Wednesday 23 May 2012

The future is anything but bright

Share |There is a lot of excitement in the legal world at the minute over issues which do not directly affect those outside it but which may do in the future.

The first is whether Pro Bono work should help fill the gap left by Government cuts to legal aid. The President of the Law Society and others have suggested that the answer is "yes". Those of us who have worked in legal aid for years get either angry or cynical when City lawyers talk about the Pro Bono work they do. One firm suggests its lawyers should do 14 hours each year. For legal aid lawyers pro bono ie doing work for the good of one's fellow man or woman or child for no remuneration is a daily event.

The other issue is the Trainee Solicitor minimum salary and associated to that is education of law students and trainee Solicitors. The minimum salary is an impediment to a legal aid firm employing a trainee unless that trainee is already qualified in some way to undertake work, appear at Court in family cases or go to a Police Station. For a legal aid firm trainees are very expensive and only if they are able and willing to do more than shadow an experienced Solicitor and do research will a legal aid firm be able to afford to employ them.

In larger firms potential trainees are employed as paralegals in the hope of getting a training contract. This has lead to employer abuse of power and dreams of trainees becoming nightmares.

There are too many people qualifying from Law School with Legal Practice Course qualifications looking for training contracts.

In Northern Ireland a system of apprenticeships exists which means that those who spend money on the Northern Ireland equivalent of the LPC are guaranteed a job. Training is on the job and at college by way of block release. Trainee Solicitors are Apprentices. This system could work here in England and Wales.

There is a system of "apprenticeship" available through the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives can result in qualifying as a Solicitor. It takes time. It involves academic testing. You can earn as you learn.

So what? Pro Bono encourages the government to cut more. If Solicitors and barristers fill the gap then there is no gap for the poor and the vulnerable to fall through. This means that the Government can say it was right to cut legal aid because actually it was not needed. Ultimately the poor and vulnerable suffer. Firms move away from legal aid because Pro Bono doesn't pay the rent. Thus creating an even bigger gap.

Unless legal education is reformed to make it acceptable to legal aid firms to employ trainees or apprentices there will be fewer legal aid solicitors. In an already grey market young blood is hard to find. The poor and vulnerable will lose out again.

Saturday 12 May 2012

Exciting news at end of April

Share |
More exciting news from Emmersons.

John Griffith, formerly of Michael Purdon and Co, Newcastle upon Tyne, is now employed at Emmersons as a Prison Law Solicitor and Supervisor.

We have made progress since we started offering advice and representation in Prison Law and now believe that we have a settled and experienced team who can deliver first rate advice and representation throughout Great Britain.

You can contact John at john@emmersons-solicitors.co.uk or by phoning 01915676667.



So who does own our love nest?

Share |
As Emmersons Solicitors deals with property law and family law we have cases that crop up that often cover both areas. People often assume that as they put money into a house they must own it, others assume just because they live in a house that they must have a legal interest in it. Two recent cases highlight the complexity.

In the first case David and Billy had bought a house together. However, they were short of money for their deposit so Billy’s father gave them a lump sum to help with the purchase. The couple were about to split up and the question arose as to how much money each of them was entitled to from the sale of the house. Billy said that his father would need his money back first. What we needed to consider was whether or not Billy’s father had an interest in the property, had he meant to loan the couple the money or was it a gift to the two of them? Was he on the title deeds as being an owner, was his share of the property specified in a trust deed? Neither Billy nor David had a clue, and this is often the case.

If your parents are giving you money as a deposit for a house all of the above should be considered. If a dispute arises over the issue then ultimately, in this case, Billy’s father would have to become a third party in court proceedings. The cost of the proceedings in many cases could be more than the money given/loaned in the first instance.

If money is to be repaid then a trust deed should be set up showing this and the fact should be registered at the Land Registry as part of the initial Conveyancing process.

However, the solicitor helping the purchasers would need to be made aware of this at the time. This would protect the parent making the loan, especially if one of the parties died before the money was repaid or was declared bankrupt.

This leads me on to the next case. John and Sally, who had both been married before, were going to buy a house together using the proceeds of sale from their previous properties. However, John’s house didn’t sell fast enough and so Sally bought the house in her name only. Later when John’s house was sold he put all of his sale proceeds into the new house. However, he discovered that it was going to cost about £500.00 to have his name added onto the title deeds. He thought this was expensive and so left matters. Fast forward ten years and Sally was declared bankrupt. The Trustee in Bankruptcy declared an interest in the whole property. John was left with legal fees of well over £500.00 to persuade the Trustee that he had a 50% interest in the property. Fortunately for him he was able to provide an audit trail showing that he had used his money to reduce the mortgage and so could prove an interest in the property.

If you think that the legal ownership of your home needs to be reconsidered then don’t wait ten years, seek help now.