suffolk & north essex law society

In TouchThe Official Magazine of Suffolk & North Essex Law Society

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CONTENTS AUTUMN 2013

The 26th Annual Essex Law Lecture, sponsored by the Suffolk & North Essex

Law Society will take place in Spring 2014 – watch this space for more details!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

4 AGM Ipswich5 A Message From Our President6 - 7 Law Society Eastern Regional Review9 Secretary’s Spot10 PRO/PLO’s Piece11 QuillPoint:ResearchDefiesNegativeIndustryTrend12 Select CPD Courses: 201313 University of Essex: Essex Joins Select Group Of Universities Helping Disadvantaged Students Access Legal Education13 Junior Law Division14 - 15 Does Your Client Have a Structured Collar?16 Geodesys - Working in Partnership with Our Clients18 From The Council Chamber19 University of Essex: Sharing Our Research20 Jackson ADR Handbook21 Ask Older People You Know...22 Law Advice Centre: Ipswich23 Lawyers vs Medics Cricket Match24 How Is The Trend Towards Byod (Bring You Own Device) Technology AffectingLawFirms?26 Legal Aid News28 - 29 Multidisciplinary Practices Marriages Made In Heaven?30 - 31 Match Funding For Local Philanthropy32 SBA The Solicitors’ Charity33 The President’s Annual Dinner34 Dates For The Diary

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AGM: IPSWICHThisyear’sAGMwasheldon4thJulyattheofficesof Gotelee, Ipswich.

Our guest speaker was Andrew Caplan, Deputy Vice President of the Law Society of England and Wales.

Our thanks go once again to Gotelee for the excellent venue and catering.

< Our new President, Penny Brice, with Jonathan Ripman, retiring President, and Andrew Caplan at the July AGM.

Admin. Sec. Contact DetailsChristine Kettle

Whitegate Cottage

Coddenham Green

Ipswich IP6 9UN

Phone/fax: 01449 760731

E-mail: [email protected]

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY 2013 - 2014President Penny Brice - Rudlings Wakelam, Bury St. Edmunds Tel. 01284 755771 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01284 762436 Vice President Philip Hoddell - Birkett Long, Colchester Tel. 01206 217320 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01206 711348

Deputy Vice President Nigel Farthing - Birketts, Ipswich Tel. 01473 232300 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01473 230524 Hon. Secretary Neil Grigg - Greene & Greene, Bury St. Edmunds Tel. 01284 717422 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01284 705739 Hon. Treasurer Richard Foyster - Ashton KCJ, Felixstowe Tel. 01394 277188 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01394 670726 Hon. Council Member Roger Buston - Asher Prior Bates, Colchester Tel. 01206 768 331 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 08700 543 630

PRO/PLO Jonathan Ripman - Gotelee, Ipswich Tel. 01473 298140 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01473 230387 Education & Lisa Collins - Birkett Long, Colchester Tel. 01206 217361TrainingOfficer E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 01206 711386

I have left this piece to the last minute and so hopefully the PII rush is all over. I hope all of you have been successful in getting cover following Berliner pulling out of the market as InotefromtheGazettetodaythatseveralfirms(includingtwo top 100 firms) still do not have cover in place. Theformsget longer and longereachyear.This yearmyfirmwas asked to provide details of the numbers of purchase transactions which involved a list of roughly 15 differentmortgage lenders (including Northern Rock, Paragon, The Mortgage Business, etc.), for the years 2006/2007 and 2008. This is not information that we record separately on our database so involved me personally having to go through all our completion statements for those years to make a tally of the Mortgage Companies. All I can say is that made for one fun evening in front of the telly (but at least I had a glass of wine to break through the tedium).

I am not sure what I am expecting on the legal horizon this coming year, but looking back at the last few years I think it is guaranteed to be turbulent. Changes to the law, legal practice, legal aid and the competition seem to be coming ever more frequently and I don’t seem to have caught my breath before the next work changing event comes along.

We are a Legal Aid Practice and although we do not do crime, we are watching the outcome of the latest proposals for the criminal contracts with baited breath as we are sure that once they have been implemented they will be rolled out across the board. At some point we will have to consider the viability of being able to continue to provide Legal Aid (or is it Public Funding?) as it is getting more and moredifficulttocoverouroverheads.

I specialise in Wills and probate and I am constantly on tenterhooks waiting to see what Co-Op and Saga might do and thinking about how I might be able to counteract their marketing tactics. I can only hope that the service I provide for my clients will stand me above these huge national companies.

Dare I say I am quite interested in what legal services Eddie Stobbart is proposing to provide! Oddly enough I always wanted to be a Long Distance HGV driver so perhaps we can swap; I am sure I know which life would be less stressful.

It is clear from the last year that nothing stands still or stays the same, and I just hope that we can adapt as the times they are a changing.

Penny BricePresidentRudlings Wakelam Solicitors

A MESSAGE FROM

OUR PRESIDENT

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Welcome to the new look newsletter of SNELS. You have before you a slightly nervous new president. I felt the same when I qualified and came out from the safety blanket of being a trainee to a position of responsibility. I am sure that by the end of my term I will know exactly what I should have been doing.

LAw SOCIETy EASTERN REGIONAL REvIEw (OCTObER 2013)

NEWS

PII renewalWith this year’s PII renewals upon us, members will be

considering the best options available to them. It’s not too

late to obtain a renewals and the following links to the Law

Society’s advice page on PII, as well as the latest position

regarding berliner, will be useful reading.

Details on the Law Society’s new Chancery Pii service are

also outlined.

PII frequently asked questions

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/articles/pii-faqs/

The rights and responsibilities of solicitors, brokers and

insurers when buying PII

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/regulation/pii/guides/

A list of insurers that provided solicitors with PII policies for

2013-14, their financial security rating and the practice sizes

and areas that they will receive applications for new business

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/regulation/pii/guides/

berliner policyholdersFirms who were offered PII cover with berliner have been

advised that they need to find alternative cover before 1st

October 2013. The SRA has written to firms encouraging

them to use the Law Society’s PII guides and advice.

Read our advice for berliner policyholders and the SRA’s letter.

Launch of Chancery Pii Chancery Pii is a fresh approach to solicitors’ professional

indemnity insurance, created specifically to meet the needs of

solicitors in 1-4 partner firms. Chancery Pii was created to address

our members’ concerns over the risks of unrated insurers, market

stability and broker commission. We have created a solution that

provides a quick and easy way to access minimum A- (S&P) rated

cover for professional indemnity insurance.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/regulation/pii/chancery-pii/

A better way to pay PII premiums Are you thinking about how you will pay your PII premium?

Endorsed by the Law Society, Syscap helps you to manage the

cost of your PII premium over the year.

Call 0208 254 1950 to find out more.

Revised Legal Aid ProposalsIn September Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling announced

a second consultation on the legal aid proposals, with

considerable changes. Price-competitive tendering (where

work would go to the lowest bidder) has been dropped,

meaning that any law firm will be able to offer legal aid work,

provided they meet quality standards. In addition, people

receiving legal aid will remain able to choose their solicitor.

The Law Society has been heavily involved in influencing the

proposals, and whilst not universally popular the Society

believes they offer advantages for the majority of our

members in this area.

Speaking to The Gazette, chief executive Des Hudson outlines the

opposition to planned fee cuts, why the Law Society’s agreement

is the best available package, and what it is doing to help members

prepare and adapt to better meet future challenges.

http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/analysis/comment-and-

opinion/criminal-legal-aid-what-now/5037808.article

The result is not perfect and under the new proposals fees for

criminal legal aid will be cut by 17.5 per cent by 2015. There will

still be changes in the market and the Law Society will continue

to support our members and influence government. Read our

statement for more information.

The Legal Aid team is currently speaking at various parts of

England and Wales to outline the current proposals, and to

hear directly from members. Our region’s event will take place

on 15 October in Cambridge.

Contracts for Duty Work The publication of ‘Transforming Legal Aid: Next Steps’ on

5th September 2013 stated that the Ministry of Justice

(MoJ) and the Law Society would commission independent

research to determine the number of duty contracts on offer.

The Law Society is calling on crime solicitors to respond to an

independent survey on the new contracting arrangements for

duty work.

We need your views to determine the minimum level of work

required - in light of the proposed reductions in fees - to give

us assurance that your business can remain viable. With this

minimum level of work in mind, we are also interested in how

you would propose to structure your business on this basis (ie

staffing levels, overheads etc).

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/stories/contracts-for-

duty-work-help-us-build-the-evidence/

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Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) begins 30th SeptemberRegistration for the first phase of the Quality Assurance

Scheme for Advocates (QASA) – the Midlands and Western

circuits – started on 30th September.

From that date, solicitors who are providing advocacy

services in courts on those two circuits, are able to start the

accreditation process by completing an application form and

pay the appropriate fee online through the SRA’s website.

The scheme is due to be rolled out in three phases, with the

first open through to 7th March 2014. The fees for registration

on one of the four levels, progression and reaccreditation, as

well as the relevant regulations approved in 2013, can be found

in our QASA section.

