The Solicitor Regulation Authority’s (SRA) former director of policy, Crispin Passmore, has launched a new consultancy business to help law firms navigate the very reforms to legal education he helped shape.
Now it’s emerged that the regulator’s former policy guru has launched Passmore Consulting, a business designed to help law firms get to grips with, among other things, the SQE (otherwise known as the super-exam).
Claiming that the new exam format presents huge opportunities for law firms to rethink their approach to recruitment, training and development, Passmore’s website trumpets: “Invite me to facilitate and support you in working out what this means for your business, whether it is regulated or unregulated, and make sure you take advantage of the opportunities ahead.”
Elsewhere on the site, Passmore explains how he “led the reform programme at the SRA” and warns firms to rethink their “education and training programme now”. Other areas of expertise promoted by Passmore include “legal business strategy”, “regulatory investigations” and “risk management”.
At the same time, the reuglator revealed it could cost wannabe lawyers between £3,000 and £4,500 to complete the assessment, but stressed the final figures could fall outside this range. It’s worth noting that these costs focus on the examination itself and do not include preparation course fees which are likely to add thousands onto the final training bill.
‘Poor Peter’ is accused of a crime he didn’t commit
Years of government cuts and underfunding has left our criminal justice system at “absolute breaking point”, the Law Society has warned.
Speaking at the launch of a new campaign to help highlight the ongoing crisis, Law Society vice president Simon Davis said the justice system, one of the UK’s most precious assets, is in great danger at a time when the country needs it most. He said:
“Justice and the rule of law are key exports for the UK — but their integrity depends on the whole system working effectively. Years of neglect have heaped colossal pressure on the whole system and those who work hard in it.”
Stressing that the right to a fair trial is at the heart of any democratic society, Davis continued:
“In our country, people are innocent until proven guilty after a fair trial — yet those accused are forced through a frequently unfair and nightmarish journey through the criminal justice system regardless of whether they are guilty or not. This is something we should all care about because crime can affect anyone at some point in their lives.”
Davis comments come as the solicitors’ representative body released a short, animated film about ‘Poor Peter’, a nurse accused of a crime (affray) he didn’t commit and his “nightmare journey” through the courts.
Published on YouTube, the video (embedded above) highlights a number of issues including the growing shortage of criminal duty solicitors, overly stringent means tests for legal aid, court listing problems and disclosure failings.
Legal professionals most ‘selective eaters’, Deliveroo data reveals
As office goers struggle to steer clear of vending machines and to stick to their post-Christmas foody resolutions, new (and very surprising) data suggests that lawyers are the healthiest workers in the UK.
No, we aren’t joking. According to takeaway delivery giant Deliveroo, lawyers love salads, specifically customised ones to suit their health-conscious mindsets. The data shows that law firm workers are the most “selective eaters”, making the most amendments (eg. ‘add chicken’, ‘remove bread’) to their orders out of any other profession.
Carb counting lawyers aside, Deliveroo reckons those in the financial sector tend to go for more “classic lunch options”, including sandwiches and wraps, while those in business and/or consultancy punt for more protein heavy foods such as lean meats and modern Greek cuisine.
Elsewhere, tech workers have a penchant for Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi, ramen and noodle dishes, according to the research, while mechanical engineers and those in construction can’t get enough of pasta and pizza.
Geographically, the healthiest city is London, followed by Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Nottingham. As for the most popular lunchtime order in London, that accolade goes to Farmer J’s ‘Charred Flank Fieldtray’.
Scrapping the GDL and LPC is really gonna shake things up
Julie Brannan speaking at last year’s Future of Legal Education and Training Conference
The debate surrounding the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has moved beyond the ‘Will it actually happen?’ stage towards questions about implementation. There’s no avoiding it, folks.
Preparations are underway at law firms and law schools across the country for the exam which will replace traditional routes to qualification. The Legal Practice Course (LPC) and the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) are toast once it comes into force in September 2021.
For students seeking to enter the legal profession during this time of change, what does it mean?
Although large law firms cover the cost of their future trainees’ GDL and LPC fees, and will continue to do so for the SQE, the majority of students self-fund these courses. Legal Cheek’s LPC Most List shows a student in London can pay northwards of £16,000 for the year-long course required to practise as a solicitor in England & Wales. One of the overriding objectives behind the SQE is to reduce this cost. In November, the SRA projected the two-part exam is likely to cost between £3,000-£4,500. SQE1, which focuses on black letter law is likely to cost between £1,100 and £1,650, and SQE2, which tests practical legal skills such as advocacy, is likely to cost between £1,900 and £2,850.
But these amounts are for the exams only. Preparatory course fees will be on top of that. No one is sure exactly how much they will cost, but when you put both figures together some have suggested that you might be looking at a greater amount than students pay at present for the LPC. So why bother bringing in the SQE at all? they ask.
