May 2016
October 09
1
North West Law
Should we stay or should we go?
Making sense of Brexit
Eversheds hosted a well
attended event last
month to discuss the implications
of the UK’s exit
from the European Union
ahead of the referendum
on 23rd June. Senior Partner
of the Manchester office
of Eversheds, Michael
Clavell-Bate welcomed
delegates to the event
opening with the lines
“Brexit is the hottest topic
in business at the moment”
.
The first speaker Ros Kellaway
is a partner in the London
office of Eversheds. Ros
outlined the current situation
of the UK’s membership
of the EU and said that
we need to have an understanding
of what happens if
the UK leaves and also what
the process will be.
She said that the UK’s current
position within the EU
is unlike any other member
state, and should the vote
be to remain in the EU, then
the differences will become
even more marked.
Ros said that to make an informed
decision, businesses
needed to fully understand
the nature of the UK’s current
relationship within the
EU, as well as the UK’s rights
and obligations and the issues
that the Government
have renegotiated with the
EU and the rationale behind
this.
Currently the UK has representation
on a number of
EU institutions which include
the European Council.
the Council of Ministers, the
European Commission, the
European Parliament and
the Court of Justice of the
European Union. In addition
the UK can import and export
goods to and from the
EU without tariffs or duties.
This would cease if the UK
voted to leave and would
then be subject to a Common
Customs Tariff. Also in
2014 the EU spent £4,990
BN in the UK, which included
Common Agricultural
Payments and direct
aid.
Ros then went on the outline
the relationships that
other non-EU countries and
organisations had with the
EU. She explained the various
models that are currently
in place for Norway,
Switzerland, Turkey, South
Korea and the World Trade
Organisation, but said that
in the event of the UK leaving
the EU, it was unlikely
that we would adopt any of
these models.
Ros concluded by saying
that businesses needed to
seriously consider the consequences.
She said that
Brexit would have a significant
impact on the food industry,
which would force
an increase in the cost of
food and for those who employ
or recruit from the EU.
James Landale, the Deputy
Political Editor at the BBC
began by saying “we are in
unchartered waters.” He said
that last referendum in Europe
was in 1933 in Germany,
who voted to leave
the League of Nations. he
went on to say that ultimately
the turn out on the
day will matter. Current statistics
show that around 25-
30% of voters are currently
undecided. He said that the
“Leave” camp were generally
older, motivated and
more likely to vote than the
“Stay” who were younger.
The campaigns by both
groups were well under
way, but all political parties
were divided. He said that
the “leave’ campaign were
capitalising on the recent
terror attacks in France and
Belgium and the issue of immigration
and the movement
of people around the
EU. He agreed with Ros that
the “Brexiteers” would not
want to follow the Norwegian
or the Swiss models
because they both include
the free movement of people.
James also raised the questions
surrounding when the
exit would actually start if
the UK opts to leave. Would
this be when the final vote
was known, or would the
Government have to trigger
Lisbon Treaty’s Article 50
which would leave the UK
having to negotiate new
terms with the EU from a
disadvantaged position.
In addition to this James believes
that should the UK
vote to leave the EU, then
there would be a challenge
for the leadership of the
Conservative Party, which
would have a substantial
political knock-on effect. In
2005 it took nine months for
the Conservatives to vote in
a new Party Leader and
James predicts that this
would give the Labour
Party the opportunity to
call for a General Election.
James believes that if the
vote is to leave the EU, or
Brexit, then the rest of the
EU will see this as a “hostile”
act and all ‘good will’ will go
out of the window. He
Michael Clavell-Bate, James Landale and Ros Kellaway
added that this was seen as
an existential threat to the
EU, and seen as even opening
the floodgates for other
members states to renegotiate
or leave.
The event concluded with
questions from the delegates.
What is clear from the
discussion is that this is an
extremely complex issue
which has far reaching political
and economic consequences
for the UK and the
rest of the EU and both
camps - the “”Remain” and
the “Leave” have under two
months to persuade the
“don’t knows”.
Julia Baskerville
The Law Society has published a report which sets out the
issues they expect to see raised in the run-up to, and
following on from, the referendum.
The report can be downloaded at
http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/news/press-releases/thefuture-of-britain-in-europe-legal-services/
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Contents 3
North West Law
May 2016
Manchester Law Society
64 Bridge Street
Manchester M3 3BN
Tel: 0161 831 7337
Fax: 0161 839 2631
www.manchesterlawsociety.org.uk
Editor: Fran Eccles-Bech
News from the President
page 5
In this edition...
NEWS
Regional Business Award Win for Farleys
Solicitors
Commercial Litigation heavyweight
Michael Kennedy joins JMW
Hall Brown Family Law opens in
Manchester
6
6
8
Editorial Committee
Raana Afsarpour, JMW Solicitors LLP
Such Amin, Aequitas Legal
David Anderson, St Johns Buildings
Julia Baskerville, Baskerville Publications Ltd
Fran Eccles-Bech, Manchester Law Society
Danielle Best, Weightmans LLP
Adam Entwistle, JMW Solicitors LLP
Mark Fitzgibbon, Hill Dickinson
Jemma Goldstone, JMW Solicitors LLP
Michael Hardacre, Slater & Gordon
Helen Kanczes, Clyde & Co
Steve Kuncewicz, Bermans LLP
Adrian Kwintner, Mills & Reeve
Jeff Lewis, Brabners LLP
Louise Straw, Burton Copeland
Matthew Taylor, Eversheds LLP
Centrefield LLP: Leading UK sport and
media law firm launches in Manchester
9
Published by
Regulation Update
page 7
Trafford Law Society Ball
FEATURES
The debate over the formal recognition of
relationships under UK law
13
12
Baskerville Publications Ltd
25 Southworth Way
Thornton Cleveleys
Lancashire FY5 2WW
Advertising enquiries
Julia Baskerville
01253 829431 j.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.uk
www.locallawsocietypublications.co.uk
Panama Papers: the Changing Global
Landscape of Tax Avoidance
14
All rights reserved, reproduction in whole or part
without written permission from the Publisher and
Manchester Law Society is not permitted.
The Panama Papers
page 14
REGULARS
Photographic material and manuscripts are supplied at
owners risk, neither the company nor its agents accept
any liability for loss or damage.
Management Matters
page 18
News from the President
Management Matters
Monthly Competition
Win £100 voucher at Sakana
5
18
29
The Society welcomes articles and letters from members
on any topic and items should be sent to the above
address
The views and opinions expressed in the Manchester
Messenger are those of the individual contributors and
not of the Manchester Law Society
Printed by
Buxton Press
4 Manchester Law Society News
News from Bridge Street
Entente cordiale - would you be able to
give a placement to a law student from
Lyon?
Manchester has a twinning arrangement with Lyon in France, which both cities value a great
deal. As part of this, in September Lyon would like to send two final year law students to
Manchester to work for six months in a legal environment. This would be to widen their legal
training and could be within a law firm or an in-house environment.
Would anyone be able to give a placement to one of these students? It would be for a paralegal-type
role over six months and could either be with one student for the full six months
or three months for each student, if we can place both of them and everyone is happy to
swap for more variety.
The students would not expect to be paid or be found accommodation, although in the
past young lawyers or trainees have been able to offer a spare room - this gives the host a
bit of extra income and really helps integration.
Placing these students would really help Manchester to strengthen its relationship
with France’s second city. If any firm or in-house team is able to help, please contact
our Joint Honorary Secretary, David Travis at david.travis@rbs.co.uk
Corporate membership – small increase
in annual charges
Eight years ago we were one of the first regional law societies to introduce corporate membership
and we are delighted that so many firms have joined in that capacity. In those eight
years corporate members have been able to enjoy the many benefits of membership and
in that time membership fees have not been increased at all.
Unfortunately, Manchester Law Society isn’t immune to cost challenges and Council has
had to make the decision to increase annual corporate membership fees by 5% with effect
from 1st May, 2016. We believe that this represents a modest increase in the light of the previous
8-year freeze and we hope that we won’t need to make further increases in the near
future.
If you wish to see the list of benefits of membership please visit our web site at www.manchesterlawsociety.org.uk
and go the Legal Profession page.
If you would like to discuss this matter in more detail or require any further information
please do not hesitate to contact Fran Eccles-Bech, Chief Executive either at
FranEccles-Bech@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk or on her direct line which is 0161 241
7470
The Manchester Law Society
Education Fund
The Manchester Law Society Education Fund was set up in 2015 to provide financial support
for students applying to study law at degree level.
The Education Fund has been created to provide assistance with course fees for one student
per academic year who, immediately prior to the commencement of their law degree:
· was resident in the cities of Manchester or Salford; and / or
· has attended a Secondary School, Sixth Form College or College of Further
Education in the cities of Manchester or Salford; and
· is intending to study a law degree at a University in the United Kingdom.
The successful recipient of the award will receive £15,000 towards their tuition fees which
will be paid in three staged payments during the course of the law degree.
To qualify for the award, all applicants will be required meet the eligibility criteria, submit
an application form and attend an interview.
Applications for law degrees which will commence during the 2016/2017 academic year
will close on Friday, 24th June, 2016
If you know of anybody who may be interested in applying for the 2017/2018 academic
year, submissions are open now and it is expected that they will close during June 2017.
Please ask any interested party to contact
franeccles-bech@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk
for full details of the eligibility criteria, application process and timetable.
Forthcoming Events
Trust Me – I’m a Doctor!
Exploring Clinical Negligence
Tuesday, 17th May 2016
Don’t miss our exciting half day seminar Trust Me I’m a Doctor!
Exploring Clinical Negligence featuring presentations from
Simon Murray, Henry Venderpump and Jessica Wilson-Theaker
of St Johns Buildings. The speakers will explore topics including
breach of duty and causation, limitations in clinical negligence
claims and understanding medical evidence.
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester
Cost to attend: MLS Members £50.00 + VAT (£60.00) Non-members
£80.00 + VAT (£96.00)
Registration: 09:00
Sessions start: 09:30
Conference closes: 12:45
CPD: 3 hours
Internet and Social Media Law
Conference
Tuesday, 24th May 2016
This full day conference will look at the burning issues of Data
Protection, the challenges faced by the growing use of social
media in terms of employment issues as well as in advertising
and marketing. There will be an update on the key case of Morrisons
data leak and a panel discussion on managing reputation
in the digital age.
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester
Cost: MLS Members £110.00 + VAT (£132.00) Non Members
£150.00 + VAT (£180.00)
Registration: 09:00
Sessions start: 09:30
Conference closes: 16:30
CPD: 5 hours
Save the date
• 9th June: Regulatory Conference
• 21st June: Family Law Conference
• 23rd June: Word Training Course – Intermediate
• 11th October: Employment Law Conference
Keep up to date with the latest event information at
www.manchesterlawsociety.org.uk or follow us on Twitter
@ManLawSoc
To book a place on any of the above events, please email
VictoriaRidge@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk or
CarlaJones@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk
5
President’s Column
5
From the President
It has been a busy few
weeks, with plenty going on
in and outside of work and
the Easter holidays intervening.
The perennial difficulties
familiar to anyone
with school age children,
trying to balance work with
some time off during the
holidays, were no easier to
manage this time around,
despite years of practice.
As I mentioned recently, I
have been trying to get different
perspectives across
the profession from other
areas of practice to my own.
Paul Johnson, Corporate
Partner at Ward Hadaway in
Manchester was my port of
call for some insight into
where things are heading in
his arena.
For Paul, whether it’s the referendum
on the UK’s membership
of the EU or the
fluctuations of global oil
prices, events always have
an influence on the life of a
corporate lawyer. External
factors over which you have
little or no control are something
which every corporate
lawyer has to live with. Market
conditions, the state of
the economy and general
business confidence are just
some of the things which
influence whether or not a
deal can go ahead and
when it is likely to be completed.
This has been the case for
many years in the field of
corporate law and it is
something that from a practitioner
with Paul’s years of
experience behind him, it is
clear we are unlikely to ever
be rid of, particularly with
the increasingly globalised
nature of the business
world today. So for corporate
lawyers, they have to
learn to take such things in
their stride and develop as
sanguine an approach as
possible to their vocation as
they can.
The unpredictable nature of
corporate work also means
that there is no such thing
as a guaranteed work
stream, or for that matter a
predictable flow of transactions.
It remains a highly
competitive area of the law
in which to operate.
For Paul though, its very unpredictability
is one of the
attractions of corporate law
– no two deals are every the
same and the time pressures
which come with the
job get the adrenalin flowing
more than in other areas
of the law.
Having the chance to build
up relationships with business
people and help them
grow their companies, or at
the other end of the scale to
help them realise the proceeds
of the business which
they have built up over
many years, continues to
bring great professional satisfaction.
The general theme from the
discussions I have had so far
this year is that consistent
message of the satisfaction
that we take the work we
do, in whatever area of the
law we practice in.
