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The 2012 edition of the Legal 500, considered to be the leading independent guide to the legal profession, was released today.
Leathes Prior has this year received its record number of rankings – testament to its growing reputation as a leading firm not only in Norwich and East Anglia but in many areas of specialism, nationally.
The past 12 months have proved exciting times for the firm as it continues to enjoy the success of its traditional, core commercial and private-client services coupled with its range of innovative, niche specialisms. The Legal 500 reports that clients speak with consistency about the firm’s partner-led ethos, its approachable and dynamic manner and the cost-effective nature of its services.
One particularly noteworthy entry is for the dispute resolution team, praised as “honest, straightforward and extremely accomplished”. Headed by partner Mike Barlow, cited as “a leading light for his knowledge and ability”, alongside the highly recommended partner Darren Bowen, this team continues to provide impressive results, as evidenced recently by the work undertaken AgChemAccess Limited.
Strengthening the commercial offering and reinforcing Leathes Prior’s client-focused approach is the corporate and commercial team, which includes the “excellent” partner Peter Sheppard – who “acts as if he is a member of the client’s team” – and the highly experienced partner Paul Warman, who “works hard in his client’s best interests”.
Taken alongside the highly specialist IT and intellectual property teams, where solicitor Kitty Rosser is said by the Legal 500 “to enjoy a developing reputation, clients’ commercial affairs are in safe hands.”
The firm’s real estate team, praised for being “always approachable and prompt” and “very good value”, has had an extremely busy year, with partner Rob Sibley and the “timely and professional” associate Chris Hoxley singled out.
In addition, the “confident and pragmatic approach” taken by the firm’s agricultural and estates team has taken it from strength to strength, with Rob Sibley, senior partner William Riley, Darren Bowen and associate Paul Oldershaw praised for their “vast experience”.
Leathes Prior’s property litigators have had a hugely successful year, with Darren Bowen praised for his “attention to detail”.
The firm’s “very strong” employment team has had another impressive year, with partner Dan Chapman and associate Katie Franklin reported to be “extremely quick, thorough and efficient” in the provision of proactive and commercially-astute advice to clients of an increasingly national presence, such as Fowler Welch Coolchain, British Horseracing Authority, CVS Vets, the Education Travel Group and Caterham F1. Recently appointed partner Paula Lawn continues to head the impressive claimant-orientated unit.
The “highly organised” Mr Chapman has also added breadth and expertise to the sports law team, which has a growing client base acting for a number of football clubs, regulatory bodies, motorsports teams and leading sports individuals, and has recently launched a football agency division under its Full Contact brand.
Other noteworthy niche areas the firm has continued to develop over the past year include healthcare and education. The healthcare team has been praised for being “genuine and enthusiastic” in the provision of its advice on multi-million-pound contracts in the healthcare sector, and the education team provides “exemplary service and extremely quick responses”.
In the field of insolvency and corporate recovery, partner Adam McCaw’s team said to be “practical, technical and calm in a crisis”, and the debt recovery team, where “responses are prompt, advice is sound and the team is honest and straightforward”.
The firm has a longstanding expertise in private-client work, providing focused support to individuals during times when professional support is needed most. Hazel Gill (partner and head of the personal tax, trusts and probate team) is commended for being a “terrific listener”, whose “knowledge, efficient and people skills are admirable”, and Alisdair Douglas (partner and head of the family team) has “a full grasp of what needs to be done”, with his team being “easy to deal with, polite and courteous”.
Leathes Prior’s charities team “responds quickly and gives good support” and is said to have “great awareness and understanding”.
The firm’s regulatory offering is headed by partner Tim Cary, who is said to be “superb” and “outstanding” and able to compete and often outperform City of London rivals. In the specialist areas of crime, health and safety, licensing and transport, Tim and his team are praised for being “extremely thorough” and for their “ease of access to partner-led advice, and strong focus on customer service”.