That’s not an entirely fair proposition. As Brannan points out, the SQE will create lots of different options, and present opportunities for future lawyers to potentially save a lot of money — with new routes including a combined LLB-SQE that some universities are already working on and standalone budget SQE courses.
“There will be a wide range of courses available to students and this will impact cost. The cheapest option is likely to be a law degree with the integrated SQE and that will cost within the £9,000 fee cap which is cheaper than the LPC as it stands,” she explains.
Two tier fears
However, it seems likely that the big corporate law firms — which account for a significant percentage of new trainees entering the profession each year and influence the market because they are seen by students as high status — will design their own bespoke SQE courses in association with existing providers such as BPP Law School and the University of Law that look very similar to the LPC in its present form (and cost the same and perhaps even more!). That would be fine for these firms’ future trainees who are benefitting from law school sponsorship deals, but what about students without training contracts who may feel under pressure to complete these same prep courses because they are seen as market-leading and more likely to lead to a job? On this, Brannan says:
“I think we will see a range of different provision emerging. At the very top-end there may be gold-plated courses designed for the particular needs of City law firms. These firms recruit up to two years in advance and provide funding so it’s up to them how best to prepare their future trainees.”
As for law firms outside this elite bracket, Brannan, who has spent the last few days visiting various outfits across the country, comments: “If you think about the sector as a whole, it may well be the case that different law firms have different requirements — it’s no longer one size fits all.” Many of these firms view the new solicitor training regime as an opportunity to recruit in a different way that could reduce their training costs and allow them access to a more diverse pool of potentially hungrier and more street-smart students. Brannan continues: “The SQE provides the scaffolding for law firms to recruit well-rounded individuals from a wider cohort. It’s a real gain for the profession. Some have already dipped a toe in the water with apprenticeships — they liked what came through the door and are open to exploring new pathways,” she reflects.
But what of the risk of creating a two-tier solicitors’ profession, divided according to whether new entrants did a fancy elite firm SQE or a budget version of the course?
The main way that the SRA is seeking to mitigate this risk is through plans to publish the different SQE providers’ exam results. This would mean prospective SQE students could make purchasing decisions on the basis of provider performance rather than simply perceived status. A new course provider, for example, could be shown to be getting better grades than the long-established law schools. “It’s a very positive thing,” says Brannan, “that degree of transparency will help universities and training providers learn and improve.”
It is probably also fair to say that students’ A-level and undergraduate university grades, and the reputation of the undergraduate university they attended, will — rightly or wrongly — continue to be more influential than where they did the LPC/SQE (and what they scored on it) in graduate recruitment decisions.
New law schools and a roaring illicit trade in course materials?
Where the SQE is likely to have a big impact is in increasing the level of competition among providers, which would over time should contribute to the further driving down of costs. Currently, LPC providers set the assessments and award the qualification. That requires substantial resources and infrastructure. But the SQE will be centrally assessed, with the SRA last year choosing global education giant Kaplan, which closed down its UK law school operations in 2016, to handle exams and marking in an eight-year long deal. This takes away a considerable barrier to entry to the market for new law schools who lack the resources to run assessment processes.
One of the new entrants, for example, is set to be US-based legal education provider BARBRI, whose New York and California Bar prep course are well-known globally. Other players with comparable track records are rumoured to be circling the market with interest. We may also see some start-ups in this space.
Legal Cheek reckons we’ll also be hearing stories from students that have taught themselves. We might even see candidates sharing course materials with their friends post-completion of the SQE. We put this to Brannan and she said:
“The course providers may include a clause on this as part of their contractual arrangements when they sell materials, but this is not something we would regulate. The idea that students could teach themselves the course and all they’ll need is textbooks may be deluded or it may be right. Who can tell? We are providing the opportunity to put that to the test.”
Another aspect of the new super-exam that has sparked controversy is the form it will take. SQE1 will be a computer-based, multiple-choice assessment. Durham Law School dean Thom Brooks, who spoke at last year’s Conference, labelled this as “not the most effective way of discerning ability” as he expressed concern about a new era of “factory-produced” wannabe lawyers being taught to pass standardised assessments. What are Brannan’s thoughts on the proposed exam style?
“We know that MCQs or ‘single best answer’ questions can test the competencies required for SQE1. It is already used for the QLTS and Multistate Bar Examination and used widely in the assessment of medical, dental and pharmacy students. It’s not a cutting-edge form of assessment. When designing the assessment we have to ensure we are using the right methodology. What we are testing is candidates’ ability to take fundamental legal principles and apply them in a practical context — in situations we’d expect a newly-qualified solicitor to encounter, and we can absolutely use MCQs for that purpose.”
