• Identifying ways to rebuild trust once it has been broken• Are your team members in the ‘Inner Circle’? An introduction to the 5 stage relationship

ladder• Engagement – Focusing on who in your team is actively disengaged, who is disengaged and

who is actively engaged with the business; Creating ways to get them all engaged with the goals, culture, vision and mission of the team

• Understand your own individual personal behaviour type and its impact - Passive/Aggressive/Assertive

• Communicating with influence with your team and peerso Identifying how your behaviour breeds behaviour in others, both positively and

negatively when communicating. o Identifying communication skills – Voice control, body language, words, active

questioning and listeningo Identifying and overcoming barriers• Influence and Persuasion – Getting your team’s buy in with the help of Ethos, Pathos and

Logos

• Proactively manage your Stars, Steadies and Slackerso Identifying their typical characteristics and motivationo The challenges you face when managing themo Identifying ways to overcome those challenges• Tackling under performance head ono Analysing the 5 gaps in under performance and identifying practical ways to fill each

one• Management styles; Supporting, Coaching, Directing and Delegatingo Identifying the pros and cons of each styleo Understand when to use each one appropriately• Having a challenging conversationo Proactively managing the different typical characters and their responses.o An introduction to Transactional Analysis - Adult, Parent, Child model o The importance of planning, preparation and structure of a challenging conversation.• Leading your team through Change -o Recognise types of change and understand the different ways in which individuals

react, so that you are better equipped to deliver change on any scaleo Understand your role as Leader and Change Agent so that you are able to manage the

change process more effectively.o Become familiar the art of “Obstacle Removing” in order to deal more assertively with

resistance, reluctance and other common barriers• Managing Conflicto Be able to recognise the signs and symptoms so you can intervene prior to, or in the

early stages of a potential conflicto Know how to identify the root cause/s of a conflict and who is involvedo Know when to use the 4 different conflict management styles of controlling, Steady

ing, Diligent and Persuasiveness

· Understanding team dynamics – Tuckman model – Forming, Storming, Norming and Performingo Identifying where your team are on the modelo Identifying why they are where they are and how to move them along· Analysing and understanding Belbin ‘Team Types’ – Identifying how you and your team work

together; assess any gaps and areas for development.· Understanding how they all tick -o What motivates each member of your team?o Identifying how both intrinsic and extrinsic drivers can improve and sustain high per

formance in your team· Identifying how the penny drops o Understanding the differing learning styles of your team – Activist, Reflector,

Theorist, Pragmatisto Identifying how having an understanding of how they learn can improve performance· The art of Delegation – Using delegation proactively to develop your team· Future proofing your Team - Tacit v Explicit knowledge; Succession Planning - what is it and

how to do it; Contingency planning for business continuity· Personal Resilience – Self-assessment and personal action setting across the 8 key areas of

resilience

Regulatory Affairs Committee UpdateI wanted to avoid any refer-ence to April Fools ’ Day orthe tax year in this month’scolumn, and I think I mighthave just about managed it.As you know I am a sportingaficionado (watching ratherthan playing!), so I was de-lighted to discover thatApril 1896 marked theresurgence of the OlympicGames after a 1500 year ab-sence from the historybooks. How is this relevantto my column? Well thelegal profession goes backfurther than the OlympicGames but it always seemsto survive in one guise oranother and, given that thismonth’s round-up seems tobe about change, competi-tion and survival within ourranks it seemed apt to re-mind ourselves its not overyet.

In-house….. out-house?

A discussion paper releasedlast week by the Legal Serv-ices Board voices concern

over the regulation of in-house lawyers. The discus-sion paper is welcome and Ihope it will help acceleratethe SRA’s ongoing review ofthe in-house sector. We willbe responding with detailsof our experiences gainedthrough advising in-houseteams on their regulatoryobligations and examples ofwhere the restrictions areanti-competitive. This is yetanother example of ‘regula-tory creep’, namely wherethe SRA’s rules go beyondwhat is required by the rele-vant statute, in this case theLegal Services Act 2007. Ifany in-house lawyers haveexamples to share and wantto collaborate with me inpreparing a response to thediscussion paper thenplease email me at com-pli@weightmans.com

Competition from accountants

Staying with the theme ofcompetition, new research

has revealed that large lawfirms are troubled by thepossibility of accountancyfirms setting up ABSs, buthave little desire to set upABSs themselves.

The threat of accountants isgenuine and has been for awhile now; firms must fac-tor these new entrants intotheir business plans. Waningappetite for ABS status ismore surprising because Ihave always thought themodel offers a degree offlexibility. Having said that, Iam not certain that firms arefully aware of the advan-tages or what other optionsABS status may create. An-other point worth noting isthat given the criticism theSRA has received for its han-dling of the process, someof the larger firms may havebeen deterred from apply-ing to convert such a mas-sive undertaking. Ourexperience of dealing withsizeable ABS applicationsinvolving complex struc-

tures, overseas offices andprivate equity is that the ap-plication process has im-proved but there is stillmore improvement to bemade.

Updated Practice Note

The Law Society has up-dated its practice note onconflicts of interest. Nothingsubstantive has changedbut there is some clarifica-tion from the Law Societyaround the exceptions thatmay apply when faced witha client conflict.

And finally………………

The colour ofmoney………..

The LSB announced that it islooking at alternatives to so-licitors needing to holdclient money in response towhat it perceives to be oneof the biggest risks to theprofession, namely the mis-use of client money.

The Law Society takes theview that this is using asledge hammer to crack anut and that whilst there isalways room for improve-ment, the scale of the prob-lem is low in comparison tothe number of transactionsthat actually take place.Whilst I agree to an extentwith our representativebody, we are witnessingmore and more instances ofcyber-related fraud and thishas prompted a furtherwarning from the SRA in re-lation to ‘Friday afternoonfraud risk’. Any firm with aclient account is a targetand, for this reason, I believeit is always worth exploringalternatives.

Michelle GarlickChairManchester Law SocietyRegulatory Affairs CommitteeWeightmans LLP

Parents’ concerns aboutsocial networking sitespopular with childrenwere publicised as part ofthe NSPCCs launch of itsShare Aware campaignwhich aimed to get fami-lies talking about socialis-ing safely online.

An NSPCC panel of morethan 500 parents fromMumsnet reviewed 48 sitesand said all those aimed atadults and teenagers weretoo easy for children under13 to sign-up to. On morethan 40 per cent of the sites,the panel struggled to lo-cate privacy, reporting andsafety information.

At least three quarters of

NSPCC reveals parents’ worries about social networking sites usedby children and launches its Share Aware campaign

parents surveyed by theNSPCC found sexual, vio-lent, or other inappropriatecontent on Sickipedia,Omegle, Deviant Art, and Fmy Life within half an hourof logging into the sites.Those aimed at youngerchildren, like Club Penguin,Moshi Monsters, Popjamand Bearville, fared betterand parents did not find anyunsuitable content onthem.

One mum from Manchesterwho was one of the Mum-snet parents who reviewedthe websites said: “I havetwo teenage children whoboth have laptops and arevery computer literate. I dotell them about the dangers

of the internet, and teachthem not to post anythingonline that they wouldn’tsay to someone face to face.I also have protective meas-ures and parental controlsin place through softwarelike McAfee. Many of theirfriends have Facebook ac-counts and I have seen ex-amples of children in theiryear suffering online bully-ing, so I think that talkingand having regular conver-sations about keeping safe,is really important. Thiscampaign by the NSPCC willhelp raise awareness whichcan only be a positive thingfor parents, carers andyoung people.”

The NSPCC also asked justunder 2,000 children andyoung people which socialnetworking sites they used.Talking to strangers or sex-ual content were the mainconcerns mentioned bychildren. But they alsothought the minimum agelimit for signing up to manysites should be higher; de-spite saying they’d used thesites when they were under-age.

The NSPCC has used the reviews to create a new online guide to help inform parents aboutthe risks of different social networking sites used by children.

The NSPCC’s Share Aware campaign is aimed at parents of 8 to 12-year-old children and alsofeatures two animations to be shown on prime time TV and digital spaces. I Saw Your Willyand Lucy And The Boy are engaging films with a serious message that follow the stories oftwo children who share too much about themselves online. Both films contain the simplemessage that although children are taught that it’s good to share, this is not always the caseonline.

More details about the NSPCC campaign can be found atwww.nspcc.org.uk/shareaware

6 Movers & Shakers

scan me to download your complimentary

Manchester Law Society Reward Card smart phone app

Helen joins HRC Law ashead of the firm’s com-mercial property team.She provides a range ofcommercial propertyservices to businesses, de-velopers, funders and in-vestors with particularexpertise and experiencein the retail sector.

HRC Law’s managing part-ner, Simon Whitehead said:“We are very pleased to wel-come Helen on board. She isan exceptionally talentedlawyer and will have a vitalrole to play in the ongoinggrowth of both the firm andour Real Estate team.”

our offices and depart-ments have played theirpart,” said Managing Direc-tor, Paul Shenton who isdual qualified as a solicitorand barrister.

“Personal injury is a tradi-tionally strong area of ourbusiness and has continued

to perform well while ourcommercial litigation costspractice has enjoyed its bestever year with a number ofbig ticket instructions.This is an area we are look-ing to further develop in thefuture,” he added.

HRC Law LLP continues growth with thepartner appointment of Helen Marsh

Helen Marsh

Just Costs Solicitors, thelargest Solicitor’s practicein England specialising incosts, has recorded recordturnover of £6.1 millionfor the 2014 / 2015 finan-cial year - an increase of13% on last year’s £5.4million.

Founded in 2006 by formerEversheds partner and legalcosts specialist Paul Shen-ton, Just Costs now employsover 100 people and acts forin excess of 300 law firms.

Over the course of the last12 months, the firm has re-located to a new Manches-ter head office on KingStreet and opened a new of-fice in Leeds.The firm also has offices inLondon and Chesterfield.

To facilitate future growth,Just Costs also agreed a £1.1million funding packagewith NatWest and wel-comed a number of seniorhires to the business - in-cluding Kevin Doolan, for-merly head of ClientRelations at Eversheds, as aconsultant and non-execu-tive director.

“We are delighted with ourfinancial performance - all

Record Turnover for Just Costs Solicitors

Paul Shenton

Leading national law firmMills & Reeve has ap-pointed Keith Davidson ashead of environmentallaw. He will be based inthe firm’s Manchester of-fice.

Keith, who was previously apartner at Pannone before

Mills & Reeve appoints Manchester-basedhead of environment

heading the environmentallaw team at LexisNexis inLondon, said: “It’s an excit-ing time to be with Mills &Reeve in Manchester whichhas ambitious plans.”

Niall Innes, head of theManchester office, said: “We

are always looking tostrengthen our existingteam with the appointmentof leading lawyers across anumber of disciplines andthe appointment of Keith,who has a national reputa-tion, reflects our growth as-pirations in Manchester.”

North West law firm Brab-ners has boosted its Prop-erty Solutions team inLiverpool with the ap-pointment of three solici-tors.

The most recent recruit isHannah Carter who joinsthe firm from DWF LLP inLiverpool and has experi-ence in resolving all aspectsof property disputes includ-ing commercial, agriculturaland residential matters.

Hannah’s appointment fol-lows the arrival of Senior As-sociate Karen Beddow, whopreviously worked at DWFLLP and Addleshaws andspecialises in resolving retailproperty disputes, portfoliomanagement issues andother claims arising fromproperty transactions, andSolicitor Heather Morriswho advises on a widerange of property disputesincluding high value profes-

sional negligence claimsarising from real estatetransactions.

Headed by Partner RachelWatkin, the Property Solu-tions team sets itself apartfrom its competitors by of-fering and delivering a solu-tions based approach todisputes. The team offers arange of experience acrossthe spectrum of propertydisputes in the commercial,residential and agriculturalsectors.

Commenting on the ap-pointments, Rachel Watkinsaid: “We pride ourselves ondelivering a first rate serviceto our clients which, giventhe broad spectrum of ex-perience within the team,results in the client havingaccess to expertise at a levelappropriate to the individ-ual case which in turn re-sults in effective costs

management for the clientand efficiency in the provi-sion of legal advice.”

Although the team hasbeen extremely busy overrecent months, Rachel fore-sees them becoming evenmore so with the recent an-nouncement of the courtfees increase: “It is under-stood that the fees are likelyto increase so significantlythat it may place access tojustice out of reach for manypotential litigators. As such,parties may be more ac-tively seeking a solutionrather than litigation.”

Mark Brandwood, Manag-ing Partner at Brabners,said: “The new recruits willbe invaluable support forour busy real estate teamacross Brabners’ three of-fices in Liverpool, Manches-ter and Preston.”

Brabners boosts Property Solutions team

Hannah Carter, Rachel Watkin, Karen Beddow & Heather Morris

Based in Hale, CheshireBlackstone Solicitors havejust celebrated a mile-stone as their first traineehas qualified as a Solicitor.Awarded Excellence in in-vestors in people last yearthe firm are proud andkeen to congratulateCharlotte Turner on herachievement.

Blackstone Solicitors was setup in 2010 by Emma Nawazto specialise in Dispute Res-olution.

Towards the end of 2014 thefirm expanded their servicesto include a Property De-

partment. Emma Nawaz isfocused on building a suc-cessful and passionate teamaround her. Emma Nawazcomments, “My sincere con-gratulations to Charlotte. Iam so proud of what Char-lotte has achieved over thepast two years. Her knowl-edge of commercial litiga-tion and possessionproceedings is exceptional.Charlotte was instrumentalin winning a Court of Ap-peal case during her train-ing. Undoubtedly hertenacious approach andreal eye for detail will provean asset to our team.Well done Charlotte.”

Charlotte Turner, aged 27years studied at ImperialCollege London. Charlottecomments, “I am extremelyproud to have qualified asBlackstone’s first trainee andI am delighted to be joiningthe litigation team.”

Hale law firm celebrate as firsttrainee qualifies as a Solicitor

Charlotte Turner

The deadline for the May edition of The Messenger is 9th April

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Bott & Co Solicitors arecracking open the Cham-pagne this week afterbeing shortlisted for notone, but four categories atthis year’s Modern ClaimsAwards.

The personal injury andflight delay specialist hasbeen shortlisted for: LegalTeam of the Year, Technol-ogy Initiative of the Year,Client Care Award and Mar-keting Campaign of theYear.

The Wilmslow based lawfirm will be going head-to-head with the likes of BoxLegal, First4lawyers Ltd andSwiftcover at the award cer-

emony, which will takeplace in April.

Bott & Co Solicitors is theUK’s leading flight delaycompensation law firm, alsospecialising in personal in-jury, beauty negligence andholiday sickness claims. Thecompany is one of thelargest consumer law firmsin the UK, with more than80 employees.

Managing Partner at Bott &Co David Bott said:“To beshortlisted for one award isfantastic but to be recog-nised by your peers for fourawards is absolutely amaz-ing. Being recognised forexcellence in Client Care,

Marketing and InformationTechnology is a real pat onthe back for the whole firm.

“It’s a wonderful acknowl-edgment of all the time andhard work each departmentputs into providing the bestpossible service for ourclients.”

The first ever ModernClaims Awards 2015 cere-mony will take place on30th April at New Dock Hall–The Royal Armouries inLeeds. The event promises anight of glitz and glamourin celebration of businesses‘embracing opportunities inan ever changing land-scape’.

Wilmslow solicitor Bott & Co shortlistedfor four industry awards

Bott & Co partners David Bott, Paul Hinchliffe and Gary Froggatt

Personal injury compen-sation specialist, JefferiesSolicitors, is extending itslegal offering to includemotoring offences.

From today, the law firm willbe providing a nationwide‘one-stop shop’ for clientsfacing motoring offences ata fixed price, with no hiddencharges.

This new service will meanthat customers enquiringabout motoring offenceclaims will be entitled tohave a free consultation

with Counsel who specialisein this area. It is the first timethat Jefferies Solicitors willbe offering this type of ded-icated consultation at suchan early stage of proceed-ings.

Expert advice and represen-tation will be available onevery aspect of motoringoffences, such as dangerousdriving, drink driving andloss of license offences.

