issue98 - Leeds Law Society

Transcription

February 2011 | Issue 98
NEW DIRECTIONS
The Legal Ombudsman and
what it means for you
The Official Journal of Leeds Law Society
Who will pay
the claim?
…are you thinking
what we’re thinking?
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CONtenTS
Leeds Law Society
1 Albion Place
Leeds
LS1 6JL
DX 12079 Leeds
Tel: 0113 245 4997
EDITORIAL:
Commissioning Editor
Ian McCombie
Editorial Manager
Steven Bancroft
[email protected]
Views
Features
05 President's column
18 Legal Ombudsman
Editorial Assistant
Sophie Dilley
PRODUCTION:
Head of Design
Lucy Taylor
Junior Designer
Jessica Horton
PROJECT MANAGER:
Kate McKittrick
01423 851150
[email protected]
ADVERTISING:
Paul Bunce
01423 851150
Contributions are welcome.
The editors reserve the right to
include or amend at their discretion.
© 2011 Leeds Law
Society & Barker
Brooks Media Ltd. All
rights in and relating
to this publication are
expressly reserved.
PEFC/16-33-533
No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means without written
permission from the publishers. The
views expressed in the Leeds & Yorkshire
Lawyer are not necessarily those of the
Leeds Law Society or the publisher.
While the publishers have taken every
care in compiling this publication to
ensure accuracy at the time of going
to press, they do not accept liability or
responsibility for errors or omissions
therein however caused.
06 Society
Annual Dinner, training courses and benefits
for members
09 Achievements
The region’s best individual and team
debaters are crowned
College producing the next generation
celebrates its first anniversary
HHJ Simon Grenfell goes under the
microscope in the first of our series of
interviews with members of the judiciary
25 Common sense outbreak
An independent mediator and dispute
resolution advisor surveys the current scene
27 Opportunity knocks
10 Social
The Chief Ombudsman speaks exclusively
to LYL and explains the changes you can
expect
21 Judiciary interview
News
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Is the Assigned Risks Pool a sink fund to
provide PI cover to undeserving practices or
a vital bastion?
Why we should be embracing the proposed
changes to the world of family law
Lifestyle
11 Charity
28 Comment
13 Appointments
29 Take our cover shot
It has been a hairy time for the men of one
regional firm
Find out who’s going where at the start of a
new year
15 Business development
Mergers, acquisitions and a shock
administration
Barker Brooks Media offers a full
range of creative, marketing and
communications services.
To discuss how we could help your
business, please call Ben Rushton
on 07792 411762 or email
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creative • events management •
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Guitar lessons are a painful experience and
what lies in wait for the industry in 2011
Take part in our new monthly competition
and have your picture on our cover next
month
30 The last word
Mark Burns, Managing Partner at Clarion in
Leeds, answers some probing questions
Yorkshire Cancer Research is the
largest independent regional medical
research charity in the UK, funding
vital research projects at universities
across Yorkshire. The charity was
delighted to be involved in the 2010
Yorkshire Lawyer Awards.
Charity number: 516898
Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer | Issue 98
03
President’s Column
I share the SRA's view.
The question is do you?
By James Haddleton, President, Leeds Law Society
T he
Assigned
Risks
Pool (ARP)
generates strong
views within
the profession.
A sink fund to
provide PI cover
to undeserving
practices or a vital
bastion to help firms improve and move
back into the open market?
As always it is never that simple and
the profession needs to ensure that the
consumer has recourse in every situation.
This is to protect the reputation of the
profession as a whole, even if it means
that some firms who are undeserving are
protected by the contributions of better
regulated practices.
Yet somehow I don't believe this
mantra. If a firm cannot find insurance in
the open market is it any business of the
rest of us to nurse it through illness back
to good health? If an insurer considers
a practice to be an unacceptable risk
should it be obliged (through support
of the ARP) to cover it? In what other
line of business would we would look to
support businesses which are considered
too risky to sustain? And is it healthy for
the profession in the long run that this
support continues?
Originally ARP existed to ensure that
firms could always access insurance. This
meant insurers would not be the arbiters
of which firms could or could not offer
legal services. The ARP was meant as
a holding bay for sick firms to be nursed
back to health over a maximum period of
two years (now one year, and proposed
to be reduced to six months). Thereafter
they would be set free to obtain insurance
in the open market again.
The SRA consultation tells us (abridged
quotes): "Over the entire existence of the
ARP from 2000/01–2008/09, only 61
firms have successfully returned to the
open market after they have been in the
ARP. The proportion of firms in the ARP
that have successfully returned to the
open market has fluctuated in the range
3–10 per cent each year.
"More than half of firms that
successfully return to the open market
for 12 months subsequently cease
practising or face an intervention.
The best estimate figure for 2008/09
will be 13 firms [of 26] successfully
'rehabilitated' at a cost to the profession
equivalent to £280,000 per firm."
Another function of the ARP is to
provide run-off cover. However, the
SRA has identified that, since 2000/01,
only £0.3 million of premiums were paid
compared with premiums of £5.2 million
that were not paid.
The SRA proposes that: "Firms and
individuals will be pursued for premiums
and allowing a firm to close without
paying a run-off insurance premium
represents a clear disciplinary issue for
principals of a firm. The ARP/SRA will
seek redress from firms, and individuals
where appropriate, where premiums have
not been paid including for the claims that
are paid out and any associated costs of
managing these claims."
If this has been a problem since
2000/2001, the SRA should be well
down the route of channelling its
resources into pursuing these firms
and individuals with vigour.
This would make it clear to others
who may think that the ARP is a soft
touch that it is not, and provide value
to those other solicitors who have had
to contribute.
The SRA believes that the current ARP
arrangements adversely affect clients and
the profession as a whole and is therefore
seeking views on whether we should
consider removing the function of the
ARP as a provider of Qualifying Insurance.
I share the SRA's view. You may
not. Either way, please join the debate
and respond to the consultation by 28
February 2011.
Winter blues
I write this column while sitting with my
11-year-old son at A&E. He thinks PII is
pronounced something equivalent to his
Wii, which has helped lighten the burden
of waiting for a doctor among those who
have fallen on the ice and snow. As the
person whose call it is whether to shut
the Leeds office of DWF in the snow, I
wonder how many of you have recently
been faced with this problem and who
shoulders the burden for the disruption?
It is all very well to say that it is
nobody's fault but a business needs
to generate income to pay its staff. So
should staff have to make up the lost
time? This is very difficult.
For advisors it is not really an issue.
They have links into IT systems from
home computers and, provided longerterm targets are hit, the impact is not
dramatic. However, this can be more
problematic with support staff whose
effectiveness is based on their ability to
perform day to day.
Last snowy February one of the team
walked five miles over snow-covered
fields to get in and I cannot help but
admire some people's tenacity and
commitment to deliver.
If this can be achieved by one
individual, am I too tough in saying
that, unless personal wellbeing is
compromised, people should try and get
in or make up the time later? 
05
NEWS: SOCIETY
MP meetings a success
Leeds Annual Legal Dinner
Society members
and representatives
of Leeds Legal have
been meeting with
several local MPs in
a bid to highlight the
work performed by
the legal profession
for the benefit of their
particular constituents.
In late November, Society President James Haddleton and
others met with Ed Balls (pictured above), Labour MP for Morley
and Outwood, where one of the items on the agenda was the
issue of the European Arrest Warrant.
“Mr Balls was particularly interested in our experiences
and views on this subject and in turn views on increased
police powers to deal summarily with alcohol related violence
under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill,”
explained Haddleton.
In January Hilary Benn
(Labour, Leeds Central)
met with members
while a futher meeting
is planned with Fabian
Hamilton (Labour, Leeds
NE) in the near future.