Brannan will be headlining the after-lunch SQE discussion at this year’s Conference in May. What are her next steps between now and then? “We’re ploughing ahead with the piloting phase,” she replies. The SRA launched a campaign last year recruiting student ‘guinea pigs’ to test the new exam. “We had a really good response to that,” reveals Brannan. “Kapan ended up with more applicants than we needed which meant we were able to recruit a representative cross-section from those that applied. It shows that students are willing to invest their time to get the exam right,” she says. The pilot for SQE1 will take place between 20-22 March, while Kaplan is planning to pilot SQE2 towards the end of this year.
Will there be a big reveal at the Conference in May? “I suppose there will be an update,” teases Brannan, “it will be an opportunity to discuss next steps with plentiful discussion through a Q&A.”
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Allen & Overy (A&O) has posted its latest retention score. From a March qualifying cohort of 47, the magic circle player confirmed it made 40 offers. With 39 accepting, this hands A&O a solid 2019 spring result of 83%.
Traditionally, A&O is one of the City’s more consistent retention performers. In the previous four rounds, the 44 office outfit has posted rates of 80% (37 out of 46), 80% (32 out of 40), 85% (40 out of 47) and 82% (31 out of 38).
Commenting on its latest result, graduate recruitment partner and training principal at A&O, Claire Wright, said:
“It’s great to announce another high retention rate, demonstrating our compelling offering and commitment to recruiting and training the very best young lawyers. We have an incredibly strong pipeline of talent coming through and I look forward to watching their careers progress at A&O.”
As rumours of a megamerger with Los Angeles-based outfit O’Melveny & Myers continue to swirl, Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List 2019 shows that those who have chosen to stick around post-qualification will start on a recently improved salary of £83,000. Rookie remuneration currently sits at £45,000, rising to £50,000 in year two.
So what’s life over at the firm’s swish Spitalfields office? In our latest Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, A&O notched up A*s for tech, perks and office, as well as As for training, quality of work, peer support and canteen.
An important step for future growth, says global outfit’s chief
DWF’s London office
Global law firm DWF has today announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
In an update published on its website, the firm said it hoped to undertake an initial public offering (IPO). It also confirmed a registration document has been submitted for approval to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). If successful, the flotation will be the largest in legal history.
The Manchester-headquartered outfit revealed last summer it was considering “a number of strategic options”, including the “possibility” of an IPO, in a bid to achieve its “objectives more quickly”. According to media reports at the time, the move could see a small number of DWF’s senior staffers trouser millions of pounds each in shares.
Commenting on today’s announcement, DWF’s chief executive, Andrew Leaitherland, said:
“This announcement is an important step for DWF and our future growth story, highlighting just how far we have come over the past decade. We have developed into a global legal business, providing an innovative and differentiated offering to meet the full spectrum of our clients’ legal needs.”
The Law Society has suggested a 2.6% rise to the minimum salary for trainee solicitors across England and Wales.
As things stand, the Law Society recommends trainees be paid at least £21,561 in London and £19,122 outside of the capital. Under the new guidance, it has suggested firms should offer trainees a minimum salary of £22,121 in London and £19,619 elsewhere, a rise of 2.6% across the board. The new rate comes into effect on 1 May.
Unfortunately, Chancery Lane’s pay pointers are completely unenforceable, meaning law firms can simply ignore them if they wish. And many do. Recent research found that roughly 25% of trainees were being paid below the recommended levels.
Commenting on today’s modest increase, Law Society president Christina Blacklaws said: “Entry to the solicitor profession should be on merit and nobody should face unnecessary financial barriers.” She continued:
“I urge all law firms to adopt this recommendation for their trainees — which represents a fair salary — and to consider how else they can contribute to greater social mobility to the benefit of their business, society and the profession. Our vision is of a profession in which all solicitors — present and aspiring — can be confident that talent, ability and application are rewarded irrespective of background, gender or ethnicity.”
The minimum salary for trainee solicitors had previously been enforceable by law. This, however, was scrapped by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in 2014.
A young solicitor who was struck off after blowing the whistle on misconduct at her former firm has said she felt “terribly let down” by the regulator.
As reported by Legal Cheek, Emily Scott was removed from the roll last week despite a disciplinary tribunal accepting she’d been “deceived, pressured, bullied and manipulated” by a senior lawyer at the firm. Although expressing “considerable sympathy” for the now 31-year-old, the tribunal said the “horrendous” working environment did not excuse her dishonesty in matters concerning client funds.
Speaking in the wake of the decision, Scott has criticised both the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for failing to adequately protect her. Scott, who left Lincolnshire outfit De Vita Platt Solicitors in November 2014, told the Sunday Telegraph:
“They encourage you to give them information then hang you out to dry. This could potentially prevent others coming forward in the legal world.”
The two solicitors who ran the firm, Jonathan De Vita and Christopher Platt, were also struck off for falsifying bills, misappropriating client funds and misleading the regulators.
