L AWG A Z E T T E .CO.

U K 13 SEPTEMBER 2021

Zero hour
How lawyers are responding to the climate
emergency ahead of November’s COP26 showdown

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EDITORIAL Zero hour
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News editor
How’s your moral compass? How lawyers are responding to the climate
emergency ahead of November’s COP26 showdown

EDITORIAL PLUS: FIXED COSTS • GROUP ACTIONS • RECRUITMENT • REGULATION • BACK TO THE OFFICE

Michael Cross 020 7841 5546

Editor-in-chief
Features editor The language is apocalyptic, ramped up by extreme heatwaves, floods
Paul Rogerson
Eduardo Reyes 020
020 8049
7841 4007
5550 and wildfires. A major summit on climate change set to take place in a
News
Deputy editor
news editor
Michael Cross 020 8049
John Hyde 020 7841 5571 3976
few weeks is ‘make or break’ for the planet’s future, we are told. NEWS
Reporterseditor
Features In November, Glasgow will host COP26 - the largest gathering 4 Up Front
Monidipa Fouzder
Eduardo Reyes 020020
80497841 5566
3813 of world leaders in UK history. It will seek to agree drastic cuts to 9 In Focus
Max Walters
Deputy news 020 7841 5547
editor
Digital publishing manager greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, accelerating action Plans to extend fixed
John Hyde 020 8049 3905
Kirsty Wright 020 7316 5522
Reporters
towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework recoverable costs are fraught
Web content editor
Monidipa
Zoe WhiteFouzder
020 7841020 8049 3984
5597
Convention on Climate Change. In last week’s issue, and once again with danger, practitioners
Jemma Slingo 020 8049 3971
Sub-editors today, the Gazette has focused on what this means for lawyers. warn
Nick Goodman,
Digital publishing Ryanmanager
Southwell As we have seen, the leading lights of the City are coming 10 Lawyer in the News
Contributing
Kirsty Wright 020writer
8049 3736
Jonathan
Web Rayner
content editor
in for increasing criticism for representing major polluters –
Amy Coleman 020 8049 3726 notwithstanding the inviolable principle that all are entitled to legal COMMENT
ADVERTISING
Sub-editors
gazette-advertising@lawsociety.org.uk representation. This is especially difficult for the profession because 12 Costs & Funding
Nick Goodman, Ryan Southwell
gazette-jobsadvertising@lawsociety.org.uk such accusations cannot be dismissed as the exclusive preserve of Capital and class – opening the
Contributing
Display manager writer
Lois Elam Rayner
Jonathan 020 7841 5541
extremists or cranks. floodgates to group litigation
Account manager ‘We’re not asking [major City firms] to dump clients on day one,’ 13 Starting Out
ADVERTISING
Alison Sharpin James 020 7841 5542
Sales development
Paul Watchman, a former Freshfields partner turned environmental Returning to the office is
sales@lawsociety.org.uk
Ian Sinclair
For display020or 7841 5543
recruitment please call activist, told the Gazette. ‘Maybe don’t accept instructions that imperative for junior lawyers
List 8049
020 rental4000 relate to building a coal-fired power station in China’ (news focus, 6 16 Feedback
Lois Elam 020 7841 5541
Head of Media Sales
Recruitment manager September). 17 Seen & Heard
Sarah Clegg 020020
8049 4074
Jeannie Bushell 7841 5422 This type of extra-mural scrutiny is only going to become more
Key account director
Recruitment
Alison Sharpin-James
Dawn Hare 020 8049 3721
020 7841 5453
intense – and not only with respect to climate change. As Alexander FEATURES
Bunmi Ipaye 020 7841 5533 Rhodes, head of Mishcon de Reya’s sustainability practice, observes, 18 Cover Story: Boiling point
PRODUCTION
Danny Frondigoun 020 7320 5860
Charities
we are moving towards a time when every business is to some extent Are legal advice and the law
production@lawsociety.org.uk
David Roberts 020 7841 5423
Manager ‘public’. Just as big companies in particular are expected to behave up to the job of addressing the
Ian Clark 020 8049 3867 responsibly toward society, so too are their advisers. climate emergency?
PRODUCTION
Senior executive
production@lawsociety.org.uk We can, to take just one other example, detect the same trend in 24 Recruitment
Graham Matthews 020 8049 3849
Manager growing pressure on the same elite cadre of firms to stop acting as The world of work has changed
Executive
Ian Clark 020 7841 5560
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executive020 8049 4067 ‘facilitators’ of corruption by protecting ‘dirty money’. I refer you for good – with serious
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Web to a letter to the Financial Times last week from Professor Robert implications for legal jobs
Executive
Gwinyai Mparutsa 020 8049 3852 Barrington, of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University
Sarah Cotterrill 020 7841 5421
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SUBSCRIPTIONS of Sussex. ‘It is clear that a number of law firms, from the magic circle IN PRACTICE
Gwinyai Mparutsa 020 7841 5425
gazette-subscriptions@lawsociety.org.uk downwards, are having navigational problems with their moral 31 Legal Update
Supervisor compass,’ he alleges (Seen & Heard, p17). Harsh words. Criminal law roundup
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Jenny Mould 020 8049 3890
gazette-subscriptions@lawsociety.org.uk Barrington does at least concede there are no ‘easy answers’ here. 31 SDT
Executive
Supervisor
Shama Khan 020
Jenny Mould 020 8049
7841 4077
5523
What is certain is that the questions are becoming more pointed. 36 In Practice
Executive Why do SRA investigations
© 2021 Khan
Shama The Law
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7841 5524All rights
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take so long?
©2018 The Law
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Print:
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circulation 68,069
90,360 Rachel Rothwell Adrian Lower Louise Workman Hannah Bignell Adeela Khan George McCubbin
(July 2020-June 2021) Editor – Litigation District judge Ashfords Junior Lawyers Edward Fail Herbert Smith
(July 2016-June 2017)
Online
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LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 3

U P FRONT
London calling: firms are taking a
different approach to homeworking
and office attendance
Firms roll out flexible office return
Jemma Slingo
The City is returning to life for
the first time in over a year, as
firms reopen offices and test
their revised flexible working
policies.
Solicitors at Allen & Overy,
Fieldfisher, Herbert Smith
Freehills, Hogan Lovells,
Macfarlanes, and Slaughter and
May are now working in person
at least three days a week, and
staff have reported significantly
busier offices.
Slaughter and May trainees –
together with new joiners and
newly promoted employees
– are allowed just one day of
homeworking a week, and some
practices have introduced ‘all
hands days’, when everyone
from a department is expected
to come in.
Many Covid measures are still
Solicitor-judge in disability discrimination challenge
Monidipa Fouzder
The employment tribunal has
begun hearing a disability
discrimination challenge
against the justice secretary
brought by a solicitor-judge
over the stress and humiliation
she claims to have experienced
in trying to secure reasonable
adjustments to do her job.
Zorina Nadine Clarkson
Palomares, a fee-paid judge,
claims the secretary of state
failed in his duty of care to
make reasonable adjustments,
4 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
in place, however, with Hogan
Lovells saying that lateral flow
tests are available to collect
from the office, and that desk
screens, increased ventilation,
and regular deep cleaning will
be in place for the foreseeable
future.
Some firms are taking a
more lenient approach to staff
attendance. Irwin Mitchell
– which is still operating its
offices at around 50% capacity
– has not specified a set number
of days that staff must work in
person.
Mishcon de Reya has adopted
a similar approach, while
Shoosmiths, which recently took
on a significantly larger office
in London, said it will focus on
‘output and performance, not
where or when people work.
Use of tech takes precedence
and have in place adequate
policies and procedures to
ensure reasonable steps were
taken.
Remedies sought by Clarkson
Palomares include a review
of policies and procedures
regarding reasonable
adjustments.
The Ministry of Justice is
contesting the claim.
Prior to being cross-
examined by opposing
counsel, Clarkson Palomares
told the tribunal that thanks
over use of floorspace’.
However, Shoosmiths said
it has noticed an ‘uptick’ in
the number of staff attending
its offices. Louise Hadland,
interim chief operating officer,
said: ‘Teams have been asked to
consider what hybrid working
patterns would work for them
in acknowledgment that a “one-
size-fits-all” approach is not
appropriate for our business.’
According to research by
legal publisher Thomson
Reuters, fewer than one in
10 lawyers want to return to
working in the office full-time.
The study found that 63% of
lawyers are requesting flexible
arrangements, compared with
22% before the pandemic hit.
On average, lawyers would
like to spend 2.1 days a week
working remotely.
to the support of the Judicial
Support Network, she had a
meeting with judicial human
resources the week before the
hearing.
‘They told me that I should
have a passport in place… but
that’s not something that had
been brought to my attention
previously,’ she said.
Clarkson Palomares did
not know precisely what the
passport system is and said it
appeared to be a system that
detailed the adjustments she
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
MoJ costs
cap fears
John Hyde
Ministry of Justice plans to
extend fixed recoverable costs
could prove a disadvantage to
litigants facing rich opponents,
the Law Society warned last
week. It was responding to
an announcement of the
government’s intention to
impose fixed costs on most
claims worth up to £100,000,
two years after a consultation.
Justice minister Lord Wolfson
of Tredegar QC said there
should be certainty about what
losing parties will have to pay
and encouragement to resolve
cases as early as possible.
Society president I. Stephanie
Boyce warned: ‘If the
government caps the amount
of reasonable costs a claimant
can recover then – without
safeguards – a deep-pocketed
and unscrupulous party could
force their opponent to run up
legal bills they’ll never recover.’
Critics have also said the
changes are based on outdated
statistics drawn from too
narrow a pool of cases. The
Jackson review, which formed
the basis for the extension, was
completed four years ago.
The government has stated
that a 50% uplift on FRCs would
be imposed on parties who act
unreasonably, with a 35% uplift
applied to parties who fail to
beat a Part 36 offer.
● In focus, p9
needs, which could be made
available to the venues where
she sits.
‘It sounds like an excellent
plan but I have not been made
aware of it apart from this
meeting the Judicial Support
Network arranged for me,’ she
said.
The hearing is due to
conclude on Friday, though
the current proceedings are
focused on liability. Depending
on the outcome, a remedies
hearing may be required.
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U P FRONT
Insolvency measures
Temporary measures brought
in to protect businesses from
creditor action during the
pandemic will be phased out
from 1 October, the government
said. A new measure raising the
debt threshold for a winding-up
petition to £10,000 will be in
force until 31 March 2022.
Lyons Davidson losses
South-west firm Lyons
Davidson posted annual losses
of £3.5m on turnover down 15%
to £30.8m after reporting that
injury instructions nosedived
during the first lockdown.
CPR recording update
Civil Procedure Rules are to
be updated so that reference
to ‘tape recording’ of court
proceedings covers any form of
digital recording equipment.
Manchester ‘super court’
HMCTS has opened its
first ‘super courtroom’ at
Manchester Crown Court to
accommodate multi-hander
cases with multiple defendants.
A similar courtroom is expected
to open in Loughborough.
University profits
Profit before tax at the
University of Law almost
doubled to £15.6m in 2020,
following ‘rapid growth’
in online and international
students. Revenue climbed 23%
to £114m.
£500,000 payday
The chief executive of listed
firm Ince received a one-
off ‘incentive’ payment of
£500,000, boosting his annual
pay by 76% – despite a ‘difficult’
trading year.
Digital regulation inquiry
The Lords Communications and
Di gital Committee has called
for evidence to inform a new
inquiry into digital regulation
following the publication of
the draft Online Safety Bill.
Email holcommunications@
parliament.uk
6 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
Lawyers unite to help Afghans
John Hyde, Jemma Slingo
Hundreds of UK lawyers are
piloting international efforts
to help rescue people stranded
by the Taliban takeover of
Afghanistan.
Several initiatives were created
overnight to provide specialist
immigration advice or signpost
people to those who could help.
Dozens of volunteers have
signed up every day in the past
two weeks, while lawyers from
France have also joined the UK
effort to support Afghans who
do not feel safe in their own
country.
Lawyers say they have been
inundated with enquiries from
those living under Taliban rule.
In total, 400 volunteers have
joined a group to pool resources
and triage requests for help,
with a team of 100 lawyers from
UK courts ‘need investment to compete’
Jemma Slingo
The UK risks losing its status
as a top international legal
centre if more money is not
invested in the courts and
judiciary, a City lobby group has
claimed.
TheCityUK said the UK’s
position as the world’s second-
largest legal market is under
threat from ‘key rivals’ such
as Singapore. ‘To preserve the
UK’s status as an international
legal centre, there needs to
be more investment in the
UK judiciary and courts
system to ensure that the best
DLA Piper, Sidley, Dechert
and Ropes & Gray responding
to the queries. Volunteers
are receiving training from
immigration lawyers, including
Chetal Patel from Bates Wells
and Allan Briddock from One
Pump Court.
Patel told the Gazette: ‘We
simply cannot abandon Afghans
who couldn’t get on a flight.
Morally, that’s not right. For
every second wasted, more lives
are put at risk.’
Some lawyers living in
Afghanistan or their relatives
in the UK have contacted
Gazette staff directly pleading
for help getting out. There is
particular concern for judges
and prosecutors – especially
female judges – who have been
involved in jailing members of
the Taliban forces over the last
commercial barristers and
solicitors aspire to become UK
judges,’ the group says in a new
international strategy.
‘Members of the UK judiciary
should also be encouraged to
promote the effectiveness of UK
commercial law overseas, and
resourced to do so around the
world especially in common
law jurisdictions like India
where the reputation of UK law
remains strong.’
TheCityUK also stressed the
importance of professional
qualification recognition.
‘Ideally such agreements
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
few years.
A lawyer living in Afghanistan
said he and his family had
been in hiding since the day
the Taliban took over his
local province. Even before
the seizure of power, he had
received death threats at his
home following the prosecution
of Taliban suspects, with the
letters stating that no one would
be spared.
A US-based lawyer who
trained in Afghanistan told the
Gazette: ‘There was no kind of
special procedure to save people
in the legal profession; no kind
of strategy for managing those
evacuations.
‘Lawyers around the world
can do a lot to help the people in
Afghanistan. There needs to be
a specific, strategic, organised
procedure to save their lives.’
would automatically allow UK
professionals to practise in
the host country. If not, there
should be a clear framework
and timetable for discussions
between the UK and host
country governments (or
professional bodies) with a
view to agreeing on recognition
of professional qualification
arrangements.’
The government is engaged
in trade negotiations which
could open up new markets to
UK lawyers. These include an
enhanced trading partnership
with India.
I N FO C US NE WS

