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The BLS AnnuAL generAL MeeTing

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The BLS AgM 04

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk | 3

The Birmingham Law SocietyAnnual general Meeting

04

editorial copy to:Birmingham Law Society, 43 Temple row, Birmingham, B2 5LSTel: 0121 237 6004 dx 13100 Birmingham

regulation reportJayne willetts

25

BLS AgM

i would like take this opportunity to thank Martin for his hard work and

commitment to the BLS this year. he had fought hard to support all

of our members during the course of his presidency and leaves a very

positive legacy for me to follow.

There have been many formidable presidents of Birmingham Law Society

during the last 195 years, all of whom have changed the shape of the

Society, those presidents whom i have known in recent years have been

an inspiration, their energy and enthusiasm in their role has ensured

that BLS has retained its position as the most prestigious regional law

society in the uk. i hope to follow suit to enthuse and inspire all of our

members during the course of the coming year.

i take over the presidency at a time of significant change for our

profession, we face challenging times and some of our highly skilled

lawyers are being forced out of their business. This does and will

continue to have catastrophic effect on those individuals within our

region who cannot afford legal advice and support and who probably

need it the most. BLS will continue to oppose further Legal Aid cuts

and any other proposals that impact upon access justice. i will follow

through the sterling work undertaken by Martin Allsopp on these issues

during his term of office as president.

As we know very well lawyers are involved in every aspect of our daily

life, , we fight, challenge, ponder and apply our inquisitorial minds to the

most extraordinary of challenges and we tend to be motivated by fairness

and equality in every area of law within which we practice. it is probably

for this reason that we, lawyers, are being the most vocal in relation to the

government’s systematic dismantling of this country’s legal system as we

can see how this is impacting upon our Society’s most vulnerable. The

Society will during my year continue to be very vocal on this issue.

BLS is a Society, an exclusive membership Society where membership

is extended to all who practice law in and around Birmingham. if i may

be allowed an indulgence, i would like to provide a few key facts about

this great Society:

• A Society is measured by the strength of its members and we

have are more than 4000 members – this is considerably larger than

any of the other large regional law firms;

• we have a membership that is all inclusive and includes solicitors,

barristers, legal executives, paralegals, trainee solicitors and those

who study and teach law;

• i believe it is correct to say that we have led the way on barristers

being part of our Society and we now have the largest

number of barristers of any regional Society

• we have led the way on student membership as we wanted

local law students to identify with the Society, our local legal community

and our city. As a result of such efforts we have the largest and most

active student membership of any regional Society

• we have 41 lawyers on counsel and 165 lawyers involved in

our 14 committees. when you add the professional officers and Board

members that means that we have approximately 178 lawyers involved

with and working for the Society... dare i say it? This is the largest

number of lawyers involved with any regional Law Society

• our membership ranges from all of the largest commercial law

firms in our city through to ABS and sole practitioners. As such this

makes our voice louder and stronger and it does get heard in London.

• These achievements have been gained through hard graft,

perseverance and determination in the pursuit of our own goals and

ambitions and the pursuit of upholding the rule of law. it is also as a

direct result of the dynamic, creative and “can do” attitude of the BLS

office and all of those people involved with the Society.

in 2012 there were 130 Law firms located in and around Birmingham who

were members of BLS, however during recent years through merger and

acquisition and in a small number of cases through closure of firms our

membership has seen a marginal contraction. This is reflective of the current

economic climate. i was a guest at the recent chamber of commerce awards

dinner, the president of the chamber Tim pile gave a very impressive review

of the local economy, he reflected on his interpretation of the recession and

his view was that since 2008 there hasn’t been a double or even a triple dip

but a bath shaped lunge and that over the last 5 years we have been coasting

along the base of the bath but in his view we are soon to see a massive and

steep upsurge in business growth. i am not sufficiently expert to comment

upon his analysis but i can absolutely see the impact that the recession has

had on the way in which we conduct ourselves as legal businesses. we, like

all other business have had to learn how to survive by being leaner, fitter

and more nimble in our approach to the business of doing business. BLS

is no different and we have in place a revised and robust business plan

which is constantly reviewed and will ensure our longevity as a business. As

for our Law firms we need to adapt in the way in which we operate and

practice as lawyers. Long gone are the days where what a lawyer said was

accepted without question, greater accessibility to information through the

internet and the explosion of social media has resulted in lawyers working

under greater scrutiny and challenges. The government see us as fat cats

always talking about money (a comment made by emily Thornbury, shadow

Attorney general at a recent meeting held to discuss legal aid. You may think

it was rather disingenuous of her given that she once practiced as a criminal

barrister) Multinationals and co-operatives want a piece of the legal action

which they see as lucrative and essential to everyday transactions. These

challenges could serve to make us inward looking and static however we

have become adaptable and we have taken these challenges on the chin and

grown stronger and better in the way in which we respond to competition...

or criticism. The Legal ombudsman has introduced a tariff for complaints

as a consequence of the fact that complaints have reduced and therefore

President’s SpeecheiLeen SchofieLd | preSidenT | BirMinghAM LAw SocieTY

good evening Ladies, gentlemen, honoured guests, friends. it is with enormous pleasure that i stand before you this evening in the elected role of president of Birmingham Law Society.

4 | www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

BLS AgM


he needs to make the office of ombudsman viable and profitable. is that

sustainable, we will wait and see what legal challenges his office will face

going forward. The SrA is under scrutiny in the press as to whether they are

fit for purpose, many aspects of law are moving at such a fast pace that we

cannot be complacent.

in my view law firms have been stepping up the pace and are more often

than not a step ahead. BLS and our local legal community are reflective

of the present and the future, our young lawyers coming through have

so much to offer in terms of understanding current trends and are

absolutely well placed to drive advancement in our legal practices; and

by working hand in glove with experienced lawyers we will continue to

adapt and grow in strength as a regional legal centre.

My objectives for my year of office are to support that growth; i will forge

greater links with the chamber and the Lep and look to promote greater

Birmingham lawyers at every opportunity . i will have a seat at the table

in matters concerning the growth opportunities for greater Birmingham,

i have been invited to observe the discussions on the Lep Board and will

feed back information which creates opportunities for our firms, i have

been invited to participate in the early strategic discussions with the

SrA with regard to multi disciplinary practices and will work closely with

gisela Stuart who is promoting a ‘Birmingham day’ through parliament.

for your part i lay down the gauntlet of a challenge to you. i am taking

this role and have committed to enthuse and inspire you and to that end

i simply ask that you put your head above the parapet and move outside

your comfort zone. Try something new and different, take on a mentoring

role for a junior lawyer in a different firm, take up a charity challenge,

join the BLS choir –yes i sneaked that one in – we are working with

cBSo to set up a BLS choir. i know i can’t sing very well either but the

satisfaction i will get from stringing a few notes together and getting the

confidence to sing in public will reap its own rewards. There will be other

opportunities to try something different over the year all i ask is that you

keep an open mind and never say never.

My chosen charity of the year is the princes Trust , it’s of course a national

organisation but i will only focus on Birmingham and support the work

they are doing with our disaffected youth in our own community. Try a

challenge or two in support of the Trust it will pay dividends for your well

being and personal benefit.

So in summary, the following 12 months will not be easy for the profession

or indeed for the Society. however, i love a challenge and i can assure

each and every one of our members that i intend to build upon the

Society’s success, i will gain greater engagement with our membership

and i will deliver a stronger, more successful Society at the end of the

next 12 months. our members should be proud of our legal community,

they should be proud of this great city and most of all they should be

proud of our Society. with engagement from our members this Society

is capable of great things. As henry ford once said: “Coming together is

a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

i look forward to working with you all over the next 12 months. n

BLS AgM


i am going to start and finish by talking about our meet the public event

just last Saturday, for those who understood what i promised in my

presidential year i did indicate that i would be taking the Birmingham Law

Society out on to the streets of the west Midlands to meet the public on

their own territory so to speak, the event in Solihull worked quite well and

a number of leads were taken up. in Sutton coldfield we found people

rather more nervous but eventually after an hour or so they all popped in

to say hello and again we dealt with a number of legal issues arising on the

high street. Birmingham was interesting – we did pick up an early very sad

lead on a clinical negligence case, a few employment enquiries, the usual

boundary questions and a question over a declaration of trust but other

than that we were asked for directions to Birmingham city university, a

dog wandered through the marquee which we had set up at St phillips,

karen Bailey managed to spill a very red berry coffee over the churchyard

in a gust of wind, a chap in a woolly hat came through and told us to get

out of the churchyard as it was sacred ground despite Mushtaq’s protest

to the contrary and i was finally handed a piece of paper which i hold in

my hand here telling me to repent for my sins by a Jehovah’s witness, we

had great fun really and i do thank the support of all of those who popped

along not just to Birmingham but to Solihull and to Sutton coldfield.

when i began the year as your president i was told that we were in the

midst of a recession, the economy was about to collapse and i took

on the office with some trepidation i have to say, i have a list of events

through the calender year if there are any wannabe presidents out there

that would like to see what a president has to do as it isn’t all about

wearing a gong and turning up at dinners. in november my first meeting

in fact was with the SrA to discuss the letr review which subject will be

ongoing for at least another 2 years.