2012 marks the 20th Anniversary of the successful relocation of UFS Ltd T/A Uniex Freight Services (formerly Uniex Transport) to Thetford in Norfolk
Specialising in road freight services to / from all over Europe with core markets being Holland / Belgium / Germany / Switzerland and France
UFS Ltd, established in 1963, moved their head office to the purpose built site in Thetford offering 1000m2 of warehousing capability. Over the coming years the company has gone from strength to strength resulting in the addition of two further warehouses, 555m2 and 350m2 respectively in order to accommodate the increased demand for warehousing space from both local and overseas companies alike. The demand has grown largely due to the fact that UFS Ltd can offer 24/7 security with CCTV monitoring to give their clients peace of mind that their goods are in safe hands and the capability of UFS Lts to handle hazardous cargo (ADR/IMDG) with their own trained staff, indeed one of their warehouses has been specifically designed for the safe handling and storage of dangerous goods with interceptor drainage to avoid pollution of the local environment
UFS Ltd has always been a privately owned company and in 2004 became a family owned company when the founder member retired. This not only brought new owners but also saw the re-branding of the Uniex name and company logo
With additional offices in Manchester offering Worldwide Seafreight / Airfreight services and in Dover offering a 24/7 attended service for customs formalities for cargo arriving in and leaving the UK, UFS Ltd can claim to be a one-stop shop for clients which are made up of internationally renowned blue chip, locals and other freight forwarding companies alike
For any enquiries please contact the Sales Manager, David Cowell on 01842 751751 or sales@uniex.co.uk
The Partners of Leathes Prior are delighted to announce that Leo McMahon, currently trainee solicitor within the firm’s Wills, Trusts and Probate Team, has qualified as a Solicitor with effect from 17 September 2012.
Leo joined Leathes Prior as a Trainee Solicitor in September 2010 and qualified into the Private Client and Real Estate Teams in September 2012. He now focuses on property work, Wills and Trusts, and the Administration of Estates.
Leo grew up in rural North Norfolk before graduating from the University of Kent in 2006 with a degree in English and American Literature. Leo returned to Norwich to complete the Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies at the UEA in 2008.
Leo is a keen follower of cricket and other sports, and enjoys spending time in the Norfolk countryside.
A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that a taxi driver who was free to work as and when he liked was not an employee. Professional Support Lawyer Elizabeth Stevens and Trainee Solicitor Laura Tanguay report.
The claimant in this case, Mr Knight, worked as a taxi driver with Fairway & Kenwood Car Service. Under the terms of their written agreement, Mr Knight was free to work or not work as and when he pleased.
Mr Knight brought a claim for wrongful dismissal, which was rejected by the employment tribunal on the grounds that he was not engaged under a contract of employment. He appealed against the tribunal’s decision to the EAT.
The EAT reviewed the relevant case law in this area which has established that, for a contract to be a contract of employment, it must infer an obligation to work and enable the employer to exercise some degree of control.
The EAT considered whether Mr Knight was under any obligation to work for Fairway & Kenwood and concluded that he was not. There was no contractual requirement for him to work a minimum number of hours or accept a minimum number of jobs. So long as the weekly ‘rent’ was paid to Fairway & Kenwood, Mr Knight was not in fact obliged to work at all. The fact that the taxi driver actually worked seven days a week in reality was not, in itself, sufficient to say that an employee-employer relationship should be implied by the tribunal.
Mr Knight’s appeal was therefore dismissed by the EAT and his claim for wrongful dismissal rejected.
Comment
This case is a useful reminder that tribunals will not infer an employee-employer relationship where there is clear evidence (in this case a written agreement between the parties) that a worker is not required to work – even if in reality he or she is working seven days a week. There was no suggestion in this case that the agreement was a sham and did not reflect the true arrangement between the parties. It is important when engaging such workers to make sure that any written agreement is an accurate reflection of the working arrangements.
A copy of the EAT judgment is available here.
A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that a taxi driver who was free to work as and when he liked was not an employee. Professional Support Lawyer Elizabeth Stevens and Trainee Solicitor Laura Tanguay report.
The claimant in this case, Mr Knight, worked as a taxi driver with Fairway & Kenwood Car Service. Under the terms of their written agreement, Mr Knight was free to work or not work as and when he pleased.
Mr Knight brought a claim for wrongful dismissal, which was rejected by the employment tribunal on the grounds that he was not engaged under a contract of employment. He appealed against the tribunal’s decision to the EAT.