Michael Jefferies, ManagingDirector at Jefferies Solici-tors, comments, “We’re

pleased to be extending ourlegal offering to cover mo-toring offences, which is agrowing sector. Working to-gether with specialist barris-ters, combining jointmarketing and specialistcourt skills means we canoffer a niche and cost effec-tive service to clients na-tionwide. The service willoffer complete trans-parency from the initial con-sultation throughout theproceedings, making sureclients are kept fully in-formed during the entireprocess.”

Jefferies Solicitors launches newmotoring services

Exchange Chambers has become the first bar-risters’ Chambers in the North to be appointedto AIG’s panel for professional negligence work.

In being appointed to the panel, Exchange Cham-bers will now be instructed by AIG’s panel firms -Kennedys, Robin Simon and Mills & Reeve - on pro-fessional lines matters.

Exchange Chambers’ Director of Chambers, TomHandley, will manage the relationship with AIG andits panel firms. He commented: “This is a significantappointment for our dedicated professional negli-gence team. We are delighted with the opportunityto work closely with AIG and its panel firms.”

Exchange Chambers has wide-ranging expertise inrelation to claims against professionals, whether forbreach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciaryduty or breach of trust.

The Set has professional negligence barristers at alllevels of seniority and their experience extends toall aspects of the dispute resolution process, in-cluding the giving of pre-litigation and strategicadvice, giving effect the Professional NegligencePre-Action Protocol, ADR/mediation, and makingeffective use of the Courts and the Court process.

Panel appointment for ExchangeChambers

Tom Handley

8 Movers & Shakers

On 26th February Geral-dine McCool, NationalHead of Military InjuryClaims Team at IrwinMitchell hosted a privatescreening of the BAFTA-nominated film Kajaki,based on the real-lifestory of the tragic mine-field incident inAfghanistan.

Geraldine and colleaguesacted for the parents ofMark Wright GC who lost hislife in the incident whichwas the subject of a high-profile Inquest. The teamalso assisted PUKKA Filmsand were joined at thescreening by BAFTA-nomi-nated Director Paul Katis,Lucy Trendle Associate Pro-

ducer and Phoebe Katis,who wrote and performedthe music.

Two of Mark’s colleagues,Sergeant Stu Pearson andFusilier Andy Barlow, whoboth lost legs in the blast,also attended for a Questionand Answer session afterthe screening. Mark’s par-ents, Bob and Jem, senttheir views on the film forGeraldine to read out toguests and thanked actorDavid Elliott for his portrayalof their son. David also at-tended before jetting off toNew Zealand for filming.Irwin Mitchell business andprivate guests came to-gether for the evening andafterwards paid tribute to

the bravery of those in-volved.

Geraldine said “This was afantastic evening to reallyhighlight Kajaki’s successand make sure MarkWright’s legacy lives onthrough the film. "It was re-ally special to hear Paul saywhen he wanted to firstmove the project forwardthat he picked up thephone to the Solicitors toask them to talk to the ladsand to Bob and Jem, be-cause they were trusted. Weare very fortunate to workwith and keep links withsuch special people.”

Private screening of war movie forIrwin Mitchell

Leading national law firmMills & Reeve has madeThe Sunday Times’ presti-gious 100 Best Companiesto Work For list for a recordtwelfth year running.

The firm, which employs al-most 890 people across itssix offices, has been namedas one of 100 Best Mid-SizedCompanies to Work For as aresult of outstanding levelsof staff engagement and thefirm’s commitment to creat-ing a friendly and support-ive working environment forall employees.

The firm was ranked in 72ndplace overall and is the onlyUK law firm to have ap-peared on the list for 12 con-

secutive years and one ofonly a small number of or-ganisations nationally tohave achieved this.

Just over 80% of employeesfeel proud to work for thefirm and 65% are happywith the work life balancethey can achieve. 83% ofstaff get involved with thefirm’s charitable activities.Team members care abouteach other (a 79% positivescore) and go out of theirway to help one another(77%).

Sandy Boyle, HR director,said: “We are extremelyproud to have received thisaccolade for the twelfth yearin a row. At Mills & Reeve we

are continuously striving tomake sure all our staff feelvalued as we know that’s thebest way to motivate peo-ple. Happy colleagues meanhappy clients, so it’s reallyimportant that we listen towhat our staff tell us. Thepositive feedback from staffhas been overwhelming andthe resulting scores are tes-tament to that.”

With over 1,050 organisa-tions taking part and morethan 226,000 employeessurveyed, 100 Best Compa-nies to Work For is the mostcomprehensive analysis ofworkplace engagement,opinion and satisfaction inthe UK.

12 years at the top for Mills & Reeve

Kings Chambers is de-lighted to announce thatSir Maurice Kay, formerVice-President of theCourt of Appeal and oneof the UK’s most respectedAppellate Judges , hasjoined Chambers.

Having retired from theCourt of Appeal Civil Divi-sion in October 2014, SirMaurice has joined KingsChambers to resume prac-tice, specifically in the ca-pacity of Arbitrator . He willaccept instructions both do-

mestically and internation-ally.

“We’re extremely pleasedthat Sir Maurice shouldchoose Kings Chambers ashe returns to private prac-tice,” says Dr NicholasBraslavsky QC, Head ofChambers at Kings. “He hada formidable reputation onthe bench, presiding in arange of important and dif-ficult cases both as a HighCourt Judge and a Lord Jus-tice of Appeal. The experi-ence Sir Maurice brings will

benefit Chambers signifi-cantly. I suspect his ability toact as an Arbitrator will be ingreat demand”

Sir Maurice will practisefrom Kings Chambers inManchester, Birminghamand Leeds. “Kings has anenviable reputation across alarge geographical area andin addition to its establishedadvocacy services, the sethas a very good profile in ar-bitration matters which Ifound very attractive,” hesaid.

Sir Maurice Kay joins Kings Chambers

Property Solicitor,Danielle Leeming, joinsCroftons Solicitors LLP asthe latest in the firm’s ap-pointments to its prop-erty team.

Danielle, who trained atNorth West law firm Mars-den Rawsthorn Solicitors,has worked on a number ofhigh profile commercialproperty transactions since2011, including sales andpurchases, property fi-nance, commercial leases,and development and plan-ning.

Commenting on the ap-pointment, Croftons’ Headof Commercial Real Estate,Bob Agnew said: “Danielleis a welcome addition to ourteam, particularly at a timewhen the property marketis buoyant. Many of ourclients have exciting plans,are critically looking at theirproperty portfolios and fu-ture needs, and are refocus-ing their assets to optimisetheir value.”

Danielle has a first class de-gree in Law and Psychology.Alongside her training, shehas worked in hotel man-agement, where she hasbeen recognised for excel-lent customer care and at-tention to detail in planningevents. Former law firmmanager describes Danielleas the best Trainee Solicitorthat she has worked with,with so much enthusiasmand always consistent.

“I am very excited to be join-ing Croftons,” adds Danielle.“From the moment I metBob Agnew and ManagingPartner Simon Leighton, Isensed the breadth ofclients and work I would beinvolved in, the open andfriendly culture of the firm,and the opportunities formy own career develop-ment.”

Danielle will work directlywith Bob Agnew and Na-taliya Healey (Associate So-licitor, who joined the firmin March 2014 from Addle-

shaw Goddard) and be partof the 27-strong specialistproperty and regenerationteam which provides arange of legal services tocorporate clients, registeredproviders (housing associa-tions), local authorities andproperty investors/develop-ers. The firm has expandedcontinuously over the past 5years with a number ofmajor new client wins,planned recruitment andwider range of services.

Croftons’ Commercial PropertyTeam Expands

Danielle Leeming

10 Movers & Shakers

Commercial law firm, HillDickinson, has bolsteredits corporate team withthe appointment of JadeChan as a dedicated cor-porate tax lawyer.

With experience across allareas of transactional tax,Jade joins the 31 strong cor-porate team as associateworking across the firm’sManchester and Liverpooloffices. Jade’s new role willsee her acting on behalf ofboth buyers and sellers incorporate transactionsranging from acquisitionsand disposals of owner-managed businesses to pri-vate equity investments.She will also be advising onother matters such as thetaxation aspects of employ-ment, commercial andproperty law.

Jade joins from DWF, whereshe advised a wide range ofclients including food com-panies, national estateagents, universities, lawfirms and private investors.She has extensive experi-ence in personal tax, draft-ing and negotiating taxschedules, undertaking taxdue diligence and draftingrisk reports.

Commenting on Jade’s ap-pointment, Sue Russell,Head of the corporate teamat Hill Dickinson said: “Wewelcome Jade and her ex-pertise into the team as welook to build upon what’sbeen a very strong year sofar. This latest appointment

highlights our growth ambi-tions and enhances ourclient and sector offerings.”

Jade Chan added: “I’m de-lighted to join such a well-respected, established teamat a time of significantgrowth.”

Hill Dickinson welcomes tax lawyer toits Corporate Team

Jade Chan

The appointment as oneof her majesty’s Queen’sCounsel is always a specialday for the recipient of theletter (although this yearit was an email) from theLord Chancellor’s depart-ment which reads “Thatthe Queen has approvedthat you should be ap-pointed one of HerMajesty’s Counsel.”

The swearing in ceremony isa proud day at the Housesof Parliament as the LordChancellor greets the suc-cessful applicants, familyand friends and then anoath is taken as testamentand in recognition of theirstanding in the law.

This year this Circuit has wit-nessed something very spe-cial indeed. The 3 recipientsof Silk on Circuit are JuliaCheetham from DeansCourt Chambers, LisaRoberts from Lincoln Houseand Marc Willems from Cob-den House.

When the email was re-ceived at 4.30 precisely onMonday 19th January ofthe recipients of successful

emails were Julia Cheethamand Marc Willems who wereparticularly keen to sharetheir news with each other.The reason for this eager-ness is because they aremarried to each other.

Who knows what life in thehousehold would havebeen like had one of themnot been successful withtheir application but thank-fully the Lord Chancellors’sQueens Counsel selectionpanel can spot a great teamand together with theirChambers they have beenjointly celebrating this fan-tastic achievement.

Julia’s specialisms involvecomplex proceedings relat-ing to children includingcare proceedings, adoption,wardship and judicial re-view. Recent highlightshave included overseaswork acting in the BritishOverseas Territories in-structed by the Falkland Is-lands and St HelenaGovernments.

Marc specialises in cata-strophic personal injury liti-gation, clinical negligence,

court of protection, judicialreview and regulatory law.Recent successes have in-cluded cases in theSupreme Court.

They met at university, Marcproposed the day after BarFinal results and they mar-ried a year later. Since thenthey have both enjoyed suc-cessful careers at theirChambers and they bothmade their silks declarationbefore the Lord Chancellorat a ceremony in Westmin-ster Hall on the 16th Febru-ary.

Protocol dictated that theywere not able to sit to-gether at the ceremony butit’s clear that being at 2 sep-arate sets in the City hasdone nothing to divide theirindividual and collectivesuccess.

Both sets warmly congratu-late them and would alsolike to take the opportunityto pass on their thanks to allthe clients and firms whohave supported them overthe years without which thiswould not have been possi-ble.

Double family silk celebrationon Circuit

Marc Willems and Julia Cheetham

12 Charity & CSR

Following Hill Dickinson'sappointment as officiallegal services supplier toGB Taekwondo last year, ateam from Hill Dickinson’sManchester office tookpart in a training sessionwith GB Taekwondo ath-letes.

The session took place on 20February 2015 at the ath-letes’ national training facil-ity in Manchester.Participants from the firmwatched some of the topTeam GB athletes, includingDamon Sansum andOlympic bronze medallistand European Champion,Lutalo Muhammad, trainingin preparation for variousupcoming competitions, notleast the 2016 Olympics inRio.

Participants were then put

through their paces withsome warm up exercises,before Damon and Lutalodemonstrated some of thebasic - and not so basic -taekwondo kicks.

The training session was at-tended by Hill Dickinson'sIan Gillis, Paul Spence, Mar-tin March, Chris Johnston,Jonathan Gillow, DavidMkhitarian, Rhian Hughes,Mercy Mba, Kin Liu, Jade

Chan, Sabina Davis, JamesDown, Katie Somerville,Faye Russell and Oli Benson.

Ian Gillis, who heads up theManchester corporate teamat Hill Dickinson, com-mented on the session:"Thank you to the GB Taek-wondo athletes for takingtime out of their busy train-ing schedules to train mycolleagues and I. Skillstaught at the session, suchas focus and discipline, canbe transferred and appliedto both everyday life andbusiness."

Hill Dickinson will be provid-ing a wide range of legalsupport to GB Taekwondoand the firm’s specialistsports team will also be ad-vising individual athletes onthe run up to the OlympicGames in 2016.

Hill Dickinson’s Manchester office trainswith Team GB Taekwondo athletes

Compensation specialist,Jefferies Solicitors staffswapped their more for-mal attire for red sweatersand t-shirts in the latest ofa string of events to sup-port the British HeartFoundation.

The 50 strong Altrincham-based office donned thecolour in support of theBritish Heart Foundation’s‘Wear it, Beat it’ campaignwhich saw 23,000 peopleacross the country raise

Jefferies Solicitors supports charityclose to their hearts

funds for the lifesaving re-search into heart and circu-latory disease.

The practice, which was es-tablished in 1993, is dedi-cated to supportingcharities and regularly takespart in fundraisers, havingraised thousands of poundsover the years.

Michael Jefferies, managingdirector at Jefferies Solici-tors, says: “The interest ofthe public is at the heart of

the company and we’re al-ways keen to support goodcauses such as this one,which raised over £100.

“The British Heart Founda-tion do fantastic work in thefight against cardiovasculardisease so we wanted toplay a part. We’re lookingforward to future fundrais-ing ideas and have a cakesale planned later thisweek.”

At some point in recentyears, you may have re-ceived a rather question-able offer to build you 100links for $10 (or similar) andget you to the top ofGoogle.

Obviously, it's an offer toogood to be true. These linksare gained by spam tactics,and should be avoided at allcosts: they won't help you,and moreover, they couldfall foul of Google's algo-rithm and damage yoursite's performance. On theother hand, the 'right' linkscan contribute to search vis-ibility, traffic and brandawareness, and are there-fore vital in an online mar-keting campaign.

So when it's done properly,what goes into building alink?

Building resources

Content marketing is a strat-egy favoured by many – inshort, it means you are earn-

ing links rather than build-ing them, as third party siteslink to the fantastic contentresources you have createdon your site. But contentcreation is by no meanseasy.

A huge amount of timefrom a lot of people is in-vested in the research, writ-ing, and design orproduction of content. Itneeds to be original, usefuland thought leading, with aclear target audience inmind – and of course, itneeds to look the part.At the core of content mar-keting lies the principle thatsite owners will actuallybenefit from linking to you,as your content will informand entertain their readers.You certainly won't get thatfor $10.

Building relationships

When it comes to the publi-cation and promotion ofyour content, there is an-other big investment of

time needed.

Not just any site will do; first,its authority, relevance andaudience need to be evalu-ated. Once a suitable site isidentified, it takes time tobuild up a fruitful relation-ship with the owner. Thatcan involve approaching asite with a unique anglethat is suitable for their au-dience, understanding whattopics they're interested in,adding value with accom-panying editorial, or simplybuilding up trust beforepitching the content.

Once a relationship is estab-lished, it is nurtured and de-veloped – like journalists orPR professionals, today'soutreach experts have atreasured book of trustedcontacts in high places.

In short, days of work mightgo into earning just onelink; but you can rest as-sured it will be valuable, al-gorithm-friendly, and aboveall, worth it.

What’s in a link?

13Movers Shakers

Express Solicitors, thespecialist personal injurylaw firm, has secured a£10.06m funding packagewith The Royal Bank ofScotland (RBS).

The funding will supportthe company in theachievement of its growthambitions, helping to fi-nance a strategy based onboth organic and acquisi-tion based expansion, aswell as providing fundingfor its day to day workingcapital needs.