We have also, this month,
started to see the results of
the radical overhaul of the
Manchester Law Society’s
Legal Education Fund which
has been in existence for
many, many years but had
not really been fit for purpose
for some time. Annual
awards in the region of a
few hundred pounds were
being made, on our behalf
by local academic institutions
to worthy students
but with the fund standing
at tens of thousands, there
was no prospect of us properly
distributing the capital
of those funds in accordance
with the charitable
objectives. With the help of
Christine McGregor, John
Dunn, and other council
members, and having had
to gain approval from the
Charities Commission, all of
which took a very long time
to sort out, we are now
going to be in a position in
September 2016 to provide
significant financial support
for students applying to
study law at degree level.
The Education Fund has
been created to provide assistance
with course fees for
one student per academic
year who, immediately prior
to the commencement of
their law degree:
• was resident in the cities of
Manchester or Salford; and /
or
• has attended a Secondary
School, Sixth Form College
or College of Further Education
in the cities of Manchester
or Salford; and
• is intending to study a law
degree at a University in the
United Kingdom.
The successful recipient of
the award will receive
£15,000 towards their tuition
fees which will be paid
in three staged payments
during the course of the law
degree.
Michael Hardacre
To qualify for the award, all
applicants will be required
meet the eligibility criteria,
submit an application form
and attend an interview.
The deadline for applications
is 24 June. We have circulated
details to
Manchester and Salford education
departments and
Continued on page 8
6 Movers & Shakers
Regional Business Award Win for
Farleys Solicitors
Leading North West law
firm Farleys are celebrating
success after being
awarded ‘Legal Business
of the Year’ at the 2016
Red Rose Awards.
This is the second time the
firm have won the award,
having previously taken the
title in 2012.
Beating off stiff competition
from Curtis Law, Harrison
Drury, Napthens and Southerns,
Farleys were awarded
the prestigious title at a
1,000 strong ceremony held
at the Winter Gardens in
Blackpool on 10 March.
The awards, organised by
Lancashire Business View
celebrate the very best in
Lancashire business and enterprise.
Judges commented
on Farleys’ “strong
growth, excellent profitability
and an impressive degree
of innovation, with a
commitment to digital platforms
and investment in
home grown talent.”
Ian Liddle, Partner at Farleys
commented “we are delighted
with our win, and
especially to be recognised
for the second time.
This is a fantastic achievement
for Farleys and a testament
to the fantastic team
that makes Farleys what we
are – legal experts with a
down to earth approach.
“Our roots are held firmly in
the region and to be recognised
alongside Lancashire’s
finest means a great deal to
us and the clients we represent.
We are absolutely delighted
with our win”.
Caption Competition
Pannone Corporate expands real estate
team with double appointment
Law firm Pannone Corporate
has expanded its real
estate team with two appointments.
James Wynne will join the
firm as a partner from Shoosmiths’
Manchester office
where he was also a partner.
James has a wealth of experience
advising high profile
clients operating in the logistics,
leisure, industrial
and student accommodation
sectors.
He advises on all aspects of
real estate matters including
landlord and tenant,
corporate support, insolvency
and property finance.
Gareth Birch joined the firm
as an associate solicitor in
the real estate team. Gareth,
who was previously at
Napthens, advises retail, investor
and developer clients
on real estate issues.
James said: “The quality of
both the clients and the
people at Pannone Corporate
was a major factor in
deciding to join the firm.
There is a refreshing culture
at Pannone Corporate and I
am looking forward to further
expanding the client
base across a number of
sectors.”
Pannone Corporate Managing
Partner Paul Jonson
said: “We are delighted to
welcome James and Gareth
to the team. I am confident
they will both play a significant
role in further developing
and raising the profile of
the real estate team.”
Commercial Litigation heavyweight
Michael Kennedy joins JMW
Michael Kennedy has
joined the commercial litigation
team at Manchester
based law firm JMW
Solicitors LLP.
Michael joins JMW from
Slater and Gordon having
previously spent over 8
years at Pannone LLP where
he was an Equity Partner. He
specialises in all areas of
commercial litigation including
professional negligence
claims against other
professionals such as solicitors,
accountants and financial
service advisers as well
as shareholder and partnership
disputes. Michael
brings with him to JMW a
number of key clients including
Pro Vision, Smart
Parking, MMC Developments,
Ellesmere Engineering
and First Technical
Recruitment and Matrix
Limited. He will be joined in
due course by 2 further
lawyers to work alongside
him, a Senior Associate and
a Solicitor, who will join
JMW’s 24 strong commercial
litigation team which is
headed up by Marc Yaffe.
Commenting on Michael
Kennedy’s appointment,
Marc Yaffe, Head of Commercial
Litigation at JMW
said; “I am delighted to welcome
Michael to the commercial
litigation team at
JMW. Michael brings with
him a wealth of experience
and expertise as well as
some excellent clients. The
department has grown by
29% and fee income has increased
by 41% over the last
2 years. The addition of
Michael and his team creates
one of the largest and
strongest commercial litigation
teams in Manchester.”
Michael Kennedy said about
his appointment at JMW:
“Having worked closely
with Joy Kingsley (JMW’s
Senior Partner) at Pannone
for 4 years until she left for
JMW, I have watched with
great interest the rise of the
firm. When I decided to
leave my current firm, JMW
was the obvious choice for
me and my clients. I am very
much looking forward to
working with Marc and the
very busy team in what
seems to be a thriving environment.”
JMW also confirmed that
family law Partners Sam Hall
and James Brown are to
leave the firm on 1 April to
set up their own firm, Hall
Brown Ltd. Only 4 Partners
have left JMW over a 3 year
period out of a total of 51
Equity, Fixed Share and
Salaried Partners. During
the same time 14 new Partners
joined the firm.
Commenting on the move
Joy Kingsley said: “At JMW
we commend entrepreneurial
spirit so we wish
James and Sam every success
with launching their
own niche family law firm.
Our relationship with them
both remains good and we
have already discussed with
them the referral to us of
their non-family law matters.
We have already had
offers of employment accepted
by other senior family
lawyers, who we expect
to join us in the coming
months. With the continued
recruitment of excellent
lawyers these are exciting
times at JMW as we continue
to grow profitably.
With 5 weeks left of the financial
year the firm expects
to exceed its annual
target of £21 million
thereby exceeding profit
targets also.”
We had a number of entries for last month’s caption
competition, and here are the three best entries:
Fran says “ OMG I’ve just remembered I’ve left the Bridge Street
keys in the front door”
Moira Percival, Gorvins
“Where’s that coming from, you could smell it in Eccles”
Matthew Gibbons
Senior Clerk, Deans Court Chambers
“Maybe I shouldn’t have put that ‘KICK ME’ sign on the
President’s back”
Victoria Ridge, Manchester Law Society
Marc Jaffe and Michael Kennedy
Regulatory Affairs Committee Update
Did you know that the
month of May is the National
Smile Month?!
Hopefully that little useless
bit of info will be
enough to put a smile on
your face – I doubt very
much that compliance
and regulation will do so!
Legal Ombudsman
The COLP and COFA forum
held on 11 April was delighted
to welcome the new
Chief Legal Ombudsman,
Kathryn Stone and her colleague
Alex Moore from the
Policy team. Kathryn was
very appreciative of the opportunity
to be able to address
lawyers at the coalface
of dealing with complaints.
She reflected on her first
few months in her role as
Chief Legal Ombudsman
and admitted that there
were governance and performance
issues to address
but felt it important to reflect
on the positives including
excellent staff who had
succeeded in reducing the
number of outstanding
cases and offering a high
standard of service and a
new Board whose focus is a
commitment to building for
the future.
She introduced statistics on
the practice areas which
generated most complaints
and the main types of complaint
– it won’t I’m sure
come as any surprise to you
that conveyancing came
top of the pile followed by
Family, Wills and Probate,
Personal injury and Litigation
with client care, costs,
delay, failing to advise, not
following instructions and
failing to communicate
being the main problem
areas. She looked at a couple
of case studies and offered
some tips on
complaint handling which,
while perhaps somewhat
stating the obvious, is always
worth a reminder! She
took a number of questions
from the floor and dealt
with them openly and directly.
My personal impression
which I hope was
shared by all who attended
was that Kathryn is a good
listener, empathetic and will
get things done. She recognised
that she has a number
of challenges including
timeliness, quality, consistency
and value for money
as well as looking at some
jurisdictional changes,
some of which are likely to
be quite controversial including
third party complaints.
Kathryn will also be
speaking at the Regulatory
Conference in June and will
no doubt be welcomed
back in the future to update
us on how she is getting on.
SRA Activity
One thing which is unlikely
to make you smile is a significant
increase in visits/
investigations and disciplinary
activity by the SRA
which my Compli team has
noticed recently. We are
seeing visits to PI firms
(some with very little if any
notice) with their main
focus being on compliance
with referral arrangements.
This increased interest may
be tied in with the recent
comments made by Paul
Phillip that the SRA wanted
to know more about how
the PI market operates, but
if it is, it is of no consolation
to those firms who have to
drop everything in order to
get together a huge
amount of information
which the SRA asks to see
during their visit. If you are
in this position, please give
the Compli team a call for
further guidance and assistance.
Staying on PI, the SRA also
issued a warning notice recently
to PI firms in respect
of potentially fraudulent
personal injury claims. Anyone
dealing with PI claims
should familiarise themselves
with it, not because it
has anything particularly
new to say but because the
SRA might refer to it in any
investigation if they consider
a solicitor has failed to
take notice of the warning.
In a nutshell, the SRA has
raised concerns about five
specific issues
1. cold calling;
2. breaching the ban on referral
fees;
3. acting on instructions
without client approval;
4. paying damages to third
parties; and
5.bringing claims without
clients’ knowledge.
What is clear is that PI firms
need to audit their files and
monitor their work sources
with this warning notice
very firmly at the forefront
of their minds.
You may also have seen that
the SRA has recently closed
5 practices in a week so they
have certainly been extremely
busy!
SRA v Law Society
The battle of words regarding
the future of legal regulation
continues. I recently
attended a meeting with
the Vice President of the
Law Society who is keen to
hear the profession’s views
on this very important issue
about what functions the
SRA and the Law Society
would have under a
changed system. If you do
have any views, please feed
them back to me and they
will be passed on.
Another Register!
The deadline for the June edition of
The Messenger is 13th May
Email: j.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.uk
I’m afraid yet another register
has been introduced
which affects LLPs and Limited
companies and which
COLPs/COFAs may need to
be responsible for. The Register
of People with Significant
Control (PSC) has been
introduced as from 6 April
2016. Companies and LLPs
(with only very limited exceptions)
will be required to
hold and keep available for
inspection a register of people
with significant control
over the company/LLP
(“PSC Register”). This is a
major administrative
change which will apply to
the vast majority of UK companies
and LLPs and Directors/
company secretaries
and/or COLPs/COFAs will
need to acquaint themselves
with the new rules
and consider how they will
apply as soon as possible. In
summary, the obligations
are to investigate, obtain
and keep updated information
on registrable persons
with significant control and
relevant legal entities with
significant control over the
company. A PSC register will
need to be created which
needs to include "required
particulars” of each person
with significant control over
the company who is a registrable
person. The PSC register
will also need to be
monitored, updated when
necessary and reviewed at
least annually so add this to
your calendar of monitoring
of policies/procedures etc.
Panama papers
The news has been full of
the Panama papers scandal
over the last month or so –
it’s as if it’s come straight out
of a John Grisham novel!
There will be many lessons
to learn even at this relatively
early stage so that
your law firm is not caught
up in any similar scandals or
incidents that causes such
huge reputational damage.
Are your client take-on procedures
robust enough and
effective in identifying potential
money laundering?
Do your fee earners understand
the importance of
asking the right questions
about source of funds? Do
they know about and are
you confident that they can
recognise red flags? Are
your systems properly protected
from hackers? Have
you reviewed your Data Protection
and Information security
policies recently?
The Law Society has just updated
its practice note on
protecting your firm if you
fall victim to a scam s have a
look at that and ensure you
have it all covered off.
That’s it from me for this
month – keep smiling! ☺
Michelle Garlick
Chair of Regulatory
Affairs Committee
Manchester Law Society
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Forthcoming Events
8 Movers & Shakers
Equity Partner Promotion for Farleys’
Tom O’Neill
Leading North West law
firm Farleys has announced
the promotion of
commercial property
lawyer Tom O’Neill to equity
partner.
Tom joined Farleys upon
qualification in 2005, and
currently heads up the firm’s
dedicated commercial
property team. He has extensive
experience in all aspects
of property work,
including acquisitions and
disposals, development site
preparation and infrastructure,
landlord and tenant
work, development agreements,
option agreements
and refinancing transactions
Commenting on the promotion
Ian Liddle, Partner at
Farleys said “Tom is an outstanding
lawyer and is well
regarded by clients and colleagues
alike. His promotion
to the partnership here at
Farleys is deserved recognition
of his invaluable contribution
to the firm’s success.”
Tom said: “I am delighted to
become a partner here at
Farleys and look forward to
continuing the ongoing
growth and success of the
firm, and in particular the
commercial property team.”
Tom O’Neill
Mills & Reeve hits a high note with Hallé
construction win
The construction team at
the Manchester office of
law firm Mills & Reeve has
been appointed to advise
on the multi-million
pound extension of Hallé
St. Peter’s.