The EAT reviewed the relevant case law in this area which has established that, for a contract to be a contract of employment, it must infer an obligation to work and enable the employer to exercise some degree of control.
The EAT considered whether Mr Knight was under any obligation to work for Fairway & Kenwood and concluded that he was not. There was no contractual requirement for him to work a minimum number of hours or accept a minimum number of jobs. So long as the weekly ‘rent’ was paid to Fairway & Kenwood, Mr Knight was not in fact obliged to work at all. The fact that the taxi driver actually worked seven days a week in reality was not, in itself, sufficient to say that an employee-employer relationship should be implied by the tribunal.
Mr Knight’s appeal was therefore dismissed by the EAT and his claim for wrongful dismissal rejected.
Comment
This case is a useful reminder that tribunals will not infer an employee-employer relationship where there is clear evidence (in this case a written agreement between the parties) that a worker is not required to work – even if in reality he or she is working seven days a week. There was no suggestion in this case that the agreement was a sham and did not reflect the true arrangement between the parties. It is important when engaging such workers to make sure that any written agreement is an accurate reflection of the working arrangements.
A copy of the EAT judgment is available here.
Talented young Great Yarmouth chef Daniel Marshall faces an Olympic-style challenge in the kitchen as he represents Great Britain in a culinary contest against rivals from around the world.
Having been voted best young chef in the country, the 21-year-old will take on more than 20 other fledging contestants in Berlin tomorrow for the title of International Young Chef of the Year.
It’s the 36th international final of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ Young Chef contest, one of the most prestigious in the business.
Daniel, a chef de partie at the Imperial Hotel, was thrilled to win the national title and has no qualms about taking on some of the world’s top young chefs from as far afield as Australia, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, Israel, the USA and Russia.
“We have to create a three-course menu for four people out of a ‘mystery box’ of ingredients in three-and-a-half hours,” he said. “I’m fairly confident about the taste and presentation of my food but I mainly worry about getting the menu right. We have only half an hour to plan it and you know the meal must eventually be perfect and on time.
“It will be a wonderful experience as we are visiting restaurants and food markets around Berlin and later I have a month working alongside 2 Michelin star chef Nils Henkel in Germany.”
Daniel’s success in the GB final has already brought him the prize of two days cooking with Anton Mosimann in London and six days with the Red Carnation boutique hotel group.
But he still loves going back to work at the Imperial in Great Yarmouth – close to his home in St Peters Road – and learning from the award-winning chefs there. And his head won’t be turned however he fares in the international final.
“You have to be ambitious and I have various ideas for the future but I have a lot to learn yet,” said the former Great Yarmouth College student.
Imperial Hotel director Nicholas Mobbs said: “Daniel has tremendous ability and enthusiasm and deserves to do well. It would be like another Gold Medal for GB and Norfolk if he succeeds.”
Employment law is one of the most complex and fast moving areas of law and keeping up to date with these changes can prove vital to protecting and advancing your commercial interests.
Leading east of England law firm Birketts are holding half day seminars followed by lunch and networking in Norwich, Cambridge, Ipswich, Chelmsford, Norwich, Kings Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Huntingdon across September to bring you up to date on the key legislative and case law developments of the last year and those we can expect to see in 2013.
Topics to be discussed include:
• Changes relating to holidays redundancies and conduct dismissal • Polices and procedures – are you up to date and complying with recent developments? • What can we expect to happen in employment law in the next 12 months?
Tom Wagstaff a Partner in Birketts’ employment team commented”. In the last seven years we’ve seen big changes which have significant practical implications for HR Teams. Our focus in these seminars will be on developments affecting your day to day management of staff “
To book a place at one of our seminars please email bookings@birketts.co.uk and specify the place of the event you would like to attend in the subject heading.
Leathes Prior successfully represented Norwich based business AgChemAccess Limited in its legal battle with the Health and Safety Executive after a dispute over enforcement action taken against the company in July.
The HSE issued enforcement action on July 10 ordering the company not to move any of its UK stock as inspectors believed there was a breach of safety regulations linked to the packaging of a shipment of the herbicide glyphosate.