Based in Northernden, nearManchester airport, ExpressSolicitors is an award win-ning Top 200 UK law firmthat specialise in every areaof personal injury claims in-cluding employer’s liability,road traffic accidents, seri-ous injuries, clinical negli-gence, occupier’s and publicliability and industrial dis-ease.

The company was estab-lished by James Maxey inSeptember 2000 and hassince enjoyed rapid growthand expansion, securing anaverage of 30% organic yearon year growth for the last14 years.

In April 2014, the businessundertook its first competi-tor acquisition, a movewhich has given the legalfirm an appetite to look in-creasingly at this process asa means of additionalgrowth achievement.

James Maxey, ManagingPartner of Express Solicitorssaid: “We have had greatsuccess during the course ofthe last 14 years, achievingcontinuous growth and es-tablishing an excellent rep-utation amongst clients inthe personal injury industry.Since 2012 alone the num-ber of cases we have on ourbooks has risen from 2355to 6833 which shows justhow quickly our business isexpanding.

“The funding package wehave secured with RBS willenable us to focus on thegrowth of the businesswithout having to compro-mise on other areas. It is ourintention to begin to look atmore competitor acquisi-tions as an additionalmeans of securing growthand the funding will sup-port this.

“Steve and the team at RBShave been fantastic and

have worked alongside usto develop a package thatwill work with our growthstrategy in the long term.We have banked with RBSsince we first set up ExpressSolicitors and their supporthas been excellent from thestart. In addition to funding,we have found the seminarsand other events that theteam host to be really use-ful, helping us to form posi-tive business connectionsthat have really benefitedthe firm.”

Steve Taylor, Senior Rela-tionship Manager at TheRoyal Bank of Scotland said:“We are delighted that wehave been able to supportExpress Solicitors with thefunding package.The management team hasa very clear set of objectivesfor the company and theirsuccess in recent years hasshown just how dedicatedthey are to achieving theseresults. We look forward tocontinuing to work with thefirm and to help themachieve their growth ambi-tions in the future.”

Express Solicitors secures £10.06 milliongrowth backing from RBS

James Maxey, managing partner at Express Solicitors and Steve Taylor, senior relationship manager at Royal Bank of Scotland

Exchange Chambers hasstrengthened its criminaldepartment in Manches-ter with the arrival ofcriminal barrister JulianGoode.

Julian, who was called tothe Bar in 2006, joins Ex-change Chambers from StJohns Buildings. His prac-tice involves both prosecu-tion and defence workincluding fraud, sexual as-saults, dishonesty, Proceedsof Crime, drugs and vio-lence. He also has extensive

knowledge of road trafficmatters. In addition, Julianregularly appears for theDepartment of Work andPensions, prosecuting ben-efit fraud cases and repre-sents Police officers inmisconduct matters.

Commenting on his deci-sion to join ExchangeChambers, Julian Goodesaid:

“Exchange Chambers iswidely recognised as theleading criminal set in the

North and I am looking for-ward to further developingmy practice at such a for-ward-thinking Chambers.”

Said Director of Chambers,Tom Handley: “Julian’s ar-rival further strengthens ourcriminal team which nowhas over seventy membersdefending and prosecutingat all levels.We are delighted to wel-

come him to Chambers.”

Julian Goode joins Exchange Chambers

Clinical negligence solici-tors throughout the UKare missing out on pay-ments on account whenthe courts make costs or-ders – even though theyare entitled to them in thevast majority of cases.

Research released today byJust Costs Solicitors, indi-cates that in cases where so-licitors obtain an order forcosts, the courts are auto-matically making an orderfor a payment on account injust 15% of cases.

In cases where the courtshave not made an order forpayment on account ofcosts, 80% of the time it isbecause solicitors have notasked for one. In only 5% ofcases are the courts findingthere is a good reason notto do so.

Just Costs Solicitors spoketo 1178 medical negligencepartners at law firmsthroughout the UK for its re-search.

Commenting on the find-ings, Nick McDonnell, Sen-ior Associate and NorthernRegional Manager at JustCosts said:

“The Civil Procedure Rulesstate that where the courtorders a party to pay costssubject to detailed assess-ment, it will order that partyto pay a reasonable sum onaccount of costs, unlessthere is good reason not to

do so.

This research shows thatclaimant firms are missingout on the opportunity tosignificantly improve theircash flow by failing to se-cure payments on account.”

If an application is made foran interim payment, the re-search indicates that costsare being recovered in 89%of cases.

Added Nick: “Essentially ap-plications should not be

needed if advocates simplydrew the court’s attentionto rule 44.2(8). If the mattersettles by consent, a termfor payment on accountshould be included in theorder.

“Applications are neededwhen the costs agreementis by way of Part 36 – and ifthe application is made, theresearch shows that in thevast majority of cases theyare successful in recoveringthe costs of their applica-tion in addition.”

Clinical Negligence Solicitors missingout on payments on account

Nick McDonnell

Call: 01392 423607

The deadline for the May 2015 edition of The Messenger

is 9th April 2015

14 Forensic Update

Those of us who make our living plying a trade that the av-erage person in the street does not come across regularly,if it all, often have to explain what we do when we get intoconversation with strangers.

My short description of what I do is of course to say that Iam a “forensic accountant”, but I do so only reluctantly, forthe reasons I shall explain below. Then I await the reactionwith raised eyebrows.

The responses fall into three types.

Most lawyers obviously know quite well what purposeforensic accountants serve, even if they practise in a fieldwhere the assistance of an accountant is unlikely ever to berequired. Interestingly, some lawyers who regularly instructforensic accountants are often not aware of the full rangeof litigation areas where forensic accountants can and doassist. I have met personal injury lawyers who regularly in-struct accountants, who are baffled as to what possible usea forensic accountant can be to a matrimonial lawyer deal-ing with money cases, and vice versa. I wonder sometimeswhether it seems to them that an accountant working on amatrimonial case one week and a personal injury case thenext is analogous to a matrimonial lawyer trying their handat a personal injury case or vice versa. The answer of courseis that it is not analogous at all. In both types of case the ac-countant is just being an accountant and is bringing to bearthe same skills and expertise.

Many non-lawyers have absolutely no idea what a forensicaccountant is, and therefore my raised eyebrows are metwith puzzled looks. I then launch into the fuller explana-tion, which is that I am “a chartered accountant, most ofwhose work is carried out as an expert witness in litigationcases”. That usually does the trick. The conversation thenmoves on to explanations of the type of litigation caseswhere accountants are from time to time required – matri-monial, professional negligence, personal injury, commer-cial disputes, white collar crime etc.

However the non-lawyers who have heard of forensic ac-countants, and so think they have a rough idea of whatthey do, provide interesting responses. The most commonone is “that must be very glamorous”. I never understandwhy. Do people assume that I spend my working life jet-ting from one exotic location to another? Another regularresponse is to say that it must be very interesting to spendall one’s time investigating frauds. Well of course some ofthe time I do investigate allegations of fraudulent activity,but that is not the bread and butter reality of what I and

most forensic accountants spend most of our time doing.Why do people think that forensic accountants have no roleto play except in cases of fraud?

I usually respond by explaining that behind the forensic ac-countant badge I am just an accountant. I am not a differ-ent type of accountant. I am just applying the abilities andskills that my training and experience have given me in adifferent context from that in which most accountants op-erate.

So the “forensic” part of the “forensic accountant” label isabout the context in which the accountant operates, notabout what kind of accountant he or she, in essence, is.

That is why I prefer not to describe myself as “a forensic ac-countant” but as “a chartered accountant most of whosework is carried out as an expert witness in litigation cases”.“Forensic accountant” is too often misunderstood to meana different type of accountant.

And yet of course there are at least two types of forensic ac-countant – those who have no significant or recent experi-ence of mainstream accountancy practice and those whowere or are experienced practitioners in the general sense.Many are the judicial observations that expert evidencefrom those with a wide background in general practice willoften provide a more reliable source than that of expertswho have left mainstream practice to focus solely on beingexperts.

I myself fall into the second category, but in fairness to myesteemed colleagues who fall into the first category I mustadd that the difference does not always matter. Some ofthe so called accountancy evidence that is brought beforethe courts simply calls for analysis of raw financial data,without any opportunity to apply the high level knowledgeand skills that are the province of accountants. Solicitorsinstruct accountants in such cases because they arethought, correctly, to have an essential numeracy, and a fa-cility with spreadsheet packages, that make them wellsuited to such work. Whether an accountant has real andup to date experience of mainstream accountancy practiceat a senior level is irrelevant in this type of work as the workaffords no opportunity to bring such experience to bear inany event.

It is in the cases requiring the deployment of high level ex-pertise in the core subject matter of the accountancy pro-fession that the difference matters.

What is a forensic accountant?John Grogan gives some insights into howhe answers this question at parties....

John Grogan is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax adviser. Since 2009 he has been

the founding principal of his ownindependent practice, JGA, in

which he provides expert witnessservices to the legal communityand accounting and tax services to businesses and individuals. Between 1986 and 2009 John

was a partner at PKF, the formertop-ten national firm of

accountants, now part of BDO.

David Bott and Paul Hinchcliffe

The evening’s MC - Eamonn O’Neal

Jason Dixon of Docutech Office Solutions andAlison Hibbert of By Parallel draw the raffle

At least you don’t have to walk it...

Sally Harrison Q.C. goes to accept her Award of Barrister ofthe Year

Happy guests

Networking at the Champagne Reception

15Manchester Law Society MLA 2015

The video of the evening can be viewed at youtu.be/e1cICp6Tc8o

awards, Lucie Alker took the Trainee Award, and the firmalso won the Pro Bono/Community Initiative, Litigation,Property and Large firm awards.

It was also a successful evening for LHS Solicitors whowalked away with the Regulatory and Medium Firm Award,much to the delight of Ian Lewis and Graham Small who col-lected the coveted trophies.

Bott & Co also scooped two Awards, Kevin Clarke won Asso-ciate of the Year, saying he was “lost for words” and DavidBott and Paul Hinchcliffe collected the Award for Small Firmof the Year.

The Private Client Award went to Beth Wilkins and Cather-ine Jones of JMW Solicitors who have worked together forover 25 years.

Matthew Claughton of Olliers Solicitors took the Partner ofthe Year Award, an outstanding achievement for a criminallawyer. Joanne McLeod of the Law Society, who sponsoredthe Award said “I am delighted that Matthew has won thisaward. He is an outstanding leader in what are, a very chal-lenging set of circumstances for all criminal law firms.”

St John’s Buildings were also celebrating; Barrister of theYear Award was won by Sally Harrison Q.C., they werenamed Chambers of the Year and Michael Redfern Q.C. washonoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Michaelspecialises in clinical negligence cases involving cerebralpalsy in particular, personal injury including catastrophicand brain injury and employers liability and road trafficcases. He was also the Leader of the Northern Circuit from2005 to 2008 which involved him being involved in Bar Pol-itics at the highest level.

Fran Eccles-Bech, chief executive of the Manchester Law So-ciety, commented: “The 2015 Manchester Legal Awards ex-ceeded every expectation in terms of the volume andquality of entries. Every year the bar is raised and the judgeshave an incredibly difficult task to select winners from theconsistently high standard of entries.Our city is burgeoningwith a huge number of extremely talented lawyers andleaders, operating in a range of disciplines and in firms andchambers of all shapes and sizes. The winners of awards re-ally are the cream of their profession and a credit to our sec-tor.”

During the evening Fran made an appeal on behalf of theSociety’s nominated charity, NSPCC’s Childline Schools Serv-ice. The Charity recruits and trains volunteers to talk to pri-mary school children about different forms of abuse andways to stay safe. During the night the raffle raised £6289.70for this good cause.

The evening would not have been such as success withoutthe efforts of so many people. First of all the Judging Panelwho had the extremely difficult task selecting the winners.The Judges were Louise Straw, President of Manchester LawSociety, Martin Jackson, President of the Insurance Instituteof Manchester, Fran Eccles-Bech Chief Executive of Man-chester Law Society, Ruth Shearn, Managing Director of RMSPR, Nigel Wright, Managing Director of Converge TS, Profes-sor Nigel Savage, President of the University of Law, AdamJupp, Head of Business the Manchester Evening News, HHJJudge David Stockdale, Resident Judge Manchester CrownCourt, Edward G Smethurst, Chairman Commerce & Indus-try Group North West, Sarah Hutchinson, Director of SavageHutchinson Consulting Ltd, Clive Memmott, Chief ExecutiveGreater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, HH Judge AllanGore QC, Designated Civil Judge Manchester and JohnJones Chair of Pro Manchester.

Thanks are also due to the principle sponsors, Converge TSand Moneypenny; to Docutech Office Solutions for spon-soring the welcome drinks reception, to DX for sponsoringthe band and the sponsors of the individual awards; Ea-monn O’Neal the host for the evening, the ManchesterEvening News and in particular the Business Editor AdamJupp; RMS PR the Awards PR & Marketing partner and inparticular Ruth Shearn, Dan Gledhill and Andrew Avery;MMA Digital the Digital Partner who videoed the wholeevent, in particular Dez Derry and Simon Gamble; the band,The Rush who ensured that the dancing went on until theearly hours of the morning, firms who donated raffle prizes,and finally the staff at the Midland Hotel.

So, until next year.....

Julia Baskerville

Michael Redfern Q.C. with principle sponsors Bernadette Bennett of Moneypenny and Nigel Wright of

Converge TS looking on

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onso hank

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sponsors and partnerso all our t

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wards@MLAA.manchesterlegalawards.co.uk www

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Principal sponsors Event hostPrincipal sponsors Media partnerEvent host Marketing partnerMedia partner artnerDigital P

17Manchester Law Society MLA 2015

Chartered Legal Executiveof the YearRachel Stevens of Weightmans LLP

“This is a wonderful surprise, but also slightly overwhelming. I havebeen a Legal Executive for three years and I am now the Chair of theManchester branch of ILEX. I feel it is important that young peopleare aware that there are alternative routes to qualifying as a solici-tor and ILEX is a brilliant way to get into the legal profession.”

Sponsored by

“ It is a great pleasure to sponsor the Manchester Legal Awards.Manchester Metropolitan University has a strong reputation for vo-cational training and the legal profession is now diversifying andwe are responding to that through our training and legal appren-ticeships scheme.

Catherine Little, Head of Law SchoolManchester Metropolitan University.

Trainee of the YearLucie Alker of Eversheds LLP

“I am elated, shocked and really, really pleased to have won thisaward. I was delighted when I was nominated by the firm, then tobe shortlisted. To have won this award is just amazing. I have had awonderful time as a trainee and I am currently on secondment atManchester United FC and due to qualify as a solicitor in Septem-ber.”

Sponsored by

We always like to sponsor the Trainee Award at the MLA as we trainthe young lawyers of tomorrow. The University of Law is currentlyexpanding in Manchester with a new lecture theatre to accommo-date more young lawyers. Lucie is an outstanding Trainee, withgreat prospects and I offer my congratulations to her.

Carol DraycottThe University of Law

Associate of the Year

Kevin Clarke of Bott & Co Solicitors Ltd

“I am not usually lost for words, but tonight I am. I came into theprofession via the ILEX route, and have felt that in the past awardevenings such as the MLA were for “proper’ lawyers, but tonight il-lustrates that the profession is changing and there are now a num-ber of routes to qualification and success. I will be so proud to showthis award to my two sons when I get home.”

Sponsored by

A former lawyer, I am now a Director of Interlink Recruitment. Weare very happy to be associated with the Manchester Legal Awardsand delighted to sponsor this award. My congratulations to Kevinand all of the other winners this evening.

Louis RosenthalInterlink Recruitment

Pro Bono/CommunityInitiative of the Year

Alasdair Outhwaite for Eversheds LLP

“I am very pleased to accept this award on behalf of the CSR team.We do a lot of work during the course of the year and Eversheds arecommitted to its CSR policy and encouraging staff to become in-volved. During the year we have supported a number of local foodbanks and Victoria House, a refuge for the homeless. We also havea programme, ‘Eversheds Unlocked’ which is aimed at students whoare first time family members to go to university, are studying atstate schools and have a genuine enthusiasm for the legal profes-sion. We work with a number of local schools to give young peoplefrom ‘disadvantaged' backgrounds the support to successfully applyto university and understand what they need to do to secure atraining contract.”

