News

• Subscriptions renewals are now due - 15/05/08
• D&DLS enter into new recruitment agreement with Key Personnel - 01/02/08
• Referrals for Spanish legal issues - 01/01/08
• The Law Society's Library- what is available? - 01/01/08
• Information security guide published.. - 01/12/07
• POSTAL / PHONE SCAM WARNING - 01/11/07
• Withdrawal of 10% book purchase discount facility - 02/04/07
• The D&DLS Website - 01/12/06
• SBA - new local representative - 01/06/06
• Expense rates - guidance - 01/03/05

Following the AGM on April 29th, at which subscriptions were held for the EIGHTH YEAR RUNNING, subscription renewal letters have gone out to all firms.

PLEASE RENEW PROMPTLY.

In its place we have reached a similar arrangement with Key Personnel, who are based in Nottingham and have offices across the East Midlands. The following is Key Personnel's recent press release:

The Key Personnel Group are delighted to announce their recent connection with Derby & District Law Society. We aim to provide excellent specialist Legal Recruitment services to the society's members, using dynamic methods to source only the very best personnel.

Actively involved in raising the profile of the city of Derby and surrounding areas, we feel that with our "Business Solutions" expertise we can fulfil the recruitment demands of local Law Firms.

We can provide a wide range of recruitment services to all those in the legal sector covering position Partners and In-House Lawyers through to Associate, Assistant, Newly qualified and Senior Executives.

We appreciate that quality legal personnel are extremely difficult to come by, which is why, after extensive research, we have discovered that talented legal professionals are often successful and satisfied in the position they currently hold. This is where we come in - we are not just about recruiting but about marketing our clients. We aim to understand our clients so that when we register a candidate, we effectively match the talent to your opportunity. We want to source only the very best for you.

Our Legal Division is supported by our network of offices across the East Midlands who can still deal with your legal support staff vacancies on either a temporary or permanent basis.

To discuss your current recruitment needs or for accurate and realistic career advice please contact Chrissa Maund on 01332 296256 or chrissam@key-personnel.co.uk

Key Contacts

Qualified Legal Vacancies: Chrissa Maund, Legal Recruitment Manager 01332 296256

Support Roles: Nicola Smith, Branch Manager (Derby) 01332 296256

Penny Roberts, Branch Manager (Nott'm) 0115 947 2059

Rachel Hall, Branch Manager (Mansfield) 01623 420488

Penny Wright, Branch Manager (Newark) 01636 611722

Lavinia Brunton, Branch Manager (Lincoln) 01522 528999

Our former Council Member, Edgar Wagner, is dual-qualified in English and Spanish law, and practitioners may find it useful to know what services he provides in Spanish law, and what he refers on, and to whom.

The firm he regularly refers Spanish conveyancing to is called Cornish & Co of Ilford in London, and their telephone number is 0208-4783300.

Timeshare and related problems, are referred to a Mr Sandy Gray of the Timeshare Consumer Association, Hodsock, Worksop, Notts, S81 0TF, telephone 01909-591100.

If a personal injury case is a really "meaty" one he will handle it himself. Otherwise, he refers clients to Mr JM de Lorenzo of Lorenzo & Díaz, 15-17 Jockey's Fields, London, WC1R 4BW, telephone 0207-4049349.

He follows up all enquiries for Spanish Wills & Probate himself, and this area of work is now over 50% of his workload.

He also follows up all enquiries for Spanish powers of attorney, for which service there might be a dozen or so stand alone enquiries a year. He is very competitively priced compared to other firms in England, but woefully overpriced compared to Spain. The reason for this is that the work and disbursements are greater in England than they are for people in Spain: Documents prepared for use in Spain need to be notarised and legalised; Clients also often want/expect an English translation.

There is legal aid in Spain, but Edgar refers all Spanish legal aid cases on to the Legal Services Commission because he doesn’t have a legal aid franchise.

His is too small a practice for Company-Commercial work to come his way, although he has recently been instructed by a major Sheffield manufacturing company on a Spanish litigation matter, so that might change in the future.