Climate laws failing to curb emissions

Jemma Slingo
The UK’s ‘pioneering’ climate
laws have been more effective
than legislative efforts elsewhere
in the world – but are still
failing to reduce emissions
by an adequate amount, a
campaigning legal group has
reported.
In ‘Navigating Net-Zero’,
ClientEarth examines climate
legislation in Australia, Finland,
France, Mexico, Sweden, the
UK and Victoria. It found that
the laws are ‘potentially critical
tools in the fight against climate
change’ and that the UK has
achieved some of the greatest
emissions reductions of all the
jurisdictions, with an ‘effective
system of interim target setting’.
The UK Climate Act 2008
is recognised as the first
‘framework climate law’ –
legislation which seeks to
establish an overarching
national framework for cutting
emissions. It requires the
government to set legally
UK Climate Act 2008 requires Boris Johnson’s government to publish carbon
plans for each carbon budget
binding emissions targets,
called carbon budgets, every
five years. The government must
also publish carbon plans for
each carbon budget which are
reviewed by an independent
body.
The UK has met its first two
carbon budgets and, according
to ClientEarth’s report, is likely
to meet its third budget covering
2018-2022.
However, the charity said
this is ‘less to do with the UK’s
Climate Change Act and more
to do with the financial crash of
2009 which depressed economic
output in the act’s early years’.
It added that the UK is ‘unlikely
to meet its fourth carbon budget
as repeatedly predicted (and
protested) by the Climate
Change Committee’.
The report concludes that it
is difficult to draw clear causal
conclusions between framework
climate laws and reductions
in greenhouse gas emissions,
but there appears to be a ‘small
statistical correlation’.
ClientEarth lawyer Sophie
Marjanac said: ‘For laws that
break new ground, you expect
teething problems – but there
is much to learn from the
successes and mistakes made
in these pioneering efforts. The
world needs strong climate laws
to accelerate action on global
warming. These six jurisdictions
set an example for ambition, now
they must raise it by improving
clarity and enforcement.’
She added that common
pitfalls include a lack of hard
and legally binding interim
targets, overcomplexity, delayed
implementation, and a failure
to regularly monitor progress.
‘For framework climate laws to
properly incentivise and enforce
the transition to a low-carbon
future, they need to be better
integrated with environmental
policy,’ Marjanac said.
According to ClientEarth,
some 2,224 climate change laws
and policies are in operation
across the globe. Over half
of these are in Europe, while
21% are in Asia and 16% in the
Americas.
● See feature, p18

Tender for the Provision of Legal Services

to the Solicitors Regulation Authority
We are the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the independent regulatory body for solicitors and law firms in England
and Wales. We regulate solicitors, law firms and their managers and employees in England and Wales, protecting
consumers and supporting the rule of law and the administration of justice.
We are looking to appoint a legal firm to work in partnership with us to deliver legal services relating to disciplinary
proceedings and other litigation and legal advice.
The appointed firm will be required to provide the following services:
• Prosecution and other forms of advocacy before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT)
• Dealing with appeals against decisions of the SDT
• Dealing with regulatory appeals before the SDT and the High Court
• Defending and pursuing other types of claims and applications on behalf of the SRA
• Providing legal advice as may be required from time to time.
We promote and support the highest professional standards. Successful firms must be committed to promoting equality,
diversity and inclusion, able to demonstrate experience and expertise in professional regulatory work and the capacity and
capability to provide the services to an excellent standard.
Applicants will also be required to have a sound disciplinary and complaints history. More information can be found about
us on our website www.sra.org.uk.
Organisations considering whether to participate in the tender should express their interest by emailing
SRAbidresponses@sra.org.uk, providing relevant contact details, by 5pm on Friday 1 October 2021. On completion of
a non-disclosure agreement, we will then send the formal request for proposal document, which will include all details of the
process. Requests for further information or reasonable adjustments should also be sent to this email address.

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 7

N E WS
Northamptonshire County
Council: split into two unitary
authorities earlier in the year
Rebrand for pioneering ABS
Monidipa Fouzder
A trailblazing alternative
business structure set up by
local authorities has changed its
name as part of a major rebrand.
Pathfinder Legal Services
is the new name for LGSS
Law Ltd, which was set up in
2015 by Cambridgeshire and
Northamptonshire county
councils. Central Bedfordshire
Council joined as an owner the
following year.
Earlier this year
Northamptonshire County
Council was split into two
unitary authorities: North
Northamptonshire C ouncil
and West Northamptonshire
Council. Geoff Wild, the driving
force behind pioneering
Kent County Council’s ABS
Invicta Law, joined West
Northamptonshire Council as
Land Registry goes live with latest digital upgrade
Michael Cross
An online service allowing
conveyancers to make up
to 10 changes to a title at a
time went live last week in
HM Land Registry’s latest
step towards becoming an
all-digital organisation. The
Digital Registration Service
replaces the electronic
document registration service
for registered portal users, the
registry said.
According to the
8 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
interim head of legal and deputy
monitoring officer in June.
Pathfinder Legal Services
said: ‘With the disaggregation
of LGSS and two new
shareholders following the
local government reform in
Northamptonshire, it was felt
that now would be a good time
to rebrand and start on a new
journey. The role of a solicitor is
to support its client on the long
route through legal proceedings
and our name has been chosen
to reflect this.
‘While the quality of service
and expert legal advice will
remain the same, we are excited
to start on our new adventure as
Pathfinder Legal Services Ltd.’
Full accounts filed at
Companies House last month
showed that in the year ended
31 March 2021, LGSS Ltd trebled
announcement, the service
makes it easier to submit
applications and reduce errors.
The service allows
conveyancers to submit an
e-AP1 for 90 register update
transactions, including
change of ownership. Up to 10
transactions can be entered
against a single title in one
application.
Land Registry also revealed it
is inviting ‘a small number’ of
firms to test its next generation
profits despite a ‘challenging’
year as a result of Covid-19.
The accounts stated that the
introduction of remote client
meetings and hearings had
enabled the firm to undertake
more work in-house and expand
its external client caseload ‘due
to geographical location being
less of a constraint’.
In March 2020, the
company underwent a capital
restructure, issuing further
shares, to place the business
on a ‘better financial footing’.
Northamptonshire County
Council’s shareholding was
evenly split between the two
new unitary authorities.
According to Pathfinder Legal
Services’ revamped website,
benefits for clients include ‘cost-
effective pricing compared to
private sector law firms’.
of electronic signatures, which
will not require a witness.
So-called qualified electronic
signatures, first announced last
year, are verified by a ‘qualified
trust service provider’ instead of
a witness.
In a blog, Michael Abraham,
product owner at Land Registry,
said such signatures will be
legally valid. However, he
stressed the need for caution in
the technology’s adoption. ‘As
qualified electronic signatures
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
New dispute
fund launch
Jemma Slingo
London firm Mishcon de Reya
has created a £150m litigation
funding arm in partnership
with a third-party funder,
becoming the latest practice
to experiment with ways of
financing large disputes.
MDR Solutions I will fund
litigation and arbitration
cases for Mishcon de Reya’s
clients, including complex
fraud cases, group litigation,
and asset recoveries. Harbour
– which describes itself as the
world’s largest privately owned
litigation and arbitration funder
– has committed £150m to the
venture.
The funding unit will be
operationally independent of
the law firm itself, and will be
responsible for assessing and
investing in prospective cases
originated by Mishcon de Reya.
It will use ‘sophisticated data
science’ to help decide which
cases to fund.
Executive chairperson Kevin
Gold said: ‘It is critical that we
have the right structures and
support in place to meet the
developing needs of our growing
client base and to realise our
ambition to become one of
the leading complex disputes
practices internationally.’
Last year DLA Piper teamed
up with two third-party funders
to help clients pursue cases
that would otherwise be too
expensive.
are a relatively new technology,
we want to ensure those in the
property market can use it. We
need to ensure that our standard
supports interoperability
between providers, so everyone
can trust the security and
usability of their signature.
‘We are keen to test the use of
qualified electronic signatures
with a small number of firms.
From this we can learn more
about their benefits and any
constraints we need to consider.’

Jackson’s model has largely
survived, despite dramatic
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changes in the landscape since
his report was published in 2017
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The fix is in
Fixed recoverable costs are being expanded – and despite opposition
from lawyers who accuse the government of ‘shoe-horning’ cases
into a simpler system, the government appears unlikely to budge
John Hyde
Some solicitors
had no doubt
forgotten
Sir Rupert
Jackson’s 2017 report on fixed
recoverable costs (FRC). At
times it felt like the Ministry
of Justice had misplaced the
report, on which it consulted in
2019. So when the government
announced last week that
it would implement most of
Sir Rupert’s proposals, there
was a great deal of thumbing
through the archives to find
out what had actually been
recommended.
The crux is that fixed
recoverable costs are being
expanded, and faster than most
claimant lawyers would have
feared. All civil claims (except
clinical negligence, which has
its own reform programme)
up to £25,000 will be subject
to capped costs. Most claims
below £100,000 are likely to
receive the same treatment,
depending on their complexity.
Jackson’s idea of a new,
intermediate track for simpler
claims between £25,000 and
£100,000 was shelved, but
otherwise his prescription
has largely survived, despite
somewhat dramatic changes in
the landscape since 2017.
What will constitute cases
suitable for fixed costs in the
expanded fast track? Most of
those with trials lasting up to
three days or with no more
than two experts giving oral
evidence on each side. The
allocation of cases will be left
to judges’ discretion. Lawyers
worried about their costs being
cut will take some comfort
from the inevitable stream
of satellite litigation as the
allocation of cases is disputed.
There were other less
headline-grabbing details. The
government will implement a
separate grid of FRC for noise-
induced hearing loss claims in
the fast track below £25,000.
Ministers will also push ahead
with proposals to introduce
costs budgeting to all ‘heavy’
judicial reviews, where costs
are likely to exceed £100,000.
What comes next? The
The government needs a much more rigorous statistical
base if it is to widen the use of fixed costs, and also needs
to commit to regularly reviewing and updating them
Claire Green, Association of Costs Lawyers
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
government already has an
idea of what the costs should
be and has committed to
uprating Jackson’s figures
for inflation. In terms of start
date, FRC should apply to ‘as
many cases as reasonably
possible’, but will cover only
those cases where the accident
or cause of action arises after
the implementation date, or
in disease cases where no
letter of claim has been issued
before the implementation
date. The government will
need to engage with the Civil
Procedure Rule Committee on
the details, and it is unlikely
that the extension will be
implemented within the next
year.
Unfixing legal costs was
clearly not an option for the
MoJ. The impact assessment
states that uncontrolled costs
would ‘continue to create
an incentive for lawyers to
undertake more work, as
the cost of this can then
be recovered if the case is
successful’. The report is clear
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
IN FOC U S
that legal costs are currently
disproportionate.
The government accepts
that lawyers will face reduced
income per case, but counters
this by saying that if cases are
settled more quickly there
will be opportunities for more
cases. There is no such caveat
for costs specialists, who are
likely to lose work when there
is greater certainty.
Several groups, including
the Law Society, Association of
Personal Injury Lawyers and
Association of Costs Lawyers,
oppose the plans, arguing they
are based on scant and dated
evidence, and underestimate
the complexity of cases which
can be worth up to £100,000.
On the first point, it is notable
that the government leaned
heavily on data from a single
firm showing the legal costs for
all the cases settled between
2006 and 2017.
ACL chair Claire Green said:
‘The government needs a
much more rigorous statistical
base if it is to widen the use of
fixed costs, and also needs to
commit to regularly reviewing
and updating them.’
APIL points out that
employers’ liability disease
claims, for example, can be
highly complex, yet are likely
to be subject to cost-limiting
measures.
The association’s president
Neil McKinley accused the
government of trying to ‘shoe-
horn’ cases into a simpler
system for which they are
not suited. ‘The Ministry of
Justice has also provided little
detail about how this will
work, leaving it to “the parties
and judges” to work out,’ he
said. ‘That will take time and,
until we get clarity on these
matters, injured people will
be subjected to a great deal
of uncertainty at a time when
they are very vulnerable.’
In spite of opposition, the MoJ
is unlikely to budge. In 2017
Jackson described a system
where costs were just a fraction
of the claim’s worth as being
the ‘holy grail pursued by every
civil justice reformer’. For
the government, that quest is
nearly at an end.
9
I N FO C US
Relief from sanctions denied
following nine-year delay
High Court rules there was no good explanation for the breach of a
court order to file and serve an application to amend in 2012
John Hyde
The High Court has refused
relief from sanctions to a
claimant who sought permission
to amend an application made
nine years ago.
In Frances v F Berndes Ltd &
Ors, Deputy Master Linwood
said there was no good
explanation for the serious
and significant breach of a
court order to file and serve an
application to amend back in
January 2012. With total costs
coming to £300,000 and already
exceeding the claim’s value,
he effectively ended the claim,
which was based on events from
as far back as 2004.
The court heard that a
‘deafening silence’ had followed
the original deadline until a
further application was issued
in 2020. Linwood said there
was no evidence that relevant
documents were originally
served, and the claimant’s
explanation that defendant
solicitors failed to receive copies
by email and fax ‘verges on the
technologically unlikely’.
Without needing to hear oral
evidence, the judge found that
the application for permission
to amend was not issued,
filed and served, with the
claimant’s evidence especially
unsatisfactory as it was ‘self-
serving, unsupported and
inherently improbable’.
The deputy master then moved
on to the claimant’s application
for a retrospective extension,
applying the three-stage Denton
principles to decide if he could
allow the claim to continue.
Not proceeding until he had solicitors who could address
the claim is not a good explanation. It could mean, if he
was correct in that, that time is open-ended, which must
be wrong
Deputy Master Linwood
10
The claimant said he had not
progressed the matter because
of a lack of funds, an absence of
representatives willing to take
on the case and his fear about
getting relief.
Linwood said the delay in
issuing the application was
‘substantial’ and that a lack of
funds was not a good reason
to progress the matter. The
claimant also produced no
evidence to show he had
attempted to obtain legal advice.
He added: ‘I would add that
not proceeding until he had
solicitors who could address the
claim is not a good explanation.
It could mean, if he was correct
in that, that time is open-ended,
which must be wrong.’
Linwood said the delay was
prejudicial to the evidence
and the fair trial: the claimant
himself could not give evidence
or be cross-examined and key
documents had been destroyed
in a fire. He added: ‘There
could, therefore, be substantial
prejudice to the defendant if
the claimant went to trial as
the quality of the evidence
would be poor, especially with
fading memories and lack of
documentation.’
The defendant, a family
business with limited resources,
had incurred £140,000 costs and
had received none of the £45,000
in costs orders previously
made. The claimant’s costs had
also reached £160,000 for an
unjust enrichment claim which
was valued at £250,000. The
costs were therefore deemed
disproportionate.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
Adeela Khan, Edward Fail Bradshaw &
Waterson
Who? Adeela Khan, head of the protest department at Edward Fail
Bradshaw & Waterson, London.
Why is she in the news? Successfully represented three Extinction
Rebellion protesters in overturning their convictions for wilful
obstruction of a public highway.
Thoughts on the case: ‘My clients Neil Traynor, Amelia Halls and
Lou Ferns were all convicted separately of wilful obstructing of the
highway during protests in 2019. Although they accepted that they
had placed themselves in the road on purpose, they were there for a
short period of time, there was no evidence of actual obstruction, no
disorder and the demonstrations were peaceful. My clients appealed
their convictions to the Central Criminal Court. Between their
convictions and the appeal hearing dates there was a Supreme Court
decision in Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler and Ors [2021]
UKSC 23, where it was held that the protection of articles 10 and 11
of the ECHR extends to a protest which takes the form of intentional
disruption obstructing others. The CPS reviewed the cases in light
of this, withdrew their opposition to the appeals and the convictions
were all overturned. The success of these appeals has confirmed
that the state is responsible for protecting those who are exercising
their fundamental human right to protest and for facilitating peaceful
protest. The arrest and prosecution of these defendants and their
convictions in the lower courts did not properly take this into account.
It is imperative that this does not happen again in future cases.’
Dealing with the media: ‘The media can respond negatively towards
large-scale protests. It was therefore encouraging that, after the
appeals were overturned, my clients received positive attention. This
reinforced my view that it was not in the public interest to proceed
with cases against thousands of Extinction Rebellion defendants.’
Why become a lawyer? ‘At school I was presented with a judge’s wig
made from toilet rolls as an award for being the “most argumentative
student”. After that, I chose to pursue criminal law and still do not
regret it despite the savage cuts to legal aid.’
Career high: ‘I persuaded the CPS to drop a firearms case (which
attracted a five-year minimum sentence) against a vulnerable woman
who attempted suicide when police attended her address to arrest her.’
Career low: ‘Sitting in the cells at a magistrates’ court wearing rubber
gloves going through a client’s clothes and other possessions (mainly
socks and custard creams) that had been brought from prison to try
and locate a vital piece of evidence that might be in there. It wasn’t.’
13 SEPTEMBER 2021

