23 January 2012: Legal services - in the Year of the Dragon!

2012 is the Chinese Year of the Dragon. According to http://bit.ly/yvZ6vG the Year of the Dragon is an auspicious year bringing success and happiness but note that dragons move swiftly like a whirlwind so they are powerful but unpredictable – sounds like we are in for a rollercoaster ride. I don’t think it would take a Chinese astrologer to tell the private client solicitor that we are in for a difficult and challenging year.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

9 Dec 2011: Alternative Business Structures – All systems go for SRA

Well, the statutory instrument has been laid before Parliament and will be operative from 23 December 2011 authorising the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) of the Law Society to licence Alternative Business Structures (ABS). The SRA will be in business as a licensing body and regulator from 3 January 2012.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

21 November 2011: Lawyers long hours culture and its link to youth unemployment

Scrapping the European Working Time Directive encourages us all to be overworked and over pressured. With youth unemployment at such record highs should the lucky few who have jobs not work less hours to encourage recruitment of others?

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

14 November 2011: Should the Court of Protection hear all cases in public?

The Court of Protection deals with harrowing and sensitive cases concerning the most vulnerable in society. It makes difficult and contentious rulings on a daily basis about the welfare of those who are incapable of managing themselves and their assets. Until 2010 all decisions were heard behind closed doors but then Judges were able to decide on a case by case basis whether to allow the media into the court room. John Hemming MP believes it would be best to make all its hearings public. Amelia Hill in a special report for the Guardian newspaper on 7 November 2011 investigated.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

25 Oct 2011: Soroptimists go wild in Brighton

As some of you may know I am a member of a women’s service organisation called ‘Soroptimists’. Not many people have heard of us but we do interesting things like lobbying and taking action such as the Purple Teardrop Campaign www.purpleteardrop.org.uk to raise awareness about trafficking.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

18 Oct 2011: Happiness is a Jaffa Cake Doughnut!

Much was made by the Prime Minister not so long ago of creating a happiness index rather than just focusing on the economic indicators to decide how well a country was performing but since then we have had the riots and some rather devilish behaviour by Ministers of State, messrs. Fox and Djangoly, each potentially acting in conflict of interest situations; so I am not too sure where we are on the happiness strategy.

© Gill Steel - Lawskills Ltd

25 September 2011: Taking small steps towards change

Changing the habits of a lifetime is not just difficult but almost impossible. In fact, it takes about six months of doing something to imbed it as part of your daly routine. so changing the way we do things takes more than inspirational writers, speakers and thinkers like Professor Mayson or the Naked Lawyer it takes courage, its takes energy and it takes mindfulness.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

13 Sept 2011: 10 years on

It is not often (in fact it has only happened twice) that work has taken me abroad. 10 years ago I was invited by STEP to help with the STEP Diploma revision course in Bermuda - two local Banks had a number of staff who were to sit the accounts paper and for various reasons no-one was available from the usual team to deliver it. I was in two minds because it involved a week away and during that week it was my 15th wedding anniversary. Little did I realise that saying 'Yes' would be quite so unforgettable.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

8 Sept 2011: OPG Update

The OPG has announced its fee increases following the consultation which took place earlier in the year. With effect from 1 October 2011 the new fees are as follows:

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

6 Sept 2011: Autumn Term - LSB calls for evidence

LSB calls for evidence

To decide whether or not Will writing and estate administration and 'related services' should become reserved activities the LSB has instigated a call for evidence http://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/news_publications/latest_news/2011/050911.htm

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

5 Sept 2011: Foul Play

Not only do we have talented contributors to the LawSkills website but they also have other skills. Our own Jo Summers has written a novel with her mother under the pen name of P J Quinn. I spent a happy couple of hours reading their first production called Foul Play - a D I Ambrose Mystery and can recommend it to you.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

13 Aug 2011: A Rebellious Nation

The recent riots are not an organised armed resistence to the established government but they do show that some people do not fear the application of the criminal law as much as being without trainers, mobile phones, gadgets of any kind and other material items.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

2 Aug 2011: Re-invention – a key skill for private client practitioners

According to the Times on 26 July 2011 John Timpson is the fifth generation of the family to own Timpsons. It is no longer in the business of selling shoes from High Street shops. Instead, Mr Timpson had to take the hard decision to sell off all the shoe shops when he bought the business back from Hanson in 1983. He recognised that to turn the ailing business around he had to sell the bits that didn’t work and be the best at what you do. Does this sound familiar to lawyers right now as we grapple with the changes to the High Street and the provision of legal services?

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd

5 July 2011: ABS and the Future Legal Landscape

Last Friday I chaired a Panel Discussion on ABS and the Future Legal Landscape at the Private Client Section Conference – we had all of 20 minutes! On the panel was Richard Collins (RC), the Director of Standards at the SRA; and Tony Guise (TG) of Guise Solicitors Ltd., who represents solicitors before the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal.

© Gill Steel - LawSkills Ltd