Newcastle News Sep 2017

Newcastle upon Tyne Law Society
ANNUAL
LAW DINNER
Aug/Sep 2017
10 th November 2017
J O I N O U R P R E S I D E N T L E W I S
P E A R S O N T O G E T H E R W I T H
F R I E N D S & C O L L E A G U E S F R O M
A C R O S S T H E L E G A L C O M M U N I T Y
F O R T H I S PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
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TIME 6.30PM FOR 7PM
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In this edition....
Obituary: Ken Lockerbie
President’s Summer Party
Specialist s9 Judges in
Newcastle and Leeds

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Editorial
Editorial
Our glorious summer is coming to
an end, although some may
question if it ever began! I had a
break in early June and assumed
that for a change I would be here
to enjoy the sunshine in July and
August. Unfortunately I seem to
recall dodging rain showers as I
was running between courts.
However, normal service is about
to be resumed as the children are
returning to school and those of
my colleagues who were, almost
irritatingly (for me) looking forward
to their holidays a few weeks ago
are now back and not looking so
smug.
Over the past weeks we have seen
Newcastle catapulted into the
national headlines for the wrong
reasons. The media reported
Operation Sanctuaryextensively,
although much of their
commentary was directed at the
decision of Northumbria Police to
employ a convicted sex offender to
provide information which led to
the arrest and conviction of a
number of individuals. Many
organisations have contributed to
the debate including the NSPCC
who deplored the tactic, although I
personally thought that the Chief
Constable of Northumbria Police
acquitted himself very well in the
press in explaining the force's
reasoning for using this method of
investigation. It seems logical to
me that if you are going to try and
infiltrate a criminal gang you have
to use individuals who will blend in
and perhaps not arouse the
suspicion of those whom the
police are trying to catch. It would
have been virtually impossible for
Contents...
an undercover police officer to
have undertaken that role, as
criminals are naturally wary of
those whom they do not know
particularly well. I have been
reading a book by a former
undercover police officer who tried
to become part of the drugs scene
in the Midlands. His role was to
detect those responsible for
supplying drugs and it is clear that
whilst street level addicts seemed
to accept him as one of their own
after only a short time, those
higher up the food chain were
extremely suspicious and on
occasions he met with serious
violence as they believed he was a
police officer, because he seemed
to appear on the drug scene from
nowhere. Everyone has their view
and use of informants is a
controversial tactic, but sometimes
the ends justify the means and if
those involved in serious crime are
brought to justice, the public may
be prepared to accept this method
of investigation.
When parliament returns after the
summer break, we will
undoubtedly see an acceleration of
Brexit negotiations. Of particular
interest to the lawyers is the view
that we need to control our own
laws and ensure that the law is
interpreted in the courts across this
country and not in Luxembourg.
The Prime Minister is anxious that
we have control of our own legal
destiny, although many consider
this to be simplistic. One law
professor has suggested that we
cannot maintain a close link with
EU and at the same time have a
complete break with the European
Court. He is quoted as saying it's
the judicial version of "have our
cake and eat it too". The public has
often been frustrated and indeed
angered by some of the legal
decisions coming from ECJ which
they see unfair and unjust and
perhaps contrary to their
perception of the rules of natural
justice.
This is one of the many difficult
issues that our negotiators face in
the coming months and years and
is one which will have a significant
impact upon how we apply our
laws in the future.
The future of our profession is
often a cause for concern and on
more than one occasion, I have
wondered how my particular area
of law will attract talented lawyers
who may not be persuaded by a
career retricted by public funding.
Over the past few weeks we have
had a number of students gaining
some work experience and whilst
most have an interest in the law,
they are acutely aware of the
difficulties with legal aid
and declared a reluctance to
practice in an area of law which
relied upon that type of funding.
Sadly I do not think our new Lord
Chancellor will be particularly
concerned about this issue.
Paul Hanratty
Ediitor
Commercial Landlord and Tenant Update
2nd October 2017
4pm – 6pm
Newcastle venue TBC – see booking form for details
Speaker: Charles Morgan
We are delighted to announce that Charles Morgan now practising from Six Pump Court, Temple, London
is returning to Newcastle to deliver his highly regarded Commercial Landlord and Tenant Update for the
Newcastle upon Tyne Law Society. Charles’s principal areas of practice are environmental law and
commercial property law. Further details on the booking form. Please book early to secure your place.