A diabolical liberty in EastEnders
Obiter must admit to being a lapsed EastEnders
viewer. We haven’t regularly watched the TV
soap since Janine was scheming against her
enemies and Phil and Sharon were involved in a
blazing row.
Fortunately, those things are still happening
– proving that in the spirit of a greener
future, there are none so good at recycling as
television producers.
We watched last Tuesday after being alerted
Messing about in boats
So, what happens when eight solicitors, a
couple of spouses and a Gazette journalist set
off to sail to Cornwall for eight days in August?
The short answer is that a good time was had,
despite only one of three boats reaching the
intended destination.
The occasion was the Law Society Yacht
Club’s inaugural cruise in company. Three
yachts: Skylark, a Westerly ketch (skippered
by Adrian Stables with Club commodore Nick
Lightbody aboard), Master Chanler, a Saltram
31 skippered by veteran yachtmaster Michael
Hayman and Anodyne, a Bavaria 36 chartered
for the occasion with a crew of five skippered
by Gazette news editor Michael Cross – set off
from Plymouth bound for the Isles of Scilly.
In the event it
became clear that
the different qualities
of boats and crew
demanded a change
of plan. While
Skylark pressed on
overnight, Master
Chanler’s crew,
up against work
deadlines, decided
they didn’t want to
Deck hands: Anodyne risk a headwind on
skipper Michael Cross the return, preferring
instructs his crew in to explore the
tea-drinking
delights of Cornwall.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
O B I T ER
by friends to a particularly egregious example
of dubious legal procedure, as Janine sought
access to her daughter.
The scenes from the ‘family court’ (well done
on getting a hearing date by the way) were
indeed as bad as we had been promised. Janine
and her adversary Kat Slater engaged in a heated
debate in the courtroom, during which their
solicitors sat back and watched (pictured left),
while the little girl walked in on proceedings to
be told she had a half brother she had not known
about. It was a complete free-for-all.
The judge, who had said nothing throughout,
adjourned proceedings with no directions
and seemed bemused by the whole thing. The
exchange was more suited to the Queen Vic
than the family court.
As one tweet pointed out, if this is what
programme makers believe family hearings
are like, then the opening up of family courts
cannot come too soon.
Still, at least family lawyers weren’t alone.
The same episode featured the Mitchell family
lawyer Gray receiving payment in a brown
envelope for nefarious services rendered. He
can surely expect a call from the SRA.
Fair wind: Skylark crew pressed on overnight
And Anodyne? Cap’n ‘Bligh’ Cross decreed
that some sail training was in order, so it visited
some favourite south coast ports, practising
boat handling, sail-trimming, anchoring and
navigation in idyllic conditions. With enough
time for a few swims – and for one crew
member to row ashore to compose a judgment
in the Helford River Sailing Club. He assures
Obiter that the bar was not open…
The verdict seems to be that lawyers can
survive being cooped up in small boats without
drowning/suing each other, so the club aims
to do more cruising alongside our regular
racing events. Next year, the west coast
of Scotland? The Law Society Yacht Club
welcomes new members, of all sailing abilities.
See lawsocyc.org.uk.
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
Gazette 15 September 2011
A costly word
All firms must by 6 October alter their paper
and all else to state ‘authorised and regulated
by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’, we
are reminded. How many hours will be spent
making the amendment – and at what cost?
13 September 2001
World Trade Center firm’s staff
escape horror
Early reports from top US firm Sidley Austin
Brown & Wood were that all personnel were
evacuated safely before the towers collapsed
following Tuesday’s terror attack. Other firms
in the vicinity include Sullivan & Cromwell and
Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy.
11 September 1991
Solicitors warned against relying on
tape summaries
Research suggests that one in three summaries
of tape-recorded evidence prepared by police
officers is misleading, distorted or so lacking in
relevant detail to be unfair.
September 1971
Decimal currency
Old pennies and threepenny pieces ceased
to be legal tender as of 1 September 1971.
Shilling and two shilling pieces continue to be
legal tender, but sixpences may be withdrawn
after February 1973.
September 1951
The case for abolition of the seal
That ‘dignity has dropped on all fours’, to use
the words of Mr Christopher Fry, epitomises
my theme which is that the dignified place
of the seal in English law is an anachronism.
I suggest that the requirement that some
written instruments must be sealed as well as
signed is out of date.
September 1921
Termination of the war
Order in Council under the termination of
the Present War (Definition Act) 1918.
His Majesty, by and with the advice of His
Privy Council, is pleased to order, and it is
hereby ordered, that the 31st day of August,
nineteen hundred and twenty one, shall be
treated as the date of the termination of the
present War.
11
O P I NION
Rachel Rothwell
Costs & Funding
Capital and class – a radical shift
On 18 August, the Competition Appeal
Tribunal clicked a switch and moved its
signal light from red to green.
The gigantic freight train that is Merricks
v Mastercard clanked into gear and
trundled out of the station it has been
trying to pass through since 2017. In the
shadow of this £14bn opt-out collective
action lurks a queue of 12 more cases,
all waiting for Merricks to be dealt with
before their own collective actions can be
considered for certification by the CAT.
That queue includes two multi-billion-
pound group claims against truck
manufacturers found to have conspired
to fix prices, as well as claims relating to
alleged foreign exchange cartels, shipping
cartels, and rail fares. They are all very
large, and all running on the same fuel:
litigation funding.
In recent years, with investors keen to
stash their cash somewhere where it is
not vulnerable to political and economic
shifts, litigation funders have not been
short of a bob or two. But what they lack
are good cases to put that money into.
So working with law firms to set up new
collective actions is the perfect solution.
These huge claims cannot get off the
ground without the financial firepower
of litigation funding: they simply would
not exist without funders. But if the claim
succeeds, the rewards for funders – and
their lawyers – could be phenomenal.
What about the reward for the actual
claimants? In Merricks, the claim is being
brought on behalf of an astonishingly vast
class of 42 million people – more than
the population of Canada. At this stage,
most of these folk – who bought goods and
services from businesses that accepted
Mastercard during a 16-year period – will
not have a clue that the claim is being
brought on their behalf.
The action is based on a 2007 decision by
the European Commission that Mastercard
breached competition law in relation to the
‘interchange fees’ it charged to retailers.
The claimant alleges that this led to
consumers paying higher prices. So how
much compensation might each person
12
For defendants, the prospect of a
new opt-out regime created from
a Supreme Court ruling – with no
legislative framework to govern
how it should operate, and the
potential for eye-watering damages
– is truly the stuff of nightmares
receive? Perhaps around £300. That’s a
very modest sum for such a terrifyingly
expensive case.
When it comes to truck cartel claims, it is
easier to see the point of litigation for the
individuals concerned. Many claimants
are small business owners who were
overcharged when they bought trucks
– and according to reports, they could
receive around £6,000 per truck.
The Merricks case was the first to be
brought under a new class action regime
designed to make it easier for consumers
to achieve redress for breaches of
competition law. It was initially rejected
by the CAT, then after a series of appeals,
it came before the Supreme Court. Last
December, the SC rejected the way the
CAT had interpreted the rules of the new
regime, and laid out guidance for a less
restrictive approach. It then sent the
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
whole case back down to the CAT, to be
reconsidered.
Now that the CAT has looked at it again
and agreed to certify the claim, this will
breathe new life into the class action regime
for competition law. Those cases that had
been stayed will begin to creak forward,
while new claims will soon be springing up,
encouraged by the CAT’s new approach.
It is not just competition law where
funders are bankrolling mass actions,
however. An opt-out class action regime
could be about to burst into life in
mainstream litigation – particularly the
booming field of data breach – thanks to
another case backed by litigation funding.
The Supreme Court is due to rule soon
on a mammoth data breach claim: Lloyd
v Google. This is an opt-out representative
action being brought on behalf of 4.4 million
iPhone users, over an alleged breach of data
protection duties by Google. It is financed by
Therium Litigation Funding.
At the time of writing, judgment in this
landmark case is expected this month
or next. If the Supreme Court allows
the structure of the claim, it will burst
open the door to opt-out group actions
beyond the confines of competition law – a
radical shift for group litigation in this
jurisdiction. Claimant lawyers will only
need to find one person to represent a vast
class of claimants, without needing to sign
up each individual claimant. Many such
cases are already waiting in the wings,
with all eyes on the court.
For defendants, the prospect of a new opt-
out regime created from a Supreme Court
ruling – with no legislative framework
to govern how it should operate, and the
potential for eye-watering damages – is
truly the stuff of nightmares.
For litigation funders and the claimant
lawyers they work with, it would be a
dream come true.
Rachel Rothwell is editor of Gazette sister
magazine Litigation Funding, the essential
guide to finance and costs. For subscription
details, tel: 020 8049 3890, or go to tinyurl.
com/ymqja3es
 OPINION

Hannah Bignell
Starting out

Back to the office: best of both worlds

As the UK lockdown has lifted, some aspects
of our lives are going back to normal. In
relation to returning to the workplace, firms
have taken very different approaches. But
in most cases staff will be going back to the
office in some capacity over the next few
weeks (if they have not already done so).
For some, it can be quite daunting going
back into the office. This has not been the
norm for almost 18 months and it may feel
unnatural and provoke anxiety. Many of us
have adapted to working from home and
have developed routines accordingly. In
addition, not having to commute to work
has given people more time to work or time
for themselves.
Even though it can be a scary proposition,
for junior lawyers in particular there are
also many positives to returning to the
workplace.

Interaction and collaboration

Being able to collaborate and work as a team
is so much more fruitful when colleagues
are physically present. It can be much
easier to ask colleagues questions in person
rather than phoning them when working
from home. When junior lawyers are on
conference calls, to be in the office and sit
with colleagues during the call can make it
much easier to debrief in person afterwards,
decide on action points and discuss.
Also, building good working relationships
with people you are immediately working
for and being able to socialise with them
will help you to feel more connected to the
firm and more engaged in your tasks.
When working in the office, it can be
easier to tell if someone is struggling and
needing more support, and it is easier to
check in on colleagues in person rather
than giving them a call.
Learning and development
There is much to be said for learning by
osmosis and observing how people around
you are working. This can be particularly
important for junior lawyers because at
this stage there is much to learn and gain
from colleagues. Without this experience
at the office (depending on the type of
When junior lawyers are on
conference calls, to be in the office
and sit with colleagues during
the call can make it much easier
to debrief in person afterwards,
decide on action points and discuss
legal specialism), it can be more difficult
to progress and develop if you do not have
these learning opportunities.
I personally learn so much more when
surrounded by colleagues because you
see and hear different approaches to
discussing matters with clients.
Culture and ethos
When working from home as a junior
lawyer it can be difficult to differentiate
your employer from any other employer
because most firms/companies pride
themselves on their culture and ethos.
This is something that cannot be easily
experienced when working from home.
Junior lawyers may feel disconnected
from their firm/company. This can lead to
feeling dissatisfied and less engaged.
Mental health and wellbeing
All these positive aspects of returning to
the office will help improve some junior
lawyers’ mental health and wellbeing
because it is extremely important to feel
part of a team and community within your
workplace. Personal development can
also motivate junior lawyers and lift their
wellbeing by promoting a sense of purpose
and greater work satisfaction.
Furthermore, a change of scenery and
routine can be positive and lead to better
mental health and wellbeing.
Many firms are being flexible and happy
for junior lawyers to have a balance of
working from home and in the office. This
means that many junior lawyers are able to
benefit from both working environments
and have the best of both worlds.
Hannah Bignell is an executive committee
member of the Junior Lawyers Division

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 13

F E E D B ACK
HAVE YOUR SAY...
All letters (maximum 350 words) must include a full postal address and be sent
to: Editor in Chief, Law Society Gazette, 19 Bell Yard, London WC2A 2JR LDE 100
or email paul.rogerson@lawsociety.org.uk
Family court fees: a rise in the fall
Court fees are going up. See the Gazette
article ‘MoJ pushes on with court fee
increases despite majority opposition’
(1 September). In particular, family court
fees are being hiked up too.
The fee for filing an application for
a divorce, nullity or civil partnership
dissolution will increase from £550 to £592,
a rise of a little under 8%. An application
for a parental order, parental responsibility
and financial provision for children in
Children Act proceedings goes up £17 from
£215 to £232.
Local authorities with already tight
budgets will have to shell out an additional
£160, making the fee for care and
supervision order proceedings to £2,215.
The new fees will apply from this autumn
once statutory instruments have been laid.
The Law Society Family Law Committee’s
response to the government’s original
consultation on court fees landed on deaf
ears. The committee said that a blanket
increase across court jurisdictions was
an inappropriate solution. It argued that,
highlighting the significant change to
family justice as an example, any proposed
fee increase should reflect the work needed
at each stage of proceedings by HM Courts
& Tribunal Service (HMCTS). Fee increases
should also be based on the impact on
individuals’ ability to bring claims.
Our clients, as well as litigants in person,
will be paying more for less. The Ministry
of Justice cannot justify the fee hike given
the appalling service provided by HMCTS.
I question how much is the underlying
cost of a divorce. From today (13
September), all divorces must be done
online. Moreover, on 6 April next year ‘no
fault’ divorce will be introduced. Whatever
the cost of a divorce to HMCTS, I would
submit that each of these two events will
drive it down further.
In its response to the consultation,
Resolution was concerned at the
disproportionate impact on women
and victims of domestic violence. This
Open justice heading in the wrong direction
I read Joshua Rozenberg’s 2 August
article raising concerns of the lack of
basic information about proceedings of
some public importance (‘Julian Assange:
16
is despite the government concluding
in its equalities impact assessment
that an increase in divorce fees would
indeed disproportionately affect women
regardless of whether they are in an
opposite- or same-sex couple. Resolution
pointed out that, in terms of age, when
looking at opposite-sex couples, younger
age groups, both men and women, are
disproportionately affected.
It is useful to note that the last time the
divorce fee was increased was just 2016
when the increase represented a 60%
increase since 2013.
In 2015, the then government agreed
that it was wrong in principle to seek to
increase the cost of court proceedings
associated with the breakdown of family
relationships. It agreed that the fee
should not deter people from seeking
a divorce which could result in people
being trapped in unhappy marriages,
sometimes in circumstances of domestic
violence or abuse, or unable to form new
relationships which benefited from the full
protection of the law, and was potentially
discriminatory against women.
I urge family practitioners to write to
their MPs to protest at this unwarranted
increase in fees.
Tony Roe
Family law solicitor and arbitrator, Dexter
Montague, Reading
peering through the murk’).
As a lawyer who does a lot of work in
criminal appeals, I have had my own
concerns about the increasing appetite from
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
unidentified quarters to suppress public
information for no good or apparent reason.
I often get requests to advise a client
after their conviction or sentence. Usually,
the first step is to get a transcript of
the proceedings from the official court
transcriber. Up until about four years ago
we would pay a fee to the relevant court
transcription provider and receive the
transcript. Then there was a subtle change
in policy whereby the request had to be
‘approved’ by the resident judge for the
court from where the transcript had been
requested. I was in a sensitive case at the
time and suspected it may have been the
trigger for this sudden change, but I have
no evidence to support my hunch.
Of course, while I can see that it might be
a good idea to make an additional check
to ensure that the actual proceedings
requested were held in public and not
in camera (which is highly unusual but
could have been done by the transcription
company prior to release), I do not see why
anything more was needed to obtain a
transcript of court proceedings held in a
public arena.
However, what I have found in practice
is that, once disturbed, the resident judge
often demands ‘justification’ for these
transcripts and asks for ‘good reason’ why
we should be ‘entitled’ to the transcript;
the mere fact that we are solicitors of the
senior courts doing our job is often not
sufficient.
I have to conclude that notions of open
and transparent justice are heading in the
wrong direction.
Greg Stewart
GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates
East Dulwich, London
SQE: plus ça change?
I read the 2 August ‘Testing times’ feature
on the Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
As a veteran solicitor, I would note that, 50
years ago, an aspiring solicitor would need
to obtain an acceptable university degree
and pass Part 1 and Part 2 of the solicitors
qualifying exam before embarking on two
years’ articles of clerkship.
Today, an aspiring solicitor will need
an acceptable university degree and then
pass SQE Part 1 and SQE Part 2 before
embarking on two years of qualifying legal
work.
Apart from the terminology, what has
changed?
Trevor F Moore
Notary public and solicitor, Ibstock,
Leicestershire