The QASA handbook which was recently published can be

downloaded from www.qasa.org.uk.

The Law Society feels that QASA, which has been

devised by the Joint Advocacy Group (JAG—the SRA, bar

Standards board and ILEX Professional Standards board), is

disproportionate to the nature of any problem in advocacy

standards, bureaucratic and burdensome.

Vision for the Future of RegulationThe Law Society has set out a vision for the future of regulation

in the response to the Ministry of Justice’s call for evidence.

We recommend that relatively minor changes could provide a

more proportionate regime which retains accountability and

builds on the expertise of the profession:

• the burden of regulation on the profession is too high

• setting of standards and authorisation to practise should

return to the Law Society

• the current system is too detached from the profession

EVENTS

• Excellence Awards

• Lexcel Conference 2013 – managing performance, risk

and growth (London 23rd October)

• Family Section Annual Conference 2013 (London

29th October)

• Human Rights Annual Conference 2013 (London

30th October)

• Civil Justice Section Conference: New EU civil justice

instruments (London 30th October)

• Law Management Section Annual HR Forum (London

6th November)

• Law Management Section, Finance and business

Conference (London 7th November)

PRaCTICE NOTES

Provision of Services Regulation (23rd August 2013)

Directive 2006/123 on services in the Internal Market (the

directive) imposes new obligations on you in respect of

information you give to clients. It was implemented in the

United Kingdom via the Provision of Services Regulations

2009 (the regulations).

While the Directive’s main focus is how Member States and

regulators govern service providers, some direct obligations are

imposed on service providers. It imposes certain quality of service

requirements on solicitors including new requirements about the

information you must provide clients in terms of the compulsory

layer of professional indemnity insurance, VAT number, non-

judicial dispute resolution procedures and information regarding

the Solicitors Regulation Authority Handbook.

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/advice/practice-notes/

provision-services-regulations-2009/

Professional Indemnity Insurance (20th August 2013)

If you are a solicitor in private practice, you are required to take

out and maintain PII in accordance with the SRA Indemnity

Insurance Rules (the Rules). The SRA Handbook requires

you to ensure that clients have the benefit of compulsory

PII (outcome 1.8). Obtaining PII can be difficult. During ‘hard’

cycles of the PII market some solicitors have been unable

to obtain PII from a participating insurer or had to accept

significantly higher premiums.

This practice note outlines solicitors’ regulatory obligations

relating to PII and provides an introduction to the application

process and market-related issues.


professional-indemnity-insurance/

Handling Complaints (13th August 2013)Chapter 1 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2011 requires

that all practices have a process for responding to client

complaints. However, there are several further reasons why

good complaints management is essential for a practice

wanting to remain competitive.


handling-complaints/

Our practice notes: we want your feedbackWe’ve created a short survey to help us find out how you use

our practice notes, and if there’s anything we can do to make

them more useful for you. It should take less than five minutes

to complete. Please visit our website for more details.

7

Dedham Lecture 2013 Dame

Anne Owers Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission

Chair of 'Clinks' working with offenders and their families former Chief Inspector of Prisons

former Chair of Christian Aid

INSIDE OUT PRISONS, POLICE AND A JUST SOCIETY

8 p.m. Thursday 24 October

For further information:

Web: www.dedham-parishchurch.org.uk

E-mail: [email protected]

The Lecture will take place in Dedham Parish Church and is arranged by the Dedham Ecclesiastical Lectureship Trust.

In times past I have written about the changing state of the professional indemnity insurance market and 2013/2014 is proving to be, for various reasons, one of the more “interesting” years. Back in the late 1990s, I attended the meeting at Chancery Lane where a vote was carried following an extraordinary meeting, to be able to put the question, to the wider profession, to vote on whether to continue with the Solicitors Indemnity Fund, or abandon that mutual fund, and go for the current open market circumstances. I am not mourning SIF (my own view is, whatever the merits of the scheme may have been, those merits were not made that convincingly by the Law Society Council, who wanted to keep it) but just as with certain law firms we have seen, of late, insurers (e.g. Bavia) are notimmune to going “bust” either.

There has also been talk, for many years now, about whether there should be a single fixed renewal date, andthe difficulties that causes the profession. As I have saidpreviously, some years ago, my understanding is it isn’t wholly unique that the profession, as an insured industry, has a single policy renewal date. My understanding is that other industries (e.g. commercial aviation) have similar routines. It has been suggested in the past that the single renewal date should be abandoned so as to take pressure off,givefirmsgreaterflexibilitynotbeing“heldtoransom”(or at least the perception of that) and thereby creating savings, both monetarily, and in terms of stress.

However, my own view is that I am not sure whether this proposal to have renewal dates spread throughout the calendar year, would actually work. My understanding is that insurers tend to want to open their underwriting books, write a specific level of business (with acceptablelevels of risk), close that book and move on to the next. By having renewal dates for various firms scatteredthroughout the year, (as I understand it) that book as to remain (theoretically) open throughout with additional administrative costs,whichwould have to be reflected inthe premium. There would presumably have to be some

additional SRA cost (there is always it seems an additional SRA cost that nobody – not even the SRA has thought of) in monitoring this. So the point I am making here is that it is not to suddenly assume that there is any silver bullet whichisgoingtosignificantlyreduceburden,reducecostsand reduce stress on firms, renewing their insurance. The reality is that I think with banks wishing to tighten the reignsoffundingonmanyfirms(followingsuchhighprofiledisastersasCobbettsandChallinors) then formanyfirmsexperiencing professional indemnity woes, then this is just going to be something else that furthers the consolidation ofmany firms, just to remain insurablewithin themarket– that’s not to say that not insurable, per se, but just what needs to be done in order to make a financial return, inbusiness, for which the insurance must be in place.

The Law Society (Central) has written recently on several occasions to the profession about this. My strong advice has to be to heed the content of that information, to make sure that you fill out your application form accurately (I know you all say that you do, but these forms are designed to set questions in such a way, so as to try and highlight inconsistencies, and that will affect your premium) andto get on with things early. The market is not going to get any easier whilst there remains a buoyant industry of solicitors (perfectly reasonably) suing other solicitors for their foul ups. The key message to the clients has to be to point out that we are insured; well insured, and that is what they are buying, as part and parcel of paying of their fees to us and not via other providers of legal services. Of course that then leads on to the inevitable question about doing work and charging too little for it, or not doing the job properly enough, because you are charging too little and have to cut corners, but that’s a whole other story…

Neil GriggHonorary Secretary

SECRETARY’S SPOT

9

PRO/PLO’S PIECE

REFORMS ARE ‘TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE’ AS SMALL LEGAL FIRMS TEETER ON THE BRINK

The impact of economic turbulence on small high street law firmshasbeenexposedinasurveythatclassifiesmorethan2,300 small legal practices as “high risk”. The total has risen by 26 per cent from 1,834 in only three months since the second quarter of the year.

Lawfirmsfacerisesofupto200percentintheirprofessionalindemnityinsurance,accordingtoacitylawfirm,andthatallsmall andmedium – sized firms are in increasing financialdistress, with the South East, East of England and North East showing the largest rises in the third quarter of 2013.

NEW LAW SOCIETY PRESIDENT

Nicholas Fluck, a partner in Stamford firm Stapleton andSons, is the new President of the Law Society of England and Wales. Nicholas will serve in the role for a year.

LEGAL AID

The Government has published a modified set of reformproposals for the procurement of criminal legal aid following agreement with the Law Society. Law Society President, Nicholas Fluck, is quoted as welcoming the proposals as “a shared way forward for a more stable and sustainable criminal legal aid system”. Nicholas Fluck added: “We welcome today’s publication, which follows constructive discussions with the LordChancellorandhisofficials…weareconfidentthattheagreed proposal represents the best achievable outcome for our members and those who rely on legal aid.”

ADVOCACY STANDARDS SCHEME FOR CRIMINAL TRIALS STARTS

The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA), has come into force to ensure advocates in criminal trials meet a standard of competence. The scheme has been devised by the three main bodies regulating the legal profession – the Bar Standards Board, Solicitors’ Regulation Authority and ILEX (Institute of Legal Executives) Professional Standards.

IS THE SUN SETTING ON OUR REGULATORY WAY OF LIFE?

The Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority (SRA) and the Law Society have both submitted responses underlining current tensions between the two bodies. The article claims that each organisationiseffectively“callingfortheothertobestrippedofpowerand/orinfluenceoveraspectsofregulation.”

TOOKS CHAMBERS TO CLOSE DUE TO LEGAL AID CUTS

News that one of Britain’s leading civil rights barristers’ chambers, Tooks Chambers, which led inquiries into the

deaths of Stephen Lawrence, Princess Diana and also the Hillsborough disaster, is closing due to Government cuts to Legal Aid.

LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CONFERENCE REJECTS LEGAL AID CUTS

Liberal Democrats this week voted in favour of calling a halt to further cuts in Legal Aid in a motion endorsed at their party conference in Glasgow. The emergency motion, tabled by the Lib Dem Lawyers Association, said that there should be no further cuts in the provision of Legal Aid and the availability of local justice before the impact on access to justice is properly assessed.