President’s Column...4 Local News...5
President’s Summer Party ...6 President’s Charity...7
Diary Dates
14th September 2017
GDPR Seminar
2nd October
Commercial Landlord and
Tenant seminar - Charles
Morgan
Standing Committee
Dates for 2017
Monday 25th Sep 2017
Monday 4th December 2017
Monday 15th January 2018
Date for the Annual
Dinner
10th November 2017
If you have any matters you
would like to bring before the
committee please e mail us
on
mail@newcastlelawsociety.co.uk
Contact us at:
Newcastle Upon Tyne Law Society
College House
Northumberland Road
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 8SF
DX 61024 Newcastle upon Tyne
Tel: 0191 232 5654
Fax: 0191 222 0313
Email:
mail@newcastlelawsociety.co.uk
Website:
www.newcastlelawsociety.co.uk
Those wishing to attend CPD
courses must ensure that first they
fill in the appropriate booking form
to reserve a place and return to this
office.
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The views and opinions expressed
in the Newcastle News are those of
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consequential loss occasioned to
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News can be accepted by any
contributor, the Publisher or the
editorial board of the Newcastle
Law Society.

President’s Column
News from the President
If you missed the summer party
this July, then you missed a really
good bash. We were sold out!
Great credit, as always, to Kate
Goodings who got everything
together and also an inspired
choice as to venue (down to me) in
choosing the Wylam Brewery.
Finally we were lucky enough that
summer coincided with that
particular day. NWG Property
Solutions came up trumps with
sponsorship and we made a good
collection for dogs for the deaf. So
next time get your orders in
quickly.
The next knees up is the Law
Dinner on 10 November, which is a
Friday – nearly everyone likes the
idea of not getting up for work the
next day. So for those who missed
the summer bash, you have been
warned. Get your tickets ordered.
In other news, I can update you on
current events. Extending
working hours at Newcastle Crown
Court is up and running. The Pilot
scheme, which was paused to
allow the Election, is now set to
resume in September. You will
remember the proposals, one
Court that will sit from 9.30 a.m.
until 1.30 p.m. and then 2 p.m.
until 6 p.m. There will be trials in
the afternoon from October but
not fixtures. There will be three
floating trials, one or all of them
may be dealt with by 6 p.m. If you
are feeling a little confused, then
imagine the feelings of the poor
Jurors. There was a fairly
successful rear guard action
against the Magistrates’ Court
proposals for Sheffield. You will
remember it was proposed that
they sit from 8.30 a.m. until 8.30
p.m. The closing time for this Pilot
has been moved back to 6.30 p.m.
This is at best damage limitation.
For those keeping up to date with
the Law Society Gazette, you will
have noticed an article about the
Newcastle upon Tyne Magistrates’
Court effective closure. In order
to satisfy the requirement to have
some sort of consultation process,
written submissions were invited
and the proposals were simply
reinstated in due course with all
submissions rejected. No surprise
there then. You may well
remember that these amounted to
a re-distribution of work to North
Shields and Bedlington
Magistrates’ Courts. No account
was taken of the needs of Hexham
Court users who were promised
good access to Newcastle
Magistrates’ Court when their
Court was closed some years ago.
The consultation process
concluded that there was “only a
few cases” in the erstwhile
Tynedale area in any event. So no
real concerns there then.
It is just as well that the crime
figures indicate that crime is, to a
large extent, solved. I was
looking at some reported crime
figures for 2008. Then there were
78,653 arrests in the Northumbria
Police area. In 2016 there were
31,407arrests which amounts to a
60% decrease. Over the same
period crime itself increased from
109,251 reported offences to
118,250. That is an 8% increase.
Even Diane Abbot couldn’t explain
those statistics. In fact, most cases
are, in some way, “diverted”. So
that’s alright then. Sleep tight.