The Supreme
Court is
repairing the
constitution
Steven Barrett
Barrister, The Spectator
Some of us cannot talk on
politics in public by law.
Because the constitution
is how it is, we may need to
rediscover the complete list
of people whose job involves
being politically silent.
If the country and the
constitution are to heal
then we need to root around
down the backs of our sofas
and check whether the
constitutional rule – that you
may not speak publicly on
politics – applies to you.
I discovered that the Supreme
Court did just this in January.
[It] is leading the nation in
repairing the constitution.
Lord Sumption wished to
speak on politics. Sumption
noticed that he could not do
that and remain even
a reserve judge. Lords Reed
and Hodge also noticed.
Sumption resigned. Rightly.
Those three mark the start
of a restoration of our
constitutional principle that
certain people cannot discuss
politics in public.
We know now with greater
certainty that that rule applies
to sitting or reserve Supreme
Court judges. We might expect
it to apply to lower judges and
other institutions – and quite a
few more.
We’ve lived through an attack
on the constitution. As we dust
off from that, we are going to
need more people to follow the
excellent example of the court.
We must talk
about what is
happening to
Afghan women
Mother in Law
Lawgazette.co.uk
I like that [my children] see
me going out to work, earning
money and making a difference
to my clients’ lives. It takes a
while to be a good lawyer, but
I really believe I am one these
days.
Afghan women may not
have had the freedom to do
everything I have done, but
they have been able to have
careers, go to beauty salons, go
out alone and be involved in
government and justice.
If I had been born into a
country where I was promised
a life that included fun, travel,
learning and achievement,
only for that to be taken
away while I was at university,
for me to only be allowed out
with my dad or my stupid
brother, and for my dog to
be at risk of being hanged if
I stepped out of line, if my
main role was to procreate
and I lost all that promised
richness of life – and knew that
if I had daughters they would
be in the same position – that
their fingers might be cut off
if they wore nail polish, that
they might be forced into an
underage marriage – well,
I don’t know what I would
do.
But I saw an Afghan woman
on the news saying we must
keep talking about it, and not
forget them. That is all I can do,
really, use this platform to talk
about it, and I hope you will
talk about it too.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
Legal services
are being
provided to
corrupt dictators
Professor Robert Barrington
Centre for the Study of
Corruption, University of Sussex,
Financial Times, 7 September
The government’s national
security assessments have
cited the UK’s role as a safe
haven for the proceeds of
global corruption as a key
national security threat. Those
assessments have identified
‘professional enablers’ as
playing a key role in facilitating
corruption. That includes the
provision of legal services to
corrupt dictators and oligarchs,
and silencing critics through
litigation.
The legal profession’s defence
has been that all clients are
equal before the law, that access
to justice is a right and that even
corrupt oligarchs are innocent
until proven guilty.
However, victims of corruption
do not see it in the same way.
They see funds plundered from
their country being placed in
the UK – often via its Crown
dependencies and overseas
territories – and the same money
being used to hire top lawyers
to keep it safe. They stand no
chance of being proven guilty
in their own countries as they
write the laws and control the
courts. This is a conundrum
with no easy answer. It is clear
that a number of law firms, from
the magic circle downwards, are
having navigational problems
with their moral compass. They
represent clients who are highly
lucrative, but should fail any
reasonable due diligence test.
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
SEEN & HEARD
APIL
@APIL
The government has
decided to go ahead
with plans to force ‘simpler’
cases valued between £25,000
and £100,000 into a fixed costs
regime. Most personal injury
cases really are complex and
cannot simply be shoe-horned
into a simpler system with which
they are just not compatible.
Ben Posford
@BenPosford1
Fixing costs too low
for complex PI cases
will ultimately damage access to
justice for injured people who do
not have a choice but to litigate.
Professor Dominic
Regan
@krug79
In a December 2020
interview the Senior Costs
Judge indicated that drawing
up Rules for fixed costs would
be a laborious task and would
be time consuming. I can’t see
implementation before October
2022 at the earliest.
Dave, Crown
Court Listings
@davelisting
I’m probably gonna
get hate for this but ‘backers’ or
‘floaters’ are essential for courts.
Most courts have a 60%-80%
effective trial rate so chances
are in a big court a backer or
2 stands a good chance, that
being said it’s a bold choice to
have a retrial as backer! The
alternative of no floaters/backers
is potentially wasted court time
and judges/staff not being used
to full potential. It’s a tricky one.
Chris Harper
@CPHarper
I’m sure
@RobertBuckland will
be horrified to hear that opening
courtrooms is not a quick fix. It
would have been a while back.
Now, however, the politically-
driven backlog was increased so
that there was less work and less
pay for barristers. Now there
aren’t enough of us.
17
COV ER STORY ACHIEVING NET ZERO

THE LOW DOWN

As the UK prepares to host the COP26
UN climate change summit, our ambitions
exceed those of most other industrialised
countries. But the strategies, laws and
mechanisms needed to realise UK policy
are coming out in ‘dribs and drabs’,
according to environmental lawyers.
Business leaders are left guessing what
should be done now. The EU is ahead on
concrete measures, raising the unwelcome
prospect of divergence. The hope is
that COP26 will be seen as a deadline
for setting out the plans that will help
countries achieve net zero emissions of
greenhouse gases. For now, lacking a
strong enough governmental lead, groups
of lawyers are taking the initiative – not
least corporate counsel, who can use their
position as clients to push for change.

In-house lawyers have a crucial

role at the centre of their
organisation, as they can use
their position as a legal expert
and as a trusted business
adviser to both champion
net zero and to deliver rapid
practical action, by for example
inserting environmentally
friendly clauses into contracts
Adam Woodhall, Lawyers for Net Zero

18 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021


Legal advice and the law are vital tools for
tackling the climate emergency. But are they
up to the job? Marialuisa Taddia reports
BOILING POINT
In the race to net zero carbon emissions, the
UK is considered an early mover. As Michael
Barlow, a partner in the environment team
at Burges Salmon, points out: ‘The UK was
the first G7 country to introduce long-term,
legally binding national legislation to tackle
climate change.’
The UK has a legally binding target to
reach ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions by 2050. ‘Net zero’ does not mean
reducing all emissions to zero but instead
refers to fully offsetting emissions through
natural carbon sinks such as oceans and
forests.
Ahead of the UN Climate Change
Conference of the Parties (COP26) in
Glasgow, a report published in August
by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change concluded: ‘It is
unequivocal that human influence has
warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land.’
The body of the world’s leading climate
experts urged a halving of global emissions
by 2030 and getting to net zero carbon
emissions by 2050, arguing that this can
halt and possibly even reverse the rise in
temperatures.
So what is the legislation underpinning
the UK’s net zero goals? And are the
objectives being met?
The Climate Change Act 2008 is the
key piece of legislation that governs the
UK’s commitments in relation to climate
change. This act committed the UK to
an 80% reduction in carbon emissions
(measured against a baseline level set in
1990) by 2050. On 27 June 2019, secondary
legislation amended the 2008 act by
increasing the UK’s commitment to ‘at
least 100%’ reduction. This made the UK
‘the first major economy in the world to
pass laws to end its contribution to global
warming by 2050’, said the government on
the day the Climate Change Act 2008 (2050
Target Amendment) Order 2019 came into
force. The act also contains a mechanism
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
COVER STO RY ACHIEVING NET ZERO
for monitoring progress towards the net
zero target by setting five-yearly ‘carbon
budgets’, which limit the amount of GHGs
the UK can emit over a five-year period.
Barlow explains: ‘Carbon budgets must be
set by the secretary of state, based upon
the recommendations and advice of the
Committee on Climate Change (CCC),
an independent, non-departmental body
created under the 2008 act. The budgets
are enshrined in statutory instruments
which require parliamentary approval to be
passed.’
Investors and corporates have been
clamouring for a detailed net zero
roadmap so that they can really roll
up their sleeves. But instead what
we’re getting is outline plans all
being delivered in a patchy way
Vanessa Havard-Williams, Linklaters
In the sixth and most recent carbon
budget, which covers 2033-2037, the
government set an even more ambitious
interim target of a 78% reduction in GHG
emissions by 2035. This was implemented
by the Carbon Budget Order 2021, which
came into force in June.
For the first time, the sixth carbon budget
incorporates the UK’s share of international
aviation and shipping emissions, in
line with CCC’s recommendations, says
Duncan McGregor, legal counsel at Drax
Power. Shipping, for example, accounts for
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
around 3% of the UK’s carbon emissions,
and so reducing these is ‘essential’ such
as via ‘shore side electrical hook-ups, LNG
[liquefied natural gas] and ammonia fuelled
vessels’, he notes.
The CCC reports annually to parliament
on progress in implementing the act, notes
Bob Ward, policy and communications
director at the Grantham Research Institute
on Climate Change and the Environment.
Its most recent progress report in June
concluded that the first (2008-2012) and
second (2013-2017) carbon budgets had
been met, and the UK is on track to meet
the third (2018-2022). However, the UK is off
track for the fourth (2023-2027), fifth (2028-
2032) and sixth (2033-2037) budgets.
‘The CCC’s 2021 Progress Report to
Parliament, which sets out its annual
assessment of the UK’s progress in GHG
emissions reductions, makes clear the
credibility of future targets is threatened
by delays in policy and implementation,’
says Barlow. ‘This is in spite of the sharp
fall in emissions in 2020 which was caused
by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated
restrictions.’
Christian Silk, head of strategic
infrastructure planning at Foot Anstey, says
that ‘although the UK government met the
targets set out in the first and second carbon
budget, these were relatively easy targets
to achieve as they related to reduction from
1990 levels’.
The CCC has said that ‘to meet future
carbon budgets and the net zero target for
2050 will require governments to introduce
more challenging measures’.
Ward comments: ‘In order to make
significant progress towards the fourth,
fifth and sixth carbon budgets, the UK must
cut emissions from, for example, transport,
by phasing out vehicles powered by petrol
and diesel, and heating, by replacing gas
central heating with heat pumps or possibly
hydrogen-powered boilers.’ Ward adds that
19
COV ER STORY ACHIEVING NET ZERO
Lawyers for Net Zero
COUNSEL OF HOPE: LAWYERS FOR NET ZERO ‘champions’ come
from organisations
‘Lawyers for Net Zero was established because we need all the influential sectors of society, including in-house such as Drax Power
lawyers, to be accelerating the delivery of climate action,’ says founder and executive director Adam Woodhall.
‘There are a huge number of individuals who want to be part of the solution, but most of those people don’t
know where to start. Our aim is to support and guide in-house counsel to take meaningful action.’
Woodhall, a former Extinction Rebellion activist and spokesperson, explains that in 2020 he realised that
despite the fact that in-house counsel had the most power to help drive the net-zero-target agenda, there
were no initiatives designed to help them in this process. ‘In-house lawyers have a crucial role at the centre
of their organisation, as they can use their position as a legal expert and as a trusted business adviser to
both champion net zero and to deliver rapid practical action, for example by inserting environmentally
friendly clauses into contracts,’ he says. ‘Furthermore, they are often seen as a moral compass, located at
the centre of their organisation, so are ideally placed to help navigate this journey, particularly in guarding
against greenwash.’
In early 2021, Woodhall started to design the programme for the group and delivered a ‘highly successful’
three-month pilot starting in April with 20 in-house counsel who are Lawyers for Net Zero ‘champions’ –
these have now grown to over 50 since the group formally launched at the end of June. These ‘champions’
come from organisations such as Nestle, Drax Power, NHS, Cambridge University Press, BetVictor, Arup ,
Deutsche Bank, Birmingham Airport and E.ON, with more joining weekly.
‘These champions join our Action Learning Groups where counsel meet online regularly in small groups
to share challenges, best practice and create peer to peer learning. This is a coaching-led practice which
focuses the individuals on the meaningful actions they can take.
‘We also regularly share thought leadership created by the in-house champions on our YouTube channel,
LinkedIn, via legal media and on webinars,’ says Woodhall.

‘while it is possible to change consumers’
electricity source relatively easily, it will
require more engagement to change
vehicles and heating systems, raising
important questions about who bears the
cost.’
Graham Stuart, partner at Baker
McKenzie, stresses that the 2008 act and
carbon budgets ‘only set the targets, with
the measures set to achieve those targets
spread across a wide range of different types
of legal obligations that impact across the
UK economy. These laws aim to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, to incentivise
clean energy and to improve energy
efficiency.’
For example, energy-intensive industries
such as power stations, oil refineries and
certain manufacturing facilities have
been subject to ‘collective, ever-tightening
emission caps since 2005 under, first, the
EU Emission Trading System, and from
1 January 2021 the UK Emission Trading
Scheme’, he says. Other examples include
the Contracts for Difference scheme (which
guarantees a fixed price per unit of low-
carbon power generation); the Streamlined
Energy and Carbon Reporting regime for all
quoted companies; and the Climate Change
Levy (CCL), for non-domestic consumers of
electricity, gas, solid fuel and liquefied gas.
Silk adds: ‘Many of the objectives and
targets relating to climate change are also
being addressed through strategies such as
the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, the
Transport Decarbonisation Plan, the North
Sea Transition Deal, the prime minister’s 10
point plan for a green industrial revolution
and the Energy White Paper.’
Referring to these developments, Gowling
partner Ben Stansfield is critical of the fact
that ‘there has been little legislation since
the June 2019 announcement.
‘Brexit and Covid-19 have understandably
been preoccupying the government.
There have been a number of high-profile
speeches and policy papers published, but
we still await the “nuts and bolts” of how the
UK is going to achieve the targets set,’ he
says. ‘Business leaders are having to work it
out on their own.’
Other lawyers agree. Vanessa Havard-
Williams, Linklaters partner and global
head of environment and climate change,
says: ‘The action plan for reaching those
targets is coming in dribs and drabs, much
to the frustration of our clients. We are still
waiting for the Heat and Buildings Strategy,
and more importantly the comprehensive
Net Zero Strategy. The rumour is that these
have been kicked into the autumn by the
Treasury. Investors and corporates have
been clamouring for a detailed net zero
roadmap so that they can really roll up their
sleeves. But instead what we’re getting is
outline plans all being delivered in a patchy
way.’
Barlow points to ‘significant gaps in
policy’, not just in relation to heat from
buildings, but also aviation and certain
aspects of power such as hydrogen and
GHG removals. ‘The government has
delayed publishing various policy papers
which will address these areas,’ he says,
citing the Hydrogen Strategy as an example.
‘It is expected that these documents will
propose a range of measures to fill these
gaps, and that further proposals will be
forthcoming in the Net Zero Strategy that
the government has promised to publish
ahead of COP26 in November.’
So how do British environmental laws
on the net zero pathway compare with
those of other jurisdictions, and are there
any notable differences where power is
devolved?
The 2008 act extends to the whole of the
UK, which means that England and the
devolved legislatures each contribute to the
UK’s Net Zero target and carbon budgets.
Yet, ‘despite the overarching target, the
pathways to net zero for the four nations
diverge, as does the legislation, regulation
and policy underpinning their respective
commitments,’ says Barlow, adding: ‘This
is largely due to the uneven distribution of
activity across sectors throughout the UK,
in particular aviation, agriculture, land use,
construction and GHG removals.’
For McGregor, although the four
administrations have different positions,
‘it must be recognised that in the area
of CCL, energy policy and fuel duty, the
Westminster government has primacy’.
But he also notes that Scotland’s Climate
Change Act 2019 commits that nation to
net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases
by 2045. ‘This is tougher than a net-zero
carbon target, which commits only to
balancing carbon dioxide emissions,’ says
McGregor.
What about internationally? ‘The UK has,
in fairness, moved faster and further than
some other countries,’ says McGregor,
citing the example of the US, which quit
the Paris Agreement under Donald Trump,
before restoring it under Joe Biden.