OwenBowcott,LegalAffairsCorrespondentattheGuardian,says the, “symbolic blow to the Government’s cost-cutting policy is unlikely to derail the Ministry of Justice’s latest proposals to reduce the legal aid bill by £220m annually by 2018 but may lead to further debates inside the coalition.”

Jonathan Ripman – PRO/PLOOfficeDirect: 01473298140Mobile : 07850 785200Email: [email protected]

10

Quill PinPoint RESEARCH DEFIES NEGATIVE INDUSTRY TRENDWith regular, depressing news of law firm closures, it’sunsurprising that the just-published Annual Statistical Report by The Law Society shows a reduction in the number ofprivatepracticefirms.

Many reasons are cited for this dwindling number of practicinglawfirms,includingstrongcompetitionfromrivalpractices and changes to costs and funding, which mean that firms are finding it ever harder to achieve favourableprofitmargins.

However, indefianceofthisnegative industrytrend,comethe results of recently undertaken research by Quill Pinpoint on their Pinpoint Interactive cashiering service clients. The statistics show an average 25.4% increase in profit costsover a 3-year period, attributable in part to outsourcing their bookkeeping function. In monetary terms, that’s worth in excessof£100,000perfirm.

The research results demonstrate how outsourcing back office processes can have a positive impact on businessmodels because outsourced support is a proven way to improveprofitabilitybyreducingoverheads,andoffloadingthe responsibility of cashiering, reporting, forecasting and compliance. As an additional benefit, outsourcing isprovided on a continuous service provision basis.

Supporting commentary for the Quill Pinpoint research is provided by Pinpoint Interactive client, David Foster,

Partner at David J Foster & Co Solicitors, who states: “We’ve reduced our capital expenditure and overheads because we don’tneedtoemployaccountsstaffnormaintainhardwareor software. Pinpoint Interactive has contributed to our growth in turnover of 20% over the past 2 years”.

Further reinforcement is given by Matthew Bradley, Director at Bradley & Jefferies Solicitors Ltd, who outlines: “Ourprofit costs have increased consistently year after year…the cashiering service has undoubtedly played its part by limiting our outbound costs, and helping us to tighter control andbetterforecastourfinances”.

Cassandra Simpkins, Partner at Simpkins & Co Solicitors, concludes: “Using Pinpoint Interactive for cashiering responsibilities means my Partner and I can concentrate on providing excellent legal advice to our clients and we can keep a closereyeonotherkeyareasofourfirm’sbusinessmanagement.The outsourcing service ultimately helps immensely with our long term aim of increasing profits and our firm’s continuedsurvival in an ever challenging legal marketplace”.

This supporting evidence shows how outsourcing enables firmstochanneltheirenergiesontheessentialtasksoflegalservices delivery and practice management, so that fee earning capacity can be increased, and managers have the business intelligence insight needed to grow their business. By being more productive in both of these business areas, firmscanimprovetheircompetitivenessandprofitability.

If you want to find out more on the Quill Pinpoint profitcosts research project or request information on Pinpoint Interactive, get in touch by email at [email protected], call theirManchesterheadofficeon01619730114orvisittheirwebsite at www.quill.co.uk.

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11

SELECT CPD COURSES 2013

Children’s Law Update: Thursday 10th October 2013 Speakers from Trinity Chambers: Janet Bettle, Josephine Spratt-Dawson, Grahame Richardson, William Green (more information on speakers available on request) Course Content:• Vulnerable Parents - Janet Bettle will address the issue

of representing vulnerable parents. How can you satisfy yourself that your client has the capacity to instruct? What to do if you suspect they lack capacity? The steps neededtoinvitetheOfficialSolicitortorepresentyourclients. The court process in relation to vulnerable adults and how it can assist. Practical advice to the family law lawyer in dealing with vulnerable parents.

• Public Law Update - Jo Spratt-Dawson will discuss the relevant family procedure rules and give an up to date précis of the latest case law relating to all aspects of Care Proceedings.

• Private Law Update – Grahame Richardson will be looking at recent developments in Private Law Proceedings, including an update on recent case law, Funding cuts and Rule changes.

• Public Law Outline - William Green will be looking at the Public Law Outline, setting out the changes to the court procedure and dealing with the reality of working within the 26 week deadline.

• In particular the seminar will deal with the impact on the instruction of experts and the implications to the approach to be taken by the family law lawyer.

who should attend? All levels of experience – from Partners andManagingPartnerstoNewlyQualifiedsolicitorsVenue: University of Essex, Colchester. Timing: 2:15pm – 5.15pm.CPD: 3 hours

‘Hot Topics’ & Essential Skills for EffectiveSolicitors:Wednesday 6th November 2013

• Worried about your billings (and bad debts)?• Concerned to maximise your client development skills

in these high-pressure times?• Wonderinghowtoimproveyourpersonaleffectiveness

and hone your specialist skills as a solicitor

A practical Workshop dealing with all this – and more – to improve and develop your knowledge and skills in these tricky areas in an interactive, essential afternoon of interesting and practical knowledge. These are the hottest – and possibly deadliest – live issues for ALL Firms today. Ignore - or fail to be fully up-to-speed - at your peril. Speaker: Tania Tribius, Solicitor & Director, Tower Legal. Tania has 20+ years’ experience as a Solicitor & London Partner. Recent client feedback states:

“Utterly brilliant – Tania brings the subject to life extremely well”

“Tania was brilliant – the best training I’ve been to – and I’ve been qualified 27 years!”

who should attend? All levels of experience – from Partners andManagingPartnerstoNewlyQualifiedsolicitorsExcellent Value – with fully accredited CPD too!Venue: Gotelee, Elm Street, Ipswich. Timing: 2:15pm – 5.15pm, CPD: 3 hours

HOW TO bOOK COURSES: To book email [email protected]: £80 SNELS members, £120 non-members (Third and subsequent places booked will be charged at £70). Cheques should be made payable to SELECT.

12

ESSEX JOINS SELECT GROUP OF UNIVERSITIES HELPING DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS ACCESS LEGAL EDUCATION

The University of Essex is one of 12 new universities, and the only non-Russell Group institution, in the latest cohort of providers of the Sutton Trust’s Pathways to Law programme, the biggest national access initiative for the legal profession.Pathways to Law supports bright state school students in Years 12 and 13 from non-privileged backgrounds, who are interested in pursuing a career in law. Essex is one of just 12 universities, including the Universities of Bristol, Exeter and Oxford to join the scheme.

“Pathways to Law is an incredibly important initiative. There are many bright young students out there who have the ability to be our next generation of legal professionals, but it is a profession that is still dominated by those from affluent homes, fee-paying schools and usually selective universities,” explainedProfessorGeoffGilbert,HeadoftheSchoolofLawatEssex.

As a Pathways to Law university, Essex will provide a core programme of support activities. At its heart will be six sessions offeredovertwoyearscoveringarangeoftopicssuchasapplyingtouniversityandworkshopsondifferentaspectsofthelaw, as well as work experience placements within the legal sector. The University will also provide introductory events at target state schools, for parents, e-mentoring for those enrolled on the scheme and a residential conference.

Supportfromthelegalcommunityisvitalforthesuccessofthisprogramme.Ifyourfirmisabletoofferworkexperienceplacements or is interested in getting involved please contact Claudia Carey, Education Outreach, Tel: 01206 873707, Email:[email protected]

JUNIOR LAWYERS DIVISION

We had a great turn out for our recent cocktail evening in Ipswich. Thanks for all who came and hope you have all managed to put your newly acquired cocktail making skills to good use.We are currently in the stages of finalisingthe next events for October and November. Please check our website for more information and for regular updates –www.snejuniorlawyers.wordpress.com.

As ever, the SNEJLD membership is open to law students right the way through to solicitors with five years PQEand membership is free. If you fancy getting involved with SNEJLD or know someone who may be interested in joining, then please contact me for further details of how to get involved. We would welcome any comments or suggestions as to future events or what you would like from you local Junior Lawyers Division.

James EdenChair of SNEJLDEmail: [email protected]

13

26th Annual Essex Law Lecture

The University of Essex & SNELS are arranging this for sometime in Spring 2014.

Date and speaker are yet to beconfirmed.

wATCH THIS SPACE

DOES YOUR CLIENT HAVE a structured collar?

If so, it will undoubtedly be hurting. I have worked as an expert on cases where clients have paid interest of 9% or more on fully secured lending, where businesses have gone into administration or liquidation, and where at the very leastclientshavesufferedextremestressandahugelossinincome and quality of life.

Of course your client is hurting if she is an African princess with an elongated neck, but that isn’t the subject of this article. A structured collar is a sophisticated form of Interest RateSwapAgreement(IRSA)regularlyusedbyhighfinanciersin Canary Wharf, but from about 2001 up to 31 January 2013 (the latter date is significant) sold bymajor banks to Smalland Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). And that’s where the trouble begins.