Sponsored by

Eclipse Legal Systems are very proud to be associated with theManchester Legal Awards. I am very happy to present this award toEversheds who have made such a commitment to their CSR strategyand to be part of something that is giving back to the community.

Delores EvelynEclipse Legal Systems

Corporate/Commercial Teamof the YearJonathan Watkins for DLA Piper LLP

“We are delighted to win this award. The last six months have beenextremely busy and there has been a lot of activity in Manchester.Zeus has really opened up the public markets and we have seensome good M & A activity. There is a lot of competition in this area,but we have been able to work on a number of excellent deals, I amthrilled.”

Sponsored by

This is a very interesting time in the Manchester legal market andalthough we are a national company, Manchester is our homelandand we are very happy to support the Manchester Legal Awards.

Jon-Paul HanrahanDouglas Scott Legal Recruitment

Crime Team of the YearPaul Schofield for Farleys Solicitors LLP

“I am absolutely thrilled to accept this award on behalf of the team,although I do feel that although it was a very strong shortlist, wedeserved to win. Despite the attacks on the profession from thegovernment, we are determined to fight the good fight.”

Sponsored by

We are proud to be associated with the Manchester Legal Awardsand in particular to be able to sponsor the Crime Team of the Year.We work with many criminal practitioners and I offer my congratu-lations to Paul and the team at Farleys.

James DrewDPS Software

Employment Team of theYear

Martin Price for Slater & Gordon“I am very proud to accept his award. It has been a very busy yearfor the Employment Team and we have seen large growth in termsof fees and we have also been involved in some very interestingcases. This award recognizes our hard work.”

Sponsored by

We specialise in providing telephony systems to law firms to im-prove the customer experience and are delighted to sponsor theManchester Legal Awards.Neil Hollands, Concert Networks

Law firms are at a high risk from cyber threats and our experiencein this fields allows to assist law firms to reduce this threat. We arevery happy to sponsor the awards and offer congratulations to all ofthe winners.Stephen Robinson, Xyone Cyber Security

18 MLA 2015

Litigation Team of the Year

Simon Chamberlain for Eversheds LLP

“It is fantastic to win this award again. It is all about improving our-selves as there is a lot of strong competition in Manchester. It hasbeen a busy year in Manchester and the North West and we havehad some great trial wins. We have also advised a number of northwest businesses on critical business issues, it has been a very inter-esting and productive year.”

Sponsored by

Successful litigation is all about teamwork and we have the experi-ence and knowledge to assist law firms. The Manchester LegalAwards is always a great evening and we are happy to support it.

Robert ParryBaker Tilly

PI/Clinical Negligence Teamof the YearKaren Jackson for Roberts Jackson“I am really pleased to have won this award. Over the past 12months we have won a number of national awards and this was theleast expected. I think it is important to the team at Roberts Jack-son to have local recognition and to be a part of the ManchesterLegal Awards. The calibre of the shortlist was very high, so I am de-lighted.”

Sponsored by

Eclipse Legal Systems are delighted to be able to sponsor thePI/Clinical Negligence Award and offer our congratulations to KarenJackson and the team at Roberts Jackson, who, I am pleased to sayuse the Eclipse Proclaim system.

Russell ThomsonEclipse Legal Systems

Private Client Team of the YearCatherine Jones & Beth Wilkins of JMW Solicitors

Catherine Jones “This is brilliant. Beth and I have been friendssince we qualified as solicitors and have worked together for 25years. We are delighted and also, very surprised.”Beth Wilkins “We are the joint Heads of the department, and haveworked together for many years. We used to work for opposingfirms, but Catherine and I met at a Conference in Eastbourne andCatherine suggested I join her at Pannone, which I did. Three yearsago we moved along with the team, to JMW and I am thrilled to ac-cept this award.”

Sponsored by

We are delighted to support the Manchester Legal Awards whichhighlights the wealth of legal talent in Manchester. I would like tooffer my congratulations to Beth and Catherine and all of the otherwinners this evening.

Jonathan SherlockBrown Shipley

Property Team of the Year

Nancy Brown for Eversheds

“I am very pleased, its has been a fantastic year. Our success is allabout good teamwork. We often have to work in high pressurisedsituations and that is when excellent teamwork counts. I am veryhappy.”

Sponsored by

Every year we sponsor the Manchester Legal Awards as we are experts in providing legal indemnity products for the profession.Welove dealing and working with successful property law firms and Ioffer my congratulations to Nancy and Eversheds.

John MaidensFirst Title

Regulatory Team of the Year

Ian Lewis for LHS

“I am absolutely thrilled, its wonderful news for the whole team atLHS, particularly when we were up against the “big boys”. It hasbeen an incredible year and we have seen enormous growth, interms of both staff and turnover. We advise the Police Superinten-dants Association of England and Wales on regulation and discipli-nary matters and are currently representing some officers at theHillsborough Inquest. It has been a very busy year, but also a veryproductive and successful one and this award adds to our success.”

Sponsored by

I like to be able to give something back to the legal community aswe have been in business for over 100 years. The Manchester LegalAwards is a great event and I am very happy to sponsor this award.

John BroadbentJames Jackson

19Manchester Law Society MLA 2015

Barristers’ Chambers of theYearSally Harrison QC for St John’s Buildings

“It is really important to me to have won this award in particular. Ithas been a very busy year in chambers and we have worked reallyhard to give something back to the community. We have cycled upmountains, I have done a stand up comedy spot and been soakedwith wet sponges. It has been an excellent year and I am de-lighted.”

Sponsored by

We find the Manchester legal scene to be a very vibrant communityand we are very happy to be associated with the Manchester LegalAwards. I am delighted that St John’s Buildings have won thisevening and offer my congratulations.

Doug HargroveAdvanced Legal

Partner of the Year

Matthew Claughton of Olliers SolicitorsI am both delighted and overwhelmed to win this award, particu-larly as a criminal practitioner. I hope that this winning this awardhelps to raise the profile of all criminal practitioners throughout thecountry who work so hard for their clients. We are facing many,many challenges and we need to highlight the issues of cuts tolegal aid and access to justice. I dedicate this award to every crimi-nal practitioner.”

Sponsored by

I am delighted that Matthew has won this award. He is an out-standing leader in what are, a very challenging set of circumstancesfor all criminal law firms. I offer Matthew my congratulations andto all of the winners tonight.

Joanne McLeodThe Law Society

Small Firm of the Year

David Bott & Paul Hinchcliffe for Bott & CoSolicitors Ltd

David Bott I am happy and proud, really proud of what we haveachieved, in fact I am beyond proud.Paul Hinchcliffe We have worked hard to raise the profile of thefirm and want to showcase the legal talent within the firm. We puta lot of effort into what we do and are recruiting and training newstaff. There are three partners in the firm and we are all Mancuniansand delighted to have been recognised.

Sponsored by

Small firms are the backbone of the profession, yet they face hugeamounts of regulation and we specialise in assisting law firms indealing with is. Bott & Co have done brilliantly well and I offer mycongratulations.

Richard CorranWeightmans LLP

Large Firm of the YearMichael Clavell-Bate for Eversheds LLP

Five awards for Eversheds this evening! I am both humbled and de-lighted. It has been a brilliant year for the firm. This is the first yearout of the recession and we have seen an increase in the quantityand quality of work. When market conditions improve, we all reapthe benefits. I am very happy with the direction of the firm and oursuccess tonight.

Sponsored by

Palladium Associates are delighted to be involved with the Manchester Legal Awards. It is a great evening which recognisesthe wealth of legal talent in the city. My congratulations to Ever-sheds, the award is well deserved.

Ed SmethurstPalladium Associates

Medium Firm of the YearGraham Small for LHS

“What a fantastic night, this is our second award this evening. Wehave worked hard and had a very good year. We now have 120 staffacross three offices in London, Croydon and Manchester and havemany plans for 2015, including an office move in Manchester It is agreat compliment to win this award considering the rest of theshortlist, and is one that recognizes home grown talent.”

Sponsored by

We have had close links with the Manchester legal community and Manchester Law Society for many years and spon-soring the Legal Awards are an opportunity for MFL Professional togive something back. My congratulations to LHS.

Kevin McParlandMFL Professional

Barrister of the YearSally Harrison QC of St John’s Buildings

I am absolutely delighted. We won this award last year and Ithought it was highly unlikely that we would win again. This is atribute to all of the hard work put in by our clerks and barristers.

Sponsored by

This is a great event and we are delighted to sponsor the Barristeraward. Manchester Law Society are a very special organisation andwe like to be involved with their events. Congratulations to Sallyand all of the other winners this evening.

David SeggarMetronet (UK)

20 MLA 2015

Outstanding AchievementMichael Redfern QC of St John’s Buildings

Sponsored by Many of our clients are from the legal sector and we like to give some-thing back by sponsoring the Manchester Legal Awards, and in par-ticular the Lifetime Achievement Award. We offer our congratulationssto Michael Redfern Q.C.

Bernadette Bennett, Moneypenny

This is the biggest legal event in the North of England and we are de-lighted to be sponsors. Thank you to Manchester Law Society for giv-ing us the opportunity to be involved and congratulations to all of thewinners this evening. We will be back next year!

Nigel Wright, Converge TS

Michael Redfern QC realised his role in life aged 14 whilewatching a TV programme with his mother in Accring-ton. Alex Bell of MEN Business caught up with him afterhe landed the Lifetime Achievement at the ManchesterLegal Awards.

Before becoming a QC Michael Redfern grew up in Accring-ton and then Davyhulme. He attended Stretford GrammarSchool, Leeds University and became a teacher and lecturerwhile studying for the final Bar exams.

Since then he has enjoyed a long career in Law, which hasseen him chair two sensitive Government Inquiries: TheAlder Hey Inquiry - which continues to set the rules in termsof medical consent and organ usage. And the Redfern In-quiry into human tissue analysis in UK nuclear facilities,called after the Sellafield nuclear facility body parts removaland testing scandal which received national press coverageand remains hugely influential to this day.

He has been a well-known figure in the Manchester legalprofession and led his chambers for a number of years andwas instrumental in them becoming the first set of cham-bers to be corporate members of the Manchester Law So-ciety.

Mr Redfern specialises in the field of Clinical Negligence,Cerebral Palsy, Brain Injury and Spinal Injury cases and hasbuilt a reputation for taking on cases thought too difficultor unwinnable, many times on a pro bono basis.

Last month he was handed a Lifetime Achievement Awardat the sixth Manchester Legal Awards. After he told BusinessWeek: "The recognition is very much appreciated especiallywhen you realise in retrospect what you have done sinceleaving school. You realise you have touched so many peo-ple in life and hopefully added value."

The father-of-four who lives in Over Alderley near Maccles-field also revealed how a television programme pushed himtowards law. "When I was 14 my mother called me in fromplaying sport on the street in Accrington and said shewanted me to watch a programme on the television," hesaid. "And that programme was how to become a barrister.I watched it, thought 'that's for me', and never had a thoughtof doing anything else but being a Barrister.

"It is an advantage when you know what you want to do, asyou have a vocation and can work towards it. At StretfordGrammar School two out of eight of us in a class becamebarristers and QCs which is quite a lot from such a smallclass."

Mr Redfern, of St John's Buildings, was presented with theaward by Bernadette Bennett of Moneypenny and NigelWright of Converge TS, the awards principle sponsors. Hejoined an esteemed list of past winners including RodgerPannone, Bill Jones, Edward Smethurst, Maurice WatkinsCBE and Michael Mackey. "It's a nice thing to be awarded,"Mr Redfern told Business Week. "I joined Chambers in Man-chester a long time ago now and started doing MagistratesCourt work which transformed into Crown Court work anda lot of crime for five years.

"The Chambers had a high standing in personal injuries andpersonal negligence and I moved into that seamlessly andit took off from there."

He added: "I had several leading cases which is very satisfy-ing. I did the case of Stark v the Post Office which confirmedthat there was strict liability on the part of employers whowere providing defective equipment at work. That was amost important decision.

"I was also very interested in the charitable aspects of theBar and became a representative in 1984 for the BarristersBenevolence Association. You don't talk about that, you justdo it. And I had the pleasure of helping Barristers who hadbeen severely damaged in accidents or had fallen on hardtimes for other reasons, right down to providing houses,adapting them, providing care, physiotherapy."

Arguably his biggest case was Alder Hey though. "Alder Heycame along as a result of me doing a particular case - I was

approached by the Government to do it. I was told I'd bemad to take it on and was told I'd be eaten alive, but I said'forget it, I'm doing it'.

"And it was the most enjoyable year of my life at thattime.We had a small but wonderful team and produced a re-port within a year and made recommendations, many ofwhich were implemented.

"But I still don't understand why there isn't a national con-sent form that is identical in every hospital throughout thecountry. That way everybody knows about the issues of con-sent, because it wasn't just Alder Hey where there were is-sues of consent."

Mr Redfern also gave his views on how to approach thecomplexities of the job. "Complete dedication and tunnelvision and working at it to the exclusion of everything else,including your private life, until the case is completed," is es-sential, according to Mr Redfern.

"I don't tend to register disquiet. I just feel it inside but don'tlet it show and have always tried to be calm on the exterior."While the QC described Manchester as having a thrivinglegal sector, he warned of the challenges that lie ahead."Manchester is a very thriving city and commercially hasbeen sold very well," he said. "It is attracting other businessand attracting lawyers from other cities. "Barristers and so-licitors are opening in Manchester because of a large de-mand for services they provide.

"Rather than the past, having to take the big cases to Lon-don, you are saving the cost by the Barristers and solicitorsbeing of sufficient quality here and in sufficient numbers tobe able to do work to the same standard here, as it wouldbe done by specialist practices in London, without incurringthese huge train fares and accommodation costs."

He said: "The legal horizon here is challenging and those

who rise to meet the new challenge by looking at newmethods will do very well. "We have, for every job adver-tised, between 600 and 800 applicants, which makes it veryhard.

"It's very difficult for young people to find a place of perma-nency in the legal profession. The legal sector won't closedown. It's a case of adaptation to new demands. There willalways be divorces, crime, accidents and commercial litiga-tion and it's just a case of how you service it in a sufficientmanner to attract the clients, preserving the standards towhich you operate and the quality of your product. Becausewithout that you are dead."

On more predictions for the future of law and what satisfieshim most at work, Mr Redfern said: "The high street firmswill be under pressure, larger firms will absorb many ofthem. It's very important that Barristers and Solicitors worktogether. "There's great pressure on the rank of QC too."He added: "I enjoy representing the underdog immensely.That's been the greatest satisfaction of my career. Seeingjustice dispensed to the people that might not otherwisehave the same path or presentation that a large organisa-tion might have. I would also like to think that my Chambershad been the lead Chambers in expanding into five cities toprovide economies of scale and seek work on a contractualbasis and work by new methods that is satisfying market de-mand. "Crime, family, personal injury, clinical negligence,commercial - that model has worked well. But you need totake the work on slowly, not too quickly. It's not a gentle-man's profession anymore. "The law is a business, and Bar-risters and Solicitors must realise that and try and work inunison. "Solicitors will have to find cheaper ways of gettingan advocate. Do they employ them or use them on a con-tractual basis. These are things that need to be teased out.On retirement Mr Redfern QC said: "My youngest daughteris in the first year of a five-year medicine course. I think thatmight be your answer because I have got to fund it."

22 Management

Management MattersThis column is now into its fifth year and feedback is still good. We would still like to receive observations and ideas for futureissues. Please mail Bill Kirby at billkirby@professionalchoiceconsultancy.com or the publisher Julia Baskerville atj.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.uk

Major Conference over Dinner at MOSI

On 25th February, MLS Advantage members Viewpoint and Ma-trix247 hosted an evening of informative speakers at theirroundtable dinner event “Video Communications is transform-ing the legal sector”

Held at the Museum of Science and Industry in the heart ofManchester – and if you and the family have not been youshould go and maybe even take in the People’s Museum on thesame day.

