The Impact Of A Pandemic On The Legal Sector
The coronavirus has undoubtedly had a catastrophic ripple effect that has affected people in so many different ways. Hundreds of thousands of people have sadly lost their lives around the world. Economies have been hit with businesses and livelihoods also being lost. Realm Recruit, an agency which specializes in recruitment for the legal sector conducted […]
Supermen Webinar 67: How To Select The Most Appropriate Trust For Your Client’s Life Planning Needs Part 2
This webinar will be discussing how to select the most appropriate Trust for your client’s lifetime planning needs. Agenda Lifetime Trust that they can benefit from? Lifetime Trust for Inheritance Tax planning Lifetime Trust to “deal with” Capital Gains Tax on additional properties or shares A Trust for Life Insurance proceeds A Trust for lump […]
Watership Down Author’s Estate Win’s Court Case
The estate of Richard Adam’s, the author of ‘Watership Down‘ has won a High Court battle against a film director. At the end of last month, the High Court in London ruled that Martin Rosen, had wrongly claimed that he owned all the rights to the book, after making his 1978 on screen adaptation. During […]
Will Writers Must Continue To “Do The Basics” When It Comes To Security
Chief Information Officer at Lawyer Checker Jen Williams has shared some of her own experience of the impact of Covid-19 on her and the business. Speaking to Today’s Wills and Probate she warns practitioners of the realities of fraudsters preying on the uncertainty and potential communications breakdowns within law firms. While there are increasingly sophisticated […]
How Can A Client Provide For Their Vulnerable Relative?
As part of the Women in Wills group, that is run through Today’s Wills and Probate, where industry peers share their knowledge. We wanted to share with you, the thoughts of Lynne Bradey, a Partner at Wrigleys Solicitors. One question that gets regularly posed to Lynne, is from family members – often parents – who […]
Intestate Succession Needs Reform In Scotland
A Scottish Government consultation has revealed the need for reform with regards to intestate succession. The consultation, which ran for 12 weeks between February and March of this year, asked for a variety of views. One of the issues requiring opinions from those in the legal profession, was in relation to amending or changing the […]
Utilising Technology To Unburden Staff
This is the fifth blog in this series of posts where we’re discussing how lawyers and law firms are struggling to cope with the lockdown and what we can suggest to help them. Many aren’t set up for homeworking, social distancing or self-isolation. And it’s all happened so quickly there has been very little time […]
Ask an Expert: Victoria Simpson of Apply Compliance Today
Law firms should be taking the opportunity to conduct compliance reviews now to ensure they are ready for the end of lockdown say Victoria Simpson, of Apply Compliance Today. During Lawyer Checker’s latest Ask An Expert Victoria answered questions posed by attendees alongside Lawyer Checker’s Tom Lyes. In an entertaining discussion Victoria highlighted how law […]
Covid-19 Cash Flow Issues Impacting Legal Sector
During these uncertain times, the worry about how the UK economy will cope and recover from the Corona virus pandemic has been talked about by many. Whilst firms are attempting to consolidate their cash flows and ensure they can recover and hit the ground running when the UK comes out of lockdown, it seems it’s […]
Funding Boost To Free 15,000 NHS Beds
£2.9 billion has been made available from the government to help strengthen care for vulnerable people, enabling them to be discharged from hospital and freeing up NHS resources. The funding, which was pledged by the Chancellor in his Spring budget forms part of the £5 billion COVID-19 fund, as the UK continues to get a […]
Deputies Need Court Approval To Start CoP Litigation
As reported in the Law Gazette, last week the Court of Protection (CoP) ruled on guidance to those acting as deputies on behalf of incapacitated clients, informing them they should seek permission before beginning litigation. The ruling came after the CoP heard three cases where proceedings had been issued, and costs incurred without the client […]
Equity Release Products An Attractive Prospect
The increased number of products and plans available to homeowners is encouraging a lot more younger people to use equity release products. Over the last four years, the number of 55-year olds researching equity release products has increased by 330 per cent, according to Age Partnership. During the same period, enquires from homeowners over the […]
Online Wills
I enjoyed an interesting evening at the Wills & Probate Summit from Today’s Wills & Probate at the end of February. The format was unusual in that dinner and drinks came before the serious debate, which made for a lively exchange of views! The hottest topic was online Wills and the room was divided between […]
Leading Wills And Probate Firms Begin To Dominate Market Share
A recent consumer research report has estimated that four leading Wills and probate organisations are showing signs of market share dominance. The Wills and Probate Consumer Research Report 2020 from IRN research has revealed that the top brands are beginning to “take a noticeable market share of this fragmented market.” – with the top four […]
What Should An IT Department Do In Relation To Cyber Security?
UK law firms are now starting to realise that responsibility for cyber security doesn’t just lie within the IT team, and that technical controls alone can’t protect a business from today’s attacks. I often see the phrase ‘cyber security is a people issue not an IT issue’. It’s true that this needs to be a […]
Majority Of Older People Fund Retirement with Equity Release
In their quest to stay in their much-loved homes, 80 per cent of over 55’s chose an equity release mortgage to fund their retirement. According to new research from Standard Life and Age Partnership, this high percentage of over 55s opted for equity release so they did not have to downsize. Another reason for not […]
Could Legal Services Be On Comparison Sites?
Whenever we’re searching for products, whether it be insurance, credit cards or new appliances, somehow, we always end up on comparison sites to get the best deal and to find out what other users think of the product or service. The Legal Services Board (LSB) has floated the idea that law firms, chambers and other […]
What Is The Dark Web And Why Should My Law Firm Care?
‘Dark web’ is a term that is widely used to conjure up images of a second mysterious yet murky layer of the internet where criminal gangs operate. The dark web – a set of web pages that aren’t indexed so don’t appear in your search engine – is used by organised crime gangs (OCGs) to trade […]
Demand For Later Life Planning Advice Grows
The later life financial planning market has significantly grown in recent years following a demand from older consumers seeking advice in accessing property wealth via equity release. More and more Brits are using their homes to unlock money to fund themselves later in life. Late last year, research conducted by Canada Life suggested that an […]
Preparing For Death
Death is never a pleasant experience and can come as a shock at any time of life. Yesterday, (Monday 27th January) the sports world was in mourning as 41-year-old Kobe Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people sadly lost their lives when their helicopter crashed in California. The Office […]
