Senior Judge calls for change in law to benefit cohabitees

Sir Nicholas Wall, the president of the Family Division, has today said that Unmarried couples who split up after living together should have legal rights to a possible share of property and money. He added courts would be more sympathetic to a claim where the couple had been living together for a significant amount of time.

Currently apart from when children are involved a judge has no discretion to make financial provision or adjustment in the same way as is possible when dealing with married couples.  A sixth of couples in Britain live together with the number expected to rise.

Sir Nicholas told the Times: "I am in favour of cohabitees having rights because of the injustice of the present situation. Women cohabitees, in particular, are severely disadvantaged by being unable to claim maintenance and having their property rights determined by the conventional laws of trusts."

He added: "If cohabitation has been short and the contribution minimal, judges would not be sympathetic to a claim."

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Google Streetview and Museums

A new Google resource has today come on line. Google has extended its Streetview facility to enable some of the world's greatest museums and institutions to become visible through its 360° photo project. The institutions include the New York MOMA, the Uffizi in Florence and the Tate Modern in London. They can also be seen on a dedicated website that Google has created specifically for this project. 

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Conveyancing Quality Scheme - another Law Society 'White Elephant'?

The Law Society is now actively promoting  its new residential conveyancing quality scheme.

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme, which is supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, will provide a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices.

No details of the benefits of the scheme are known, though the Law Society is planning to publish these at the beginning in April to coincide with the Easter house-hunting surge.

It is reported that Law Society president Linda Lee is claiming that over the past three years, the society had led consumer PR campaigns encouraging the public to use a solicitor rather than other legal providers – all of which had been successful.

This campaign it seems was rather low key as reports from some solicitors claim that the Law Society has not done enough to promote the profession and that a large section of the public has now resigned itself to be led by cost rather than quality.  

Linda Lee is reported to have said: “We now plan to do the same with CQS, a scheme which will be of genuine benefit to anyone buying a home.

“The aim is to generate publicity for legal practices which have secured the CQS mark of excellence and enable them to market their CQS status to the public effectively.

Until the benefits to the consumer are known a large number of solicitors are asking whether this scheme is likely to become another ‘white elephant’ similar to the Law Society’s Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence panels.   Those schemes that have been up and running for a number of years have had little impact on the consumer’s choice of solicitor.

The Law Society is hoping that this scheme will help solicitors compete with outside suppliers when they begin to come into the market after the full implementation of the Legal Services Act in October of this year.   The general view however is this move is represents  ‘too little, too late’  and is likely to have little impact.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Land Registry figures show further fall in house prices

The Land Registry has  announced that house prices are now just 1.5% higher than a year ago. As regards prices the news is no better with house prices falling by 0.2% in December compared with November, putting the average cost of a home at £163,814 in England and Wales. Some regions are however doing better than others. The highest price change is in London, which has experienced an annual increase of 6.2% and a monthly gain of 1%.

The picture for the immediate future looks gloomy with the  downward trend in prices looking to continue due the uncertainty regarding the economy and the Government’s spending cuts.

Mortgage approvals and house sales continue to fall and the housing market is expected to remain subdued throughout 2011 as a result.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

US Housing Market still failing to make a marked recovery

The latest Chief Economist's Weekly Brief form National Westminster Bank suggests that the large supply of housing stock, compared with falling demand, will continue to ‘weigh the market down’ and  cause a ‘drag’ on  the general economic recovery happening within the US.  This is evidenced  by US house prices falling by 0.5% m/m in November (1.6%y/y) bringing them down to 2003 levels. This is 30% below the peak and only 3% above the 2009 trough. 

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

What is Astroturfing?

Astroturfing according to Wikipedia  ‘denotes political, advertising, or public relations campaigns that are formally planned by an organization, but are disguised as spontaneous, popular "grassroots" behavior’.

The idea behind such campaigns is to give the impression that the efforts of an entity, such as a company, have not come from the company but have been launched independently by members of the public.

A good example of this can be found in the efforts of a Montreal based marketing company, Morrow Communications, who were engaged to help prepare for the launch of a new public bike system, and who acknowledged creating a dummy blog falsely pretending to be managed by 3 individuals to promote the use of bicycles in Montreal. They also created videos for the Blog and a Facebook webpage. 

The use of Astroturfing in modern day marketing is wide spread and is often used to ‘hype’ a product and as mentioned above the impression that the product has a benefit that is already being talked about by the market at which it is aimed.  Another example is where fictitious testimonials are created to support a product or service so as to give the impression it is popular.  The downside of this is that one now must be very careful when relying on reviews. 

