NEWS:
ECJ delivers judgment in Heyday Case 6th March 2009 BBC Online
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in The Incorporated Trustees of the National Council for Ageing (Age Concern England) v Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Case C-388/07 (also known as the Heyday case) that the UK's compulsory retirement age of 65 does not breach EU legislation on age discrimination.
Despite yesterdays decision however the wait for an answer goes on for both potential claimants and solicitors alike. This is because although the ECJ held that the compulsory retirement age of 65 is legal if it has a legitimate aim related to employment and social policy, it has left it up to the High Court to decide if the age limit is in fact justified. Most commentators believe that the High Court will choose to uphold the default retirement age.
South Africa: The next legal outsourcing hub? 21st January 2009 Asia Legal Business Online
India faces a fight to hold on to its status as the world centre of legal process outsourcing (LPO), with South Africa quickly emerging as the next LPO hub.
Lovells is one of a handful of law firms piloting the offshoring of a portion of low-end legal work.
According to Lovells' chief operating officer Nick Cray, the firm has been sending Cape Town-based company Exigent administrative work from its real estate and finance practices since October 2008.
"We did considerable research and visited a number of providers before deciding that Exigent was the best partner. The pilot is helping us to confirm the quality of service and address the processes before deciding whether to extend the service to a wider user base."
In addition to Lovells, several Magic Circle firms including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Linklaters are rumoured to be actively looking at launching their own South African LPO pilot program.
South Africa has long been considered an ideal location for LPO. Not only does it boast a strong law school system which produces graduates capable of producing good work - overhead costs, such as wages and charge-out rates, are substantially lower than in the UK or US. In addition, South Africa is, so far, free from the 'low-cost, low-quality, mass produced' stigma that has been attached to other LPO destinations - particularly India.
And with concerns about the ethical soundness of Indian LPO refusing to go away, South Africa may well be on its way to becoming the next LPO hub - but just when this will happen is another question. Watch this space!
It has been an interesting year, as in the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times."
However there are positive aspects of what is happening. People are realizing that large institutions are generally poorly run and do not necessarily attract the most talented people at the top and can and do go out of business overnight.
As a small owner-managed business we know that your affairs are safer with us than with a bank or an insurance company and judging from our work, you realize that too.
There is never any room for complacency and so this year we have introduced fully electronic files (as well as a paper back-up!) for all new matters, so anytime of the day or night you can see your whole file and exactly what is happening on it.
We understand that fees are always an issue so we have two new initiatives.
Firstly, in these difficult times we realize that making a Will is even more important than ever but most of us, including me!, put this off.
So we are offering a 25% discount from our website rates for making a Will if you make an appointment to see us before 31st March 2009. Just complete the form here and we will contact you to arrange the appointment. This offer applies to family and friends - please get them to mention this offer when they contact us.
Secondly we can now have certain work done more cheaply in our South Africa office, a concept often known as off shoring. Our South Africa office, where I am writing this, is fully part of Underwoods Solicitors and operates to exactly the same standards with the full Rules of the Law Society of England and Wales applying. We can offer up to 50% off of our usual rates by having the work done in South Africa, where appropriate. You have the same 24-7 access to your electronic file. Indeed we are so confident of our quality standards that the £50 promise is increased to £100 for any work done in South Africa.
We would like to know if this service is of potential interest to you, so please complete the form here.
As a thank-you for you continued support we want to take you on a tour of the new Wembley Stadium with our compliments.
Expensive it may have been, overdue it certainly was, but it is without doubt one of the most magnificent buildings on Earth - and I have seen virtually all of the contenders for that title!
Que sera sera!
Whatever will be will be
You're going to Wemberleeee
Que sera sera!
As ever, thank you for your support and from everyone at Underwoods Solicitors we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year.
Kerry Underwood
Senior Partner
Ruling strengthens employment rights for carers 30th November 2008 The Times
Thousands of people who care for disabled or elderly relatives will have the right to claim against their private-sector employers who refuse them flexibile working after a tribunal ruling.
Sharon Coleman, a legal secretary who was forced to resign because she wanted more time to care for her disabled son, was told she would be able to claim before the English courts that she suffered "discrimination by association".
