The Brief
Issue 2
Doncaster &
District Law Legal Complaints Service Consults
Society on League Tables
The Legal Complaints Ser-
vice has now issued a con-
sultation on the issue of
League Tables on individ-
ual practices performance
Inside this issue: on complaints .
This is an important con-
Legal Complaints 1 sultation and one practi-
Consultation tioners can ill afford to
Website Re-vamp 1 ignore as it could have a
direct effect on your prac-
tice .
Schools Mock Trial 2
Competition Your Local Committee has
Young Solicitors Sec- 2 discussed the issue and
tion recommends a global re-
sponse from all Doncaster
Annual Ball Review 3 Firms which can be
co-ordinated by the Soci-
Legal Aid Reforms 3 ety . This recommendation
is made for obvious rea-
sons , a global response
SRA Guidance 4 means that it does not
appear that individual
Special points of
interest:
• New Law Society Sec-
tion Launched for
Revamped Website For Society
Junior Lawyers
This week as
• New Law Society well as the re-
Library Service turn of this
Launched newsletter ,
the society re-
launched it’s
new website .
The site has a
number of new
March 2008
firms who may
or may not have
a complaints
issue are making
submissions for
personal inter-
est , rather Doncaster as a
whole is making a unified
response to the consulta-
tion .
The deadline is 24th April
2008 and you need to act
Swiftly by accessing the
documents which have
been put together on our
website at the following
link :
http://
www.doncasterlaw.org/#/
latestnews/4527371440
Please get your submis-
sions to the Honorary Sec-
retary no later than 18th
March 2008 .
Yorkshire
Union
Dinner
The Annual General Meet-
ing of the Yorkshire Union
will take place on 25th
April at 11am at Healds
Hotel Dewsbury . The Na-
tional President will be in
attendance and anyone
wishing to attend should
contact the Secretary
facilities including on
line booking of training
facilities , a members
forum and the ability of
new members to join on
line .
Please visit it at
www.doncasterlaw.org
Page 2
Schools Mock Trial Competition
The support of
members of Don-
caster & District
Law Society is
needed as Don-
caster hosts the
next round of the
Schools Mock
Trial Competition
at Doncaster
Magistrates Court
on 8th March 2008 . The event runs
from 9.00am—1pm and for a few
hours of your time on a Saturday
morning you will be playing a real
Young Solicitors Section Launched
The National Law Society has now
launched a Young Lawyers Section to
the National Law Society replacing
the former Trainee Solicitors Group
( TSG ) .
The new section can be found at
www.juniorlawyers/
lawsociety.org.uk
SRA Ends Grace Period For Letterheads
The Solicitors Regulation Authority
has now ended the grace period for
Solicitors Practices to use their old
stocks of papers and to move to new
letterheads .
The Brief
part in developing gion . If you are prepared to get in-
young people in your volved please notify the President or
local community . Secretary as soon as possible .
Your Particular help is
needed on 11th May
when Doncaster has
the honour of hosting
the regional finals .
Doncaster Law Society
is hosting both events
and your support is needed for the
event to act as Adjudicators or to
Contact Details are on page 4 of this
undertake a variety of other tasks or
newsletter .
simply support what will be a good
day for the young people of our re-
The Section is open to any Trainee or its own Young Lawyers Section and
newly qualified solicitor up to 5 our Current Officer is Paul Russell
years call . who is actively looking to build a
strong young lawyers section in Don-
Doncaster Law Society has launched caster and would like to hear from
you .
“Young Lawyers Section is
You can contact him at
open to Trainee’s and ysg@doncasterlaw.org or through his
Solicitors up to 5 years firm Hayes Son & Richmond .
PQE”
From now on all firm letter- for an example see this Logo :
heads and websites must refer
to the fact that they are regu-
lated by The Solicitors Regula-
tion Authority , not the Law
Society any longer .
Firms should also be wary that
this may be deemed to include the
Panel Accreditation Logo’s which
now should saw the Solicitors Regula-
tion Authority not the Law Society
Issue 2 Page 3

Annual Ball - Doncaster Racecourse 6th February 2008

Doncaster Law Soci- The event was supported by Please put this date in your diary
ety held it’s annual Local Circuit Judge now and lets make next years
ball at Doncaster HHJ Graham Robinson “Next event an even greater suc-
Racecourse on 6th and all reported an Year’s cess .
February and the entertaining and drink Annual
event organized by fueled night for all Dinner
Social Secretary An- concerned . Dance is
drea Pashley has on 6th
been hailed as a To build upon the suc-
cess of this years event March
great success .
plans are already being 2009 “
This was a change in made for next years
venue for the Soci- event and a provisional date
ety but a welcome has been set for 6th March
one according to the reports that 2009.
have come back .

Parliamentary Visit
The Society’s Parliamentary Liaison The visit is always over subscribed Bar .
Officer Ian Barnes is and we can only
currently arranging the take about 6 dele- If you are interested in attending
Law Society’s annual gates for tea and then please contact Ian Barnes at
visit to Parliament for cakes with our local pro@doncasterlaw.org or via his firm
the purposes of meeting MP’s . at Beresfords .
our local MP’s and dis-
cussing the issues facing We have in the past
been able to see “A chance to
Doncaster Solicitors and
the House of Com- meet our Local
our communities .
mons in action and even find the MP’s and put
matters of
concern to them
“

Legal Aid Reforms - Next Steps

Further action was being planned by
the Law Society this
week in the campaign
over the reforms of Le-
gal Aid .
On the criminal front
the first indications of
Law Society Research
into the proposals indi-
cates that the LSC will face real re-
luctance once proposed bidding
rounds commence . It is likely this is a
further initial step
As for Civil Legal Aid in sustained litiga-
the Law Society is this tion to challenge
week issuing further every aspect of
judicial reviews fol- the ill thought out
lowing the success of reforms .
the earlier action in
order to force the LSC
to respond on how it
intends to comply with the earlier
judgment over the unified contract .
 Doncaster & District
Law Society
Doncaster & District Law Soc
iety represents
the interests of members of
C/O THE SECRETARY our Society .
4 PRIORY PLACE We accept Trainees and Qualif
ied Solicitors
DONCASTER and you can register for memb
DN1 1BP ership by fol-
lowing the link below or by
Phone: 01302 365374
contacting the
Secretary for a membership
Fax: 01302 327521 form as oppo-
E-mail:SECRETARY@DONCASTERLAW.ORG site .

This Newsletter is issued bi-

monthly and the
next issue is due in May . Co
uld you contrib-
ute to the next issue or would
you like to
Stop Press … Yorkshire publish information or a not
ice . If So con-
26th
Union Biennial Dinner tact the Secretary who can
Me rch ant s Hall arrange publica-
June 2008 at tion in this newsletter or on
York ….More De tails on the our website or
in ou r nex t iss ue. both .
Website and

www.Doncasterlaw.org

New Law Society Library Service

The National Law Society has now
launched a free Library service for
practitioners and it can be found at
this address :

http://uk1.lexisnexis.com/
LawSocietyLibrary/HomePage.aspx

It offers practitioners the opportu-

nity by registering to access a num-
ber of free services and also some
lexis nexis free content .

You have nothing to lose but every-

thing to gain by visiting the site and
registering for the new service .