Lewis Pearson
President
Obituary: Kenneth Stuart Lockerbie
Kenneth Stuart Lockerbie was
born on 10th November 1932 in
Castletown, Sunderland; the
youngest of six children. Ken
was educated at Tunstall
Preparatory School before
finishing his schooling at
Haileybury Independent
Boarding School just outside
London.
After leaving school, Ken decided
to follow a career in law. His
father had been a JP in
Sunderland and encouraged Ken
to pursue a legal career. Ken
obtained articles with Rex
Gibson in Sunderland, qualifying
in 1955. Directly after qualifying
Ken spent two years National
Service at The War Office in
London. On his return he gained
a position at Patterson Glenton
and Stracey working at their
Jarrow office. In 1961 he married
Jean Pringle, became a partner
with the firm and the senior
solicitor in the Jarrow office.
Ken undertook a wide variety of
legal work, especially enjoying
the contentious side of the law
where he made many court
appearances defending clients.
Towards the end of his career he
became the Deputy Coroner for
South Tyneside, whilst remaining a
partner in Patterson Glenton and
Stracey. Ken was forced to retire
in 1989 due to ill health following
a serious car accident five years
earlier.
Ken was a committee man and at
his happiest when taking a lead
role. In his younger days he was a
member of The North East Young
Solicitors and organised yearly
conferences at The Windermere
Hydro. Ken was Chairman of the
Legal Aid Area Number 8
Committee for many years.
Ken successfully combined his
legal career with an active social
life. He gained many clients,
friends and acquaintances through
membership of Rotary and
Beadnell Sailing Club. His other
great love was rugby. He played
rugby for Gosforth and later
refereed at the very highest level
officiating at clubs all over England
and the Scottish Borders. After
giving up the whistle Ken was,
over the years, President of
Gosforth RFC and Chairman of
Newcastle Gosforth RFC,
Northumberland Referees Society
and the Northumberland
Disciplinary Committee.
Following his retirement Ken
continued to take an active part in
legal life becoming Chairman of
the local Retired Solicitors
Association – a position he held for
a number of years.
Ken’s health had been failing for a
number of years and he gradually
withdrew from public life. Ken
died on 28th May 2017, aged 84.
He is survived by his widow, Jean
and their three children - Janet, a
primary school teacher, Fiona, a
secondary school maths teacher
and Mark, a chef.
Ian Fraser
Hadaway & Hadaway
!

Local News
Boost for commercial property
team at Mincoffs
Newcastle Law Firm Mincoffs has
appointed Associate Solicitor
Rebecca Dawson to its Commercial
Property team.
Rebecca graduated from
Northumbria University with a BSc
(Hons) in Building Management
and went on to complete her RICS
exams in building surveying. She
qualified as a solicitor in 2003 and
spent 4 years in a commercial
property team before moving to
an in-house legal role for a North
East developer. She then spent 2
years in the commercial property
team at another North East firm
before joining Mincoffs in July.
Rebecca has extensive experience
of dealing with all types of
commercial property transactions
but her particular interest is in
development and regeneration,
planning and construction.
Ryan Bannon, Partner and Head of
Commercial Property at Mincoffs
said ‘Rebecca is an excellent
addition to the Commercial
Property Team at what is an
exciting time in the commercial
property landscape both regionally
and nationally.’
Scott Cable joins
Swinburne Maddison
Swinburne Maddison has appointed Scott Cable to its litigation team
Scott Cable, who is a member of the Property Litigation Association,
brings with him eight years of experience gained at one of Newcastle’s
major law firms. He will be working alongside partners Jonathan
Moreland and David Low.
Partner Jonathan Moreland said: “We are at an exciting stage in our
development, able to combine a high quality working environment with
varied and challenging work. Scott adds real strength and depth to our
firm and is a superb addition to the department.”
Legal Aid Award for
Mary Shaw
Mary Shaw has been recognised
as Family Lawyer of the Year at the
15th ‘Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year’
(LALY) awards. She was given
particular credit for her Mediation
work.
Mary said “It is a huge honour to
be recognised in this way for my
mediation work and it was simply
lovely to win an award in the
month that I marked my 30 years
with David Gray. Although I miss
my litigating friends at court, I
really enjoy working in different
ways with them to best help their
clients. Being a mediator requires
a collaborative approach as most
of my mediation clients seek legal
support too and I always
encourage this.”
