When is an increase a deduction?
Stephen Brookes, of Salmons’ Stoke office, reviews whether the announced increase in awards for compensation claims is good news or bad. It has been a view held by many lawyers for some time that compensation payable for an injury itself (what lawyers call “general damages”, as opposed to compensation for out of pocket expenses such […]
Keele University launches a new Community Legal Initiative
In collaboration with Salmons, and a number of other local solicitors, Keele University Faculty of Law has launched an innovative way forward in the delivery of legal services in North Staffordshire to those most affected by the massive loss of legal aid provision, writes Jane Staff, Head of the Family dept. Keele Law School has […]
No Win, No fee and No Worries?
Stephen Brookes reviews the changes to the no win no fee system which came into operation on the 1st April 2013 The no-win no-fee case funding method for personal injury claims was radically altered on the 1st April 2013 following pressure on the Government by the insurance industry to reduce the cost of claims by […]
Losing the Stable – Conveyancing at Christmas
It is quite clear that if Mary and Joseph had asked “National Bulk Conveyancing Rapid Factory Law 4U.com” in Rome to assist them in their purchase of a stable in Bethlehem of Judea, to accommodate them over the winter of the year 0, whilst Mary rested awaiting the arrival of her first born, that there […]
WARNING ON FAMILY LAW LEGAL AID 2013 CUTS
URGENT WARNING ON FAMILY LAW LEGAL AID – LEGAL AID IS BEING DRAMATICALLY CURTAILED ON THE 1ST APRIL 2013 BY REASON OF GOVERNMENT CUT-BACKS – IF YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE ENTITLED TO LEGAL AID BEFORE YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT, COME APRIL 2013, YOU MAY NOT RECEIVE IT, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR […]
SRA scraps minimum salary for trainee solicitors
It’s a very soggy June 2012 and Nick Mason outlines the change to the trainee minimum salary and considers whether it will result in any deluge in the number of annual training contracts available. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced that from the 1st August 2014 they will no longer set a compulsory minimum salary […]
All Change again in Employment Law
Stephen Brookes reviews the April 2012 changes in employment law. In these times of economic crisis, one focus of the present Government is to promote employment in the private sector. To facilitate this, it has been made harder for employees to bring unfair dismissal claims. By The Unfair Dismissal and Statement of Reasons for Dismissal […]
Unmarried Couples and Property Rights
As Head of the Family Team here at Salmons, I am very frequently asked to advise former unmarried couples on their rights to the former family home. It is a familiar story. A couple, who never married, bought a house several years, sometimes decades, ago and the relationship has ended and one of the couple […]
A Crumb of Comfort for Residential Landlords
Under the Housing Act 2004 a landlord who received from a residential shorthold tenant a deposit in connection with the tenancy had 14 days to pay it into a recognised deposit scheme. If the landlord failed to do so, firstly no section 21 notice could be served bringing the assured shorthold to an end purely […]
The Seven Pillars of Wisdom – Withdrawing an Admission of Liability – September 2011
A claimant who sends a letter of claim to a person may receive in response an admission in writing of some or all of the claimant’s case. What if the party making the admission changes his mind and later wishes to withdraw? Perhaps some new evidence has come to light or an important witness for […]