The team, led by Manchester
head of construction
Catherine Kay, is advising
on phase one of the development
of Hallé’s St Peter’s
in Ancoats by extending the
grade II-listed former
church building into rehearsal,
recording performance,
education and
ancillary space.
Catherine said: “We have advised
the Hallé for a number
of years and are delighted
to be appointed to this latest
project. The Hallé St
Peter’s extension will enable
the orchestra to further develop
its education programme
and help inspire
the musicians of the future.”
Quartet propel staff numbers to a
record high
Staff numbers at law firm
Bromleys have topped 50
for the first time with four
appointments, including
solicitor Kate Allsop.
Hall Brown Family Law opens in
Manchester
New boutique family law
firm, Hall Brown Family
Law, has opened its doors
in Manchester with the
promise of ‘quality service
day and night’ from its
founders, respected leading
family lawyers, Sam
Hall and James Brown.
With more than 20 years of
family law experience - and
high-profile clients including
ex-Liverpool FC manager,
Brendan Rodgers,
Premiership footballers, entrepreneurs
and celebrities -
Sam Hall, James Brown and
their team will practice from
the firm’s new offices in King
Street.
Described as ‘first rate’ and
respected for ‘leaving no
stone unturned’ (Legal 500),
and both named as ‘Leading
Experts’ in the independent
legal directory, Chambers
and Partners, Sam Hall and
James Brown were previously
Partners at JMW Solicitors
and instrumental in
raising the family department
from a Tier 4 to the
top Tier 1 ranking. A Senior
Associate, Associate and Solicitor
from the team they
assembled at JMW will join
Hall Brown next month.
Sam Hall, currently Chairman
of future pro-manchester
and one of the country’s
top 10 family lawyers, said:
“James and I share a desire
to focus primarily on quality
of service, rather than volume
of cases which is why
we set up our own firm. We
understand that exceptional
service, support and
guidance is vital for clients
at what can often be the
most stressful and traumatic
period of their lives. For us,
this means being accessible
whenever our clients need
us – regardless of the day of
the week, or time of night.”
James Brown, one of only a
handful of family lawyers to
have represented a client in
the Supreme Court added:
“Setting up our own firm
means we now have the
freedom to invest time, care
and attention which we believe
clients should be
given. We are also determined
to avoid the jargon,
stuffiness and pomposity
that can be associated with
lawyers and want to be
known for honest, straighttalking
advice, understanding
and empathy.”
James specialises in divorce
involving complex financial
issues and has acted for a
wide range of clients from
teachers to celebrities and
entrepreneurs. He represented
Mr Sharland in the
Supreme Court case, Sharland
v Sharland.
Sam too specialises in all aspects
of family law with a
particular focus in financial
settlements and future
arrangements for children.
Although the majority of his
clients remain highly confidential,
it is public knowledge
he acted for
Premiership Manager, Brendan
Rodgers following the
separation from his wife.
As well as high-profile
clients, Sam Hall and James
Brown are keen to emphasise
that they pride themselves
on the same level of
care for all clients: “While
certain cases can sometime
attract media attention, we
have extensive experience
working with the spectrum
of different family issues
from Magistrates Court to
Supreme Court.”
Sam and James and their
hand-picked team are looking
forward to being able to
provide clients “with the
time, understanding, guidance
and service they deserve.”
Kate has joined Bromleys’
child care team from the
Bury office of Woodcocks
Haworth & Nuttall, where
she qualified in 2009 and
spent eight years in total.
She specialises in acting for
children, parents and other
family members in care and
adoption cases and also advises
on private proceedings
relating to children,
special guardianship matters
and social services disputes.
Kate also has expertise in
advising on domestic abuse
and forced marriage protection
cases.
At the age of 27 in 2012,
Kate became one of the
UK’s youngest solicitors to
be granted higher rights of
audience by the Solicitors
Regulation Authority, which
enables her to represent
clients in the most senior of
courts.
Outside of work, Kate is an
accomplished pool player
and has represented
Greater Manchester Ladies.
She is also on the committee
of north west charity
Child Concern.
Kate, who became Bromleys’
50th member of staff,
said: “Bromleys is a long-established
firm with a formidable
reputation.
“It’s a real privilege to be
part of its highly-experienced
and respected care
team.”
Keith Platts, who heads the
firm’s child care department,
said: “We are seeing a
significant increase in demand
for our services and
we are delighted to wel-
Kate Allsop
come Kate to the team.
“She brings a wealth of experience
in child care matters
and I am sure she will
be an excellent addition to
what is already the largest
specialist team of its kind in
the Tameside and east Manchester
area.”
The other recruits are Tahera
Khatun-Ali, a case progressor
in the property team,
and office staff Sarah De Vial
and Holly Wiles. Their arrival
takes Bromleys’ staff numbers
to 53, which represents
an increase of 30 per cent in
the past three years.
with their assistance, we will
be able to reach out the
widest possible pool of potential
recipients.
I have also this month been
invited to become a governor
of the Cotton District’s
Convalescent Fund and The
Barnes Samaritan Charity
and I have attended the first
meeting. The charities
merged many years ago,
but have their roots in the
cotton industry in the 19th
James Brown and Sam Hall
President’s Column continued...
century. The purpose of the
Barnes Charity is to provide
financial assistance for people
afflicted with severe or
incurable illness and for
people convalescing from
such illness while continuing
to live in their own
home.
I decided that by far the
best approach for my first
meeting was to sit back and
learn and see how things
operated. It was a fantastic
opportunity to see how
small charities like this can
make a small, targeted difference
to the lives of people
in need. Not quite the
same as the Legal Education
Fund, a different angle perhaps,
but equally worthy
and it is a pleasure privilege
to be involved.
Michael Hardacre
President
Movers & Shakers 9
Centrefield LLP: Leading UK sport and media law firm
launches in Manchester
A new specialist Sport and
Media law firm, Centrefield
LLP, has been
founded by partners, Edward
Canty, David Bentham
and Matthew
Bennett.
Based in Manchester, Centrefield
is made up of a
highly specialised team of
ten lawyers with over 15
years’ experience advising
exclusively in the sport and
media sector – one of the
key growth sectors for the
legal marketplace both in
the UK and worldwide. The
team is recognised by
clients and the industry
generally as a true market
leader on a national and international
basis and continues
to act for an enviable
client base of household
names.
Nine of the ten lawyers in
the team left North West
based law firm, Brabners
LLP, to form Centrefield. The
establishment of the new
firm builds on the lawyers’
existing reputation and sees
Centrefield become one of
the UK’s largest sport and
media law specialists.
Matthew Bennett said:“Centrefield
marks a significant
development in our industry.
We act for clients across
a wide range of sports and
they all operate within a
highly specialised environment;
we believe that a
more industry-focused and
specialised firm is much
more closely aligned to
their interests. Our goal is to
create the leading sport and
media practice with the
greatest industry knowledge
and the best possible
client service.”
When Canty, Bentham and
Bennett set up the practice
their clients followed. Centrefield
provides advice to a
wide range of clients including
governing bodies, national
associations, leagues,
clubs, player associations,
individuals, agents, sponsors
and businesses operating
in sport and media.
Edward Canty said:“That all
of our clients have come
with us as we open Centrefield
is not only gratifying –
it’s proof of our skills and experience,
our determination
to secure the best results for
them and the close relationships
that we have built
over time.”
The practice is based in a
converted historical mill
building and offers something
different to the traditional
law firm.
Edward Canty said:“We
were careful in selecting the
right office to base Centrefield
at; we wanted to find
an environment which reflected
the ethos and culture
of the firm as well as
the industry that we work in
so it is somewhere that both
the team and our clients feel
comfortable and enjoy
coming to.”
Centrefield hit the ground
running with the opening of
the football transfer window
in January. A busy
month acting in transfers,
loans, contract re-negotiations
and image rights
arrangements for a number
of clients, including clubs
and players from the Premier
League, the Football
League and Major League
Soccer, set the pace for the
practice.
David Bentham said:“The
January transfer window
was a good way to kick off
the new business – it set the
pace for what promises to
be a thriving and growing
practice.”
The launch of the firm has
been marked with a drinks
reception, at Manchester’s
L to R Matthew Bennett, David Bentham, Edward Canty
recently opened arts venue,
HOME, attended by over
one hundred clients and
contacts of the firm.
David Bentham commented
that: “It was great
to see so many of our clients
and contacts come and
mark the start of Centrefield.
We very much appreci-
ate all of the support they
have provided at the start of
the new firm and we’re excited
about working with
them in the coming years.”
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10 News
Life after the Law
Steven Hindmarsh retired from his role as a commercial property solicitor with
Hill Dickinson in 2015. He talks to Julia Baskerville about his new role
volunteering with Salford CAB...
Stephen Hindmarsh, a
past President of Manchester
Law Society retired
from private practice
in 2015. He qualified as a
solicitor in 1977 with
Gorna and Co, which
merged with Hill Dickinson
in 2001. Stephen says
that once he knew he
would be retiring, he
began to volunteer with
Salford CAB and took a series
of training courses.
Stephen now volunteers
two days a week. One day is
spent giving general advice
and the other is spent with
the specialist debt team.
Salford CAB has a drop in
advice centres at Salford
Precinct, Eccles and Walkden.
SAS Daniels LLP recognised for its commitment to
staff training with STEP Gold accreditation
Leading North West law
firm SAS Daniels has been
accredited by the STEP
Employer Partnership
Programme and awarded
Gold status.
STEP is the worldwide professional
association for
those advising families
across generations. STEP
promotes best practice and
professional development
and its new Employer Partnership
Programme has
been launched to help employers
of STEP students
plan and deliver effective
training and development,
ensuring that staff can offer
the best possible advice to
clients.
The Gold accreditation
recognises SAS Daniels’
commitment to up-skilling
its staff and providing the
best possible service to its
clients.
STEP members are trained
to deal with issues and services
that include preparing
wills; ensuring elderly and
vulnerable people are cared
for and supported; family
business succession planning
and providing for a
husband or wife after the
death of a spouse while protecting
the interests of children.
Helen Kelly, Partner in the
Private Client team at SAS
Stephen says that there are
two aims of the CAB network.
Firstly they provide
free, independent, confidential
and impartial advice
to individuals on their rights
and secondly, through this
advice, they are able to
identify trends and this information
is used to improve
policies and practices
that impact on peoples
lives.
Stephen says that one of the
most rewarding aspects of
volunteering with the CAB
is that no two days are the
same. He says “I find volunteering
at the CAB to be refreshingly
different from
private practice and I enjoy
the variety of work. We offer
general advice on a whole
host of issues, such as benefits
advice, employment difficulties
queries, consumer
rights and problems, housing,
tax and NI contributions
Daniels and Chair of the
Cheshire branch of STEP
said: “Our clients come to us
at often difficult times in
their lives regarding some
incredibly complex matters,
so it’s important that our
staff receives training at the
highest possible level.
“SAS Daniels is committed
to offering our staff the best
possible development opportunities
to ensure they
have the skills and specialist
knowledge to offer a firstclass
service to our clients in
the future. This STEP accreditation
is testament to this
commitment and will help
us ensure our clients receive
the specialist knowledge
they need at all times.”
Jenni Hutchinson, Head of
Employer Partnerships at
STEP said, “SAS Daniels has
Helen Kelly
and family issues, such as
child custody and family
breakdown, and we are supported
by a team of very
knowledgeable managers.”
Benefits advice is generally
one of the areas that many
people seek help from the
CAB for and Stephen says
that this is often linked with
debt and housing issues. He
adds “If we identify that an
individual is likely to be
evicted, then legal aid may
be available and we can
refer then to Manchester
CAB who have a specialist
housing solicitor and they
will advise on the best possible
course of action.
Stephen says that the role of
the CAB is very broad and is
not a replacement for legal
advice. He says “People
come to the CAB because
demonstrated a supportive
and encouraging approach
to learning and development
and we are pleased to
see the value they place on
the professional development
of their staff. We are
delighted to award SAS
Daniels with their well-deserved
Gold Employer Partner
accreditation”.
SAS Daniels currently has
two members of staff in its
private client team who are
undertaking the STEP qualification.
STEP has over 20,000 members
across 100+ jurisdictions
from a range of
professional backgrounds
including accountants,
lawyers, trust specialists and
other practitioners in this
field.
they have a problem and it
is our job to give them the
options to help resolve this
and provide information
about their rights as individuals.
We may recommend
that they seek legal advice
from a solicitor, or it may be
other remedies.”
Stephen says that as a commercial
property solicitor he
thought he had an understanding
of housing, but
since joining the CAB he
now has a better understanding
of the complexities
of assured tenancies
and the rights of tenants
and the issues of homelessness.
Stephen has found that
there are a couple of similarities
between his role as a
solicitor and that of a CAB
volunteer. Firstly there is
the drafting of documents
and secondly the importance
of referencing advice
to the authority. Stephen
also helps individuals to
complete forms. He adds
“Some people with disabilities
are eligible for Personal
Independence Payments,
and the applications for this
Chafes Solicitors expands team with
Katy Craik-White
Cheshire legal practice
Chafes Solicitors has expanded
its team with the
arrival of commercial real
estate specialist Katy
Craik-White.