The meetings were
designed to raise the profile of the Leeds and Yorkshire legal
profession and highlight issues such as regulation and legal
aid,” added Haddleton, who is pictured alongside Benn with
committee members Ranjit Kaur and Deborah Green, plus
Membership Benefits Officer Jane MacGregor. “The purpose
was to highlight the work that Leeds solicitors do for the
benefit of their constituents, whether individuals, businesses
or other organisations.”
Kindly sponsored by Trimega Labs, the President and committee
invite you to join them at the principal gathering of Leeds Law
Society to celebrate Leeds’ success as a legal centre.
Where: The Rose Bowl, Leeds Metropolitan University.
When: Thursday 17 March.
Format: Black tie with a pre-dinner drinks reception from 7pm.
Ticket information: Numbers are strictly limited. Tickets are
priced at £45 per person + VAT (tables seat 10) and include a
welcome drink, three-course dinner and wine.
Entertainment: Following a drinks reception, Leeds-based
Phoenix Dance Theatre – one of Britain’s leading contemporary
dance companies – will make a special appearance with an
inspirational and entertaining performance. This will be followed
by live music from Irish band Gypsy Rogues.
This year’s after-dinner speaker is
renowned solicitor, author and raconteur
Steve Smith MBE. Born in Sheffield, Smith
entered the legal profession in 1965 and
earned national prominence for his work on
the ‘Biker case’ of John Megson, who was
wrongly convicted of murder.
He has authored seven books including the highly successful
series of legal stories that prompted the Yorkshire Post to regard
him as the ‘legal James Herriott’ and The Times to describe him
as the ‘Rumpole of Rotherham’.
Contact: The dinner is also supported by DWF, Mills & Reeve
and Leeds Metropolitan University. For further details go to
www.leedslawsociety.org.uk or call 0113 245 4997.
Application for Leeds Law Society membership/renewal
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
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I am renewing my membership of the Leeds Law Society
My signature below confirms I am a member of The Law Society
My principal place of business is within the area of Leeds City Council
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of Leeds City Council and I apply for country membership
I enclose my cheque for: £ 6
Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer | issue 98
Fee payable:
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NEWS: SOCIETY
Committee corner
Malcolm Jones, Honorary Secretary
What is your ‘day’ job?
I work as a ‘virtual lawyer’ from home,
mainly for a firm in Birmingham called
Lawyers for Business and also for one
in Knaresborough called Newtons.
I occasionally act as a consultant for
other firms who don’t have my skillset
internally or who have more work than
they can handle.
What does your position entail?
All of the members are directors of the Society, which is a
company limited by guarantee, and I am Secretary of the
committee. This involves compiling minutes of meetings and
special projects like currently leading a small group that is
redrafting the Society’s constitution.
Is being on the committee a rewarding experience?
The committee is a team and being part of any team that is
working towards the same objective is always a rewarding
experience.
Would you recommend others become involved?
If they believe that solicitors have things in common and are
not just competitors or stepping stones on their way to the
top, then yes of course. All professionals have obligations to
themselves, to their clients, to their firm, to their profession
and to society itself and these have to be kept in a proper
balance if the present structure is to be sustained.
Why is the committee important to its members?
The committee makes happen what the members want
to happen. The problem for Leeds Law Society and other
Societies is whether the profession is now so diversified
in types of firm, and so specialised in types of work, that
solicitors have too little in common with one another to help
each other or do things together.
Nevertheless the rise of the mega-firms in Leeds show
there are some things we do differently here and some
services, such as training courses, are always going to be
best delivered locally.
Has your committee role opened any other doors?
Being on the committee gives advance notice of what is going
to happen and intelligence is always useful. No one has offered
me any work as a result but then I’ve never had a profile in
Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer before!
Key training dates
Training seminars are back for 2011 with a variety of dates to
suit all requirements.
Below are just a few of the CPD seminars available in
Spring 2011 with a full programme available online at
www.leedslawsociety.org.uk
Civil litigation update Thursday 24 February
Matthew Slater, 3 Stone Buildings, Lincolns Inn
Charity Consultants
~
Bespoke Consultancy,
Specialist Seminars and Advice Service
for Professionals working with Charities
~
Seminars
Pensions and divorce Thursday 3 March
Mark Chandler and Paul McAtominey, Ellis Bates Group
Writing and drafting skills Tuesday 8 March
John Trimbos, Trimbos Training
Newly built dwellings: design & defects litigation & the role of the NHBC Thursday 10 March
Andrew Noble, Enterprise Chambers
Charity Accounting Update
Wed 2 March 2011, York. £140
Avoiding common mistakes with probate applications
and lost wills Tuesday 22 March
Sally Holding, Leeds District Probate Registry
Social media for solicitors Thursday 31 March
Lisa Lister, Progress Marketing and Professional
Marketing Forum
Charitable Incorporated Organisations
Wed 8 June 2011,York. £140
~
Advice Service
Ask the experts anything about charity law
and accounting.
For more information or to make an early booking to avoid
disappointment contact Membership Benefits Officer Jane
MacGregor on 0113 245 4997 or email jane.macgregor@
leedslawsociety.org.uk.
Kubernesis 1
Only £295 for 12 months subscription.
Please call 01904 788885 or go to
www.kubernesis.co.uk for more details.
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Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer | Issue 9812/01/2011
07
14:54
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NEWS: ACHIEVEMENTS
Roney talk of the town
Adam Roney of Eversheds was named best debater and
Adrian Mansbridge and Claire Farrell of DWF took the team
honours at the Michelsberg Debating Competition.
Twenty-eight trainees from 14 of the biggest firms in
Yorkshire took part, with Roney and Pete Mills (Eversheds),
Maria Akbani and Victoria McClintock (Pinsent Masons),
Adrian Mansbridge and Claire Farrell (DWF) and Emma
Deighan and Max Swindley (Cobbetts) winning their
respective qualifying rounds and securing a place in the
final, held at the Malmaison Hotel in Leeds.
‘This house believes there must always be the poor’
was the motion for the evening, presided over by
judges Andrew Stubbs QC from St Pauls Chambers,
Khadim Al Hassan from No 6 Chambers, Paul Aber from
The College of Law, York, and James Michelsberg of
Michelsberg Tailoring.
“People spoke with confidence, humour, passion,
intelligence and conviction; vehemently challenging each
other’s arguments throughout the proceedings,” said
Michelsberg. “I have nothing but respect for people who
are willing to stand up in front of an audience with minimal
preparation and come under fire from some of the sharpest
legal minds in the business.”
Michelsberg is now hoping to turn the annual competition
into a national affair.
Awards for former students
Two former students at The
College of Law in York have
scooped major national law
student prizes.
Sarah Reader from Wetherby
and Laura Clark from York, both
aged 24, received the awards
for their top-class performances
in the Legal Practice Course
(LPC) exams, which they sat in July 2010.
Clark won the British Academy of Forensic Sciences Legal
Prize, awarded to the student obtaining the highest mark in the
Litigation part of the LPC across The College of Law’s eight
centres nationwide.
Reader won the DLA Award, which is presented by DLA Piper
to the student who obtains the highest combined mark in the
Business and Commercial Law parts of the LPC at the College’s
York centre.
Local Young Achiever
Matthew Tomlinson of Russell
Jones and Walker (RJW) beat off
competition from across the UK to
be named Young Achiever of the
Year at the recent Eclipse Proclaim
Personal Injury Awards.
A panel of 16 judges, including
key academics, senior professionals
and judges, determined that the
Yorkshire-born solicitor was the best candidate based on
his dedication to clients, efforts to develop his practice and
continued contribution to the community.
“It was a great honour to be recognised by my peers in
this way,” said Tomlinson. “I am very lucky to work with
some outstanding lawyers with superb support staff and
the award is recognition for how hard we work as a team.”
Simon Allen, head of the personal injury department,
added: “Matt is a testament to the success of our
programme of developing graduates from the two
universities in Sheffield and training them to become
experienced PI lawyers, who can better represent the
injured people of this city.”