The banks have got into trouble with the FSA over selling IRSAs to non-sophisticated customers. In an announcement on 31 January, the FSA says that sales of such products are inappropriate, and that bad sales practices have been revealed in 90% of a sample of such cases chosen for review by the banks! These bad practices include:• Poor disclosure of exit costs (a £2m SWAP could cost as

much as £300,000 to cancel);

• Failure to understand customers’ understanding of risk (these contracts are in highly technical language which onlyfinanciers couldexpect tounderstand, yet inonecase a couple who couldn’t even speak English were persuaded to have one);

• Non-advised sales straying into advice (“I’m not authorised to give you advice, but you really ought to have one of these, and ours is the best on the market”);

• Providing a contract for an amount higher than the loan being protected, and/or for a longer period than the loan;

• Incentives (commission and bonuses) paid to the salesman not being declared to the customer, and

• Poor record keeping.

And banks have pestered their customers, often over months, to agree to an IRSA. In one case, the customer finallyagreedinarecordedtelephonecall,whenhetoldthebank that he was drunk because he had just had a liquid lunch to celebrate his birthday.

Things have been so bad that the banks have: agreed not to sell “structured collars” to SMEs, agreed with the FSA that selling a structured collar to a non-sophisticated customer is automatically mis-selling, and agreed a procedure for payment of “fair and reasonable redress”.

SO WHATEVER IS A STRUCTURED COLLAR, AND HOW CAN IT HAVE DONE SO MUCH HARM?

It works like this. Let us say that the customer has a mortgage of £1m to buy the business premises, paying interest at 1% over base, and that at the time, base rate was 5%. The bank approach the customer, and say that interest rates are likely to rise, and you need protection. So enter this contract with us, whereby if base rate rises higher than 7%, we will pay you the extra. But if base rate falls below 4%, you pay us the extra. That way, you know the limit of your exposure.

There are three snags, perhaps obvious only to the sophisticated.Thefirstisthatthebankaretakingonlyhalfthe risk of the customer, since the bank pays if base rate rises by 2%, but the customer pays if base rate falls by only 1%. The second is that this is a long-term commitment, and a separate contract to the original loan, so it runs its course even if the loan is repaid early; the IRSA could be terminated early, but only on payment of a sum based on the NPV of the hedge likely to be payable for the remainder of the term – hence as much as £300k payable on a £2m IRSA. Hence “poor disclosure of exit costs” - see above.And the third snag is that interest rates fell, and fell again, so that customers are now paying far more with the “protection”ofanIRSAthaniftheyhadgonewiththeflow– as most people do. 14

Untitled-2 1 01/10/2013 11:20

Howmanypeoplefinditnecessarytodealwithderivativestraders so as to protect the interest rate on their home mortgage?

Why then should such people with small businesses do so? Yet for a £1m mortgage on business property, with a structured collar started when base rate was 5%, annual interest would now be at base + 1% on the mortgage (1.5%) PLUS 3.5% on the IRSA, an annual cost of £50,000 instead of £20,000. This is a modest example compared with some I have seen, but even £30,000 a year can have a hugelydamagingeffectonabusiness.

Structured collars are an embarrassment to banks similar toPPI;theyaffectasmallernumberofcustomers,buteachclaim is worth a huge amount, and banks have made huge provisions to pay redress.

So if you do have a client with such a problem, what do you do? The redress should be fair and reasonable, and the banks’ FAQs state that the principles of tort apply. The published redress procedure is for the bank’s agent to telephonethecustomerforafactfind,andsaywhattheyare prepared to pay, subject to review by an independent reviewer paid for by the bank. But it is difficult to seehow that would, for instance, reveal the full damage to a business’sprofitsfromcashstarvation.Forthat,youneeda forensic accountant to produce a report as if under CPR Part 35.

AND I KNOW JUST THE CHAP FOR THE JOb! I ALREADY ACT FOR QUITE A FEW SUFFERERS. SO IF YOUR CLIENT HAS NECK ACHE, WHY NOT GIVE ME A RING?

Chris Makin was one of the first 30 or so charteredaccountants to become an Accredited Forensic Accountant and Expert Witness – see www.icaew.com. He is also an accredited civil & commercial mediator and an accredited expert determiner. He has given expert evidence at least 70 times and worked on a vast range of cases over the last 25 years. For CV, war stories and much more, go to www.chrismakin.co.uk.

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The repercussions of fl ooding over the last year or so are a useful reminder of how property value can be undermined by environmental factors, but fl ood risk is only one of a number of issues that can affect the value, saleability and insurability of a property or piece of land.

The Geodesys approachBased on our experience of the conveyancing market, Geodesys believes that a personal approach is the best way to pass on our

knowledge and expertise of the wide range of search reports that are now available.

To assist in delivering this service, we have recently expanded our team of Client Account Executives. Mainly out on the road, the team works closely with solicitors and conveyancers to help you select the right products, to keep you updated on legislative changes and to interpret the information provided in your searches.

Bespoke servicesWe have no doubt that our Client Account Executives are the best way we can support your business in today’s competitive marketplace. Here are a few examples of the type of expertise

■ Updates on legislation (including drainage and water, environmental and planning legislation, sewer privatisation and changes to the CML handbook)

■ Product training across the full range of property searches

■

products

■ Interpretation of search report contents

■ Quotes for multi-site plots

■ Provision of best value quotes

■ Online ordering set-up

■ Training on the ordering process

■ Understanding your needs in relation to integrating your case management system with the Geodesys ordering platform

Please do contact Victoria and start

from our expertise and service today!

GEODESYS - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR CLIENTSOver recent years the conveyancing landscape has become ever more complex and the needs of mortgage lenders are changing all the time. Providing the right information at an early stage is key to providing a great service as it allows your clients to negotiate on price and research insurance requirements before committing to their investment.

Your Client Account Executive in SuffolkVictoria is the Geodesys Client Account Executive in your area. Victoria has worked for Geodesys for three years, having previously worked in a number fi eld sales roles including Reed Business Information. We asked Victoria a few questions about her Geodesys role and approach …

What is your typical working day?I usually book meetings in a particular area to discuss client needs and keep them updated. This includes discussing any changes in legislation, providing them with product information and updates, identifying areas where we can save them time and money when ordering and organising any training requirements. I also try and spend some time on researching industry changes so I always have the most recent information to pass on.

What do you enjoy most about the job?I really enjoy meeting clients and being able to provide them with a service they can trust and rely on. Having this face-to-face contact to deal with any queries and issues means we can usually offer them the best solution for their business. Each day brings a new scenario and a new solution so I love the variety.

Can you give us a particular example?Many of my clients had previously experienced many diffi culties in ordering conveyancing searches, but Geodesys offer such a quick, straightforward solution that it has made life a lot easier for them.

Why should clients come along to a CPD event?There have been so many recent (and ongoing) changes in light of the private sewer transfer, as well as other factors affecting the CON29DW and COMMERCIALDW, so CPDs are a great way for you to keep up-to-date. As part of the CPD event we usually offer other topics such as sessions on environmental, fl ood or planning issues so clients get a really thorough update in one go. We run in-house seminars in additional to larger regional seminars, both of which are free to attend.

Please give Victoria a call to discuss your requirements or book a CPD session. She can be reached on 07540 015073 or email [email protected].

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Conveyancing Searches

Offering the support and expertise you needin today’s competitive marketplace, Geodesys specialises in providing a full range of conveyancing reports.

Our outstanding customer service means you’ll benefit from:

■ Quick turnaround ■ Expert interpretation of report � ndings■ Personal support and training through Client Account Executives■ Free CPD events (including legislation updates)■ Nationwide coverage

Our product range includes CON29DW, environmental, planning, flood and Local Authority reports.

For information telephone 0845 070 9109, email [email protected] or visit www.geodesys.com

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CM ACTIVITY:The last TLS Council Meeting was the AGM 10th/11th July 2013. The next Council Meeting is on 15th/16th October 2013. The last TLS Property Section Executive Committee Meeting was on 4th September 2013, as a precursor to the Law Society National Property Conference 11th October 2013 “Solicitors fightback”attheGrangeTowerBridgeLondon.

SUMMARY Competitive tendering for Legal AidFollowing extensive and pragmatic lobbying by TLS and the submission of a reasoned case, plans to cut the Legal Aid bill by awarding contracts to the lowest bidder have been dropped. Following further discussions with TLS the Lord Chancellor published a set of revised proposals for consultation which retain client choice, tender contracts according to quality not price, and allow an unlimited number offirmstoundertakeownclientwork.

The LC announced that a second consultation on tendering for criminal legal aid, representing a significant departurefrom the initial consultation back in April 2013. As the result of hard campaigning by TLS, the profession, MPs and others, the Government has taken PCT of the table and made a number of other significant revisions. The result is notperfect, particularly the 17.5% fee cut, and there is much moretoinfluence...

Clearly TLS liaising with MoJ in a professional and balanced way has paid some dividends.

Better 50% of something than 100 % of nothing.

CIVIL LEGAL AID Proposals to introduce a residency test for Legal Aid eligibility in civil cases, cut Legal Aid in prison law cases and restrict Legal Aid for judicial review permission hearing will

go ahead, albeit with concessions to TLS. The residency test will now have a number of exceptions and a consultation will take place on plans to allow judicial review permissions to be funded at the discretion of the LAA.