Katy joins the Wilmslow office
to advise and assist
clients on buying, selling or
renegotiating leases on
commercial property. Katy
is returning to work after a
four-year break, having previously
worked at Herbert
Smith Freehills in London.
Katy Craik-White said:“I’m
delighted to join Chafes Solicitors
and look forward to
supporting growth plans in
the firm.”
Jon Roberts, manging partner
of Chafes Solicitors,
added: “We’re thrilled to
welcome Katy to Chafes, her
expertise in commercial
property will add to our already
experienced team.
She will play an important
role in our future plans and
ensure our service to clients
remains excellent.”
are very detailed and complex
and so we are often
called up to assist in completing
the paperwork for
this in a method that is acceptable
to the DWP.”
Stephen Hindmarsh
Katy Craik-White
Stephen concludes “Volunteering
with the CAB is a refreshing
change from the
law and you can volunteer
as much or as little as you
like. I enjoy the challenge
and get a great deal of satisfaction
from knowing I have
made a difference.”
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form three offices, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge & New Mills.
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12 Feature
The debate over the formal recognition of
relationships under UK law
The route to achieving formal
recognition of a relationship
in the UK has
been the subject of much
debate following the introduction
of the Marriage
(Same Sex Couples)
Act 2013.
Since 5 December 2005,
civil partnerships have been
available to same-sex couples
in the UK under the
Civil Partnership Act 2004.
This Act granted same-sex
couples the same rights as
those enjoyed by heterosexual
couples through civil
marriage. In 2014, however,
UK law evolved, and the additional
option of civil marriage
was made available to
same-sex couples under the
Marriage (Same Sex Couples)
Act 2013.
An increasing number of
heterosexual couples are
seeking to campaign for
their rights to enter into civil
partnerships and thereby
have the same choices and
options available to them as
same-sex couples. Many
heterosexuals argue they
would, if given the opportunity,
choose civil partnership
over marriage,
claiming, inter alia, that the
institution of marriage is oppressive,
sexist and of a historically
patriarchal nature.
Others contend that the law
as it stands both discriminates
against heterosexuals
and undermines equality in
the UK, simply because opposite-sex
couples do not
have the same choices as
same-sex couples.
In January 2016, heterosexual
couple Rebecca Steinfeld
and Charles Keidan lost
their challenge in the High
Court to obtain the right to
enter into a civil partnership;
a challenge which
began in 2014 when they
initially sought to enter into
a civil partnership and were
unable to do so because
they did not meet the legal
requirement of being a
same-sex couple. As their
battle progressed, they received
support through
36,000 signatures on their
petition (available to view
on www.change.org) which
called for civil partnership
to be opened up to couples
of the same sex.
Rebecca and Charles stated
that they did not oppose
the existence of marriage,
and accepted that it offered
the same legal rights as a
civil partnership with no
substantial practical differences
between the two.
However, the couple felt
that their relationship more
closely matched those values
contained in a civil partnership;
namely that of
equality. They believed that
recognising their relationship
by a civil partnership
avoided any connection
with historical ideas of patriarchy
that marriage is associated
with.
So, why did the High Court
rule against opening up civil
partnerships to couples of
the opposite sex? The judge
in the case ruled that the
different treatment of gay
and heterosexual couples in
this respect did not infringe
the right to a family and private
life under Article 8 of
the European Convention
on Human Rights. Furthermore,
even if it was found to
infringe Article 8, that
would be justified in any
case because heterosexual
couples have the equivalent
option of entering into civil
marriages. This means, essentially,
that there is actually
no disadvantage to
heterosexual couples
through their choice only of
civil marriage as opposed to
the additional choice of civil
partnership.
The government has supported
this ruling, and indicated
that now same-sex
couples are able to marry,
civil partnerships may well
be abolished in the future.
Accordingly, their view is
that changing the legislation
on a temporary basis
would be costly and difficult
to achieve. In addition, the
government was keen to reiterate
the judge’s ruling,
and emphasise that the unavailability
of civil partnership
to opposite-sex
couples did not create any
disadvantage for heterosexual
couples.
It appears, then, that the
only material difference between
civil partnership and
marriage, other than the
title, (and indeed the fundamental
issue raised by heterosexual
couples who are
currently denied access to a
civil partnership), is that
marriage still carries historically
patriarchal connotations.
In contrast, a civil
partnership is believed to
be a fresh method of formally
recognising relationships,
which theoretically
lends itself to the notion of
equality – something that is
of increasing importance to
couples of the opposite sex,
it seems. The debate will no
doubt continue…
Mark Fitzgibbon,
Partner
Victoria Madsen,
Trainee Solicitor
Hill Dickinson
Mark Fitzgibbon
Victoria Madsen
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AFG Law Charity Night
AFG Law held a Charity Night in February to raise funds for Early Break, Women's
Housing Action Group and Superjosh. This was the Bury firm’s third annual Charity
Night and raised £2616 so each charity will receive £872.
Feature 13
Trafford Law Society Ball
Trafford Law Society held
their Annual Ball at the
Manchester Airport Marriott
Hotel in March. Over
120 guests attended, including
District Judge
Clegg and Mrs Clegg as
guests of honour.
Entertainment on the night
was provided by Kris Naylor,
Magician and the Fun Time
Frankies Band. The evening
also raised £2,000 for the
local charity “Friends of
Rosie”.
The official sponsors were:
18 St John Street Chambers,
Deans Court Chambers,
Slater Heelis, Blackstones
Solicitors and Xpress Legal.
For further information visit
www.traffordlawsociety.co.uk
Mr and Mrs Clegg (formerly District Judge Clegg)
The Trafford Law Society Committee- Left to right David Hensley (treasurer),
Alison Barnett, Malcolm Horner, Sarah Amatiello (President), Camilla
Burton-Baddeley (secretary), Geraldine Stephens (Vice President) and Faye Beech
The magician entertains 18 St John Street
14 Feature
Panama Papers: the Changing Global
Landscape of Tax Avoidance
Robert Levy of Kuits Solicitors outlines the background to the Panama Papers
and the possible implications for those caught up in the maelstrom..
When the news broke on
the night of Sunday 3rd
April 2016 that the German
Newspaper Suddeutsche
Zeitung had
received 2.6 terabytes of
data made up of over 11
million documents originating
from the data files
of Panamanian Law Firm
Mossack Fonseca, the offshore
world exploded into
a frenzy of panic.
sanctions busting, laundering
proceeds of crime and
corruption, the biggest fallout
is likely to be in relation
to tax evasion, as even
though a large proportion
of the structures created by
Mossack Fonseca are likely
to be legitimate, there will
almost certainly be structures
wrapped up in that
being operated for people
whose desire for secrecy is
motivated by a desire to
keep their money out of the
clutch of the taxman.
As has happened before in
these cases, HMRC have accelerated
their timetable for
the introduction of new
criminal offences to help
stamp out evasion and increase
the pressure on
Overseas Territories and
Crown Dependencies to
agree to automatic exchange
of information, including
information as to
beneficial ownership of
structures held in those territories.
Given that these territories
include jurisdictions
such as the British Virgin Islands
and the Cayman Islands,
this should be
One point should be made clear right
from the outset: it is not against the law
for a UK taxpayer to hold an offshore
asset.
Over 200,000 offshore entities
and numerous law
firms, accounting firms, financial
advisory firms and
banks were implicated. The
nature of the leak, comprising
as it did of raw data (that
is not just columns of figures
but actual copies of letters,
emails, notes and
documents going back
forty years) falling into the
hands of the International
Consortium of Investigative
Journalists (ICIJ) and doubtless
on its way to international
tax authorities,
regulators and crime agencies,
meant that this panic
was not without foundation
(no pun intended).
Of course, a very large number
of the entities and transactions
thrown out by the
data leak will be entirely legitimate.
As we all now
know, many offshore entities
are established for perfectly
valid reasons and
those holding assets offshore
very often account
fully for their tax liabilities.
However, as the story
moved into its first phase, it
was presented by the press
in an uncomfortable light
and even those with legitimate
connections to the
story found themselves
with uncomfortable bedfellows,
such as Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad.
Alongside allegations of
One point should be made
clear right from the outset:
it is not against the law for a
UK taxpayer to hold an offshore
asset. However, in the
case of a resident domiciled
UK individual, it is their obligation
to disclose and pay
tax on the fruits of any offshore
asset, such as interest
on an overseas bank account
or gains made on the
sale of assets. UK resident
non-domiciled individuals
may opt for a different
regime.
HMRC have asked for the
data and will get it. The government
has announced
the establishment of a new
taskforce headed by HMRC
– a cross-departmental
agency that includes the Financial
Conduct Authority,
the National Crime Agency
and the Serious Fraud Office,
as well as the full power
of HMRC’s state-of-the-art
data analytics software programme
“Connect” – which
will be deployed in order to
flush out targets for investigations
or prosecutions. The
sense of political outrage
would suggest that there
will be a leaning towards
prosecutions if at all possible.
expected to produce further
targets for investigation.
For those caught up in this
maelstrom, the appropriate
course of action is clear.
They should seek advice
and they should seek it
quickly – preferably from a
solicitor to ensure the protection
of privilege. Even
those that believe that their
structures are correctly established
and have operated
legally should take
advice to ensure that they
have not been caught out
by changes in the law.
Those who are deliberately
hiding assets from the taxman
need to get to HMRC
before HMRC get to them. A
full and unprompted voluntary
disclosure to HMRC
with experienced advisors
in controlled circumstances
will always achieve the best
outcome and, at the very
least, may help minimise
the sleepless nights.
Members and staff from St
John’s Buildings Barristers’
Chambers have been
joining together to raise
fund for Headway, the UKwide
charity that works to
improve life after brain injury.
SJB are Headway
Challenge Baton holders
for 2016, and so have
planned a year-round calendar
of fundraising activities.
The first official event was
the SJB Ladies’ Evening, held
at LK Bennett in Manchester
on 26 March. There was a
great turn out, and the attendees
enjoyed flower arranging
demonstrations
and gorgeous raffle prizes
as well as 20% off all purchases.
The event raised a
fabulous £1,000 for the
charity.
Robert Levy
SJB Fundraising Update
There are lots of ways that
clients and supporters can
get involved. Next on the
fundraising calendar is the
Spinathon – a continuous
spin session for 12 hours on
27 April at Pro Spin in Ashley.
Braving the bikes are
barristers Sally Harrison QC,
Elisabeth Cooper, Philippa
Waddell, Karl Rowley QC,
Richard Norton, Ben Kelly,
Kevin McNerney, and
Gareth Thompson, along
with CEO Chris Ronan and
Senior Civil Clerk Chris
Shaw. If you would like to
sponsor the participants or
make a donation to Headway,
please visit our Virgin
Money Giving page at
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/SJBforHeadway
On 26 May at Manchester
Art Gallery we will be holding
a Mindfulness for
Lawyers seminar. Consultant
Clinical Psychologist Dr
Fairuz Awenat will explain
the benefits of mindfulness
and look at how to use and
adapt mindfulness techniques
within your working
day. There is a minimum donation
of £10 and the event
run 6-8pm.
All are welcome to attend a
Brain Injury Seminar which
is being organised by Headway
Lancaster & Morecambe
Bay branch. The
event will be held at the
Lancaster House Hotel from
Friday 17 - Saturday 18 June
and will feature guest
speakers, a full exhibitor
showcase and a partner experience
day.
On 22 June our Stand-up
Comedy Night is back by
popular demand. Sally Harrison
QC, Fran Heaton QC
and barrister Samantha
Hillas will each perform a
stand-up routine at the
Contact Theatre in Manchester.
They will be supported
by professional
comics Debra Jane Appleby
and Laurence Clark. Tickets
cost £20 and all are welcome.
Our cyclists will be back out
in force for a road trip
around all four of our Chambers
sites. A team of members,
staff, family and friends
will set off from our Liverpool
Chambers on Saturday
17 September and cross the
Mersey by ferry before cycling
to Chester for lunch
and on to Manchester for
dinner and an overnight
stay. The following day they
will cycle from Manchester
to Sheffield. Supporters are
welcome to join the cyclists
or meet for lunch or dinner.
There are lots more events
planned including our summer
garden party known as
SJBstonbury, a 5-1-Side
football tournament, a
Chambers cricket match
and a sports persons’ dinner.
Our full fundraising calendar
is available on our website
at
http://stjohnsbuildings.com
/fundraising- calendarheadway
If you require any further information
about any of
these events, please contact
Janet Moorhouse, Marketing
and Communications
Manager on 0161 214 1500
or email janet.moorhouse@stjohnsbuildings
.co.uk
Marketing and Social Media 15
Marketing – afterthought or part of the plan?
by Linda Coppell Integrated Marketing
I’m often asked what marketing means for law firms. Many think its placing an odd
advert here and there, sorting out the legal directories and perhaps doing a little
client entertaining. Although these are useful as part of an integrated plan, marketing
in the broader sense is concerned with the development and delivery of services
and products and ideally should form part of a firm’s long-term strategic planning
process.