The president has to meet with all of our sponsors to ensure that the

sponsors are happy and that their needs, so far as BLS are concerned,

are met. There are Joint iV meetings at the offices of Bristol, Liverpool

and Manchester and of course here in Birmingham; the last of which

was hosted by myself as long ago as last wednesday - our guest at that

meeting was nicholas fluck, our national president from TLS, who we

thought might need a bit of TLc having lost a vote of confidence and

now the services of his trusted lieutenant, the excellent des hudson. nick

asked whether i would have, as a property lawyer, chosen to be president

in the knowledge of what was to happen, particularly with reference to

legal aid cuts during my year. i was polite but as firm as i could have been in

indicating that i would have no hesitation at all in taking on the presidential

role had i known about all of the perceived problems in advance. You

only have to peruse the names of the distinguished presidents who have

served BLS previously to understand the significance of the presidential

role. TLS has had its problems during the year but BLS as a society has

had considerably fewer problems. we are a sound and solid organisation.

we have a highly dedicated and competent board.

we represent solicitors and barristers and we passed a resolution, as

many of you will know, to indicate that bls did not wish to negotiate nor

for that matter sanction the negotiations by TLS with Mr grayling over

the legal aid cuts. Birmingham Law Society, uniquely in the word of the

now retiring des hudson, were simply anti the cuts. i have to say that

legal aid cuts and their suggested effects have taken up most of the last

six months of my presidential term but i have been proud and honoured

to argue BLS’ case both with politicians and newspapers alike and on

the subject of newspapers, as you will have noted, bls has made pages

1 & 2 of the Birmingham post this year for the first time ever! BLS is well

respected by the Birmingham post, particularly our stance on access to

justice being available to all and not only to those that can afford it. This

is a stance that bls has taken over many years and i am confident that

in years to come this position will be maintained by future presidents

and i am looking forward to hearing of eileen’s discussions with the

conservatives on this issue as the conservative party conference rolls

into town later this year.

we have of course held many substantial other events during my year. we

met with Lord dyson to discuss the effects of the Jackson reforms, we

met with the chief constable on criminal issues here in the west Midlands,

we met with the SrA at wragge & co and of course we met with the Legal

Services ombudsman on 13 January which was a particularly difficult

event for me to host as my father had died some 8 hours or so before the

conference began. Being president of BLS is certainly character building.

The highlight of my year was the invitation to my wife and to myself to

Antwerp to attend the opening of the flemish legal year which was an

absolutely super event where i was able to promote BLS internationally.

whether the same relationship will continue if nigel darage succeeds i

am not sure but eileen will have to tread very carefully, as i am sure she

will, in our relationship with our european partners should ukip prove to

be successful.

we have held various networking events during my year which have been

fully subscribed, the last of which was held at the radisson Blu jointly

with the ricS who’s numbers contributed to about 9 as the ricS did not

appreciate that when you have 150 places up for grabs with free alcohol

the lawyers will tend to seize the first 140 places available, and within 24

hours. i did promise that we might perhaps meet again in the future but

this would be a matter for eileen. All i can say is ladies and gentlemen our

networking events, one of which was in Solihull, have been a complete

and utter success and a sell out on each occasion.

on the event side i am pleased to say that eileen has very graciously

asked that i might take charge of the Society’s golf day later this year,

which i am happy to do and arrangements will soon be put into place to

repeat the very successful event of last year.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for my last speech and to say goodbye but before doing so i shall take you on a whistle stop tour of my presidential year – i shall do my very best not to be boring at any point.

Outgoing President’s SpeechMArTin ALLSopp | ouTgoing preSidenT | BirMinghAM LAw SocieTY


May i take this opportunity now to thank all of you that attended the

most important event of my year which was the charity sleepover on

30th november, not just those of you that actually attended, to whom

i am very very grateful, but for those of you who provided financial

support. As you may know, our charity this year has raised just over

£15,500.00 and i thank you all on behalf of St Basils from the bottom of

my heart for your contributions to a very worthy cause.

You will see that i glossed over the Legal eagles Quiz in which your

officers managed to finish a creditable last but one but modesty and

dementia prevents me from telling you who finished last!

dinners and functions with various local societies and bodies are all set

out on the piece of paper if anyone wants to be appraised of the dinners

that i have attended but i do now to turn to votes of thanks to various

people; in no particular order, save for one, as follows:

• firstly to richard follis and to Jayne willetts who have been my right

hand at pr media and who have corrected all of my mis-statements to

the press over a period of 12 months – thank you so much guys.

• i know that eileen will be speaking shortly about other retirements from

council so i will move on to thank next my office staff - Becky isn’t here as

she is taking time off to be with her new baby son rory. i have spoken and

sent Becky a little gift seperately. i am sure you will be pleased to know

and an apology for even thinking that Becky could have mislaid the now

recently located dVp gong but i would like to thank the rest of the office

staff – Liz, Johanna, denise and fiona – for your help during my year and

for your organisational skills, particularly to Liz who has stepped up to the

plate to fill Becky’s role quickly, admirably and professionally.

• Thirdly of course then we have the illustrious, ubiquitous or as he calls

himself ubiscuitsforus, Mr christopher owen as chairman of our Board.

Ladies and gentlemen, being president is like being the captain of a ship i

guess; first of all you need a ship which is council, then you need an engine

room which is the board and without the engine room the ship does not go

anywhere and the engine room will also malfunction unless it is led properly

by its chief engineer which in our case is the illustrious, ubiscuitsforus Mr

christopher owen. The Board have worked tirelessly to support council

and our officers throughout my year. Any president of BLS with the current

workload couldn’t possibly cope with the demand of presidential issues

without the support of the Board. The Board are handling the issues

surrounding Temple Street very professionally indeed and i know that a full

report both on property and as to the new help line is now to be put to

council in final form for approval shortly. despite mergers and acquisitions

our membership remains solid and the board is well aware that this year’s

profit was dependent on the stock market and we continue to review our

subscriptions and sponsorship issues going forward. for those of you

who view the website or look at your BLS emails you will realise that our

learning and education department headed by professor bernardette griffin

are offering more and more educational courses of considerable diversity

for great value. please check out the courses and do continue to support

BLS and attending the educational courses on offer. our committees have

also worked enthusiastically throughout my year – may i thank each of the

chairs of the committees for producing very comprehensive minutes to

council of the meetings that have taken place during my year and may i pay

particular thanks to James Turner, the head of our criminal law committee,

for his support – i could not possibly have understood the complexity of

the issues surrounding the legal aid cuts without James’ professional help

and guidance. James turned up personally at our sleepover event and

actually slept in one of our cardboard boxes – i returned the compliment by

attending the criminal law committee and following a very heavy day in the

office actually managed myself to fall asleep during their committee where

unfortunately i didn’t raise any money!

• i have tried deliberately to involve eileen and Mushtaq in everything that

i have done during my year as i think that the president should not work

alone, the president is just a leader of a team and he needs members of

the team i.e. The other officers to be with him wherever possible – BLS

is a democracy not a republic and i was very anxious, as i said in my

foreword, that i don’t hand over the mantle of presidency so that eileen

and Mushtaq would be rabbits in headlights – they are well trained, they

know the form over the last 12 months and are both ready to take on their

respective roles and i am quite sure that they will do as good a job if not

much better than i have been able to perform as your president.

Before i close and refer to one special person could i just reiterate; each

of our networking events were a sell out, the president’s dinner was the

second best attended on record and the Legal Awards were a complete

and utter sell out with three tables in reserve. Birmingham Law Society,

ladies and gentlemen, represents the solicitors and barristers professions

and is held in high esteem i can tell you by the other local Law Societies,

and now we have TLS talking to us because it recognises how solid we

are, how confident, competent and successful we have been, its Board

and council as far as i am concerned are the best in the country and as

i hand over the mantle to eileen and Mushtaq and of course the shortly

newly to be appointed John hughes i step down in the knowledge that the

future of BLS is in very safe hands indeed.

i close, as i began, with our networking event on Saturday. The single

person to whom i owe most thanks during my presidential year is my

lovely wife, Tracey, who i think is known probably to all of you by now. in

our first networking event we borrowed her sister’s marquee and tried to

bed it into the concrete on the high street in Solihull without a drill – that

was a tricky operation on its own, Tracey managed to chat up the flower

sellers who kindly lent us weights to hold the marquee down in a force

5 wind, ditto in Sutton coldfield where Tracey dragged the marquee to

the concrete litter bin and tied it to a bench and the litter bin so that

the marquee didn’t blow away and finally on Saturday in Birmingham,

her piece de resistance. understanding the problems that we had had

previously and knowing that the marquee was to be pitched on concrete

Tracey disappeared from our house just before i was about to leave

for the event on Saturday, she returned to the house a little red faced

and i asked where she had been. Apparently, on the friday evening as

we were returning home she had noticed that some workmen had left

sandbags close by and so she had ventured out in the car, ‘borrowed’

3 of these half 100 weight sandbags (they were returned later the

same day), put them into the boot of her car and having driven them to

Birmingham then dragged them across the St philips churchyard to hold

the marquee in place. Tracey had sorted our scissors, string, collected

vouchers for the local coffee shop and even collected the coffees for the

solicitors in attendance and during the whole of my year has supported

from the heart everything that i have done. without Tracey i could not

have carried out successfully my presidential functions. we are going on

a cruise in a couple of weeks time to relieve ourselves of some of the

pressures that we have had over the last 12 months and whilst Tracey

likes flowers, in lieu of flowers, i thought you might find this rather large

bottle of champagne more appropriate for everything that you have

done. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no need to thank me as your

president for what i have done, as president of BLS i have put my heart

and soul into BLS for 12 months and it is time now for me to stand down

and let someone a little younger, more able, more energetic and if i may

say so more glamourous to take over the reins.

