How many times have you had to cancel a social arrangement because you had to work late?  How often do you wish you had more time to devote to keeping fit?   How often do you…

Judging from the number of comments posted on a recent article by Nick Mcdermott in the Mail, problems with the neighbours are a major headache across the UK.

I regularly field queries on this subject from clients buying or selling their home - it may not be as costly as unauthorised alterations or questionable rights of…

23/07/2011 - Tamara Cohen



It wasn't the most sensitive way to announce the end of a 21-year marriage.



But yesterday Sainsbury's boss Justin King was forced to broadcast his divorce to the Stock Exchange with the transfer of 2 million pounds of shares to his ex-wife Claire.



He said in a statement: Justin King no longer holds a beneficial interest in the shares held by Claire King.



The 50-year-old…

A Russian billionaire has been hit with the biggest divorce settlement in history after a judge awarded his ex-wife a payout thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds.



Oil tycoon Boris Berezovsky, 65, agreed to the payout at the High Court in London yesterday, exactly a year after divorcing Galina Besharova.



Although neither side would confirm the settlement figure, judge Mrs Justice Eleanor King hinted at the huge sum involved, saying: ?It does not matter whether…

Tom Watson (Member of Parliament for West Bromwich East) has recently written to Mr. Peter Wardle, the Chief Executive of the Electoral Standards Commission asking him to investigate alleged potential breaches of the Political Parties Elections and Referenda Act 2000  (the Act) in respect of payments allegedly received by former News of the World Editor, and…

A well respected survey has revealed some interesting views from solicitors generally about the post ABS direction of prices in the conveyancing sector.

As we all know conveyancers are happy to fall over themselves to reduce prices ever lower despite concerns over quality, risk and outcomes.

Every town has a conveyancer who is prepared to offer lower priced conveyancing than his competitor, whatever the cost base of his practice just to get the work. Even if…

Over the last year or so, there has been a lot of criticism of charities for aggressively pursuing gifts made to them in Wills. In the well-known Yorkshire farmer case, RSPCA v Gill, a Yorkshire couple had inexplicably disinherited their attentive daughter in favour of the RSPCA. She eventually received the whole of the estate after the House of Lords decided that her mother (who was terrified of leaving the house) had been unaware of what she was signing when the Will was made. The…

The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 broadening the scope of criminal offences and targeting 'facilitation payments'.

Stone Chambers barristers Philip Riches and Liisa Lahti have written an article which considers these facilitation payments in the shipping & maritime sector, which has been identified as a "high risk" industry.

This article in particular looks at facilitation payments and:

• the two general offences which are broadly,…

Initially, our new Fee Finance business has been targeted at Accountancy Fee Notes but a number of Legal Firms have approached us for Accreditation. Offering Fee Note Finance with a 48 hour turnaround in payout coupled with a tight Credit Management Procedure has provided us with two USP`s.

I am currently discussing this program with the SRA, not for anything else but for official recognition.

Apart from recommendations, I would welcome any guidance…

We have recently issued an important update to the topic of men grooming on the internet (Grooming Of Men On The Internet. Seriously…..)

 …

As a specialist at Conveyancing in Birmingham, human rights is rarely an issue I engage with. Nevertheless, this latest development in the riots saga should not be easily ignored.

Cabinet member for housing from Birmingham Council, John Lines, announced that the council will be going ahead with plans to evict tenants who were involved in last week’s riots, with the assistance of the central…

What would you think if I told you that approximately 7 out of 10 jobs are obtained through networking?

For some of you, the word…

If your home has a septic tank or a package sewage treatment plant, then you need to register the system with the Environment Agency or have an environmental permit. If properly managed, most of these systems do not cause problems, but if they are poorly designed, installed or managed, the discharge from them can damage the environment. Domestic wastewater can contain substances that are potentially harmful to human health and the…

www.jcimanchester.com

The prestigious MYTA Awards serve to recognise up to eight outstanding individuals between the ages of 18 and 39 who exemplify the best attributes of Manchester’s young people. Young people may be nominated in any of the following categories:-

• Business Accomplishment Award…

England Cricket coach and legend Andy Flower has announced that he is to become an Ambassador for Skin Cancer charity Factor 50.

Factor 50  campaigns for greater awareness and the dangers of malignant melanoma, the skin cancer which kills over 2000 people a year in theUK. Factor 50  work  with  The Christie, and also raise  money to conduct research into Malignant Melanoma.…

At some point either this year or early 2012, the Alternative Business Structure will come into force. Commonly dubbed “Tesco Law ” this is likely to change the face of the legal profession.

How will it affect solicitors and legal firms?

It is not likely to be the “Big Bang” feared by some but it will have an effect. What that effect will be is not clear yet but we do know what the aim of the change is and…

The current turmoil in the stock markets is worrying for anyone with investments, but particularly so for trustees, who are looking after other people’s money. What’s the best thing for a trustee to do? How can a trustee protect him or herself from liability?

The obligations of a trustee are now set out in the Trustee Act 2000. A Trustee must take financial advice from an independent financial adviser, and must review the trust investments at least once a year. In addition,…

A recent decision by the Supreme Court in Autoclenz v Belcher and others [2011] UKSC 41 confirmed that employment tribunals may disregard terms included in a written agreement when determining employment status if such terms do not reflect the actual legal obligations of the parties.

The question of whether an individual is an employee, a worker or self employed is a significant one as this will affect the individual’s statutory protections: employees enjoy the full…