It involves maintaining relationships with existing clients and creating relationships with
prospective clients. In particular, developing an understanding of:
• why your clients buy your services and which services they buy
• how and when they make purchasing decisions
• the price they are willing to pay
• the triggers that would make them buy more
• cross-selling additional services they may not be aware of
• competitive forces – particularly where client panels are in place
• why they defect – and why they remain loyal to you
As clients’ needs change, so must law firms respond, adapt and evolve to maintain and
grow in continuously changing market environments.
Where to begin?
Whatever size and structure, if your firm’s marketing budget is to have maximum impact,
you need to know where to focus it.
Begin with a succinct, concise, plan; setting out Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic
Targeted/Timely (SMART) objectives and goals. Don’t overcomplicate and don’t try to do
everything all at once because it will inevitably fail. Prioritise - focus on just 2 or 3 key objectives
first. You’ll then be able to assess marketing and business development opportunities
and put an action plan in place. Most importantly, when those 2 or 3 objectives
deliver results, it’s then much easier to bring any sceptics in the firm along with you when
it’s time to focus upon the next 2 or 3!
• Client added value programmes
• Key account management programmes
• Development of CRM/database of clients, referrals, targets and prospects
• Bid, tenders and capability statements
• Business development pipeline management
• Brand management, identity and values
• Differentiation strategies
Resources
Without an effective marketing infrastructure marketing of your firm, practice group or
sector will be difficult. If you haven’t already appointed someone to take responsibility
for your marketing, consider what the firm will need to manage and implement the marketing
activities. Depending on size, this may be a sole co-ordinator or manager, a full
team structure, occasional consultancy support, a complete outsource solution, or a mixture
of these.
Final thoughts
Marketing, business development and firm-wide projects should all work together to protect
the future of the practice and be seen as important as short-term production and
billable hours.
As David Maister says – What you do with your billable time determines your current income,
but what you do with your non-billable time determines your future.
It’s also worth mentioning that for those firms with Lexcel accreditation this requires you
to develop a marketing plan that includes these SMART objectives for the next 12
months. They also recommend the plan be reviewed every 6 months.
Marketing tools that work for law firms
You’ve prepared and prioritised your SMART plan. Now it’s time to assess the marketing
and business development activities that will help you to achieve your goals and objectives.
As part of an integrated plan, choosing the mix that’s right for your firm will deliver
results:
Which elements you use will depend on the focus and size of your firm, how your marketing
and business development teams are structured and how plans are developed. Additional
business and client development activity which may run alongside and integrate
with your marketing plans include:
BSN North & Manchester Group re-launch
On Monday, 18th April, 2016 BSN North & Manchester Group was re-launched
Questions to ask yourself before meeting an agency
So, you've got an initial
meeting booked in with an
agency, or maybe it's even a
pitch or a beauty parade.
You're ready to be bombarded
by numbers, creative
ideas and perhaps a
few buzzwords.
There are of course lots of
questions you'll want to ask
the agency. But there are
also some key questions
you should ask internally
before this situation, to help
you walk away with the
right decision.
What do you want to
achieve?
oughly, and understand
how their strategies will
help you.
Do you understand your
audience?
If you understand who your
audience are, where they
are online, what they like
and dislike, and the value
proposition you can offer
them, you're half way to a
good campaign. These factors
should be included in
an agency brief to help
them put together their
ideas. If you don't know
these things, you might
look for an agency that will
find out for you – research is
always a worthwhile investment.
How does your budget
stack up?
You probably have a figure
in mind, but make sure you
do your research beforehand
to gain an awareness
of what's expensive and inexpensive
in online marketing,
and the cost per click
you can expect from PPC. If
your budget is on the small
This is actually tougher than
it sounds. If it's an outdated
notion like ranking number
one, then forget it – no
agency worth their salt
should be promising this. Is
traffic important to you, or is
the focus on generating
valuable enquiries? How
soon do you want to
achieve it, and which areas
of your business are most
important? Being clear on
your objectives will help
you brief an agency thorside,
you need to have realistic
expectations – it takes
time and effort to produce
great marketing campaigns.
What do you value in the
people you work with?
This is probably the most
important question of all,
but should be the easiest to
answer. Whether it's honesty,
passion, energy, creative
ideas or commercial
nous, it should shine
through whenever you
speak to them. After all,
your agency will be an extension
of your business, so
you should recruit them as
carefully as you would an
employee.
The group would like to attract a range of people including solicitors, students, barristers
and academics to enable everyody's voice to be heard.
For further information please e-mail ravi.sethi@mibanks.co.uk
16 Charity & CSR
Brabners pledges support to Crisis for 2016
Commercial law firm Brabners
has nominated Crisis,
the national charity for
single homeless people,
as its chosen charity for
2016. The charity works to
end homelessness by delivering
life-changing
services and campaigning
for change.
Crisis was chosen by employees
following a vote.
Brabners has a dedicated
charity committee who will
organise fundraising events
over the coming year, although
fundraising began
before Christmas, when
staff raised over £3,550 to
support the Crisis at Christmas
campaign.
Forthcoming events in the
calendar include the Charity
Challenge, an actionpacked
weekend of canoeing,
cycling and hill
climbing in the Lake District
where teams from different
companies across the North
West compete to finish the
course in the fastest time.
There is also the return of
‘The Big Idea’, an apprentice-style
contest involving
one team from each of the
firm’s offices competing
against each other to raise
money for the charity. Staff
will also be encouraged to
volunteer and participate in
charity collections and
events.
Mark Brandwood, Managing
Partner at Brabners said:
“We are delighted to be
working with Crisis during
2016. Our CSR programme
is thriving – all at Brabners
are very keen to support
charitable endeavours. We
are looking forward to getting
involved in a wide
range of volunteering and
fundraising activities to
raise both money and the
profile of the charity across
the region.”
Crisis helps people rebuild
their lives through housing,
health, education and employment
services and
works with thousands of
homeless people across the
UK.
Kate Farrell, Director of Crisis
Skylight Merseyside said:
“We are delighted to have
been chosen as Brabners’
Charity of the Year for 2016.
With their help, thousands
of homeless people will
come to Crisis to learn, find
jobs and build confidence;
helping them to leave
homelessness behind for
good. We would like to
thank everyone at Brabners
for their generous support
and we look forward to
working with them
throughout the year.”
Last year the firm raised
over £24,800 for its chosen
charity for 2015, Alder Hey
Children’s Charity.
Law Firm Raises Over £16,000 For
Charity Of The Year
Irwin Mitchell Manchester
Presents Donation To
Friends Of Lancasterian
Specialist School Charity
Irwin Mitchell has presented
a donation of over £16,499
to Friends of Lancasterian,
the law firm’s Manchester
office Charity of the Year for
2015.
Employees at Irwin
Mitchell’s Manchester office
have supported the charity
throughout 2015, donating
the proceeds of charitable
activities, such as bake sales,
dress down days and special
events to the charity.
The money raised will go towards
supporting the work
of Lancasterian Specialist
School. At Friends of Lancasterian
they believe that
all children with disabilities
have the right to share the
same opportunities, challenges
and enjoyment of
life as every other child.
Irwin Mitchell’s Charity of
the Year initiative is part of
the work of the Irwin
Mitchell Charities Foundation,
an independent registered
charity set up by the
partners and employees of
the national law firm. More
than £1.25m has been donated
to worth causes since
the foundation was formed
in 1997.
Grahame Codd, Regional
Managing Partner at Irwin
Mitchell, said: “Irwin
Mitchell has found working
with Friends of Lancasterian
really rewarding during
2015, raising much needed
funds to ensure they can
continue to provide their invaluable
services at the specialist
school.
“The generosity shown towards
the charity by our colleagues
and guests who
have attended fundraising
events over the year is very
much appreciated by everyone
and will make a real difference
to the lives of the
school-children.”
Russell Miller from Friends
of Lancasterian added: “We
would like to thank Irwin
Mitchell for supporting us
as their Charity of the Year
2015. We are thrilled to receive
this donation from the
firm which will go towards
continuing to support and
offer numerous opportunities
to the children who attend
our specialist school.”
A dad-of-two who was entered
into the London
marathon as a ‘surprise’
says he has finally recovered
from the shock and is
looking forward to the
race.
Ian Mackie, 53, had no plans
to take part until he received
a text message from
godson Chris Jones to say
he had managed to secure
places for them both.
Inspired by the
Bournemouth halfmarathon
they ran together
last year, Chris, who has
autism, decided to go one
step further and sign them
up for the iconic event, double
the distance at 26.2
miles.
Both will be running to raise
funds for the eye charity
MACS – the Micro and
Anophthalmic Children’s
Brabners with Crisis
Dad’s shock after being entered into London marathon by ‘surprise’
Society – which helps
youngsters like Chris’s
cousin, four-year-old Jacob
Spackman, who was born
blind in his right eye and
with reduced vision in the
other.
Ian, from Hale, head of business
development at Manchester
law firm Slater and
Gordon, said: “Both Chris
and I like to keep fit and last
year he said he would like to
run a race and win a medal
so we did the halfmarathon.“That
was that or
so I thought until I got his
message! It was a bit of a
shock to start with, but I just
couldn’t say no.
“Chris is the most happy-golucky
person I know and has
never once thought we
couldn’t do this. He texts me
every day to see how I’m
doing and I couldn’t let him
down.
“We’ll also be supporting a
fantastic charity which has
really helped Jacob and his
family. He’s had a really
tough start in life, in and out
of hospital having various
operations on his eyes, but
you wouldn’t know he’s got
those problems because
he’s such a happy little lad.”
Despite his initial shock and
gruelling training schedule,
Ian says he’s now looking
forward to the famous race
on Sunday, April 24, which
takes in the capital’s major
landmarks including the
Houses of Parliament, St
Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham
Palace.
L to R: Stacey O’Sullivan (Friends of Lancasterian) Alexandra Barrie (Irwin Mitchell)
Katie Cass (Friends of Lancasterian) Grahame Codd (Irwin Mitchell)
He added: “About a month
ago I was in so much pain
through training, but recently
I managed to run 22
miles without having to
stop with tight calves or
cramp and that was a turning
point. That was when I
thought ‘I can do it.’ It is an
iconic race and everyone
tells me the crowd and the
atmosphere are just astonishing.”
Ian has set a fundraising target
of £1,400 for MACS
which helps children born
without eyes or with underdeveloped
eyes.
To sponsor him go to justg
i v i n g . c o m / o w n e r -
email/pleasesponsor/Ianda
vidMackie.
Any further funds will be
donated to the Once Upon
a Smile charity in memory
of 10-year-old Isaac Maley
from Bowdon who died
suddenly after suffering an
asthma attack last year.
Charity & CSR 17
Making a Difference
This month, Mark Fitzgibbon of Hill Dickinson talks about his work as
a Board Member of The Big Issue North Trust
“Volunteering –
A wholly different perspective
When I came to Manchester as a (very) young lawyer in 1996 I
had no intention of getting involved with the third sector; why
would I, I was focussed on building my career as a commercial
lawyer.
Purely by chance, in 1997 after the wave of euphoria from a
Labour victory and their promised new dawn for the NHS, I was
instructed by a small unincorporated charity, the Zion Community
Health & Resource Centre in Hulme which had won a significant
contract from Manchester Health Authority to manage
a new primary care resource centre. Hulme was then starting to
go through its “regenerative” transition but was certainly not
somewhere lawyers in suits would consider their natural habitat.
Notwithstanding my initial reservations, we managed to get
the charity incorporated and got contracts signed with the
Health Authority for what was at the time a revolutionary new
form of community health resource; this was my first taste of
working with both the third sector and the NHS. Out of that
transaction, unexpectedly came a much closer working relationship
(as legal advisor) with the management team of the
charity. I was asked to join the Board around 1998 – while initially
flattered, I wasn’t entirely sure at the time whether I had
any skills which would be of any use to them.
After a number of years finding my feet with what was at the
time a relatively compact and niche third sector organisation
with a single facility in Hulme (the Kath Locke Centre), I began
to find the volunteering aspect fascinating; as lawyers we don’t
always get the opportunity to see the inner workings of the organisations
we act for, nor to be part of the decision making
process. Sitting on the Board has constantly proved to be an
eye-opening and rewarding experience – now this might be
down to the people I sit with on that Board which are from diverse
backgrounds, and the Senior Management Team are
some of the hardest working and most dedicated professionals
I have ever worked with, or it might also be down to the lessons
learnt through undergoing such a wide variety of
experiences the Board and the Senior Management Team have
been through over the past 18 years. But being involved with
an organisation which focuses on creating opportunities for
people to change their lives (and not focussing primarily on financial
return on investment) and which relies so heavily upon
hand-outs and government contracts opened my eyes in a
thoroughly unexpected way; while there is a misconception
that the third sector, in general, is shambolic and disorganised,
nothing could have been further from the truth with this organisation
– transparency and inclusive management have always
been key objectives across the group, it has the ability to overcome
adversity in a creative and compassionate way and it continues
to be led by the most inspiring of chief executives.
