Jaffe Legal News Service - Law Firm News - Europe

New Phone App Gives Personal Injury Lowdown

UNITED KINGDOM (February 19, 2010) - Accident victims can get free on the spot information about possible compensation claims using a dedicated iPhone app launched by specialist website www.personalinjury.co.uk.

Using the latest technology, advice on compensation claims can be downloaded at the touch of a button to give instant guidance. The app gives jargon-free information on the claims process using frequently asked questions.

The app has been designed to allow easy navigation so people can immediately select the relevant type of accident, read the guidelines and submit a short enquiry to the website's team of personal injury solicitors.

Rob Illidge, who was responsible for developing the app, commented: "It makes perfect sense to use emerging technology for instant legal advice. Our Personal Injury Advisor is a great user-friendly solution."

"People who've had accidents or suffered an injury often don't know where they stand when it comes to making a claim. Our app enables them to get immediate free advice to pursue the compensation they're entitled to, at the touch of a button."

www.personalinjury.co.uk is a full-service resource for people wishing to pursue personal injury claims. All claims are handled by fully qualified solicitors and claimants can rest assured they will receive 100 per cent of their compensation, at no cost to themselves.

For more information visit www.personalinjury.co.uk or contact 0800 652 9515

Coodes Direct: Coodes Solicitors Launches Fixed Prices and Online Legal Services

UNITED KINGDOM (February 19, 2010) - South West firm Coodes Solicitors is embracing the future of law by launching a brand new online legal service.

"Coodes Direct" offers fixed price legal support across a range of areas plus an innovative "DIY Law Online" service where customers can create their own legal documents.

Both services are available through the firm's recently revamped website www.coodes.co.uk.

The launch means customers will be able to access advice and legal products, from divorce to employment contracts, with the click of a mouse.

While Coodes is presenting an industry first for the South West, the firm believes that buying and selling legal services through the internet will become more and more common in coming years.

Ian Taylor, Managing Partner at Coodes Solicitors, said: "Offering online legal products and fixed price fees is a new way of thinking for a regional firm such as Coodes.

"However we believe strongly this is the future of law � it enables us to be upfront and transparent about the costs of our services, as well as offer flexibility for customers to access our products wherever and whenever they choose."

Legislation regulating the types of businesses able to sell legal services is being relaxed, meaning other companies such as supermarkets and high-street retailers will be able to offer legal advice.

Coodes Direct will enable customers to access affordable legal services from trained and experienced solicitors from Coodes' seven offices in Cornwall and Devon.

A range of legal services will be available via a shopping cart system to buy online whilst a larger range of fixed price packages, with fees clearly displayed, will enable customers to budget for their legal advice and start the procedure online.

Examples of the products that will be on offer through Coodes Direct are:

Fixed price conveyancing for first time home buyers
Fixed price divorce packages (excluding work on children or finances)
Fixed price employment law packages
Fixed price specialist advice sessions
Wills and Powers of Attorney
Commercial property fixed prices

Mr Taylor added: "Some may see this as a controversial move, but customers can be assured that the quality of legal advice available through Coodes Direct will be just as high as if you walk into one of our branches.

"We've recognised that consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with buying products and services online, are inclined to shop around for the best price and enjoy the convenience of e-commerce.

"Our solicitors are still available by phone or face to face when you buy through Coodes Direct but the great advantage is that our services are now accessible to anyone with a computer, anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

For more information, go to www.coodes.co.uk and click on Coodes Direct, or call 08000 322 622.
Coodes Solicitors was established in 1747 and has seven offices across Cornwall and Devon.

'Bullying' Brown Puts Workplace Harassment Back on the Agenda

UNITED KINGDOM (February 23, 2010) - In the wake of this week's allegations against Prime Minister Gordon Brown, bullying in the workplace is firmly back on the agenda and local solicitors Oxley and Coward are giving employers a reminder of the legal implications of failing to tackle the issue.

Research continues to show that bullying at work is soaring and in addition to the huge emotional cost of bullying, defending a tribunal claim costs employers an average of £20,000 and that figure is rising. Last year there were 189,000 tribunal applications - up one third from 2006.2

Reports of bullying have doubled in the past decade and according to a recent survey of 7,000 workers by public sector union Unison, more than one in three had been bullied in the past six months.

Dawn Cherry, Employment Lawyer at Oxley & Coward Solicitors in Rotherham, said: "The allegations against Gordon Brown demonstrate that bullying can cost you in many ways. Aside from the potential costs of litigation, an allegation can damage the reputations of your staff, your organisation and harm company productivity."

Figures show that 20% of management time is spent in dealing with conflict and 50% of staff who take long term sickness are struggling with bullying issues.1 It's important that companies take a serious look at how much time their managers spend dealing with conflict, and how much litigation has to be handled by their lawyers.

"If there's a problem, employers need to take action early and deal with negative behaviour head on," continued Dawn. "As well as avoiding the cost of employment tribunals, a good working environment pays dividends all round."

Bullying at work is when someone tries to intimidate another worker, often in front of colleagues, and as with Gordon Brown, the allegations are generally made against someone in a more senior position. It is similar to harassment, where someone's behaviour is offensive in making sexual comments, or abusing someone's race, religion or sexual orientation.

As well as the more obvious examples of bullying at work like being humiliated in front of colleagues, or physical or verbal abuse, it can include blocking promotion, malicious rumours, or copying memos that are critical of someone to others who do not need to know.

In an article in the Times this week3, comments have been ascribed to Jonathan Baune, head of First Division Association, the union that looks after civil servants claiming that bullying in Whitehall is "rife" and that staff feel they have "little power." However, as this week has shown, it only takes one high profile case to open up what can become a more serious can of worms.

"The legal position with regard to bullying is more complex than discrimination, as there isn't a separate piece of legislation to deal with it, but there is protection for employees, that employers cannot afford to ignore" added Dawn Cherry.

"For example, an employee can claim breach of contract, on the basis that their employer has failed to provide reasonable support to ensure they can fulfil their job without harassment or disruption. Or there may be circumstances for claiming constructive unfair dismissal or by claiming personal injury protection, as employers have a legal duty to take reasonable care to avoid their workers suffering illness or injury," Dawn concluded.

Are you worried about bullying in the workplace and need Legal advice? For further information and a FREE initial discussion, contact Dawn Cherry at Oxley & Coward Solicitors on 01709 510999, visit www.oxcow.co.uk or e-mail dawn.cherry@oxcow.co.uk

Lewis Hymanson Small's Steady Expansion

UNITED KINGDOM (February 18, 2010) - The increase in fraud due to the recession has meant that Manchester law firm Lewis Hymanson Small has bolstered its serious fraud, corporate and commercial teams with the appointment of nine new members of staff.