Over 60 senior decision makers from the legal sector gatheredto enjoy a three-course meal in the iconic venue, and to hear in-sights from myself, Scott Harding (Deputy Managing Partner ofPoole Alcock LLP) and Stephen Newton (Founding Fellow of theInstitute of Coaching Professionals) on how video communica-tions technology is beginning to help law firms to solve theirmost pressing business challenges.

In my talk, I outlined the current economic landscape for lawfirms and explained how the ability to increase billable hoursand simultaneously cut costs can have a big impact on a firm’sbottom line – more later

Scott then gave a compelling example of how his firm has rap-idly seen a wealth of benefits from implementing video com-munications, not only in the firm’s profitability by increasingcase-loads and minimising unproductive travel time, but also instaff morale and communications with the easy-to-use and costeffective technology.

Stephen Newton gave us an expert’s view on the importance ofmaximising the benefits of meeting time both internally andwith clients, and the need to eliminate unproductive time inorder to succeed in a competitive marketplace.

The evening rounded off with hosts Quentin Birchall of View-point and Stephen Pritchard of Matrix247 explaining how videocommunications technology can help law firms to drive com-petitive advantage by maximising billable hours, improvingclient care, and by improving communications across their or-ganisations, making business processes leaner and more effi-cient

The event was well attended, with Manchester Law SocietyPresident Louise Straw and Chief Executive Fran Eccles-Bech

joining Directors, Managing Partners, Senior Partners and IT Di-rectors from over 25 different leading law firms.

The Dynamics of our Legal Business

I spoke twice on the day of the MOSI Event. The first was a CPDEvent for law firms at the Northwich offices of Howard WorthAccountants – they have a number of law firms as clients andare also very high profile with the UK 200 group – a national net-work of c150 accountancy firms and including a legal sectorspecial interest group, now being joined by some law firms aswe all try and get smarter at what we do.

Over the last four months I Have got a lot of pleasure writingthis column – in particular the Management Check List in No-vember and the New Year Resolutions. One of my themes hasalso been picked up on Linked In with an on going debateabout rolling forecasts rather than reviews against budgets.

Whether we like it or not the law firm is now a business andneeds to be managed as such. Starting with a realistic 3 yearplan in terms of where are we, where do we want to be and howare we going to get there.

Where is there any benefit in defining the next years billingbased upon the number of fee earners that we have and aspurious mathematical formula if we don’t know what ourproducts and services are, what our potential client base isand how are we going to get to it

This is still a scary scenario in many firms. Not only is it lackingin direction but also milestones and business development op-portunities.

In order to be competitive and maintain the client experiencewe have to be efficient and cut costs without diminishing serv-ices.

The AV communications referred to in the MOSI event are agreat help – multi branch firms can hold regular meetings re-viewing direction and performance without half a day for fortypeople being lost to have a one hour session. The technologycan also be used for face to face communication with clients,making the logistics for client and lawyer that much easier andcan even be used to help convert new business enquiries.

So not only a cost reduction but more time at the desk billingand fulfilling the needs of the client

Being available to work that little bit more must surely make thenationally accepted 5 billable hours per day from every feeearner – that by the way is a net figure after write offs etc. A coldhard look needs to be given to the business that is not achiev-ing that sort of number. It could be that more work is needed,that the firm is over resourced or just that fee earners must dotheir job and record time. There is potentially some relief for ex-ample for conveyancing but even that job needs to be brokendown into achievable parts to maintain client satisfaction andcompare solicitor performance geared of course to all round im-provement.

Even fixed price litigation has been with us for many years –even more reason to be watching the clock against the expec-tation as for the next time it is good to have an idea on cost. Thisis before we should only allow this work if we and the clientknow what we are going to do for the money and effectivechange control is in place.

In my presentations I pointed out one simple dynamic. 50 feeearners on £200 billing rate just one more unit each adds £230kto billing, GP and Net Profit. 20 fee earners on £150 rate can stillgenerate £70k. Just do the sums for your own business.

Joe Reevy in February’s piece even pointed out that a fee earnerwriting stuff for webs site or PR is a massive waste of his/hertime when it can be outsourced to experts.

I make no apologies for repeating this sum from last months ar-ticle. New Business Enquiry conversions. We are doing market-ing, networking, web development even communication withour client base (that most valuable asset) and still we are rudeto them when they enquire, fail to put them at ease and say we

would be delighted to help and fail to ask for the work. Despiteall the publicity following Ian Cooper’s report, a recently as theHoward Worth Event, Mike Porter of Legal Mentors fed back tothe participants a mystery shopper exercise his team had com-pleted – all positive firms and all shocked. 500 enquiries permonth with 25% conversion rate, for a £500 file equates to£750k per annum. A 50% conversion equates to £1.5million.

Please don’t say 500 enquiries is a lot. In reality it is not and thetrouble is most firms don’t know.

Managing our Business – The Forecast

This is the piece mentioned earlier about whether we should bemeasuring ourselves against our budgets. Many now believethis is unrealistic and potentially a bit lazy. Our business as awhole and enfranchised department heads need to more dy-namically adjust to or correct changing circumstances.

• We all need at least a three year strategy, valued with mile-stones enabling full business and succession planning• Year one of the strategy is the basis for our budget

o Revenueo Headcount – all discretionary includingreplacemento Business developmento Process and efficiency changeso Working capitalo Overheads – with BD and IT spend discretionary

• After month 1 and review of performance, the budget apartfrom a reference point becomes redundant as we should belooking at the fiscal in a completely different light 1+11, 2+10,3+9 and so on. There are some that argue it should be a perpet-ually rolling 12 months. I don’t go that far as yet as I encouragea complete update of the 3 year strategy annually

• The monthly department head report – we have discussed ac-countabilities previously

Fundamentally reference needs to come back to budget and aforecast against that budget throughout the year. Month 1 + 11,Month 2 + 10, Month 3 +9 and so on. We should always be look-ing at risks and opportunities, recognising the risks early andtaking remedial action where we can, recognising the opportu-nities possible and ensuring they materialise. Fee Income bywork type and location

Apr May June Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Bud F/CBUDACTCUM VAR

Demonstration and commentary;

a. This is how we are trending year to dateb. Here are the reasons for any blips – past or forecastc. These trends are likely/not likely to continued. Here are the risks and opportunities ahead of us for

this yeare. Here are the actions I am going to take and when.f. On the basis of this here is a revised forecast against

the years budget – takes in risks, opportunities, remedial

A fundamental exercise for Billing, Gross Profit, ChargeableTime, Lock Up, Headcount, Complaints, Matter Starts

Bill Kirby is a director of Professional Choice Consultancy of-fering advice to firms on business issues from strategy,planning, business development, the effective use of IT ap-plications and IT hosting for compliance, business continu-ity and DR. He can be contacted at billkirby@professionalchoiceconsultancy.com

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24 Court Fees

Court Fees increaseNational Law Society starts legal action over government's 'flat tax' on court feesThe Law Society has issued a pre-action protocol letterfor judicial review to challenge the government's deci-sion to increase some court fees by over 600 per cent.

The grounds on which the Law Society is challenging are:

•The proposals would be tantamount to 'selling justice' con-trary to the principles of Magna Carta.•The government does not have the power to raise fees forthe purposes it has stated in the consultation - to make 'de-partmental savings'.•The government is proceeding without evidence to justifythe increases, which are effectively a tax.•Consultees were not told how much money needed to beraised from enhanced fees or why - this is a breach of theGovernment's own consultation principles, which state thatsufficient reasons must be given for any proposal to permitintelligent consideration and response.•When the government tabled its second round of propos-als on higher fees for possession claims and general civil ap-plications, it had already made up its mind about certainoptions, which is unfair.•The government failed to allow representations on en-hanced fees in combination with amendments to the remis-sions scheme.

The Society has asked the government to provide informa-tion on how much money it proposes to raise through en-hanced fees and what it will spend the money on. It has alsoasked the government to explain how modernisation of thecourt services will appear in the government's accounts.

Law Society president Andrew Caplen said: 'The govern-ment's policy on 'enhanced court fees' amounts to a flat taxon those seeking justice.'The government's hikes - due to come in from April - willprice the public out of the courts and leave small businessessaddled with debts they are due but unable to afford to re-cover.

'State provision for people to redress wrongs through thecourts is the hallmark of a civilised society.'

Additional signatories to the pre-action protocol letter in-clude: The Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Execu-tives (CILEx), Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), Associationof Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), Motor Accident SolicitorsSociety (MASS), Chancery Bar Association, Action AgainstMedical Accidents (AvMA) and the Commercial Bar Associ-ation (COMBAR).

The court fees affect debts owed to small businesses as wellas personal injury and clinical negligence claims. In a recentsurvey, solicitors told the Law Society that higher court feeswould:•Put people off going to court when they have genuineclaims. Those out of work due to injury caused by negli-gence would not risk losing what little money they had lefton court fees, even if they had a strong claim.•Provide an incentive for large companies to deny liability,knowing that the injured parties would not be in a positionto fund expensive court fees. Under the current fees, largecompanies and insurers often settle out of court when theyare clearly liable.•Lead to small business insolvency. Unpaid invoices of£10,000s or £100,000s mean cash flow and overdrafts are al-ready stretched. For some companies, insolvency will be theonly option.

Data from nearly 200 solicitors found that the total value ofcases brought by individuals would likely fall by aroundone-third (35 per cent) under higher court fees. For small-and medium-sized companies it would halve (a 49 per centdecrease). This suggests that increased court fees could

have a significant impact on access to justice for both indi-viduals and businesses, as fewer could afford to pay thehigher rates.

The Law Society, over the period 29 January-9 February,asked its members for their views on the potential increasesin court fees. 181 members replied to this consultation. Theyestimated that, overall, the total value of their work in theaffected areas could decrease by between 27-36 per cent asa result of the fee increases. The value of work bought by in-dividuals could fall by 30-40 per cent, and the value of workfrom small and medium-sized companies could fall by 42-55 per cent. Work from large companies was expected to fallless (by an expected 7-27 per cent,) reflecting the generallyhigher value of claims, and the corresponding lower effectof the fee increases. This suggests that increased court feescould have a significant impact on monetary claims fromboth individuals and businesses, as fewer could afford topay the higher rates.

The government first consulted on the money claim feerises in December 2013. The Law Society has long opposedthe government's policy of seeking to recover the costs ofrunning the civil courts through court fees. Our response tothe 2013 consultation argued that a substantial proportionof the cost of the civil justice system should be borne by thepublic purse.

Case studies sent in a cross organization briefing to MPs:

'I have just issued a claim for approximately £46,000 incurringa fee of £610 for a client. Under the new fee scheme that feewould be £2,300. My client is a widow and a pensioner andwho can barely afford the £610. There is no possible way thatshe could afford £2,300, so that claim would have to be aban-doned.' Solicitor (sole practitioner), Norfolk

'I am fairly certain that a person with the sort of catastrophicinjury which makes damages of this level doesn't have a spare£10,000 rattling around in their bank account. Often claimantsfind themselves with some income (albeit very modest indeed)which excludes any remission at all. They are therefore caughtin limbo and could not meet such a substantial cost.' Small lawfirm of personal injury specialists, Preston

'Charging 5% of the sum in issue will be extremely unfair andprejudicial to small and medium business who can often havetens of thousands of pounds owed to them. When there is al-ready a hole in their cash flow, the court fees will make thismuch worse. This change is extremely bad news and will un-doubtedly hinder access to justice and encourage debtors notto pay money they properly owe.' Mid-size law firm, Man-chester

How can you help?The national Law Society have produced a template letterand is encouraging you to write to your MP to explain whythese proposals are unfair and unjust

You can find the template letter on the Law Society website www.lawsociety.org.uk

The queue in Salford on Friday 6th March before thenew fees came into force

25Court Fees

Number and description of fee

1 Starting proceedings (High Court and County Court)1.1 On starting proceedings (including proceedings is-sued after permission to issue is granted but excludingCCBC cases brought by Centre users or cases broughtby Money Claim OnLine users) to recover a sum ofmoney where the sum claimed:

(a) does not exceed £300;(b) exceeds £300 but does not exceed £500;(c) exceeds £500 but does not exceed £1,000;(d) exceeds £1,000 but does not exceed £1,500;(e) exceeds £1,500 but does not exceed £3,000;(f ) exceeds £3,000 but does not exceed £5,000;(g) exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £10,000;(h) exceeds £10,000 but does not exceed £200,000;(i) exceeds £200,000 or is not limited.

1.2 On starting proceedings in CCBC cases brought byCentre users or cases brought by Money Claim OnLineusers, to recover a sum of money where the sumclaimed:

(a) does not exceed £300;(b) exceeds £300 but does not exceed £500;(c) exceeds £500 but does not exceed £1,000;(d) exceeds £1,000 but does not exceed £1,500;(e) exceeds £1,500 but does not exceed £3,000;(f ) exceeds £3,000 but does not exceed £5,000;(g) exceeds £5,000 but does not exceed £10,000;(h) exceeds £10,000 but does not exceed £100,000.

Fee 1.1Where the claimant does not identify the value of theclaim when starting proceedings to recover a sum ofmoney, the fee payable is the one applicable to a claimwhere the sum is not limited.

Fees 1.1 and 1.2.Where the claimant is making a claim for interest on aspecified sum of money, the amount on which the fee iscalculated is the total amount of the claim and the in-terest.”

Amount of fee (or manner of calculation)

£35£50£70£80£115£205£4555% of the value of the claim£10,000

£25£35£60£70£105£185£4104.5% of the value of the claim

The new fees

Manchester Law Society’s response to the fee increaseBelow is a letter sent to The Honourable Mr Justice Norris, Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine ofLancaster.

The Vice-Chancellor has forwarded the letter on to the Chancellor of the High Court so that it may inform any discussion amongst the Judicial Executive Board.

To: The Honourable Mr Justice NorrisVice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster

Increase in Court Fees

You will recall my mentioning at the last Chancery Court Users' Meeting in Manchester thatthere was very significant and widespread concern amongst commercial litigators in Man-chester about the effects of the court fee increases which are proposed to take effect fromApril 2015. You suggested that I write to you.

In the interim, I have been consulting with the Council of Manchester Law Society (whichconsists of solicitors from firms of varying sizes and based across Greater Manchester). I amtherefore confident in saying that the views which I expressed in the meeting (and which Ireiterate here) represent the views of Manchester solicitors.

I write this letter only on behalf of those solicitors who practice in commercial litigation (andwho therefore use, amongst others, the Chancery Courts).

There is a unanimous belief that the proposed court fee increases will prevent many smallbusinesses and individuals from bringing claims which they might otherwise have broughtand which have merit. We have of course seen the effect that the imposition of court feeshas had on the Employment Tribunals (where the figures for issue for employment claimshave had dropped significantly), and the fear is that the size of the proposed court fee in-creases will have an even more dramatic effect on commercial litigation.

As you will know, much of the commercial litigation work which takes place in Manchesteris of a value between £200,000 and say £400,000, and it is likely that many would-be liti-gants will not be prepared to pay (or will not be able to pay) a sum of £10,000 to commencesuch a claim. Many commercial claimants wish to bring a claim for breach of warranty orprofessional negligence; many such claimants may already be suffering financial hardshipby virtue of the very acts which are the subject-matter of the claim, and those claimants willnot be in a position to risk paying £10,000 (or something approximating thereto) by wayof a court fee just to start the process. Similarly, a small business wishing to recover a debtfrom a buyer for goods or services for say £100,000 is unlikely to be prepared (or indeedable) to pay the sum of £5,000 by way of a court issue fee. Clearly, some small businessesare forced to begin legal proceedings when buyers delay payment, as these actions canhave a devastating impact on the cashflow of the business, but those cashflow concernsare likely to be compounded by the effect of the increase in court fees.

Although one can understand the objective of making the courts self-funding, the percep-tion amongst Manchester solicitors is that, because many cases will not be started at all, theincome to the Court Service may in fact reduce if the proposed increases are implemented.