Ladies and gentlemen, as i said in my foreword, it has been an absolute

honour and a privilege to stand as your president for the last 12 months. As

i step down could i ask you to put your hands together for my lovely wife

Tracey for everything she has done to help your president during his term.

Thank you all! n

BLS AgM

The Birmingham Law Society Annual General Meeting


Eileen Schofield, President, Sole Practitioner, Schofield & AssociatesMushtaq Khan, Vice President, Partner, Freeth CartwrightJohn Hughes, Deputy Vice President, Consultant, Shakespeares Solicitors

Eileen Schofield presenting Past President Badge to Martin Allsopp

Martin Allsopp presenting Presidential regalia to Eileen Schofield

Eileen Schofield with Vice President Mushtaq Khan


BLS AgM

Chris Owen, Chairman

Eileen Schofield, BLS President 2014

John Hughes, Deputy Vice President

Mushtaq Khan, Vice President

Martin Allsopp, BLS President 2013

eVenTS


officers 2014/2015eileen Schofield, president

Sole practitioner, Schofield & Associates

Mushtaq khan, Vice presidentpartner, freeth cartwright

John hughes, deputy Vice presidentconsultant, Shakespeares Solicitors

professor Bernardette griffin, Joint honorary Secretary

regional director, The university of Law

Ann houghton, Joint honorary SecretarySolicitor, Anthony collins Solicitors

newly elected council MembersArvind Sharma, Tuckers Solicitors

clive read, Sgh Martineau Jon Bew, irwin Mitchell

The Society has made the

following awards:

gold prize winner (book tokens

to the value of £250) to clare

Joy Swinnerton (1) who holds a

training contract with gateley LLp,

and whose training principal is

katie Silvester. clare achieved a

distinction with The university of

Law.

Silver prize winner (book tokens to

the value of £150) to rebecca ward

(2) who holds a training contract

with wragge & co LLp, and whose

training principal is Baljit chohan.

rebecca achieved a distinction

with The university of Law.

Bronze prize winner (book tokens

to the value of £100) to Jennie

elizabeth davis (3) who holds

a training contract with Sgh

Martineau LLp, and whose training

principal is emma Shipp. Jennie

achieved a distinction with The

university of Law.

The herbert willison prize

comprising book tokens to the

value of £50 has been awarded

to katherine raison (4) from

The university of Law. katherine

gained a mark of 74% in her

criminal Law examination, and has

secured a training contract with

irwin Mitchell.

The peter nicholls prize

comprising book tokens to the

value of £50 has been awarded

to Alexander green (5) of The

university of Law. Alexander

gained a mark of 70% in his equity

and the Law of Trusts examination

and has secured a training

contract with pinsent Masons.

50 Years of Service Awarded to:

John Morgan,

Morgan cullen Ball LLp

david higgs, higgs & Sons (6)

Annual Award of Prizes

1 2

3 4

5 6

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helen hill of higgs & Sons, one of the largest law firms in the Black country

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the practice. “We became aware of Moneypenny in 2010 via a word of mouth

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gave us added confidence and we took advantage of a free trial to find out

how it could potentially work alongside our own reception function.

“We visited the Moneypenny offices and spent time with the teams who are

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feATure



female lawyers practising in

the uk are paid £45,884 less

per year than male counterparts

according to the 2014 Market

report from specialist legal

recruiter Laurence Simons.*

The report, conducted among

uk in-house and private practice

lawyers, found men received

total remuneration of £160,009

in 2013 compared with £114,125

for women, a gap of 29%.

however, this gap has narrowed

by 3% over the past year

from 32%. during this period,

men have seen a fall in total

remuneration of £2,700 from

£162,689, while women have

seen a £2,800 rise in total pay

from £111,293 seen in 2012.

chris cayley, eMeA Managing

director of Laurence Simons

said: “It is very encouraging that

headway is being made to redress

the imbalance in pay between the

genders. The UK is, of course, one

of the legal centres for legal services

globally and it is essential that this

disparity in pay is resolved if we are

to attract and retain the cream

of legal talent.”

The current gap is evident across

both bonuses and salaries. female

lawyers received an average

basic salary of £93,248 in 2013

compared to £120,458 for men. in

terms of bonuses women received

an average of £20,877 in 2013,

while men received almost 50%

more at £39,551 on average.

despite the pay imbalance,

satisfaction is almost equal

between the genders with 65%

of female lawyers stating that

they were either ‘satisfied’ or

‘highly satisfied’ with the bonus

received – only marginally

lower than the 66% of men

who agreed with this.

female lawyers also feel more

secure in their jobs, at 96%,

compared with 86% of males.

Slightly more men than women

are optimistic about the economy

over the coming year (67% of men

compared with 60% of women)

but optimism is high overall.

chris cayley continues: “Job

satisfaction, security and

confidence appear to be fairly

equal between the genders

despite the pay gap, suggesting

that a higher salary comes with

its own pressures and doesn’t

of itself increase job satisfaction.

This is an important point for

employers – salary isn’t the only

way to attract and retain top staff.

“Overall, the majority of lawyers

are not only confident about

their own prospects but also the

prospects of the wider economy

in 2014 and the short to medium

term health of their profession.” n

feMALe LAwYerS pAid £46k LeSS ThAn Men - BuT gAp conTinueS To Shrink

cAMpAignerS AiM To MAke BirMinghAM More deMenTiA friendLY

Alzheimer’s Society has

launched a brand new

resources aimed at helping

even more businesses and

organisations to become

dementia friendly.

A video which charts a day in

the life of someone living with

dementia and the challenges

they face doing everyday

tasks, such as going to the

bank or shops, and aims to

help people in customer facing

LegAL newS

costings firm John M hayes

is moving away from

just recruiting graduates by

launching a three-year traineeship

aimed at A-level students.

The company is looking to

recruit one trainee in all but

one of its 11 offices, to start in

September. Applicants need three

A-levels at grade c or higher.

philip Morris, regional manager

of John M hayes’s Birmingham

office, claimed that no other

costs firm offered “such a

comprehensive teaching platform”

for trainee costs professionals.

“Nearly everyone in our company

started as a trainee or apprentice,

all of whom we have taught the

skills to become a fully competent

law costs draftsman following

a successful tried-and-tested

in-house training programme

John M hAYeS goeS BAck To SchooL To find nexT generATion of coSTS SpeciALiSTS

roles understand how they can

best support someone with

dementia when they meet them.

This new tool is launched in the

same month that Alzheimer’s

Society launches the first

dementia friendly Awards,

sponsored by Lloyds Banking

group and supported by The

Telegraph, and established

to recognise and celebrate

communities, organisations

and individuals across england

who have helped to make their

area more dementia-friendly.

The video has been designed

alongside a handy guide that will

be distributed to businesses by

Alzheimer’s Society campaign

volunteers and a new booklet

for businesses ‘How to help

people with dementia - a guide

for customer-facing staff’.

Alzheimer’s Society research

shows that 69 per cent of people

with dementia say that lack of

confidence is the main reason

that they stop going out in their

local community. other barriers

people with dementia face

include worry about becoming

confused and not wanting to be

a burden to other people, but

continuing to do the things that

matter to them can make the

day-to-day lives much better.

david Ash, regional operations

Manager for Alzheimer’s Society

in the west Midlands said: ‘This

new range of materials that our

campaign volunteers will use

provides information on common

symptoms of dementia as well

as how it can affect people.

They give clear, straightforward

guidance on how employers can

promote dementia awareness

amongst their staff so that they

can learn how small changes

make a big difference.

The resources support Alzheimer’s

Society drive to encourage

communities, businesses and

other organisations to work

towards becoming more

dementia friendly and help to

create better environments for

people to live well with dementia

for as long as possible.

‘We would encourage everyone

to have a look at the video on

YouTube and share it with their

friends and family as it gives

a real insight as to what it is

like to live with dementia day

by day and the challenge of

tackling everyday tasks that

we all take for granted.’ n


LegAL newS

LegAL SerViceS BoArd AnnounceS new BoArd MeMBerS

The Ministry of Justice

and the Legal Services

Board (LSB) has announced

the appointment of Marina

gibbs (lay member) and david

eveleigh (non-lay member)

as new non-executive Board

Members for three year terms

with effect from 1 April 2014.

The vacancies arise with the

developed by our team over many

years.” Many of these draftsmen

have since become costs lawyers.

Mr Morris said that in launching

the traineeship scheme,

the firm was “mindful of the

government’s concern about

youth unemployment and also of

the plight of many graduates with

huge debts unable to find work”.

he explained: “We have previously

had great success in recruiting

graduates, a good many of

whom have made the grade and

stayed with us for many years.

“We thought, however, that

we might start a little earlier,

particularly given the fact that

many students who do not want

to go to university can be at a

disadvantage in the labour market.”

Applications close on 23 May, see

http://www.litigationfutures.com/

news/john-m-hayes-goes-back-

school-find-next-generation-costs-

specialists for more information. n

terms of Barbara Saunders

oBe and Andrew whittaker

ending on 31 March 2014

and Stephen green stepping

down from the Board.

The appointments were made

by the Lord chancellor in

consultation with the Lord chief

Justice, in accordance with

the Legal Services Act 2007.

chairman of the Legal Services

Board, david edmonds said:

“As part of our ongoing renewal

of the Board, I am delighted to

welcome Marina and David to

the Board. They bring high level

skills and significant experience

to the Board’s work, and will

be in a position to contribute

immediately to our forward-

looking agenda of regulatory

reform and modernising

legal services delivery.