The firm has seen a 50% rise in the fraud cases it handles. This includes mortgage fraud, VAT fraud and serious fraud. Fraud costs the UK over £30 billion a year damaging businesses, individuals and reputations.

The newly boosted fraud team has employed Deborah Britstone, a serious fraud and regulatory solicitor who moved across from Osborn, Abas, Hunt; Tara Boyle, Helia Asadi both fraud solicitors from Carter Moore and Amanda Walshaw a fraud solicitor from Goddard Smith. Andre Zarneh and Kirk Kent have also joined the department as paralegals.

Victoria Crook, a commercial litigation solicitor from Ralli has added to the litigation team.

In spite of the recession and the fact that many firms are no longer recruiting trainees LHS has also appointed two trainee solicitors, Adam Rasul and Lauren Basger.

Ian Lewis, head of the serious fraud team, said:

"In the aftermath of the recession we've bolstered the team with experienced and enthusiastic new recruits. We have a number of new high profile cases that they've already started working on."

Graham Small, head of the corporate and commercial team, said:

"This significant clutch of new employees means we are a leading player in the Manchester law community with strengthened serious fraud, corporate and commercial departments. We now have a group of new recruits that bring experience, talent, and new blood to the table. We look forward to further expansion in 2010."

These new recruits add to the appointment of Adele Librae the new corporate partner last month.

www.lhs-solicitors.com

Patent Attorneys Welcome Latest Sign that Chinese Courts Respect UK Companies' IP Rights

UNITED KINGDOM (February 19, 2010) - The UK's Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys has welcomed a Beijing court's award of 9.1 Million RMB (about £800,000) in damages in favour of Isle of Man-based Strix Ltd as further confirmation that China's courts will uphold companies' intellectual property rights and award damages that reflect the commercial losses caused by infringement. Effective enforcement of intellectual property rights in China remains a key concern of the many UK businesses with trade connections with China, especially those such as Strix, which have or plan to set up manufacturing operations there.

CIPA's vice-president Alasdair Poore described the recent ruling as 'an important demonstration of the impact of China's efforts to ensure that its approach to IP rights will meet the expectations of its international trading partners.'

Strix, a leading manufacturer of electric kettle controls, won its patent infringement suits against two kettle control manufacturers in China, Zhejiang Jiatai Electrical Appliance Manufacture Co., Ltd and Leqing FaDa Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Strix's patent (ZL95194418.5) on its electric kettle control was valid and that the Chinese companies were found to have produced, offered to sell and sold controls based on Strix's technology.

The size of the damages was unprecedented for the Beijing Court's cases involving intellectual property infringement for small domestic appliances. The court found against Zhejiang Jiatai Electrical Appliance Manufacture Co., Ltd and Leqing FaDa Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd and ordered them to pay 7.1 million RMB and 2 million RMB respectively. It also ordered the two companies to stop producing and selling the controls. While the majority of the damages were imposed on the control manufacturers, the court also ordered two kettle manufacturers, Zhongshan WeiLing Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd and Zhongshan Shunlong Century Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd, who were also involved in the case, to pay substantial damages and to stop the production and sale of two models of electric kettles containing those controls.

Strix Ltd, which is based in the Isle of Man, manufactures controls at its facility in Guangzhou, China and its products are sold in over 100 countries. Strix holds about 475 patents and strenuously protects its IP worldwide. The company is advised on IP matters by UK-based patent attorneys Dehns.

Adrian Samuels, a partner at Dehns and a chartered patent attorney, said, "This is a hugely significant ruling and its implications will be welcomed worldwide. There is a perception that enforcing intellectual property rights in China is a challenge for foreign companies. However, this case is testament to the fact that IP rights are gaining increasing importance in China and that both local and foreign companies alike can be protected by the Chinese judiciary. This decision on behalf of our client will give both local and foreign companies operating in China increasing faith in the Chinese IPR protection system and we're delighted to have been involved in this landmark decision."

Adrian Samuels, was supported by Dehns Associate Laura Ramsay. Dehns has acted for Strix since its inception in 1982 and drafted the company's original patent application for the thermostatic control unit. The team also acted as advisers to the Chinese law firm engaged for the litigation.

LPA Could Save the Day for Your Loved Ones

UNITED KINGDOM (February 12, 2010) - With complaints continuing to rise against the Court of Protection since the Court was set up to manage the affairs of people who have become mentally incapable, Oxley and Coward Solicitors of Rotherham are advising the public to protect themselves and their loved ones against the consequences of any future mental illness or accident by making Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) a priority.

By having a registered LPA in place, people can relax, safe in the knowledge that should they become mentally incapable, their own chosen representative will have the authority to act as their attorney on their behalf and in their best interests - without referral to the Court of Protection.

This is an important consideration when people realise the delay and expense that can be entailed by having to apply to be appointed a deputy by the Court of Protection - a Court that has received 1,500 complaints and counting, not to mention the criticism it has faced over red tape and inefficiencies. Some relatives are waiting up to six months to be given control of their loved one's affairs - with the loved one often left in limbo until the issues are resolved.

Horror stories include a wife who had to get the Court's permission every time she wanted to sign a cheque for more than £500 after an accident left her husband in a coma and in another case, a brother was told it could take 21 weeks and incur a fee of £400 to apply for funds for increased nursing home fees. All could have been avoided with an LPA in place.

LPAs are not something people immediately consider, because as with Wills, few of us wish to contemplate illness or our own mortality. But when the latest available statistics reveal that some 2,000,000 people in England and Wales lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves and a further 15,000 people under the age of 65 have dementia, the benefits of making an LPA are compelling.

"Given these alarming new statistics, it is important that we all plan ahead," said Oxley and Coward Partner Jayne Jackson." For those already suffering from the onset of dementia, it's not too late to take action, but in this case it is essential to find a lawyer who understands your situation as soon as possible," concluded Jayne.

For advice and guidance on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs), including a FREE initial discussion, contact Jayne Jackson on 01709 510999 or e-mail probatedept@oxcow.co.uk

In calling for greater awareness of LPAs, Oxley and Coward have added their voice to that of the Justice Minister Judith Prentice, who in an interview on the BBC's Today programme, encouraged solicitors to advise their clients and the public on the advantages of LPAs.

As with any legal document, the LPA is only valid if the person signing it is capable of understanding what they are signing and the consequences, so it must be put in place while the person is still capable. Once signed, the LPA can be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian, the administrative arm of the Court of Protection - a process that can take several months before the LPA becomes effective.