After reading law at Durham
University, Mary trained in London
and worked there for 3 years as a
family solicitor. She then moved
to Newcastle in 1987 to take up a
post at David Gray as head of
what was then a very small, newly
formed family department –
comprising Mary and Clare
Routledge who was about to go
on maternity leave.
Over the next 20 years Mary built
the department both in size (to
45) and reputation so that it is
now known and highly regarded,
winning the Northern Law Awards
in 2015 and the national Family
Law Awards in 2016. Mary is
accredited by Resolution as a
specialist lawyer in the areas of
Advanced Financial Provision,
Private Children Law and
Domestic Abuse; she has been a
member of the Children Panel
since 1993.
More recently, Mary recognised
that clients who are splitting up
were increasingly looking for noncourt
options. To meet this need,
Mary trained as a collaborative
family lawyer; in 2007 she was
involved in the first collaborative
family case in the North East.
Mary then trained as a family
mediator and is now an accredited
mediator with qualifications both
to directly consult with children
and to supervise other mediators.
The mediation team at David Gray
has now grown to three with Mary
receiving referrals involving
complex children matters and high
net worth divorces.
Although the competition at the
LALY awards was stiff, the team at
David Gray is delighted Mary has
been recognised for her
dedication, enthusiasm and
genuine desire to ‘do things
differently.
Legal Aid Practitioners Group
Director Carol Storer said: "It is
such a privilege to be able to
celebrate the ground breaking, life
changing work of access to justice
lawyers. The calibre of this year's
nominations was staggeringly
high, and a real reflection of the
expertise, grit and compassion
which characterises the legal aid
sector."
Mary can be contacted at
Family.mediation@davidgray.co.uk
or directly at
mary.shaw@davidgray.co.uk

President’s Summer Party
President’ Summer Party 2017
The Summer Party took place on what actually felt like the only sunny day
this summer, at Wylam Brewery. Wylam Brewery is now located in the
Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park, just beside the boating lake which some
of you may remember used to be the former military vehicles museum.
They specially opened for Newcastle Law Society members who took full
opportunity to taste the different beers on tap.
Out in the sunshine the Wylam Brewery chefs set out a BBQ with burgers,
lemon and thyme marinated chicken, Northumbrian sausages, grilled
halloumi, sweetcorn and salads and sweet potatoes all on the menu. And
afterwards – eton mess and profiteroles.
Lewis had chosen Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to benefit from the
money raised. Eileen Botterill from the Charity was there along with Dave
Lennard and his Hearing Dog, Connie.
We are also very grateful to NWG
Property Solutions for their support of
this event and to Tonia Reeve, their
representative. Thanks also to everyone
who donated raffle prizes : Hay and
Kilner, Thompsons Solicitors, Swinburne,
Snowball and Jackson Gibson and Co, Parklane Plowden, Pearson
Caulfield, Iain Nicholson and Co, NWG Property Solutions, David Spires,
Ben Hoare Bell, Beecham Peacock, Ward Hadaway, and Alderson Law.
Hearing Dog, Connie, with representatives from the
charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

Local News
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a charity that offers greater
independence, confidence and companionship to deaf people by training
dogs to alert them to everyday household sounds and danger signals in
the home, work place and in public buildings. However, not only do
hearing dogs alert deaf people to those important sounds and danger
signals such as the alarm clock, doorbell, telephone and smoke alarm,
they also help their partner to escape the isolation, loneliness and often
depression that deafness brings.
Learning to live with deafness can be a devastating experience. Many
people say, when they lost their hearing they also lost their sense of
security, confidence and independence. Deafness is an invisible disability.
Often people withdraw, finding it increasingly difficult to communicate –
a hearing dog helps to give deafness that visibility.