20 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021


ARE SOLICITORS IN THE
PII MARKET FACING A
PERFECT STORM?
Post Jackson Reforms/LASPO
It came as no surprise that the legal sector (particularly
personal injury and criminal practices) would be hard
hit by the reforms.
The withdrawal of traditional lending to the legal
market, the introduction of efficient and well-funded
ABS factories, and pressure on the Court processes
have all contrived to further adversely impact pricing
and profitability, and more importantly cashflow and
WIP lock up.
It is therefore not surprising that we have seen an
escalation in the failure of practices since 2012 as firms
have run out of cash, with many more still requiring
reconstruction.
With the increase in law firm failures and increasing
claims frequencies, professional indemnity insurers
have started to take a long and hard look at their
cover on solicitors’ practices with many limiting their
exposure or withdrawing altogether – particularly in the
excess layer area.
This has led to a hike in premiums and, latterly, the
requirement for personal guarantees from principals
and in some cases cash cover for excesses.
COVID-19 – The calm before the storm?
From a financial perspective and in many cases, the
pandemic has benefited certain practices through
Government stimulus. Cashflow has been alleviated by
the introduction of the furlough scheme and loans by
way of CBILs and BBLs. Whilst Government assistance
has buoyed certain practices to position themselves
to remain viable post-COVID, it has for others delayed
the inevitable effect of operational losses yet to be felt
once we are out of the pandemic.
Combined with the cessation of the furlough scheme
and government loans no longer being available (which
currently is expected), we are likely to see tremendous
pressure on cashflow within the industry. The bail out
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
INS IGH T
P RO F ESSI ONAL
I ND EM NI T Y
I NSURANC E
of lending in the alternative market will also be more Julien is a
selective and harder to secure.
As the clouds gather, insurers are seeing a potential chartered
storm that lies ahead and are focussing more than
ever on the long-term financial viability of a firm when
accountant and
looking at their appetite to offer renewal terms or licensed insolvency
consider new business.
practitioner
Renewal of PII? with over 20
The 1 April 2021 PII renewal season was heralded by
The Gazette as ‘…hardest PII market for 20 years’ with years’ experience
worse to come for those renewing 1 October 2021.
For those who are not able to secure renewal terms,
in business
or afford the increased terms offered, firms have no restructuring
option but to stop taking on new work as they enter
the 30 day extension period. If cover is not secured
within those 30 days, the firm has 60 days run off to
satisfactorily deal with its clients and files. Failure to do
so could see the SRA intervene.
Navigate ahead
For those firms that expect to enter the 30 day
extension period this October, it is imperative that
principals take immediate and specialist reconstruction Julien Irving,
advice as to the options that are available.
The earlier that advice is taken, more options become
Partner,
available that may include an orderly cash management Mazars LLP
workout, securing new funding, or a seamless transfer
of clients, cases and employees by way of a merger Mazars
or acquisition.
In the event a solvent solution cannot be found then
One St Peter’s Square,
firms will have to consider a voluntary arrangement Manchester, M2 3DE
with its creditors, or a transfer of the business by way
of a process. +44 (0)161 238 9330
In any scenario the options mentioned would seek
to avoid the need for SRA intervention, comply with
www.mazars.co.uk
regulations, mitigate personal guarantee exposure, or julien.Irving
rescue the business and preserve jobs if required. @mazars.co.uk
13 SEPTEMBER 2021 21
COV ER STORY ACHIEVING NET ZERO
As always, the devil is in the detail. ‘The
UK certainly caught the world’s attention
in 2019 and “first-mover advantage” means
that there’s always some kudos involved,’
says Stansfield. ‘But I think others, notably
the EU, have been more explicit in what
they intend to do and by when.’
In July, the EU published what Havard-
Williams describes as an ‘enormous
package of new proposals’ by a large
jurisdiction. As part of the European Green
Deal (whose goal is to make Europe the first
climate-neutral continent by 2050), ‘Fit For
55’ details the binding actions for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55%
by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, and
achieving net zero by 2050.
The EU package, which contains 13
legislative proposals, will lead to major
change through an increase in renewable
energy targets (to at least 40%); an
expansion of the EU Emissions Trading
Scheme (which makes companies pay for
the cost of polluting); and the introduction
of a carbon-related import tariff (the
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
or CBAM). The plan also includes strict
carbon standards for cars and vans, and
a requirement that all new vehicles be
‘zero-emission’ by 2035. The EU proposals,
which will be negotiated among the bloc’s
27 member states and members of the
22
European Parliament, primarily target
carbon-intensive sectors such as aviation,
shipping, road transport and buildings.
‘The EU is also leading the way on human
rights and environmental due diligence
with a new proposal expected in October,’
Havard-William notes. ‘That is going to
involve a rather steep learning curve
for many of our clients and for how they
manage their supply chains. Even for UK-
based clients, if they want to do business in
the EU, they’ll need to get their heads round
the new rules,’ she says.
Comparing the EU approach with that
of the UK, Allen & Overy partner Matthew
Townsend says: ‘The EU’s Fit for 55 package
is a highly significant programme of
regulatory reform. I’m doubtful the UK will
be as bold as this and we’re likely to see a
more patchwork approach.’
So does this signal a widening divergence
between the EU and the UK? Ward notes:
‘One potential issue will be differences in
carbon pricing between the EU Emissions
Trading System and the new UK emissions
trading system, which may lead to
the application of a carbon border tax
adjustment.’ Through secondary legislation,
introduced on 1 January this year, a UK
Emissions Trading Scheme replaced the EU
equivalent following the UK’s departure
from the EU.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
Barlow contends that ‘in terms of a high-
level net zero target, the UK and the EU are
aligned. It is at the more granular level of
policy and legal mechanisms adopted to
decarbonise the UK and the EU economies
where divergences are emerging, and
are likely to grow. This is reflected in the
different interim targets that have been set
by the UK and the EU on the road to net
zero, with the UK committing to at least 68%
reduction by 2030 and the EU committing
to 55% by the same year.
‘Ultimately, the extent of divergence
between the UK and the EU is subject to
the rebalancing mechanism for the level
playing field provided by the UK-EU Trade
and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). This
provides both parties with the right to take
countermeasures, subject to arbitration,
if there is a significant divergence
between the UK and the EU in climate and
environment policy.’
Says Townsend: ‘It’s early days, but I
would expect to see divergence in how
policies are framed and targets are met.’ He
points out that ‘over the last few months all
eyes have been on the package of European
measures targeting the financial services
sector such as the EU Sustainable Finance
Disclosure Regulation,’ which aims to align
the sector with the European Green Deal.
The first part of the SFDR came into effect

in March this year, and is flanked by the
EU Taxonomy Regulation, which will apply
from January next year. ‘The UK has decided
not to follow suit even though many firms
in the UK are applying the EU rules across
their businesses. It’s unclear what the
UK Taxonomy will look like and whether
this will follow the EU’s framework,’ says
Townsend.
Havard-Williams says ‘the biggest change’
for many of her clients has been the EU’s
new rules on sustainable finance, both in
terms of the new green taxonomy (which
she describes as ‘a complicated way of
assessing whether a company’s activities or
an investment is as green or as sustainable
as it claims’) and the new rules on what
asset managers/buy-side need to disclose as
to the sustainability of their funds. ‘With the
recent explosion of “ESG” funds, we needed
a way to reduce the risk of greenwash and
the sustainable finance package addresses
this risk,’ she says.
The UK, meanwhile, is working on what its
own green taxonomy should look like and
new rules for how asset managers label their
sustainable/ESG funds.
‘But where the UK is ahead of the curve is
in requiring companies to report in line with
the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD), which has become the
unofficial global gold standard for reporting
on climate change,’ Havard-Williams notes.
The TCFD framework was established at the
2015 Paris climate accord.
The new TCFD rules already apply to
premium listed companies on a ‘comply or
explain’ basis, and the Financial Conduct
Authority is consulting on how to apply this
to other listed companies as well as asset
managers, insurers and pension schemes,
Havard-William explains. There are also
TCFD proposals from the Department for
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
for unlisted public interest entities, large
companies and LLPs; and the Department
for Work and Pensions for pension funds.
‘More generally, though, the increased
investor activism on climate issues and a
noticeable spike in climate change litigation
across the globe are leading many clients
either to beef up their existing climate
100%
The UK’s target reduction
of greenhouse gases
by 2050, replacing a
previous target of 80%
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
COVER STO RY ACHIEVING NET ZERO
transition plans or come up with a pretty
robust plan if they haven’t got one already,’
she says. ‘One thing is for certain: everyone
is struggling to stay on top of just how fast
things are moving in the climate and wider
ESG space.’
There have been a number of high-
profile speeches and policy papers
published, but we still await the
‘nuts and bolts’ of how the UK is
going to achieve the targets set.
Business leaders are having to work
it out on their own
Ben Stansfield, Gowling
Barlow says: ‘Sustainable finance is
another burgeoning area that sits under
the wider ESG umbrella… If the initial
impetus came from industry, there is now
growing momentum from the government
and regulators to address climate-related
financial risk and to mobilise investment
towards decarbonisation. These issues are
affecting our clients across the finance
sector, from funds and financial regulation
to corporate finance, pensions, private
wealth and banking.’
Silk says ESG considerations have risen up
the agenda of the financial services sector,
including banks and investment funds,
and are now ‘key aspects’ influencing their
decisions. This is also as a result of UN
initiatives such as Sustainable Development
Goals and the Principles of Responsible
Investment, as well as the Green Loan
Principles (developed by the Loan Market
Association, the trade body for the EMEA
syndicated loan market) and the EU
taxonomy.
Buildings account for 34% of total UK GHG
34%
Contribution of UK
buildings to greenhouse
gas emissions
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
emissions, according to the CCC. Silk says
proposals for future changes to building
regulations to achieve net zero housing are
affecting his developer clients. In January,
the government published the results of
its consultation on a green Future Homes
Standard and plans for building regulations
in England that will require all new homes
‘to be highly energy efficient, with low
carbon heating and be zero carbon ready by
2025’.
‘We are advising many developers on
the opportunities presented by Modern
Methods of Construction in achieving net
zero,’ Silk says. ‘And we are advising many
housing associations with thousands of
units of residential accommodation under
management as to the opportunities.’
Opportunities include incorporating
charging hubs for electric vehicles into
their sites.
Silk says that the decarbonisation of
the energy sector and investor demand
have seen ‘a significant emphasis’ on the
development of renewable energy projects,
particularly solar and offshore wind.
‘We act for a number of the leading UK
renewable energy project developers and
investment funds who are bringing forward
a massive number of projects despite there
being no government subsidy programmes
for solar and very limited opportunities for
Contracts for Difference for wind projects,’
Silk adds.
Lawyers are not just helping their own
business clients meet such unprecedented
challenges. Burges Salmon, for example, has
launched a ‘Net Zero Cross-Sector Initiative’
for those clients who will be most affected
by climate change and the transition to a
net zero society, including in the transport,
energy, land use, food production and built
environment.
As well as committing Burges Salmon to
net zero by 2026 Barlow’s firm is a member
of the Legal Sustainability Alliance and
the recently launched Net Zero Lawyers
Alliance, organisations comprised of law
firms committed to working together to
make a difference to the planet.
Marialuisa Taddia is a freelance journalist
£28bn
In 2008 Lord Stern revised
upwards his estimate of
the annual cost to the UK
of tackling climate change –
from 1% to 2% of GDP
23
F E AT U R E RECRUITMENT
Back to the office – but whose?
The world of work has changed for good, Eduardo Reyes hears, with serious implications
for the legal jobs market
The weekend magazines of newspapers
have had plenty of ‘back to the office’
features in recent weeks. So, is that it?
Shave, find your suit, and head to the
station? Will people who work in the legal
sector once again just pick up a sandwich to
eat at their desk, find a water cooler at which
to have a ‘water cooler moment’, sit down
for meetings in boardrooms and text loved
ones to say they are working late? Will our
desiccated city-centre cafes and bars that
crowd round legal centres just reconstitute
with the addition of people?
Well, not so fast. Feedback from law firms
and recruiters, shared with the Gazette,
is that the world of work has permanently
changed. Just because a return to doing
travel and work the way we once did is
increasingly possible does not mean it
is wanted or needed. Businesses have
changed and so have their people – and the
recruitment market is adapting accordingly.
End of the holiday
Chancellor Rishi Sunak added some
artificially created drama to the sector’s
24
pandemic when he announced a stamp come through as a result of the pandemic,’
duty land tax holiday – worth up to £500,000 explains Sinead O’Callaghan, partner at
on eligible transactions. As it turned out, boutique litigation firm Cooke Young and
this was a wholly unnecessary piece of Keidan. ‘We are seeing a lot of movement in
support for the housing market which, once the litigation market and things have been
physical viewings were allowed, also saw
activity fuelled by pent-up demand. The
effect was a scramble to recruit residential
conveyancing solicitors and related staff.
George Sanderson, senior legal
recruitment consultant at JMC recruitment,
tells the Gazette: ‘We have noticed a decline
in roles within residential property, but this
is perhaps to be expected with such a high
during the stamp duty holiday.’
Demand for residential conveyancing
solicitors remains strong, as reflected in A growing imbalance in the supply
the 500-plus vacancies on the Law Society and demand of lawyers has led
Gazette Jobs website. But that is down to increasing competition among
from more than 700 at the start of July. firms and employers to retain
‘Uplift in demand is within many other and attract legal talent, leading to
areas including litigation, corporate, lawyers having greater choice and
commercial/TMT, real estate finance and control over their legal careers
private client,’ Sanderson says.
‘Litigation practices and boutiques Matthew Kay, Vario
generally are expecting a lot of work to
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
020 8049 4000 jobs.lawgazette.co.uk J OB S

Senior Lawyer
£67,626

The Pensions Ombudsman has a number of exciting opportunities for both Lawyers and Senior Lawyers to join our team
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October 2022 but may become permanent depending on funding. In return, you will receive a competitive salary of £60,360
SHUDQQXPIRU/DZ\HUVDQG…SHUDQQXPIRU6HQLRU/DZ\HUVSOXVVXEVWDQWLDOEHQHÀWVLQFOXGLQJÁH[LEOHZRUNLQJ
pension scheme and 27.5 days annual leave. Level of appointment dependent on experience.
Who are we?
As a totally independent body, we investigate and make decisions when someone has been unable to resolve a complaint
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binding and enforceable in court.
About the role of our legal team:
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the Executive Committee, and Corporate Board.
In the coming year, The Pensions Ombudsman is expecting to take on more complaints concerning alleged dishonesty by
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these complex, challenging cases, particularly if you have regulatory prosecution, investigation, or enforcement experience.
Key responsibilities:
You will have the opportunity to be involved in a wide range of work including:
‡ Providing legal advice to caseworkers to ensure decisions are consistent, based on sound legal analysis and which
accord with our statutory powers;
‡ Advising on the design and implementation of a range of policy matters, including internal policies and legislative change;
‡ Providing written content across a wide range of audiences and channels including reviewing and revising existing
internal and external publications;
‡ Participating in internal and external working groups;
‡ Being involved in litigation, advising The Pensions Ombudsman on strategy and merits.
Please note: Senior Lawyers are expected to deal with the more complex cases and work more autonomously.
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‡ Litigation
‡ Dispute resolution
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‡ If you have knowledge of pensions, legal or otherwise, this would be very desirable.
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scheme.
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All applicants must have a right to work in the UK and be prepared to be security cleared to Baseline Personnel Security
Standard, which requires a basic disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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FNQMPZJOHEJTBCMFEQFPQMF