"With an ever aging population, the LPA is going to be viewed increasingly as just as important as a Will, explained Jayne, "on the one hand we have greater life expectancy, but as we all live longer, illnesses like Alzheimer's are becoming more prevalent. An LPA gives a friend or family member chosen by you the means to look after your affairs in the simplest and least burdensome way, while giving you the peace of mind that whatever life may bring, your wishes will be adhered to."

The alternative is that in the event of your illness or incapacity, some unlucky family member will be saddled with dealing with the courts, producing annual accounts and paying legal and Court fees until the day you die - with no guarantee that your wishes are ever taken into account. Oxley & Coward Solicitors provides advice on legal and financial matters for people suffering from dementia through the Alzheimer's Society as a member of LawNet - a network of independent, quality assured law firms throughout the UK and Ireland.

Trainee Solicitor Qualifies with Simpson Sissons & Brooke

UNITED KINGDOM (February 8, 2010) - Sheffield legal firm Simpson Sissons & Brooke LLP has appointed one of its trainee solicitors as a fully qualified solicitor. Marie Barrott, who works in the firm's personal injury department, has just successfully completed her training contract.

After graduating from Sheffield Hallam University with an honours degree in law Marie gained a postgraduate diploma in legal practice from the University of Sheffield. Based at the firm's Townhead Street office, Marie joined the firm in August 2007 from Ashton Morton Slack where she had worked with partner, Jeremy Brooke, gaining experience across a range of sectors including serious fraud and, latterly, personal injury.

Since joining Simpson Sissons and Brooke Marie has specialised in personal injury, gaining experience across all areas, including employers', public and product liability as well as road traffic accidents. Marie explained: "We have a great team at the firm and I am looking forward to building upon the experience that I have gained so far. We have a number of specialists in brain and spinal cord injury and I am keen to develop my expertise in this area - I will be working with one of our senior solicitors, Adrienne de Vos, who has considerable experience in dealing with catastrophic injuries."

Partner, Jeremy Brooke commented: "We pride ourselves in helping individuals to grow with us, something which we feel helps us to provide our clients with a consistently high standard of service.

"Marie is a key member of our team and her contribution has already proved invaluable in meeting the increasing instructions that the firm is receiving. We believe in the importance of firms committing to providing on-the-job, supervised training for young solicitors - which is essential if they are to acquire the hands-on experience they need - and are delighted that Marie has successfully completed her training with us," he continued.

Marie, who is a keen sportswoman, lives in Sheffield and helps to coach the Sheffield Steelers Wheelchair Basketball Club Juniors.

Simpson Sissons & Brooke is led by three of Sheffield's brightest solicitors. The firm, which was established in May 2007, specialises in family law, conveyancing, asset management and personal injury and currently sponsors the advice worker at the Neurological Rehabilitation Unit of the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield as well as the Steelers Wheelchair Basketball Club.

Solicitors Firm Ensures Data Integrity with Fortinet

LONDON (February 3, 2010) - Fortinet® - a market leading network security provider and worldwide leader of unified threat management (UTM) solutions - today announced that TWM Solicitors LLP, a UK-based law firm, has chosen Fortinet's FortiGate® network security systems to safeguard its corporate network and protect the private information of over 13,000 individual client accounts from external attacks, identity fraud and data leakage. TWM will also centralise its security management and reporting functions with Fortinet's FortiAnalyzer™ appliance to help monitor and maintain user policies, identify attack patterns, and meet compliance regulations.

Alan Barrett, Head of IT at TWM Solicitors states, "It is vital we protect the corporate, personal and case information of our clients to the highest degree. Attacks on corporate networks have become far more covert than ever before so we need to be vigilant in securing against both external and internal threats. It was absolutely key that we found a solution that would provide protection beyond the network edge. Besides firewall, we needed granular visibility into all network activities in order to protect against potential data leakage and identity theft."

A key requirement for TWM was an integrated security solution that incorporated data leakage prevention (DLP) to help identify and prevent the communication of sensitive information outside of network boundaries. In addition, the solution needed strong levels of application control that could apply tight security levels right down to interactive Web 2.0 tools. Critically, TWM's solution needed to provide this functionality as well as core security functions, including reliable VPN for the dispersed workforce, without negatively impinging on network performance.

Based on these security needs, TWM opted for the deployment of Fortinet's FortiGate-310B appliance at its main site for firewall, anti-virus, anti-spam, IPS, Application Control, Web-content filtering and SSL VPN. Incorporating FortiASIC™ network processors for content-inspection acceleration, FortiGate-310B systems provide high-performance multi-threat security. Underpinned by Fortinet's new operating system (FortiOS 4.0), the solution also brings application control, DLP, WAN optimisation and SSL traffic inspection to TWM's network.

FortiGate-110Cs will also be deployed within its data centre for disaster recovery purposes, to ensure all users can consistently work securely from any location. Finally, TWM chose the FortiAnalyzer-400B to obtain granular and customised security reports, including information on traffic, events, virus, attacks, Web content, and email data-mining. This will help TWM determine the organisation's security stance at all times and ensure that industry compliance targets are met.

With roll-out expected for completion by the end of 2009, Fortinet will form a scalable and robust security infrastructure at TWM. Robert Holmes, Systems Manager at TWM Solicitors states, "During testing, Fortinet immediately outshone our incumbent solution, identifying numerous threats that were passing through our existing firewall. We were also impressed with the granularity and policy control features of the solution." Holmes adds "With e-service adoption being the next step for the legal industry, it was important that our new security infrastructure would be able to manage all the additional security challenges and network demands that this industry evolution brings. We're confident that our integrated security strategy with Fortinet provides the right combination of broad security, performance and scalability to support our future business goals."

Paul Judd, UK & Ireland regional director of Fortinet, comments, "Law firms hold valuable client and corporate data and it is absolutely critical that their security infrastructure can protect users and data from the inside-out. With Fortinet, TWM Solicitors now has a tightly integrated and robust security solution to protect its corporate network and ensure data integrity and regulatory compliance."

Legal IT Show 2010 Draws in the Industry's Best

UNITED KINGDOM (February 3, 2010) - The Legal IT Show returns to London from 10-11 February 2010, featuring a high quality exhibition and free-to-attend conference sessions. Now in its ninth year, the event allows law practitioners to view the latest product innovations, gather market information, develop strategic partnerships and maintain contact with current suppliers, all under one roof.

Based on the feedback from last year's event, the conference sessions will now be free for all visitors to attend and will include a combination of keynote sessions, practical case studies and in-depth roundtable discussions covering the very latest issues impacting the legal IT sector.