It is perhaps worth commenting on two particular points which emerged from the consul-tation on the matter of court fees, as follows:

1. Although one can understand the concern that London (and the UK) might beseen as a cheap forum for litigation, this of course is not an issue which affects many (if any)of the parties who litigate in Manchester. The vast majority of the clients for whom Man-chester solicitors act are local or national businesses, and most of the work which Manches-ter solicitors carry out in terms of litigation does not have an international element to it. Inany event, the proposed court fee increases would be of little relevance to such as Russianoligarchs, the likes of whom could afford court fees of much more than £10,000 if required.

2. Whilst one can understand the principle of the parties' paying a sliding scale ac-cording to use of court time, it does not of course follow that the value of the claim affectshow much court time is used. Indeed, one point which appears to have been overlookedis that most cases - indeed the vast majority - settle before trial. Therefore, most cases donot take up any (or any significant) court time at all. Indeed, many cases, as you will beaware, settle after close of pleadings and even before a Case Management Conference.There is some sympathy amongst Manchester solicitors for a policy whereby litigants payper trial day, and the general view is that if court fees do need to be increased at all, thenthe fair and better way to do this is to link the court fees to actual use of court time. Never-theless, this does not detract from the fact that the overall view is that court fees are alreadyhigh enough.

In short, there are real concerns about access to justice. There are real concerns that par-ties which have valid claims may not be able to bring them and that the UK court systemwill be seen as one which does not allow parties to resolve their disputes and obtain jus-tice. Whilst mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution have their place,without the backdrop of legal proceedings (or at least the threat of legal proceedings), a fairresolution of some disputes will prove to be impossible. Indeed, if the proposed Court feeincreases are implemented, any debtor/defaulter will know that his opponent is unlikely tobe able or willing to claim against him through the court process, which would thereby op-erate to skew any negotiations and operate as a "rogues' charter".

Finally, it is also worth mentioning that there are great concerns about the impact that theseproposals could have on many firms of solicitors in Manchester. The view is very much thatthese proposed court increases will have a detrimental effect on the sustainability of legalfirms in Manchester and the jobs thereby created.

I know that many of these points will not be new to you, but in view of the very large num-ber of people who have approached Manchester Law Society to express concerns aboutthese proposals, I trust that you will do all that you can to impress these points upon the rel-evant authorities.

If of course you do wish to discuss any aspect of this letter with me, then you should nothesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Jeff LewisMember, Chancery Court Users' CommitteeEmail: jeff.lewis@brabners.com

26 Community News

Visit www.saccomann.comfor extensive details of current,nationwide opportunities.

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A week of activity at help-ing carers, dependentsand anyone who needsadvice on how to plan forthe future has done its jobin a community drive toreach out to hundreds ofcarers missing out on vitalsupport, services and in-formation.

Leading North West law firmGorvins Solicitors, whohosted the first ever ‘CaringWeek’ from 2nd – 6th March2015, partnered with twomajor care organisations -The Together Trust andHome Instead Senior Care -in a bid to help carers anddependents who look afterolder, disabled or seriously-ill loved ones.

Caring Week was also sup-ported by nine further lead-ing care groups, charitiesand organisations, includ-ing Age UK Stockport,Stockport Advocacy, Sign-post, The Alzheimer’s Soci-ety, Carer’s Call to Action,Stockport Council, Prest Fi-nancial, Flag, Greater Man-chester Fire Service andGreater Manchester Police.

Focussed on two key areas -Planning for Later Life andDrop-in Sessions for Parents

and Carers of Dependents -the week saw more than100 people come throughthe doors to take advantageof so many experts underone roof.

Attendees commented tosay how useful the eventwas in giving them “peaceof mind” and “access to theright information by theright people.”

Hazel Edwards, a full-timecarer for her son Nick, whohas first-hand experience ofusing the attending organi-sations’ services, said: “It wasa great experience listeningand speaking to other car-ers in the same situation asme. Caring for a loved onecan sometimes be isolated,so to attend this event andshare ideas on how to tacklecommon challenges whilstgetting excellent advicefrom experts in legal, fi-nance and care provisionacross the board reallybrought a community ofpeople together.”

Mike Smoult, Associate So-licitor in Gorvins Wills, Trustsand Probate team, whohelped create the event,said it had been an educa-tion all round. “We have un-

derstood a lot more abouthow people make decisionsabout care and helpedthem explored the relation-ship between finance, legaland the type of care provi-sion required. There is somuch co-operation thatpeople are not aware of.

“When all three aspects ofplanning work well to-gether, especially for thosein vulnerable situations,care is the best it can be. Un-fortunately not everyonehas access to the right infor-mation to help, which iswhy the week has been soworthwhile for those whocame.”

Sue Whitehead, Head ofTherapy at the TogetherTrust, said: “It has been agreat chance for those in-volved in caring roles, orbeing cared for, to accessadvice across a range ofareas. It lifted the lid on howorganisations collaboratefor good.”

David Moore, from HomeInstead Senior Care, said:“To see so many peoplethrough the door for a com-munity based event wasfantastic. It proved there is areal need for access to infor-

Community Advice Week praised by Carers

Full-time carer Hazel Edwards (left) takes time out with Mike Smoult fromGorvins Solicitors and Sue Whitehead, from the Together Trust at the successful Caring Week event held last month (3rd & 5th March)

mation for carers and eventhose planning for theirown lives who feel they aresometimes in the dark as towhat options are availableto them. This event gavethem the answers.”

As experts in ‘Planning forthe Future’ Gorvins Solici-

tors have now committed torunning this unique eventeach year.

The award-winning firm hasalso signed up to partici-pate in national initiative‘Carers Week’ from 8 – 14June 2015 organised by sixmajor charities.

The firm has pledged togive any carers access to theright information by theright people and will berunning a carers’ surgeryduring the week’s activity.

27Business News

On 6 April, the biggest pensions-shake up in history will come into effect and Wes-leyan, the specialist financial services provider for professionals, has come up withfive issues every lawyer approaching retirement needs to consider.

Anyone with a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme will be affected by these exten-sive pension reforms.

The opportunity for individuals to take their entire pension pot as a cash lump sum for thefirst time is arguably the biggest, and most heavily publicised, new pension rule. But newtax implications and different arrangements among pension providers are just a few of thereasons why these reforms may be more complicated than pension savers expect.

1) Do not assume that taking a lump sum is the best, or easiest, choice. The cash option maysound remarkably simple, and tempting, compared with shopping around for an annuity.While the new pension rules give people more freedom in retirement, this freedom comeswith greater choice, which has its own complications.

2) Not every DC pension provider will offer the new flexibilities. Pension providers do nothave to adopt the new flexibilities, so it is essential that pension savers look into this as theymay have to switch providers. Changing pension providers can be a lengthy process, solawyers should consider taking action now if they wish to take advantage of the new pen-sion arrangements early on.

3) Taking a pension pot as cash could affect the amount of tax payable. Under the new pen-sion rules, if someone opts to take their entire pension as cash, a quarter of this can usuallybe withdrawn tax free. However the rest is treated as income and is taxed at marginal rates.So depending on the size of their pension pot, lawyers could actually find themselvespushed into a higher-rate tax band.

4) What to do with the lump sum? One of the options is to invest the cash. But deciding ex-actly when, where and how much money to invest in practice is complicated by the choicesopen to investors and the need to balance risk and reward. Seeking out professional advicecan help lawyers navigate the investment landscape and make sure they get the most out

Lawyers & Legal Changes – Top 5Five things every lawyer should understand about the new rules

of their pension pot.

5) Could an annuity actually still be the best option? Despite some criticism around theirvalue, annuities will still provide security of a regular income over a lifetime that cannot beguaranteed by taking a cash lump sum or investing the money yourself.

Samantha Porter, Wesleyan’s Group Sales and Marketing Director, said: "There is no doubtthat this year's pension reforms will bring more choice for customers, which is to be wel-comed. However it’s important to make the right decisions, as after a long career lawyerswill want to ensure they have sufficient income to enjoy the retirement they want.They should discuss all of the options available to them with a financial services specialistwho understands their profession.

"Lawyers should not rush into any decisions over their pension savings. But they also needto establish if and when to take the right actions, which requires careful consideration of alloptions available to them, preferably with the support of a professional who understandsthe specific needs and challenges of their profession.”

To book a free review with one of Wesleyan’s Specialist Financial Advisors, please con-tact your local Relationship Manager Suzanne Allport. Email: Suzanne.allport@wesleyan.co.uk Mobile: 07867 901 884.

Having revolutionised the face of telephone answering and outsourced switch-boards in the UK, Moneypenny has launched its pioneering service to law firmsin the US.

The company, which in 15 years has gone from a £10,000 start-up to the biggest busi-ness of its kind in the world, supports over 7,000 businesses including 900 law firms andis endorsed by the Law Society

.Ed Reeves, Co-Founder and Director of Moneypenny, said: “When Moneypenny openedin the UK, the face of telephone answering was similar to how it has traditionally beenin the US; dominated by more impersonal messenger services. It was Moneypenny’svision to change this. We wanted to offer businesses the same high-standard of servicethey would receive if they had their own receptionist, based in their office.”Ed founded Moneypenny, along with his sister Rachel Clacher, in 2000 after experienc-ing unsatisfactory service from a telephone answering service himself. At the time, Edwas running a small graphic design company and lost his biggest client due to the treat-ment they received while he was away on holiday. Inspired to do better, Moneypennywas born.

Ed continued: “We answer calls either on an overflow or fully outsourced basis for thou-sands of companies throughout the UK, and are thrilled to now be able to offer our ex-ceptional service to the US. We have revolutionised this service in the UK and areconfident that we will be a game changer for businesses in the US too. We’ve alreadybeen attracting attention from an impressive list of clients across the country.”

Moneypenny’s Commercial Director, Joanna Swash, is delighted to introduce the serv-ice to law firms across the US. She said: “Legal clients account for the lion’s share of ourbusiness in the UK and the largest proportion of our overall call volume. We’ve kept oureye on the US for a while now, but waited to launch until we knew it was the right time.This is an enormous milestone for our business, delivering our services to a larger, butsimilar market which has demonstrated a keen interest in the services that we offer.”

Based in Charleston, South Carolina, Moneypenny has been busy recruiting and hashundreds of new jobs planned over the next five years as the business grows at a rapidrate.

Moneypenny recently attended the LegalTech event in New York and will be present atthe ALA Annual Conference and Exposition in Nashville, Tennessee, May 17 - 20.

UK’s legal call handling expert Moneypennylaunches in the US

Moneypenny founders brother and sister Ed Reeves (far left) and RachelClacher celebrate the opening of the company’s new office in Charleston,South Carolina with Vice Presidents of Moneypenny in the US Pete Hardie (second left) and Toby Diggens.

The Law Society

MTSG NewsThe month of March has been a busy one with several of thelegal recruitment agencies who kindly sponsor the MTSGhosting very successful NQ / Career talks for our members,focusing on a wide range of opportunities from those atlocal and national firms through to international work andin-house positions.

At the time of writing this article, talks have been held byBCL Legal, Douglas Scott and Anakin Seal, with Hays Legalset to host our final NQ / Careers talk later this month. Theseare just some of the agencies and organisations who workwith and support the MTSG and without whom we wouldbe unable to host the events that we do throughout theyear. Their continuing support is testament to the impor-tance they place on those at the junior end of the legal pro-fession here in Manchester and we are extremely gratefulfor this.

In my last article I alluded to our annual charity social, whichtook place on the evening of Wednesday 1st April at theFrog and Bucket Comedy Store. Attendees were greetedwith a complimentary drinks reception upon arrival beforeenjoying routines from Vikki Stone, Steve Shanyaski, DanNightingale and Alex Boardman. Special thanks must go toHays Legal and Kings Chambers who sponsored theevening, and to those who purchased tickets for the eventand made donations on the night. The total amount raisedfor Wood Street Mission is still being determined and thefigure will be revealed in next month’s edition.

Looking ahead to this month, keep your eyes peeled for de-tails of how to collect an MTSG-branded City Card whichgives the holder access to a wide range of discounts in bars,salons, restaurants and shops throughout Manchester.These cards are a fantastic benefit for our members and oursincere thanks go to Sacco Mann for sponsoring this ven-ture.

Please continue to check our website and Facebook pagefor regular updates, and follow us on Twitter (@mcrtsg) ifyou aren’t doing so already. As always, if you have any ques-tions please do not hesitate to contact the MTSG via any ofthe above methods.

Kieran DuignanMTSG Chair 2014-2015Slater and Gordon

The Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group provides so-cial, educational, sporting and networking opportu-nities for junior legal professionals in and aroundManchester. If you would like to join us as a paralegal,prospective trainee, trainee or newly qualified solici-tor, please visit the ‘Join Us’ section of our website:www.mtsg.org.uk

CILEx Greater Manchester Branch

As always the branch welcomes new members so if you are interested in joining please contact the branch at: manches-tercilex@outlook.com

The branch is currently putting together a full list of events for 2015 and so far the following CPD events are planned:

26th March 2015CPR and Litigation update (with 9 St. Johns Street Chambers)

Further events are in the planning stage so please check back here next month for further news on those.

All events take place at 6pm and are open to both members and non-members. Please contact the branch via email if youwould like further details.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives

ILEX Professional Standards (IPS) change of name

On 23rd March 2015 ILEX Professional Standards (IPS) officially changed its name to CILEx Regulation in order to better re-flect its position as the front-line the regulator of Chartered Legal Executives, CILEx Practitioners and other law firms look-ing for a regulatory model that suits their business model.

The new company name, branding and website were unveiled in front of an invited audience of regulator stakeholders atan official launch event in London on Thursday 26th March. The evening event included speeches by Alan Kershaw, CILExRegulation Board Chair, and Baroness Hayter, now a member of the House of Lords and former chair of the Legal ServicesConsumer Panel.

New JAC Champion for CILEx members

District Judge Christopher Simmonds, Commissioner at the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) has been appointedas a champion for CILEx. Judge Simmonds will work alongside CILEx in order to generate interest, inform and encourageapplications for judicial appointments among CILEx members.

Speaking of the collaboration with CILEx, Judge Simmonds said: “My aim is to help CILEx members understand what it takesto apply and become a judge and what the day to day role involves.

“It is the JAC’s role to encourage diversity among the pool of candidates for judicial posts and this includes diversity of pro-fessional background, gender, race, disability status and other protected characteristics.

Helen Whiteman, Chief Operating Officer at CILEx said: “Working in tandem with the JAC is one of the many forward-think-ing initiatives we are developing to support our members. CILEx lawyers come from such diverse backgrounds which standsthem in good stead to be excellent, practical candidates for judicial roles.”

Three CILEx Fellows have so far been selected for judicial appointments, with two currently in post; Ian Ashley-Smith andSimon Lindsey both sit as deputy district judges on the South Eastern Circuit.

CILEx members can email beajudge@cilex.org.uk for more information about judicial appointments.

The JAC’s website, which contains a tool which will help individuals self-evaluate whether they are ready to apply for judi-cial appointment, can be viewed athttp://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/.

CILEx Regional ContactIf you would like any further information about the above, or about CILEx generally, please contact Chris Hoskin, CILEx’ De-velopment Officer for The North of England:

Phone: 07881 286267Email: choskin@cilex.org.uk

CILEX News28 Local Groups

L to R: Stuart Burrows (AssistantDirector, JAC), District JudgeChristopher Simmonds andHelen Whiteman

Meet the Experts

Mr Wayne Crewe-Brown is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon specialising in Cataract andRefractive Surgery and contracting to various clinics throughout the United Kingdom.

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Mr Crewe-Brown is a member of the British Medical Association (BMA) Royal Society of Med-icine (RSM) United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons(UKISCRS) European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) American Soci-ety of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) American Academy of Ophthalmology(AAO) International Society of Refractive Surgeons (ISRS) The Association for Research andVision in Ophthalmology (ARVO)

Mr Wayne Crewe-BrownMB ChB, MMed (Ophth.), Certificate in Laser Eye Surgery

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Tel: 07811 358 355Email: alanbpaul@gmail.com

Pyrah Department of Urology, St James University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds LS9 7TF

Mr Alan Paul has been a Consultant Urological Surgeon at St James’ University Hospital,Leeds since 1999 and in the private sector.