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 25

F E AT U R E RECRUITMENT

WHAT’S TRENDING
• Residential conveyancing vacancies are down on their peak – which was
fuelled by the stamp duty land tax holiday and pent-up demand – but
demand for candidates remains strong.
• Commercial litigation teams are growing, driven by the expectation of
pandemic-related litigation.
• Demand is also strong in corporate and commercial, real estate finance,
TMT and private client.
• Flexibility is established as an important candidate demand at all levels.
• While candidate moves are not primarily motivated by money, a
competitive market is pushing salaries higher.
• Workplace culture is a major consideration for candidates.
• Law firms are having to interview and make offers quickly.

buoyant. There are many good candidates
out there looking for new roles… and there
is generally a lot of competition in the space.
Many candidates we have interviewed have
been quite open about the fact that they
are interviewing with a number of other
litigation firms and practices.’
Matthew Kay, managing director at
Pinsent Masons’ flexible legal operation
Vario, observes the same confidence in
candidates: ‘A growing imbalance in the
supply and demand of lawyers has led to
increasing competition among firms and
employers to retain and attract legal talent,
leading to lawyers having greater choice
and control over their legal careers.’
Mind your PQEs
A noble minority of solicitors did in-person
attendance at police stations and courts
throughout the pandemic’s restrictions
– at personal risk to themselves and their
families. That is to be admired, and must be
recognised.
But for the vast majority, remote working
was the norm, and at the outset this way
of working boosted demand for more
experienced lawyers. Supervising (and not
least teaching) more junior professionals
was a logistical headache, and senior hires
were seen as lower risk by many.
To a degree, that situation remains.
Sanderson says: ‘It is encouraging to see
the demand for senior and experienced
candidates throughout the legal sector, and
firms clearly have the ability and finances to
hire experienced strategic hires.’
‘We have seen a noticeable increase in
the number of vacancies across the sector,
which wasn’t the case a few months ago,’
says Jonathan de Meuse, head of HR at
Goodman Derrick. ‘Because candidates
are spoilt for choice, we are experiencing
a highly competitive market, particularly
within real estate.’
But the confidence to hire and develop
more junior lawyers, including trainees,
is returning, firms report. At Cripps
Pemberton Greenish, that includes a
focus on hiring for the apprenticeship
route to qualification. ‘This year lockdown
restrictions saw our first online assessment
day for our paralegal apprentice scheme,’
the firm’s emerging talent manager Annabel
Goh tells the Gazette. This included
‘devising team-building activities which
could be successfully rolled out online. This
tried our imagination but the day was a
huge success and didn’t limit our ability to
test candidates’.
Certainly, for a firm that has confidence in
this way of doing things, the candidates are
Flexibility poses a challenge
for recruitment. It means that
candidates can live and work
anywhere, and geography is not
so much of an issue. That makes it
much more competitive to recruit
the best candidates
Kim Milan, Boyes Turner
out there. Cripps Pemberton Greenish saw
a 44% increase in applications for training
contracts this year, and there were 100
applications for four apprenticeship places.
‘Legal apprenticeships are becoming really
competitive as students start to realise what
an amazing option they represent as an
alternative to university,’ Goh says.
‘We continue to be impressed with the
quality of applications for paralegal roles,’
says Vash Arora, HR manager at Bolt Burdon
Kemp. ‘[These] are usually attractive to
graduates seeking to specialise in serious
injury claims. Continuing to provide our
new joiners with a smooth induction and
helping them integrate well within the firm
has always been our priority.’
Levelling effect
Firms that adapted their culture and
working arrangements by necessity are
choosing to make some of the changes
permanent – reflecting, not least,
candidates’ altered expectations.
At Cooke Young & Keidan, O’Callaghan
reflects: ‘As for the candidates themselves,
most have reflected over the course of the
pandemic and thought about what they
want from their careers. This time to think
has encouraged them to think about their
future and the best possible path they can
take.’
This is also the experience of Simeon
Spencer, senior partner of Spencer West:
‘Candidates are… looking for firms that
value them as a whole person, giving them
flexibility and autonomy to balance client
work with their downtime and family
commitments. Firms that do this well will
see increased loyalty and flexibility. It
will continue to be more important than
remuneration for many candidates.’
‘Lockdown focused people’s minds on
firm culture and how firms are managed,’
says Kingsley Napley’s senior partner
Stephen Parkinson. ‘Recent recruits have
told us that the chance to join a firm with
an open, human and friendly culture had
considerable appeal, compared with a firm
simply counting hours worked and offering
little engagement with their people… We’ve
benefited from that trend with several
recent appointments.’ That included
partner and associate appointments to its
growing corporate team.
Location
All this has changed law’s relationship to
geography. Spencer says: ‘Remote working
means that talented lawyers can decide
where to live based on what will be best
for their family and personal lives, rather
than their career. We have an increasing
presence in the south-west and we’ve found

26 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021

020 8049 4000 jobs.lawgazette.co.uk J OB S

Regulatory Lawyer
RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is a globally recognised professional body and everything we do is
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Key responsibilities
In this role you will provide a constructive and responsive legal support service to RICS Regulation to ensure sound and
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To apply please send your CV to evanveen@rics.org

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 27

F E AT U R E RECRUITMENT
fantastic lawyers in this region, who are
looking for challenging work with regional,
national and indeed international clients.’
‘With effective hybrid working, geography
is much less of an issue than it was pre-
pandemic,’ Wilsons Solicitors managing
partner Mike Parker notes. ‘The competition
for good candidates is extremely fierce.’
‘Flexibility poses a challenge for
recruitment,’ says Kim Milan, partner at
Boyes Turner. ‘It means that candidates can
live and work anywhere, and geography
is not so much of an issue. That makes it
much more competitive to recruit the best
candidates.’
Flexibility can also widen the pool of
potential candidates, notes Marcin Durlak,
managing partner at IMD Solicitors: ‘Pre-
pandemic we only looked to hire employees
who were based around our offices in
Manchester and London, but our remote-
working policy has also opened doors
to recruit legal talent across the UK and
around Europe – for example we recently
ran a recruitment drive to hire an EA
[national] from abroad.’
Flexibility
In the current market, candidates’ interest
in more flexible working is closely linked
to a focus on the ‘culture’ of the sort of firm
they are looking to join. As Spencer puts it:
‘People are less likely to put up with a toxic
work environment and will seek out firms
with a culture that fits with their personal
values. To recruit the best talent, firms
will need to demonstrate their culture in a
genuine and authentic way.’
‘While many firms are starting to pull
together their positions on future working
models,’ Vario’s Kay notes, ‘we’re finding
a lot of people, catalysed by the pandemic,
Banking and finance
Children law
Civil litigation
Clinical negligence
Company and commercial
Construction and civil engineering
Conveyancing - commercial
Corporate M&A
Crime
Family mediation
Insurance
Other
Personal injury
Tax
0 100 200
28
are looking for more flexibility, and that
flexibility means more to them than
simply working from home a few days per
week.’
Cripps Pemberton Greenish’s recruitment
adviser Ashley Evans agrees: ‘Market
research suggests the past 18 months have
resulted in job seekers reassessing what is
important to them. We have certainly seen
an increase in candidates looking to shift
the needle on their work/life balance. As
a result we are considering more flexible
ways of working in what has become an
incredibly candidate-driven market.’
‘Flexible working is certainly a key attribute
for many candidates exploring the market,’
Sanderson says. ‘Although, we are finding
that for many candidates striking the balance
is the most important thing – too much can
be as off-putting as too little. Real flexibility
and, most importantly, choice, is becoming
the overriding factor here.’
Robert Williams, managing
director of Family Law Partners, says:
‘Overwhelmingly, new recruits want to
understand our firm’s vision and values
and how they can help shape the firm’s
growth. Those showing signs of being
“institutionalised” in traditional firm
structures are recognising they have every
right to find their voice and to be listened
to… and they are making it clear they want
to work collegiately.’
‘We’ve started to hire excellent lawyers
who moved firms because their previous
employer was inflexible – forcing them back
in the office full-time,’ says Durlak.
That said, when recruiting, firms are
not finding that candidates’ wishlists
are uniform in this regard. Durlak says:
‘Recruiters have been telling us they’ve seen
a real mix – some lawyers want full-time
Gazette jobs: vacancies by sector
(jobs.lawgazette.co.uk)
Commercial litigation
Commercial property
Conveyancing - residential
Family
Figures correct
as of 7 September
Private client
300 400 500
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
remote working and others are keen for
a more office-based week. Because we’re
flexible, we aren’t missing out on great
candidates who value the trust to work the
way they want.’
Money and speed
Competition for the best candidates, even
where they have reassessed what they want
in terms of culture from the firm they are
joining, has inevitably inflated salaries – but
salary alone is a less powerful draw in this
market. ‘Salaries are under pressure and
being pushed up across the board,’ Wilsons
Solicitors’ Parker notes.
But firms also need to act quickly to
secure candidates. Cripps Pemberton
Greenish’s Evans notes: ‘The current
post-pandemic job market has highlighted
the need for potential candidates to be
promptly assessed and interviewed for fear
of losing out to competitors. We have used
a range of video interviewing and online
assessments to ensure a comprehensive
and swift recruitment process with a focus
on candidate experience. The firm’s ability
to be proactive and not adopt a one-size-
fits-all approach has led us to secure talent
successfully in this fast-paced market.’
Open minded
The keen competition for candidates
should, according to Boyes Turner’s Milan,
force firms to think more carefully about
introducing more diversity in their ranks.
‘The competitive recruitment market means
that firms need to get better at recruiting
people from different backgrounds,’ she
says. ‘I’m passionate about social mobility,
as I’m from a working class background. I
was the first in my family to go to university
and have a professional career and I’ve had
to battle prejudices along the way. Luckily,
I had enough encouragement and the self-
belief to keep going, but not everyone is
so fortunate, and it is easy for people to be
discouraged or unconsciously filtered out
due to their background. Firms that ensure
they are opening up vacancies to people
from different backgrounds will reap the
rewards, as diversity brings new ideas and
innovation.’
And what about the continued role of
Teams and Zoom in law firm life? Sanderson
says: ‘Teams/Zoom interviews are here to
stay and many firms are looking to use this
in their process as at least the first interview
moving forwards.’
But in certain areas, a return to pre-
pandemic norms will be more than
welcome. ‘Most law fairs have been online
this year,’ Cripps Pemberton Greenish’s Goh
concludes, ‘but feedback suggests they lack
the buzz of an in-person event and present
600
no opportunities for casual drop ins’.
020 8049 4000 jobs.lawgazette.co.uk
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ARE YOU READY TO MAKE A MOVE?
Here are some of our current vacancies
Corporate Associate - Manchester
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Property Litigation Associate - Chester
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Contact the team on:
01513055757 / hello@thorntonlegal.co.uk
www.thorntonlegal.co.uk
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
J OB S
JOHN WELCH & STAMMERS
SOLICITORS
Senior Domestic/Commercial Conveyancer with
prospects of partnership required for a busy long established,
high street practice in Witney, Oxfordshire.
The Role
This is a permanent, full time position.
The ideal candidate will have at least 10 years’ + PQE and be
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We have a very diverse client base and as such the candidate
will need to have a professional pro-active approach
to working as well as excellent client care skills and an
understanding of individual client’s needs.
This is a senior role and the successful candidate will be
required to advise other fee earners in the conveyancing
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For further information about our practice please go to our
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13 SEPTEMBER 2021 29
J O BS 020 8049 4000 jobs.lawgazette.co.uk

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30 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021

 LEG AL UPDATE

Criminal law
Adrian Lower

Roundup
Assaulting an emergency worker
The High Court continues to draw a
distinction between ‘assault on an
emergency worker exercising a function
as an emergency worker’ (section 1 of the
Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences)
Act 2018), compared with the now almost
redundant offence of ‘assaulting a police
officer who is acting in the execution of their
duty’ (section 89 of the Police Act 1996).
Provided that the action of the officer
is taken within the broad functions of an
officer, acting reasonably, in good faith and
in accordance with other public law duties,
the officer does not have to be exercising a
specific police power in order to be acting
as an emergency worker. So touching a
person without intending to arrest, if done,
say, to assist someone in distress or at risk
of self-harm, will be within the functions of
an emergency worker (DPP v Ahmed [2021]
EWHC 2122; see also R v Campbell [2020]
EWHC 3868).
Human trafficking
The Court of Appeal has struck a note of
caution regarding an assessment of a civil
servant working within the Competent
Authority as to whether a defendant was
conclusively a victim of trafficking. The
caseworker was not to be viewed as an
expert witness and could not give opinion
evidence on the issue to the court. The
requirements of Crim PR 19 were not
satisfied by the assessment which would
often rely on hearsay, not the subject of an
application to admit pursuant to Crim PR 20
(R v Brecani [2021] EWCA Crim 731).
Burglary
Whether a place where someone lives is
a dwelling will be an important issue as
to allocation and sentence. A hotel room
where the complainant stayed was held
not to be a dwelling, the court noting that
the resident had no choice as to room,
furnishings and décor (R v Chipunza [2021]
EWCA Crim 597).
The court in R v Massey [2001] EWCA Crim
531 did hold that burglary of a hotel room
is more akin to burglary of a dwelling than,
say, business premises, but there is no
definition of ‘dwelling’ to be found within
the Theft Act 1968, so the answer must
always be a matter of fact and degree.
Restraining order on acquittal
This can be a useful tool for the practitioner
and the court, but there needs to be an
admitted factual basis, or a conclusion
on hearing and/or reading evidence as to
why the order is necessary (R v Baldwin
[2021] EWCA Crim 703). Similarly, on
an application to extend the period of a
restraining order, Crim PR 31.5 requires
the applicant to identify, inter alia, what
material circumstances have changed since
the order was made. The court quashed the
extension where no breach had occurred
over the original 10-year period of the order
and the individual had not reoffended.
Necessity remains the test (R v Jackson
[2021] EWCA Crim 901).
Sending of indictable only offences
This is now possible in the absence of the
accused (R v Umerji [2021] EWCA Crim 598).
Notification requirements
The use of social media by sex offenders
using sobriquets is the use of ‘other names’
for the purposes of section 83(5) of the Sex
Offences Act 2003, so such names must be
notified to the police otherwise the breach
offence is committed (R v Smith (Kyle
Damien) [2021] EWCA Crim 716).
New sentencing guidelines
The Sentencing Council has published new
guidelines in respect of (some offences of)
assault (into effect 1 July 2021), modern
slavery and trade-mark offences (both into
effect 1 October 2021).
Adrian Lower is a district judge (magistrates’
courts)

Decisions filed recently with the Law

Decisions and interventions Society (which may be subject to appeal)