Alongside the new conference sessions, more than 50 companies will be showcasing their latest innovations. Despite budgets at many businesses remaining tight in 2010, software and services that help with regulatory compliance will still be in demand because they help to ward off non-compliance vulnerability. Law firms will need to stay ahead of the latest regulation changes that will result from the recession, increased privacy protection concerns and electronic medical records, to name but a few. At this year's show a number of exhibitors will be launching new products, we take a look into what legal practitioners will be able to find on the exhibition floor.

Oyez is right on track
Oyez Professional Services (stand 53), a market leader in supplying technical solutions to the legal and property market, is launching an innovative document tracking product at the Legal IT Show 2010. Oyez Track-IT will allow organisations to take management tracking to another level with its RIF Track-IT web-based solution for tracking important files, documents and company assets.

Most tracking solutions on the market enable the tracking of items using bar code technology, and whilst this technology has worked well, barcode technology does have its drawbacks. For example, it requires the user to be in the line of sight of the scanner and manually scan the item in order for it to be tracked. Failure to do so means that the process fails and items can get mislaid.

Track-IT uses market leading Ultra High Frequency writable labels which do not require the user to interact with the scanning device in order to monitor the movement of the tagged item. Each tagged item is monitored with strategically placed RFID readers within the organisation. As items with smart OPS RFID tags pass by any reader, the database is automatically updated with the item's location.

Tags can be programmed with unique information and placed on any item you want to track which can be monitored through a web based security system that is accessible from any internet enabled PC or Mac.

iPhone integration from Eclipse Legal Systems
Leading case management software vendor Eclipse Legal Systems (stand 44) is unveiling a raft of enhancements to its Proclaim system at the Legal IT Show 2010.

Eclipse is the first legal software vendor to announce a strategy to build iPhone compatibility into its products. Representatives from the company will be on hand at the event to demonstrate examples of live iPhone integration with the Proclaim Case Management solution. In addition to this, version 3.2 of Proclaim integrates MS Exchange and Outlook which allows for common address books and flexible processing of emails into the relevant Proclaim cases. Fee earner diaries are entirely integrated into Proclaim, with two-way links enabling live updates to be made from Outlook or even a mobile device. Furthermore, Proclaim's email functionality now allows the creation and distribution of branded graphical and HTML emails (the system previously used a plain-text format).

The logical solution from Evenlogic
A new electronic forms website developed by Evenlogic (stand 49), called www.myforms.org.uk, that will make filling forms a lot easier for legal professionals, is to be launched at the Legal IT Show 2010.

The site, which is based on 'cloud computing' concepts, allows registered users to fill in a range of online legal and government PDF forms and to save working copies to the user's personal area on the web server. The user, or their colleagues, can then later retrieve the saved copies for further work, using any internet-enabled PC. The approach allows forms to be circulated, checked, updated, emailed, filed and printed prior to submission.

Explaining the main purpose of the site, Evenlogic's Managing Director, John Jarvis, commented: "Many organisations provide PDF forms on the internet and some of these forms can be filled in electronically. However, there is often no mechanism that allows you to save a part completed form and to return to it later. This can be very frustrating if the form is long or if some of the required information is not to hand when you start filling in the form. Myforms.org.uk will address this problem."

Solicitors Own Software launch latest SOS Connect
Solicitors Own Software (SOS) (stand 57) will be releasing the latest version of SOS Connect at this year's show. The latest enhancements, combined with existing functions such as auto filing and auto time recording of emails, will help practitioners deliver more effective and efficient underlying business processes throughout their firms.

It is now possible to script the built-in KPI's within SOS Connect into a workflow script. This means that firms can choose to display a specific KPI to a fee earner under certain conditions, for example, if WIP or debtors reaches a particular level. This ensures that the user gets timely prompts to enable appropriate action to be taken, thus reducing the firm's exposure to risk.

In addition to this, billing routines can now be scripted within SOS Connect making the client billing options extremely powerful and flexible. For example, any number of different billing profiles may be set up and applied to client records as well as being able to support the precise methods of billing 'authorisation' that firms may wish to implement.

The latest solution also has in-built TAPI integration, meaning that when a client telephone call is put through to a fee earner or member of support staff, SOS Connect will recognise the incoming number from within the database, automatically pulling up the client/matter record onto the user's screen and also starting the time logger for the matter with an activity of 'telephone call'.

Saturn27 is out of this world
Saturn27 (stand 13) is an independent consulting firm providing strategic business and technology consulting services to law firms, corporate legal departments and professional services firms.

In addition to showcasing the company's consulting services, Saturn27 representatives will be available to discuss its portfolio of 'i-range' applications for data integrity, VAT compliance and transactional performance improvements. Additionally, the company will also be launching several new initiatives.

eBill27 offers an exciting alternative method of administering the validation and production of e-bills. The solution provides a powerful ebilling rule validation engine that checks for service level agreement breaches as they happen and reports them to the appropriate member of staff. This ensures accurate data is captured and corrected throughout the month and not just at the point of billing. Through its integration with LEDESense web services, from Rora Client Systems, eBill27 automatically transforms a firm's billing data into any of the standard or custom e-bill formats (ASCII and XML) ready for submission.

Smart Time is the first time entry program to support all three types of timekeeping behaviour: contemporaneous, hunter and gatherer, and collaborative. Smart Time answers the question 'What did I do all day?' for the busy legal professional who constructs their timesheets in the evening or even days after the fact. The application is perfectly suited to replace old, outdated time entry systems that are functionally weak by today's standards.

What's more, visitors to Saturn27's stand can try and set the legal sector's fastest lap in the company's F1 simulator! There will be a special prize for the person at the top of our scoreboard at the end of the show.

All Bundled into one
The Bundle Business (stand 33) will be on hand at the Legal IT Show to demonstrate its innovative approach to litigation support, preparing court bundles for the legal profession. Using unique collation technology, the Bundle Business offers a bespoke service which can be made available to experts and counsel through dedicated website portals, freeing up valuable time of practitioners to concentrate on the legal work of the case.

Representatives from the company will be available during the show to showcase the benefits to visitors' firms.

Primetime with Linetime
Linetime (stand 54) will be showcasing its Liberate legal software suite which includes practice management, case management, matter management, specialist debt recovery and possession and online case tracking. At this year's Legal IT Show, the company will be launching its exciting, newly released Business Intelligence solution – a management information portal that provides the ability to deliver key performance data and trend analysis to senior management and department heads.

Individual performance indicators can be defined to meet the specific requirements of a practice, department or individual. Another benefit is the portals ability to display data from multiple data sources giving managers a single view of data from disparate data sources.

Liberate case management incorporates new features designed to reduce the time taken to create initial prototypes, through to live deployment. In addition advanced workflow definition allows greater control over the legal process and further improves efficiency and risk management.

