The newsletter for the North West, Yorkshire and the North East - September 2017
Hello and welcome to the Relationship Management monthly newsletter for the North
In this edition we give you an update on Brexit, share, with you the North's fantastic shortlist for the Law Society's 11th Excellence awards and give you the latest guidance on how to tackle GDPR in your firm.
We hope you find the report useful and we ask that you share it with your members and colleagues, put it on your websites and social media platforms..
If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve the newsletter or if you would like to suggest an article or feature please let us know.
Thank you for reading.
Jo McLeod
Head of Relationship Management North
M – 07980 725573
T – 01204 389033
Claire Quinn
Relationship Manager North
M - 07580 977090
Cath Carter
Relationship Management Executive North
M- 07812 675150
You can also follow us on Twitter
@lawsocNorthWest
@LawSocYorksNE
Join the North LinkedIn Group - follow the link
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12003211
Content
News Pages 2 - 4
· Events and training
· Excellence Awards 2017
· The latest on Brexit
· Update on guidance for tackling the General Data Protection Regulations GDPR
· Solicitors Qualifying Exam SQE - what you need to know
· For the diary - National Local Law Societies Conference 2017
Out and about in the North Page 4
Feature Council Member Insights - Peter Wright Council Member for Yorkshire Pages 4 - 5
Consultation responses Page 6
· Consultation on the AML supervisory review
· Enforcement of suspended orders
Open Consultations Page 6 - 7
· SRA: Corporate Strategy 2017-20
· Consultations for Government that you may be interested in responding to...
Private Client Section seminars with Professor Lesley King
Manchester 28 September venue tbc
These one-hour evening seminars with speaker Professor Lesley King will provide a review of current issues in private client practice. They will include coverage of the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, the latest on the RNRB, the new trusts register, the implications of Halsall v Champion Consulting (negligent tax advice) and Re Exler (conflict of interests in the administration of an estate), plus post-election updates.
Find out more and book your place
Civil Litigation half day conference
28 September, Chancery Lane London
For further information please call Andrew Moroney on 020 7320 5951 or email:
Legal Aid Civil Contract Roadshows
10 October in Liverpool venue tbc
11 October in Manchester venue tbc
16 October in Newcastle venue tbc
These roadshows are recommended for anyone who wishes to start or continue providing civil legal aid services from September 2017
For a full list of events, further detail and to book, please visit our events page.
Liverpool Law Society events
Walk with Cheshire & North Wales Law Society Saturday 16 September
Sandstone Trail, 10.30 for 11.00am For details and how to book see http://liverpoollawsociety.org.uk/social-events/sandstone-trail-walk
Business Networking Lunch, Thu, 5th October
Birkenhead Town Hall, 12.30pm – 2.00pm, with an opportunity to hear the latest news from Cammell Laird’s Director of Business Development See http://liverpoollawsociety.org.uk/social-events/business-networking-lunch
Manchester Law Society events
19 September Property Law Conference
20 September Family Law Conference
27 September Crime Update with HH Judge Potter
Westmorland Law Society event
Breakfast event on Modern Will Concerns 4 October The Vale Kendal
Legal Walks in the North
5K legal Walk in Manchester 28 September
5K Legal Walk in Liverpool 2 October
Register at www/nwlst.org.uk
Excellence Awards 2017 - fantastic shortlist in the North
Recently the names of the brightest and best from the solicitor profession were unveiled in the 11th annual Excellence Awards.
The annual awards recognise the commitment, enthusiasm and passion that solicitors dedicate to serving their clients, and, in the process, underpinning our world-renowned legal system.
"To be shortlisted for the Excellence Awards is an achievement to be proud of," said Law Society president Joe Egan.