Ms Coleman worked for Attridge Law in London when she gave birth to her son Oliver, who is deaf and suffers from serious respiratory problems, including apnoeic attacks in which his breathing involuntarily stops.
She went to the European Court of Justice to argue that she had received less favourable treatment because of her son's condition while others were allowed time off to care for their non-disabled children.
The European Court found in July that Coleman's case amounted to discrimination by association, paving the way for claims by carers who say they are discriminated against because of their role in caring for another person.
The tribunal's ruling yesterday, which follows on from the European decision, has clarified the law in England and Wales.
It means that private sectors workers who also have caring responsibilities now have the same level of protection as public sector workers who were able to rely on the ECJ ruling immediately.
As a result of the ruling, an estimated 2.5 million people in Britain who maintain jobs as well as caring for sick or disabled family members will be entitled to the same treatment as other staff.
The ruling by Judge Mary Stacey means that the European Court decision can be implemented without a need for further legislation.
The European Court of Justice decided in July of this year that the EU’s anti-discrimination laws (the EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive) that protect disabled people in the workplace also cover their carers as well.
Public sector workers were able to rely on this decision immediately but the position of private sector workers was less clear cut.
There was uncertainty as to whether the UK’s own domestic anti-disability discrimination laws could accommodate the ECJs interpretation of the framework. Judge Stacey decided that UK law could be read to comply with the ECJ’s decision.
Bleak House for 02 17th October 2008
DICKINS v O2 PLC (2008)EWCA Civ 1144
Robert Males partner and specialist personal injury solicitor successfully resisted the appeal of 02 in the Court of Appeal in the case of his clients who suffered a breakdown as a result of stress at work.
Robert says :
“ These type of cases are difficult to win following the leading judgment of Hatton v Sutherland. There are so many hurdles to overcome but we were able to do so with this case and the decision was unanimous in our client’s favour”.
The case was funded in the Court of Appeal by a conditional fee agreement (no win, no fee).
Firm breaks new ground by sending PI work to South Africa 9th October 2008 Law Society Gazette
Personal injury cases are to be outsourced to South Africa this week in the first trial of its kind, the Gazette has learned.
Hertfordshire firm Underwoods has signed a deal with an unnamed practice to test whether road traffic accident (RTA) cases that fall under the predictable costs regime can be handled properly in South Africa. If the trial is successful, the firm will look to outsource around 2,000 cases a year.
Underwoods, which is acting as the firm’s agent, charges a flat fee of £500 per case. The recoverable costs of RTA cases which settle pre-issue are £800, plus 20% of the damages figure up to £5,000 and 15% of the damages between £5,000 and £10,000; for example, £1,800 for a case worth £5,000. Even with a large referral fee, there would be a profit for the firm.
The cases are being handled by Underwoods’ associate in South Africa, but if the operation takes off, the firm intends to build its own practice there with at least 40 staff. It has set up Underwoods South Africa, a registered South African partnership based near Cape Town.
Senior partner Kerry Underwood commented: ‘I am exiling the English legal system to a place of safety where the work will be done by lawyers and controlled by lawyers and kept well away from the banks and supermarkets.’
Underwood, who will be in South Africa to supervise the first tranche of work, is targeting insurers to outsource further PI cases, and is close to another deal with a law firm to outsource conveyancing. He said he had also received enquiries about commercial work, which could be handled by South African practices under the supervision of his firm. He said he is confident of bringing in more work on the basis that ‘we can offer a higher-quality service because of a lower cost-base’.
Underwood pledged that the minimum qualification of the South African staff would be a law degree.
Matters of routine 9th October 2008 Law Society Gazette
Kerry Underwood, as many readers will know, is not a man to pull his punches. The Hertfordshire solicitor, who was at the cutting edge of ‘no win, no fee’ work, is moving into legal process outsourcing (LPO) with the claim that he is protecting clients from banks and supermarkets by allowing firms to compete effectively.
‘Now that the world knows what banks are like at running banks, let alone anything else, emergency legislation should be introduced to repeal the Legal Services Act and the absurd idea of alternative business structures,’ he tells the Gazette provocatively. That might not happen, but Underwood’s foray into LPO could have equally profound implications for smaller practices if it takes off.