DPS ensures the industry is ready for reform
The world of legal technology is an ever-changing environment. Legal practice changes frequently across the board and legal case management software has to keep up with these changes. 2010 will be no exception to this trend and DPS Software has been busy developing its product range to cope with these changes.

DPS Software's new Personal Injury Module, which will be on show at this year's Legal IT Show, has been developed in response to the Ministry of Justice reforms. The proposed new electronic claim form process is expected to apply to 500,000 road traffic accident claims occurring in England or Wales after 1 April 2010, where the element of the claim is likely to have a value between £1,000 and £10,000. It is expected that the system will be used by approximately 5,000 claimant representatives, 100 insurers and 1,000 self insured/compensators. The DPS Personal Injury module integrates with the Claim Notification Form and is fully equipped with the workflows and functionality compatible with the new process.

Also on show at the Legal IT Show 2010, is DPS Software's new Probate Module. This new module has been developed for the legal practitioner who needs to be free of the time consuming and highly repetitive aspects of the probate procedure. The system produces estate accounts, schedules of liabilities, gifts and assets for easy preparation of the IHT forms. The required forms are completed automatically and the accounts are exported to MS Excel™ for further editing if required.

In addition, the Probate Module is fully equipped with the elements expected of a DPS Software application such as quick and efficient production of letters and documents, diarisation of tasks and work completed monitoring. Blythe Liggins, based in Leamington Spa, has implemented the new system ware.

The Legal IT Show 2010 free-to-attend conference sessions
Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Digital Business, joins Dr. Karen Stephenson, the President of Netform International, as a keynote speaker at the Legal IT Show 2010. During her 'Understanding How Your Organisation Works' presentation on 10 February, Dr. Stephenson will offer advice on how law firms can identify their 'knowledge' networks and subsequently maximise the value to the business. Meanwhile, Mr Brynjolfsson will present research on how information technology can help companies improve performance, organisation and competitiveness in today's legal sector, during his 'Wired for Innovation' session on 11 February.

On the first day of this year's conference, visitors will be able to attend a session designed to help legal firms understand how integrating technology into all parts of the legal practice can create an efficient and responsive client service. Melanie Farquharson, a Consultant at 3Kites Consulting, will moderate a panel of legal IT experts that includes, Nick Mercer, Director of Business Operations at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin, Peter Birley, Director of IT and Business Operations at Browne Jacobson, Colin Smith, Pinsent Masons' Director of IT, and Stuart Whittle, Partner and Head of IS at Weightmans.

Matthew Robinson, the Legal IT Show's Event Director, commented: "During the last decade, the legal sector has made enormous strides forward in terms of process automation, workflow efficiency and productivity enhancement, by leveraging technology to the hilt. Equally, the next 10 years are set to bring a number of developments that will have a substantial impact on the decisions that legal IT professionals will have to make. We expect this year's Legal IT Show to be the biggest yet and look forward to welcoming legal IT professionals from across Europe to The Business Design Centre in February."

Further information about the Legal IT Show 2010 can be found at www.legalitshow.com or by calling Sindi Chong at ICBI on +44 (0)20 7017 7253.

International Lawyer in the United States Honored by Kingston University

LONDON (January 21, 2010) - The Chairman of the British-American Business Council and Honorary Legal Advisor to the British Consul-General in Chicago has been recognised by Kingston University, in south west London, for his achievements in the field of law.

David Kay OBE, a graduate of Kingston Law School, took a trip down memory lane as he returned to the town for the first time in more than ten years to receive his award. He travelled from the United States with his wife for the ceremony at The Rose Theatre.

Called to the English Bar in 1979, Mr Kay received his U.S. law degree and was admitted to the bar of Illinois in 1990. He has lived and practiced law in England, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. He was born in Hertfordshire and now lives in Chicago where he is a partner in the Chicago office of the Philadelphia-based law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

Mr Kay concentrates his practice on international corporate transactions and advising U.S. companies and financial institutions on their overseas operations. He is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration and sits as an arbitrator on major international cases for the American Arbitration Association, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Kay was made an Honorary Doctor of Laws at the ceremony on Monday 11th January. He thanked Kingston University for giving him the opportunity to gain a solid grounding from which to launch his career.

"I feel very fortunate to have gone to Kingston University so it's a very emotional day. This is the first time that I've been back to Kingston for more than a decade and it's brought back many memories of how I felt when I graduated. I have made the most of the opportunities that have come my way, but the basis of my successful career is a very good degree which Kingston University provided me with."

Alongside his role as Chairman of the British-American Business Council, which is the largest transatlantic business network, Mr Kay is also a founding member, director and chairman of the Chicago branch of the organisation.

Professor Matthew Humphreys, Head of the School of Law at Kingston University, was delighted to welcome back such a distinguished alumni and hopes that Mr Kay's achievements will inspire students currently studying law at Kingston.

"We are delighted to recognise David's many achievements in the field of law; he has had a brilliant career, both here, and in the Middle East and America. He's an inspiration for our students and a great example of what they can achieve. David's success and his fantastic international connections are something we are keen to encourage our students to emulate."

In 2003 Mr Kay was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in recognition of his services to British business interests and the British Community in the United States. He has written on the legal and commercial aspects of investment and doing business in Europe and the Middle East and has published a book called �Trading with America, A Practical Guide'.

Mr Kay was the first Honorary Graduate from the Faculty of Business and Law to receive his award at the University's new graduation venue, The Rose Theatre in Kingston.

Bingham Expands Antitrust Practice to Europe with London Hire

LONDON (January 19, 2010) - As part of its strategic focus to expand its U.S. and Asian antitrust capabilities to Europe, Bingham McCutchen LLP has added Davina Garrod to its London office as a partner in the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice Group.

Garrod joins from McDermott Will & Emery where she was a European Union competition/regulatory partner and led the firm's hedge fund practice group in the London office. She advises on U.S. and EU merger control law, as well as in connection with competition-related litigation and regulatory and government investigations.

"Davina's arrival is a terrific step in building upon our solid antitrust strength in the U.S. and Japan and extending it to the EU," said Donn Pickett, co-leader of Bingham's Litigation Area. "Our goal is to create an antitrust team that can provide clients with global solutions to global problems."

Bingham's antitrust group, with more than 70 lawyers, has handled significant matters for major international companies, such as Intel Corp., SanDisk Corp., Sharp Corp. and Sharp Electronics Corp., Qualcomm, and Morgan Stanley. (See Editor's Note below for details.)