The ban was eventually lifted on August 29 after the company sought, with the help of Leathes Prior, a judicial review in the High Court and the HSE agreed to quash the notices a matter of hours before the hearing was due to take place.
Nick Gooch, the managing director at AgChemAccess, accused the agency of being too heavy-handed by imposing a blanket ban on the movement of all its products stored in two warehouses, instead of focusing solely on the shipment issue.
He said as well as the legal challenge, which had already cost the company £200,000 in legal fees, which will now be met by the taxpayer, the company, which employs about 65 staff, was suing for damages for around £2m in lost business.
Mr Gooch, who started the business in 2004, said the issue had almost brought the firm to its knees.
“They were told that a small amount of this product had leaked,” Mr Gooch said. “They didn’t stop and ask any questions – they just ploughed on. Because of what was happening we couldn’t move anything and we had to dramatically reduce the workforce with 10 people losing their jobs.”
“This has been absolutely disastrous for us,” he added. “We have got products left in store which we can’t sell for another year and if it had gone on another two or three weeks, we would have gone out of business.”
“Not only have we had to shed 10 jobs, but our UK and international reputation has suffered,” he added. “We have long-standing customers who have gone elsewhere because we could not deliver to them. Potential new contracts have also been lost. Thanks to our outstanding legal team, headed by Darren Bowen a Partner in Leathes Prior’s Dispute Resolution and Agricultural Teams we can now start trading again.”
Darren Bowen a Partner at Leathes Prior said: “We were surprised by the actions of the HSE inspector in this matter and we were extremely pleased to be able to assist AgChemAccess Limited in successfully challenging the decisions taken. The HSE has an important role to play in protecting the public interest but, as demonstrated in this case, this needs to be balanced against the rights of a business to undertake its legitimate trade. I believe it is fair to say that, on this occasion, the HSE got it very wrong.”
Emma Alfieri reports on the Law Commission’s recently published consultation.
The Law Commission has today (Tuesday 11 September) published a consultation claiming there is a “lack of legal clarity” about the way in which financial matters are decided upon divorce and upon dissolution of Civil Partnerships.
Under the current law, there are detailed statutory provisions about the orders that the court can make where couples cannot agree financial matters between them; but the statute does not say what the court is to achieve by making these orders. Therefore the report claims that if a member of the public read the relevant legislation they would have “no sense of what the outcome would be”.
The reports goes on to say that the judge in the family court has been compared to a bus driver, who has been told how to drive the bus and told that he must drive it, but has not been told where to go, nor why he is to go there.
There is also evidence of regional inconsistencies, with different outcomes favoured in different courts. The uncertainty in the law has given rise to dissatisfaction, as has its obscurity, and both those factors are increasingly causes for concern in an era when access to legal advice is going to be more limited following reform of legal aid.
The paper goes on to ask whether financial support should continue to be determined by the court, at the judge’s discretion, or whether it should be calculated by reference to a formula, so substituting greater predictability for individualised discretion. A number of other jurisdictions have taken this route, notably Canada where interestingly financial support is based on the length of the relationship and the difference between the spouses’ incomes.
The report also proposes that “non-matrimonial property” held in one spouse’s name alone and acquired as a gift or inheritance, or before their marriage, should not be shared unless it helps meet their partner’s needs.
The consultation period is open until 11 December 2012. The Commission’s final Report on Pre-nuptial and Post-nuptial Agreements (expected in the autumn of 2013) will then make recommendations for principled reform.
Emma Alfieri from our family team comments: “A formulaic approach would provide certainty however parties should still be able to apply to the court if the formula works out to be unfair given the particular circumstances of the case.
This is a difficult area of the law and there is not going to be any “quick fix” solutions. The report stresses that other jurisdictions that have achieved fundamental reform of the law have done so after years of research and piloting. This is an important area of social policy and therefore reform is going to take time”.
OpenContact has been shortlisted in the category for ‘Outsource Contact Centre Provider of the Year’ in the National Outsourcing Associations 2012 awards. The awards in association with Wipro Technologies saw a record number of entries in every category and winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on October 25th 2012.