I would like to take this

opportunity to thank Barbara

Saunders OBE and Andrew

Whittaker for their huge

contributions to the Board’s

work since their appointment

at the inception of the LSB.

They will be missed.

I would also like to thank Stephen

Green who stepped down

having resigned his membership

of the Board to take over as

Chair of the Office for Legal

Complaints and wish him the

very best of luck in this role.” n

The draft guideline covers a wide variety of types of theft such as

pick-pocketing, shop theft, handling stolen goods, car theft, leaving a

restaurant or petrol station without paying and stealing by employees

or care workers. it also includes abstraction of electricity - that is, when

meters are tampered with or electricity diverted from another property.

Theft is one of the most common offences that courts deal with

and the council aims to ensure that courts have effective and up-

to-date guidance that helps them give consistent and proportionate

sentences to the varied spectrum of offenders that come before them.

it also addresses some gaps in the current guidance, covering some

common theft offences such as theft of a car or bicycle.

The proposed guideline will also introduce a clearer focus on the

impact of thefts on victims, and an understanding that the value of

stolen items to victims is not just financial.

existing guidance assesses the harm to the victim by looking at the

offence type and financial loss caused. The new guideline goes further

and considers the broader impact of the theft on the victim, including

a number of factors not covered in the existing guidelines, such as

emotional distress, fear and loss of confidence caused by the crime.

The council also recognises the impact that shop thefts can have –

it is far from a victimless crime. in the shop theft draft guideline, it

emphasises not only loss of business but also takes into account that

the size or type of business can make the shop owner particularly

hard hit by thieves. it proposes that these factors should be central to

assessing the harm to shop owners.

risk of harm to people is also now stated among the factors making an

offence potentially more serious. This would include offences where,

for example, manhole covers, roof tiles or electrical cables are stolen.

The guideline also states clearly that if a theft causes damage to a

heritage structure, this could increase the seriousness of an offence.

This could include, for example, damage to a war memorial when

thieves steal metal plaques from them.

Theft offences vary greatly. Shop theft, for example, covers a teenager

stealing a chocolate bar from a supermarket to an organised gang

stealing designer goods to order and the guideline provides a range

of sentencing options that give judges and magistrates the flexibility

to sentence appropriately according to the particular offender before

them. This can vary from a prison sentence to a fine depending on the

seriousness of the offence. Theft offences are frequently committed by

those with underlying drug and alcohol problems and rehabilitating the

offender to stop them reoffending can sometimes be best met by the

imposition of a community order with a drug rehabilitation requirement.

it also emphasises to sentencers the need to consider compensation

or confiscation orders so that the court can order repayment of what

was stolen or some financial restitution to the victim.

The proposed guideline is now subject to consultation and the council

is keen to hear from members of the public, magistrates, people who

work in the criminal justice system and other interested parties about

issues like: The main factors that make any of the offences more

serious or less serious; factors that should influence the sentence;

The structure and format of the guideline; and the types and lengths of

sentences that should be passed.

people can respond to the whole consultation or just focus on specific

issues or offence types that are of particular interest to them. The

consultation starts on 3 April and closes on 26 June. people can

respond by visiting www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

chairman of the Sentencing council, Lord Justice Treacy, said: “Theft comes

in a great variety of forms, from someone pocketing a packet of razor blades

in a shop to an organised gang stealing railway cables. As well as providing

effective guidance to help sentencers deal with this wide spectrum of

offenders, the guideline will ensure a clearer focus on the impact of thefts on

victims beyond just the financial value of what is stolen from them.”

helen dickinson, director general of the British retail consortium, said: “We

welcome the development of a new sentencing guideline for theft offences,

with a clearer focus on retailers as victims. Theft from stores pushed the

direct cost of retail crime up to £511m last year, with the average cost of

each theft rising by 62 per cent to £177. Far from being victimless, we all

pay for this increased stealing through higher prices and, increasingly, shop

closures and damage to our town centres. It is positive that the proposed

new guideline recognises that the impact of theft is not merely financial

but has more wide-reaching consequences for businesses and their staff.”

peter chapman, chairman of the Magistrates’ Association Judicial

committee said: “The Magistrates’ Association welcomes this

comprehensive draft guideline. Magistrates sentence a large number

and a large variety of theft cases. Sometimes they have to consider

victims who have suffered direct financial loss, and possibly also fear

and loss of confidence to go about their daily lives. Shop theft is a

big problem for both large and small retail businesses. Other offences

expose the public to danger when vital equipment is stolen. This

updated and more detailed guideline will help magistrates identify all

the relevant factors to include in their sentencing decisions.” n

The Sentencing council has announced its proposals for a new sentencing guideline for theft offences.

Sentencing Council publishes draft of new guidelines

feATure



for those looking to issue Legal indemnity insurance as part of the

conveyancing process, the ability to sign and instantly issue policy

documents has made the gcS ‘Self-issue pack’ an integral part of

the conveyancers toolkit. what’s more, those same policies are also

available using the internet, through gcS onLine.

Systems such as gcS onLine also allow users to issue Legal indemnity

insurance policies instantly, and can often eradicate needless

duplication, lessen administration and minimise the time taken.

factors, such as the highly integrated and traceable nature of the

internet, as well as its ease and flexibility of access, anywhere and

anytime, all prove handy features for those legal professionals who work

from multiple locations or via mobile technology.

gcS onLine offers other capabilities too, such as its ‘Quick Quote’

facility which shows instant quotes, without the user having to login

each time. when logged in however, you can complete policy schedules

and save quotes, with save-for-later and edit features. what’s more,

in the digital world it is simple to email draft or completed policies to

clients, eliminating the need for scanning or posting and so helping

avoid potential delays.

when you include other features like an email ‘confirmation of order’

sent along with the policy and key facts, allowing professionals to close

their files, or multiple payment and invoicing options, you can easily see

why gcS onLine is proving to be a popular additional option.

So, whilst the ‘pack’ is a firm favourite for many, it’s clear that having

access to Legal indemnity insurance online is an alternative that will

establish itself as another key component within an industry constantly

striving for enhancement. n

in today’s fast moving property market, nothing is more precious than time and, as we know, time waits for no-one. whilst government schemes like ‘help to Buy’ and the beginning of the economic recovery has helped to fuel an upturn in transactions within the property market, inevitably the workload of many conveyancing professionals has increased too.

nick eVAnS | heAd of coMMunicATionS | guArAnTeed conVeYAncing SoLuTionS | [email protected] | www.gcS-TiTLe.co.uk

Online or Offline - GCS has it covered

conVeYAncing


recent figures show that one in five new homes built since last April

has been sold through help to Buy. in more depressed markets in

the north this figure is closer to 50%. The truth, however, is that the

scheme has been relatively ‘successful’ because we’re in a rising

market anyway. And some may argue that the current situation is

one of an unsustainably over-heated housing market, significant

expenditure of taxpayers’ money spent, with no new property supply

at the end of it.

Although not the only structural problem in the current market, the

chronic lack of residential housing is an issue that is now teetering on

the verge of a national crisis. help to Buy, aimed at stimulating demand,

has done little to tackle this crisis of supply. According to Mark carney,

governor at the Bank of england, just 60,000 new properties are being

built each year – well below the pre-recession figure of 100,000. Some

commentators now suggest a housing shortage of up to one million

homes – this is not a healthy, functioning market.

it’s long been Searchflow’s view that we need to re-visit the ‘help

to Build’ scheme. This original idea sought to incentivise developers

– through access to finance and guarantees – to get them building.

This would be one of the ways to tackle the prevailing concentration

in the house-building market and ever-rising demand for new homes

effectively. There are a whole range of effective, sustainable models

to deliver this – be it big infrastructure projects or public-private

partnerships. The end-game is to overcome some of the current

chronic shortage.

The Treasury recently announced a new £150m right to Build scheme,

giving custom builders the right to buy plots of land from councils to

build their own houses. elsewhere, the opposition has also called for

a ‘help to Build’ programme, helping small and medium-sized builders

access the finance they need to drive up house-building volumes.

Both initiatives need to go much further. This is an economic question –

not a political one. The housing shortage effectively puts us on the edge of

a national crisis and risks stifling economic growth. creating a workable,

sustainable help to Build initiative across the country and opening up

opportunities to developers of all sizes must be a priority for all of us. n

A year in and speculation around help to Buy loans being reduced from £600,000 to £350,000 is widespread. has help to Buy been successful?

Let’s get building again!perrAn Moon | MArkeTing direcTor | SeArchfLow

conVeYAncing

established in 1846, the firm acts for a diverse range of regional

and national clients and constantly strives to improve the

quality, efficiency and effectiveness of everything they do

- with teamwork central to their success.

wright hassall is top-ranked in legal directories in 39 areas

and their sector specialisms include lender services,

technology, logistics, social housing and retail. The firm

hosts a large team of 80 fee-earners and 80 secretaries,

who are invariably office and field-based and produce

hundreds of reports and client documents a week.

Adapting to new technology and ever-demanding

client requirements, the firm sought a new document

management system to tackle increasing quantities of

electronic work files and increasing remote working

practices.

CHAnging wOrKing PrACtiCES

Traditionally private client teams within law firms have

been focused on the job in hand, potentially creating a

disjointed approach between the teams when they are

asked to prepare a will, buy a property or deal with a

family problem.

As a result of their ‘lawyers for life’ approach which looks

to break down the traditional departmental structures

and transaction focus, wright hassall reviewed the way

they worked together as a team. After initially adopting

a digital dictation solution in 2010 following a technical

and commercial review of their traditional tape-based

system, the i.T department found that they had new,

more sophisticated system requirements which needed

enhanced technology.