Leeds the centre of the
national sporting world
Leeds was chosen to host a
recent conference aimed at
tackling corruption in sport.
Experts including former
Liverpool FC and Premier
League Chief Executive Rick
Parry, Ian Smith, legal director
of the Professional Cricketers’
Association, former policeman
and security expert Alan Smart
and sports journalist Anthony
Clavane all spoke at the event at Elland Road.
The packed session was spearheaded by FrontRow Legal,
which advises some of the UK’s biggest names in sport and
entertainment.
Chaired by Clive Lawrence, a nationally recognised sports
specialist, it examined the proliferation and accessibility of
betting and how players cheat to lose.
During the conference Richard Cramer, a leading UK sports
lawyer and head of FrontRow Legal, called on the coalition
government to adopt the key recommendations of a report on
gambling integrity which was commissioned by former Sports
Minister Gerry Sutcliffe and produced by Parry and a panel of
sports betting integrity experts.
He commented: “The report’s recommendations included
setting up a new code of conduct on sports betting integrity
for all government bodies to adhere to, establishing a cross
sports betting integrity unit and implementing a comprehensive
education programme.”
09
NEWS: SOCIAL
Academy celebrates first
anniversary
Addleshaw Goddard LLP hosted the Notre Dame Sixth
Form College Career Academy in Law Celebration Event at
their Leeds office to celebrate the first anniversary of the
college’s Career Academy in Law.
This is the first career academy in the country aimed
specifically at the legal sector and is an innovative new
scheme aiming to encourage talented and highly motivated
A-level students into the legal profession.
Claire Young, the Yorkshire businesswoman who is well
known for reaching the final of BBC1’s The Apprentice two
years ago, was the guest speaker for the event.
Year 12 and 13 students from the college also spoke at
the event, with insightful student perspectives provided
by Oliver Allanach, Sinead Kearns, Omolara Oguntade and
Augustine Awonaiya.
For more information on the college visit the website
www.notredamecoll.ac.uk.
Guest of honour at dinner
New faces for Leeds JLD
Newly qualified solicitor Grace Cowling of Gordons LLP is
the new Chair of Leeds’ Junior Lawyers Division (JLD).
Matthew Tighe of Stewarts Law has been appointed
Vice-Chair, while other committee members include Heidi
Sandy of Gordons LLP, Chris Lewis of Addleshaw Goddard
LLP, Maxine Burton of Clarion Solicitors, Lucy Pollard of Last
Cawthra Feather, Sarah Kerr of Beachcrofts LLP, Matthew
Davies of Cobbetts LLP, Chris Burns of Robin Simon LLP,
Paul Colman of Stewarts Law, and James Hemming, Clare
Appleyard and Kate Eccles, all of Irwin Mitchell LLP.
The first networking event hosted by the new committee
and sponsored by The Law Society took place at the
Wardrobe, Leeds, and was a huge success with over 100
junior lawyers from the region attending.
There was also a great turnout for the Charity Casino
Night held at Gala Casino in October. The event, which was
sponsored by Douglas Scott Legal Recruitment Limited,
raised over £650 for St Gemma’s Hospice.
Meanwhile, over 200 junior lawyers attended a Winter
Wonderland Ball at the Metropole Hotel in Leeds sponsored
by ReLegal.
For more information on other upcoming events visit the
newly launched website www.leedsjld.com.
What do women want?
The first female President in the 224-year history of
Yorkshire Law Society, Jenni Bartram, welcomed another
eminent first lady to the Society’s annual dinner held at the
Merchant Adventurers’ Hall in York.
The main speaker at the event was Baroness Hale of
Richmond, the first woman to be appointed to the highest
court in the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court, and the
most senior female judge in the country’s history.
Baroness Hale was born in Yorkshire and maintains
strong links with the county.
The dinner was attended by the Lord Mayor and Sheriff of
York, members of the local judiciary and legal professionals
from York and North Yorkshire and their guests.
10
O’Rourke Reid and ABDN
Women welcomed ladies
from across the region to
join in a discussion forum
with one question: What
do women want?
The evening was
designed specifically to hear the ideas of successful women
who want to see improvements to the existing networking
events and established forums.
In addition to the main discussion, ladies from a range of
backgrounds joined in activities such as beauty, fashion and
henna designing.
The group concluded that inspirational female role models
are needed to give a boost to our region.
“The event was a huge success and gave women a chance
to have their voices heard in a fun and positive environment,”
explained chair Gurpreet Birdi of O’Rourke Reid.
NEWS: CHARITY
Hairy moment for men folk
Bear dashes for charity pot
Eight Ford & Warren employees raised over £300 by taking
part in the Leeds Abbey Dash.
Kim Chilton, Vicky Guymer, Michael Downes, Ed Smith,
Ed Bennett, Dom Sharman, Nick Paszek and Leigh Stott ran
the 10k race from Leeds Town Hall and through the heart of
the city on behalf of Age UK.
The men of the Leeds office of Hammonds LLP raised over
£5,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research after spending the
month of November growing moustaches for charity.
The ‘Grow a Mo challenge’ was both an individual and team
challenge, with prizes awarded for the best and worst, and also
the person and team who collected the most sponsorship.
“The buzz around the office during November has
been great, with male members of staff who have grown
handlebars to Fu Manchus,” said head of the charity
committee, Matthew Lewis.
“We wanted to lend support to this important issue and
raise some much needed funds for our chosen charity in the
process.”
The charity partnership will culminate with a black-tie ball
which is taking place on 25 March 2011 at Leeds Town Hall.
For further information or to book a table contact Ruth Young
on 0113 284 7284 or email [email protected].
Crimes against fashion
Staff at Sheffield’s
Taylor&Emmet LLP
swapped their suits
and ties for the very
worst crimes against
fashion to support a
dress-down day with a
difference.
Employees donned
terrible jumpers and
silly hats to usher in
the festive season and
round off a year of fundraising for annual charity Weston
Park Hospital that has raised almost £2,000. The ‘bad taste
jumper day’ provided staff with an opportunity to dig out
knitwear that was resigned to the cupboard long ago.
Claire Petty, Taylor&Emmet’s marketing co-ordinator,
said: “We not only increased our fundraising total for
Weston Park, but also raised everyone’s spirits in the office,
bringing a little early festive cheer and a few laughs.”
Quiz team scales the heights
A quiz team from
a firm of York
solicitors hit the
heights to win a
competition against
other companies in
the city.
The team of four
support staff from
QualitySolicitors
Burn & Company
beat off 23 other
teams to win
the competition
organised by
accountants Hunter
Gee & Holroyd.
The tiebreak question that secured their victory was ‘How tall is
Blackpool Tower?’
Emily Park from the victorious team, who works as a PA,
said: “We had tied for first place but our guess about the
height of the tower was closer than our opponents. So we took
the champagne, the trophy and the glory.”
Park was joined by fellow personal assistants Helen Dowson
and Pauline Lees plus receptionist Gill Ogden.
QualitySolicitors Burn & Company also entered a second
team in the contest at the Monk Bar Hotel, which is an annual
event, and this year raised around £2,300 for Martin House
Hospice in Boston Spa.
…for the record, Blackpool Tower is 518ft (158m) tall.
11
“ Our food combines the simplicity
of true Italian cooking using only
the very best ingredients.”
Marcello Distefano | Managing Director
Winner of
TWELVE
Prestigious
Awards
Originale Cucina Italiana
Tel: 0113 246 1500
6 - 7 South Parade, Leeds LS1 5QX
www.sancarlo.co.uk
[email protected]
Winner of
TWELVE
Prestigious
London Manchester Birmingham Bristol Leeds
Leicester Liverpool Milan Rome Kuwait
Awards
San Carlo Leeds - yorkshire lawyer.indd 1
The more
you learn
The more
you earn
13/1/11 15:06:32
LLM top-up course starting February 2011 –
convert your professional qualifications into a
Masters degree.
