associate news

Knights, the UK’s fastest growing legal and professional services business outside of London, has almost doubled in size during the past 18 months. Adoption of technology has long been central to Knights’ growth strategy as it seeks to improve processes to the benefit of its professionals and clients. As part of this, Knights has been using Search Acumen’s commercial platform ForeSite for a long time. 

New figures released by HMRC revealed that inheritance tax payments during 2020-21 totalled £5.4bn – increasing by 4% (£190m) on the last tax year. This has affected 33,000 people who have been hit with a tax bill, which the Office for Budget Responsibility say is up by a third, with the average payment around £160k.

Award-winning Liverpool and London-based business lawyers and advisers, O’Connors Legal Services Limited, has appointed insurance lawyer Alison Chu as a Solicitor.

A major 40 m landslide occurred at Nefyn Bay in North Wales earlier this year sparking concern for nearby residents and business owners. The area is prone to regular small-scale cliff collapses due to the superficial deposits of clays and silts making up Nefyn Bay which are easily eroded by the sea. More concerning, however, are the nine large landslides have been reported within a few miles of this location since records began.

This week is an important time for surrogacy as it marks ‘National Surrogacy Week’ and Anne-Marie Hamer at Spencer West LLP; Member of IDR  focuses on how the area of Surrogacy law is there to shape the future, and what ‘the future holds for surrogacy around the world’.

Osprey Approach and InfoTrack’s Marketing Managers, Amy Bruce, and Bronwyn Townsend, discuss the process and behavioural changes that were forced upon conveyancing firms during the last 18 months and share their views on if – and how – they should be embedded into everyday practices.

Protecting your data is crucial to your firm’s success. Should you suffer a loss of data, or a data breach, on top of the lost business and damaged reputation, you’ll also face hefty fines from the General Data Protection Regulation. GDPR fines are now forty times greater than the maximum penalty of £500,000 under the Data Protection Act 1998. Companies can now face up to £20 million or 4% annual turnover, whichever is highest, if laws are breached. A sobering thought when the Cyber Security Breaches Survey showed 43% of businesses in 2018 were witness to a breach or attack.

The world of elite sport, it goes without saying, is competitive. Competing at a world-class level requires not only physical skill, but a strong psychological mindset. Anyone who has ever tried to commit to even a casual workout or dietary regime can attest to how surprisingly difficult it can be. Curating a mindset that allows us to push ourselves beyond the reaches of our existing abilities is exactly what allows elite athletes to excel.

Jonathan Rees discusses the key objectives of legal regulation and what’s on the agenda as he takes up the role of newly appointed Chair of the CILEx Regulation Board.

In this case study, Sarah Gill, Paralegal at Cullimore Dutton explains a recent case where the firm conducted a Certainty Will Search to ensure that they were distributing an estate correctly.