Until now, talk of LPO has mainly been the preserve of commercial firms, and concerned with relatively low-level tasks. Research company ValueNotes reports that LPO in India has grown by 60% annually for the past three years. But a personal injury case being handled from start to finish from South Africa (or wherever) – however mechanistic a task that can sometimes be – takes the idea of LPO significantly further.
A positive way of looking at LPO – and indeed the developments that are beginning to flow from the Legal Services Act – is that they will enable solicitors to focus on work that genuinely requires their hard-won expertise and not those routine tasks that many people now argue you no longer need to be a qualified lawyer to perform.
Underwood's August Audits 18th September 2008
Our file audits for August show an average mark of 92% across the firm and Amanda Dorling tops the chart with a mark of 99%. View them here
If in Doubt Pay by Credit Card 12th September 2008 BBC Online
The collapse of the UK's third largest package holiday group has left tens of thousands of Britons stranded abroad.
There are 67,000 stranded who booked directly with XL, and another 23,000 who booked via other companies.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also said the firm had 200,000 advance bookings.
Package deals are covered by the CAA's Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (Atol) scheme and those customers will be offered repatriation flights or their money back if they have an advance booking.
However, those who booked directly with the airline or XL.com - who are in the minority according to the CAA - will face a fee.
Anyone yet to take their flights should check their insurance policies, and with their banks or credit card companies about refunds.
Amanda Dorling advises that if you are booking flights directly with an airline, rather than booking them as part of a package deal through an Atol registered travel agent, you should pay for your flights using a credit card to ensure that you are protected should the airline collapse.
This advice also applies when purchasing goods or services over the internet and via mail order or if you are unfamiliar with the provider as the credit card company will also protect you in these circumstances.
This protection applies only to credit cards, and not debit cards.
New Migrant Worker Rules Outlined 9th September 2008 BBC Online
The list of UK jobs likely to be open to workers from outside the EU has been unveiled as part of a new "points based" migration system.
The government says it wants to cut the number of workers coming to Britain from outside the 30-nation European Economic Area (the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway).
Citizens of other EU states - except Bulgaria and Romania - are already entitled to work in the UK without restrictions.
Unskilled workers from other parts of the world are currently banned but highly qualified migrants or those with substantial sums to invest are allowed to live and work in the UK.
The new rules are expected to come into force at the end of November after the government have studied the recommendations and will make it harder to employ skilled workers from outside the EEA in trades not on the list.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) list refers to "skilled workers" - those with the equivalent of two A Levels or NVQ Level 3. They must also have a good grasp of English, a job offer with potential earnings of £24,000 and enough money to support themselves until their first pay cheque if they want to work in the UK.
Among the occupations on it are:
• Consultants and specialist nurses
• Some engineering jobs, including chemical and civil engineers
• Quantity surveyors
• Maths and English teachers
• Ship and hovercraft officers
• Veterinary surgeons
• Sheep shearers
• Jockeys and horse trainers
Doctors from outside Europe will no longer be able to work in Britain as salaried GP, under the new rules.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the panel set up to establish which sectors of the UK job market are short of workers, also said a bar should be imposed on social workers, most skilled construction workers, IT specialists and architects.
Dentist to Open at Supermarket Checkout 8th September 2008 The Times
Supermarket shoppers will soon be able to get their teeth polished, or pay for that all important filling, when out buying their groceries.
Sainsbury's, whose advertising slogan is “Try something new today”, will unveil the nation's first in-store dental surgery in Sale, near Manchester, next week. The private surgery will offer check-ups from £16 on a first come, first served basis, along with other general and cosmetic dentistry.
It is being set up by Lance Knight, who runs the Ultimate Smile Spa in Manchester, a regular haunt of celebrities such as Caprice, the model, Amir Khan, the boxer, and the Manchester City football team.
He wants to introduce the Sainsbury's Surgery to more stores across the country if the initial trial proves successful.
He told The Times: “We have a private practice that is very successful, but we want to do something for the man in the street. We'll be next to the checkout, near the pharmacy, and I think it will work really well.
“Accessibility is a big problem with dentists - they are often stuck up a back street somewhere. We'll be in the frontline seven days a week.”