For qualified lawyers and barristers, our LLM top-up enables you to
explore your professional expertise from an academic perspective
and specialise in an area of interest:
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Consumer Law
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Employment Law
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Obligations – Contract & Tort
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Your new theoretical understanding will broaden your legal
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The course is aimed at graduates with an LPC, BPTC or equivalent
qualification, and can be completed part-time over one year. It is
designed to enable you to combine full-time employment with study.
For more information or to find out how to apply, contact:
T: 0113 812 9028
E: [email protected]
110107-7662-ARTWORK.indd 1
07/01/2011 14:04
NEWS: APPOINTMENTS
Sally-Anne Neal
Sally-Anne Neal, an
associate at Hull’s
Andrew Jackson, is
the sixth lawyer in the
family team to become
a trained mediator,
strengthening the firm’s
position as the largest single provider of
family mediation services in the Hull and
Humber region.
A highly experienced lawyer who has
already built a reputation locally for her
collaborative law work, Sally-Anne will work
as part of the firm’s Family Solutions team.
Sally Inston
Kirbys LLP has
strengthened its
estate planning
and administration
department with the
appointment of solicitor
Sally Inston. The new
position is the latest
development within the department,
following the recent promotion of Karen
Thompson to Partner.
Inston, who has recently moved to
the area, specialises in wills, probate and
powers of attorney.
Martin Williamson
Arc Property Solicitors
has been strengthened
by the appointment
of ex-army officer
Martin Williamson as
Operations Director.
The role sees RMA
Sandhurst graduate
Williamson, 34, responsible for HR,
financial management and day-to-day
operations at the niche Harrogate firm.
He brings with him a wealth of
experience in financial management from
over 10 years with HM Armed Forces.
Stephen Grattage
Exchange Chambers has
continued its expansion
in Leeds by welcoming
criminal barrister
Stephen Grattage as its
latest tenant.
Grattage, who was
called to the Bar in 2000, joins Exchange
Chambers from Sovereign Chambers
in Leeds. His criminal practice handles
fraud, serious sexual offences and largescale conspiracies.
Scott Rees & Co
Hannah Rafton
Solicitor Hannah Rafton has joined Hullbased Andrew Jackson’s shipping and
transport department.
In her new role, Rafton will deal with
a broad range of shipping and transportrelated matters but will particularly
focus on assisting the work of the sea
fisheries team.
Sarah Tahamtani
Scott Rees & Co Solicitors has awarded
eight new solicitor training contracts.
The Skelmersdale firm, which
specialises in personal injury and accident
management claims, has awarded training
contracts to paralegals Paul Harrison,
Ryan Siner, Michael Wan, Hayley Walker,
Nicola Pile, Gemma Sherry, Anamika Das
and Mo Khan.
Lee Stephens
Shulmans has made a significant addition
to its employment team with the
appointment of Lee Stephens.
Stephens, 34, joins Shulmans from
Chambers-listed Andrew Jackson of Hull,
where he worked for five years and was
an associate in the firm’s employment
department.
David Milburn
Stowe Family Law has
appointed a new solicitor
to its Harrogate office
as the specialist firm
continues to expand.
David Milburn, 32, has
significant experience
of a cross-section of
family cases, including a number involving
professional sportsmen.
Specialising in divorce and ancillary law,
he is also a member of the Law Society’s
Family Law Panel and UK lawyers’
association Resolution, which sets codes
of best practice.
Louise Wylie
Foys Solicitors has appointed commercial
property solicitor Louise Wylie to help
drive the firm’s expanding commercial
property service.
She arrives with many years’ experience
in the local commercial property market
– much of it gained through the Sheffield
practice of Wake Smith and Tofield -–
and she sees her new appointment at
Foys Solicitors in Doncaster as being an
exciting opportunity.
Clarion has boosted
its employment team
with the appointment
of employment tribunal
expert Sarah Tahamtani
as Partner.
With 11 years’
experience in
employment law, Sarah joins from
Cobbetts where she trained and qualified,
rising to the position of legal director. She
has extensive experience in employment
tribunal advocacy and specialises in
strategic workforce issues.
Rachel Crookes
Rachel Crookes has joined Keeble Hawson
LLP as head of the Leeds Litigation &
Dispute Resolution team. She has been
head of a civil fraud team at a large
international law firm, handled multimillion-pound breach of contract disputes
as well as theft of confidential information
and professional negligence claims.
Meanwhile, William Khammo has joined
as an associate director (non-solicitor)
and financial services specialist in the
corporate department.
Claire Kitchen
Roundhay firm Winston Solicitors has
expanded its litigation department with the
appointment of specialist litigation solicitor
Claire Kitchen.
Since qualifying in 2001, Claire has
handled a varied and complex litigation
set of cases, including civil fraud, minority
shareholder actions, and professional
negligence claims.
Stephanie Pennington
Harrogate solicitors Raworths LLP has
appointed lawyer Stephanie Pennington to
join the probate, wills and trusts team.
Pennington joins from HSBC Trust
Company where she specialised in probate
work for high-net-worth individuals,
particularly working on estates involving
business property relief, agricultural
property relief and foreign assets.
13
NEWS: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Merger strengthens hand
Ison Harrison
Solicitors has
merged with
Leeds-based
Bowman’s
Family Law.
It also
recently
opened a new
office in Ilkley,
merging with
established
solicitor,
Susan
Cuthbertson,
to become the
largest in the
town.
Jonathan Wearing, Managing Partner of Ison Harrison,
said: “Law firms of all shapes and sizes have found the
last couple of years very challenging.
“We offer an extremely diverse spread of legal
services to clients, which has buffered us from the full
impact of the changed economic climate.”
The new Ilkley office will be run by Nigel Cowley, who
worked for Ison Harrison for many years as a residential
and commercial conveyancing lawyer. Three of the
lawyers working alongside Nigel will be Andrea Essen,
a family specialist who joins the firm from Stowe Family
Law; Christina Morley, former senior partner of Morley
Mitchell Solicitors; and Helen Shires, former head of
personal injury litigation at Nelson & Co.
Sheffield firm falls victim
A century-old Sheffield law firm, Ashton Morton Slack
LLP (AMS), became the latest regional casualty of the
economic downturn when it collapsed into administration
at the end of 2010. Administrators from BDO blamed
the firm’s demise on cashflow problems arising from
decreasing work volumes and rising overheads.
AMS has five equity partners and 67 staff, up to
half of whom faced redundancy. Thirty-two jobs were
immediately saved after other law firms, which have yet
to be identified, agreed to take on AMS’s clients.
Eleven employees will remain at AMS in the short
term to help with the administration. The remaining staff
will be made redundant. The firm’s Sheffield office and
other physical assets will be sold to maximise return for
its creditors.
AMS’s services included personal injury, serious
fraud, commercial/residential property, family matters,
employment law and asset management.
New Harrogate venture
Andrew Meehan, previously
at the Leeds office of Mills
& Reeve, has left to set
up his own niche practice
based in Harrogate called
Harrogate Family Law.
Meehan is the current
elected chair of Resolution
for West and North
Yorkshire and also sits
on its Regional Liaison
Committee. He is one of
just a handful of solicitors
in the country to have
achieved accredited
specialist status in the
maximum three areas, including the area of complex, highnet-worth divorce cases.
“I am really excited about the future for Harrogate Family
Law,” said Meehan. “There is increasing demand in Yorkshire
and beyond from people undergoing divorce and separation
who want a high-quality, bespoke service, but who are
concerned about costs in the current economic climate.”
Banking alliance for DWF
DWF LLP and The Co-operative Bank have joined forces to
help couples meet the cost of divorce proceedings.