Hearing Dogs was launched at the world-famous Crufts dog show in 1982
as ground-breaking work, and since then we have created over 2000 lifechanging
partnerships between deaf people and hearing dogs across the
UK. It is a national charity with a particular focus of developing their work
in the North East, so deaf people in the region can be offered the same
support as those in the rest of the country. The charity commits to
helping more deaf people every year, and there are still thousands of deaf
people who could benefit from a hearing dog. However, as the Charity
receives no government funding at all, it relies entirely on the support of
individuals, companies and organisations to help to continue their lifechanging
work.
Eileen Botterill, Community Fundraising Manager for the North East
region said “I am deaf myself and live in the North East, so I am
particularly keen to develop the work of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to
the advantage of the people in the North East. It is important to me that
people who could benefit from a Hearing Dog know about the service
and about how it could improve their life and that of their families.
To be chosen as Charity of the Year for the Newcastle upon Tyne Law
Society is a fantastic opportunity and will help raise awareness of Hearing
Dogs in the North East enormously, and will encourage more deaf people
to find out about the service we offer”.
For more information about Hearing Dogs for
Deaf People visit: www.hearingdogs.org.uk
Extra fact:
According to 2015 statistics, there are currently over 11 million people
with a hearing loss in the UK; 900,000 of those are severely or profoundly
deaf so could qualify for a hearing dog, 45,000 of which are children.
Congratulations to the North East firms
shortlisted in the Law Society’s National
Excellence Awards
Excellence in Client Services
EMG Solicitors Ltd
Excellence in Conveyancing Practice
EMG Solicitors Ltd
Excellence in Private Client Practice
Carr & Co
Emmersons Solicitors Ltd
Excellence in Technology
Durham County Council
Ward Hadaway
LEGAL SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCE AND
THE PLANET MARK PRESENT THE
BUSINESS CASE FOR SUSTAINABILITY
A FREE participative workshop for law firms to encourage
organisations to develop sustainable working practices and manage
their carbon footprint
Friday 22nd September 12.30pm – 4pm including buffet lunch at Bond
Dickinson St Ann’s Wharf 112 Quayside Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3DX
• Need help getting started on a sustainability programme?
• Do you want to extend or reinvigorate your current sustainability
activities?
• Struggling to get senior partner buy in?
Then join us for a participative seminar and workshop which presents a
compelling business case for sustainability within the legal sector based
on 10 years of experience and evidence from the Legal Sustainability
Alliance, developed in partnership with industry experts The Planet Mark.
Register via the Legal Sustainability website
https://legalsustainabilityalliance.com
GDPR Seminar
Are you ready for the implementation of the new General Data
Processing Regulation which will come into force on 25th May
2018. At the invitation of Newcastle Law Society, Pearl Moses,
Head of Risk and Compliance at the Law Society will visit
Newcastle to deliver a seminar on the following:
• Requirements of the GDPR
• How data can/cannot be used
• Consent
• Penalties
• Preparing for implementation
It will take place on Thursday the 14th of September between 1:30
and 3:30 pm at the offices of Watson Burton. Booking form
enclosed. Practice Managers of member firms are welcome to
attend.

Sponsor News
Newcastle Law Society
welcomes new sponsor
AlphaBiolabs
Newcastle Law Society welcomes sponsor AlphaBiolabs. Their new Walkin
centre is conveniently placed in Jesmond. This is what they had to say
“At AlphaBiolabs we understand that our customers need a flexible
solution to their sample collection requirements. With this in mind,
AlphaBiolabs want to provide options to our customers to enhance our
existing service. We offer a FREE sample collection service, available at our
Walk-in Centres for DNA, drug and alcohol testing. Our Walk-in Centre is
located at:
Osborne Clinic
22 Osborne Ave,
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE2 1JQ
0333 600 1300
Wednesday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
For all enquiries please call 0333 600 1300
or visit www.alphabiolabs.co.uk
Three Counties renew their ties
with Newcastle Law Society
Once again and on behalf of Three Counties Ltd, I am delighted to
confirm that we have renewed our sponsorship of the Newcastle upon
Tyne Law Society
Three Counties was formed in 1989 and for over 25 years we have been
very aware that what our clients require is consistency in their financial
planning and advice, coupled with a first class investment management
service.
Clients are at the very core of everything that we do; our team of highly
skilled and experienced individuals provides a broad range of quality
advice.