Reflecting on her decision not to blow the whistle sooner, something she was criticised for by the tribunal at the time, Scott continued:
“Whenever I questioned what they were asking me to do Mr Platt would say I could be replaced easily and there were hundreds of law graduates desperate for training contracts… I was trying to leave, but was told by recruitment companies that not completing my training at De Vita Platt could be frowned upon by other employers. I was between a rock and a hard place.”
According to the judgment, Scott waited almost two years to report the misconduct, two months after she had completed her training contract and had left the firm. She admitted falsifying bills, but told the tribunal she had been “under the instruction of Mr Platt”.
Arguing that people should not be punished for bringing wrongdoing to the attention of the regulator, Scott added:
“I’m not a dishonest person. I acted naively and have now lost a career that I had pursued since the age of 18. The governing body and tribunal has punished me for doing the right thing.”
An SRA spokesperson declined to comment on Scott’s case specifically, but said:
“Solicitors must act with integrity, and that includes reporting serious misconduct. Our whistleblowers’ charter sets out that if someone is involved in wrongdoing, reporting to us can act as mitigation, particularly if done promptly.
You can contact LawCare by calling 0800 279 6888 in the UK or 1800 991 801 in Ireland.
Open to grads currently working in the magic circle outfit’s Northern Irish centre
Allen & Overy (A&O) has launched a training contract scheme in Northern Ireland.
The new route to qualification as a magic circle lawyer is open to graduates currently working at A&O’s Legal Services Centre (LSC) in Belfast. The first group of successful applicants will start their training contract upon completion of the Legal Practice Course (LPC) in March and September 2021.
Salaries are still to be confirmed but will be “very competitive”, while trainee’s LPC fees will be half-funded by the firm.
Jane Townsend, partner and head of the LSC in Belfast, said: “As the challenges faced by our clients evolve, we need to ensure that our lawyer base is as diverse and has as broad a skillset as possible to best serve them.” She continued:
“That’s why we are evolving our processes too, to attract and train talented and ambitious lawyers of the future from all kinds of backgrounds and with a range of skills and interests. Combining studying and working during the LPC will continue to expose our lawyers in Belfast to the latest advances in legal tech and reflect the knowledge and skills lawyers of the future will increasingly need. With this new route to qualification our aim is to make a career in the law a compelling prospect for a broader range of graduates.”
A&O isn’t the first big player to offer training contracts in the Northern Ireland capital. National player TLT launched a training programme in 2014, followed by Baker McKenzie in 2017.
Legal Cheek‘s Firms Most List shows that A&O, which offers around 90 training contacts each year, currently pays its London trainees £45,000 in year one, rising to £50,000 in year two.
In our latest Trainee and Junior Lawyer Survey, A&O scored A*s for tech, perks and office, as well as As for training, quality of work, peer support and its canteen.
Advising mega retail outfit New Look on the acquisition and disposal of its numerous chains, handling the roll-out of Decathlon stores nationwide and managing the extensive portfolios of major retail players Specsavers, Footlocker and GAP are just some of the things Alistair Walton, a partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s retail property team, is involved in.
“It’s a very pragmatic arena. I enjoy the transactional nature, to be out and about collaborating with a large retailer and seeing the tangible result of them opening a new store — it has a great buzz to it,” says Walton, who joined Womble Bond Dickinson (or Bond Pearce as it was then) just over ten years ago.
It’s an industry he has seen transform. Technology is infiltrating the high street and online retailer Amazon is spearheading the revolution. The Amazon-ificication of supermarket chain Whole Foods and the launch of Amazon’s virtual ‘dressing room’ app are just a few ways the global e-commerce giant has disrupted the market. We’ve seen household names Toys “R” Us and Maplin take a hit and collapse into administration as a result. What does commercial property partner Walton make of the high street’s upheaval? It’s a “natural adjustment”, he says, and there are a myriad reasons why.
Changes to consumers’ shopping habits is one reason. Trips to big retail parks and shopping centres such as Westfield are now considered to be “days out” with shoppers tying in a trip to the cinema or restaurant rather than spending the day shopping. Consumers are likely to turn to Amazon or other online retailers for a “quick fix” rather than head to the old high street; something which has been aided greatly by their quick delivery services, as well as the convenience of being able to shop whenever, wherever. This contrasts with bricks and mortar stores that have opening and closing hour restrictions.
New Look is one of the firm’s major retail clients. Last November, the high street heavyweight announced it was closing 85 stores. Walton, who advises the company, explains some of the reasons behind the cull. An unstable economic climate caused by Brexit and the devaluation of the pound, high business rates and stock choice not always aligned with its core demographic, all go some way in explaining the need for a restructure.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The launch of Amazon Go, an artificial intelligence-powered US chain of check-out free grocery stores, shows the online retail movement has come full-circle to join the high street again. “It’s an interesting development,” says Walton, “watch this space.”