As the EU continues to be an increasingly important jurisdiction for antitrust law, U.S.-based clients have a growing need for representation in that venue, said Bingham partner Richard Taffet, responsible for advancing Bingham's global antitrust strategy. "Davina will also allow Bingham to expand its U.S. antitrust representations to a broader base of EU clients, particularly on issues involving U.S. enforcement agencies and Congress. We will also be able to provide our resources in Asia to the EU-based clients," he said.

Garrod's work with the financial services industry complements Bingham's London capabilities, added James Roome, managing partner of the London office and co-leader of the Financial Restructuring Group. "Davina's experience in the financial sector is a natural fit with our London financial institution and hedge fund clients," Roome said.

Bingham's growth strategy for the antitrust practice and its reputation in representing financial institutions attracted Garrod to the firm.

"Bingham's commitment to advancing its antitrust practice to the EU and its broader financial institutions platform provide tremendous opportunities and synergies," said Garrod, who also advises on M&A issues for principals and investors, technology transfer and IP licensing, and cartel investigations by government agencies and regulators. A litigator before European courts, she also provides strategic, regulatory advice in connection with financial services, energy and environmental issues.

Garrod's arrival is a continuation of Bingham's investment in building its antitrust ranks and diversifying its London office, known for its highly regarded financial restructuring practice.

In June 2009, Hill Wellford, former chief of staff of the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, joined Bingham's antitrust practice in Washington. In November 2008, Bingham added three antitrust partners to its Washington, D.C., office, Leiv Blad, Jon Roellke and Boyd Cloern from Clifford Chance. In 2007, Bingham's antitrust presence in Japan grew with combinations with two leading Tokyo firms, Sakai & Mimura and New Tokyo International.

In London, Sarah Smith, former co-head of Sidley Austin's London International Finance Group, joined this month. In August 2009, the firm bolstered its financial institutions litigation practice in London with the addition of Richard Hornshaw from Slaughter May. In June 2009, Stuart Sinclair joined as a tax partner from McDermott's London office.

With 1,100 lawyers in 12 locations in the United States, United Kingdom and Asia, Bingham, www.bingham.com, offers a broad range of market-leading practices focused on global financial services firms and Fortune 100 companies.

LawNet Ties Up With National IFA Group Origen

UNITED KINGDOM (January 19, 2010) - The LawNet network has secured another strategic partnership deal for its members – this time with one of the UK's leading Independent Financial Advisers, Origen.

The network has already tied the knot with the national accountancy network Charter Group and this latest move offers another opportunity for cross-working relationships.

"It's the right time to do this," said LawNet chief executive John Thomas. "Like the legal sector, IFAs are going through massive change, but their overhaul is about quality rather than competition. Origen is a top tier IFA and is already well placed to meet the demands of regulatory changes, with its fee-based relationships and qualified, employed advisers.

"We see major opportunities in this strategic partnership which should benefit our firms with work referrals and clients with holistic, high level advice."

Origen has over 350,000 clients, looked after by consultants located nationwide and operates through three main practice areas – private client advice, corporate employee benefits, and financial education services to over 70 of the UK's largest organisations

Chris Holmes, who is head of professional connections at Origen explained: "As financial planners we have a key requirement for legal input and what we want to offer is joined up legal, financial and tax advice.

"We deliver over 30 seminars a month, including topics such as retirement, tax efficient investment planning and general financial awareness. Every seminar generates requests for legal advice from people who do not have existing relationships with a solicitor, so there's a major work referral opportunity. Our partnership with LawNet allows us to satisfy the needs of our clients requiring complementary legal advice on a nationwide basis".

Patent Court Cost Reforms Patently Right

UNITED KINGDOM (January 15, 2010) - The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys has strongly supported of the proposed reforms for handling intellectual property (IP) disputes set out in Lord Justice Jackson's "Review of Civil Litigation Costs". The report proposes substantial changes to the costs culture in civil disputes in English Courts

IP litigation is often criticised as providing a Rolls Royce approach at Rolls Royce prices. The recommendations do not criticise the Rolls Royce cases. But Lord Justice Jackson makes clear a key finding: one size definitely does not fit all.

The Review endorses proposals for significant reforms to the Patents County Court. They will provide a distinctive forum which will enable less complex disputes and those involving SMEs to be resolved at a fraction of the costs of High Court proceedings

Alasdair Poore, Vice-President of CIPA said: "The proposed reforms will mark a dramatic shift in the approach to less complex intellectual property disputes in England. They will provide a realistic forum for SMEs to resolve intellectual property disputes, and for lower value claims to be pursued in a cost effective and expeditious manner."

Parties will set out their case with supporting evidence, the Court will determine quickly what steps should be taken to prove this case, and set a hearing date.

Costs (recoverable from the other party) will be capped at £50,000 – a long way costs in the hundreds of thousand or million pound levels in the High Court. The only significant restriction is that the damages which can be claimed in such proceedings will be limited to £500,000.

Alasdair Poore says that: "UK patent attorneys are ready to take advantage of the new procedures. They are already very familiar with similar procedures in the European Patent Office, where they frequently represent clients, and they have been entitled to represent clients directly in the Patents County Court since it was created".

Getting the Best out of Court Interpreters

UNITED KINGDOM (January 15, 2010) - Recently published research from the University of Western Sydney has highlighted the importance of hiring properly trained and experienced court interpreters, as poor interpreters can make witnesses seem less convincing to a jury.

The study, which focused on jurors' perceptions of witnesses who testify through interpreters, found that even if witnesses answer clearly but in a foreign language, jurors consider them less convincing if their interpreter constantly searches for the right words.

"With an increasing number of people living in the UK who do not have English as their first language, interpretation is a skill that will become more and more important in the coming years," says Neil Payne, managing director of multilingual solutions company Kwintessential. "In a court situation, the interpreter's skill level is crucial and frequently requires an understanding not just of words but also of tonality, cultural awareness and much more."

Lawyers, too, need to ensure that their interaction with witnesses is not undermined by inadequate interpretation. In addition, a general understanding of interpretation can help to maximise the efficiency of any court case in which interpreters are involved.

In order to help you get the most out of any court case where interpreters are required, the experts at Kwintessential, which provides qualified and accomplished court interpreters to UK based law firms, solicitors and lawyers, have put together the following advice.

1. Always use a properly qualified interpreter. Speaking more than one language, no matter how competently, does not qualify anyone to be a court interpreter.

2. Establish and agree ground rules with the interpreter. For example, try to communicate the number of sentences to be translated at a time, the confirmation of jargon or idioms before they are translated, when breaks will be taken and seemingly trivial matters like seating arrangements.

3. Try to brief an interpreter in advance of a court case. Familiarise them with the whos, whats and whys. If there is any specific terminology to be used, ask them if they understand it. If you foresee any tricky issues or tense topics, prepare them for it.