We approach each and every one on an individual basis, taking the time
to get to know them, their circumstances, their hopes, plans and
aspirations and then work to implement a structured, transparent service
to support these requirements.
This approach has served us well and we have a large number of longterm
clients whom we have assisted over many years, adapting to
incorporate the changes they have experienced in their lives. This is
testament to the friendly, yet professional way, in which our team deliver
the high quality, genuinely independent, integrated and broad-based
financial advice.
We have strong beliefs about how a financial planning business should
operate and care for its clients. We imprint these beliefs on everything we
do.
We believe:
• Our clients should know the truth about their money and what
it will or will not allow them to do. We can then help them to
make the choices that are right for them.
• Our clients should benefit from our shared experience; this
means that we work as a team. Each client has a lead advisor
but the team share the work meaning we all understand our
clients really well.
• In being independent. As this ensures our clients get the advice
that is right for them. Three Counties has no ties to any
investment house, bank or insurance company.
• In being contactable. There is no limit on the number of phone
calls, meetings or discussions a client can have with Three
Counties. Clients can reach us at all reasonable times with
access to our direct dial telephone and mobile numbers.
• That the only people who should pay us are our clients - for
this reason we are “fee only”. We do not take commissions from
third parties.
• That our clients should enjoy their financial planning
experience.
• We are the best at what we do.
As a director of Three Counties, I take great pleasure and pride in the
achievements, standards and service that we have offered for over 25
years – something which we will continue to develop and deliver going
forward – market-leading, fiscal advisory and investment management
which is robust, client centric and underpinned with superb service levels.
We look forward to working with the Law Society and its members both
now and for years to come.
AlphaBiolabs training and collections manager, Jackie
Hickman and Kerry Hutchinson, the sample collector in
the North East
Andrew Alexander is Director and Head of Investments at
Three Counties Ltd.
Telephone 0191 230 3034, Email
andrew.alexander@three-counties.co.uk
Three Counties Ltd is authorised and
regulated by the Financial Conduct
Authority.
8 Newcastle News

Newcastle upon Tyne Law Society
ANNUAL
LAW DINNER
Newcastle upon Tyne Law Society
ANNUAL
LAW DINNER
IS SUPPORTED BY
10 th November 2017
J O I N O U R P R E S I D E N T L E W I S
P E A R S O N T O G E T H E R W I T H
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A C R O S S T H E L E G A L C O M M U N I T Y
F O R T H I S PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
10 th November 2017
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TIME 6.30PM FOR 7PM
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Newcastle News 9

Court News
Leeds/Newcastle Specialist s9 Judges
Scope of this document
1. This document deals with listing of specialist cases in the
Chancery Division, Mercantile Court and TCC and County Court
Chancery Business cases, in each case proceeding in Newcastle
Upon Tyne, before s9 specialist Judges from Leeds.
2. Nothing in this document affects:
(1) listing arrangements for the Vice-Chancellor which
continue as before;
(2) listing arrangements for DJs;
(3) listing arrangements for Recorders.
Newcastle specialist jurisdiction cases to be dealt with by Newcastle
Chancery Team.
3. Cases proceeding in Newcastle will, wherever possible, be dealt
with by the Newcastle Chancery team (which also deals with
TCC and Mercantile cases.) The parties’ point of contact in such
cases should be through the Chancery team at Newcastle. The
Newcastle Chancery team will liaise where necessary with
Leeds, which is generally responsible for the list of the s9 Leeds
Judges.
4. In all emails sent to Newcastle District registry, the Specialist
Jurisdiction as well as the claim number and short case title
should be set out in the subject line.
S9 Judge sitting pattern
5. The s9 Judges from Leeds normally sit for a week at a time, 9
months of the year (the “Set Newcastle Weeks”). They are willing
to sit in Newcastle in addition to these scheduled times where
there is urgency or some other good reason. What is a good
reason will depend on the case and will be determined by the
s9 Judges following a request from the Newcastle Chancery
team (see below). In addition, there is the possibility, in
appropriate cases, of using a fee-paid DHCJ or a Recorder with
a Chancery ticket (Chancery Business, County Court) or
releasing the matter to a DJ.