Excellence in Business Development
• Paradigm Family Law - York
• Reeds Solicitors - Wakefield
• Rradar Limited - Hull
Excellence in Client Service
• Croftons Solicitors – Manchester
• EMG Solicitors Limited - Durham
• Rradar Limited – Hull
Excellence in Conveyance Practice
• Arnold Greenwood Solicitors - Kendal
• EMG Solicitors Limited - Durham
• Kuits Solicitors - Manchester
Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion
Gordons LLP - Yorkshire
Excellence In-house
Softcat – Manchester
Excellence in International Legal Services Shulmans – Yorkshire
Excellence in Learning & Development
Bott & Co Solicitors - Manchester
Excellence in Marketing & Communications
• April King Legal - Warrington
• BLM Fraud Team - Manchester
• Hillyer McKeown - Chester
• Irwin Mitchell - Manchester
Excellence in Private Client Practice
• Carr & Co Solicitors - Huddersfield
• Emmersons Solicitors Limited - North East
Excellence in Technology
• Durham County Council
• MRN Solicitors - Leeds
• Ward Hadaway – North
Awards for individuals
Human Rights Lawyer of the Year
• Kaweh Beheshtizadeh, Barnes Harrild & Dyer Solicitors - Birkenhead
• Peter Garsden, Simpson Millar LLP – Manchester
• Wendy Hewitt, Equality and Human Rights Commission - Manchester
• Amjad Malik, Amjad Malik Solicitors - Rochdale
Junior Lawyer of the Year
• Ciaran Dearden, Irwin Mitchell LLP – Sheffield
Solicitor of the Year - Private Practice
• Zoe Gascoyne, Quinn Melville (& CLSA) - Liverpool
• Lesley Graves, Citadel Law - Manchester
Woman Lawyer of the Year
• Emma Brooksbank, Simpson Millar – Leeds
• Rashmi Dubé, Legatus Law - Leeds
Emma Nawaz Blackstone Solicitors Altrincham
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony hosted by BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter, Mishal Husain, on 19 October 2017 at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel, London.
Book tickets to the Law Society Excellence Awards 2017 ceremony
The latest on Brexit
As Brexit rumbles on, below is a round-up of what's been happening, including the Law Society's key victory on civil justice cooperation.
Civil justice cooperation vital to post-Brexit relationship
Our latest activities on Brexit
New EU financial sanctions reporting requirements - What you need to know
The latest on GDPR
Time is running out to prepare for what is being described as a major overhaul of the EU data protection regime. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will apply from the 25 May 2018, and you need to be ready. Read our top 10 tips here.
Read Owen O'Rourke's blog on why it's important to take control of your data
Paul Cummins, Head of Legal at Milton Keynes Council and a member of our In-house Division committee, has produced a practical guide to tackling the new GDPR legislation, read it here.
Law Society Vice President, Christina Blacklaws will be chairing a GDPR seminar for in-house lawyers on 26 October. Further details and booking information will be announced in early September at events.lawsociety.org.uk.
We have developed a number of on-demand webinars which may be of interest...
Find out more
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): are you prepared?
Cost: £45 (free to Law Management section members)
This webinar, presented by James Castro, a partner and head of Data Protection at Wedlake Bell LLP, will provide you with a balanced understanding of the GDPR. The webinar will help you to identify the greatest risks to your organisation and how to focus on addressing them.
Find out more
The following articles may also be of interest:
Cybercrime trends - Is your firm prepared?
Your money or your data: 4 reasons to comply with GDPR
Keep your papers under wraps for GDPR compliance
SQE - what you need to know
From 2020, there is likely to be a new way to qualify as a solicitor. Our Junior Lawyers Division JLD have put together a comprehensive guide to help you understand the new regulations.
Also, read the President, Joe Egan's call for clarity on the SQE here.
For the diary - National Local Law Societies Conference
The City of Westminster & Holborn Law Society are pleased to invite you to the National Local Law Societies Conference 2017.
Find out more and book your place
During August the North team have been busy. We have carried out eight firm visits across Manchester, Sheffield, York and Newcastle.
We have also visited Local Law Societies in Hull and Halifax and caught up with the Chair of BSN North in Manchester.
Looking forward to the autumn, we have our first Regional Forum for local law societies, communities and Council and Committee members in Liverpool in September which Joe Egan is attending.