Andrea Jayne Cook
Application 12182-2021
Admitted 2005
Hearing 5 July 2021
Reasons 9 July 2021
The SDT ordered the respondent
to pay a fine of £3,000.
When suspected of having
driven a vehicle and having been
required to provide a specimen
or specimens of breath for
analysis by means of a device of
a type approved by the secretary
of state pursuant to section 7 of
the Road Traffic Act 1988 in the
course of an investigation into
whether she had committed an
offence under section 3A, 4, 5 or
5A thereof, the respondent had
failed without reasonable excuse
to do so, contrary to section 7(6)
of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and
schedule 2 to the Road Traffic
Offenders Act 1988, thereby
breaching principles 1, 2 and 6 of
the SRA Principles 2011.
The parties had invited the
SDT to deal with the allegations
against the respondent in
accordance with a statement of
agreed facts and outcome.
The SDT had reviewed all
the material before it and
was satisfied on the balance
of probabilities that the
respondent’s admissions had
been properly made.
In respect of the level of
culpability, the respondent
had had direct control over
the circumstances giving rise
to the misconduct. In terms of
the level of harm, her conduct

LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 31

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S O L I C I TO R S D I S C I P L I N A RY T R I B U N A L
had had the potential to cause
harm to other road users. In
respect of aggravating features,
she had a previous conviction
for driving while under the
influence of excess alcohol.
The respondent was a criminal
solicitor who was aware of the
sentencing guidelines and knew
the consequences of failure to
provide a specimen.
Mitigating features were
that the offence had involved
a vehicle being driven a short
distance and there had been no
damage to any property or injury
to any person; the respondent
had pleaded guilty at the first
opportunity; she had notified
the applicant immediately; she
had admitted the misconduct
at the earliest stage and had
shown significant remorse and
insight; she had completed all
of the conditions attached to
her sentence; she had notified
her employers as soon she
was charged and resigned her
position leading to a significant
period of financial hardship;
part of the sentence imposed
involved unpaid work within
the community, and had been
undertaken at a local charity;
since completing that work
element of her sentence, she had
continued to volunteer at the
charity; and the offence had been
a complete error of judgement on
the part of the respondent.
The proposed sanction
of a £3,000 level 3 fine was
proportionate and sufficient
to protect the overarching
public interest. Ordinarily the
appropriate fine would have
been in the region of £8,000,
but the applicant had acceded
to a reduction in that figure
having taken into account the
respondent’s means.
The respondent was ordered to
pay costs of £1,000.
Michael Cahill
Application 12158-2021
Admitted 2002
Hearing 10 May 2021
Reasons 6 July 2021
The SDT ordered that the
34
respondent should be struck off
the roll.
The respondent had caused
or allowed documents to be
submitted to Loan Logics
Limited and/or Exclusive
Finance UK Limited in support
of a loan application which he
knew to contain a signature
purporting to be that of an
individual with an interest in
the property against which the
loan was to be secured, AB,
when he knew that the signature
was not that of AB, and thereby
breached principles 2 and 6 of
the SRA Principles 2011.
He had produced or caused
to be produced to Loan Logics
Limited and/or Exclusive
Finance UK Limited in support
of the loan application a letter
which purported to have been
written by Mr PS of Firm A,
when he knew that was not
the case and/or contained
information about his
employment at Firm A which
he knew to be inaccurate and
misleading, thereby breaching
principles 2 and 6.
He had caused or allowed
one or more of the following
documents to be submitted to
Loan Logics Limited and/or
Exclusive Finance UK Limited in
support of the loan application:
(i) an undated legal charge; (ii) a
letter purportedly from Firm B
Limited dated 31 January 2018;
and (iii) an affidavit purportedly
dated 18 January 2018, which
he knew to contain a signature
purporting to be that of another
solicitor, Mr DO, when he knew
that the signature was not that
of Mr DO, thereby breaching
principles 2 and 6.
He had caused or allowed
one or more documents to
be submitted to Loan Logics
Limited and/or Exclusive
Finance UK Limited in support
of the loan application which
he knew to contain a signature
purporting to be that of an
individual, Ms ST, when he
knew that the signature was not
that of Ms ST, thereby breaching
principles 2 and 6.
He had produced or caused
to be produced to Loan Logics
Limited and/or Exclusive
Finance UK Limited in
support of the loan application
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
documents purporting to relate
to employment by a firm of
solicitors, firm A, which he knew
to be forged and misleading,
namely pay slips and a
purported P60 form, thereby
breaching principles 2 and 6.
He had produced or caused
to be produced to Loan Logics
Limited and/or Exclusive
Finance UK Limited a
photocopy of a passport which
purported to have been, but
which he knew was not, certified
by a solicitor, thereby breaching
principles 2 and 6.
He had provided misleading
and inaccurate information to
the SRA, in that he had falsely
stated that the purpose of a
loan application was to obtain
funds to acquire an interest in
his matrimonial home when
that was not the case, thereby
breaching principles 2, 6 and 7.
The respondent’s conduct was
dishonest.
The respondent’s motivation
was personal financial gain. He
had misled the applicant. His
culpability was high. Significant
harm had been caused.
The misconduct, relating
to reliance on inauthentic
documents for personal
financial gain, was so blatantly
unacceptable that the
respondent must inevitably
have known that it breached his
obligations as a solicitor, even
though it was conduct taking
place outside his practice.
The appropriate sanction was
strike-off from the roll.
The respondent was ordered to
pay costs of £20,700.
James Tompkins and
Hodders Law Ltd
Application 12178-2021
Admitted 1993
Hearing 23 June 2021
Reasons 8 July 2021
The SDT ordered that the first
respondent should pay a fine
of £5,000, and that the second
respondent should pay a fine of
£11,000.
While in practice as a solicitor
and a director at the second
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
respondent, the first respondent
had acted on behalf of client A in
circumstances where he knew
an omission had been made by
the firm in a prior but related
instruction, which could have
given rise to a claim against the
firm by client A, but the first
respondent had failed to advise
client A to that effect, thereby
breaching outcome 1.16 of the
SRA Code of Conduct 2011 and
principle 4 of the SRA Principles
2011.
He had acted on behalf of
client A in circumstances giving
rise to a significant risk of an
own interest conflict, thereby
breaching outcome 3.4 of the
code and principle 4.
The second respondent had
failed to take any or adequate
steps to prevent the firm from
acting on behalf of client A in
circumstances in which, in a
prior but related instruction,
an omission had been made
by the firm which could have
given rise to a claim against the
firm by client A, but client A had
not been advised to that effect,
thereby breaching outcome 1.16
of the code and principle 4.
It had failed to have in
place systems and controls
appropriate to prevent solicitors
in the firm from acting in
circumstances giving rise to an
own interest conflict, thereby
breaching outcome 3.2 of the
code and principle 8.
The parties had invited the
SDT to deal with the allegations
against the respondent in
accordance with a statement
of agreed facts and outcome,
submitting that the outcome
proposed was consistent with
the SDT’s Guidance Note on
Sanctions.
The SDT had reviewed all
the material before it and
was satisfied on the balance
of probabilities that the
respondent’s admissions had
been properly made.
The misconduct of the first
respondent was ‘moderately
serious’ and the public interest
was served in that regard by the
imposition of a financial penalty
of £5,000. The misconduct of the
second respondent was ‘more
serious’ and the public interest
was served in that regard by the
I N P RACTICE
imposition of a financial penalty
of £11,000.
The SDT therefore approved
the agreed outcome.
The first and second
respondents were ordered to pay
costs of £17,400 on a joint and
several basis.
Alberto Khadra-Pozo
Application 12063-2020
Admitted 2004
Hearings 7-10 September,
19 November 2020; 4-7 May,
24-28 May, 21-24 June 2021
Reasons 5 July 2021
The SDT ordered that the
respondent should be suspended
from practice for an indefinite
period from 24 June 2021.
The respondent had submitted
a judicial review application
which had the potential to
mislead a court, in that he
wrongly said he had followed
the pre-action protocol; and he
had implied that there had been
a delay since 2015, when the
Home Office had dealt with the
matter in 2017. He had thereby
breached principles 1, 2 and 6
of the SRA Principles 2011 and
failed to achieve outcome 5.1 of
the SRA Code of Conduct 2011.
The respondent had submitted
a judicial review application
which he had drafted
incompetently. The application
complained of delay by the
Home Office and did not deal
with an enclosure that showed
there had not been any delay. The
respondent had either not seen
the letter, which demonstrated
incompetence, or had seen it,
in which case he should have
dealt with it implications. He had
thereby breached principles 1,
2, 4 and 6 and failed to achieve
outcomes 1.2 and 1.5.
The respondent had accepted
instructions and money from
client A in order to bring a
claim against a defendant in
Sri Lanka. He had failed to
issue proceedings and client A
had asked for the return of his
money. The respondent did not
reply, and therefore breached
principles 4, and 6.
The respondent had
untruthfully told client C that
he had not received £2,000
from him, even though he had
previously acknowledged its
receipt, in breach of principles 2
and 6. He had acted dishonestly.
On a number of occasions
in 2018, the respondent had
untruthfully described himself
as a notary public, thereby
breaching principles 2 and 6,
and failing to achieve outcome
8.1. He had acted dishonestly.
The respondent’s motivation
was not financial or malicious.
He had a humanitarian
ethos and had been trying to
assist people as his personal
references attested. However,
that altruism had extended to
misleading the court. As regards
the notary public allegation, the
respondent’s motivation was
to exaggerate his status to give
himself an importance which he
did not have.
Harm had been caused to the
reputation of the profession
by the respondent’s actions,
which included dishonesty,
lack of integrity and failure to
uphold the law and the proper
administration of justice.
Clients had been potentially
vastly prejudiced as he had not
acted in their best interests.
The usual sanction where
misconduct included dishonesty
would be a strike-off. However,
there was a unique combination
of circumstances in this case
including, but not limited to,
the respondent’s health. Those
factors, taken together, were such
that it would be unjust to strike
the respondent from the roll.
The appropriate sanction in this
particular case was an indefinite
suspension.
The respondent was ordered to
pay costs of £750.
Tracey Ann Sheehan
Application 11944-2019
Hearing 7-11 June 2021
Reasons 9 July 2021
The SDT ordered that the
respondent should be struck off
the roll.
The respondent had sent a
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
S O L I C I TO R S D I S C I P L I N A RY T R I B U N A L
schedule about her financial
performance (the FP schedule)
at Taylor Wessing Solicitors
LLP, covering the financial
years 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and
2013/2014, to JB of Red Law
Recruitment for the purposes of
forwarding on to Dentons LLP,
when she knew or should have
known that the information
contained in the FP schedule was
untrue, in breach of principles 2
and 6 of the SRA Principles 2011.
She had acted dishonestly.
She had approved a proposal
form which had been submitted
to the partnership admission
committee of Dentons LLP,
which included information
that she had provided relating
to her billable hours and fees
generated while she was a
partner at Taylor Wessing, when
she knew or should have known
that the information she had
provided was untrue, in breach
of principles 2 and 6. She had
acted dishonestly.
She had signed a proposal
form for submission to the
partnership admission
committee of Dentons LLP
in which she confirmed the
following: ‘The information
supplied in this document is
true and accurate as at the
date supplied and is supplied
in good faith. I have made all
the appropriate disclosures
in relation to my candidacy
in this form. I understand
that Dentons will rely on the
information in this form’,
when she knew or should have
known that the information
supplied in the document was
not true or accurate, in breach of
principles 2 and 6. She had acted
dishonestly.
She had sent an email to SS, a
partner in Dentons LLP, which
she knew or should have known
misrepresented her billings in
relation to client MM, in breach
of principles 2 and 6. She had
acted dishonestly.
She had provided Hill
Dickinson LLP with a business
plan and a schedule of her
hours and billings as part of a
recruitment process for her to
become a partner, when she
knew or should have known that
the information in the business
plan and in the schedule was
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
untrue, in breach of principles
2 and 6. She had acted
dishonestly.
The harm to the reputation
of the profession caused by an
experienced and successful
solicitor dishonestly providing
misleading information in order
to secure personal advancement
was very serious. Her conduct
was deliberate, calculated and
had been repeated over time.
The respondent had an
otherwise unblemished record
and had produced extremely
positive testimonials which
spoke about her professionalism
and integrity. She had provided
an account of being subject
to commercial pressures and
the pressure to work excessive
hours as well as having to
cope with very trying personal
circumstances at the relevant
time.
The overall seriousness of the
misconduct was high: that was
inevitable given the multiple
findings of dishonesty.
There were no exceptional
circumstances satisfying
the requirements of Sharma
and James. Accordingly, the
findings against the respondent
including dishonesty required
that the appropriate sanction
was strike-off from the roll.
The respondent was ordered to
pay costs of £51,615.
Lindsay Sait and Turner
On 27 July 2021 an adjudicator
resolved to intervene into the
remnants of the recognised sole
practice of John Leonard Turner
who traded as Lindsay Sait and
Turner, of Kingfield House,
Kingfield Road, Woking GU22
9EG. The firm also had branch
offices at Suite 205, Basepoint
Business Centre, 377-399
London Road, Camberley GU15
3HL and 1 High Street, Knaphill,
Woking GU21 2PG. The grounds
of intervention were:
OIt was necessary to intervene
to protect the interests of former
clients of Turner (paragraph
1(1)(m) of Schedule 1 to the
Solicitors Act 1974).
The SRA will be making
arrangements to collect the files,
accounting records and money
relating to this firm.
35
I N P RACTIC E
Regulation
Gregory Treverton-Jones QC
Why is the SRA so slow to do its job?
As some Gazette readers will know, I have
spent a good deal of the last two decades
advising and representing solicitors who
are either under investigation or being
prosecuted by the Solicitors Regulation
Authority and its predecessors.
Such an experience is almost certainly a
solicitor’s worst professional nightmare.
Whenever the SRA commences a formal
investigation, the solicitor’s world is
turned upside down: a dark cloud appears
over the horizon and stays in place until
the investigation or prosecution is over.
In the meantime, the solicitor will suffer
severe stress, which can often tip over into
depression or other mental health issues.
As long ago as October 2003, Auld
LJ remarked in Aaron v Law Society:
‘Disciplinary proceedings before the
Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal are
analogous to criminal proceedings. The
uncertainty that springs from and festers
with unnecessary and unreasonable
delay can, in itself, cause great injustice
to practising solicitors, whose livelihood
and professional reputations are at stake.
Nor does such delay serve the solicitors’
profession as a whole. It is in their interest
and that of the members of public whom
they serve that their regulatory body and
the tribunal should be prompt, as well as
otherwise effective, in the enforcement of
the high standards of their profession.’
You would like to think that the SRA
is well aware of this, and therefore
strains every muscle to ensure that its
investigations are carried out as rapidly
and efficiently as possible. You would,
I fear, be wrong. The time taken by the
SRA nowadays to investigate alleged
wrongdoing by solicitors is nothing short
of scandalous. Many of its investigations
proceed at a pace which would shame the
average garden snail. Months, or even
years, can pass by without any apparent
progress being made. Suddenly the SRA
will spring into action, write a letter or two
seeking further information, often within
a ridiculously short timescale (although,
to be fair, extensions are readily granted),
and then will relapse into apparent
36
slumber for several more months.
Everybody who practises in this area is
well aware of this unacceptable state of
affairs. This autumn, the SDT will sit in
judgment on a solicitor who was more or
less continuously under investigation for
six years, from August 2012 until a decision
to refer the matter to the SDT in July 2018.
The SRA then took exactly two more years
until July 2020 to prepare and serve the
disciplinary proceedings. In recent weeks,
I have advised one solicitor who has
been under investigation for nearly four
years and another who has been under
investigation for two years. These cases are
not exceptional. They are, I am afraid, par
for the course. I could cite numerous other
examples.
Matters do not improve once a decision
has been made to refer the case to the
SDT. Although that tribunal stated on
two occasions more than 10 years ago
that proceedings should be served within
three months of the SRA resolving to
refer a matter to the SDT, the SRA and
those representing the SRA took little
apparent notice. Most recently in the
‘eight-year’ case referred to above, the
tribunal observed: ‘Normally a period of
three months would be sufficient to draft
a Rule 12 statement possibly extending to
six months in exceptionally complicated
cases.’ I would be interested to know
whether that has been observed or, like the
tribunal’s earlier exhortations, honoured
only in the breach.
Winners and losers
It is worth examining who wins and who
loses from the lamentable situation which
I have described. The first losers are those
members of the general public who wish to
instruct solicitors. The SRA’s entire raison
d’etre is the protection of the public and the
maintenance of high ethical standards so
that solicitors can be trusted ‘to the ends
of the earth’, as Sir Thomas Bingham MR
memorably put it in his seminal judgment
in Bolton v Law Society. By permitting
potential ‘rotten apples’ to remain in the
profession for years longer than should be
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
the case, the SRA exposes members of the
public to unnecessary risk. The good and
conscientious solicitors who represent the
vast majority of the profession form another
cohort of losers. They do not wish to share
the title of solicitor with the rotten apples
who should have been expelled from the
profession months or years earlier.
Another group of solicitors who suffer
particularly grievously from these delays
are those who are under investigation and/
or prosecution by the SRA, but who will
either be found not to have transgressed
or will receive a penalty, such as a fine
or a rebuke, which will not prevent them
from practising. For them, the ordeal is
truly appalling. Their professional lives
will have been put on hold for years
on end. If, as often happens, they have
lost their employment because of the
complaint made against them, they will
have to declare the fact of the investigation
to any prospective solicitor employer,
rendering them to all intents and purposes
unemployable in the profession. Often they
are uninsured, and have to fund the cost of
legal advice and representation from their
own resources. Moreover, in high-profile
cases, they live in fear of leaks about the
fact of the investigation and the inevitable
reputational damage that will follow:
indeed in some cases, the SRA confirms
publicly that a particular solicitor or firm is
under investigation.
There is, sadly, one cohort of winners,
namely those solicitors still practising
during the investigation and prosecution
who will ultimately be expelled from the
profession. They are able to practise, often
for years on end, while the investigation
and prosecution wend their way slowly
towards their conclusion.
Everybody else loses. I, for one, would
welcome a candid explanation in these
pages from the SRA about how this
situation has been allowed to develop, and
what (if anything) is being done to correct
it.
Gregory Treverton-Jones QC is a barrister at
39 Essex Chambers, London