In conclusion, Edgar feels that firms in Derbyshire would very much appreciate knowing about Mr Sandy Gray of the Timeshare Consumer Association. It is something that no-body in private practice will usually want to get involved in, but in a normal High Street practice will come across often enough to want to know where to refer the person to.

For those firms that can charge a reasonable fee for doing English wills (and most firms don't or can't), then being able to do a Spanish will in tandem with the English will can be a real boon. It rounds off the package of legal services that they provide to their clients.

The Library at Chancery Lane has a comprehensive collection of English and Welsh legal materials, and also a large section of EU law. The Library also subscribes to a range of electronic legal information sources, which can be accessed on line from the library, at one of the 10 pcs on site. The librarians are experienced in dealing with queries, and can often identify what you are looking for even if you can only supply incomplete information.

The main services which the library provides which are of use to the practitioner who is not within reach of Chancery Lane are:

The Library Enquiry Service

This is free of charge to solicitors and their staff. The librarians who staff the enquiry service between 9 and 6 on Monday to Thursday, and 9 to 5 on Fridays, can be contacted on 0870 606 2511, or by e mail at lib-eng@lawsociety.org.uk, or via the Law Society website www.lawsociety.org.uk . The sort of queries that the service handles could include where to find cases and their status (whether they have been overruled), where to find precedents, and whether there are EU directives which are applicable.

The Document Delivery Service

Copies of cases, or journal articles, or legislation are all available from the document delivery service on 020 7320 5920 between 9 and 5 on weekdays. There is also an on line application form on the Law Society’s website. There is a charge for this service, as it is run with a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency.

The service also includes a premium express service which guarantees delivery within 45 minutes at an additional fee – this can be very useful if you are at court or at a meeting.

Catalyst – the Library’s catalogue and indexes online

Catalyst is freely available to search via the Internet and can be found at www.catalyst.lawsociety.org.uk. It contains bibliographic information on all the Library’s holdings, including current legal sources, and historical and superseded works. It also includes daily updates, including an index of cases reported in UK national newspapers, commencement details for Acts of Parliament, and developments in EU proposals.

The Practice Advice Service

This is a support line for solicitors who require assistance with issues of practice, procedure, and Law Society policy. The service is staffed by a team of solicitors who will usually be able to deal with your issues whilst you are on the line. This service is completely free of charge. The Practice Advice Service can be contacted by telephone on 0870 606 2522 between 9 and 5 on weekdays, or by e mail at lib-pas@lawsociety.org.uk

SUMMARY OF CONTACT DETAILS

Library Enquiry Service:

Document Delivery Service:

Tel 020 7320 5920; Fax 020 7831 1687

E mail lib-phot@lawsociety.org.uk

Practice Advice Service:

Catalyst:

Web address www.catalyst.lawsociety.org.uk

The CBI is warning medium-sized firms that too many of them are leaving themselves vulnerable to electronic and online attack by not planning adequate security measures. By doing so they are putting their own and other businesses in the supply chain at risk.

According to a recent CBI survey 60 per cent of medium-sized firms engage with their suppliers, partners or clients online, but more than half of these firms plan for no security measures whatsoever. Small firms fare little better but medium-sized companies, who are more likely to integrate their systems with large firms as well as trade with smaller ones, are putting themselves and their supply chain more at risk.

The CBI has launched an IT security guide, Securing business value online, aimed specifically at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It includes advice on how to deal with online attack, viruses and cyber crime in the supply chain.

More information: www.cbi.org.uk or www.lms.lawsociety.org.uk

A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a premium rate number). DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize.

If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.

If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 02072396655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk

November 2007

Following the transfer of responsibility for the sale and distribution of Law Society Publishing books from Marston Books to Prolog with effect from March 1st, 2007, the Law Society has made a unilateral and unannounced decision to withdraw the discount facility for local law societies which allows us to make a 10% discount available to you as a membership benefit. There is now no financial benefit in placing book orders via Peter Ball, and all future book orders should be placed directly with Prolog on 0870 850 1422; fax 01787 313995; email lawsociety@prolog.uk.com.

April 2007

Peter Lord, who many will remember from his time as Solicitor at Derbyshire Constabulary Headquarters, has recently been appointed local representative for the Solicitors’ Benevolent Association..