The group has grown significantly over the past 18 years and
now includes nurseries, primary schools, cutting edge mental
health services, primary care resource centres, the Big Issue
North magazine and all support services for vendors; it is now
a Manchester-based social enterprise group with a combined
turnover in excess of £15m pa. Working alongside such dedicated
professionals has taught me a lot about managing people
and viewing the world through their eyes.”
Mark Fitzgibbon
Partner
Commercial
Business Services
Hill Dickinson
Mark Fitzgibbon
Thousands of pounds raised at fundraising ball for
spinal injuries charity
Lawyers raised an amazing £60,000 at a
charity ball to help people living with
spinal injuries.
More than 500 legal professionals from Manchester
and beyond came together for the
Spinal Injuries Association’s annual Cornflower
Ball.
Money will be used to deliver support and
services to around 40,000 people living with
the life-changing effects of spinal injuries
across the UK.
The event, which was sponsored by Slater
and Gordon, took place at Old Trafford
Cricket Ground and was hosted by antiques
expert and star of BBC’s Bargain Hunt, Charles
Hanson.
This year’s theme was Rio in the run up to the
summer Olympics, and prizes including concert
tickets and holidays were also raffled or
auctioned off during the night.
Richard Scorer, national manager for serious
injury at Slater and Gordon, said: “The Cornflower
Ball is a wonderful event which we
look forward to every year and are delighted
to support.
“The Spinal Injuries Association does such
great work in helping people who have experienced
devastating and life-changing injuries
and it is fantastic that, once again, so
much money has been raised to enable
that work to continue.”
Sue Browning, chief executive officer of the
Spinal Injuries Association, added: “The
Cornflower Ball is our biggest annual
fundraising dinner and the Emirates cricket
ground was a perfect venue.
“We were overwhelmed by the support we
received on the night and in raising such a
fantastic amount.”
The Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) is the
UK’s leading charity for people with spinal
cord injuries and works to ensure that they
get the specialist care, rehabilitation and
support they need.
It also helps families cope when a loved one
is injured and campaigns for better medical
and social care.
For more information about the charity
call the free advice line on 0800 980
0501 or visit spinal.co.uk
18 Management Issues
Management Matters
This column is now into its eighth year and feedback is still good. We would still like to receive observations and ideas for future
issues. Please mail Bill Kirby at billkirby@professionalchoiceconsultancy.com or the publisher Julia Baskerville at
j.baskerville@jbaskerville.co.uk
Law Firm’s Relationships with their
most important asset – Their Clients –
A new dimension
It is absolutely vital that we retain and develop our clients
and create the right image and support to acquire new
clients. We have discussed this on many an occasion but
some new evidence has been produced and there is consideration
for enhancing the effective response.
Peppermint Technology has commissioned a report that
was published mid April.
www.pepperminttechnology.co.uk . Amongst its major findings
are these comparisons with other service sectors
• A third of law firms have not been involved in any business
innovations in the last two years, a much higher figure than
the other two sectors. Consultants have been the most innovative,
in particular in sales and marketing, and pricing –
two areas largely ignored by many law firms to date
• A third of law firms do not maintain a regular relationship
with their clients once a particular matter has been completed,
compared to 26% of accountants and 13% of consultants
• Law firms are behind in offering clients online access to enable
case tracking, or to check and download documents –
8.7% of law firms have this, half that of accountants
• 39% of law firms carry out regular client feedback surveys,
behind consultants (52%) but ahead of accountants (28%).
A smaller percentage in each sector incorporates the results
into their client records and an even smaller percentage use
the information to benchmark their performance over time
• Almost half of law firms (46%) expect to invest in IT over
the next 18 months, while 32% anticipate investing in sales
and marketing, and 22% will look again at their pricing and
customer delivery.
We really need to know what do our customers (clients)
really think about us and how do we therefore prioritise
our actions?
Many of the more progressive law firms are now looking for
improvements in their client feedback processes, and not
only Lexcel accredited firms that need to address compliance
requirement 6.6.
Traditionally a survey has been conducted either with the
practicing lawyer asking the question or in some cases a different
partner has asked and clients can be quite reticent to
say how it really was. Some firms more recently send out
feedback questionnaires and think ‘job done’. This results in
minimal response levels and a large number of potential
missed opportunities to generate additional fee-earning
opportunities. It is like that procedural and cultural thing related
to the handling of inbound enquiries.
I met with Jon Hepburn, MD of Legally Better Ltd -
www.legallybetter.co.uk a specialist client feedback service
provider for law firms - whose comments were -
“If you don’t know what you don’t know about your clients and
what they think of your service, you really ought to find out.
They might well have already shared their views online, often
on review websites and you’re none the wiser”
We could well be seeing a big growth in formal and informal
web sites and social media as we must recognise can get out
of hand and cause a great deal of damage. Comparison web
sites will have an increasing role to play and are a fundamental
part of the search journey potential clients undertake.
A list of 5* reviews from carefully chosen clients might
look good - but the real value for a law firm is in finding out
what your clients really think.
Jon firmly believes that “The law firm should also want those
‘warts and all’ insights from their client - based on their actual
experience of dealing with you. Clients like to be listened to and
given the opportunity to address any issues that may have
arisen. In short their perception is your reality; and when it
comes to client satisfaction if you identify the issues, and then
act on them, the outcomes can include improved fee income,
improved client relations and an improved reputation”
Here comes the new dimension. In order to get a much better,
honest and balanced view the sampling of client satisfaction
and perception can be outsourced to a third party
such as Legally Better. Who are much more likely to pick up
the true perception.
From a compliance and client confidentiality perspective
the client needs to be given an easy opt in or out choice –
at matter inception, through the case or at the end. They can
choose whether to be contacted by your appointed independent
third party survey company to get their feedback
on the service you provided – or not. For existing clients
who might not have been told of this previously but you
now want to seek their opinion it should be straightforward
to send them an email asking them to take part.
This is important, because having committed to this you
want to maximise the response.
Jon believes that “In short, they will get the feedback you
can’t – in particular the negative issues that can affect your
firm’s ability to attract and retain clients. They can ask your
clients if they would like their comments to be kept anonymous
or attributed to them and then responded to individually
by you.”
It would appear that this is not revolutionary as a number of
firms are already undertaking the exercise “In our experience
clients are happy to tell a third party views they won’t
tell a law firm directly. In terms of outcomes based on our
experience the information obtained is always more valuable
and in-depth than most law firm’s own feedback
processes – we are so confident we are even prepared to
offer a trial for up to 10 of your clients” jon.hepburn@legallybetter.co.uk
AT LAST
Last month, in the management round up where we talked
about key business measures, accountability and delegation,
strategy and plans and in particular dynamic management
and the key elements of billing, chargeable time, gross
profit, lock up (validated WIP and outstanding bills) cash collection,
complaints and matter starts. To maintain focus,
perpetual forecasting and high performance we need the
right sort of KPI and management information easily available
and at all the relevant finger tips. Including trended
data.
Me and a number of my clients have been very frustrated
about the availability of the right data from our practice
management systems. There is now a solution. Easily installed
and paid for monthly. It is called SmartEye from Exen
www.xnls.co.uk/smarteye . Now installed in excess of 50
law firms and sitting on top of no less that 10 different PMS
systems.
The solution can be installed on one PMS and then migrated
(with full reporting suite fully intact) to a new solution
when and if the firm decides to change its core
PMS/back-office systems.
The analysis available is absolutely fundamental to the
management of a successful firm. I have met the owner –
Graham Moore – gm@xnls.co.uk twice during April and
have had a good look at the product.
Effectively dashboard reports
• By tier – fee earner, team, work-type, branch,
firm – drill down.
• Dependent on firm policy – data organised by
work-type or department.
• Trend analysis and history automatically
available for all data.
• Threshold reporting. Last activity reporting. WIP
validation and time recording history
• Alerts on breaches – financial, complaints, ID,
missed targets
• Analysis by client, matter, work type, sector,
introducer / source of business, funding type and
much more …
KPIs can be individually generated to drive individual or
team behaviour to focus on correction or enhancement
Other points:
One of my favourite topics - Gross Profit by team or department
– can be automatically calculated according to the
firm’s own model
One of the things I liked the most is the simplicity of getting
going. Delivery is as a complete solution, not a toolkit –
therefore limited resource needed from the firm
• 80% of the solution is pre configured
• Faster implementation times
• Lower total cost of implementation
• Less work required from the firm (individuals)
• One less thing for the IT Team to worry about
With the advanced management techniques coming to
some law firms availability of data in a form and timeliness
to affect performance real time has been really frustrating
with a lot of manipulation of standard reports available required
even for something as simple as trends. This is easily
available and we don’t have to change PMS systems to enhance
reporting but above all it enables firms to get on with
the key management criteria – plans, forecasts, key performance
points, delegation and accountability.
Bill Kirby is a director of Professional Choice Consultancy
offering advice to firms on business issues from
strategy, planning, business development, the effective
use of IT applications and IT hosting for compliance,
business continuity and DR. He can be contacted at billkirby@professionalchoiceconsultancy.com
Forensic Update
Horses for courses
John Grogan comments on the criteria by which
expert witnesses are selected
Some readers will be familiar with cases
where there has been judicial comment to
the effect that expert evidence from those
in practice provides a more reliable source
than that of experts who have left mainstream
practice.
Most cases where such observations have been made
have involved medical experts, but the same principle
may apply across a range of professional disciplines,
including accountancy, my own field.
Some of the accountancy evidence that is brought
before the courts simply calls for analysis of raw financial
data, without any opportunity to apply the high
level knowledge and skills that are the province of accountants.
Why solicitors instruct accountants in such
cases would be the subject of another paper. Suffice
it to say that accountants are thought, correctly, to
have an essential numeracy, and a facility with
spreadsheet packages, that make them well suited to
such work. At least many solicitors have no taste for
that type of work and accountants are available to do
it. Whether an accountant has real and up to date experience
of mainstream accountancy practice at a
senior level is irrelevant in this type of work as the
work affords no opportunity to bring such experience
to bear in any event.
It is in the cases requiring the deployment of high
level expertise in the core subject matter of the accountancy
profession that the judicial remarks I mentioned
should resonate.
Cases like the following examples call for the deployment
of just such high level expertise:
• a personal injury case where the claimant
has traded through the medium of a limited
company or a partnership;
• a matrimonial dispute where there is a need
to comment on the structures through
which the proprietor of a business has been
remunerated;
• a shareholder or partnership dispute where
the accuracy of the entity’s accounts is at
issue;
• a criminal case involving allegations of
fraudulent manipulation of company
accounts;
• a case involving allegations of negligence by
accountants;
• a case involving the valuation of shares in
private companies or of interests in
unincorporated businesses.
If you have a case where you need a true expert accountant
look very carefully at the CV of anyone you
are considering. Discount the list of cases in which
the accountant has acted as an expert witness, except
insofar as it shows generally that there is past experience
of acting as an expert, which may make your job
easier. Beyond that, see what real experience of the
day to day mainstream work of an accountancy practice
remains. Is it recent and up to date experience or
was it gained in the distant past? At what level was
it gained? Has the expert taken responsibility at a
senior level for decisions about a client’s accounts, or
an audit opinion, or the provision of tax advice? If not,
consider whether the absence of such experience
matters. It may not.
If you are satisfied that the expert you are instructing
has the real, credible and up to date experience that
your case requires, consider who will actually carry
out the work and whether to investigate the credentials
of that person also.
John Grogan is a chartered
accountant and a chartered tax
adviser. Since 2009 he has been the
founding principal of his own
independent practice, JGA, in which
he provides expert witness services
to the legal community and
accounting and tax services to
businesses and individuals.
Between 1986 and 2009 John was a
partner at PKF, the former top-ten
national firm of accountants, now
part of BDO.
20 Local News
CILEX
Jefferies Solicitors supports local entrepreneurs with
Manchester Growth Hub
Michael Jefferies, founder
and managing director of
Altrincham-based law
firm, Jefferies Solicitors,
has turned his attention
to mentoring the upcoming
entrepreneurial minds
of tomorrow.
In partnership with the
Manchester Growth Hub,
which helps local businesses
by providing mentors
who donate their time,
Michael is giving his time
and advice to two mentees.
Michael brings with him
vast experience, Jefferies
Solicitors was established in
1993, now with nearly 50
employees and an average
annual turnover of more
than £4million.
David Maudlin, The
Manchester Shoe Shine
Co.
Michael is helping David
Maudlin bring back the forgotten
tradition of shoe
shining after 25 years as a
house-husband looking
after his three daughters.
David runs his own business
polishing shoes in areas
with a high footfall, such as
Piccadilly train station. To
get his feet off the ground,
Michael has been working
with David to help leverage
his skills and identify new
Jamie Bettles, Intern China
David Maudlin, The Manchester Shoe Shine Co.
markets, such as corporate
events and golf days.
Since the mentoring,
David’s business has gone
from strength to strength –
he recently travelled around
the country with car giant,
Ford, for the launch of its
new Mondeo. David encouraged
people to visit the
car stand in shopping centres,
while having their
shoes shined.