Walton has been practising in the South East for the last 15 years of his career. In those years he has seen the southern legal market develop significantly. There have been many new regional entrants into the Southampton market as well as consolidation and mergers between some of the smaller law firms. “What we have seen from law firms is that Southampton is a legal market worth investing in,” he adds.
It’s not just law firms. Many big corporates have set up bases in the region. DIY supply store B&Q, who is one of the firm’s major clients, is headquartered in nearby Eastleigh. Good location and transport links seem to be a huge contributing factor. Womble Bond Dickinson’s Oceana House southern base, for example, is a short journey from the region’s airport and mainline train station. Plus, it’s just over an hour by train to London.
Walton’s work often takes him to the capital. He helped to acquire head office studio space for shopping channel QVC, UK and has acted on several flagship stores on London’s busy Oxford Street for many of the firm’s national retailers. How does the legal scene in Southampton compare to that in London? On this, Walton says: “London is a demanding environment to practise as a lawyer. The law firms there pay a great deal but demand you put the hours in by way of return. We do a lot of City-quality work, and a lot of the partners in the property team were former City lawyers, but we maintain a regional work/life balance.”
Exeter law grad Walton has plenty of tips for students interested in this coveted area of law, more of which he’ll share at Thursday’s ‘How tech is changing finance, retail and the law’ event. But for now he leaves readers with this nugget of advice:
“What makes a good lawyer in this area of law is to combine both legal expertise with commercial acumen and a genuine understanding of the sector they work in. Lawyers operate in a service sector and in which clients have vast choice. What will differentiate you and help develop your practice is if you are able to deliver to the client an excellent service and go that extra mile for the client whenever they may need it.”
High-flying family lawyer reflects on incredible life in candid interview
Ayesha Vardag — image credit: Vardags
Ayesha Vardag is one of the world’s most renowned divorce lawyers. The high-flying ‘diva of divorce’ opens up about her remarkable career in an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, in which she reveals, among other things, that she completed her training contract whilst pregnant.
Cambridge law grad Vardag secured a training contract with elite magic circle player Linklaters. Still finding her feet at the firm, Vardag reveals how she gave birth to her first child during her training contract and later “fell in love with her boss”. But, according to the top lawyer, she managed to make things work during the intensive training period by “putting in 12-hour days while her son was with a nanny or at nursery” and only taking five weeks maternity leave.
“I managed to finish my training contract on time. I was the only trainee to have a baby and keep on going full-time in a City firm,” mother-of-six tells the magazine. This, according to Vardag, was somewhat of a rarity:
“I remember someone who was told by her doctor, ‘You can’t possibly have this baby and do your training contract’, and this girl felt she had no choice but to have an abortion, which she was then very upset about subsequently. I just did it, but I had to give up so much for that…”
Vardag decided to turn her back on a successful commercial career. She married her boss and relocated to Moscow in a move driven by his career, where she raised her first-born and by then, a second child. The couple later returned to England and divorced a few years later. It was during this time that she discovered her true calling, divorce law, so she set up her eponymous law firm 13 years ago in a bid to bring City-level quality to family law.
Elsewhere in the in-depth interview, Vardag recalls the struggle of juggling childcare with launching her own law firm:
“It was incredibly stressful and difficult and I’d work all day, then I’d go out in the evening and try to network for clients. I’d be out until three in the morning, it was exhausting and I was very frazzled, but it was so immensely satisfying.”
Now a leading family practitioner, Vardag (who famously represented German heiress Katrin Radmacher in the Supreme Court case that gave legal status to prenuptial agreements in England and Wales) doesn’t come cheap. In the interview, it is revealed that Vardag bills her clients up to £845 an hour.
Vardag, who has just given birth to a baby boy with long-term partner Stephen Bence, who is also at Vardags, shows no sign of slowing down. “I’m not having any [maternity] leave at all,” she says, “just keep going but in a flexible way, which is generally how I think everybody should approach the world nowadays.”
Barclays confirmed this morning that two of its lawyers were among those killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps over the weekend.
Matt Ziegler, 43, an in-house lawyer at Barclays, and Katherine Clarke, 39, a director in Barclays’ private bank and overseas service, are thought to have been skiing off-piste when they were hit by an avalanche near Courmayeur, a resort in the northern Italian region of Valle d’Aosta.
In a statement, a Barclays spokesperson said: “It is with great sadness we learned of the tragedy in the Alps over the weekend. Our thoughts are with the families of all the victims, but especially those of our two colleagues, Matt and Katherine. We are supporting their families in every way we can, and we are supporting their friends and colleagues at Barclays, who are devastated by the loss.”
According to reports, British father-of-two Ziegler had been working in the Geneva office of Barclays and had gone skiing ahead of his return to London on Sunday. He studied law at LSE and completed the US bar course at New York University.