The Future of Regulation of the Legal ProfessionTLS has responded to the MoJ Call for Evidence on the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The response sets out TLS’s initial views on the future of the regulatory structure for the legal professions. TLS has emphasised that the burden of regulation is too high and calls for it to be reduced. TLS believes that there should be greater professional involvement in regulation, with the professional bodies setting standards and authorising those wishing to practise. TLS has also rejected the call, put forward by other commentators, for the creation of a single independent regulator.

TLS has recommended that relatively minor changes could provide a more proportionate regime which retains accountability and builds on the expertise of the profession. TLS has stated that:• the burden of regulation on the profession is too high• setting of standards and authorisation to practise should

return to TLS• the current system is too detached from the profession• SRA

The SRA has published its Annual report. This is now available at www.sra.org.uk/movingforward

AMLA range of anti-money laundering forms are now available to purchase from leading stationers. The 11 forms have been drawn from TLS Anti-Money Laundering Toolkit, and include client inception forms, internal report forms and MLRO decision forms.

FROM THE COUNCIL CHAMbER chancery lane: september 2013

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PIITLS has been concerned for some time about the increasing number of firms in the 1 to 4 partner segment feeling theyhave to turn to unrated insurers for PII cover. Many rated insurers have withdrawn from this segment in recent times. Thegaphasbeenfilledbyasuccessionofunratedinsurerswhoenter for a few years before withdrawing or, worse, becoming insolvent. Following these problems of the last few years with PII, particularly for smaller firms TLS has been working upproposals to try to deal with this, and support members.

TLS is committed to establishing a sustainable, stable and long-term market for solicitors’ PII. ( …bring back LiB some say !). With this aim in mind, TLS have created ‘Chancery Pii’, which seeks to promote security, quality and stability, and provide a quick and easy way to access minimum A-rated (Standard & Poor’s) or equivalent PII cover, including :• Online application that delivers an automatic response.• Accessto insurerswithafinancial ratingofat leastA-

(S&P) or equivalent.• Insurance placed with a panel of participating insurers.• PII lawyers to deal with claims.Brokers are not involved. No broker commission is paid. TLS views Chancery Pii as a long-term commitment and is keen to assist the profession, where possible, with the cost of PII. TLS PII helpline is: 020 7320 9545.

TLS bUSINESS AND FINANCIAL YEAR PLANNINGOne of the main items of business of the last TLS Council meeting was the 2014 operating budget for the Law Society Group, agreed at £112.5million.

The total funding requirement from PC fees was set at £116.8 million, broken down as below. Through the PC fee, 60 per cent of the TLS budget is provided byfirmsand40percentbyindividuals.Withthesubstantialreduction of the Compensation Fund levy, individuals in 2014willpay£4(0.9percent)morethanin2013andfirmswill pay between 6 and 13 per cent more depending on their annual turnover. Group expenditure in 2014 will remain less than the equivalent sum in 2011.

Find A Solicitor (FAS) FAS continues to be a mainstay both of how solicitors can present their wares in a professional way, but also in trying tofindoutifotherfirmsactuallyexist,thoughtherearestillserious concerns about the use of the SRA database, itself found to be incomplete and wanting on a number of occasions.

Roger Buston – TLS Council Member SNELS Asher Prior Bates

Office: 01206768331Mobile: 07770 305 977E Mail: [email protected]

SHARING OUR RESEARCH

The University of Essex would like to invite members of theSuffolkandNorthEssexLawSociety tofindout more about current research projects at the University and how it shares its research expertise with local organisations. Taking place at the University’s Colchester Campus on Tuesday 25th March 2014 (7-9pm), Sharing Our Research will give members the opportunity to meet PhD students and hear about their research projects. These will include Law and Human Rights and others such as Business, Sociology and Psychology.

All of the students taking part will be briefed to present their work so as to make it accessible to a non-specialist audience - so it should be an interesting evening with no fear of becoming lost in complexitywhenyoustepoutsideyourownfields!In addition, locally-based members of several other professional bodies will also be attending the event, providing a networking opportunity. Sharing Our Researchwillincludeabuffet.Toassistwithplanning,the University is asking members who would like to attend to book a place online. Please see: https://www2.essex.ac.uk/ldev/booking_public/613.asp 19

THE JACKSON ADR HANDbOOK

Jackson LJ recommended in his Costs Review that “there now needs to be a single authoritative handbook, explaining clearly and concisely what ADR is…”. The sort of book he had in mind, he said, would be “a work of equivalent status to the annual publications about civil procedure.”

In April 2013, the Jackson ADR Handbook was published. As Lord Dyson says in the foreword, this book is a direct result of this recommendation by Sir Rupert Jackson. Lord Dyson goes on to say that it is “a book which I have no doubt at all will soon realise Sir Rupert Jackson’s expectation that the ADR Handbook – this book – should be as tried and trusted as the White Book and the Green Book.”

Thebenefitsoftherebeingsuchabookaretwofold.First, it acts as an authoritative guide for those involved in a dispute. Indeed Lord Dyson’s foreword says the book is “properly authoritative” and “…deserves to be the firstand only port of call for every student of ADR irrespective of whether they are a litigant, a law student, a lawyer, or a judge. I am sure that it will be.”

Second, it can be used as a tool of persuasion when making suggestions to other parties about ADR. For example, for parties preparing for a mediation, the book says that “The parties should cooperate with one another in relation to the documents that are to be provided to the mediator and produce agreed bundles where possible.”

The book begins with a section on the general principles of ADR. This includes chapters on the range of ADR options, the timing and use of ADR in relation to the progress of the case, the roles and responsibilities of lawyers and parties in ADRandprivacy,privilegeandconfidentiality.Thesectionwhich follows concerns the interplay between ADR, the CPR and litigation and includes chapters on the approach of the courts to ADR and sanctions for refusing to engage in the ADR processes.

Section 4 of the book is devoted to mediation. It begins with a chapter on general principles of mediation, which includes guidance on matters such as persuading a reluctant party to consider mediation. Chapters 14 and 15 then address preparation for the mediation and the mediation process.

Essential matters are explained in Chapter 14, such as the different styles of mediation (those being facilitative,evaluative and transformative), position statements (including what should be the aims in drafting a position statement and the content of the position statement) and what to do when selecting the key supporting documents

(including whether and how to provide the mediator with an agreedbundleand/ora ‘strictly confidential bundle’whichshould not be disclosed by the mediator to the other party). Chapter 14 closes with a page entitled risk assessment which states that “The lawyers acting for each party should ensure that a full risk assessment is carried out in relation to theclient’scasebeforethemediation”whichidentifiestheclient’s objectives and plans a route map for how these can be achieved in the mediation.

Chapter 15 – the mediation process – sets out the typical stages of mediation, but also emphasises that, because mediationisaflexibleprocess,thesetypicalstagescanbevaried to suit the dispute and the needs of the parties. This chapter is incredibly valuable when advising clients about what to expect on the actual mediation day.

Near the end of Chapter 15 is guidance on the mediator’s role following the conclusion of the mediation. The decision in AB v CD Ltd [2013] EWHC 1376 demonstrates the importance of being clear about what happens if the mediation day does not result in a settlement. Here, in the weeks following an unsuccessful mediation day, the parties’ representatives and the mediator continued to correspond andtalkonthephone.Atonepoint,anofferwasmadebythe Defendant during a phone call to the mediator which was (via the mediator) accepted by the Claimants. The parties then however fell into dispute about whether a binding agreement existed. The Defendant argued – amongst other things – that there was no binding settlement because its offerwasmadeaspartofthemediationandwasthereforecaught by the terms of the mediation agreement which said that “If agreement is reached between the parties, the same shall not be legally enforceable unless incorporated into a written settlement agreement…”. The TCC rejected this argument, as well as the Defendant’s other arguments, and enforced the settlement.

Later chapters include guidance on recording settlements – the importance of which is not only demonstrated by AB v CD Ltd, but also Newbury v Sun Microsystems [2013] EWHC 2180 (in which an argument that there was no binding contractafteranwrittenofferletterwasacceptedfailed)–as well as the enforcement of settlements.

Elizabeth Repper ([email protected]) is a Barrister and Accredited Mediator at Keating Chambers in London, which specialises in construction law. She regularly acts as a mediator in civil and commercial disputes and is alsoqualifiedinWorkplaceMediation. She writes and talks widely about mediation.

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Every day the words ‘older people’ are printed with reference to ‘their care’ and the surveys, reports, consultation documents, legislation all continually refer to older people needing care, to be given choice, treated with respect, needing safe options, needing support, needing to be in control and valued. Ihavedifficultywithtwoaspectsoftheabove;firstly,thereis no actual definition of older people. The World HealthOrganisation website says that, “Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years asadefinitionof‘elderly’orolderperson”,whilstWikipediagives the definition, “Old age consists of ages nearing orsurpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle”, which is not necessarily the same at all? It therefore shows that to continually refer to ‘older people’ is a meaningless description and one that it would be positive to relinquish. Secondly, people are people and whether you are a young adult with a disability or a person in your late eighties, if you need care to support you in life then you simply need care that is reliable, appropriate, safe and social. Appropriate care is not having a ‘pop in’ visit of 7.5 minutes as is reported to be purchased by some UK Councils, but it could be that having a 7.5 minute chat with someone each day just saying hello and asking how you are is just as valuable. The rise in the number of telephone befriending services demonstrates that human social contact is needed and welcomed. If a person needs care, and are asked if in their home or an aged care home, how they would like their care to be delivered to them, a very large number would opt for unobtrusive, what can be regarded as traditional care and one that is reliable in its consistency?