Searching for a solution, wright hassall contacted

their existing digital dictation supplier, Birmingham-

based philips partner Speechwrite digital, in a bid to

upgrade their existing philips pro solution to a more

administrator-enhanced program. with reporting

functions and i.T back-end control necessity for the

firm, Martyn wells, i.T director for wright hassall, had

specific requirements: “The new solution had to work

around the firm, not the other way around. We didn’t

need an out of the box generic software program. We

needed a workflow management system that worked

around the dynamic of Wright Hassall– we couldn’t

compromise on this”.

renowned in the Midlands for its full service legal offering, wright hassall is the largest and oldest established law firm in warwickshire, incorporating 230 staff at their Leamington Spa offices.

Leading Warwickshire law firm enhances 200-user workflow process with an “enterprise” installation by SpeechWrite

feATure

A leading Midlands dictation provider and accredited Master digital

centre for philips, Speechwrite digital has earned their reputation for

excellence in consultation, service, support and product development

and is now recognised as major player in digital dictation markets.

Traditionally supplying and installing dictation and speech

recognition solutions into law firms and corporates,

Speechwrite seized the business potential to offer the same

technical investment to SMes that had previously only

been provided to larger solicitors and Top 100 firms.

unique to competing solutions providers, Speechwrite affirm

a one-on-one approach with clients; project Managers are

assigned to identify respective commercial, systems and training

requirements. This approach has enabled growth into larger

corporate enterprises; Speechwrite has recently installed into

some the largest legal organisations in the uk (freshfields LLp,

wright hassall) with measurable commercial advantages such

as quickened document turnaround time, optimised file security,

enhanced remote working and increased response time to clients.

Speechwrite’s reputation continues to grow; mainly by client referrals,

but also by being sector-renowned for constant technology vigilance

within legal markets. Supported by a host of sales partners, leading

dictation manufacturer philips is at the forefront of their product

and solution portfolio. having won countless sales, marketing and

technical awards from the dictation giant, Speechwrite and philips

continue to boast a sound and dynamic relationship to ensure that

customers benefit from the joint expertise and technical know-how.

wHy CHOOSE SPEECHwritE DigitAL?

• Speechwrite has the most experienced team with over 50

cumulative years in digital dictation and speech recognition

installations, all of whom undergo systemic oeM and partner

product, iT developments and solutions training.

• Speechwrite has a large installation portfolio: from high-St

practices to large legal corporates; all with amazing referrals.

• Speechwrite has the technical expertise to implement

systems overhaul and organisational configuration

with unrivalled technical support packages. n

Contact Speechwrite for a no-obligation consultation.

tel. 0121 236 2626 www.speechwrite.com

@Speechwrite_com [email protected]

SpeechWrite Digital – award winning Digital Dictation andSpeech Recognition for your Law Firm

After a consultation and system review, Speechwrite digital,

specialists in the installation, configuration and support of

digital dictation systems, arranged pilot with the philips most

technologically advanced and sophisticated offering: Speechexec

enterprise - a complete workflow management system

incorporating the individual configuration requirements of users

and system demands of i.T administrators. Allowing central

management, this dictation workflow solution connects authors

and typists to smoothen the document production process

with its “templates” feature, as well as incorporating optimum

security features and backup for protecting sensitive data -

fully supported via citrix and Terminal Services for on-demand

application delivery. in a strive for future-proofing, Speechwrite,

an award-winning partner of philips, geared the system for dragon

naturallySpeaking speech recognition to increase the firm’s future

technology options.

tHE rESuLtS – rEMOtE wOrKing AnD 20-MinutES

tO 10-SECOnDS PrOFiLE CrEAtiOn

Martyn wells needed a centrally managed system for the firm’s 200

remote and office-based users; Speechexec enterprise allowed

total control of individuals processing and interface configurations

whilst allowing reporting functions to assess what type of work

was being handled, when and by whom. The advantages of this

totally integrated workflow system included that it benefited both

users and systems administrators alike.

wright hassall’s fee-earners had the ability to introduce Blackberry

dictation as a realistic method of working; clients wanting a 24/7 service

meant that Smartphone dictation was becoming a requirement rather

than a luxury. This dictation method meant that a fee-earner needing to

process dictations whilst on the move with no access to a pc could do

so with in-car Bluetooth. This allowed a drip-feed of transcription tasks

to the secretaries, rather than a bulk download of dictated files in their

inbox when the lawyer returned to the office.

The firm’s i.T department had acquired a

consistent and accurate overview of the

company’s workflow system; vital when

maintaining a workflow management system for 80 fee-earners

and 80 secretaries. The i.T team of just 9 staff had total backend

control over a 200-user site and an i.T administrator was able

to set up or transfer a user in 10-seconds, as opposed to the

20-minutes needed with the previous workflow software.

Martyn comments: “Our working

requirements are ever-changing – our

I.T department needed to optimise backend control and minimise

individual configuration tasks; the Enterprise package gave us

a fully-managed workflow system, allowing I.T administrators

to streamline processes and quicken document turnaround -

ultimately resulting in Wright Hassall working in a more profitable

way that was more satisfactory to our clients.” n

feATure

full details of all our seminars are advertised on our website and regular emailers are sent out to our members. we are currently in the process of confirming further seminars, debates and conferences; if you have any specific training

requirements or would like to suggest future topics, please do email me at [email protected]

course List May - June 2014

course highlights

please see our website for further seminars: www.birminghamlawsociety.co.ukTelephone: Fiona Newby, Learning and Development Co-ordinator on 0121 230 1707 email: [email protected]

Tackling Fraud and Cybercrime – protect your practice

Date: Tuesday 20 May 2014

Time: 13:00 registration and lunch 13:30 - 16:30 seminar

Venue: Yorkshire Bank, Temple point, 1 Temple row,

Birmingham, B2 5YB

CPD: 3 hours cpd Accredited by the SrA

Fees: Member: £99 + VAT, non-member: £115 + VAT

Speaker: Alison Matthews

Legal practices are at risk of fraud, not only from clients/third parties but

from employees and from suppliers (do you vet your employees? who

checks the invoices are correct?) Are you familiar with the threats and do

you have effective systems in place to protect your practice and your staff?

what about your clients? is their data at risk of being lost because

your computers have been hacked? gchQ has referred to legal

practices as representing the “soft underbelly” through which hackers

can try to access the systems of the client/target organisation. Their

director reports that the uk is experiencing ‘industrial espionage on an

industrial scale’. david willetts, the universities and Science Minister

have said that cyber-attacks are a threat to all businesses today.

do your staff know how to avoid being “scammed”? do they know what

“spearphishing” is? Are you cyber Streetwise and are you familiar with the

10 steps to cyber Security? if you are using the cloud, have you considered

the risks, outsourcing issues and the SrA’s guidance? This seminar builds

on existing AML and data protection knowledge to highlight fraud and

cyber-crime risks for legal practices and provides practical suggestions

as to how to protect you, your employees, your clients and the practice.

Alison Matthews is the author of the AML Toolkit and the data protection

Toolkit published by the Law Society. She chaired the Law Society’s

Money Laundering Taskforce until August 2012, having been a founder

member. Before becoming the MLro and data protection compliance

officer for irwin Mitchell LLp, she was the investment Business executive

in professional ethics at the Law Society/SrA. She now has her own

training and compliance consultancy, Alison Matthews consulting Ltd.

She lectures for all the uk Law Societies as well as the isle of Man Law

Society and cLT and is a regular contributor to various legal publications.

Free Seminar *** Up and Coming Changes to Forensic DNA Profiling

Date: wednesday 21 May 2014

Time: 12:30 registration and networking light lunch

13:00 - 14:30 Seminar

Venue: St philips chambers, 55 Temple row, Birmingham, B2 5LS

CPD: 1.5 hours cpd Accredited by the SrA

Fees: free

Speaker: paul hackett

in 2014 the uk will see some of the most

significant changes in dnA profiling in

the last 10 years. Topics covered will

include new dnA profiling chemistries, so called dnA-17,

date Time cpd hrs course Title Area Speakers fees £ Members non Members

20-May-14 13:00 - 16.30 3 Tackling Fraud and Cybercrime - Regulatory Allison Mathews £99 + VAT £115 +VAT Protect your Practice

21-May-14 12.30-14.30 1.5 Free Seminar *** Up and Coming Changes DNA Profiling Paul Hackett Free Free to Forensic DNA Profiling

05-Jun-14 12.30 -14.00 1 Free Seminar *** Client Engagement in a Business Dave Ruston Free Free Changing World - Research By Design Development (Research by Design), Clare White, Jody Shelley and Chris Rogerson (Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP)

10-Jun-14 13:00 - 17:00 3 Solicitors’ Accounts Rules Update - Management Linda Lambert £99 + VAT £120 + VAT Half day session Support Staff: £55 + VAT Support Staff: £75 + VAT

11-Jun-14 8.30- 10.00 1 How regulatory decisions are made: Regulatory Nabila Zulfiqar Free £10 + VAT A breakfast with the SRA’s Director & Chief Adjudicator

10-Jul-14 13.00-16.30 3 Conveyancing Law Update 2014 Property Richard Snape £99 + VAT £115 +VAT

Learning & DevelopmentProfessional Services

BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY


the plans and timing of the changes, the benefits and issues,

as well as an introduction to new portable, fully integrated

instruments capable of producing dnA profiles in 2 hours.

Who will benefit?

