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Central list of work

Here is information on the work that the firm will/will not undertake.

Private Client Department

Work undertaken:

  • Wills
  • Inheritance Tax Planning
  • Estates Administration
  • Grant of Probate
  • Intestacy
  • Letters of Administration
  • Trusts
  • Some Land Registration work and Declarations of Trust
  • Personal Injury Trusts
  • Court of Protection
  • Enduring Power of Attorney Registrations and Activation
  • Lasting Power of Attorney
  • Property Ownership
  • Contentious Probate: challenging the validity of a Will, dispute between Administrators/Executors, applications for removal/appoints PR’s, breach of trust claims, Inheritance Act claims – seeking provision from Estate of deceased
  • Continuing Healthcare Claims
  • Contentious Court of Protection/LPA
  • Any contentious issues arising in context of probate

Work not undertaken:

  • International Tax Planning
  • Sale of Mobile Homes within an Estate
  • International Estate Administration
Family Department

Work undertaken:

  • Divorce
  • Financial Claims
  • Trusts of Land/Cohabitee claims
  • Children Act matters including public and private law (subject to the exception below)
  • Inheritance Act Claims
  • Family Mediation
  • Separation Agreements
  • Pre-Nuptial Agreements
  • Family Injunctions

Work not undertaken:

  • International child abduction
  • Work on behalf of Fathers for Justice
  • Dealing with Appeals to Child Maintenance Service
Residential Conveyancing

Work undertaken:

  • Freehold Sale and Purchase
  • Leasehold Sale and Purchase
  • Auction Sales and Purchases
  • New Build Freehold/Leasehold Purchase
  • Shared Equity Sale and Purchase
  • Help to Buy Sale and Purchase
  • Remortgage
  • Mortgage
  • Lease Extensions  (NB – need to be reviewed with Helen Porter if Statutory Notices required)
  • Deed of Easement
  • Deed of Variation
  • Deed of Grant
  • Transfer of Equity
  • Transfer of part
  • First Registrations
  • Equity Release Sale and Purchase
  • Purchase under the Right to Buy

Work not undertaken:

  • Advising on or witnessing signatures to a Mortgage Deed where we are not acting for the client or the Lender
  • ID forms where we are not acting for the client or they are not existing clients
  • Independent legal advice for Personal Guarantees
  • Advising on or setting up private mortgages or loans against properties
  • Sale/Purchase of Mobile Homes
Injury

Work undertaken:

  • Accidents at Work
  • Industrial Disease including:
    • Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
    • Industrial deafness
    • Vibration White Finger (VWF)
    • Work related upper limb disorder
    • Stress or anxiety
    • Mesothelioma,
    • Lung cancer,
  • Non-malignant lung and pleural disorders, including:
    • asbestosis,
    • pleural thickening,
    • pleural effusions.
    • Respiratory diseases
    • asthma
  • Serious injury claims including brain, spinal and amputation claims
  • Public Liability and Highways Claims
  • Trips, Slips and Falls
  • Accidents in the home
  • Occupier’s Liability /Defective Premises Claims
  • Accidents on Holiday
  • Product Defects
  • Road Traffic Accidents (but see below in respect of work not undertaken in this regard)
  • Other types of injury including:
    • Animal related injuries
    • Needlestick injuries
    • Sport injuries
    • Accident at nursery, school, college or university
    • Accidents in the home (e.g rented properties)
    • Occupiers Liability Claims/Defective Premises Act Claims
    • Public Liability
    • Highways Claims
    • Diseases – Other Industrial Respiratory diseases including Asthma

Work not undertaken:

  • We do not accept instructions in Clinical Negligence/Medical Negligence cases or in any other matters not listed above.
  • Claims arising following an RTA, on or after, 31.5.21 which are to be made within the Ministry of Justice RTA Small Claims procedure for soft tissue, whiplash style injuries with symptoms of less than 24 months duration.
  • Fast track claims for personal injury on behalf of minors and/or protected parties of less than £25,000 in value arising from all types of accident.
Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Work undertaken - Property Related:

  • Property and Land related disputes – Commercial and Residential i.e Landlord and Tenant, forfeiture/repossession and breach of tenancy, rent arrears, boundary disputes, rights of way, village greens, trees, dilapidations, service charges and ground rents, mortgage repossession.
  • Restrictive Covenants and Easements
  • Creation of Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements and licences
  • Residential right to Manage, collective enfranchisement, lease extensions (statutory)
  • TOLATA claims (where these are not dealt with by the Family Department)
  • Construction Law – contentious and non contentious
  • Construction contract reviews

Work undertaken - Commercial:

  • Commercial Disputes – Contracts, the infringement of Intellectual Property rights, companies, partnerships
  • Applications for restoration of Companies and other procedural applications under the Companies Act
  • Shareholders disputes and misfeasance claims
  • Defamation, copyright and passing off
  • Construction Engineering
  • Corporate Insolvency
  • Sale and supply of goods and services, including small building projects
  • Setting aside judgements
  • Enforcement of Judgments
  • Agency work

Work undertaken - Other:

  • Professional Negligence
  • Employment – High Court enforcement of post termination restrictive covenants

Work not undertaken:

  • Planning and Environmental law
  • Education
  • Local Government
  • Immigration
  • Legal Aid
Company Commercial

Work undertaken:

  • Business sales and purchases
  • Share sales and purchases
  • Shareholder agreements
  • Articles of Association
  • LLP and Partnership agreements
  • Business contracts - reviewing and creating and in particular:
    • Technology
    • IT and ecommerce
    • Franchising
    • Facilities management
    • Intellectual Property (trademarks, patents, designs)
    • Self employed or service company consultancy
  • Terms and conditions of business
  • Shareholder disputes
  • Websites
  • Data Protection
  • New businesses
  • Licensing (including alcohol and other forms of regulated entertainment)
  • Bank documents
  • Investment agreements
  • Joint Ventures and collaboration agreements

Work not undertaken:

  • Public Listings
  • Regulated loan agreements
  • Financial Services regulatory advice
  • Corporate Insolvency advice
  • Tax Planning
Debt Recovery

Work undertaken:

  • Bulk business to business (B2B) debt recovery work
  • Bespoke recoveries for individuals
  • Assistance with the enforcement of CCJ’s
Commercial Property

Work undertaken:

  • All aspects of commercial property transactions including freehold or leasehold disposals and acquisitions (i.e shops, offices, cafes, warehouses, industrial units, hotels, pubs, hairdressers etc)
  • Involving conditional and non-conditional contracts.
  • Commercial non contentious landlord and tenant matters acting for both landlords and tenants and including portfolio management (licences to assign, underlet and alter, deeds of surrender, deeds of variation etc).
  • All aspect of commercial development work including advising on and negotiating s106 and s278 agreements and unilateral undertakings; Joint venture agreements; site assembly; land promotion agreements; development finance agreements; option and overage agreements and pre-emption agreements acting for both developers and landowners.
  • All aspects of secured lending including commercial re-mortgages, separate representation of Banks, security over residential property to secure business debts; providing separate legal representation to borrowers and/or banks to re-mortgages.  Acting for high street lenders (where we are on the panel) or private lending, secured over residential or commercial property.
  • Production of documentation packs for sale by auction and acting on the purchase of property at auction.
  • We have a particular specialism in Retail Property; the leisure industry including Pubs and Hotels; Petrol Stations. We also provide advice to parties purchasing property for personal pension schemes and manage portfolios on behalf of such clients.
  • Acquisitions of development sites (built or unbuilt), setting up estates and plot sales
  • Non contentious landlord and tenant work including the grant or renewal of new leases, acting for landlord or tenant.
  • Buying or selling freehold or leasehold/portfolios.
  • Charity property work (acting for charities in relation to the sale/letting/purchase etc of commercial property).
  • Residential and commercial transactions for corporate clients, focusing predominantly on acquisitions and disposals of investment properties including buy to let properties and houses in multiple occupation.
  • Site acquisitions and sales.

Work not undertaken:

  • Creation of new Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements
  • Advice on Personal Guarantees (independent legal advice) other than for existing clients or where referred by a work referrer
  • Advice regarding TUPE in relation to property sales
  • Dealing with Right to Manage
  • Planning Advice outside of basic advice related to an existing property transaction
  • Tax advice including VAT (other than on whether VAT is payable on a transaction purchase price of rent), CGT and Capital Allowances (save for advice on and the completion of SDLT return forms completed as agents for the client).
  • Acting on residential sales and purchases which are not for established clients
  • Acting on routine conveyancing transactions i.e sale and purchase of houses, re-mortgages, transfers of equity which are not for commercial clients
  • Dealing with basic trust documentation
Employment

Work Undertaken:

Employee advice:

  • Employee claims
  • Unfair dismissal
  • Discrimination
  • Breach of contract
  • Breach of covenants
  • Contract disputes
  • Settlement agreements

Employer advice:

  • Defending ET claims:
  • Unfair dismissal
  • Breach of Contract
  • Discrimination:
    • Gender
    • Age
    • Race
    • Disability
  • Equal Pay (private sector)
  • Unlawful deduction from wages
  • Peace of Mind Support Service
  • Human Resources Disciplinary and capability investigations
  • Contracts
  • Directors Service Agreements
  • Consultancy agreements
  • Staff Handbooks and employers policies

Training workshops:

  • HR Training Services
  • In house
  • External

HR Consultancy:

  • Recruitment and selection in-house support
  • Management of all levels of grievance and disciplinary meetings: investigation, grievance/disciplinary, appeal
  • Management of employee relations issues
  • HR support and consultancy on TUPE/restructure/change of contract
  • Full management of redundancy processes
  • Appraisal and 121 process development and training
  • Peripatetic HR Support/cover

Work not undertaken:

  • Public Sector Equal Pay
  • Armed Forces Personnel
  • Police Officer Disputes
  • Taxation Advice
  • Immigration (any such work in this field is referred to a third party firm)
  • Health and Safety (any such work in this field is referred to a third party firm)
  • Publicly funded work 
General Commercial Matters

Work not undertaken:

  • Trade Finance
  • Commercial – regarding the arms trade or related thereto
  • Contracts – regarding the arms trade or related thereto
  • Manufacturing – particularly in relation to dual use goods
  • Commodities – particularly mined metals and chemicals
  • Shipping/Maritime
  • Military/Defence 
Financial Services

Work undertaken:

  • Lump sum investments
  • Investment advice to Trustees/Attorneys/Deputy
  • Advising on clients going into both residential/nursing care
  • Inheritance Tax Planning
  • General Financial Reviews
  • General Insurance:
  • Life Assurance for individuals
  • Keyman Business protection
  • Critical Illness plans
  • Income Protection plans
  • Retirement Planning both post and pre retirement

Work not undertaken:

  • Mortgages – both residential and buy to let
  • Equity Release Schemes
  • Transferring of company pension schemes
  • Selling/buying of shares
  • Immediate care annuities

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