There are people with high dependency care needs whose requirements for complex care by necessity makes their care provision prescriptive but these are the minority of people. Several decades back the word ‘welfare’ was used to describe caring for people and it is a word which is relevant to today. It is neither associated with age nor has negative connotations, but it simply means looking out for the well-being and health and safety of an individual. A simple word to describe what we all would want if we were unable to care for ourselves.

ASK OLDER PEOPLE

yOU KNOw

First of all we need to ask what we mean by the words, ‘older people’. Are older people in their 60’s, 70’s, 80’s or even 90’s? Does age define the adjective ‘older’ any longer? How old are you, the reader of this. If you are 60 or above do you wish to be categorised as an ‘older person’?

Angela Gifford, MD. Able Community Care Ltd. www.uk-care.com

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LAW ADVICE CENTRE IPSwICH

The Law Advice Centre (LAC) is a free (pro bono) legal service provided through a collaboration of the local charity, Ipswich&SuffolkCouncilforRacialEquality(ISCRE),Suffolk& North Essex Law Society and a national pro bono charity, LawWorks. The LAC’s aim is to provide access to justice locally for anyone in the community regardless of their financialmeans inanenvironmentwhich iswelcomingandnot intimidating. The service enables anyone to access half an hour of free law advice on subjects such as family law, probate, property, criminal lawanddispute resolution froma legally qualifiedvolunteer. Our service is based in Ipswich and serves clients from Ipswich and surrounding areas. Currently, we run it two evenings a month on the first and third Thursdayby appointment. A concurrent session of two 45 minute appointments is run for employment matters by specialist lawyers (and we would like to provide further specialist appointment sessions for more complex family cases). How Does It Work?ISCRE employs a trained administrator who takes the initial details of the issue from the client. She ensures the issue is suitable for the LAC or if not, helps to refer the client to another agency. It is also decided at this point if the client will need an interpreter, which ISCRE also sources. The administrator then sends the information to the solicitors so that they may research the issue and use the half hour with the client to advise and draft legal documents/letters. Feedback from these meetings has shown that this service more often than not, allows the client to resolve disputes or understand whether a legal case has merits. ISCRE also provides voluntary receptionists to meet and greet client and make them welcome. How Is It Funded?Currently, LAC receives no funding. ISCRE’S administrator and the interpreters are paid from charitable reserves. Suffolk & North Essex Law Society pay the professionalindemnity insurance of just under £2000 per annum. LawWorks provide free training for the pro-bono lawyers, but no funding towards the expense of running the LAC. Who Is Served? When?In the last two years we have assisted over 200 clients. As shown on the charts below, our clients come from a diverse range of ethnic backgrounds with nearly 90% being residentsof Ipswich.50%areover forty-fiveyearsofage.With greater funding we would like to spread awareness of the service particularly to young people.

With the recent cuts to Legal Aid, we anticipate the demand for our service will rise. The annual full cost of running the LAC is £12,467.60. This includes costs such as promoting the service, supervision, telephone and fax, share of premise expense, insurance and more. The service is provided at a cost of approximately £87 per client. IwouldbeverygratefulifsolicitorsintheSuffolkandNorthEssex Law Society constituency would contact me if they, or thefirmstheybelongto,areabletoassistinanywayinraisingthe funding that will guarantee the LAC’s continuation. JONATHAN RIPMANOfficeDirect: 01473298140Mobile: 07850 785200E-mail: [email protected]

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After the washout of 2012, the long anticipated Lawyers v Medics 20/20 Annual Cricket Match returned on Tuesday, 16th July at the beautiful setting of Woodbridge School. An early psychological blow was struck on behalf of the Lawyers by our Wicket Keeper, Richard Wood (East Anglian Chambers), hinting at professional cricketer status by arriving with his own kit bag – including his own bat, wicket keeping gloves, etc. The Medics were immediately on the back foot and feared the worst. The hopes of the Lawyers were further raised when only one Medic had actually arrived by the due start time of the match. Despite huge pressure from many of the Lawyers to take this unexpected opportunity to claim the match by default, I valiantly took the more sporting option of delaying the start time.IwassoontoruethisdecisionastheflamboyantMedicsbegan smashing the ball all over the ground for some quick early runs. However, some tight bowling from Matthew Stamp (Bates Wells & Braithwaite) and Nick Peake (Ashton KCJ), togetherwithsomeastonishinglyathleticfieldingandcatchingby Chris Cumberbatch (Marshall Hatchick) led to us being able torestrictthefinalMedics’totaltomanageableproportions.

RichardWoodthen justifiedthepressurethathehadputonhimselfbybringingallofhisownkitbystrokinganeffortless,elegant, unbeaten 25 runs and, aided by some late big hitting from Mark Daley (Greene & Greene), and legendary running between the wickets by Marcus Croskell (East Anglian Chambers) the Lawyers miraculously won the Match with one ball to spare. Cue astonishment from Lawyers, Medics and Umpire alike. Players and Umpire then retreated to the Kings Head Pub in Woodbridge for well deserved replenishments. Many thanks to Woodbridge School for hosting this Match and to Jonathan Ripman (Gotelee) for helping to arrange it, and for being such an impartial Umpire. It is hoped that this Match will be repeated annually. Anybody who would like to be considered for selection for next year’s Match should let me know. Richard FoysterAshton KCJHonorary Treasurer of SNELS

HOWZAT: LAWYERS vs MEDICS 20/20 annual cricKet MatcH

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BuIldIngconFIdEncE

togEthERExcellent Results 1 Inspiring Environment 1 From 4 - 18 years

01394 615041 www.woodbridge.suffolk.sch.uk

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HOW IS THE TREND TOWaRDS bYOD (bRING YOU OWN DEVICE) TECHNOLOGY AFFECTING LAW FIRMS?

Ian Wimbush, Chair of the Legal Software Suppliers Association(LSSA)discussestheissuesaffectinglawfirms. A survey conducted earlier this year by the market research company YouGov reveals that almost half (47%) of UK adults now use their personal smartphone, laptop or tablet computer for work purposes. Worryingly, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office “less than 3 in 10 who do so are provided with guidance on how their devices should be used in this capacity, raising concerns that people may not understand how to look after the personal information accessed and stored on these devices.” In the past lawyers were neither able nor expected to be in contact with clients when they were out of the office. Now that we live in an “always on” age a client expects to be able to contact his/her lawyer pretty much constantly on demand. If they are not able to do this might they consider using a lawyer that they can be in contact with? In this era of constant communication many lawyers have taken it upon themselves to circumvent procedures and to use their own smartphones, tablets and laptops to help them communicate better with their clients and to stay up to date with case loads. While this can be seen as a conscientious and diligent move, it also carries risks of the integrity of corporate and personal data. What happens if an employee leaves a smartphone or laptop on a train with corporate data on it for example? Could your client confidentiality potentially be compromised? And who pays for the equipment, repair costs, subscription costs etc? Darren Gower, Head of Marketing for LSSA member company Eclipse Legal Systems comments: “bYOD is all well and good, but there is an issue of disconnection - firms need to make sure that the devices used are integrated with the core case / matter / practice management solutions used in the office. The risk is that the benefit of bYOD is outweighed by potential duplication of effort, if the lawyer’s device and the firm’s main systems do not talk to each other.” He goes on to give the advice: What is needed is a technology / system that presents selected data from the main office systems to fee earners, and lets them access information securely, consistently and across any available device (including the myriad of smartphones, tablets, etc). Analyst David Johnston from RbP Ltd has strong views on bYOD: “The challenge from bYOD is really a cultural one …. Adopting the mind set of getting the security to cope with all comers - and probably especially the dodgy ones - is a nightmare in complex commercial law practice, but that’s

the challenge. The esoteric spec, sharing complex data and licences with external niche players – and yes, the use with spouses and kids in odd locations with exposure to all sorts of ‘social’ risks to boot - is simply not going to go away. It is more likely to become the norm for the partners you really need – the ones who know how to drive new business. Get it right and you stay in the game. Hunker down, and you just reinforce the perceptions of your firm as one of the ‘also-rans’. Complicate it and delay it at your peril.” It’s clear that bYOD technology is here to stay. People need to feel comfortable with the technology that they are using, and that normally means that they want to use their own devices. Law firms need to tap into the bYOD culture, maximising the opportunities whilst observing the related security and data protection issues. So, as a law firm, how do you monitor and control the private use of technology? To help, the Information Commissioner’s office has recently issued a set of guidelines and some of the key points to consider are a policy which covers the following points can be seen online: • Who will be responsible for monitoring the policy?• What type of personal data can be processed on the

personal device and if it is stored on the device how can this be safely deleted when not in use?