Clarke’s LinkedIn states she was vice president of Barclay’s legal department in Dubai between 2011 and 2015, before relocating to London as the banking giant’s vice president of legal. Prior to joining Barclays, Clarke, who was born in New Zealand, spent time at City outfit Ashurst and New Zealand law firm Chapman Tripp.
French national Nicolas Bruno Vergez, 36, and Polish-born Wespazjan Wisla, 38, were also killed, according to reports.
Example of ‘poor service’ appears in Legal Ombudsman guidance
A law firm sent a client with a learning difficulty letters “full of technical and Latin phrases”, it has emerged. The example of “poor service” appears in fresh guidance on the Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO) approach to determining consumer complaints.
According to the LeO, the unnamed firm sent a number of pieces of correspondence containing phrases such as ab initio and prima facie, despite being repeatedly warned by the client that letters should be in plain English and any difficult concepts would need to be explained. The LeO, an independent and impartial scheme set up to help resolve complaints about lawyers, determined this was “poor service.”
In a more positive example of client care, the LeO also referred to a case where a firm was defending an “illiterate customer” in criminal proceedings. The unnamed firm discussed how they could best communicate with him, including whether he needed support from a third party. This, according to the LeO, “demonstrated that the firm had adapted their approach to take account of the customer’s needs”.
According to the guidance, the LeO will consider both the vulnerabilities and knowledge/experience of the complainant, before “deciding whether the service provided was reasonable”.
The LeO’s guidance comes just weeks after Lady Justice Rafferty, chair of the Judicial College, urged lawyers to ditch outdated jargon. Taking aim at lawyers’ written submissions to judges, Court of Appeal judge Rafferty said many are “are too long, rambling, waffling, warbling.”
Injunction stops former employee disclosing information concerning three incidents
Linklaters has been granted a temporary injunction preventing a former director of business development disclosing examples of what he claims is the firm’s “culture” including “the ongoing struggle Linklaters has with women in the workplace.”
Frank Mellish, who is, according to the High Court ruling awarding the injunction, an Australian in his late 50s, had informed the firm’s senior partner by email that he intended to “share my impressions of the current culture” and would be citing three examples of this alleged culture in future interviews with the media. These were referred to in the ruling as “the Munich Incident”, “the NY settlement” and “the London Settlement”.
The ruling of Mr Justice Warby concluded that as a former employee, Mellish was still bound by obligations of confidentiality and that his proposed revelations would breach that because all three examples were “matters that involve what the claimants [Linklaters] say is confidential information relating to partners and/or employees of the firm”.
The injunction prevents specific disclosure of information and the identity of individuals relating to the three examples as well as “internal discussions within Linklaters as to their public response” in relation to any of the three examples. However, the ruling also stated that Linklaters “did not seek to restrain [Mellish] from publicising in general terms his “impressions of the current culture” at Linklaters.
Mellish, who had also been on the firm’s executive committee, had his employment terminated with the firm last June and was to receive six months’ notice and a “substantial” additional ex gratia payment. His last payment from the firm was on 11 January 2019 and on 23 January he emailed the firm setting out his intentions. His motive for informing the firm ahead of any revelations was, according to the e-mail, “to allow Linklaters to prepare for the questions from the media”. The current whereabouts of Mellish is unknown and he did not appear at the hearing or have any representation.
A spokesman for Linklaters said:
“We can confirm that the firm sought and has been granted an interim injunction in the terms set out in the judgement handed down by the court today. We cannot comment further.”
A full hearing on the issues is scheduled for next Monday, 11 February.
Comments on this article are closed for legal reasons.
A former partner at Linklaters who was found guilty of sexually assaulting a student intern has had his conviction upheld by a German court.
Last year, Munich-based tax law specialist Thomas Elser was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for sexually assaulting a student intern after the firm’s Oktoberfest party back in 2014. As reported at the time, Elser’s legal team indicated he would appeal.
Now, German news website Juve reports that Elser has lost his appeal and will begin his sentence.
On the evening in question, Elser verbally harassed his unnamed victim, before sexually assaulting her in the garden of a Greek restaurant. Intervening, ex-Linklaters corporate litigation partner Laurenz Schmitt punched Elser in the face. He was handed a seven-month suspended sentence and 150 hours community service in 2016.
Speaking at the time, a spokesperson for Linklaters said: “We have always been mindful that there is a young student at the centre of this case. That concern has guided our behaviour and priorities throughout.”
After Schmitt reported the incident, Linklaters launched an internal investigation headed up by then-London managing partner Robert Elliott and involving over 40 witnesses. Both Elser and Schmitt left the firm in 2014.
News of the failed appeal comes on the same day it emerged that Linklaters had gained an injunction preventing a former director from disclosing what he claims are examples of the firm’s “ongoing struggle” with women in the workplace.