We have the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in October and we will be arranging a number of events around the conference. Joe Egan will also be visiting firms in the North West and speaking at Leeds Becket University in November.
Council Member Insights - Peter Wright Council Member for Yorkshire
I caught up with Peter Wright recently, Peter is Council Member for Yorkshire and founder and Managing Director of DigitalLawUK. Peter is also one of the UK’s leading experts in Data Protection, Cybersecurity and Social Media Law
I asked him how, when and what inspired him to become involved with The Law Society? He told me he first got involved on the Trainee Solicitors Group. He was eager to learn more about the legal profession and as the youngest person by about a decade in his firm he wanted to meet other young lawyers and share experiences.
He says that getting involves with his local Trainee Solicitors Group in 2002 started the journey, he was soon on the National Executive and became National Chair in 2004 and was first elected to the Law Society Council the following year in 2005.
On his greatest achievement to date as a Council Member, he told me that was involved in setting up the Junior Lawyers Division (the TSG’s successor) in 2008 and seeing that go from strength to strength has been really rewarding.
As the Chair of the Technology and Law Reference Group, he has also been actively involved on the Law Society’s submissions to Parliament around the protection of legal professional privilege in the Investigatory Powers Bill. He is really proud of the protections that were secured regarding communications between solicitors and their clients as they are crucial for the continuing integrity of the profession and the rule of law.
Going forward his key goals are to help solicitors across the country deal with the regulatory burden imposed by the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In his role as chair of the GDPR Working Group. he has been presenting to local law societies around the country on issues around Cyber Security and GDPR compliance. His aim is to get the Law Society to focus on providing members with the services and support that simply isn’t available anywhere else, through lobbying Government, facilitating opening new markets and opportunities overseas, or providing specialist practice notes as well as the library research services.
As a former President of the Yorkshire Union, I asked him what he thought were the principal benefits and values of being involved in Local Law Societies?
He told me, at their best local law societies provide a fantastic way of networking with colleagues in the local area along with great value CPD. He believes that some local law societies are incredibly innovative in providing support to local law schools and encouraging Junior Lawyers who then progress on to become engaged members of their local law society.
As a Council Member in Yorkshire one of his recent challenges has been trying to revive Local Law Societies who have had to consider closure due to falling attendance figures and support at meetings and events.
Along with fellow Council Members he has put forward the positive case for continuing, and used the example of Doncaster Law Society which faced closure two years ago but has re-engaged with its local firms and members and has gone from strength to strength.
He advised local law societies to have
· a vibrant programme of CPD,
· a versatile website and vibrant social media presence
· a plan to engage with their local Junior Lawyers Division
He warned that, once a Law Society is gone, that’s it, they can be all but impossible to resuscitate and said that he would positively encourage members to consider getting involved and helping to develop and grow their local law society.
He cited Law Society Council approving the creation of a new Local Law Society for the first time in decades last year, illustrating that there remains enthusiasm amongst members for what a strong well-supported local law society can provide. He added, it would be great for Yorkshire were able to turn around and show the rest of the country how it’s done!
On a lighter note, I asked him what the last film he saw at the cinema was. He told me Dunkirk on a full IMAX screen. He would certainly recommend that it be seen on the big screen as the aerial sequences in particular are quite stunning.
Consultation on the AML supervisory review
The Society has responded to HM Treasury’s (HMT) consultation on the anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory review. The review includes proposed regulations to establish a new Office for Professional Body AML Supervision (OPBAS), hosted by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The consultation sets out that OPBAS will focus on working with professional body AML supervisors (PBS) to ensure high standards of supervision.
The proposed regulations will give the OPBAS power for both public censure of a PBS and to recommend to HMT the removal of AML supervisor status for compliance failure.
Our response highlights our concerns that OPBAS is likely to impose unnecessary costs on PBS, which inevitably will be passed to legal businesses and ultimately to the consumers of legal services.
Read the full response here.
Enforcement of suspended orders
The Society’s Housing Law Committee has responded to a consultation by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) on proposals to clarify the process for enforcing suspended orders following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Cardiff City Council v Lee (Flowers) [2016].