• Strong passwords to secure devices• Automatic locks on devices to prevent unauthorised

access of information, ensure the user knows when to delete information and maintaining a separation between personal data and data used for the purposes of work

• Which documents are allowed to be accessed through a personal device?

• How controls can be put in place if the device is lost of stolen

• Who pays for the cost of maintaining the device if it is being used for work purposes?

• What happens on termination of employment?

http://www.ico.org.uk/news/latest_news/2013/~/media/documents/library/Data_Protection/Practical_application/ico_bring_your_own_device_byod_guidance.pdf About the Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA) The Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA) is the UK industry body for legal systems developers and vendors. Representing most of the leading UK suppliers, the LSSA sets and maintains professional standards within the legal software industry, and also manages areas of mutual interest between lawyers and software providers. The LSSA also has numerous links with legislative bodies - such as the Land Registry, LSC, and the Law Society - and is committed to developing clear channels of communication so that law firms can gain the maximum benefit from their selected software solutions. For more information please visit www.lssa.co.uk

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For more information contact: 0845 2020 577 [email protected] www.lawcloud.co.uk

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Law Society compliant LawWare Accounting App LawWare Business Essentials & Case Manager App Microsoft Office hosting your email & shared diaries High performance robust Cloud server with super-fast connectivity Secured & backed up with built-in Disaster recovery continuity

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LawCloud is one of the UK’s premier Cloud based Practice Management Solution for law firms.Established in 1998 and now leading in the legal Cloud, LawWare can give you access to your system flexibly &

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With LawWare, you have a genuine and trusted partner.

Supported by a dedicated team of experts, we are proud to bedelivering some of the most innovative technology that is nowwidely used by hundreds of law firms in the UK today.

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LawCloud applications are designed to help you run yourlegal business more efficiently, reducing overheads andsimplifying your technology. The LawCloud suite includes:

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Lawcloud SJ FPG:Page template.qxd 26/10/2012 09:55 Page 1

LEGAL AID NEwS

The Government has come under intense pressure from all parties, in particular MPs, in connection with the proposals for ‘Transforming Legal Aid’ and their impact on criminal legal aid in particular. Chris Grayling had to announce that client choice of solicitor would be retained after all, and to withdraw the proposals, but a truncated version is still there for consultation, although the present contract will continue until October 2014.

Criminal practitioners were not at all impressed by the Law Society’s claims that they had brokered a deal, particularly as the Government has made it clear that the cuts will still be made, it is more a question of how the Law Society thinks they should be implemented. Cuts in fees of 17.5% are certainlygoingtohaveamajorimpactoncriminallawfirms,large and small.

Meanwhile the civil justice proposals are no more palatable, in particular restrictions on legal aid for judicial review are, many say, intended to make Government less transparent rather than simply weeding out hopeless cases. There are cuts in fees there as well.

The impact of the cuts from last year is bad enough. It is now clear that, despite claiming that there will be 5,000 to 7,000 exceptional cases where funding would be granted on human rights grounds, no more than a dozen cases have actually been granted, and there is some doubt whether there are any family cases within that number. There has been a huge drop in mediation, some say as much as 80%, which is ironic because the Government claimed that the whole purpose of putting extra money into mediation was to divert family law cases from the Court to mediated settlements.

There is a public perception that legal aid, for family law, has simply gone completely but, although this is not true, the effect of the cuts is certainly being seen across lawfirmsnow.

Consultation on ‘Transforming Legal Aid’ closes on 18th October.

More info from Chris Graves, QS Fisher Jones GreenwoodFisher Jones Greenwood LLP

Email: [email protected]

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The Legal Services Act 2007 opened the door to hitherto reserved legal services and enabled practitioners other than lawyers to become authorised to provide certain services. So far fewer than 50 firmsof chartered accountants haveexpressed an interest in providing probate services via an ABS. However the industry does predict that interest in theABSmodelfromfirmsofaccountantswillincreaseovertime. So the mood music is changing amongst accountants andit isexpectedthatthelargerfirmsmayconsidersomekind of commercial tie up with law firms in the future.Mergers between law and accountancy firms could createsavings such as reduced office space and staff costs andnew opportunities for additional revenue streams. The opportunity for cross-selling within a combined accountancy andlawfirmcannotbeoverestimated.

It is worth noting that the opportunities afforded by theLegal Services Act 2007 and ABS’ comes at a time of increased pressures placed on law firms and accountantsfrom a stagnant economy, greater competition, tighter regulation and a general squeeze on profits. Many firmsof accountants and lawyers are questioning how to move forwardwith their businesses.Commonareas forfirmsofaccountants and lawyers, especially the small to medium sized entities, includedifficulties in achieving capital valueupon exit, the high cost of run-off cover and a decline inthe number of younger professionals wishing to invest in ownership of professional firms. As a consequence many

firmsof lawyersandaccountantsareconsideringmergingtheir firms with another entity. Not onlymight this be anopportunityforfirmsoflawyersandfirmsofaccountantstomerge within their own professions but now with the advent ofABS’theprospectofmergersbetweenfirmsof lawyersandfirmsofaccountantsbecomeincreasinglylikely.

Having recently experienced the merger process between one firm of accountants and another I am only too awareof the emotional investment involved in such an endeavour buthowwoulditworkbetweenafirmoflawyersandfirmofaccountants? In order for a merger to be successful there needs tobedefinable reasons for it, it can’t justbebasedon vanity, objectives should be increased profit margins,improvements in working capital, greater competitiveness together with achieving exit strategies for partners who wish to move on or retire. My merger experience has told me that mergers are not all about numbers, the cultural issues and people’s emotional investment need to be handled very carefully and delicately, a merger has to be about increased benefitforallconcerned.Itshouldnotonlybenefitonepartof the merged entity - everyone needs to be able to achieve apositiveoutcome.Thepeopleofbothfirmswillbeworkingtogether for a long time and a mutual trust and respect is of paramount importance, communication is also very important from top to bottom in understanding why the merger is happening and why it is important to colleagues and clients alike.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY PRACTICES MarriaGes Made in HeaVen?

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Clearly there is also a need to look at the numbers and as an accountant I would particularly be keen to ensure thorough due diligence is undertaken. At the end of the day thenumbersneedtostackup,abeneficialmergerhastobewhere the combined results are better than the sum of the two parts. Economies of scale are key.

Mergingafirmoflawyerswithafirmofaccountantswillbeatricky operation and in considering the contribution of the two separate entities we do need to look carefully at the numbers. Comparethefirms’profitabilityandhourlycharge-outrates.Lawfirmstendtobemoreprofitablethanaccountancyfirms,as more work tends to be done at a senior level. However a firm of accountants may have more sustainable incomestreams.Thestructurestendtobesomewhatdifferentwith

accountants preferring more of a pyramid approach to its organisationalchartwhilst infirmsof lawyers it tendstobeflatterinappearance.Itisalsoworthwhilelookingatrecurringbusiness. Accountants tend to have more recurring business than lawyers with accountants achieving anything between 60% and 80% of turnover.

If changes are on the horizon for firms of lawyers andaccountants they would do well to study what is going on around them, both locally and nationally. The Legal ServicesActnotonlyhadasignificantimpactuponfirmsoflawyers but also accountants and one thing is certain that the traditional business model for these professions has changed and is liable to change even more in the future. Long term strategic relationships are already very prevalent; closer ties including ABS are likely to be more evident in the future. It is time to take stock, research the market place, see what the competitors are doing and identify what is best foryourfirm.Embracethefutureandgetitright,itcouldwellend up being a marriage made in heaven.

Murray Graham

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It should not only benefit one part of the merged entity - everyone needs to be able to achieve a positive outcome.

MATCH FUNDING FOR LOCAL PHILANTHROPy

Thanks to a Cabinet Office initiative called Community First, donors can currently boost their philanthropy by 50% if they donate to their local community foundation. Named funds can be created using the scheme, making it an attractive and cost-effective alternative to setting up a separate charitable trust.

Each part of mainland britain has its own community foundation, providing philanthropic services and knowledge to local donors who wish to support their local communities. For the past 8 years, Suffolk Community Foundation has been helping local people and organisations to support the local causes and issues they care about, distributing over £7.5 million on their behalf.

In the last 12 months, the Foundation has made over 450 grants totalling £1.6 million from over 60 named funds on behalf of local individuals, families and organisations. These grants have supported a huge range of local projects such as relieving rural isolation for older people, creating diversionary activities for young people or providing vital equipment for community centres– all projects where a small amount of money can make a big difference.

Suffolk Community Foundation manages a range of named charitable funds for local individuals and families, sometimes as In Memorium funds to remember loved ones or sometimes as multi-generational funds to encourage family philanthropy as a way to ‘put something back’ into the community in which a family lives, works and plays. As well as private donors, there are local companies who wish to use the Foundation’s

knowledge to guide its local giving programmes. Fund-holders include birketts, Lovewell blake, Ipswich building Society, AXA Insurance, Marriott Motor Group, Comic Relief, as well as a collaborative fund of 12 Felixstowe companies called the Port Community Fund. All tackle needs in Suffolk: donors can stipulate both the causes and the areas they want to support, and the Foundation then provides a shortlist of thorough assessments followed by monitoring and personal feedback.