On this, a spokesperson for Linklaters said: “We can confirm that the firm sought and has been granted an interim injunction in the terms set out in the judgement handed down by the court today. We cannot comment further.”
A full hearing on the issues is scheduled for next Monday, 11 February.
Former solicitor-advocate faces fraud retrial after collapsing in court last month
Former solicitor-advocate Alan Blacker, aka Lord Harley, has a flashy new legal website. News of Blacker’s online rebrand comes just weeks following him being rushed to hospital after collapsing in court.
According to the site, which appears to have gone live recently, “Dr Alan Blacker The Lord Harley” offers a wide range of “consulting services” to industries including “legal and educational”. Under the motto “Turning Law into Justice”, the site goes on to say that he can provide “the comprehensive capabilities and deep industry knowledge necessary to help you solve the most complex issues.”
Blacker, who was struck off in 2016 after multiple misconduct charges were proven, lists his specialisms as “human rights, “social justice”, “mental health” and “vulnerable people”. Chock-full of corporate stock imagery, including one shot of a sharply-dressed businessman in a modern city office, Blacker’s site stresses that it’s “not a law firm” but can provide access to solicitors, barristers and other professionals.
The new online offering appears to the reincarnation of the Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service (JAFLAS), a charity set up by Blacker and where he worked as an in-house solicitor.
Screenshots of Alan Blacker’s new website
Elsewhere on the site, it states:
“Our clerks work late into the evening and early mornings and can even find someone last thing Sunday for Monday morning.”
As reported by Legal Cheek, forty-six-year-old Blacker appeared at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court last month accused of failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of a change in his circumstances and dishonestly making statements about his physical capacity.
The trial, however, came to an abrupt halt (and later rescheduled for 2 September) when Blacker was hospitalised after collapsing in court. He denies the two charges against him. Thanking wellwishers, a statement on the website confirms services are suspended until further notice.
Blacker didn’t respond to Legal Cheek’s request for comment.
Comments on this article are closed for legal reasons.
Emily Scott was struck off despite reporting firm’s fraud
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has robustly defended its decision to prosecute a former trainee solicitor for fraud despite a tribunal accepting she’d been “deceived, pressured, bullied and manipulated” into covering up misconduct at her previous firm.
In the wake of the decision, Scott said that she wasn’t “a dishonest person” and felt “terribly let down” by the regulator, adding: “If I hadn’t blown the whistle that company would still be ripping people off.”
Two lawyers who ran the firm, Jonathan De Vita and Christopher Platt, were also struck off for falsifying bills, misappropriating client funds and misleading the regulators.
The SRA’s chief executive, Paul Philip, has now responded to the criticism. Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Philip said the decision to strike off Scott fell within a range of “reasonable outcomes” for the tribunal, the website Legal Futures reports.
Philip said: “The issue for us is that here is a junior person in a law firm who has seen criminal activity and felt she couldn’t report it when she worked there, and blew the whistle when she didn’t work there. What would we have expected? We would have expected her as a solicitor of the High Court to have reported the matter. She could have reported it to us on the basis of being a whistleblower.”
Stressing that sanctions are matters for tribunals, not the regulator, Philip continued:
“She had the means to report it confidentially to us and that didn’t happen. That was all considered in the judgment. All we would say is that we expect solicitors to uphold the rule of law and the administration of justice. That means that, regardless of how senior you are, you need to think about your professional obligations in the interests of society and the profession.”
As part of the briefing, the SRA revealed it is reviewing its whistleblower’s charter, particularly guidance relating to the reporting of sensitive information and the protections afforded to those who come forward.
International law firm DWF today formally announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a move expected to raise around £75 million.
In a statement, the 27-office-outfit revealed it will put at least a quarter of the business up for sale as issued share capital on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). DWF said it was aiming for a March flotation, with partners subject to lock up arrangements (contractual obligations making it very difficult for them to leave the firm) until April 2024.
According to the firm, it will use the fresh injection of cash to help repay a portion of the members’ capital contribution, invest in operations and infrastructure, fund working capital for general corporate purposes and future acquisitions.
In stark contrast to its humble regional beginnings, DWF will become the first legal practice eligible for admission in the FTSE.
Speaking last month, DWF’s chief executive, Andrew Leaitherland, said: “This is important step for DWF and our future growth story, highlighting just how far we have come over the past decade.”
A US court building was evacuated last week after a lawyer reportedly turned up covered in bed bugs.
The bizarre incident occurred at the Rogers County Courthouse in Oklahoma when the lawyer, who hasn’t been named, came up to a third-floor courtroom with blood-sucking insects “falling out of his clothing.”
Speaking to KJRH News, Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton said: “Hard to imagine someone doesn’t know, you know, that some bed bugs are crawling all over them certainly in abundance.”
Keen to avoid a full-blown infestation, court officials evacuated the building at lunchtime and called in pest control to exterminate the bugs.