Written by David Pett 

The changing face of Housing

Unlike the Continent we are a land where the majority of us aspire to owning our own home. In fact according to the Housing and Planning Statistics 2009 there are 22 million dwellings of which 68% are owner occupied.   There are only according to these statistics around 3 million properties which are privately rented.  Contrast this with Germany where half of the housing stock is occupied by tenants.

So why are we so obsessed with ownership?  For many of us it is how we have been brought up, to do well at school, to find a job and to then look to buy a property, normally as part of settling down and starting a family.  It’s part of our make up as well as being regarded by some as a symbol of success.  For others home ownership is about financial security at a time when pensions and other investments are constantly at risk form economic downturn.  

The tide may however be changing or about to change and there are many reasons for this, the main one of which are the austerity measures taken by the Government and the impact these will begin to have on how we live our lives in the future.

There are of course other factors such as affordability. The National Housing Federation reported an eight per cent rise in house prices and the continuing squeeze on lending means that would-be buyers in Cornwall now need to earn more than £54,000 a year to set foot on the property ladder.

The Government’s housing policy however is the main cause for change in the way we look at housing and could well see the end of the Country’s property owning democracy. The Government has as part of its recent Spending Review slashed the building budget for affordable homes by 60 per cent, and given only 140,000 new private houses will be built in the UK this year, we will soon be facing a major shortage of new housing stock.

The shortage of new housing combined with limited mortgage lending, insecurity about jobs and the worry of making long term lending commitments, and in some areas the high cost of getting onto the property market, can only lead to large property institutions seizing the opportunity this presents to invest in the building of property designed only for rental.

‘Build to let’ is the latest buzz phrase and we have already seen the likes of Legal & General, Aviva and ING making overtures in this direction.

Some private investors have already begun to purchase land in London with a view of creating ‘no thrill’ three bedroom family flats in complexes where heating and other services are shared.  Rents would be set at around £300 a week – surprisingly, just below the £340 housing benefit limit to be introduced next year for three-bedroom accommodation.  To me this all sounds similar to the Council Estates which exploded onto the scene in the 60’s and 70’s.

The Government’s agenda hidden in part behind the Spending Review is quite clear; it wishes to reduce the role of the State in housing and to open the door for the private sector to fill the gap.  The challenge for the private sector is to decide where demographically it will pitch its investment.  The risk is that those who were at one time looking to get on the housing ladder and who may be looking for rental property could be overlooked with the focus being on those eligible for housing benefit given the financial security and guaranteed return this presents.  Those who fall in between low income and the level of wage needed to purchase a home could find themselves even further out in the cold.

For this reason there must be stricter controls exercised through planning restrictions to ensure we do not end up as we did in the past with parts of the country where all those occupying property are from the same social background.  We must strive for a fairer distribution of our ever shrinking housing stock otherwise we face the risk of creating even deeper cracks in the social fabric of our country.

David Pett is a partner with Morgan Jones and Pett and can be contacted  HERE: CLICK TO E-MAIL

Moving Home Tips

Moving home can be stressful.  Our conveyancing service  (www. mjpconveyancing.co.uk ) is designed to make moving home a more relaxing experience and our home moving consultants are always on hand to help you with any queries.  

For starters here are some tips to help:

Redirect your mail

Don’t forget to have your mail redirected to your new home. Just take two forms of ID to the Post Office and ask for a mail redirection form. Find out more at http://www.royalmail.com/ . Don’t forget to forward mail to previous residents costs nothing, write ‘Not known at this address’ and their new details on the envelope or package then repost it.

Tell your doctor, dentists and health providers that you’ve moved

Make sure you tell your doctor and dentist your new address and contact details. Do the same for any other health clinic or hospital you attend regularly. Don’t be surprised if you have to register with a new GP.

Inform your insurance policies and pension providers

Take time to make sure your bank, building society, insurance and pension providers know your new address and contact details – remember to update any online registration details too.

Notify TV Licensing of your new address.

Your TV licence doesn't automatically move with you when you move house. If you don't notify TV Licensing of you new address, you could end up being unlicensed in your new home, even if you paid for a licence at your old address. Anyone who watches TV without a licence risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1000, so make sure you're covered: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/

Update your driving licence and vehicle registration documents

It’s an offence to hold a driving licence or vehicle registration that does not carry your current address – ask you post office for the appropriate form and let the DVLA know you’re moving as soon as possible: http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk

Cancel the milkman and other home services

Let the milkman know you're moving – and the window cleaner too. Cancel or update any magazine subscriptions too.