“We treat each fund-holder individually,” said Judi Newman, the Foundation’s Development Director. “We help each individual or company get the most out of their local giving, both in terms of tax-efficient match funding and level of involvement. Some companies take the opportunity to develop their staff via fundraising or decisions about where the money goes, or meeting beneficiaries. Other companies prefer us to make the allocations, and ensure they just have a report to feed back to customers or shareholders. Similarly, our private donors can decide how involved or uninvolved they wish to be – we just want them to enjoy their local giving without any administrative headaches.”

Neighbouring counties also have their own community foundation, and all work closely together to support a donor’s geographical preference. For example, since 1996, Essex Community Foundation’s donors have invested over £20 million of charitable funding directly into Essex – a considerable contribution to the wellbeing of Essex life.

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HELPING GIVING GO FURTHERThanks to a new Government initiative, the Community First Endowment Match challenge offers donors the unique opportunity to increase the value of their donation by 50%. Match funding is currently available to private individuals, trusts, families, businesses, PLCs, legacy gifts and not-for-profit enterprises. It may be of particular interest to trusts that are dormant or no longer able to continue their local grant-making – unlocking inactive funds that can be put to good use for the causes originally intended, or updated for modern community needs.

How it works

With match funding, a donation of £12,000 becomes £18,000. For UK tax payers, Gift Aid can also be claimed making the donation worth a total of £21,000. With personal tax relief, the net cost of the gift is £9,000 for 40% tax payers – so your gift increases by 233%.

Donation £12,000

Match funding 2:1 £6,000

Gift Aid £3,000

Fund total £21,000

Tax recovered by 40% higher rate tax payer £3,000

Net cost to donor £9,000

The income earned each year by this endowment fund can be used to support local community groups and projects in Suffolk in accordance with the donor’s wishes.

This programme runs until March 2015, with allocations to Suffolk set for each Treasury year. The match funding available for Suffolk is lost if not matched.

To find out more about Suffolk Community Foundation, please contact Judi Newman on [email protected] or 01473 602602, or visit www.suffolkcf.org.uk

For information about Essex Community Foundation, please contact Lisa Renton on [email protected] or 01245 355947, or visit www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk

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SbA THE SOLICITORS’CHARITy

Earlier this year, a donation of £479 from the Suffolk and North

Essex Law Society was sent to the profession’s benevolent

charity, the SbA. The following article has been received as

part of the Association’s acknowledgement of this.

In 1856, the Metropolitan & Provincial Law Association, meeting at Liverpool, appointed a three man committee to settle the rules of a proposed national “solicitors’ benevolent association”. These were approved the following year and The Solicitors Charity came into existence shortly afterwards. Its primary objective is the same today as it was then and is equally valid. Though some have been unkind enough to say that a charity for solicitors is an oxymoron, a moment’s thought reveals the enduring nature of our charitable purpose, namely “to relieve the poor and necessitous widows and families of deceased members and also such poor and necessitous members as may be incapacitated for business through bodily or mental infirmity or other inevitable calamity, and their wives and families”.

Following the first meeting of the new association, 176 solicitors paid subscriptions of a guinea annually or 10 guineas for life membership. Within the first year £2,000 was accumulated as a fund; 100 years later there were nearly 8,100 subscribers or 44% of the total number of solicitors in practice at the time, and within that first century a total of £1M was dispensed to the beneficiaries.

Fifty years further on, the Association typically dispenses well in excess of £1M annually in grants and loans yet, sadly, only 9% of practising solicitors are subscribers.

As the profession has grown in size, its awareness of its own charity seems to have diminished, though the needs remain the same. The charity supports those members of the profession and their dependants who are struck down through illness such as cancer, bipolar disorder, depression and other life-changing conditions, those who have suffered domestic violence or been incapacitated by an accident, those who are having to contemplate bankruptcy and those who have been left bereaved without adequate financial provision. The education of children is also supported so as to preserve a degree of continuity in the face of family traumas such as these. The charity thereby undeniably makes a real difference to people’s lives and increasingly acts in partnership with its sister charity LawCare in order to provide holistic support to solicitors in need across England and Wales. An application to either charity will automatically generate consideration for referral to the other, subject only to the appropriate observation of client confidentiality.

Solicitors can help the work of the Association to assist less fortunate members of the profession and their dependants by subscribing £60 per year - the equivalent of £5 per month or alternatively rather less than the cost of a coffee on the way to work each week. In addition, the SRA has also authorised the SbA to accept unclaimed client balances and the Association is very grateful for the support that many firms provide by forwarding monies in client accounts that they are unable to refund. If the money is subsequently claimed, it is repaid under the terms of our indemnity in perpetuity that the firm will not be left out of pocket. Many charities offer a similar service, but in the case of SbA The Solicitors’ Charity the funds are not expended but are instead put to work in the form of interest-free loans, usually secured against property. beneficiaries are thereby supported and the charity executes its charitable purposes whilst offering a useful solution to an everyday business problem in a way in which keeps solicitors’ firms completely protected.

SbA The Solicitors’ Charity has been operating with unobtrusive effectiveness for over a century and a half and supports hundreds of beneficiaries each year. In these times of extraordinary change for the profession it is more important than ever that there is a safety net to catch those who, through no fault of their own, are unable to support themselves or their dependants through their practice. Forgive the observation that one day that could be you or someone you know! Please therefore consider supporting us, either individually or corporately. Even more importantly, do put colleagues in personal financial need in touch with us so that their eligibility for assistance can be assessed.

For more details see www.sba.org.uk. Thank you.

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FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMbER AT THE PAVILION,RAvENwOOD HALL HOTELROUGHAM, bURY ST. EDMUNDS, IP30 9JA7.15 P.M. FOR 7.45 P.M.bLACK TIE

This year we return to Ravenwood Hall, an historic Tudor hall situated in the village of Rougham, three miles from bury St. Edmunds, with easy access from the A14 at Junction 45. There is ample car parking.

Entertainment will be by award-winning magician, Olly Day, and international comedy entertainer, Kevin Woolley.

The ticket price has once again been held at £50.00. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets £50.00To include pre-dinner drink, three course meal, wine and coffee(Tables of 10 available) from Admin. Sec.Tel. 01449 760731E-mail: [email protected]

PRESIDENT’S ANNUAL DINNER

DaTES FOR THE DIaRY Thursday, 24th October

Dedham Lecture 2013 by Dame Anne Owers at Dedham Parish Church Friday, 22nd November SNELS Annual Dinner at The Pavilion, Ravenwood Hall Hotel, Rougham, Bury St. Edmunds, IP30 9JA

FUTURE COUNCIL MEETINGS FOR 2013/2014:- 18th November 2013 20th January 2014 17th March 2014 19th May 2014 17th September 2014 IfyouwouldlikeanyspecificitemsdiscussedbyyourCouncil,pleasenotifyourAdmin.Sec. to ensure they are included on the agenda.

PACT ANIMAL SANCTUARYPEOPLE FOR ANIMAL CARE TRUST (PACT)

RIVER FARM WOODRISING, HINGHAM, NORFOLK NR9 4PJCHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER 1045251

TELEPHONE 01362 820775 www.pactsanctuary.org

WE MADE A PACT TO HELP ANIMALS

PLEASE WILL YOU NOW MAKE A PACTTO HELP ANIMALS WITH A LEGACY TO PACT?

IN 1995 A SMALL GROUP OF DEDICATED PEOPLE WITH AN ENORMOUS LOVEAND RESPECT FOR ANIMALS MADE A PACT TO HELP THEM. THEY SET ABOUTTHE TASK OF RESCUE, REHABILITATION AND THE REHOMING OF THEUNWANTED AND ABUSED IN NORFOLK. NOW IN 2012 PACT IS THE LARGEST‘ALL ANIMAL’ SANCTUARY IN NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK. PACT NOW CARESFOR OVER 1200 ANIMALS IN THE SANCTUARY AND IN 2011 MADE ADIFFERENCE TO ANOTHER 1100 LIVES OF ALL SPECIES 657 DOMESTICANIMALS AND 452 WILDLIFE INCLUDING 235 BIRDS AND 166 HEDGEHOGS.

The PACT is also between animals and people as The Henry Hallam Therapy Centre at the sanctuary isdedicated for disabled people and those with emotional and learning difficulties to benefit from a sanctuary wherethey can interact with animals, and gain or regain confidence and self-respect without the necessity of coming intocontact with many people. PACT is also acknowledged to be the best training ground for students of animal welfarein the county and each year we give work experience to 80 students from local schools and agricultural colleges.

PACT HAS A STRICT ‘NO KILL’ POLICY AND TRIES NEVER TO TURN ANANIMAL AWAY BUT THE PRESENT FINANCIAL CLIMATE IS SUCH THAT

WE ARE FULL AND THE ANIMALS DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP.

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