Jamie Bettles, Intern
China
Michael also offers strategic
business advice to the
owner of Intern China,
Jamie Bettles. Jamie runs a
Manchester-based tourism
company offering off-thebeaten-track
destinations to
give interns an insight into
modern China, while gaining
valuable work experience.
It has four Chinese
bases as well as permanent
staff, who offer regular trips,
social events and accommodation
opportunities.
Andy Hall, Mentoring Advisor
at the Business Growth
Hub comments: “Having a
sounding board from someone
who has walked a mile
in your shoes can make an
enormous difference to a
growing business. A mentor
can accelerate prospects
and increase chances of
success dramatically by
learning through someone
else’s experience.
“We are always grateful for
mentors who volunteer
their time for the benefit of
other growing businesses
who appreciate wisdom
and knowledge. Michael
has been an incredible support
for our clients and I
know the relationships are
fulfilling for both parties.”
Michael Jefferies comments:
“It’s fantastic to be in a position
to give back to the local
community and support
upcoming businesses. In
this digital age, it’s great to
see people like David going
back to basics with the art
of shoe shining, while
Jamie’s company has great
potential to become a market
leader both locally and
internationally.”
For more information on
mentoring, visit:
www.businessgrowthhub.com
Michael Jefferies
Ethos Forensics offer independent forensic consultancy and expert witness services. We specialise in body fluids evidence including
blood pattern analysis, DNA profiling interpretation including mixtures and Low Template DNA techniques, textile damage assessment,
sexual offences casework, cold case reviews and quality systems in forensic science. Ethos Forensics provide the following services:
l Forensic consultation in relation to DNA and body fluids evidence
l Expert witness services for prosecution or defence, including case review, reinterpretation of evidence and provision of expert
testimony at court
l Training and guest lecturing services in forensic awareness, DNA profiling, sexual offences investigation, case assessment and
interpretation, forensic quality systems or bespoke courses to meet your requirements. Courses are suitable for all audiences
including legal professionals, law enforcement personnel, medical practitioners, forensic experts, students or other interested
parties
l Quality systems consultancy to ISO 17025:2005, laboratory auditing services and quality investigations
l Scientific article writing
Contact us to discuss your requirements or for a free initial consultation.
07796 546 224
sue.carney@ethosforensics.com
www.ethosforensics.com
Conveyancing 21
Why conveyancers must employ enjoyable
technology by Scott Bozinis, CEO InfoTrack
Recently I found a fascinating book full of very interesting
statistics. Did you know that every day the amount
of data created grows by 2.5 quintillion bytes? That’s 18
zero’s! Or did you know that less than 0.5% of all available
data is ever analysed and used? Referring to information
of this magnitude the buzzword ‘big data’ is
often used, which is simply a term to describe structured
and unstructured data. However, I’m more interested in
how this growth of data affects law firms.
According to the book ‘The Human Face of Big Data’, the average
person now processes more data in a single day than
they did throughout a whole lifetime in the Middle Ages.
The majority of this data is, of course, driven by the internet
and the sharing of information and creation of content
associated with it. So, with the sheer volume of data and
amount of stimuli we process day-to-day, what impact does
this have on our lives?
On a daily basis employees, colleagues and peers are consuming
incredible amounts of information in both personal
and professional capacities, between which, the lines are
often blurred. So while we’re taking time to process and
analyse the multitude of data during our working day, it’s
leaving us with less time to manage operational or administrative
tasks.
Working in the conveyancing sector, there is a huge input
and output of information generated throughout the
process. All this resulting information then needs to be organised,
analysed and stored in a way that is easy to access.
That’s not easy when we’re constantly processing and filtering
data, so choosing a system that can help do this efficiently
is imperative. Furthermore, as client expectations
continue to increase, so too does the demand for a faster
and more economical service, placing additional pressure
upon the conveyancer.
Nowadays we are used to technology in our personal lives
that help us easily organise, analyse, store and access information.
This begs the question, ‘why can’t the clever technology
that I use in my personal life, be available in my work
life?’, and as a busy legal professional, I hope this resonates
with you.
Commonly raised data challenges in the conveyancing industry
include filing matters, reconciling disbursements,
and rekeying information for SDLT submissions or AP1
transfers. Now, the good news is that while the issues
around the volume and management of information are
present, there is simple, intuitive technology built to evolve
how conveyancers manage their matters in the most efficient
way possible. Choosing to use these systems means
less logins and passwords to remember, eliminates the issue
of lost disbursements, re-keying errors, and houses all information
related to your matters in a central system, providing
one source of truth. Opting for the right technology for
your firm gives time back to you and your staff, creates efficiencies
and minimises risk - why would you work any other
way?
By making the change to simple, enjoyable technology, you
can change the way you work, store and analyse information
related to your matters, and thus, take the headache
out of the conveyancing process.
Scott Bozinis
VFS LEGAL FUNDING
RELEASING CASH FLOW
Do you want to improve
your Cashflow?
VFS provides quick, simple and cost effective funding
solutions that release YOUR funds locked up in YOUR profit
costs and disbursements.
The funds can be used by you for any purpose. Including, for
example, Tax and VAT payments, removing the need to rely on
costly, fixed term repayment loans from secondary funders.
Disbursement funding (‘DCF’)
VFS funds the ongoing disbursements incurred on PI, Clinical
Negligence and Litigation cases until their natural conclusion.
Costs advance facility (‘CAF’)
VFS can provide immediate funding against most bills that
have been served – releasing cash back into the practice.
For a no obligation discussion please call 020 3747 9333
or email enquiries@vfslegal.com or visit vfslegal.com
22 News
CILEX
MTSG News
The Summer Ball
After the roaring success of our winter
ball, we are really stepping things
up a gear with a bigger and better
summer-time counterpart. At an incredible
venue, to be announced in
due course, the Summer Ball will be
taking place on 17 June 2016. For those of you without
a diary open right this second, that’s a Friday so for the
first time in an age, we won’t all need to drag ourselves
to work, book a holiday or call in sick the next day.
Training Supervisors rejoice.
Socials
After laughing it up at the fantastic ‘Taste of Comedy’
event on 21 April at Manchester 235 Casino, we’ll next
be teaming up with our accountant counter-parts at
MCASS for a quiz night on 11 May. This means that we’ll
get to answer the age-old question that nobody is asking:
who are the biggest geeks - lawyers or accountants?!
Who knows but suffice to say, regardless of the
result, we’re obviously the superior profession... or so we
tell ourselves.
FELT
We also have one of the most eagerly anticipated events
of the year (by me at least) the FELT Rum Tasting night
which is taking place on 5 May. Expect this one to sell out
if it hasn’t already!
Charity
We’re busy bees on the charity front as well. After selling
out our Skin Health Spa event in an incredibly short
space of time, we’ve now arranged for an MTSG fashion
and beauty event in association with Kiehl's. The event
will be taking place on 4 May and again, is likely to sell
out. We’ll also be having another pub quiz night, this
time with MYSG at the Living Room on 26 May. Keep
your eyes on your inboxes for details of what the
evening will involve.
Commercial Advocacy Training
We’ve planned an event for Thurs 16 June with 23
Essex Street Chambers in Manchester to be held at
BPP law school for MTSG members, BPTC and LPC students.
This will be a commercial advocacy presentation,
hosted by Arnold Ayoo who will be presenting
on the pitfalls of drafting as a solicitor. This will be relevant
to all practice areas and will explain principles
such as “without prejudice”, followed by a networking
session, aimed at increasing links at a junior level between
the 2 professions.
Martin Bloor
MTSG Chairman
Martin.Bloor@Brabners.com
MYSG News
The Manchester Young Solicitors
Group had their most
successful event to date last
month with 100 tickets selling
out in a record 30 minutes!
The event was held in
conjunction with the Manchester
Young Professional
Network (MYPN) at the exclusive
Hotel Gotham.
Upon arrival attendees were
presented with an Easter
themed coloured named
badge. The colour would depend if you were a MYSG
member or a MYPN member. You then had to find your
match from the opposite group to win a free glass of
prosecco. This was a great way for our members to
meet new people from other groups and truly embrace
the spirit of what networking events should be
about. Thank you to our sponsors, Interlink Recruitment,
Yorkshire Bank and Shoosmiths who also had a
fantastic time at the event.
being events and Lida Khanverdi, our wellbeing representative
on the MYSG committee held 2 successful
events in April at Lululemon with the Royal Institute of
Chartered Surveyors. Here our members were treated to
complimentary yoga classes and lessons on how to cope
with the stress of everyday life.
May is also setting up to be an exciting month for the
MYSG with two fantastic networking opportunities.
The first event is on the 18th May at Kiehl’s on King
Street. We will be joined by our good friends, the Manchester
Young Chartered Accountants Group (MYCAG)
As ever, to balance out the alcohol and frivolity, the
MYSG are committed to hosting their health and welland
attendees will be treated to complimentary treatments,
a DKNY fashion show and goodies from
Liquorice and Hey Little Cupcake. All the proceeds
raised will be donated to our charity, Forever Manchester.
The second networking event will be joint with the
Manchester Trainee Solicitors Group and the Manchester
Barristers Chambers. This will be a quiz in the Living
Room, Deansgate, on the 26th May. Thank you in advance
to our lovely sponsors for this event, Deans
Court Chambers and Anakin Seal.
If you are interested or know anyone at your firm who
is looking to develop their network and business development
skills please sign up to our mailing list at
https://www.mysg.co.uk and follow us on LinkedIn and
Facebook. Members are encouraged to check the website
regularly for news and updates as we are receiving
an unprecedented amount of interest in each of our
events and attendance is on a first come first served
basis.
Charlotte Percy (Same person as Charlotte Brinsley
– just a Mrs now! )
Chair of Manchester Young Solicitors Group
Family Solicitor at Slater and Gordon Lawyers
Charlotte.percy@slatergordon.co.uk
CILEX News
Branch News:
The Greater Manchester CILEx branch would like to
thank Norman Denton of Legal Eye and Joanne Holt
of PSG Connect Ltd for providing the branches March
training. Norman provided an interesting and insightful
training on Money Laundering.
If you are interested in joining the Manchester branch,
please email manchestercilex@outlook.com. The
branch regularly holds both CPD events and Social
events.
The next CPD events will take place on 26 May 2016
and 23 June 2016. Please contact the branch for further
information.
CILEx news:
Seven year rule removal opens up career in law
Law degrees no longer have to have been completed
within the last seven years to qualify for exemptions
against CILEx qualifications, following approval from the
Legal Services Board.
CILEx chief operating officer Linda Ford said: “This is a
welcome move which will open up a CILEx career to
even more people, and I’d like to thank the LSB for approving
the change. Law graduates have a home at
CILEx, where we offer a fast-track route to qualify as a
lawyer. This will make it even easier for mature students
and those looking to move into the law to join CILEx and
enjoy successful legal careers.”
Law graduates can apply for exemption from the CILEx
Level 3 Diploma in Law and Practice and the Law units of
the CILEx Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice. They can
then complete the CILEx Graduate Fast-Track Diploma to
gain graduate membership of CILEx, consisting of the
Level 6 Client Care Skills unit and two Level 6 Practice
units (one of which must link to the subjects studied
within their law degree).
Rachel Stevens
Chair
MLS ADVANTAGE
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Docutech Office Solutions
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Contact
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Managed IT Services
Compli by Weightmans
Contact
Michelle Garlick: 0161 233 7330 or michelle.garlick@weightmans.com
Viewpoint
Contact
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Contact
Joanna Swash: 0333 202 1005 or joanna.swash@moneypenny.co.uk
Switchboard Support
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Xyone Cyber Security
AML Training
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Bill Jones or Sarah Scott: 0161 828 1937 or bill.jones@elplearning.co.uk
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Direct
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Quentin Birc
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Martyn Best: 0
Switchboa
: 0151 227 9150 or martyn.b
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Contact
Bill Jones or S
s or Sarah Scott: 0161 828 1937 or b
7 or bill.jones@elplearning.co
o.uk
Contact
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Office Solutions
Search Agg
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333 202 1005
: 0 w
joanna.s
or j
.co.uk
wash@moneypenny.
Contact
Jason Dixon: 0
Managed IT
: 0844 8932919 or jasondixo
T Services
n@docutechsolutions.co.uk
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Contact
01524 220001
vid Opie:
David Opie: 01524 220001
David Opie:
b
C
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01524 220001 vidopie@etsos.co
or da
or davidopie@etsos.co
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vidopie@etsos.co.uk
Contact
Xyone Cybe
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tt: 0845 872 4400 or aaron
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een@xyonecybersecurity.co
Contact
Ste Pritchard
.uk
: 08000 740 247 or ste@ma
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atrix247.
Compli by Weightmans
Compli provides regulatory and compliance advice and assistance to law firms
and others in the legal sector. Whether you are a partnership, limited company,
ABS or sole practitioner, our flexible, tailor-made service is designed to support
you in meeting the evolving regulatory, compliance and risk challenges you face.