Get to know your new neighborhood.

Check out local services and transport at http://www.upmystreet.com

Compensation of £3,500 for accident on bus

Simon Bransby of MJP Solicitors has recently settled a case for a 56 year old lady recovering compensation of just over £3,500.00 for an accident on a bus when the driver braked sharply causing her to fall off her seat.

If you have been in a similar accident or wish for further information please contact Simon Bransby on  01603 877000 or by e-mail at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk

MJP Solicitors have a specialist team of personal injury and clinical negligence injury claim experts who offer free legal advice about taking a claim, if you, a friend or relative have been in an accident or suffered from medical negligence please get in touch with MJP Solicitors to find out what to do next on 01603 877000

Compensation of £12,000 for RTA Injury

Simon Bransby of MJP Solicitors has recently settled a case for a 39 year old man recovering compensation of £12,000.00 for an accident at work when his vehicle became unstable due to a generator having been poorly attached, and left the M6 Motorway. The Defendants fought the case for a long time but perseverance paid off as they settled shortly before the trial.

If you have been in a similar accident or wish for further information please contact Simon Bransby on  01603 877000 or by e-mail at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk

MJP Solicitors have a specialist team of personal injury and clinical negligence injury claim experts who offer free legal advice about taking a claim, if you, a friend or relative have been in an accident or suffered from medical negligence please get in touch with MJP Solicitors to find out what to do next on 01603 877000

Inquiries about pleural plaques

Simon Bransby of MJP Solicitors has recently been assisting clients with regard to pleural plaques under the Government Compensation Scheme (http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/pleural-plaques-compensation-scheme.htm)

If you have been the victim of asbestos exposure or wish for further information please contact Simon Bransby on  01603 877000 or by e-mail at simonbransby@m-j-p.co.uk

MJP Solicitors have a specialist team of personal injury and clinical negligence injury claim experts who offer free legal advice about taking a claim, if you, a friend or relative have been in an accident or suffered from medical negligence please get in touch with MJP Solicitors to find out what to do next on 01603 877000

Government proposals for employment law changes can only serve to restrict access to justice

Prime Minister David Cameron and Business Secretary Vince Cable have today announced proposed reforms to our employment legislation that includes:

• A fee to lodge a claim 


• Compulsory mediation in all Tribunal claims

• An increase in the level of continuous employment for claims of unfair dismissal from one to two years

The Government considers this will encourage employers to hire more employees and to in doing so help to reduce unemployment.  Those who represent employees consider this to be nonsense saying employment legislation has never deterred employees from engaging new staff.

The Government estimates this will lead to 3,700 - 4,700 fewer claims. Also, the potential introduction of a fee, provided employers are not subjected to a similar burden, could help to guard against spurious claims, which inevitably cost employers time and money.

These changes will have no affect on discrimination law and the ability to claim protection from day one.

Although employers will clearly welcome these changes once must question whether the who original objective behind Employment Tribunals of making remedies easily accessible and ‘litigant in person’ friendly has now become rather lost.

There seems to be no rationale for change and the propose reforms seem to serve little purpose other than to restrict and frustrate access to justice. 

£11,500 compensation for failed toe surgery

Sara Westwood and partner and clinical negligence expert with MJP Solicitors has recently settled a case for a 57 year old lady recovering compensation of £11,500.00 for complications suffered as a result of negligent surgery to her toe.

If you have a similar concern or wish for further information please contact Sara Westwood on  01603 877000 or by e-mail at sarawestwood@m-j-p.co.uk

MJP Solicitors have a specialist team of clinical negligence injury claim experts who offer free legal advice about taking a claim, if you, a friend or relative have been the victim of medical negligence please get in touch with MJP Solicitors to find out what to do next on 01603 877000

Ground Rent Disputes

MJP solicitors are currently assisting 23 clients who are seeking to recover damages from their former solicitors for professional negligence for failing to properly advise as to the consequences of a ground Rent revision in their lease which will considerably increase the ground rent payable at the 25 year review period.

If you have a similar concern or wish for further information please contact David Jones on  01603877000 or by e-mail at davidjones@m-j-p.co.uk

£50,000 compensation award for injured Skier

David Jones, a specialist Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Lawyer, and partner of Morgan Jones and Pett Solicitors, and who acts for clients based nationwide, has recently negotiated a £50,400 award for a female client aged 60 who was injured whilst skiing in Austria. The client suffered multiple injuries to her left shoulder, left wrist and pelvis.

