I hope that you are all well and staying safe.

by

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you are all well and staying safe.

Unfortunately, we find ourselves  in another period of national lockdown. Within my own firm we continue to find ourselves very busy and like most other firms throughout Derby and Derbyshire, we are finding ways to adapt and serve our clientele in the best and most efficient ways possible.

I hope that you are all well and staying safe.
Martin Salt

It still appears that there will be hardships ahead for us all but with any luck the news of new vaccines which will be available in the coming months will hopefully see the country, and indeed the world, return to a sense of normality by this time next year. However, in addition to the Courts still struggling with a large backlog of matters, it appears the legal system will take some time to recover.

In my own field of Private Client work, the government and HMCTS have pushed ahead with their own plans to make applications for probate online mandatory for all parties by the 2nd November 2020. A period of grace for paper applications expires on the 30th November 2020.  For the time being the online system is for the simplest forms of Probate application but over the next year the system will be upgraded for all types of Probate application. The days of the paper oath are now ending although there are still delays with the Probate Registry depending on the type of application. The centralisation of Probate applications this year has also added to delays. 

The annual Derby & District Law Society Dinner has been scheduled for 23rd April 2021 at Pride Park Stadium. Hopefully by this time the COVID-19 restrictions will have been loosened and I hope that you will keep the date free in order to attend.

The E4E Debating competition is also scheduled to commence in January 2021. The E4E Debating Competition is for local schools and will once again be run by our administrator Julia Saunders. If you would like to know more or would like to become involved in the competition, please contact Julia for more information.

Over the last few months our sponsor DG Legal has provided several free webinars which can assist you with rules and regulations in relation to the current COVID-19 crisis. More are planned and please contact our administrator for more details if you do not receive the emails which provide the times and dates.

The Derby & District Law Society also now has a presence on LinkedIn and be sure to check this out and connect with fellow members.

I hope that in the next few weeks restrictions are eased and that we are all able to safely spend time with our families over the Christmas period.

The Derby & District Law Society and myself wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Martin Salt