This Seminar will be of interest to anyone who is exposed

to cases involving forensic biology & dnA profiling.

what delegates should expect from this seminar:

1. An understanding of current dnA profiling techniques

2. what are the changes coming into effect in June 2014

3. The benefits and impact of new dnA-17 chemistries

4. An insight into new, portable rapid dnA technology

Speaker:

Managing director – paul hackett BSc (hons)

After graduating with a BSc (hons) in Biochemistry in 1992 paul

joined the forensic Science Service as a trainee forensic biologist.

in 1995 he moved to Birmingham to take up a management position

supporting the launch of the world’s first national dnA database.

Between 1997 & 2001 paul held a series of middle and senior operational

management positions in different departments and fSS laboratories

across the country. in 2001 paul became the national dnA operations

Manager at the fSS, accountable to the director of operations and

with responsibility for over 850 staff, cost budget of £40m and sales

targets of over £70m. in 2005 paul became the regional general

Manager (north of uk) whilst retaining the senior management lead for

dnA related operations; the most senior non-director position within

the fSS. in 2007 paul moved into the commercial Team as a product

group Manager with responsibility, amongst other things, for product

related r&d, tender responses and medium to long term product

planning. The role included p&L responsibility for revenue of £90m pa.

during the period between 1995 & 2005 paul worked on numerous

international projects advising governments (portugal, uSA, kuwait

and Brazil) and other law enforcement organisations on establishing

national dnA databases, designing new forensic laboratories

and streamlining and improving efficiency of existing facilities.

in 2008 paul joined eurofins (a european based listed Biotechnology

company) as the uk director of forensics and Applied genetics. This

role, working closely with the Managing director for global forensics,

was to establish uk operations and to successfully become a Supplier

to the national forensic framework Agreement in advance of the

police force procurement activity. The same year paul joined kfS as

the director of operations and in 2011 became Managing director.

Free Seminar *** Client Engagement in a

Changing World - Research by Design

Date: Thursday 5 June 2014

Time: 12:30 registration 13:00 - 14:00 Seminar

Venue: Anthony collins Solicitors LLp, 134 edmund St,

Birmingham,B3 2eS

CPD: 1 hour cpd Accredited by the SrA

Fees: free

Speaker: dave ruston (research by design), clare white, Jody

Shelley and chris rogerson (Anthony collins Solicitors LLp)

‘client engagement in a changing world’:

corporate and private clients are increasingly

bombarded by communication ‘noise’. cutting

through the daily clutter of emails, unread tweets and unanswered

voicemail messages is a huge barrier to effective client engagement. we

need to develop smarter ways to talk with both our potential and current

clients; engaging with them in ways that are most convenient to them…

but that can still loop back into a firm’s corporate management systems.

hosted by Anthony collins Solicitors, this seminar builds on the

recent Birmingham Law Society membership survey conducted

by research by design which highlighted the importance of

listening in the process of product and proposition development.

This seminar will offer insights into the following ‘killer Questions’:

• how can data and intelligence be used to better target new potential clients?

• what role does your firm’s brand have on the client journey?

• how can internal management information be used to ensure you

retain more clients?

• how far ahead are my competition in measuring client satisfaction?

Speakers

Research by Design - Dave Ruston is a highly experienced

market researcher and leads research by design’s specialist team

who support the professional Services sector. dave has managed

research projects for a diverse set of organisations, ranging from

the Legal ombudsman and nhS through to companies such as

Barclays, unilever, Sony ericsson and Toyota. he will pull on this

set of experiences to talk about best practice in client engagement

research and how this fits into an organisation’s marketing activity.

Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP - Clare White is the Marketing

Manager at Anthony collins Solicitors and her key role is to ensure

the effective management and success of the firm’s marketing

initiatives such as collating market research and client feedback.

Jody Shelley is a Bid executive at Anthony collins Solicitors and

manages the firm’s bids and proposals. A key part to her role is

collecting feedback on proposals that the organisation has put

forward, and is now extending her role into collecting feedback

on the services the organisation provides to its clients.

Chris Rogerson heads up the central Management Team at Anthony

collins, overseeing the activities undertaken by the organisation’s

support functions and being involved in business planning.

clare, Jody and chris will be discussing how Anthony collins Solicitors

have been professionalising their ‘client listening’ activity over recent

years, initially through a firm-wide branding evaluation and now

through the development of a client satisfaction measurement vehicle.

Who should attend?

professionals in the legal sector who have responsibility for marketing,

business development and/or client retention in their firm.

Solicitors’ Accounts Rules Update - Half day session

Date: Tuesday 10 June 2014

Time: 13:00 registration & lunch, 14:00 - 17:00 seminar

Venue: Shoosmiths, 2 colmore Square, 38 Queensway,

Birmingham, B4 6BJ


Fees: Member fee for fee earners: £99 + VAT,

Member fee Support Staff: £55 + VAT,

non-Member fee for fee earners: £120 + VAT,

non-Member fee Support Staff: £75 + VAT

Speaker: Linda Lambert

As you will know, the Solicitors regulation Authority’s Accounts rules



have been substantially updated and these updates included new

rules, a new regime and new roles. The rules were applicable from

october 6th 2011and the new roles that also came into place, coLp

and cofA, are in place from January 1st 2013. This half day course

covers the main rules regarding the handling and recording of client

and office monies and includes the new rules. The aim of the course

is to ensure those attending are made aware of the current regulations

with regard to use of client’s monies for today’s Legal practice.

• client Account and client Money

• use of client Account

• withdrawals from client Account

• interest rules

• Bank reconciliations

• what is a Bill?

• office Monies and professional disbursements

• Accountant’s report

Speaker:

Linda Lambert - Linda lives and works in the west Midlands where

she came to read Accountancy at Birmingham university. After

obtaining her degree she then worked in the banking and financial

sector and as a trainee chartered accountant before joining the

legal profession some 25+ years ago. Linda has in her career

worked as a sole Legal cashier for a small city practice, a finance

Manager for a 14 partner provincial firm and as a practice Manager

before working freelance. She has experience of accounts systems

from hand written to computerised and has been responsible for

introducing new systems in the practices she has worked in, in

particular dealing with management information and credit control.

Linda has trained as a lecturer for further education and is currently

the institute of Legal finance and Management (iLfM)’s lecturer

in ‘The Solicitors regulation Authority’s Accounts rules’, the tutor

for the iLfM’s Associate Accounts course, as well as working as a

freelance Legal cashier, mainly in Birmingham. Linda has also acted

as a consultant for a two partner firm of solicitors in worcestershire

and more recently with a medium sized worcestershire practice (for

maternity cover) with special emphasis on risk and compliance work.

How regulatory decisions are made: A breakfast

with the SRA’s Director & Chief Adjudicator

Date: wednesday 11 June 2014

Time: 08:30 registration and light breakfast, 09:00 - 10:00 seminar

Venue: TBc


Fees: Member: free non-Member: £10 + VAT

Speaker: nabila zulfiqar

Why Attend:

This breakfast seminar will give delegates the opportunity to

hear from the SrA’s director & chief Adjudicator, nabila zulfiqar.

Adjudicators make formal regulatory decisions on a wide range

issues. This could be whether to grant or refuse a request for a

waiver, an individual’s suitability for student enrolment or allegations

relating to a serious conduct issue. nabila will focus on the role

of SrA adjudicators; their significance, powers and their potential

impact on solicitors’ practices. nabila will talk first-hand about

her role and the work she undertakes. She will describe the

type of matters which are adjudicated, possible outcomes, and

how solicitors can improve the way they practise. There will be

plenty of opportunity to ask nabila any questions you have.

Speaker:

nabila zulfiqar – nabila has an LLB in Business Law and qualified

as a solicitor in 1993. She specialises in professional regulation and

prior to joining the SrA in 2011 as director and chief Adjudicator,

she was council Solicitor at the general Teaching council for

england (gTc) with responsibility for advising the chief executive,

registrar and council on all legal matters. She also managed the

legal team and panel solicitors with responsibility for the overall

investigation and conduct of cases before the professional conduct &

competence committees of the gTc. She manages the Adjudication

function at the SrA which is responsible for making decisions on

complex or disputed matters. in April 2013, nabila was appointed

by the privy council to the Architects registration Board as a lay

member and chairs its investigation and oversight committee.

from 2005 until 2008, nabila was principal Solicitor and

head of Service in the Legal department of Birmingham

city council. She specialised in child and adult protection

litigation in the magistrates, county and high courts. She

has extensive advocacy experience in this field.

Conveyancing Law Update 2014

Date: Thursday 10 July 2014

Time: 13:00 registration and lunch, 13:30 - 16:30 seminar

Venue: clarke willmott, 138 edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2eS


Fees: Member: £99 + VAT non-Member: £115 + VAT

Speaker: richard Snape

conveyancing continues to undergo major changes

and the course will aim to look at the most important

changes and their effect on the conveyancer.

Topics covered include:

• Land registry identity fraud

• Latest on panel work and changes to the cML handbook

• The new residential enquiries forms

• planning permission changes including relaxation of permitted

development rights

• Latest on adoption of sewers and supplementary transfer schemes

due for late 2013

• recent case law including cases on cohabitation

• issues in relation to Solar panels and the green deal

• Stamp duty Land Tax and The finance Act 2013

• new Lpe enquiries

richard Snape has worked as a consultant and professional

Support Lawyer for davitt Jones Bould Solicitors since 2002. he was

formerly a senior lecturer in law at the university of west of england,

Bristol, and was head of Land Law. he and has done numerous

courses for local law societies all over the country, various public

courses throughout england and wales, in-house seminars within

solicitors firms, and has also talked extensively to local authorities

and central government bodies such as the Ministry of defence,

national health Service and hM revenue and customs. he has

also lectured within the Land registry and has written various

articles for the legal press. his areas of specialism include both

commercial and residential property, in particular in relation to local

government law, domestic conveyancing issues, development

land, commercial property and incumbrances in relation to land.