6. Any particular reason(s) that the hearing cannot take place
other than in Newcastle or that it should take place there should
be provided.
7. In the case of urgent listing applications, the Form at the Annex
should be used and completed.
Application Days
8. For a trial period, Friday Applications Days will be re-instated
when the s9 Leeds Judges sit in Newcastle. They will be
advertised as being on a Friday morning.
9. For listing purposes, the Applications Day will be a 2 hour slot
on Friday mornings from 10am. This time-period may be
capable of expansion or contraction in particular weeks as
matters develop.
Urgent Applications
10. A need for an urgent listing may arise from a need for urgent
interim relief (say a freezing or other injunction) or because of
the nature of the matter (e.g winding up petitions and
associated applications should be dealt with speedily) or
because (e.g) case management directions are needed for a
trial/hearing which is due to take place before the matter could
be heard by a DJ and then given effect to by the parties.
Depending on its nature an urgent application may be capable
of being dealt with by telephone.
(2) by a s9 Judge specially sitting in Newcastle out of
the Set Newcastle Week
(3) by a s9 Judge in Leeds at a hearing (usually but not
necessarily the Friday applications list in Leeds);
(4) by a s9 Judge in Leeds by telephone;
(5) by the VC by telephone
12. In all urgent cases, a form as annexed should be completed.
Where lawyers are acting they should be capable of
completing most if not all the form. Counter staff may need to
assist (eg litigants in person)
Skeleton arguments, combined authorities bundles and draft orders
13. The importance of the prompt delivery of skeleton arguments
and combined authorities bundles cannot be overemphasised.
Where Counsel is to be instructed it is important
that they are instructed early enough to enable them to fulfil
their duties in this respect.
14. Counsel should be provided with, and if not provided with,
should ask for, copies of any directions orders in the case
dealing with trial preparation. In the absence of specific court
order, the relevant specialist guides should be consulted for
the relevant timetable for lodging of skeleton arguments etc.
Consideration should be given to providing a chronology and
list of issues (agreed where possible) in all cases. In County
Court, Chancery Business matters, where no order has been
made a s9 Judge will normally expect skeleton arguments to
be provided two clear days before the hearing.
15. Where draft orders are lodged, before or after a hearing, in
Tomlin form or otherwise, an electronic word version should
also be lodged at the same time.
16. In drafting Orders, attention is drawn to the provisions of the
Chancery Guide regarding (a) the naming of counsel or
advocate appearing before the court; (b) the provision for
service and the recording of the same which will generally be
followed in all three specialist jurisdictions.
Contact details as at May 2017
Leeds Chancery/Circuit Judges Listing
Section Manager – Richard Marsland
Direct tel no 0113 3062460; email: Richard.marsland6@hmets.gsi.gov.uk
Chancery: 0113 3062461
Circuit Judge’s Listing: 0113 3062441
Chancery email address: orders@leeds.districtregistry.gsi.gov.uk
Circuit Judge’s email address: hearing@leeds.countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
Newcastle District Registry
Donna Stafford (Delivery Manager (Civil)
Helen Tait – Chancery/Insolvency Clerk
[Caroline Brent – in Helen Tait’s absence]
Tel number: 0191 2012061
Tel number: 0191 2012061
Email address: civil@newcastle.countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
Newcastle Listing Section
Brian Redhead
Stuart Bell
Tel numbers: 0191 2012026 and 0191 2012028
Email address: civil@newcastle.countycourt.gsi.gov.uk
11. In ascending order of urgency, matters can potentially be heard:
(1) by the s9 Judge when sitting in Newcastle in a Set
Newcastle Week or by the VC when sitting in
Newcastle;

Court News
Annex Listing Request: urgent
Case Number
(If appeal give original and appeal
number)
Claimant/Applicant
(If appeal identify if appellant or
respondent in brackets after name)
Defendant/Respondent
(If appeal identify if appellant or
respondent in brackets after name)
Court:
(High Court/County Court, Chancery
Division, Chancery Business,
Mercantile TCC etc)
Type of Case
(Eg. Probate, boundary dispute etc)
Track (and any value ascribed)
Nature of application(s) (Identifying
applicant)
Date of Issue of application
Is the order requested without notice
to the other party? If so, for what
reason?