4. While speaking through a court interpreter, always engage with your counterpart directly. Even though you cannot understand what is being said, show interest, keep eye contact and remain focused. If you start to converse with the interpreter you lose any chance of building trust, rapport or confidence.

5. Try to avoid humour. Most interpreters will agree that jokes do not translate well.

6. Be aware of time. Conversing through an interpreter makes conversations twice as long.

7. Do not rush. Interpreting is a taxing job and is mentally exhausting. To alleviate the pressure as much as possible, speak slowly and clearly. If you rush, the interpreter is more likely to become stressed and the quality of the translation may drop.

8. Interpersonal communication, by its nature, involves emotion. A court interpreter should never translate emotions. If the speaker is annoyed this will be obvious in their body language and tone. Never involve the interpreter at a personal level in any discussions and if you see an interpreter translating emotions, ask them to stop. The interpreter is there to purely translate what is being said.

9. Make sure the interpreter is clear that they are never to answer questions on your behalf. Even if the answer is simple, the interpreter should still convey this to you.

10. Ask interpreters not to change or alter what you say, even if they think it may cause offense. If you plan to talk about a controversial issue, let the interpreter know. Before discussing it in the court room, announce that what will be said is not the opinion of the interpreter but your own. This then frees the interpreter of feeling uncomfortable.

Kwintessential provides a wide range of multilingual solutions for the legal sector, including court interpreters; transcription; prison work; translation of contracts and other legal documents; and cultural awareness services. The company's systems and processes ensure that solicitors can secure top quality services at a good price via a quick and easy booking system, saving valuable time for all concerned.

Kwintessential is a member of the Association of Translation Companies and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting. It is also ISO 9001 certified. All of its interpreters are qualified to a minimum of Diploma in Public Service Interpreting.

For more information about Kwintessential, as well as a selection of free resources and tools, visit www.kwintessential.co.uk.

Essex Law Firm Achieves the 'Gold Standard'

UNITED KINGDOM (January 13, 2010) - Attwaters solicitors has once again been awarded the Law Society's 'Lexcel' practice management status, offered only to those firms which meet the highest management and customer care standards. The firm, based in offices at Harlow and Loughton, remains among the fewer than 7% of solicitor practices which attain this level of achievement.

'Lexcel' accredited practices are required to undergo rigorous independent assessment every year to ensure they continue to meet required standards of excellence in areas such as client care, case management and risk management. During the firm's two day appraisal last October no major, or minor, non-compliances were recorded within the eight areas assessed.

Ian Rintoul, the firm's Practice Director is delighted:
"To once again receive this prestigious accreditation, with no areas identified which require improvement, is a tremendous validation of our efforts. Lexcel status really is the 'gold standard' which will reassure our clients, and this endorsement reflects the hard work and dedication of all our Partners and staff."

Patent Attorneys Encourage New IPO Chief Executive to 'See the Big Picture'

UNITED KINGDOM (December 18, 2009) - John Brown, President of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, has welcomed the announcement that John Alty is to be the new Chief Executive and Comptroller-General of the Intellectual Property Office. At the same time, the CIPA President cautioned that intellectual property – especially patents - had never been more crucial to the UK economy. "It will take all Mr Alty's undoubted skill and leadership to keep the IPO focused on serving the needs of UK businesses and industry, to benefit society as the economy recovers," John Brown said. "There has sometimes been a tendency for ministers and senior civil servants to get mired in the detail of patent legislation and regulation. We encourage the new chief executive to appreciate that patents are economic more than legal tools. We will be pleased to support John Alty in keeping his attention focused on the big picture."

According to CIPA, the IPO's new chief executive should have three priorities when he takes up his position in the new year:

Keeping IP policy focused on innovation in technology and manufacturing
The Chancellor's announcement of a lower 10 per cent tax rate for revenue from patents shows that the government now recognises just how important manufacturing and technological leadership are to the UK economy. Until the recent banking crisis, this was often overlooked, with excessive attention paid to 'light-touch' regulation of financial services. "Mr Alty is taking charge of one of the most efficient and quality-conscious IP offices in the world," John Brown said. "We hope he will stand up to political pressure and resist anything that might impose additional bureaucratic burdens on UK businesses - for example, in negotiating the vexed question of languages for the proposed EU Patent."

Resisting pressure from anti-IP lobbyists
The recent Manchester Manifesto is just one example of how academics and pressure groups try to persuade government that IP rights stand in the way of knowledge-sharing and scientific progress, when the opposite is the case. "We hope Mr Alty's experience as Director General in Fair Markets at BIS make him well-equipped to see through the sometimes specious arguments of the anti-IP lobby," John Brown said, "and that he will give robust advice to ministers about the value of an effective IP system."

Making patents and patent litigation more accessible to smaller businesses
The UK's patent system and profession has a worldwide reputation for quality. But taking an infringer to court can be beyond the reach of small businesses and private individuals. CIPA is looking to the IPO's new chief executive to lend his support to the proposed reform of the Patents County Court, which will bring down costs – as well as the time taken – in resolving patent disputes. "For several years now," said John Brown, "debate and consultation about IP infringement have focused on IP issues that directly affect the consumer – copyright in music and books in particular, as well as trade mark infringement and counterfeit goods. While such areas of IP are important and get a lot of media attention, it is patents and the licence revenue they can generate that are maintaining the UK's place as the sixth biggest manufacturing economy in the world."

New IP Regulator to go Live on 1 January 2010

UNITED KINGDOM (December 30, 2009) - The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg), which has been set up to regulate both trade mark and patent attorneys, will become fully activated by statute on January 1 2010, when the overall regulator for the legal professions, the Legal Services Board, is formally granted the remainder of its regulatory powers.

The new regulatory framework has been enacted by Parliament to create a new focus for consumers in the delivery of legal services, with new oversight of regulators, greater choice for consumers and more effective redress if anything should go wrong. The Legal Services Board has overall responsibility for the whole legal services sector, with the aim of putting the interests of consumers at the heart of the system, including in such areas as accessibility of services, entry routes and planning for the diverse legal workforce of the future.

IPReg was set up as part of the reforms of the Legal Services Act 2007 which creates a new system for legal complaints and an ombudsman scheme to deal with all consumer complaints about legal services. It also paves the way for lawyers, including trade mark and patent mark attorneys, to set up in partnership with other professionals and to be owned or take investment from outside companies or individuals.

According to Ann Wright, who was appointed chief executive of IPReg in November, the UK is at the forefront of regulating legal services. "IPReg is believed to be the first instance in Europe of trade mark and patent attorneys coming under independent regulatory control," she said. "This ensures that consumers, not only in the UK, but also those from overseas using UK attorneys, get a high level of service and appropriate means of redress in cases of dissatisfaction. Although IPReg is a small board in comparison to others that are also going live on 1 January, I am sure that we will be able to contribute significantly to the models of best practice."