The present position is that firms can transfer client residual

balances below £50 to charity without authorisation from the SrA

but for balances over £50, specific authorisation has to be obtained

from the SrA (Rule 20 SRA Accounts Rules 2011). whatever the

amount, firms must take sufficient steps to establish the identity of

the owner of the money or make adequate attempts to ascertain the

proper destination of the money and return it to the rightful owner.

The SrA received 1179 applications from practitioners in 2013 to

withdraw balances totalling just over £3.5m. A detailed analysis of

individual requests revealed that over two thirds of the applications

received were for the withdrawal of balances below £500.

As with most recent SrA consultation papers, there is plenty of

argument in favour of the proposal and no contrary arguments so as

to provide a balanced consultation. crispin passmore, the new SrA

director of policy, has stated in support of the proposed change “On

balance the amount of time and associated cost for solicitors and

ourselves... do not add any real regulatory value”

reducing the administrative burden for firms and for the SrA

are laudable aims. however, there is no consideration in the

consultation paper as to why the rule was imposed in the first place

and the mischief that it was designed to prevent. in other words, the

consultation paper is light on the public interest factor.

The current arrangements with the £50 limit have been in place

since 2008. in introducing them at that time there was debate as

to the appropriate limit and the SrA did say it would re-visit the

arrangements which they are now doing. Before then, firms had to

apply to the SrA for authorisation before withdrawing any residual

client balance however small the amount. in the six years since

the £50 limit was introduced, there has been a steady increase in

applications to the SrA. in 2008 there were 876 & in 2013 1,179.

There have been a number of SdT cases where firms have issued

“internal” invoices long after completion of the client work for the

same amount including VAT as the dormant client account balance

and then transferred the funds from client to office account. will

there be a greater temptation if the maximum sum is increased to

£500?

dormant client balances are client money. There are no proposals

for policing this new system in the consultation paper in order to

protect the public. The annual accountants report will not identify

any abuse. will the SrA conduct random inspections? will there be

a requirement that details of all dormant balances donated to charity

should form part of the annual report to the SrA?

The SrA clearly views cofAs as responsible for ensuring that firms

have taken sufficient steps to reunite funds to their rightful owners

and proposed guidance for cofAs is annexed to the consultation -

but is this enough?

There is an obligation to return funds to the client as soon as there is

no longer any proper reason to retain the funds (Rule 14.3). if money

is retained after the end of a matter the firm must promptly inform

the client in writing of the amount held and the reason for retaining

it and must provide a written report every 12 months again as to the

amount and the reason for retaining it for so long as the fund is held

(Rule 14.4).

The duty upon solicitors to return unwanted client funds to the clients

and to promptly inform a client in writing of the amount of any client

money retained at the end of a matter place a responsibility upon

firms that should not be taken lightly. The fact that the SrA dealt

with 1179 applications in 2013 would tend to suggest that firms are

not being rigorous enough in complying with these requirements.

The SrA does not say, and it would be interesting to know, if any

firms were taken to task for failures of this nature as a result of these

applications.

residual client balances are a nuisance – especially since they are

often for amounts sufficiently small that any amount of effort in

tracing the rightful recipient is out of proportion to the value of the

sum held

The simplest solution is to take steps to make sure that they do not

arise in the first place – or that the circumstances where they do

arise are only those that are outside the control of the firm.

Birmingham Law Society will be submitting a response to the SRA

consultation paper by the deadline of 26 May 2014 so please provide

any comments to Peter Wiseman [email protected] or

Jayne Willetts [email protected]. n

Jayne Willetts is also a director of Infolegal Ltd – providing the

Colpline practice advice helpline and consultancy advice for law

firms – www.infolegal.co.uk

The SrA has proposed in a recent consultation paper that the maximum dormant client account balance which firms can donate to charity without SrA approval should be increased tenfold from £50 to £500.

JAYne wiLLeTTS | SoLiciTor AdVocATe | JAYne wiLLeTTS & co | SpeciALiSTS in profeSSionAL reguLATion

Dormant Client Account Balances

reguLATion reporT


MeMBerS’ newS

The Birmingham office of

national law firm, cartwright

king, has partnered with the Big

issue to provide free legal advice

clinics for vendors, their families

and friends in the west Midlands.

The clinics are run on a bi-monthly

basis at the Big issue’s west

Midlands office in new Town

and will give people access to

free advice on all legal matters.

Members of the team at cartwright

king will also be taking to the

streets with Birmingham’s Big issue

sellers to help publicise the clinics.

Law student, Saydie farrell, who is

on placement with cartwright king

and is helping out at the clinics,

said: “It’s great that Cartwright

King has picked up on this need

for legal advice from those who

wouldn’t otherwise be able to

afford it. I’m really pleased to be on

placement with a firm who looks

beyond the everyday demands

of job to offer their services to

everyone who might need them.”

regan peggs, associate at

cartwright king, said: “We look

forward to welcoming Big Issue

vendors to our clinics so that we

can respond to any questions or

problems of a legal nature that

they might have. We wanted to

provide people from all walks of

life with easy access to specialist

legal advice and this has now

been made possible through our

partnership with the Big Issue.” n

cArTwrighT king TAking To The STreeTS wiTh Big iSSue in The weST MidLAndS

Square one Law’s corporate

team has recently advised

its client Synety group plc,

which specialises in the provision

of cloud based telephone call-

control systems, as it placed

1,800,000 ordinary shares on

AiM. The shares along with an

additional open offer to current

shareholders should raise up to

£5 million for the London-based

software and telco company.

The net proceeds of the

placing will be used primarily

to continue to expand uk

operations, including investing

in the sales and marketing

team and customer services

departments and adding

additional resource to integrate

with further crM platforms.

A smaller proportion of funds

will be used to expand the

technology platform to increase

its resilience, capacity and

territorial reach and to enable it

to provide a better service for

international companies. The

remainder of the funds raised

pursuant to the placing will be

used to initiate entry into the uS

market, including establishing a

sales and marketing office and

investing in the platform build.

Simon cleaver, executive

chairman of Synety said: “The

Group is experiencing significant

and rapid growth and this fund

raising will provide the means

to accelerate our growth plans.

Our technology has proved to

be an important tool for our

expanding roster of partners

and we now feel confident to

deploy part of the funds raised

to extend our marketing to

the USA where many of these

partners are headquartered.”

Square one Law’s corporate

team, was led by partner Jeremy

Swift, and he was assisted by

associate Jemil Visram and

SQuAre one AdViSeS SYneTY group

trainee Jenny Atkin. Jeremy

Swift said: “I am delighted that

the placing has so far secured

£4.5 million for the company.

The fact that the fundraising

was oversubscribed sends

a positive message about

the markets and Synety.”

Simon cleaver continued: “I

have worked with Jeremy and

the Square One Law team on

a number of transactions and

I was again very pleased with

the service, especially given

the tight deadlines involved

with the transaction.” n

A west Midlands law firm has

become one of the first in the

country to gain membership of a

prestigious Law Society scheme

to raise standards in the sector.

QualitySolicitors Talbots, which

employs 170 people at its network

of seven offices across the Black

country and worcestershire, has

become a member of the wills

and inhertiance Quality Scheme

(wiQS) that ensures consumers

are receiving advice they can trust.

To secure the best practice

quality mark, members have

to demonstrate wide ranging

expertise and experience, ongoing

training and development for

its staff and a commitment to

ensuring clients are given the

right information they need

to understand the process,

options, costs and timescales.

The wiQS award follows on from

the recent appointment of high

profile lawyer Adrian Mabe as head

of its Trusts and estates team.

Martyn Morgan, director at

QualitySolicitors Talbots,

commented: “We are delighted

to be one of the first members

of the Law Society’s latest

initatives and this follows on

from our previous accreditation

to its Conveyancing Quality

scheme in 2011. This means we

are just one of 40 firms in the

country to hold both standards.

“All of our offices have qualified

lawyers operating in wills and

administraton of estates and

many are trained in specific

specialisms and are members

of STEP. This means it’s not just

general advice you are receiving.”

he continued: “We have a proven

track record of saving people

thousands of pounds in taxes, care

fees and administration costs.

“Furthermore, all our staff are

trained to deal with issues

sensitively, putting the interests

of the client at the forefront

of our approach.” n

‘wiQS’ AccrediTATion To BooST QuALiTYSoLiciTorS TALBoTS TruSTS And eSTATeS SerVice

MeMBerS’ newS


west Midlands law firm

The wilkes partnership

has advised on a complex

inheritance dispute, acting

on behalf of the successful

claimant. After a high court trial

a nephew has won back his

aunt’s entire £300,000 estate

after she disinherited him in

favour of her window cleaner.

cecil Bray, now 82, gave up

his retirement job to care for

his elderly aunt who, in return,

promised that she would

leave him her house in her

will. his aunt Julie Spalding

then subsequently prepared

wills leaving her estate to her

window cleaner breaking that

promise. Julie Spalding was

also alleged to lack the requisite

capacity to execute these wills.

The wilkes partnership

presented several claims to court

and proved that Mrs Spalding

promised to leave her property

to her nephew. They also proved

that Mrs Spalding lacked the

capacity to draft a valid will.