Order(s) sought (in summary)
Time Estimate
Level of Judge requested
(Eg. High Court, Section 9, DJ etc)
Listing Requested, degree of urgency
and reasons:
(eg. Newcastle Applications day;
Leeds Applications day; special
appointment)
Any preference as to place of hearing
(Newcastle or Leeds): give reasons:
Suitable for a telephone hearing? if so,
why?
Specialist Requirements
(Eg. Secure Courtroom, Video Link,
Security Risk, Interpreter Required,
Disabled Access etc)
Date & Time Listed
Venue
Judge
Further Matters raised at the Civil Court
User Meeting 27th April 2017
PCOL Lists:
[Possession Claims On Line]
There appears to be too many cases listed in each block and it is taking
longer than the allocated time to hear the full list. This appears to be
caused by the number of cases that are contested and the amount of
time it is taking the duty solicitor to see everyone.
There are four sessions per week, Tuesdays and Thursdays AM and PM.
There have been recent difficulties with these lists as a greater number of
tenants are attending and seeking advice. The court has experienced
recent sessions which have overrun significantly, these have not been the
courts fault but caused by having only one duty solicitor. This has now
been addressed and an agreement has been reached that there will be at
least two duty solicitors on PCOL days.
The Listing Officer will review the PCOL listing guidelines and it will be
tabled on the next District Judges Admin meeting being held next week
where this can be discussed and any further comments will be circulated.
Donna Stafford (Delivery Manager) is looking into the possibility of block
listing PCOL. The difficulty in this approach is with the PCOL system itself
and it is not yet known if this will be possible – an update will follow.
We will also look into the possibility in introducing an additional list, if
even for a short time, as the number of return hearings appears to be
increasing.
Breach of Injunctions:
This was raised following an instance where a breach of a civil injunction
had occurred and the individual in breach of the injunction was not
brought before the court within 24 hours and no return date was given.
The respondent was then released and the opportunity was then lost to
serve him with notice of the return date.
While this is not satisfactory it appears to be a one off. There is a process
in place at Newcastle when a breach is brought before lunch then a
criminal court will either adjourn for lunch early or resume late in order to
get the matter on. Similarly, where a breach occurs in the afternoon, then
the matter will be dealt with before close of play. Where it is not possible
to deal with the breach, a return date will be given which will be within
14 days by having the court clerk call the listing team to provide the date.
Chancery Update:
Chancery work is an area currently being focused upon at Newcastle.
Local practice for chancery high court work has been to list through
Leeds for some time but this is being reviewed. Chancery specialist
Judges from Leeds will be sitting at Newcastle every four to six weeks to
hear chancery work and there has very recently been a competition
advertised for the appointment of a chancery circuit judge to sit
permanently at Newcastle who would have a Section 9 ticket to hear High
Court Chancery work. Whereas we are still in the early stages every effort
is being made to support chancery work at Newcastle. The DCJ
encourages Chancery practitioners to get the best possible use out of
Newcastle Chancery District Registry.
Cost Budgeting:
This arises out of a case wrongly being listed for cost budgeting having
being issued after 6th April 2016 involving a child less than 18 years. This
was raised by the DCJ with the District Judges Bench at Newcastle and it
was clear that all judges were aware of the provision and if this reoccurs
then all that is required is an email to the court for the attention of the
District Judge for this to be rectified.
When the issue of dispensing with cost budgeting arises for cases listed
before 6th April 2016 then parties seek the agreement of the defendant
and then raise it at the cost budgeting appointment should they not
agree. His Honour has on occasion, dispensed with costs when involving a
child if it is appropriate to do so. Moreover, the court has in any respect,
powers to dispense with cost budgeting if it sees fit to do so.
There cannot be a uniform approach to costs budgeting as each case
must me decided on its own merits but there can be more consistency
and the District Judges Bench have discussed this and will be taking it
forward.
Date of the Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be October 26th 2017 in the Judicial Dining Room
Newcastle Law Courts.

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