His clinical subspecialty interests are in general urology, retroperitoneal node resection fortesticular and other cancers, pelvic resectional surgery for bladder and prostate cancer,and the diagnosis and investigation of, urological cancers.

He has undertaken medico-legal work for the last twelve years, including medical negli-gence, personal injury and occupational health cases including chemical carcinogenesisand has published, presented and lectured on urological cancers to his peers.

Mr Alan Paul is considered an expert in general urology, urological surgery and urologicalcancer diagnosis and treatment and has appeared in court as a witness of fact and as anexpert in the Coronial Court.

He has experience of attending conferences with counsel and conferences of experts asan expert and attended courses on CPR35 and mediation. He is a member of the BMA;British Association of Urological Surgeons; Eur Urological Assoc and the Medical and Den-tal Defence Union of Scotland

Dr Prem Mahadun is a Consultant Psychiatrist, with dual accreditation in General Adult & Li-aison Psychiatry . He has many years of wide ranging clinical experience in common andcomplex mental illnesses, psychiatric emergencies, crisis management (psychosocial) andapplication of Mental Health Act.

Dr Prem Mahadun is widely published with articles in British Journal of Psychiatry, ClinicalGovernance: An International Journal, Journal of Medical Case Reports and The PsychiatricBulletin.

Dr Prem Mahadun has a busy medico legal practice. He is a member of Society of Expert Wit-nesses. He routinely provides expert psychiatric reports for proceedings in criminal and civilcourts. The instructions he had dealt with include:

Civil Courts: Psychiatric injuries following clinical negligence, RTA, accident at work etc;Liability & causation reports in medical negligence claims; expert reports for coroners’ court;expert reports for regulatory bodies e.g. HCPC, employment tribunals and housing reports.

Criminal Courts: Diminished responsibility, assessment of mentally disordered offenders,fitness to plead assessments, risk assessments, pre sentencing psychiatric reports.

Dr Prem MahadunConsultant General Adult Psychiatrist

MBBS, MSc Psychiatry, MRCPsych

Areas of expertise include:

• Psychiatric complications of accidents and injury, including post traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), depression, anxiety, phobias, alcoholism, substance abuse and addiction.

• Assessment of mentally disordered offenders, fitness to plead assessments, mental capacity assessments, risk assessments, pre sentencing psychiatric reports and mentalhealth review tribunal reports.

• Schizophrenia, depression, personality disorders, alcohol and substance misuse disorders,stress related psychiatric problems, psychosexual medicine.

• Employment reports and negligence claims.

Tel: 0161 486 1638 Mobile: 07713 632 86016b Station Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire SK8 5AE

Email: admin@expertpsychiatryreports.co.uk

For graduate paralegals of a certain vintage, it can some-times feel that the failure itself to secure a training contractduring or following the 2007 financial crisis can be a barrierto qualification. However, as difficult as it might be, it is im-portant not to lose sight of the fact that in all cases, demon-strable competence trumps equivalent intangible potentialand accordingly, extensive experience should be regardedas a cause for positivity, not pessimism in training contractinterviews.

Sizing up the Opposition

It was part way though the morning of my assessment dayat Brabners. So far, things hadn’t gone too badly. As Iglanced at the dozen or so other participants in the role-play scenario in which I was about to engage, one thing inparticular struck me: with the exception of the various part-ners punctuating my view of the opposition, I was, despiteonly being in my mid-twenties, probably the oldest personin the room.

I hadn’t previously thought myself to be anything otherthan at the very beginning of my career. Whilst I had workedas a paralegal during and since my part-time LPC course, myemployment in a law firm had rather blinded me to the factthat it was not just my cohort of students with whom I wascompeting. Rather, in addition to my peers, there was an un-relenting stream of bright-as-a-button LLB and GDL stu-dents, each vying for the same positions as me, equally askeen to impress.

I suppose from their perspective, I had under my belt some-thing which, prior to its acquisition seemed to me to besomething of an unattainable ‘Holy Grail’ of training contractapplications: experience. However, from my own point-of-view, my opponents had something with which I could notpossibly compete: potentially unlimited (albeit untested)talent, untarnished by the reality of although enjoyable,unglamorous employment in the legal sector during the fi-nancial crisis.

Positive Thinking

Looking back, I am glad that I sought to focus my mindupon the positives rather than give in to the naturally de-tracting perspective of my subconscious. If I had tried to ‘ex-plain’ why I hadn’t already been signed up for a trainingcontract elsewhere or even tried to subtly drop hints as tothis effect, I would have appeared defensive and insecure –qualities which I don’t imagine are on many firms’ lists ofcompetencies in trainee recruitment.

No Guarantees

The problem facing many who work alongside scores ofother paralegals is that, when discussing training contracts,it is often too easy to misinterpret the words of well-inten-tioned supervisors who seek to encourage hard-workingstaff. Comments which indicate that working hard (lots ofchargeable hours) will be a positive for training contract in-terviews can, all too often, by mistaken as a ‘nod-and-winkguarantee’ of eventual traineeship. It is not. Sadly, partnersworking at the coal face who actually know who is compe-tent and who is not will often have little sway in determin-ing who should be appointed. In such a scenario, it canbecome alarmingly easy to allow years to go by waiting foran offer which might never come. Earning a training con-tract by long service is a rarity and, rather than a reason toput all the eggs in one basket, long service should be con-sidered a reason to let another firm benefit from the wealthof your experience, not to remain loyal to a firm which hasfailed to show you the same courtesy.

A Bird in the Hand

No doubt if an interview question arises (and it probablywill) as to why you failed to secure a training contract at afirm for which you have worked for a number of years, itmight at first blush be a difficult (or, as it felt to me, embar-rassing question) to answer. However, although it mightvery much feel like this reflects poorly upon you, thinking,even for a second, that you have been prejudged will be adistraction and a mistake – if you had been pre-judged, thefirm would not now be wasting its time with you. Instead,you are being interviewed on merit and a decision will bemade, not upon what you think could be inferred from yourCV but instead, the impression which you impart to the in-terviewer. Your task is simply to demonstrate your attain-ment over potential, your competency over promise andyour proven stability over risk. In short, prove in your re-sponses that a bird in the hand really is worth two in thebush.

Martin Bloor is a trainee solicitor and regularblogger at Brabners LLP in addition to beingMembership Director of the Manchester JuniorChamber of Commerce (JCI Manchester).

Perennial Paralegals: Promoting the PositivesMartin Bloor, a Trainee Solicitor and regular bloggerat Brabners LLP offers an insight into his route togaining a training contract...

Martin Bloor

31Paralegals/Trainees

32 Practice Management

The Succession model for sole practitioners,small and medium sized law firms has tradi-tionally ensured business continuity and sup-ported exit strategies for retiring Partners.

Historically, it starts with the ambitious trainee so-licitor who qualifies and then invests many hoursto achieve billing which is often three times theirsalary. After a number of years of high billing andnetworking to generate new clients they mightthen be asked to become a salaried partner with ahigher salary and benefits. After many years ofbeing a salaried partner they might finally achievethe previously perceived reward of being offeredan equity partnership in which they invest capitaland receive a share of the firm’s profits.

This invested capital often assists senior equitypartners to retire and withdraw their capital. Themodel is perpetual.

Increasingly, junior solicitors are becoming awarethat taking equity carries substantial risks from themoment the partnership deed is executed. Agrowing number of firms are being forced to dis-solve. The usual reasons include increasingly highProfessional Indemnity premiums, an inability toobtain insurance or the firm’s bankers decide tocall in the overdraft. In most cases the liability of apartners is joint and several.

Prior to dissolution, partners often fail to appreci-ate the full cost consequences. Ordinarily, a sub-stantial insurance premium (known as run-offinsurance is often three times the last annual pre-mium) is payable in a lump sum. The banks haveto be repaid, redundancy monies have to be foundand there will be outstanding liabilities in relationto a firm’s lease obligations and additional thirdparty creditors.

The financial consequences of dissolution are sub-stantial and sometimes lead to equity partners be-coming bankrupt.

Understandably salaried partners are now ex-tremely reluctant to take an equity partnershipwhich in turn means equity partners have agreater difficulty in planning their retirement. Un-less they can arrange a successful merger with an-other law practice, many senior partners arebecoming trapped.

Junior lawyers are hoping to avoid these mine-fields by either working in large firms or a growingnumber of ABS’s such as Tesco’s, work in-house or,until recently, one of the large PI legal firms.

A newly registered ABS business model has beenlaunched by Lawyers Inc. which responds to thisproblem whilst reducing risk and generatinggreater fee income. It enables senior partners toplan an exit strategy, negotiate with the banks andinsurance companies from a position of strengthand helps to crystalize a pathway for a successfulfuture for all junior lawyers. It also enables a sole

practitioner to plan their succession, whilst at thesame time receiving a goodwill payment for theirclient base.

This new business model envisages firms beingable to take control of their own dissolution andall the previous solicitors working thereat becom-ing self-employed consultants contracted toLawyers Inc. Each solicitor shares between 60% to80% of their gross billing.

This model completely replaces the previous Suc-cession Model for a legal practice and creates a farmore attractive relationship between the formerjunior lawyers and partners. They can work to-gether as a ”Pod”, at their existing offices, provideservices to the original clients and new clients,share the gross fees whilst at the same time theyare not in partnership with each other. In additionthey have no liability for run-off insurance, secre-tarial and accounts department fees, or a bankoverdraft.

Lawyers Inc. become responsible for all the COLP,COFA and money laundering services and the pro-vision of all services necessary for solicitors tocarry out their duties including:

(1) Professional indemnity insurance cover(2) Client and Office Account services(3) Transcription of dictation(4) Legal precedents and legal research(5) Case Management Services(6) Local and national marketing

The key to this new modus-operandi is a privateinternal agreement between the former seniorpartners and their former associates which en-ables former senior partners, or sole practitionersto plan a timeframe, and the terms of their retire-ment (i.e. maybe a % fee income for a few yearsafter retiring). While the clients remain under theaegis of Lawyers Inc. the former junior lawyers canplan their future by benefitting from the incomestream of the old firm’s previous clients. This cre-ates a transparent relationship freeing-up thelawyers to concentrate on helping their clients andgenerating fee income. Most importantly, the jun-ior solicitors can now create a career in confidencewithout the risk of personal insolvency beingcaused by other partners’ actions.

This is the model for the future of the legal profes-sion.

Martyn CaplanDirector, Lawyers Inc.www.lawyersinc.org

The traditional Legal Succession Model of assistantsolicitor, sole practitioner, salaried partner and theequity partner is failing

LAWYERS INC

The key to this new modus-operandi is a private internalagreement between the former

senior partners and their formerassociates which enables former

senior partners, or sole practition-ers to plan a timeframe, and the

terms of their retirement (i.e.maybe a % fee income for a few

years after retiring).

JOIN LAWYERS INC.

EqUITY PARTNERS=Create a succession plan=Focus on a strategy for your retirement=Secure the withdrawal of your CAPITAL=Avoid PI insurance renewal worries=Avoid personal guarantees=Ensure your most valuable lawyers won’t leave=Plan stability and growth=Abandon the demands of COLP or COFA=Avoid needing to raise capital for re-structuring=Sole Practitioners generate a goodwill payment=Avoid loans for VAT and Income Tax

ALL LAWYERS=Avoid worrying about your Firm’s future

=Create a career path which you control

=Avoid the risk of equity partners failing to pay run-off

=Stop supporting non-profitable partners

=Get the support to create your own team of lawyers

=Regain control of your future

=Relocate your Legal Department within a month

=Work where and when you want

=Enjoy continually updated IT systems/software

=Experienced accounting and secretarial support

LAWYERS INC.These issues and many others can be discussed in the strictest confidence with LawyersInc. The Lawyers Inc. Business Model enables a law firm or a sole practitioner to plan succession and to regain control of their financial future. It also allows individual lawyers,partners and teams of lawyers to plan a profitable future.

Please visit our website www.lawyersinc.org to request a Brochure detailing the LawyersInc. Innovative Buiness Model. Tel 0844 967 45 45. Email info@lawyersinc.orgLawyers Incorporated Limited (08127316) is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority

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Managed IT Services convergets.co.uk

Contact Aaron Naisbitt: 0845 872 4400 or aaron.naisbitt@convergets.co.uk

improve their customer delivery, save time and money and ultimately

ETSOS provides a free-to-use online portal, incorporating our ‘search supermarket’ ordering platform, delivers the widest possible selection of searches and reports to review, compare and select – all the brands and multiple product lines together in one place, backed up by value pricing, easy checkout and dedicated assistance.

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MLS Advantage members Viewpoint and Matrix247 hosted an evening of informative speakers at their roundtabledinner event “Video Communications is transforming the legal sector” at the Museum of Science and Industryon Wednesday 25th February. Over 60 senior decision makers from the legal sector from the northwest and be-yond gathered to enjoy a three-course meal in the iconic Manchester venue, and to hear insights from Bill Kirby,Scott Harding and Stephen Newton on how video communications technology is helping leading law firms tosolve their most pressing business challenges.

Bill Kirby, Director of Professional Choice Consultancy and a perennial contributor to The Messenger, began byoutlining the current economic landscape for law firms, explaining how the ability to increase billable hours andsimultaneously cut costs, even if only by a seemingly small margin, can have a big impact on a firm’s bottom line.

Scott Harding, Deputy Managing Partner of Poole Alcock LLP, followed on by giving a compelling example of howhis firm has seen a wealth of benefits from implementing video communications, not only in the firm’s profitabil-ity by increasing case-loads and minimising unproductive travel time, but also in staff morale and communica-tions with the easy-to-use and cost effective technology.

Stephen Newton, Founding Fellow of the Institute of Coaching Professional Association at Harvard, gave us an ex-pert’s view on organisational culture and the importance of maximising the benefits of meeting time both inter-nally and with clients, and the ever-increasing need to eliminate unproductive time in order to succeed in acompetitive marketplace.

The evening rounded off with hosts Quentin Birchall of Viewpoint and Stephen Pritchard of Matrix247, both MLSAdvantage members, explaining how video communications technology can help law firms to raise productivityand profitability and ultimately to drive competitive advantage by maximising billable hours, eliminating expen-sive and unproductive travel time; by improving client care, providing customers with instant and easy-to-use ac-cess to legal experts irrespective of location; and by improving communications across their organisations, linkingmultiple offices effectively and at low cost, unifying communications and making business processes leaner andmore efficient.

The evening was well attended, with Manchester Law Society President Louise Straw and Chief Executive Fran Ec-cles-Bech joining Directors, Managing Partners, Senior Partners and IT Directors from over 25 different leading lawfirms, including JMW, Rowlinsons, Stephensons, Addleshaw Goddard, and Weightmans to name a few.

Viewpoint and Matrix247 host a successful roundtable event at theMuseum of Science and Industry, 25th February

About Viewpoint

Viewpoint designs, supplies and installs audio visual solutions on-time andto budget. The company has more than twenty years' experience in producing outstanding cost-effective audio visual solutions for both corporate and public sector clients, with a specialist focus on the legal sector.For more information, visit www.viewpoint-av.com

About Matrix247

Established in 1991, the Matrix247 group of companies was specifically setup to deliver effective telecoms, video, superfast broadband and mobilecommunications to UK law practices and professional organisations, helpingthem to maximise fee earners' time, and assist with firms' risk management.For more information, visit www.matrix247.com

Risk UpdateWelcome to the April edition of Risk Update.

MFL Professional is a division of McParland Finn Ltd. McParland Finn Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Contact us for free, no obligation advice:

Kevin McParland, Managing Director

T: 0161 236 2532E: info@m-f-l.co.uk

John Jones,Development

Executive

T: 0161 237 7739 E: johnj@m-f-l.co.uk

Solicitors season has been in full swing at MFL for the last couple of months.