The bank has agreed a litigation funding line for DWF,
allowing the firm to introduce clients to the bank with a view
to agreeing loan facilities to be used to meet the legal costs
of divorce proceedings and the legal costs of achieving a
financial settlement.
It is an unsecured facility with extremely favourable interest
rates with the loan cleared in full once the case has been
settled and assets realised. There is also, in appropriate
cases, the opportunity to roll up the monthly repayments and
arrangement fee into the overall loan payable at the end of the
case which will help many people on limited income.
DWF are not licensed to provide loans under the Consumer
Credit Act, it is purely a referral scheme, after which the bank
assumes responsibility for agreeing any loans.
David Pickering, Head of Family Law and Private Clients at
DWF LLP said: “We have a long-standing relationship with
The Co-operative Bank and they were very forthcoming with
their willingness to lend to and support our clients in difficult
circumstances.”
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NEWS: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Ramsdens merger good
for all
Gordons launches new unit
Gordons has launched
a tax unit following the
appointment of solicitor
Mark Roe as head of tax.
Roe, who joins from the
Leeds office of Addleshaw
Goddard, advises on a broad
range of taxes as they affect
corporate and real estate
matters, including stamp
duty land tax, stamp taxes,
VAT, capital gains tax and
corporation tax.
Huddersfield’s Ramsdens Solicitors has merged with
He has been tasked with developing a dedicated tax unit
Dewsbury-based Whitfield Hallam Goodall with the aim of
which will operate within Gordons’ 13-strong corporate
creating a dynamic law firm with expanded regional reach.
department, led by senior partner John Holden.
This combination is the next step in their vision to create
Commenting on Mark’s appointment, he said: “Despite the
a client-centred regional firm that is focused on quality.
economic
climate, our
corporate
has built up a
“In light of the current
market
conditions,
I
am
Anthony Glaister 1-4:Page template.qxd 07/07/2010
16:54
Pagedepartment
1
significant amount of momentum through the scale, number and
delighted that we have been able to buck the trend and
variety of deals we have completed over the past 12 months.
expand our team by joining forces with the well-regarded
“Appointing a lawyer of Mark’s calibre will provide our
Whitfield Hallam Goodall,” said Paul Joyce, Managing
corporate clients with access to excellent, practical advice
Partner at Ramsdens.
on tax issues whilst simultaneously creating further growth
“Both firms have long enjoyed excellent reputations
opportunities for the firm.”
and now together we have the assets and professional
resources to carry that forward.”
Hammonds complete
combination
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has completed its
combination with Hammonds LLP.
Following combination talks which began in August
2010 and were approved in November, the result is the
formation of a global legal practice of approximately 1,275
lawyers working in 37 offices throughout the world.
In the north of England, the newly-named practice
known as Squire Sanders Hammonds has offices in Leeds
and Manchester.
“We believe this combination is a catalyst for lasting
positive change for us and for the clients we serve,” said
Hammonds Managing Partner Peter Crossley, who is now
the Managing Partner for Europe.
“We are off to a very strong start, in terms of both
providing clients with expanded service in more key
business markets and working as a united practice.”
Mediation and Concilation provide
most satisfying outcomes
Anthony Glaister MCI Arb
Commercial Mediator,
Arbitrator& Adjudicator
www.anthonyglaister.co.uk
17
LEGAL OMBUDSMAN
New directions
What does the new Legal Ombudsman mean for you?
Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive, Adam Sampson,
explains exclusively to Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer
I n October
2010 the
new Legal
Ombudsman
officially opened
for business in
an attempt to
“simplify the
system” and
“make sure
consumers had
access to an
independent
expert to resolve complaints”.
Many practitioners have asked how this
new body will work and what it means
to them, so Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer
took your questions to the man at the
top of the organisation, Adam Sampson
(pictured above).
Why is there a need for this new
body – and why now in particular?
It is all part of the change that followed
the Clementi Report on legal regulation.
Clementi (Sir David Clementi)
investigated the then current state of
regulation of legal services and the
record of complaints-handling by the legal
profession and concluded that there was
a very real need to change.
First, he decided that the existing
regulations were long, slow and very
complicated and that consumers found
them difficult to understand.
Secondly, he decided that the record
of complaints-handling by the legal
profession, particularly by solicitors,
was very poor and had brought
the existing system into disrepute,
although it is important to state that the
Legal Complaints Service (LCS) had in
recent years improved its practice by
some margin.
Nevertheless the historical failure of
legal professionals to provide a decent
service to complainants had done
18
irreparable damage to the reputation of
the system.
Thirdly, he said that there was a
fundamental issue of trust on behalf
of the public if you left the handling of
complaints about lawyers with lawyers.
How will the Legal Ombudsman
differ from the LCS?
First, we are obviously entirely
independent from the legal profession.
We are also an Ombudsman scheme
rather than a legal complaints-handling
scheme and that means we have a
different approach.
The LCS approach was generally a fairly
legalistic one – aiming in the end to make
a quasi-legal judgement of right or wrong
according to the solicitors' rulebook.
Our priority is to resolve disputes rather
than adjudicate. We have a new business
process which is structured to encourage
informal resolution whenever possible.
When you do end up with a decision,
that decision is not a judgement as to
whether the proper rules were followed.
It is a judgement about whether the
service provided to the consumer was so
lacking that it was necessary to ask the
lawyer to put the consumer back in the
position he or she would have been in
had the service been up to standard.
How is the organisation to be
funded?
Solicitors, barristers and other types of
lawyers pay a proportion of the practising
certificate to the Ombudsman and
then the cost is re-assessed every year
depending on the level of demand.
The other element comes from a fee
charged for individual cases. If you
have more than two cases under
investigation by the Legal Ombudsman
in any 12-month period then you will be
charged £400 for every new complaint
we take on about you.
At a time of major spending
cutbacks, why did this particular
new body survive?
The Legal Ombudsman springs out of
a piece of statutory legislation (the 2007
Legal Services Act). More importantly,
one of the key ways of responding to
difficult economic circumstances is
to simplify and save money. We have
replaced eight different complaintshandling bodies, which cost the
taxpayer and the profession something
like £30–35 million a year. The total
cost of running this new service is
£20 million a year.
Will practitioners notice any real
change in the way complaints are
dealt with?
Most will notice very little. There will
be one or two things they will spot,
with the most obvious being cost. Over
time, in theory at least, the cost to the
average solicitor should diminish.
Secondly, all lawyers will be under
a duty to inform their clients of our
existence, both at the time they initially
take instructions and at the end of any
complaints process where the person
has complained to them.
If a solicitor does have a complaint
that we deal with, that’s when
the distinction will become more
readily apparent. We aim to be much
quicker, resolving most complaints
within three months from receiving
initial contact. We also intend to
be less formal, working principally
through the telephone and electronic
communication.
Can you allay fears that the
Ombudsman will be too much
weighted towards the consumer?
Absolutely. We, like any other
Ombudsman scheme, have to be
entirely neutral between professional and
LEGAL OMBUDSMAN
consumer. Our job is not to take sides,
it is to be independent to both.
I think there is an argument that
because some of the previous
complaints-handling bodies were nervous
of being seen as the creatures of the legal
profession, they arguably in some cases
leaned more towards the consumer side
than they should have done.
In November the Ombudsman
indicated that there had been
approximately 6,000 ‘contacts’.
How many of these have turned
into cases being investigated?
What we’ve had since opening is a
large number of people contacting us
via telephone and the Internet. The
figure includes return callers and wrong
numbers. It is not uncommon that
Ombudsman schemes receive a large
proportion of contacts in the early days
that do not turn into complaints.
Of the complaints we have received,
the majority are not yet eligible for us
to investigate as in many cases the
complainant has not raised the complaint
with a lawyer first. Also because this is a
new scheme, we have had a larger than
usual number of people complaining to us
about things which are either very old or
matters that were dealt with by previous
complaints-handling bodies where they
didn’t like the answer they received.