Gillian Deas, President of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) added that she was pleased that IPReg had met all its obligations and deadlines for a successful launch on 1 January. "Meeting the requirements of the Legal Services Act has involved detailed deliberations between ITMA and CIPA" she said. "Meeting the January deadline is a testament to our joint efforts and ability to work effectively together to meet the needs of consumers, as well as complying with the requirements of the Act."

One in Three Could Benefit From a Lasting Power of Attorney

UNITED KINGDOM (December 10, 2009) - One in three people who make it to age 65 will die with dementia and many are leaving it too late to appoint someone they trust to make decisions on their behalf, according to local legal specialists, Oxley & Coward Solicitors of Rotherham.

Latest statistics show that around 2,000,000 people in England and Wales lack the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves and around 15,000 people under the age of 65 already have dementia. But now there is a simplified way to appoint someone to look after things for you, if you become incapable of doing so yourself.

Oxley & Coward Partner, Jayne Jackson, said: "The process of initiating an LPA is quite straightforward; however - a bit like wills - it seems to be something that few of us get round to sorting out, especially when we are healthy and not worrying too much about later life. The message is clear; sadly many of us will be affected by dementia in later life, putting an LPA in place now will ensure your affairs are dealt with as you would wish, that loved ones and friends will have a less stressful time trying to guess what you would have wanted."

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) were first introduced two years ago and they allow individuals to appoint someone to act as their attorney, to deal with their personal welfare or their financial affairs. The LPA replaced Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) and offered two advantages. Firstly they settled any worry about someone being pressured into the agreement, as an independent person has to certify in the LPA that the donor understands what they are doing and has not been the victim of undue influence. Secondly, under the old-style EPA an attorney was only authorised to deal with the donor's finances, but LPAs can be used to cover personal welfare as well.

For health and welfare LPAs, this can include the attorney making decisions on areas such as medical treatment and where the donor lives. The attorney can even be given authority to refuse life sustaining treatment.

Although the launch of LPAs was welcomed two years ago, they have been criticised for their length and lack of user-friendliness. But the Office of the Public Guardian has recently launched a shorter and simpler form, which can be filled in on-line and printed off.

"Given the alarming new statistics, it is important that we all plan ahead. Even those who have done an EPA should take advantage of the fact that LPAs provide the opportunity to appoint someone to look after their personal welfare". And for those already suffering from the onset of dementia, it's important to find a lawyer who understands your situation," concluded Jayne Jackson.

Oxley & Coward Solicitors provides advice on legal and financial matters for people suffering from dementia through the Alzheimer's Society as a member of LawNet - a network of independent, quality assured law firms throughout the UK and Ireland.

For advice and guidance on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs), including a FREE initial discussion, call Oxley & Coward on 01709 510999, visit www.oxcow.co.uk or e-mail jayne.jackson@oxcow.co.uk or probate@oxcow.co.uk

Leading Leeds Family Law Firm Expands its Team

UNITED KINGDOM (December 15, 2009) - Leeds family law firm Jones Myers LLP is celebrating the festive season with the appointment of family law specialist Norman Taylor.

Norman joins the firm's finance team at their Park Square office from Zermansky and Partners where he was senior partner and head of family law. He brings with him considerable expertise in resolving financial issues arising from family and relationship breakdown.

Norman is known both nationally and locally as an enthusiastic advocate of non-confrontational, solution-based resolution of family issues. He is a founder member of the Leeds Collaborative Family Law practice group and a long-standing member of Resolution, the national family lawyers association. His work in promoting and developing collaborative family law in the region culminated in his previous team winning the Yorkshire Lawyer Award 2009 for Dispute Resolution.

The firm provides a full range of legal services on family issues including pre-nuptial agreements; divorce and separation; property transfers and maintenance; cohabitation disputes; civil partnerships; and care proceedings as well as specialising in all aspects of matters relating to children including international abduction and contact cases.

Norman said: "Jones Myers expertise in family law is well established and I am delighted to be joining a team whose commitment to mediation and collaborative law is so intrinsic to their approach. I look forward to working on the many and varied cases with which they deal. "

As part of his role Norman will be further developing the firm's profile in its provision of collaborative family law services. He aims to increase awareness of Jones Myers as a centre of excellence in this increasingly important area of legal practice.

Senior Partner, Peter Jones, explained: "Norman is held in very high regard and his wealth of experience in financial matters will be a great asset to the firm. His experience will enhance the growth of our collaborative family law team - an area of law which we feel is of increasing importance to our clients."

Jones Myers LLP was established in 1992 as the first firm in West Yorkshire to dedicate itself entirely to family law. Based in Leeds, their dedicated team of experts provides a full range of family-related services including divorce and separation; guidance on financial disputes and children matters such as international abduction and contact cases.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Makes Maximum Payment to Victim of Essex Arson Attack

UNITED KINGDOM (December 9, 2009) - Attwaters, the leading Essex based Solicitors, have announced that their client Kevin Chapple has been offered the maximum payment of £500,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority following an arson attack in Harlow, Essex on 4th May 2005. The fire left him seriously brain damaged and killed his girlfriend, Kerry Youngs.

Kevin suffered brain damage as a result of inhaling poisonous fumes. He remains severely disabled and requires 24 hour a day nursing support. He is now being cared for in a specialist neuro nursing facility. A murder trial was held earlier this year at Chelmsford Crown Court, but the accused - who were both teenagers - were acquitted.

Kevin Chapple's family asked Attwaters to make a claim on their behalf to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), which is the government body responsible for administering the criminal injuries compensation scheme which makes payments to victims of violent crime.

Attwaters' Managing Partner Sheenagh Parsons, who personally dealt with the claim, says it is unusual for CICA to make the maximum payment:

"On behalf of Mr Chapple and his family, we are pleased that the CICA has offered to make the maximum payment. This is clearly the right decision. Kevin's injuries were so severe that they have stripped him of any quality of life, for the rest of his life and he requires constant care.

"Although Kevin has received the maximum award it is a small amount for a man who has lost so much in the prime of his life. It is also considerably less than could have been awarded through a civil claim."

Speaking on behalf of Kevin Chapple's family, his sister, Tracy, said:

"We're delighted at the CICA's decision and we're relieved that this process is over. The money will go towards helping Kevin in the years to come.

"We'd like to thank Attwaters for their hard work and their sensitive approach. Not enough people are aware of the CICA and we'd encourage anyone who is a victim of crime to approach the CICA."