Richard Gledhill appointment

MFL is delighted to have secured the services of Richard

FACT FILE

• After starting his insurance career as

• 1998 to Alec Finch Insurance Brokers

• 2001 to 2011 Towergate as a consequence of the sale of the Alec

• 2012 - 2015 - Zurich Insurance

Risk Update

Risk Update

Risk Update

Risk Update

Solicitors season has been in full swing at MFL for the last couple of months.

Solicitors season has been in full swing at MFL for the last couple of months.

Solicitors season has been in full swing at MFL

Richard Gledhill appointment

MFL is delighted to have secured the services of Richard

Richard Gledhill appointment

MFL is delighted to have secured the services of Richard

MFL is delighted to have secured the services of Richard

• After starting his insurance career as

FACT FILE

After starting his insurance career as

• 1998 to Alec Finch Insurance Brokers

• 2001 to 2011 Towergate as a consequence of the sale of the Alec

• 2012 - 2015 - Zurich Insurance

1998 to Alec Finch Insurance Brokers

2001 to 2011 Towergate as a consequence of the sale of the Alec

2012 - 2015 - Zurich Insurance

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So, with the sun making a bit more of an appearance of late, your thoughts mightbe turning to Summer and with it getting t-shirt, jeans, or dress ready.

If that’s you, the work starts now! Here’s where to start:

1. Fix your nutrition – eat real food that is not processed between the field and yourplate. If you need to lose fat, go ‘low carb’ for about 4 weeks, or until your performancein the gym dips, then start working more carbs into your diet as you get leaner.

Keep your caloric intake on the low side until you’re relatively lean, then start rampingyour intake up (keep an eye on your body fat levels though).

You will not get where you want to be unless your nutrition is right!

2. You need to work out 4 times per week. When I say work out, I mean work with somekind of intensity whether you’re running or lifting weights. Enter the gym with a writ-ten plan – exercise, sets, reps, tempo, and rest, and time any running you do so you canensure you’re always progressing.

Understand these variables, manipulate them for your circumstances and goals.

3. Sleep. Studies show that those who sleep more lose more fat and keep more lean tis-sue – it’s one of the most important factors we focus on with our personal training clients.

If you’re not getting 8+ hours of great quality sleep, fix it.

4. Make sure you’re hydrated – your bodyweight in kg x 0.033 will give you a good ball-park for the amount you need in litres per day. If you struggle with drinking water, drinka half litre when you get up in the morning and then have the remaining amount in abottle at your desk.

5. Supplements. Are supplemental to a great diet, exercising 4 times per week, drink-ing enough water, and getting 8+ hours of unbroken sleep per night! In those circum-stances, supplements can help you get where you want to go – fish oil, vitamin D, amultivitamin, and maybe a post-workout whey protein. Quality is paramount, though.

three sixtyº Personal Training is based on Bridge St and is a unique, private healthclinic and personal training gym dedicated to taking care of Manchester’s busy pro-fessionals.

For more information visit www.threesixtypersonaltraining.co.uk, call Matt on07971 192357, or email matt@360personaltraining.co.uk twitter: @threesixtyfit facebook: /threesixtyfit

Manchester Law Society Members receive a 10% discount on personal trainingupon production of their Benefits of Membership Card

Your Summer Body starts here...

The W according to Fran

rld 40 Lifestyle

Monthly Competition

To win a meal for two with a bottle of Beuve Champagne answer the followingquestion:

Q: Question: Which award did Rosso win at the Eat, Sleep, Drink Awards?

and send to FranEccles-Bech@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk no later than 9th April 2015

The winner of the Shen Yun competition was Ann Harrison of Stephensons

Did you know that the majority of countries that celebrate Mother’s Day doso on the second Sunday of May? As you all should know our Mother’s Dayis celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

Only recently dubbed “Mother's Day,” the highly traditional practice of thehonouring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity, and past rites typically hadstrong symbolic and spiritual overtones; societies tended to celebrate God-desses and symbols rather than actual Mothers.

The extent of the celebrations today varies greatly. In some countries it ispotentially offensive to one’s mother not to mark Mother’s Day. On this day(Jack if you are reading this please note) it is common for Mothers to be lav-ished with presents and special attention from their families.

And, you may ask yourself did Jack lavish me? He did actually buy me a giftand a card (probably prompted by Peter!) – the gift wasn’t wrapped and Ididn’t get it until 4.30 pm on the day but it was a lovely bottle of proseccoand a card with a lovely message inside it – I was getting worried that hewas trying to soften me up to tell me something terrible but nothing as yetso maybe we are coming out of the other side of teenage stroppiness.

Although he did say the other day that he would put the clean duvet cover

and sheets on the bed himself – he did but was VERY cross when the sheetdidn’t fit – he had put it on the wrong way round so had no sheet at hishead and feet and about ten foot on either side. The duvet cover was alsoon inside out but at least he had tried I suppose!

Fridge wars continues

Jack’s offering this month:

Mine back to him and he BETTER believe it!

On a different note Peter and I went to a wonderful wedding anniversaryparty at the Great John Street Hotel recently. It was fancy dress – fabulousand famous – after much searching on the internet for suitable outfits (plussize for me as I have put on SO much weight since I gave up smoking – 510days, 15 hours, 4 minutes and 33 seconds as I type this – GET IN!!!!!). Herewas our offering :-

We stayed at the Hilton (where Jack works) and he was HIGHLY embarrassed!!!!!!!!

Fran Eccles-BechChief Executive

Recently crowned Manchester’s best premium restaurant atthe Eat, Sleep, Drink Awards, Rosso blends stylish interior, unforgettable menus, top quality service, exclusive & luxurious drinks with unparalleled ambience to provide an unforgettable experience.

The beauty of Rosso is that it means something special to all;whether it be a celebration night with a group of friends, abusiness meeting to sign and seal that big-deal, a casual fam-ily meal or a special treat for that special someone. The Rossoexperience is there to be treasured by all.

With an elegant setting to complement the mouth-watering dishes emerging from thekitchen, the Rosso experience really lives up to the beauty of the building it calls home.With the ability to cater for and provide the special and unique unlike anywhere else, ameal at Rosso is so much more than just sitting down to eat. Dining in such beautiful

surroundings has never been so fun!!

To book your next visit please contact amember of the team on 0161 832 1400or reserve your table online atwww.rossorestaurants.com

40-42 King St West, Manchester, M3 2WY, www.sancarlo.co.uk | T: (+44) 0161 834 6226 WINNER OF TWENTY TWO PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS

facebook.com/sancarlogroup @SanCarlo_GroupW W W . S A N C A R L O . C O . U K

“ S A N C A R L O H A S T H E I N G R E D I E N T S O T H E R S C A N O N L Y D R E A M O F ”

The Observer

A l d o Z i l l i n o w p a r t o f t h e S a n C a r l o t e a m

Expert Witnesses

Commercial Property Locum Solicitor available. Computer lit-erate. Recent experience includes a year’s CommercialProperty Locum work for a lead-ing commercial practice. PhonePaul Bryson at 01457 763340 ore-mail paul.bryson@virgin.net

Senior residential and commercial property Solicitorwith over 4 years continuousLocum experience offers you costeffective solutions for holidaymaternity and sickness cover .NoAgency fees to pay. Please contact Martin Libman on 0161485 1240 or 07939 508543.

18 years as Locum Solicitors inthe North West. Tel JohnBradley/Lynda Greenwood 07790612906 Available to deal withConveyancing and Family.

WHY PAY AGENCY FEES?Senior Residential Property Solicitor with over 30 years conveyancing experience (29years as a sole practitioner) avail-able for holidays, maternity and sickness cover. Reasonable rates.If I can help, please telephoneDavid on 07896 617287 (or emaildavidswann8491@hotmail.co.uk) further details and availability.

DUAL QUALIFIED, very experi-enced criminal specialist advo-cate with higher rights. Crimework and Crown Court work.Very reasonable rates, short termlocum contract considered. Please contact Christine on01772 741816 or 07967 530138

Mark Mattison, a Mediatorbased in South Manchester is

available for commercial mediations and for training on

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07831 302797mark@markmattison.co.ukwww.markmattison.co.uk

Solicitor with 23 years experience in such matters

available on an Agency basisto assist firms who wish to

keep clients in-house. Please contact by email

harryrosenblum@hotmail.co.ukor telephone/fax: 0161 445 1850

Shareholder Disputes

Classified DirectoryCEDR Mediation

Contact us....THE MANCHESTER LAW SOCIETY64 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3BNTel: 0161 831 7337 Fax: 0161 839 2631www.manchesterlawsociety.org.ukEditor: Fran Eccles-BechE-mail: FranEccles-Bech@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk

Publisher: Julia Baskerville Publications25 Southworth Way, College Farm, Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire FY5 2WWTel/Fax: 01253 829431 E-mail: j.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.uk

Advertising enquiresj.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.ukwww.baskerville-publications.co.uu

All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or part without written permission from the Publisher and Manches-ter Law Society is not permitted. Photographic material and manuscripts are supplied at owners risk, neither thecompany not its agents accept any liability for loss or damage.

The Society welcomes articles and letters from members on any topic and items should be sent to the above ad-dress

The views and opinions expressed in the Manchester Messenger are those of the individual contributors and notof the Manchester Law Society

Locums

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tel: 0797 332 9791

jocusa@live.co.uk

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seeks position (full time or part time).

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Manchester based Chambers style Practice

are actively looking for fee share consultant lawyers from all disciplines. We offer market leading fee share remuneration and

provide full secretarial, back-office, P I insurance, IT, credit controland administrative support. Thrive in this environment where fee

sharing is proving to be the future for many forward thinking entrepreneurial lawyers who want the best work/life possible.

Work for yourself and with others in our network without theoverheads of setting up your own firm. You can provide high

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You will be able to earn substantially more than being employedin a traditional firm with a flexible work/life balance by setting

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Consultants/Fee-Sharing

Woodpecker BakeryWe provide bespoke bakedgoods made to order.

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Manchester City Centre law firm requires an experienced fee

earner to handle personal injury work.Mainly RTA with some EL/PL.

Must be able to issue proceedings andhandle cases to a conclusion.

Experience of Proclaim an advantage.

CV to Fiona Brodie, Brodie & Company

Solicitors, 64 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BN or

fionabrodie@brodielegal.com

Situations Vacant

At Clayton Legal your talent matters...

...so we go further to connect your legal talent to opportunities nationwide

visit our website: www.clayton-legal.co.uk

telephone: email: enquiries@clayton-legal.co.uk

For more on these and other vacancies please contact Clayton Legal

Where talent matters

At Clayton Legal your talent matters...

...so we specialise in connecting your legal talent to opportunities nationwide

visit our website: www.clayton-legal.co.uk

telephone: email: enquiries@clayton-legal.co.uk

For more on these and other vacancies please contact Clayton Legal

Where talent matters

EL/PL/ RTA Paralegal- Manchester- up to £18,000 The successful candidate must have experience of EL/PL and RTA, you mustbe able to run a caseload of around 100-120 fast track files. The successful candidate in addition to their own caseload will work alongsidea senior fee earner assisting on larger files. Contact Sammy Timmins st@clayton-legal.co.uk

Solicitor – 3 Years PQE – Stockport- £NegotiableI am currently assisting a reputable firm based in Stockport appoint a Con-veyancing Solicitor with a minimum of 3 years PQE. The firm are very well established serving over 20 years. They practice in, Residential Conveyancing.Family Law including Divorce, Civil Partnership Dissolution and Child Law, Per-sonal Injury/Accident Claims, Wills and Probate, Lasting Powers of Attorneyand Employment Law.Contact Steph Griffiths sg@clayton-legal.co.uk.

Family Solicitor - 2 Year PQE + - Manchester- £Negotiable The role will involve taking on a mixed case load of Family matters, such as an-cillary relief, divorce and children’s work. The ideal candidate will have a back-ground in Family matters, 2 years PQE or more and able to attend court whenrequired. This is a fantastic opportunity offering business development andjoining in the growth of the company.Please Contact Steph Griffiths sg@clayton-legal.co.uk.

Proclaim Developer - £30-40k – ManchesterA large legal firm in Central Manchester are looking for an experienced Pro-claim Developer to develop and maintain the existing Case Management Sys-tem. The successful candidate will have a minimum of 2 years experience in asimilar role and be keen to work in a high profile Law firm.Please contact Fiona Turner ft@clayton-legal.co.uk

Visualfiles Developer - Manchester - £25-35kA niche Law practice in Central Manchester with an excellent reputation for de-veloping it’s employees, require a Visualfiles Developer to join a specialistteam that develop and deliver workflow in Visualfiles. This is an excellent op-portunity that will also provide exposure to C#/.Net projects.Please contact Fiona Turner ft@clayton-legal.co.uk

Commercial Property Partner -Manchester Legal 500 firm require a Partner for their Central Manchester City Office. Thesuccessful applicant will have a minimum of 6 years PQE and extensive experi-ence within a recognised and top tier Commercial Property Team along withexperience of handling a varied client base.Contact Lynn Sedgwick ls@clayton-legal.co.uk

Housing Solicitor- Manchester - 3-6 PQE Working closely with one of the Property Partners and assisting on develop-ment and regeneration projects and working collaboratively. You will have 3-6years PQE with a strong background in transactional work with the ability tocope with a varied caseload Some commercial real estate experience and evi-dence of working in the housing and regeneration sector would be a distinctadvantage. Contact Lynn Sedgwick ls@clayton-legal.co.uk

Personal Injury Paralegal - Manchester - up to £25,000The successful candidate will have at least 6 months experience in PersonalInjury and handling their own caseload of Pre Litigated matters. It is desirablefor you to have up to stage 3 experience within the MOJ portal and use of pro-claim. Contact Sammy Timmins st@clayton-legal.co.uk

Commercial Litigation Solicitor - ManchesterExperienced Commercial Litigation Solicitor required. This law firm is lookingfor an individual with a very strong background in Commercial and/or ComplexFinancial Litigation with a minimum of 3 years PQE. Contact Naomi Melling nm@clayton-legal.co.uk

Litigation RTA Fee Earner- Manchester- up to £25,000- An experienced Fee Earner who shares at least 12 months experience of han-dling a caseload of Litigated RTA matters independently is required for an am-bitious Law Firm. You must share fantastic negotiation skills and be a strongLitigator.Contact Naomi Melling nm@clayton-legal.co.uk

Law Costs Advocate - Manchester - £20k-34k2 years demonstrable Drafting, Negotiating and Advocacy experience workingfor a Law Firm or Costing Agency. Applicants with experience of training juniormembers, dealing with costs budgets and using proclaim and IDraft softwarehold a distinct advantage.Contact Michael Ovington mo@clayton-legal.co.uk

Legal Cashier - South Manchester - to £30kA highly regarded Legal Practice are looking for a Legal Cashier with at least 2years experience and a strong understanding of SAR's with good knowledge ofgeneral accounting / bookkeeping principles. To deal with all aspects of the ac-counts functions including legal aid work.Contact Jamie Miller jm@clayton-legal.co.uk

RTA litigator - SkelmersdaleMy client is a well established and successful law firm that is expanding further.To meet their demands they now seek to appoint 2 x RTA Solicitors to manageexisting litigated RTA caseloads. They require at least 3 years PQE and lookingto pay a salary of £30 000. Contact Lauren Connors lc@clayton-legal.co.uk

ID Litigation - WarringtonAn excellent opportunity has arisen for an experienced ID Litigator to work for athriving and friendly practice that rewards its Fee Earners well. Our clients areideally located on the outskirts of Warrington, close to Motorway and A roadlinks. Established over 25 years ago, this firm prides itself on maintaining theirexcellent reputation within the industry and providing a dependable and com-mitted service.Due to this proactive way of working, our clients have seen con-tinued success in the market and as such, are now looking to recruit anexperienced Industrial Disease Litigator. If you have a minimum of 2 years ex-perience working with fully litigated caseloads (including NIHL) and would likea new challenge with a forward thinking and reputable firm, then this is for you.Salaries are negotiable for the right experience and staff benefits are lucrative!Contact Lauren Connors lc@clayton-legal.co.uk