Recent figures showed that 35,000 people travelled abroad to countries such as Hungary and Croatia in 2006 for dental procedures.
Mr Knight insisted that his surgery would charge a “fair” price rather than cashing in on people desperate for treatment. An appointment with the hygenist will be £30 - the same price as a basic filling.
“We'd like to roll this out to as many stores as we can,” he added. “The beauty of being in a supermarket is there's a lot of extra space if we need to expand.”
The launch marks the latest attempt by a supermarket to develop other sources of revenue. Earlier this year Sainsbury's signed a ground-breaking deal to offer out-of-hours GP appointments at a number of stores in the Greater Manchester area.
Over the past decade supermarkets have expanded into clothing, CDs, DVDs, books, furniture and homewares. Asda started an estate agency service at some of its stores in the North East of England two years ago.
David Gilder, the chain's head of professional services, said: “There is a shortage of dental practices and the launch of this service goes some way to providing local people with greater access to dental advice and a range of procedures.”
According to statistics published by the NHS Information Centre, 27 million people, or 53.3 per cent of the population, were treated by NHS dentists in the two years since they were given a new contract in April 2006. That was 1.1 million fewer than the number of patients treated in the two years before that date.
Peter Ward, chief executive of the British Dental Association, has accused the Government of failing to improve access to care for patients and not allowing dentists to provide the type of care that they wanted to deliver.
Underwoods File Audits 3rd September 2008
All lawyers, including the partners have their files audited each month by the firms Office Manager.
The results are published on our website and at the beginning of each case our clients are sent the last three months audits for the firm.
At Underwoods Solicitors anything less than 95% is considered unacceptable.
The audit sheets for files are completely anonymized to protect client confidence and are available for inspection.
Conveyancing 3rd September 2008 BBC News
Amanda Dorling looks at the government's rescue package for home buyers
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that from today he will introduce a temporary exemption from Stamp Duty Land Tax for acquisitions of residential property worth not more than £175,000.
The exemption will be available where the effective date of the land transaction (normally the date of completion) is on or after 3 September 2008 and before 3 September 2009.
Other housing moves announced by the government include:
• "Free" five year loans of up to 30% of a property's value for first time buyers of new homes in England. Under the new loans system, called HomeBuy Direct, households in England earning less than £60,000 will be offered loans free of charge for five years on new properties, co-funded by the state and developers. Once this five year period is up homebuyers will be asked to pay a fee, the Department for Communities and Local Government said – although no more detail of this was provided.
• Extension of powers for councils and housing associations to be able to pay off debt for homeowners who can no longer afford mortgage payments and then charge rent.
• Shortening from 39 weeks to 13 weeks the period before Income Support for Mortgage Interest is paid
• Bringing forward spending from future years to encourage more social housing to be built
Care applications fall sparks safety fears 21 August 2008 The Law Society Gazette
Applications for child care and supervision orders have plummeted by 25% since councils were forced to bear the full costs of court fees, prompting fears that vulnerable children are being inappropriately placed with relatives instead.
Living in an eco-town will cost £500 a year extra 23rd July 2008 The Times
£800,000 for brain injury 'caused by high-fluid diet' 23rd July 2008 The Times
A mother of two has won more than £800,000 at the High Court after she claimed that a radical detox diet left her brain-damaged and epileptic.
Dawn Page, 52 said that she was told to drink four extra pints of water a day and reduce her salt intake to prevent fluid retention and reduce weight.
Within days of going on "The Amazing Hydration Diet" she began vomiting and, less than a week after starting the diet, suffered a massive epileptic fit. She was taken to intensive care but doctors were unable to prevent permanent brain damage.
‘Outsource work or risk being cut out of the loop’ 12 June 2008 The Law Society Gazette
COMPETITION: lawyers cannot afford to ‘bury heads in sand’
Law firms should be looking to cut costs and outsource some legal work to compete effectively once alternative business structures (ABSs) come into being, Kerry Underwood, senior partner at Hertfordshire firm Underwoods, has warned.
Speaking at a legal process outsourcing (LPO) event hosted by the South African High Commission in London last week, Underwood said major companies were ‘no longer prepared to pay the rates even junior lawyers are charging in London, New York and Washington. Lawyers here will be cut out of the loop’.