David enjoys a special interest in Skiing related accidents and has acted for many Skiers over the years. He can be contacted on 01603877000 or by e-mail at davidjones@m-j-p.co.uk

DePuy ASR system compensation claims

MJP Solicitors (www.m-j-p.co.uk) are helping clients with claims for compensation for personal injury caused by defective hip prostheses relating to metal on metal hip joints including the “DePuy ASR” system.

These claims are in respect of patients with metal on metal articulated joints who have developed problems post surgery potentially due to metallic wear which is inconsistent with the outcome of the expected following hip joint replacement causing pain and reduced mobility.

For further information please call David Jones on 01603 877000 or e-mail davidjones@m-j-p.co.uk 

£15,000 compensation award for failed hip revision procedure

David Jones, a specialist Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Lawyer, and partner of Morgan Jones and Pett Solicitors, and who acts for clients based nationwide, has recently negotiated a a settlement on behalf of an elderly female patient of £15,000, who suffered a failed hip revision procedure.

David is a member of the Law Society's Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Panels and a Senior Litigator with APIL. He is also the founder member of the Norfolk and Norwich Medico-Legal Society as both Secretary and Chairman. He now specialises in Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury cases.. He can be contacted on 01603877000 or by e-mail at davidjones@m-j-p.co.uk

How to find a good and reliable personal injury solicitor

Choosing a solicitor to instruct on a personal injury case is not easy and can often be scary. No knowing how much it will cost and whether the solicitor is good or not are often factors that put people off from investigating the possibility of pursuing a compensation claim. We recognise it's all quite daunting.

So what can you do to check on the competency of the solicitor?

To begin with you should start by talking with some friends and family. Ask them what they have heard about solicitors in the area and if they know anyone that has had to work with a personal injury lawyer in the past. If you are successful in finding such a person always ask about the good and bad points they experienced with that solicitor.

You may have different expectations of your Solicitor and you have to make sure that you recognize and understand these expectations. If you cannot find anyone that has a recommendation you may want to start looking into the background of the Solicitor.

This is an important step even if you have a recommendation for a lawyer. Look to see whether the solicitor is accredited to any professional organisation specialising in personal injury. Look to see in particular is the lawyer is a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers. Look at the website and read the bio on the solicitor. Check on how long the solicitor has been in practice. Check also to see whether the solicitor firm has an up to date website and one that has a blog and or information on cases it has dealt with.

In short always do your homework as there are both good and poor solicitors.

Our firm (www.m-j-p.co.uk) offer a FREE initial consultation and a true 'no win, no fee' funding option. We have lawyers who are very experienced in this area and who are ready to help you. For further details please call David Pett on 01603877004 or e-mail davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

 

 

Free Conveyancing

The concept of FREE conveyancing can be a reality and is likely to become one in the very near future. 

As with most things in life nothing is ever completely FREE, there is always a catch or a set of conditions.    This is no different in the case of a FREE conveyancing service.  For this to happen the insular approach to conveyancing and the distrust in referral fees has to change.

The profession can no longer continue to believe that a competitive service can be built and developed solely on the back of diminishing conveyancing fees.

From October there will be increased competition and this can lead only to even lower pricing and possibly a falling in the quality of service to the end user. If those providing a conveyancing service believe they will still be able to compete I am afraid they are in for a big surprise.

The time to think outside the box is here and now. 

There are many solicitors who have steered away from referral fees because of the horror stories that have over the years emerged on failed partnerships with non-lawyer entities. I have sympathy for this line of thinking. However we live in a very competitive world where marketing costs remain high and profitability is becoming more and more difficult to sustain.  For businesses to survive and flourish business relationships within and outside the legal sector are essential.

We should not feel ashamed about charging a fee for an introduction providing of course all the necessary conduct rules are followed.  We have spent money and time in securing the client; the client has developed confidence in our service and if at the client’s behest the client is looking for other services why not charge a fee.

At MJP we have gone a stage further and as part of the transparent approach we take to referral fees we offer the client a share of the fee if they make use of one of the services offered by an external supplier.   This helps to get around the uneasiness there often is with referral fee accountability and also serves as a means for the client to receive money back that is often well in excess of the modest fee we charge for conveyancing (www.mjpconveyancing.co.uk).