In terms of approximate numbers,
what backlog did you inherit from
the LCS and other complaints
bodies?
We inherited no backlog from the existing
bodies. The arrangements are that we
started with no pre-existing complaints.
We left the responsibility to finish off
the work they started with the existing
bodies.
The reason for that is that we represent
a change in legislation and it would be
wrong to have complaints started under
one legislative environment and dealt
with by another one. For example, I can
order up to £30,000 remedy where the
LCS could only order £15,000.
What contribution do you foresee
the Ombudsman will make to the
‘Outcomes-focused regulation’
that the SRA is proposing to
introduce in 2011?
Our work is entirely aligned to that
general thrust. What we are interested
in as an Ombudsman scheme is not
whether the rules were followed in
every particular way but whether the
service provided was good quality.
I don’t mind if the rules were not
followed so long as what the consumer
experienced was a first-rate service.
Equally a solicitor can have followed all
the rules laid down in the manual and
still provided shoddy service.
In your blog you addressed
the issue of complaints about
the actual legal advice that a
complainant has been provided
with. You then asked: “How
can we, as a lay organisation,
properly assess the quality of
advice offered by a trained and
experienced lawyer?” What
progress has the Ombudsman
made towards answering that
question and what processes
do you envisage will be used to
decide when advice given by a
lawyer is wrong?
In my blog I stated: “We are set up to
look at the service consumers receive
from their lawyer and since legal advice
is a key – the key – part of the service,
examining the quality of that advice is a
necessary part of our job. If the advice
was wrong, even if it was delivered with
all possible clarity, speed and courtesy,
the service received was inadequate”.
It is difficult to go further than what
I said. Plainly as a lay organisation we
are not going to second-guess the legal
opinions of lawyers. But if we find a
case where no reasonable lawyer, in the
circumstances of the case, should have
offered the advice or taken the actions
that the particular lawyer did then we are
certainly going to decide that the quality
of service provided was poor.
How are you planning to publish
data concerning complaints and
outcomes?
We are in the middle of consultation
about what we should publish and how
we are going to do this. It is fair to say
that there is a general agreement that
we are likely to publish general statistical
information on trends. We are also likely
to publish a number of case studies.
What is more controversial is whether
or when we might publish the name of
the lawyer or firm that is the subject of
complaint. Broadly speaking, lawyers
tend to argue that we shouldn’t publish
names, whereas consumers argue that
we should.
We will be issuing a new consultation
paper with some proposals early this
year. There will then be a three-month
window before we implement whatever
system has been decided on.
What happens if a complaint is
made about the Ombudsman
itself?
It is dealt with internally here first and
then it will go to an external complaintshandler. But the key thing here is that it
must be about the way the Ombudsman
has dealt with the case and not about
the final decision.
Once the Ombudsman has made the
decision there is no appeal. The only
way that an Ombudsman’s decision can
be challenged is by judicial review in the
High Court. 
19
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judiciary interview
A new chapter
In the first of our series of exclusive interviews with
members of the judiciary, Steven Bancroft talks to
His Honour Judge Simon Grenfell
Then there’s another daughter over in
France so perhaps the next challenge is
to learn a foreign language!”
Boating, gardening, reading, singing,
walking the family labrador and his role
as Chancellor of the Diocese of Ripon
and Leeds all promise to keep the former
barrister busy for many a year.
Back to the beginning
F or some, retirement is a chance
to move out of the fast lane, pull
over and take a well-deserved
rest. For others, however, like retiring
Designated Civil Judge Simon Grenfell,
the destination might have changed but
the journey very much continues.
Grenfell may have been called to the Bar
in 1965, appointed an Assistant Recorder
in 1978, Recorder in 1985, Circuit Judge in
1992 and Senior Circuit Judge in 2002, but
there is no sign that even now, aged 68,
he is ready to slow down.
“My career has been very gratifying
and hugely rewarding but I’m not ready
to walk away from it all just yet,” he
declares. “I’m going to sit as a deputy in
the County Court as I don’t want to cut
off totally. I’m keen to enjoy a bit of work
as and when they need me, but at 68
that’s old enough I think.”
Grenfell handed over the Designated
Civil Judge reins to Mark Gosnell in
October; however, with four children
spread throughout Britain and Europe
and a burgeoning family all vying for
his attention, his retirement will not be
short of stimulation.
“We’ve got a new grandchild down
in London,” he enthuses. “And we are
recent converts to Skype – it’s amazing.
Grenfell’s career in law started out at an
early age; so early in fact that he freely
admits that it was rather unbeknownst
even to him.
A grandfather who had always
longed, but never managed, to become
a barrister planted the seed and the
youngster was subconsciously off and
running on his chosen career path.
In his formative years, films like Brothers
in Law with Richard Attenborough and Ian
Carmichael, and a flair for the arts rather
than sciences at school, ushered him
towards a career in law.
“For some curious reason I found
myself particularly good at Latin and I
suppose that if you are in that sort of
area then the law seems a logical thing
to do,” he reflects.
“Looking back I probably wanted to
be a lawyer and not necessarily a
barrister, but when I went to university
[Emmanuel College, Cambridge] I
became very interested in the law and
that’s where it struck me that I wanted
to be at the court end of things – in
advocacy basically.
“I was encouraged by my director of
studies to join one of the Inns of Court,
eat my dinners and so read for the Bar.
From then on it was a done deal!”
Grenfell spent 37 years (between 1955
and 1992) as a barrister with the same
Chambers in Leeds before becoming
first a Circuit Judge and latterly a Senior
Circuit Judge.
Moving from Bar to Bench was not
always at the forefront of his mind
despite many of his Chambers ending up
there. Meanwhile, his time as a barrister
taught Grenfell many important lessons.
“The first memorable piece of advice
came from my pupil master Derek
Clarkson who taught me all about the
importance of work/life balance,” he
recalls. “He was a most interesting man
who stressed the importance of not
needing to be wedded to the law.
“The other really standout piece
came from Gilbert Gray, who was wellknown to most lawyers in this area.
We were neighbours in York and I will
always remember what he said to me
after I had rather enthusiastically said
to a judge, ‘I think’ that my client was
doing this or that. He said, ‘Simon you
never say to a judge what you think.
What you think doesn’t matter, you
always submit’.”
In at the deep end
People in all walks of life are thrown
in at the deep end when it comes to
career promotions and it may come as
a surprise that members of the judiciary
are no different.
Shortly after being appointed to
the bench, Grenfell, primarily a civil
practitioner, found himself dealing with
two “challenging, yet rewarding” criminal
cases – the second of which was a
three-and-a-half-month fraud trial.
Soon afterwards he was given
a Section Nine ticket on the
recommendation of Presiding Judge Mrs
Justice Smith, now Lady Justice Smith,
to begin working on High Court cases,
before being invited to conduct Official
Referees’ work – now the Technology
and Construction Court – which involved
dealing with some “eye-opening”
construction disputes.
The most memorable spell of career
progress came, however, in a bizarre
fashion and involved his appointment to
the Designated Civil Judge role – first in
21
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judiciary interview
Bradford and then in Leeds two years
later – following the Lord Woolf-led
reforms of the late 1990s.
“I came upon the appointment rather
by chance more than anything else,”
he admits. “Expressions of interest
had been sought for this new post,
which Lord Woolf had recommended
in his report, for a local judge who
would oversee civil justice in his or her
particular area.
“The letter that came around was far
from encouraging as it gave a list of all
the things that person was going to have
to do and it basically said don’t expect
any extra pay.
“It was a strange letter and the result
was no-one on this circuit applied.
However, Mrs Justice Smith wasn’t
having any of that and I happened to
consult my email when I was on holiday
in Cornwall and came across a message
from a district judge in Bradford which
said ‘Congratulations! I see you have
been appointed Designated Civil Judge.’
“That was Mrs Justice Smith’s way
of saying enough is enough and I know
who is going to do the job. I never had to
Web: www.fwbs.net
www.mattersphere.com
01604 857857
Tel:
FWBS_LYL_97 1
apply for it, didn’t apply for it and rather
had it foisted upon me. Having said
that, I have never once looked back or
regretted it.
“Yes there was a huge amount of
extra work but it was extraordinarily
gratifying to be involved in something as
exciting as the whole reform of the civil
justice system.
“The help and support of the staff
both in Bradford and latterly Leeds also
helped make it all worthwhile.”
The other major landmark Grenfell has
witnessed first-hand was the putting
into action of Lord Justice May’s report
on taking the Administrative Court from
outside London. Grenfell took an active
role in the start-up and development of
Leeds’ Administrative Court, which he
believes had unbridled success in its
first year due in part to the quality of the
advocates he has come into contact with.
“What it has done is encouraged
people that have genuine cases for
judicial review to bring them where
they wouldn’t otherwise have done so
because of the local base,” he says.
“It has been a boon for Leeds, a real
success story, and one of the main
reasons for this has been the calibre
of lawyers employed at the regional
centres who have really provided an
excellent service to the judiciary.”
When asked what he looked for from
advocates presenting in court, Grenfell is
similarly effusive. He continues: “I look
for what I always try to do myself and
that is to really know the case inside out.
I’ve been fortunate in that the standard
of advocacy on the civil side has been
extremely high. When I hear criminal
colleagues talking at lunchtime I do hear
a lot of criticisms.
“What that’s based on I don’t know
but I just get the feeling that we are
fortunate on the civil side that people
who have decided to focus here are
those who are prepared to work hard on
their cases.
“It goes without saying that if we
have good advocates appearing in
front of us it helps us to make the right
decisions.”
And as far as judges are concerned,
it doesn’t come any more important
than that. 
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22/06/2010 17:24
FEATURE
A sudden outbreak
of common sense
Independent mediator and dispute resolution adviser
Anthony Glaister surveys the current scene
Anthony Glaister
is a mediator, adjudicator
and arbitrator (for more
information email resolve@
anthonyglaister.co.uk)
S ome time ago I was asked to
review the dispute resolution
industry and practitioners
wouldn’t be surprised if I put my rosecoloured mediator’s glasses on to incant
the virtues of mediation over litigation.
The remit today is in fact far wider than
that, looking at the way we both handle
disputes and support clients by advising
how to avoid them in the first place. I
recognise that I have neither the space
nor much inclination to discuss the thorny
issue of funding.
Some of you may have read The
End of Lawyers by Professor Richard
Susskind (OUP 2009). His theme is
very much “change or die”, that we
have to adapt to changes in society and
think more creatively, imaginatively and
entrepreneurially. He sees contentious
lawyers as distorting the process of
problem-solving, altering the focus
away from the parties and their desired
outcome to us as advisers, incurring
additional cost complexity and delay in the
process. But, I hear you say, things have
improved so much in the past ten years.
The Woolf reforms have undoubtedly
speeded-up formal dispute resolution,
reducing the numbers of cases going
to trial. Yet despite all this users of the
system still find much to be critical of
and in these difficult times cost is at
the forefront.
Take pre-action protocols: these
should ensure that far more cases are
resolved earlier at considerably less
cost. Undoubtedly many do settle earlier
avoiding litigation, but frontloading
preparation can mean that costs become
disproportionate at a relatively early stage.
As we develop better ways to
communicate via phone, Internet and
video link, and as the means of passing
submissions and documents becomes
virtually instantaneous, facilitating the
exchanges of information and points of
view should vastly increase the prospects
for earlier settlements – if not by
negotiation, by mediation or adjudication.
These days there are so many other
faster and often more holistic options
outside negotiation and litigation. When
considering what may be ‘appropriate’ take
a look at the way construction disputes are
handled and think outside the box.
Statutory adjudication can be done
and dusted in 28 days and mediation
is the regular alternative. Litigation is a
rarity, particularly given that almost 100
per cent of the decisions of adjudicators
are accepted by the parties. The
changes made in 1996 were made at
the insistence of an informed industry;
they were client-driven. Legal advisers
are as likely as not to be involved in
advising about how to avoid disputes
and not just how best to manage them.
The mystic line between contentious
and non-contentious practitioners was
effectively broken. Surely we should
be utilising direct negotiations, earlier
mediation, and other options such as
early neutral evaluation, single expert
assessment, adjudication and fixedprice arbitrations such as those run by
the Yorkshire Arbitration Scheme? All
these can provide the client with early
resolutions at less cost while, apart
from arbitration, also preserving the
ultimate right to
seek a final and binding decision in the
court. The forward-thinking, positive,
value-added solicitors’ input here
challenges the status quo. I wager that
most of you reading this article have
never used or even considered early
neutral evaluation!
All of us should look in the mirror and
ask whether a client’s access to justice
is best served by historic notions of
an Englishman’s right to a fair trial in
the court. Our monotheistic approach
to dispute resolution is, as Richard
Susskind suggests, not fit for purpose in
the 21st century – a message which will
not be lost on the current Government.
Clients are now better informed than
ever before. Solicitors are going to have
to respond to this challenge or wilt. New
service-providers based on the new
market will emerge. Is this yet another
item in the Tesco shopping trolley? 
25
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FEATURE
Opportunity knocks
It’s time to end the griping and instead embrace the
proposed changes to the world of family law, argues local
solicitor Clare Thornton
Clare Thornton
is a solicitor, mediator and
collaborative lawyer at
Wakefield firm Thornton
Jones Family Law
I t is abundantly clear to me that 2011 is
going to be a time of great change in
the world of family law.
The Government proposals for April are
going to mean adjustment for us all, but
in my view they are also going to provide
business opportunities if we can work
together to maximise on them.
I recently attended a resolution
training course covering the role of
solicitors in mediation with some of
the great and good in the Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) world. The
course was an excellent forum for
discussion and the general consensus
was that we need to be able to offer
our clients a more bespoke service than
the traditional model of negotiation and
ultimately litigation.
There is still, of course and quite rightly
so, a place for such models but many
clients want a much more personal
service, with mediation – mediation
with solicitors and collaborative law are
possibly just some of the alternatives that
should be available to them.
As a profession, we need to move
forwards and embrace the changes that
2QOLQH5HWULHYDOV
9LHZLQJ
6FDQRQ'HPDQG
5HWULHYDO6HUYLFH
SafeRecordsManagement_Strap.indd1 1
face us, whether it be the huge reduction
in the availability of legal aid, Tesco Law
or compulsory mediation information
meetings, and realise that these changes
can be good for us all.
For society as a whole it must be
better that families going through the
traumas of separation are able to access
expert help and assistance to reach
their own solutions. If we can offer
mediation, with solicitors involved where
appropriate, or collaborative law as the
norm and litigation as the alternative,
then inevitably society will be producing
families for the future who are better
equipped to resolve disputes.
The resulting financial benefits for
society in terms of reduced healthcare
costs, reduced legal bills and the
unquantifiable benefit for the children of
those families and their view of conflict
resolution for the future cannot be
underestimated.
As a profession, we can come up with
new ways of working which ultimately
may well be more satisfying and even,
dare I say it, financially rewarding.
If we work together so that, for
example, rather than simply referring
every case to mediation for an obligatory
information meeting we communicate
with the mediator that this case may
be suitable for mediation with solicitors
involved, or consider with our clients
collaborative law as an alternative to
either mediation or litigation, then the
client will be happier and therefore more
likely to refer future work to us.
For the courts, judges will be freed
up to concentrate on those cases that
really need their help, where there are
real domestic violence issues or where
other forms of dispute resolution have
not worked.
