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The Ministry of Justice has launched the 2020/21 round of Queen’s Counsel honoris causa (honorary silk) awards by inviting nominations.  All practitioners and members of the public are free to make nominations (including self-nominations if they qualify) directly to the Ministry of Justice.

In addition, The Law Society is participating in this process, as in previous years, by seeking to make nominations itself of solicitor members of The Law Society. Office holders are securing coverage for The Law Society’s role as nominator by means of publicity in the Professional Update, local law societies announcement, and The Law Society web site (see External Appointments) inviting nominations.  We are inviting people to nominate themselves, or others, to us. Office holders will then select those who will go forward as nominees of The Law Society.

Read moreDear Colleagues

Hello,

I hope that you are all well and staying safe. As of June 1^st 2020 the United Kingdom begins to awaken from its imposed slumber with a hope of heading back towards a state of normality. However, in these difficult times solace for many has been found in the exceptionally nice weather and the chance to spend time working in the garden and doing those extra jobs around the house that we always seem to avoid.

The housing market is beginning to kickstart, the court system (albeit with delays) is adapting to the current restrictions and home working is quickly becoming the new norm. Online video conferencing is becoming a necessity. A number of major city law firms are looking at the potential for home remote working as the way of the future although personally I would miss the buzz and formality of the traditional legal office.

Read morePresidents Report

Strange how March seemed to last six months but since then time has flown by. I assure you that is not entirely as a result of my already sizeable gin habit increasing further. Instead of an 18 year old who should have been doing all those amazing leavers things at the end of his school life I have a young man working nights at Amazon and a 14 year old who I still can’t extricate from the Play Station. Thank goodness for the lovely weather in May and someone please re-instate the sunshine!

This edition is full of hope and help as we emerge from lock-down. The local profession has managed to pull together at this strange time and I continue to send information round which might assist firms. As ever if there is anything you want me to circulate please e-mail it through to me.

Read moreEditorial Bulletin June 2020

Will Aid is an annual campaign that takes place every November. Participating solicitors offer some of their time to write basic wills, waiving their usual fee and instead invite clients to make a voluntary donation to Will Aid.

That money is divided between the nine partner charities. Like many charities, the COVID-19 outbreak has had a devastating impact on their finances, with events and shops having to be cancelled and closed, which will have a detrimental impact on their ability to supporting the vulnerable people and communities they work with.

Read moreWill Aid

DDLS plays key role in setting up civil users contact group to allow direct access to the Judiciary during these strange times.

Believe it or not, it has now been over 10 weeks since the Prime Minister ordered businesses to close and our pubs, restaurants and shops fell silent. Whereas we are now slowly and cautiously beginning to emerge from the most severe limitations placed on our civil liberties in peacetime (and, certainly, in our lifetimes), when this all began law firms had to adapt almost overnight to home-working and to the inevitable downturn in business brought about by the uncertainly of the pandemic. Whilst terms such as “social distancing” and “furlough” were alien to us when we welcomed in 2020, they are now commonplace and much understood. It is the new normal and is likely to be the case for the foreseeable future, with the government’s message still “work from home if you can”.

Read moreCivil Users Contact Group

Dear all,

The Derby and District Family Committee attended a meeting with HHJ Williscroft and DJ Davies together with Mr Matt Bradley Family Section Leader and Ms Jo Price to discuss issues affecting financial remedy and private family court business.

The following issues were discussed:

Financial Remedy Hearings

There has been a meeting of the East Midlands Lead Judges led by HHJ Mark Rogers.

The Financial Remedies Court is not working effectively at the moment so electronically filed documents are not being uploaded in time for hearings. It will all catch up in due course but at the moment the court is dependent on physical or emailed Bundles.

Read moreFamily Law Sub-Committee

Since the current crisis developed The Law Society has devoted all its efforts and resources into dealing with problems affecting Solicitors and trying to keep legal services functioning .  The maintenance of the rule of law is essential.  The President, Simon Davis , has been at the forefront of this effort and I cannot think of a better person to be leading the profession at the present time.

Last week at a special virtual meeting of Council we voted overwhelmingly to postpone the Society’s AGM until October with consequent delay to all elections.  This preserves very necessary continuity and avoids Simon having to relinquish the reins in mid crisis.

Read moreMichael Williams Council Member

TAXING THOUGHTS FOR TAXING TIMES

The past few months have proved extremely challenging for everyone, not just the legal profession. The way in which we have all coped and adapted to new circumstances has been an inspiration, and if anything proves that thinking outside the box is no bad thing.

A former work colleague of mine lost a relative last year following a long illness, and mentioned to me that pretty much all the cash investments within the estate had been drawn down to pay the initial liability to Inheritance Tax, leaving just a large managed fund of shares held within an ISA, which could not be accessed till probate had been granted. The application had been lodged at the Probate Registry when we spoke in late March, but how long till the grant issues is anyone’s guess. She had watched the FTSE index fall over the month prior to our conversation, and was concerned. I mentioned loss on sale relief, under which any shares sold before the first anniversary of death at below the value at death qualified for a rebate of IHT by substituting the lower sale value and completing form IHT35. She thanked me and was going to look it up on line so as to be ready with her instructions to the solicitors handing the administration.

Read moreWords Of Wisdom

One of the most notorious, and tragic, cases of an expert getting it wrong was that of Prof Sir Roy Meadow, an eminent paediatrician, who gave evidence for the prosecution in the case of R -v- Sally Clark.  Mrs Clark, a lawyer married to a lawyer, had lost two babies through cot death. The headline to an article in the Daily Telegraph in 2005 reads: “How could an expert like Roy Meadow get it so terribly wrong?”  It starts: “It is hard to think of a more terrible wrong that Professor Sir Roy Meadow could have inflicted upon Sally Clark short of raping or murdering her.”  Sir Roy’s evidence at her trial for murder was that the chance of a middle-class family losing two babies through cot death was 73 million to one.

With that, conviction for murder was inevitable.  Sally Clark served three years, won her freedom on her second appeal, but died of alcoholic poisoning shortly afterwards.  Utterly tragic.

Read moreExperts – when even the lawyers get it wrong

Kindness matters in the workplace

Coping with anxiety and building resilience

Law Care @ www.lawcare.org.uk

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