He added: ‘Roughly, you can get work done in South Africa for half the price here … firms who bury their heads in the sand will go because the work will go.
‘The Legal Services Act passed last year introduces ABSs …. if you don’t think supermarkets, insurance companies and banks will practise law, I am sorry they will. If you think they would think twice about offshoring legal work, you are wrong’.
Underwood said high-volume, routine and non-contentious legal services would be most easily outsourced.
However, Seamus Smyth, partner at London firm Carter Lemon Camerons, told delegates that, while outsourcing purely mechanical processes would be relatively safe, outsourcing professional legal services to lawyers not qualified in English law would be problematic.
He said: ‘I am positive about LPO at a mechanical level but much less so at a professional level. I think it carries a high level of risk with it’.
Graham Chrystie, consultant at City firm Speechly Bircham, said: ‘I totally agree with the concept but …. you have to trust and know the chap who is providing the outsourcing service. Clients will want to know you had vetted them’.
Anita Rice
Legal process outsourcing comes to the fore as companies look to slash costs 29 May 2008 The Law Society Gazette
CREDIT CRUNCH: firms' ability to farm out straightforward tasks influences contract awards
Enquiries about legal process outsourcing have climbed sharply since the credit crunch took effect, a number of outsourcing companies have told the Gazette.
General counsel are also ramping up the pressure on law firms to outsource aspects of their legal services as legal spend is squeezed. In addition, firms striving to win places on corporate panels are bolstering deal pitches by proving they are using outsourcing as a means of reducing costs.
Mark Harding, general counsel at Barclays and former chairman of the GC100 – the association for the general counsel and company secretaries of FTSE 100 companies – said the issue of encouraging law firms to outsource simpler work was becoming increasingly important across the group.
Harding added that, following on from a successful commercial contracts outsourcing pilot in New Zealand, he intended to send more work there.
The news comes as the South African High Commission is set to host its first legal process outsourcing seminar in London, to be chaired by Kerry Underwood, senior partner at Hertfordshire firm Underwoods.
Underwood told the Gazette: ‘Every law firm should be looking at outsourcing. The assumption that London and the US have a monopoly on the best lawyers is wrong.’
He added that firms looking to take advantage of external investment under the Legal Services Act would need to outsource to show investors they had an attractive business model.
Andrew Loach, a vice-president of business development for legal outsourcing company CPA’s European Legal Services Unit, noted that one ‘very large’ UK law firm pitching for corporate panel work was taking a ‘blended’ approach by outsourcing simple legal tasks, such as contract review, to paralegals in India. The most important tasks would still be undertaken by the firm’s own lawyers.
He said: ‘Law firms recognise times are getting tougher and clients are demanding more creativity when it comes to billing.’
Kesh Sharma, a director of legal services outsourcing company Magellan Consultancy Services, said his company had recently benchmarked the fees charged to a ‘large international firm’ by its current panel firms and its potential new panel – with the result that all the firms were asked to look at outsourcing as a means of cutting costs.
He also noted high-street firms had recently started to look at outsourcing bulk commodity processes such as conveyancing.
Ian Prince, chief executive of outsourcing consultancy Prince OMC, and Robert Glennie, chief executive of legal services provider NewGalexy, said their companies had experienced a greater number of outsourcing enquiries of late from both law firms and general counsel.
James Dean
South Africa legal process outsourcing seminar 5th June 2008
Kerry Underwood is chairing a seminar programme for the South African High Commission on legal process outsourcing to South Africa.
Attendance is by invitation only and if you want more information please contact Kerry at kerry@kerryunderwood.co.uk.
The seminar carries 3 continuing professional development hours and is free.
Click here to download a PDF for event details.
WILLS 12 May 2008
Recent research has shown that 92% of the public thought that will-writers had to be trained and/or regulated.
78% thought it wrong that anyone at all can sell will-writing services.
The government has refused to regulate will-writers.
£4.99 Wills in shops now 12 March 2008
A £4.99 DIY Will making kit went on sale in 7,000 newsagents this week.
Rumours that the same stores will be selling DIY open-heart surgery kits for £9.99 remain unconfirmed.
News Archive
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