Staff

The government is being urged to introduce reforms to provide better legal protection for cohabiting couples if their relationship breaks down. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports. The number of cohabiting couples has more than doubled in the past generation with 1.5m in 1996, compared to 3.6m in 2021. Do cohabiting couples have rights   The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee says there is a…

The number of firms going out of business or facing serious financial distress has risen sharply this year, according to the latest figures.  Carly Davies, our Debt Control Manager reports. The Insolvency Service says there were 5,629 corporate insolvencies in Q2, an increase of 12.7% compared to Q1’s figures of 4,995, and an increase of 81.3% compared to Q2 2021 (3,105).   Meanwhile, the Red Flag Alert produced by the recovery, financial advisory,…

House prices rose by 11% in the year to July, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide Building Society. However, increases in interest rates and the rising cost of living crisis could lead to a slowdown.  Sam Bulman Conveyancer in our Residential Property team reports. That slowdown may already be starting as the increase in prices between June and July was only 0.1%. The average house now costs £271,209.  Nationwide’s…

A fashion designer in her early fifties who was passed over for promotion has been awarded £96,000 after making an age discrimination claim.  Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. The case involved Rachel Sunderland, who had worked as a knitwear specialist for Superdry since 2015.   Sunderland had 30 years’ experience in the industry and had worked for well-known brands such as Fang Bros and Boden…

The trustees of a man’s will have been told they cannot put a time limit on his daughter’s right to bring a claim against them unless they provided all the facts that determined how the estate should be divided.  Stephanie Johnson Senior Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. The case involved two siblings in dispute over the will of their late father.   The deceased owned an estate worth around £3.5…

A pregnant cleaner who was told by her manager she was pathetic for needing to take a five-minute break has won her discrimination case.  Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. Anna Burns began working for Whitstable-based Tralee Rest Home in March 2019.  She took only two days absent from work and had a good relationship with her manager for the first six months of her…

Family businesses are well-known for taking the long-term view, with business sustainability and the wider community impact being forefront in their development strategy. Increasingly, all business sectors are adopting a shifting mindset that considers a “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit, moving away from the desire to simply make profit. We have all come across examples of businesses that make bold claims on their website about their purpose-driven…

A marketing company has been told that the post-termination covenant in a contract with one of its former suppliers was not enforceable because it prevented fair competition. Mark Aspin Director and Head of Dispute Resolution reports on this recent case. The case involved Mr Lambert, who ran his own business, and Credico Marketing Ltd.   Credico operated by entering into trading agreements with independent sales advisers or the company they represented, and those…

Two businessmen have been told they are liable to repay a business loan even though the money was paid into their company’s account. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports on this recent case. The businessmen owned the company, which was in financial difficulties. They asked an associate to lend them £50,000, without stating if the loan would be made to the company or them personally.  The loan agreement was drafted and…

A LEADING employment lawyer has issued advice for businesses with employees caught up in the current international travel chaos. The first week of the school holidays has seen lengthy queues at the Port of Dover, with the chaos at the ferry port mirrored by delays at international airports, with many holidaymakers left stranded abroad with flights either postponed or cancelled. The delays are expected to intensify over the next six…