According to Walton, it was another court user who first spotted the bugs crawling around the lawyer’s neck. “I was told the individual that had them also shook his jacket over the prosecutor’s files,” he added.
The lawyer, however, seemed unphased by the whole itch-inducing incident. The court’s head of security, Mike Clarke told the website: “I don’t even think he cared.”
The court reopened the following day with a warning on the door advising anyone who believed they may have been exposed to treat themselves.
In 2014, Legal Cheek reported how a small claims hearing over in the US was interrupted when a miniature horse belonging to one of the parties did its business all over the courtroom. The unnamed woman who was party to the claim brought her horse to the hearing in its capacity as her service animal.
Ralph Goodchild is an associate in the construction and international arbitration group in White & Case’s London office. The international firm is widely admired for its large scale, high-end arbitration and construction practices and Goodchild represents clients in multi-billion-dollar disputes often involving multiple proceedings across several continents.
It’s a high-flying career he didn’t think he’d end up in not so long ago.
Goodchild, who studied history at Cambridge, was initially unsure about his future career path. He had always toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer but didn’t really know where to begin. After graduating, Goodchild, who admits he has a propensity to “go with the flow”, decided to convert to law and enrol at City, University of London — two weeks after the course had started.
It’s a path he would recommend. “We’re quite lucky in England and Wales in that the route to qualification is relatively quick compared to other jurisdictions — your working life as a lawyer can begin 48 months from when you start the conversion course.”
Studying history at Cambridge was ”definitely” a good launchpad to his legal career. Its reputation and status within the profession, coupled with world-class teaching, equipped Goodchild with the skills to succeed in law. He counts the ability to read and digest material, evaluate evidence and formulate an argument as some of the key transferable skills he uses in his practice today.
Alongside his legal studies, Goodchild worked as a research assistant at Keating Chambers, a top-tier construction set in London. His brush with the bar cemented his passion for construction law but made him realise a long-term career as a barrister wasn’t for him. “Barristers’ chambers can be solitary environments,” he explains. This contrasts with the team-oriented one he now experiences at White & Case.
Goodchild chose to leverage this experience in construction law in his application to White & Case in a move that paid dividends. He was successful and secured a training contract just as soon as his time at Keating came to a close.
During his training contract, Goodchild completed seats in capital markets, construction and engineering, project finance and real estate, as well as a secondment to the firm’s Tokyo office. White & Case is one of just a handful outfits to guarantee its rookies an international secondment and Goodchild says his experience was “fantastic”. He continues:
“Unlike most other law firms operating in Japan that have ‘best friend’ relations with Japanese firms, White & Case is truly one firm with the same ethos across the board and I genuinely experienced that while there.”
Goodchild enjoyed his seat in construction and later qualified into the firm’s construction and international arbitration group. What’s life like as a lawyer in this busy field? “I absolutely love it. Associates are fully involved in strategy and do drafting and advocacy from a very early stage. The facts in disputes cases can sometimes be incredibly technical and complex, so by getting on top of a particular bit of case you can add real value from a very early stage.”
One highpoint for Goodchild was when his team were preparing cross-examination about a new method of expert evidence, dynamic simulation modelling. He was working late, scrutinising the evidence until “the scales fell from [his] eyes” on a very significant point which the team had missed, and which was subsequently made the basis of the entire cross-examination. They went on to win the case. “It was magical. The other side were in complete shock that we had spotted this point, which is always what you want,” says Goodchild, who enjoys writing in his spare time and recently won joint second price in the Society of Construction Law’s essay competition.
Looking back on his career is there anything Goodchild would do differently? “I was fairly relaxed when I was 21 and straight out of university,” he reflects. “I do question why I didn’t engage with the recruitment process a bit more and I definitely lost a few years because I wasn’t switched on.” Having said that, Goodchild notes that had it not been for his easy-going nature, he would have missed out on opportunities that sprung up as a result. He spotted the research assistant post at Keating, for example, while contemplating whether or not to pursue the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). “It’s important to be flexible,” he adds.
“Some students are hellbent on becoming corporate lawyers. To them I would say remember the importance of being flexible — keep an open mind and don’t be set on one particular idea. Then there are the ones that are wavering. They should remember that corporate law is something you can do for a few years and then move on to something with the benefit of some really great experience.”
Where does Goodchild see himself in the next five years? “I’m very open-minded about the future. You naturally develop quite a wide range of skills as a corporate lawyer at White & Case, and there are quite a few options out there that you can transfer these skills to.”
Ralph Goodchild will be speaking alongside lawyers from Baker McKenzie, Mayer Brown and Mills & Reeve, and a legal education expert from BPP University Law School at Wednesday’s ‘Inside Track’ event in Cambridge. You can apply for one of the final few (and free) places to attend now.
DWF’s London office
