Leading legal firm to open new office in West Cumbria
December 7th 2020A LEADING legal firm has proved its commitment to the high street by opening a new town centre office. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors will move into a new office in Cockermouth later this month as part of the firm’s continued expansion. Staff based at its current West Cumbrian office in Dovenby will transfer to the new base, which is in an historic building on Main Street, close to Cocker Bridge and…

Covid vaccines also bring changes in the law
December 3rd 2020Thinking it over with Carol Fish Director & Head of Serious and Catastrophic Injury… THE prospect of Covid vaccines starting to be rolled out in December and being widely available by Spring has given everyone reason for hope this Christmas that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. There is no doubt 2020 has been a tough year for everyone. And as we prepare for a festive…

Tenant protections extended as Covid restrictions continue
December 2nd 2020Protection for people who rent their homes is being extended while the Covid-19 restrictions continue to affect people’s livelihoods. Natalie Tatton, Solicitor in our Dispute Resolution team provides an update. The measures include a ban on evictions until 11 January 2021 at the earliest. The only exceptions to this will be the most egregious cases, including where tenants have demonstrated anti-social behaviour or are the perpetrator of domestic abuse in…

Government issues advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney
November 30th 2020The government has provided brief but useful advice on Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA) and how they can be used to help people who are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. Michelle Hayes, Solicitor, provides an update. An LPA is a legal document that you can draw up when you’re fit and healthy authorising someone you choose to make decisions on your behalf if you are no longer…

Employee copied confidential company files after resigning
November 25th 2020A company has been granted a court order preventing a former employee from disclosing or using its confidential information after they copied files, Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution reports. The company, Rentrack Ltd, collected ticket sales data for cinemas. One of its employees, Mr Green, was approached by a competitor and offered a job in June 2020. You’re leaving your job, can you copy files? Before resigning,…

North West family businesses tell their stories to a global audience
November 24th 2020A 24 hour, online global learning symposium event for family businesses was used to engage in peer to peer learning and knowledge transfer. Through the symposium a community of family businesses from across the world, engaged in peer to peer learning and the opportunity for sector specialists to transfer their own knowledge to new groups. This unique event was aimed to share informative and educational content, encourage connectivity and positively…

Government launches plan to build 180,000 new homes
November 23rd 2020The government has launched an £11.5 billion programme to build 180,000 new homes across the country over the next five years. Mandy Shum Conveyancer reports. It’s hoped that the move will unlock a further £38 billion in public and private investment in affordable housing. New homes will be made available from next year. Around half of the new homes will be available for affordable home ownership, helping more people to…

Helpful Guide Summarising Government Support for Businesses
November 20th 2020Over the course of the year the government has responded to the devastating financial impact of Covid-19 on businesses with a number of packages of support to help businesses of all sizes. Ranging from support to help pay employees and business owners, to grants and loans and also tax deferral schemes, the packages of support are wide reaching. With the latest national lockdown, some of the support packages and measures…

Siblings overturn their mother’s Will after family dispute
November 19th 2020Rebecca Armstrong Solicitor in our will claims team reports on this recent case. Four siblings have succeeded in overturning their mother’s Will after the court agreed that she had not fully understood its consequences when she signed it. The case pitted the mother’s first four children against her youngest child, the defendant. In 2004, the mother and her husband had executed mirror Wills, which meant that if the husband died…

North West family businesses get ready to tell their stories to a global audience
November 18th 2020In the first ever global family business event run by The Family Business Network, a number of North West family firms will feature amongst the impressive line-up. The Global Family Business Learning Symposium taking place next Thursday 19 November, is a new online event run by the Cumbria-headquartered organisation. The event has been designed to unite a community of family businesses from across the world as they engage in peer…