Ways of working
Louise Workman, Ashfords
How pulse surveys can drive decision-making
Like most businesses, Ashfords put
actions and policies in place to help
ensure a smooth operation throughout
the pandemic, while considering the
wellbeing of our people and the importance
of communication at a time when remote
working became common. One key method
adopted has been our use of ‘pulse surveys’.
A pulse survey is defined as a brief and
regular set of questions sent to employees.
As the term ‘pulse’ suggests, it is carried
out to continuously gain employees’ views
on subjects such as job-related roles,
communication and relationships, and
the overall work environment. Since the
beginning of lockdown, Ashfords has sent
focused pulse surveys to all of our people
to ensure effective communication across
the business while working remotely, as
well as gathering information on how
our people are feeling about a variety of
issues. The topics have included general
wellbeing throughout lockdown, as well
as opinions on office working and general
working practices. The surveys consist of a
maximum of five questions, making it easy
to: digest the information, ensure detailed
awareness of what the whole business is
thinking, be transparent by sharing the
results and demonstrate that action is being
taken.
A key question asked in the pulse surveys
related to whether staff felt Ashfords was
communicating Covid-related information
effectively. The results revealed that our
people felt they were kept informed and the
response level improved with each survey.
The increased confidence in Ashfords’
communications emphasises the success of
the pulse surveys.
Collaboration is incredibly important
at Ashfords and a big part of our culture.
The firm has implemented a new ‘Ways
of Working’ framework, which has been
developed taking into account the feedback
we have received from the surveys. We
recognise that future effective ways of
working are the responsibility of everybody
and the framework is for everyone to work
within and to help find workable solutions
for our clients, the business and our people.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
It encourages everyone across the business
to communicate and collaborate – it is
certainly not a ‘top-down’ approach.
Ashfords’ policies will evolve over time
and they are driven by the feedback we
will continue to receive. The firm’s first
objective is to reassure people about our
new ways of working and to build from
there in developing the ‘new normal’ by
finding out the key drivers and motivations
of our people and what they enjoy about
office working. A key finding from recent
pulse surveys has been the opportunity
office working provides for collaboration
across the business. Based on these findings
and sometimes taking a targeted and
tailored approach, Ashfords has decided to
refurbish the Exeter office to allow for more
open spaces.
Flexible working has certainly been a hot
topic since the early days of the pandemic,
and the desire for more hybrid working is
evident across the pulse surveys. As with
most businesses, there was a hesitancy
towards flexible working prior to Covid-19,
but the pandemic has accelerated open
thinking around productivity and
flexibility.
Recent pulse surveys have shown
that our people value office working for
collaboration, personal development and
supervision. It is also important for those
new to the business, as you cannot pick up
a company’s culture and establish effective
working relationships on Microsoft Teams
alone. The feedback received shows that it
is important that staff spend a reasonable
13 SEPTEMBER 2021
IN BUSINESS
proportion of the working week in the
office, where office working will focus
more on collaboration time and working
from home will allow for more individually
focused time. Ashfords’ Ways of Working
framework will evolve over time and the
firm is encouraging personal and collective
responsibility for establishing what hybrid
working should look like – emphasising
the importance of balancing what is right
for our clients, the wider business, teams
and individuals, and ensuring fairness and
consistency across teams and work groups.
The pulse surveys have been a very
useful tool to gauge how staff are feeling
and even though the results have shown
support for office working, the firm has
acknowledged that not all staff members
feel the same and some are anxious about
returning to the office post-lockdown. It is
therefore important that any policy reflects
the feelings of all our people as the firm
focuses on a gradual, phased return to office
working. We made clear that people were
not expected to return to the office until
after the school holidays on 6 September
as it was felt that this would help support
the wellbeing and work-life balance for
everyone. The firm has decided to maintain
social distancing policies and the use of
face masks for an initial period of four
weeks and then, subject to review, to help
ensure a comfortable and safe environment
for a return to office working.
Pulse surveys have certainly become
part of the culture at Ashfords and they
have helped to encourage our people to
provide honest, individual opinions that
inform effective decision-making, rather
than telling the firm what they think they
would like to hear, or deciding that there is
no value in participating. It is important to
the firm that we are continuously engaging
with staff and the surveys have given us a
real impetus to improve communication.
The surveys have helped to drive Ashfords’
new Ways of Working framework, which is
ultimately based on communication, trust
and responsibility.
Louise Workman is CEO at Ashfords
37
I N P E R S O NI N P E R S O N
DIFFERENT STROKES
I originally interned at Disney studios
in Australia – but the year I finished
school, they closed their 2D animation
departments to compete with Pixar. Many
of my school friends were doing law, so I thought
that would be a fun option. As it turned out, I
really enjoyed it: the combination of intellectual
discovery and creativity in law were my favourite
aspects of painting and animation. More than 15
years later, I am still working in and very much
enjoying law.
Throughout high school in Australia, I had
always painted – but that stopped when I
started law school. Many years later, when I
was a graduate at one of the big firms there, I
started to miss having a creative outlet. I tried
to get back into painting while working full-
time, but although I still had the vision, it was
frustrating because I was so out of practice.
However, after making horrible painting after
horrible painting, I eventually found my style
again. This reminded me how much I enjoyed
painting and how much balance it brought to
my life.
After a few years of working full-time and
painting in my spare time, I approached
the partners at my old firm and asked them
if I could work part-time – to paint. I was
nervous before I spoke with them, because I did
not want my request to be seen as indicating a
lack of interest in my job or career. They were
completely understanding. I worked for a couple
of years part-time at that firm, before moving
to London. In the interview at my current firm,
I asked them if working part-time was possible.
They were also incredibly supportive of the idea.
Being a self-taught painter and outside the
traditional arts scene, I initially sold my
works to friends and family. I did not really
know where my painting would lead, but I just
knew I needed to keep practising and developing
38
IN PERSON
George McCubbin, Herbert Smith Freehills
my style. Over the years, the sales kept
happening (with even a few commissions from
my old colleagues). When I moved to London,
I thought it was time for me to paint with the
intention of having a proper gallery exhibition.
My first solo show – held last month at
Brick Lane Gallery in Shoreditch – was
originally due to be held early last year.
Because of cancellations, it had the benefit of
including works that span the last three and a
half years of my life in London. The paintings in
this show, named the eponymous Goodnight
Thief (my painting moniker), covered the ideas
of life and death, love and loss, hope, spirituality,
and technology.
Being able to work in law and follow my
passion of painting is very rewarding. They
are both important and complementary outlets
– when I am creatively stuck on a painting, it is
Examples 7.5pt
Caption: of Goodnight
Freight Medium
Thief’s paintings
unlockedatonan9pt
nice to be able to turn my mind to something
leading. 1.5mm
exhibition held at
inset
Brick
spacing
Lane Gallery
on text frame.
quite different and intellectual. Conversely,
painting at the end of a day really clears my mind
and provides much-needed meditation.
As an intellectual property lawyer, a lot
of my paintings have been inspired by my
legal work in the pharmaceutical industry. Being handy with art
You will find depictions of human cells,
chemistry and random physics principles on has been useful when
my canvases. One of the series of paintings on
show at the exhibition was inspired by figures designing images for
that often appear in scientific journal articles,
where the oil paintings of cells are accompanied court submissions and
by more poetic figure descriptions. And being
handy with art has been useful when designing expert reports
images for court submissions and expert
reports (I even once made an animation for a
court hearing to illustrate a particularly tricky
scientific concept).
George McCubbin is a senior associate at
Herbert Smith Freehills, London
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021
020 8049 4000 jobs.lawgazette.co.uk
NORTH WEST
CHESHIRE, CUMBRIA, GREATER
MANCHESTER, ISLE OF MAN,
LANCASHIRE, MERSEYSIDE
FULLY QUALIFIED SOLICITOR
required for expanding private home
builder Blackburn with 8 million profit
this year rising. Opportunity for role in
future years to become MD. Floatation
12 months. Must live in East Lancs, top
salary, fringe benefits. Write with CV to
mullberryhomes@gmail.com
SOUTH EAST
BERKSHIRE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,
EAST SUSSEX, HAMPSHIRE, ISLE OF
WIGHT, KENT, OXFORDSHIRE, SURREY,
WEST SUSSEX
FAMILY SOLICITOR or Legal Executive
(4+ PQE) Egham, Surrey. Salary £40k -
£50k plus bonus. A small old established
practice, well known family cases.
Friendly team with full support. A good
opportunity with great future prospect.
Please call Nick Jamison on 01784 220088
or email njamison@hefllp.co.uk
SOUTH WEST
BRISTOL, CORNWALL, DEVON, DORSET,
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ISLES OF SCILLY,
SOMERSET, WILTSHIRE
CONVEYANCER AND PRIVATE Client
Solicitors sought. Long established
Cheltenham Practice with emphasis
on developing strong personal client
relationships seeks Solicitor or Legal
Executive to fill two separate roles
created by business growth. All levels
of PQE considered. (1) Conveyancing
fee earner undertaking mixture of
J OB S
PART-TIME ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES
PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT law
paralegal required to support
busy practice £14/hour T.0800 622
6149/07956 233 598 martins@
employsafe.co.uk
PRACTICES FOR SALE, MERGERS,
ACQUISITION & ASSOCIATION
FOR SALE The business and assets of
a long established solicitors practice
specialising in family law in South Bucks
- Law Society Children Panel members
with the benefit of a Legal Aid contract.
Additional private client department
and conveyancing revenue. Wills
bank of circa 750. WIP approximately
£250k. Indicative offers (non-binding)
invited from principals apply in detail to
Stephen.Grant@azets.co.uk
A BUSY, SUCCESSFUL, well-
established and profitable firm in East
Anglia is available pending retirement
of a partner. Email boxreplies@
lawsociety.org.uk quoting Box No
S13/01 for more details.
Thinking of Selling /
L
Merging / Valuing
A
your Law Practice?
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CONTACT IN CONFIDENCE:
M NEVILLE DINSHAW
E
LAW MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
R DX 42809 Kingsbury INTERNATIONAL
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Tel: 020 8204 3600 Fax: 020 8204 4654
E
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email: info@lawmergers.co.uk
web: www.lawmergers.co.uk
GERMAN LAW FIRM
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WORLDWIDE CLIENT BASE R΍HUVLWVVHUYLFHVLQ*HUPDQ
QUALITY MANAGEMENT ISO9001 Registered Firm SUBSCRIPTIONS ODZLQWKHȴHOGVRILQKHULWDQFH
residential and commercial work. (2)
Private Client fee earner undertaking
mixed caseload of Probate, Wills, Trusts,
LPAs, etc. Membership of STEP would
be an advantage but not essential. Email
CV to mark.lynham@midwinters.
co.uk (no agencies).
WEST MIDLANDS
HEREFORDSHIRE, SHROPSHIRE,
STAFFORDSHIRE, WARWICKSHIRE, WEST
MIDLANDS, WORCESTERSHIRE
A LONG ESTABLISHED
and progressive firm in Evesham,
Worcestershire are looking for
two Private Client Solicitors.
The first candidate would have
5+ year’s PQE and the second
candidate would, ideally, have a
minimum 2+ year’s PQE. Both
candidates should be able to handle
a mixed caseload of wills, probate,
LPAs and Court of Protection work.
Apply with CV to
patrick.boyd
@saundersroberts.co.uk
For all subscription ODZSUREDWHODQGORUGDQG
WHQDQWODZSHUVRQDOLQMXU\
WILLS & WHEREABOUTS
enquiries, redirections ODZFROOHFWLRQDQGOLWLJDWLRQ
and amendments, If you are interested, please
Would anyone knowing of the
please contact us via contact Rechtsanwalt &
whereabouts of a Will made by the late
Elizabeth Slater, last resident in Totnes, Solicitor Georg N. Fellmann
Devon who died in July 2021, aged 70,
020 8049 3890 or LL.M., Hauptstrasse 89, 50996
please contact Ward Gethin Archer, gazette-subscriptions@ Köln (Cologne), Germany,
Chancery House, 8 High Street, Heacham, E-Mail: info@ra-fellmann.com,
Norfolk, PE31 7ER. Ref: JMM/S30051-1-0.
lawsociety.org.uk Tel.: 0049/221/354866
ROY BAINES, date of death 21 October
2020, formerly of 135 Cherrycroft,
Skelmersdale WN8 9EF. Any person
having a claim against or an interest in
the estate of the above named, please
contact Steels Solicitors Ltd, 1 Victoria
Road, Stockton Heath, Warrington WA4
2AL by 2 December 2021.
ADVERTISE YOUR VACANCIES
ABSENTEE LANDLORD - Missing IN THE LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE
Landlords and former Landlords of 37
Pinegrove Road, Southampton, SO19 TO REACH OVER 68,069* SOLICITORS
2PD. Please contact Sophie Ward Contact the sales team on:
Griffiths of Sam Hawking Property
Lawyers, 24 Llandello Road, Cross 020 8049 4000 or via
Hands, LLanelli SA14 6NA Tel: 01639
842711 We are trying to locate the same
sales@lawsociety.org.uk
to enable the purchase of the Freehold
* ABC verified figures for July 2020 – June 2021.
of 37 Pinegrove Road.
LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 39
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