The annual awards require detailed submission based on the value providers add to their clients, use of innovation and best industry practice, continuous improvement and a host of other criteria. NOA Chairman, Martyn Hart said “not only is this a record breaking year for quantity, all of the award submissions are of outstanding quality. We always look forward to this time of year, as it brings a unique opportunity to compare best practice and reward the companies who are pushing the industry forward. The effort and detail that has gone into the submissions makes me proud to be a part of our rapidly maturing industry, and also proud that so many companies see the value of competing to win a NOAA. Short-listing has been difficult – choosing a winner will be even harder”.
OpenContact’s Head of Client Services, Steve Gregory said: “We based our entry on how we continuously add value to our clients, how we deliver best industry practice and ultimately what we achieve for our clients. Our partnerships with GoApe and UK General featured in our submission which clearly impressed the judges. We are up against big industry names in this category but are confident we match up to them in terms of being a successful outsource contact centre provider with delighted clients”
– ENDS –
Press contacts:
OpenContact Steve Gregory: 01603 895406 / steve.gregory@opencontact.co.uk Fiona Temple: 01603 895405 / fiona.temple@opencontact.co.uk Website: https://www.opencontact.co.uk
The National Outsourcing Association Natalie : +44 (0)207 292 8689/ nataliem@noa.co.uk
About OpenContact: Established over 11 years ago in Norwich, OpenContact is an outsourced customer contact centre designed to manage customer encounters on behalf of our clients and deliver the customer experience they need. Still family owned and operated, Fiona Temple and her team always create a bespoke service to match every client’s specific requirements and deliver to them consistently.
OpenContact’s work includes: GoApe, UK General Insurance, Mattressman, Harrod Horticultural, Debenhams, John Lewis.
About The NOA Established as a not-for-profit organisation, operating for over 20 years, the NOA acts as an independent body. Mission Statement: The NOA aims to be the centre of excellence in outsourcing. The NOAs main objective is to communicate to a wider audience: – The principles of best practice in outsourcing, shared services and insourcing – The significant benefits and strategic lessons of outsourcing, shared services and insourcing Members: The NOA represents member organisations across the sourcing industry. Members fall into three main categories: Users – UK and overseas companies who engage in outsourcing, shared services and insourcing Suppliers – companies who provide these services Support services – legal, consultancy and recruitment companies which support the sourcing industry – END TO ALL –
Unfair dismissal, disciplinary allegations, discrimination and other employment-related problems can often lead to employees and employers facing the prospect of having their dispute heard by a tribunal, but how many of us have any idea of what this truly entails?
Leading East of England law firm Birketts will provide an informative and fascinating insight when it presents a mock employment tribunal on the 19th September at The University of East Anglia.
Aimed primarily at line managers and HR professionals, the event is a realistic employment tribunal complete with a judge and panel, witnesses and cross-examinations by London and Oxford based 13 KBW Chamber members Clare Harrington and Richard Owen-Thomas.
Judge Chris Ash who is now retired but was a serving Judge in Norwich for 19 years will be presiding over the Mock Tribunal. Judge Ash will have no prior knowledge of the scenario and will listen to the facts as presented on the day.
Jeanette Wheeler head of the Birketts employment team in Norwich said “Tribunals can be extremely time-consuming for senior managers and HR professionals. If a case does end up at tribunal, there are, potentially, significant financial awards and legal fees, together with disruption to management time.”
“Being involved in an employment tribunal can be a daunting prospect. With employment litigation on the rise, it is helpful for HR practitioners and employers to know what to expect. The mock tribunal provides the opportunity to observe how a tribunal is conducted in practice and a chance to gain a better understanding of the process.”
Jeanette continued “Any manager who is involved in the process of disciplining or managing grievances is likely at some time to have to appear as a witness at tribunal and knowing what to expect and the detail in which the decision is to be scrutinised is invaluable and we strongly urge those managers to attend”.
The Birketts mock employment tribunal takes place on 19th September in the Thomas Paine lecture theatre at The University of East Anglia Norwich. There are still limited places available.
For more information pleasecontact Alastair Clark on 01245 211 334 or email Alastair-clark@birketts.co.uk