Mark Terrar, contentious probate

solicitor at The wilkes partnership

and associate member of

AcTApS, said: “My client gave

up a lot to care for his aunt, at

a significant cost to not only his

finances but also his health. The

Court agreed with Mr Bray that

his aunt’s promises to him should

be enforced. We also successfully

advanced a challenge to Mrs

Spalding’s capacity to execute

wiLkeS AdViSeS on coMpLex inheriTAnce diSpuTe

a will. I am delighted that after

advising Cecil Bray for over

three years he will now be able

to inherit what is rightly his.”

The case highlights the

importance of obtaining expert

legal advice when preparing a

will. for instance, the fact that

Mrs Spalding’s advisors did not

obtain medical evidence that she

had capacity – arguably essential

when a will is being made by

an elderly person – was key in

the judge’s decision that her

amended wills were not valid. n

Queen’s university has

announced details of its

inaugural human rights prize,

which is open to law students from

northern ireland, great Britain

and the republic of ireland.

The human rights prize is offering

a full fees scholarship to the LLM

(Masters) course at Queen’s in

the international award cateogry,

which is open to undergraduate

students in northern ireland, great

Britain and the republic of ireland.

A second prize offers those law

students already studying at

third-level in northern ireland,

the opportunity of winning a

two-month paid internship at

leading human-rights law firm,

krw Law - LLp, in Belfast,

during the summer of 2014.

To enter, students must write

essays in which they articulate an

Queen’S AnnounceS inAugurAL huMAn righTS prize for LAw STudenTS

uk top 100 law firm Sgh

Martineau has added new

partner neale downes to its

renowned Banking team. downes

joins from Taylor wessing.

prior to that he also spent nine

years with Trowers & hamlins

as regional head of Banking,

based in their Bahrain office.

with more than 20 years’ banking

and finance experience, downes’

particular areas of expertise

include asset-backed and

asset-based financing (including

securitisations), syndicated

lending, project finance,

acquisition finance and other

leveraged and structured finance.

whilst his general banking and

finance skills will undoubtedly

prove useful to Sgh Martineau,

downes is particularly respected

for the strength of his work in

islamic finance, having been

involved in some of the region’s

best known financing transactions.

commenting on his appointment,

downes said; “The global Islamic

Finance market is growing rapidly

and is becoming increasingly

important for the UK economy.

SGH Martineau is building an

impressive reputation for their

work with Islamic Finance

matters, particularly inward

investment to the UK structured

in a Shari’ah compliant manner.”

Based in London, downes will

also work in Birmingham, home to

the first retail islamic Bank in the

western world, with the islamic

Bank of Britain choosing the

city for the centre of its growing

operations. The bank is a long-

standing Sgh Martineau client

and the growing awareness of

islamic finance and the services

the bank offers, has generated

a lot of work for the firm. n

MeMBerS’ newS


aspect of human rights law and

explain how it could be applied

in a particular situation. Specific

rules and guidelines apply for each

prize. northern irish students are

invited to enter in both categories.

explaining the motivation behind

the new prizes, Senior Lecturer

dr Mohsen al Attar of the School

of Law at Queen’s said human

rights legislation was, in isolation,

not enough to ensure a more

egalitarian society: “Universities,

and law faculties in particular,

are well placed to nurture the

type of engagement needed

to move human rights forward.

As part of our contribution,

the School of Law at Queen’s

University has organised the

Human Rights Prize. The idea is

simple: through the composition

of essays on topical subjects,

the competitions are intended to

promote reflection on the multiple

layers to human dignity, the legal

infrastructure that gives these

layers meaning and the people

who make human dignity real.”

he continued: “Time has proven

that human rights treaties

alone are hardly sufficient,

with the realisation of social

ideals necessitating vigorous

and sustained effort.”

The human rights prize is being

launched in association with the

world press photo exhibition,

which is organised by the

Journalism, Law & rights forum.

The world press photo exhibition

took place in dublin last year,

with Queen’s university as an

educational partner. Steps are

underway to bring the exhibition

to Belfast later this year.

Several notable legal scholars

and practitioners have agreed

to adjudicate this year’s prize

including professor Susan

Marks of LSe, Mark kelly, the

director of the irish council for

civil Liberties, owen Bowcott,

legal affairs correspondent for

The guardian, and both Joe

McVeigh and niall Murphy

of krw Law - LLp. n

The Birmingham office

of national law firm

Mills & reeve has advised

Birmingham city university

(Bcu) on the relocation of the

Birmingham conservatoire to

a new £40 million purpose-

built facility in eastside.

Mills & reeve’s real estate

team, led by partner Tim

Allsop, advised Bcu on the

negotiation and exchange of

the agreement to relocate the

conservatoire from its current

home at paradise circus to a

site adjoining Millennium point,

adjacent to Jennens road.

The agreement follows the

compulsory purchase order

settlement and compensation

agreement, which was

exchanged with Birmingham

city council at the end of 2013.

christian Bull, an associate in

Mills & reeve’s real estate team,

who was part of the advisory

team along with Mark cole and

richard Bogue, said: “As part

of the Council’s plans for the

redevelopment of Paradise Circus,

the CPO of the Conservatoire’s

current home posed a significant

threat to it. The agreement

will allow the development of

a new state-of-the-art facility

and secures the long-term

future of the Conservatoire.

“Exchange of the agreement

followed complex multi-party

negotiations to enable the

site to be assembled and

an existing lease structure

MiLLS & reeVe proVideS Sound AdVice To Bcu

in favour of the Millennium

Point Trust to be collapsed

to allow the development to

proceed, all in the context of

the tight timescale imposed

by the CPO settlement.”

The new Birmingham

conservatoire will be a

contemporary building providing

state-of-the-art facilities for

students. it will incorporate

two major performance

spaces, including a concert

hall for orchestral training and

public performances, private

rehearsal and practice rooms,

and recording technology, in

addition to providing teaching

space for musicians from

a variety of disciplines.

Bcu is working closely with

Millennium point on the design

and construction of the new

building to ensure the facility

complements the existing offer,

in terms of both architecture

and provision of services.

As part of the agreement, Bcu

will be making a contribution

towards the funding of additional

facilities for Millennium point. n

new pArTner STrengThenS BAnking & finAnciAL SerViceS offering AT Sgh MArTineAu

eVenTS

Networking Event @ Radisson Blu


Thursday 10 April 2014

James wackett, St Philips Chambers; richard Adkins, St Philips Chambers; Eileen Schofield, BLS Deputy President; Martin Allsopp, BLS President

rebecca Blaymires, wesleyan For Lawyers; Peter Cotterell, wesleyan For Lawyers; Bernadette griffin, university of Law; tony rollason, Landmark; Bernard Shepherd, BLS Past President

tracey Allsopp, Allsopp & Co; Martin Allsopp, BLS President; Lucy Hackett, St Basils

Sophie Fenn, Anthony Collins Solicitors; Emma Duke, Anthony Collins Solicitors; Michelle wooding, Anthony Collins Solicitors; Douglas Houghton, Higgs & Sons; Ann Houghton, Anthony Collins Solicitors

Jon Start, talbots; Jennifer Downing, irwin Mitchell; Laura Cooper, talbots

Jonathan Pyke, rBS; tobias Haynes, regulatory Legal Solicitors; Claire Darley, SgH Martineau; Christian Mulvihill, gateley; Des Burley, Avidity

Louise Barnes, St Philips Chambers; Sarah Dodds, Schofield Associates; Janita Patel, St Philips Chambers

Darren riley, Lloyds; iwan thomas, iwan thomas Solicitors; Peter Arnold, no5 Chambers; Henry Arnold, no5 Chambers

Mushtaq Khan, BLS Deputy President; Linden thomas, university of Bham; Zoe Dempsey, Key Forensic; Paul whitehouse, Key Forensic

nathan watson, BCu; Fereshta Akbar, BCu; Anna Hajilari, BCu; nick O’Kane, BCu

Helen Parkes, talbots; tamsin Johnson, riCS; Laura Powers, talbots

graham Brookes, riCS; Helen O’Brien, riCS; richard Moxon, riCS

networking event 05 June 2014 6pm - 8pm The club & Spa @ The cube

Summer dance in conjunction with BTSS and BSgJuly 7pm till late TBc

goLf event 10 July 12.30pm - late TBc

cricket police v BLS 23 July 2014 evening Tally ho Sports & conference centre

The exonerated play 4 - 5 September 2014 evening The crescent Theatre

networking event 11 September 2014 6pm - 8pm TBc

Legal eagles Quiz in conjunction with BSg and BTSS 01 october 2014 6pm - 9.30pm Burlington hotel

pro Bono networking event 13 october 2014 6pm - 8pm TBc

newly Qualified celebration 23 october 2014 6pm - 8pm hyatt regency Birmingham

president’s dinner 201427 november 2014 7pm - 1am Town hall

networking event 26 february 2015 6pm - 8pm TBc

Strictly come dancing charity event feb - March 2015 6pm onwards hippodrome

Legal Awards 201519th March 2015 7pm - 12.00 icc

AgM28 April 2015 5pm - 8pm 43 Temple row

cLASSifiedS

Translations

expert witnesses

eVenTS

To book please visit the website www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk if you have any enquires please email: [email protected] or call: 0121 237 6004

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The BLS AnnuAL generAL MeeTing - birminghamlawsociety.co.uk · in picTureS The BLS AgM 04 | 3 The...

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Transcript of The BLS AnnuAL generAL MeeTing - birminghamlawsociety.co.uk · in picTureS The BLS AgM 04 | 3 The...