With the proposed court closures, this
is necessary and appropriate – we’ve
all had numerous family cases where
we have felt that they should have been
resolving their dispute in some other
forum than the unforgiving and relatively
inflexible court arena.
Most importantly, for the client,
these proposed changes offer them a
hope of conflict resolution that is more
appropriate to their needs, in many cases,
and which they are more likely to take up
as a result.
The statistics show that more and more
clients are acting as litigants in person
and using the power of the Internet to
research the law, leaving the role of the
solicitor somewhat redundant.
ADR offers clients something else that
they simply cannot do themselves and at
a cost, both financially and emotionally,
that is much more manageable.
If we choose to simply sit back and
moan about the changes that are facing
us, there is nothing more certain than that
we will be the losers. 
'RFXPHQW6WRUDJH
ZZZVDIHUPFRXN
11/2/09 11:16:16
27
COMMENT
Patrick Walker: It’s plucking grim progress
The guitar lessons could be
going better. We asked the
instructor whether we were
improving. “How do you
think you’re doing?” came
the guarded response. “This
week I think I have made real
progress,” declared a fellow
student and I wondered
whether he had mastered the
troublesome change from G
to D chords. “Yes!” he said
in triumph, “my wife didn’t
close all the doors when I
was practising.”
Another student was not
so sure: “Could be like living
next to a new bypass –
however bad it sounds you
get used to it eventually!”
At least in the context of learning a musical instrument
I understand the concept of ‘progress’, but in life I am
less sure. Is it progress that your child has grown up and
left home, that you have been promoted or that you have
reached a certain age?
It seems to me that much in life is moving forward on
a circular route which will inevitably lead from birth to the
birth of another generation facing a similar journey. But
that doesn’t make the journey any less worthwhile. The
view at every stage is different, the challenges along the
way satisfying to climb and the journey more important
than the destination.
Even so, I wonder whether our instructor would like us
to focus a little more on where we are going. Was it just
coincidence that he was rubbing his ear as he handed out
the music score for REM’s 'Everybody Hurts'?! 
Patrick Walker is head of Property @ction, Hammonds’ specialist
advisory and advocacy service. Patrick also acts as an independent
mediator: www.imediate.co.uk.
Kevin Poulter: No quick thaw in this career freeze
If you thought 2010 was
tough on lawyers, just wait
for 2011. Gloomy predictions
will continue to become a
reality for many firms and
individuals across our region.
Already reeling from an
economic recession that has
taken its toll on partner profits
and employee head counts,
cuts to the legal aid budget
will place an intolerable
burden on the profession as it
strives to sustain its worldleading standard of access to
justice at all levels of society,
irrespective of wealth, status
and background.
I fear it is on the high street that these cuts will be felt
the most and the suffering will be hardest. The next blow
will be the introduction of Alternative Business Structures
and the threat of ‘Tesco Law’ made real. Only those firms
that are prepared and have had the foresight to expect the
worst will come out with a fighting chance. The growth
of co-operative style law firms may be a solution, but fast
action is required.
Once a toe has been dipped in the water by the likes
of Saga and the Co-op, the first bite may be the biggest;
bystanders will be left behind.
But there is some good news! We all have a Royal
Wedding to look forward to and an extra day off.
Now, where’s my Jet2 timetable… I’m not sure I can
cope with so much flag-waving fun! 
Kevin Poulter is an employment solicitor with Wake Smith & Tofields
and an Executive Member of the Junior Lawyers Division.
Opening up opportunities
LONDON 020 7600 1690
LipsonLloydJones_LYL_97 1
28
www.ll-j.com
NORTH 0161 833 0034
17/11/2010 14:25
LIFESTYLE
Competition: Take our cover shot!
Calling all avid photographers
and serious snappers
Product showcase
This month: Digital SLR cameras
Have you always felt you could be the next Ansel Adams or Joe
Cornish if only you had an opportunity to showcase your work
more effectively?
This month we launch the Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer
photography competition and we would love you to send us your
best shots for consideration.
We are looking for the best photographs you have taken of the
Yorkshire region – landscape, abstract or architectural images that
depict the beauty, diversity and vibrancy of this wonderful corner
of the country.
Each month the winning image will be showcased to the
region on these pages and will also be considered for use as
our cover shot. At the end of the year we will select a winner
and a runner-up who will win a prize to be announced in the
forthcoming special 100th issue of Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer.
Take a potential competition-winning photograph with one
of the latest digital SLR cameras (or equivalent) to hit the
market. Below we showcase an array of models at varying
price points.
You can submit your photograph(s) as digital images. They can
be emailed to [email protected] (for large files over
10mb please use http://dropbox.yousendit.com/BarkerBrooks).
Alternatively send them on a CD to Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer
photography competition, Barker Brooks Media, 4 Greengate,
Cardale Park, Harrogate HG3 1GY. Please note: digital images
should be supplied as 300 dpi jpg files. 
This month in legal history
Education for all. Back in February 1870, children of the
poor were finally given an opportunity for education. A new
bill, introduced by the Liberal Member of Parliament WE
Forster, permitted new school boards to be set up where
existing provision in 'voluntary schools', controlled by the
churches, was inadequate. The result was a massive growth
in the building of new schools with urban areas seeing more
growth. However, schooling was still not compulsory.
Beginner:
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Intermediate:
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2D and 3D Sweep Panorama
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Serious:
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DSLRs are often preferred by serious still photographers because
the mechanical mirror and pentaprism system allows an accurate
preview of framing close to the moment of exposure. They also
allow users to choose from a variety of interchangeable lenses.
29
LIFESTYLE
In association with
The last word
LYL speaks to Mark Burns, Managing Partner at Clarion in Leeds
Professional
What inspired
you to take up
this particular
vocation?
I would love
to say I was
inspired, but to
be honest I just
stumbled into
law – but have
loved every minute of it!
What has been your career highlight?
Taking part in a live news conference and
speaking on the BBC News.
What are your ambitions for the
future?
To continue to be part of a growing firm
in a dynamic, new marketplace.
What will be the biggest challenge
going forward?
Adapting to change and the challenge of
staying ahead of new competition.
What’s the best piece of advice
you’ve ever been given?
If you are not listening, you are losing.
What would be your ideal holiday?
Argentina – wine, walking and Buenos
Aires.
What advice would you offer anyone
starting out?
Being good at law will not be enough.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Unfortunately 80s/90s heavy metal!
Personal
Quick-fire round
How do you unwind after a hard day
at the office?
Any combination of sport, comedy and
beer, depending on the circumstances.
Tea or coffee?
Tea
Who would be your dream dinner
party guests?
Ian Botham, Nigel Clough, Eddy Izzard
and Jamie Oliver.
What one luxury item would you take
to a desert island?
My iPod.
If you weren’t involved in law, what
would be your dream profession?
Archaeology.
Car or train?
Train
CD or iPod?
iPod
News at 10 or ITV News?
News at 10
Milk or dark?
Dark
Eat in or take out?
Eat in
Legal Opinion
Which New Year’s resolution do you intend NOT to break this year?
“To go running once a week, even in rain, snow, sleet and heatwaves”
Jonathan Wearing, Managing Partner, Ison Harrison
“I must eat a minimum of four HobNobs with every cup of tea!”
Alistair Scott Somers, Associate, Dickinson Dees LLP
“Be more healthy, get more exercise and see more daylight!”
David Poddington, Head of Employment Law at Taylor&Emmet LLP
“To ensure that Keeble Hawson wins (or at least makes the top 20 after
coming 32nd out of 44 last year!) the Martin House Children’s Hospice
annual boatrace”
Stacey Evans, trainee legal executive, Keeble Hawson LLP
30
Help us to act... for you
Please visit
www.sba.org.uk
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issue98 - Leeds Law Society

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