This is underpinned by incisive commercial advice on business management and
structure, all delivered by specialist teams with outstanding experience in their
disciplines. Confidentiality, legal professional privilege and peace of mind is
assured.
Contact
Michelle Garlick: 0161 233 7330 or michelle.garlick@weightmans.com
weightmans.com
Document Direct
Our flexible, 24-hour, 365 day service allows you to outsource as much or as
little of your typing and document production as you wish. We are 100% UK
based with an extensive team of experienced legal secretaries. We are
ISO27001 accredited and the exclusive endorsed transcription partner of the
Law Society of England and Wales.The outcome in using us will be an
improvement in your turnaround times, consistent document quality and a
significant reduction in your typing overheads. Our aim is to help you become a
more efficient and profitable law firm.
Contact
Julie Williams: 0844 225 1447 or julie.williams@documentdirect.co.uk
www.documentdirect.co.uk
Moneypenny
Moneypenny provides firms with a fully-outsourced switchboard facility, support
for an in-house team or business continuity on an ad-hoc basis. Hundreds of
firms already rely on Moneypenny’s professional, 24-hour service that’s endorsed
by the Law Society and is dedicated to taking care of calls for the legal sector.
Fully briefed by you, your own Moneypenny Receptionist and small team will
look after calls just as if based in your office, knowing you, your key clients and
how you like to work.
Contact
Joanna Swash: 0333 202 1005 or joanna.swash@moneypenny.co.uk
moneypenny.co.uk/legal
Search Aggregator
ETSOS is about helping law firms to grow their conveyancing volumes, improve
their customer delivery, save time and money and ultimately build stronger,
more profitable businesses for the long-term. ETSOS provides a free-to-use
online portal, incorporating our ‘search supermarket’ ordering platform, delivers
the widest possible selection of searches and reportsto 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.
Contact
David Opie: 01524 220001 or davidopie@etsos.co.uk
etsos.co.uk
Xyone Cyber Security
Xyone provide top level cyber security consultancy to law firms. Our services
are designed to identify and mitigate risk from both an internal and an external
perspective. Our penetration testing services ensure that your infrastructure is
protected from vulnerabilities that could be exploited during a real hack, and
our staff training and policy enforcement process ensures protection against
human risk.We are a certification body for the Government’s Cyber Essentials
scheme and we have highly qualified information security consultants and
Certified Ethical Hackers to deliver information security compliance required by
Lexcel v6 and ISO 27001.
Contact
Sarah Green: 0800 856 7792 or sarah.green@xyonecybersecurity.co.uk
xyonecybersecurity.co.uk
Viewpoint
Modern law firms are embracing technology - recognising the value that it can
deliver to the client experience, business processes and operational efficiency
too. At Viewpoint we provide a wide range of technology solutions for legal
environments where presentation, collaboration, training, learning and
communication take place. From sophisticated meeting room and presentation
technology to video-conferencing and digital signage systems, our specialist
knowledge allows us to integrate the very best audio-visual, multi-media and
collaboration solutions into legal working environments with ease. It’s because
we understand the relationship between people, space and technology that we
can deliver specialist design, installation and management services.
Contact
Quentin Birchall: 0844 811 7660 or quentin.birchall@viewpoint-av.com
viewpoint-av.com
Riliance Training provides comprehensive interactive and cost-effective e-learning
training for businesses working in regulated sectors. All of our courses are
brought to life using topical case scenarios, interactive video, images and text.
The unique training and management platform helps manage and organise all of
your training needs from one user friendly training platform including logged
CPD hours. Our on-line anti-money laundering training service has proved so
popular that additional compliance courses covering topics such as bribery, data
protection, equality and diversity are now available.
Contact:
Suzanne Allwright on 07483 177663 or suzanne.allwright@riliance.co.uk
Riliance
riliancetraining.com
Docutech Office Solutions
Docutech Office Solutions focus on providing the service and products that you
need at great prices. We specialise in document technology, cost and emissions
reduction, improving your efficiency with a service second to none. At
Docutech Office Solutions we make it our business to know your business
before we can offer the right combination of hardware, software and technical
services to suit your company’s specific needs. We provide full office solutions
including printers, consumables and service callouts - whatever your
requirement give us a call.
Contact
Jason Dixon: 0844 893291
Michelle Garlick: 0161 233 7330 or michelle.garlick@weightmans.com
MLS ADVANTAGEad-hoc
Managed IT Services
convergets.co.uk
Established in 2006, Converge Technology Specialists provide Hosted
3,000 staff relying on our services every day. Our services include
hosted desktop, co-location, hosted applications, managed IT support
and disaster recovery/business continuity from two UK datacentres.
We are familiar with many of the legal sector software vendors with
whom our team work on a daily basis for both our on-premise and
datacentre based clients. We are a Microsoft Gold Partner, Citrix Gold
Partner, IBM Business Partner and VMware Enterprise Solution Provider.
Managed IT Services
Telecoms : Connectivity : Mobiles
MORE ADDED VALUE FOR
MEMBERS OF THE MANCHESTER LAW SOCIETY
A group Contact of carefully selected partners who have had due diligence
Aaron undertaken Naisbitt: 0845 to ensure 872 4400 we or are aaron.naisbitt@convergets.co.uk
only working with the most
professional, innovative and knowledgeable of companies.
Document Direct
documentdirect.co.uk
viewpoint-av.com
Working with our partners will ensure that our members have improved
Search efficiency Aggregator and value, and most importantly, reduced etsos.co.uk cost packages and implementing networks for multi-location firms
Telecomms including telephone systems, low-cost landline calls, mobile
helping
an outsourced
your practice
typing
to
and
develop
transcription
and succeed.
service to your fee earners we it can deliver to the client experience, business processes and operational
help improve the turnaround of your documents enabling you to react
improve their customer delivery, save time and money and ultimately On-line AML Training search portal and aggregator helping for mlsolutions4u.co.uk
conveyancing departments
more effectively to your clients. We are 100% UK based and offer a
Key services that our preferred partners expertise lies in are:
solutions for legal environments where presentation, collaboration,
training,
ML Solutions
learning
provides
and communication
cost effective
take
anti-money
place. From
laundering
sophisticated
training
ETSOS provides a free-to-use online portal, incorporating our
supported by ISO27001 the Information Security Management system. meeting room and presentation technology to video-conferencing and
Regulatory ‘search supermarket’ and compliance ordering advice platform, and assistance delivers the to widest law firms possible and Technology solutions for law firms where presentation. Collaboration,
You will be impressed by how we can help you, so please call us for your digital signage systems, our specialist knowledge allows us to integrate
others selection in the of legal searches sector, and whatever reports your to review, structure. compare A flexibly, and select tailor training, organise learning and manage and communication their compulsory take AML place training obligations. All
free trial.
the very best audio-visual, multi-media and collaboration solutions into
made – all service the brands designed and to multiple support product you in lines meeting together the evolving one place, regulatory,
backed compliance up by value and pricing, risk challenges easy checkout you and face. dedicated assistance. MLS CPD Advantage hours. partners are able to identify and advise on core issues fac-
Contact
legal working environments with ease. It’s because we understand the
Martyn Best: 0151 227 9150 or martyn.best@documentdirect.co.uk
relationship between people, space and technology that we can deliver
ing your business and using their experience, expertise and market
Contact
specialist Contact design, installation and management services.
Outsourced
David Opie:
typing
01524
and
220001
transcription,
or davidopie@etsos.co.uk
flexible, 24 hour, 365 day service
so as much or as little of your typing and document production Contact
knowledge
Bill Jones or
can
Sarah
bring
Scott:
you
0161
the
828
right
1937
solutions
or info@mlsolutions.co.uk
for these issues.
can be catered for
We Quentin know that Birchall: our 0844 members 811 7660 recognise or quentin.birchall@viewpoint-av.com
the value that technology, outsourcing
and business services can deliver to the client experience as well
Compl-i by Weightmans
weightmans.com
Fully Compl-i Telecoms outsourced provides : Connectivity switchboard regulatory : and Mobiles facility, compliance support advice for an and in-house assistance team to as business matrix247.com/law
processes and operational efficiency.
and business continuity on an ad-hoc basis.
Docutech Office Solutions
MLS
docutechsolutions.co.uk
Our MLS Advantage partners all offer special packages to Manchester Law
Top is and level designed regularity. cyber to support security Compliance you consultancy in has meeting a high the for priority evolving law firms along regulatory, designed with low compliance to ongoing identify
encompasses and risk mitigate challenges telephone risk you from face. systems, an This internal low-cost is underpinned and landline external by calls, incisive perspective mobile commercial packages and implementing that you need networks at great prices. for We specialise in document technology, cost
operating Society costs. members. Our portfolio
advice on business management and structure, all delivered by specialist Why not contact one of them today?
On-line Contact anti money laundering, bribery, data protection and equality
ADVANTAGE
and legal professional privilege and peace of mind is assured.
your business before we can offer the right combination of hardware,
Ste diversity Pritchard: training 08000 740 247 or ste@matrix247.com
Contact
Michelle Garlick: 0161 233 7330 or michelle.garlick@weightmans.com
callouts - whatever your requirement give us a call.
convergets.co.uk
Established in 2006, Converge Technology Specialists provide Hosted
“Alison and her team answer
our phones, delivering better
service for our clients
and prospects.”
3,000 staff relying on our services every day. Our services include
hosted desktop, co-location, hosted applications, managed IT support
and disaster recovery/business continuity from two UK datacentres.
We are familiar with many of the legal sector software vendors with
whom our team work on a daily basis for both our on-premise and
datacentre based clients. We are a Microsoft Gold Partner, Citrix Gold
Partner, IBM Business Partner and VMware Enterprise Solution Provider.
Contact
Aaron Naisbitt: 0845 872 4400 or aaron.naisbitt@convergets.co.uk
Moneypenny client since 2011
Moneypenny will support your existing
or by providing a fully outsourced
switchboard facility.
Search Aggregator
etsos.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
moneypenny.co.uk
– all the brands and multiple product lines together in one place,
0333 202 backed 1005 up by value pricing, easy checkout and dedicated assistance.
Contact
David Opie: 01524 220001 or davidopie@etsos.co.uk
Alison, Moneypenny Receptionist.
callouts - whatever your requirement give us a call.
Contact
Jason Dixon: 0844 8932919 or jasondixon@docutechsolutions.co.uk
Switchboard Support moneypenny.co.uk/legal
s upport for an in-house team or business continuity on an
WHAT IS MLS ADVANTAGE?
Dedicated Cloud computing for law firms including hosted desktop, colocation,
Contact hosted applications, managed IT support and disaster recovery/business
Joanna Swash: continuity 08000 199 from 944 two or joanna.swash@moneypenny.co.uk
UK datacentres
Viewpoint
Contact
Jason Dixon: 0844 8932919 or jasondixon@docutechsolutions.co.uk
Switchboard Support moneypenny.co.uk/legal
s upport
for an in-house team or business continuity on an ad-hoc basis.
service that’s endorsed by the Law Society and dedicated to taking care
of calls for the legal sector. Fully briefed by you, your own Moneypenny
Receptionist and small team will look after calls just as if based in your
Contact
Joanna Swash: 08000 199 944 or joanna.swash@moneypenny.co.uk
AML Training
mlsolutions4u.co.uk
ML Solutions provides cost effective anti-money laundering training
organise and manage their compulsory AML training obligations. All
CPD hours.
Contact
Bill Jones or Sarah Scott: 0161 828 1937 or info@mlsolutions.co.uk
matrix247.com/law
basis.
service that’s endorsed by the Law Society and dedicated to taking care
of calls for the legal sector. Fully briefed by you, your own Moneypenny
Receptionist and small team will look after calls just as if based in your
and regularity. Compliance has a high priority along with low ongoing operating costs. Our portfolio
encompasses telephone systems, low-cost landline calls, mobile packages and implementing networks for
Contact
Ste Pritchard: 08000 740 247 or ste@matrix247.com
OUTSOURCED
SWITCHBOARD
DIGITAL
SWITCHBOARD
SPECIALIST
TEAMS
ADVANTAGE
Email Fraud Tips for Solicitors
likely to centre on:
•
•
•
New Clients
•
commitment to cooperate
•
•
•
•
suspiciously such that:
•
Existing Clients
•
•
•
•
Summary
already upgraded their anti-fraud risk controls,
our aim in highlighting this issue is to ensure
that members are suitably placed so as to make
the whole PII process as easy as is possible by
highlighting your own robust methods in place.
Welcome to the
This article does not present a complete or comprehensive
statement of the law, nor does it constitute legal advice. It is
intended only to highlight issues that may be of interest to
MLS members and solicitors. Specialist advice should always
be sought in any particular case.
© MFL Professional 2016
MFL Professional is a division of McParland Finn Ltd. McParland Finn Ltd is
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Richard Gledhill,
Director
E: richardg@m-f-l.co.uk
T: 0161 237 7725
M: 07984 879124
John Jones,
Development Executive
E: johnj@m-f-l.co.uk
T: 0161 237 7739
M: 07872 501955
Contact the MFL Professional team to
discuss your PI arrangements:
T: 0161 236 2532
W: www.m-f-l.co.uk