We also operate a FREE web based system for other legal firms to make inter-firm referrals of cases such as clinical negligence in return for a share of the end profit earned on that case.  It has proved very popular. Further details can be found at www.mjpconnect.com

The creation of local networks of local professionals is nothing new, however with the Legal Services Act just around the corner it has, at least for us, taken on a new and essential meaning.  

If you wish to become part of our network or find out how you reduce the cost of your home move please e-mail: davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk or call 01603877004

David Pett who is a partner with Morgan Jones and Pett wrote this Blog Entry.  His role involves the supervision of the firm’s Residential Conveyancing Team.  He also runs the Business Development and IT Team.

Your feedback would be appreciated – davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Free, conveyancing, solicitors, property, homes. Moving home, clinical negligence, housing, legal services act, referral fees, mortgages

How can I help my solicitor make my home move less stressful and quicker?

 Solicitors despite the image some may give through poor client relations do understand that moving home is stressful and for the client is one of the most important lifetime experiences.   We know that you are worried about the transaction falling through before contracts are exchanged; we also know that making arrangements to move in to a home are fraught with complexity and expense.      We recogonise that you expect given this anxiety to be regularly informed about what is happening. This is understandable.

So what can you do to help?

To begin with you should at the outset receive a ‘pack’ of information from your solicitor containing documents of various description for you to read and in some instances complete.      I bet some of you think that we do this on purpose, that we send what may seem to be hundreds of documents in the hope that this will impress you and justify our modest fee!     The true answer however is that we are obliged to send some of these documents because of obligations placed upon us by the organization that regulates our profession.  Other documents are necessary as part of the home moving process.   Most forward thinking solicitors like us believe that the system for moving home is antiquated and requires reform. Unfortunately until a progressive looking Government changes the system we have to work within the constraints of a system that was designed when far fewer land transactions were taking place.  So this brings me to the first tip – please read the papers we send and do your best to complete the forms etc fully and ensure they are returned promptly.   Time is often lost having to chase for information and documents that are requested at the outset.  The more you can supply the quicker the process will be.

The other advantage of reading the ‘pack’ in full is that it will contain an explanation of the process and should answer a number of the questions you have about timings and the stages of the procedure.

The second tip relates to trust and understanding.  Although your move is the most important thing to you, it must be kept in mind that for a solicitor to be able to quote a competitive price for the job, he is obliged to take on and process a number of other transactions.  It is not uncommon for a busy practitioner to handle at any one time around 80 live transactions.  Though an equal amount of time is devoted to all of the cases, as far as that can be achieved, it is inevitable that there will be times when you case does not receive daily attention.  If a practitioner were only to handle say 5 to 20 cases at any one time, he would probably have to charge around £800 to £1000 for each transaction to make it pay. Many of you would not sadly be prepared to pay a premium of that level for personal attention of this type.   So an understanding of the practicalities of a modern day conveyancing firm does I am sure help.  As does the fact that where there is a ‘chain’ of transaction taking place it is more often the case that the process of you case is hampered by the slowness of someone else within the chain.   This is frustrating as it often gives the impression that your solicitor is slow.  So as for my second tip please can you show some understanding by trusting your solicitor to do the best he can for you and to allow him to get on with the work he is undertaking for you.   I know from personal experience that having to take phone calls during the day can prove very disruptive and cause delay.  I am not advocating that you should never call your solicitor; all I am saying is that before picking up the phone just ask yourself whether the call is necessary.   Many solicitors prefer and find e-mail communication less disruptive.

This brings me to my final tip and one that I consider would help tremendously if followed.  One of the largest groups of callers into conveyancing departments is that of estate agents.  I recogonise that they are keen to see a transaction completed quickly for obvious reason, but I simply do not understand why some persist in calling every day to find out about progress.  I can perhaps understand an agent calling on behalf of a client of that agent but when we get as we do calls from the agent of the other party it is, at least in my view, unacceptable and very disruptive.  So if you could speak to you agent and make sure they do not call without your approval this would be very helpful.

At the end of the day the client comes first and the need to keep the client updated is paramount.  We have to work in a system that is inherently slow and which is akin to an age when telegrams and manual type writers were prevalent.  Clients expect a professional and quick service but at an affordable price.  The question whether the high street lawyer can continue to meet this demand is a question for debate on another day.

David Pett who is a partner with Morgan Jones and Pett wrote this Blog Entry.  His role involves the supervision of the firm’s Residential Conveyancing Team.  He also runs the Business Development and IT Team. He can be contacted at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Your feedback would be appreciated – davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk