LinkedIn contacts – who owns them?
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Employment law More and more employees are being encouraged to use LinkedIn as a business development tool. However, when an employee leaves they can easily take…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Ending distress - introducing the new Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery or ‘CRAR’ process
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution Some time ago our property litigation partner, Nick Cox, wrote a piece on legal phrases which explained that in law ‘distress’ was a legal…
Willans
Solicitors
Charitable incorporated organisations: the way forward?
Category: Press releases, Charities / not-for-profit, Commercial The Charities Act 2011 has introduced a new form of legal entity, known as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO),which may prove attractive to…
Willans
Solicitors
Protect the value of your brand
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Corporate & commercial A strong ‘brand’ or ‘trade mark’ helps to distinguish a business’s products from its competitors. A brand can take many forms – it…
Willans
Solicitors
“12 Lawful Days of Christmas”
This Christmas, we have produced a guide to help people and businesses in Gloucestershire enjoy a legal free festive season, with an edited version of the Christmas classic, ’12 Days…
Willans
Solicitors
Thinking of popping the question this Christmas? Or might Santa bring you a ring this year?
A pre-nuptial agreement to preserve your assets is not the sole prerogative of the rich and famous. These are becoming more recognised by the courts in England and Wales and…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Directors’ duties – a brief reminder
Our corporate & commercial team reminds directors of their responsibilities through this Q&A. I am the sole director and shareholder of my company. Surely the only duty I owe as…
Willans
Solicitors
Empty property rate relief scheme
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Commercial property A new empty property rate relief scheme for newly built commercial property became effective on 1 October 2013. The relief is to be awarded…
Willans
Solicitors
Avoiding a completion headache
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Commercial property What can you do when you have exchanged contracts to buy a property and the seller fails to complete the sale on the appointed…
Willans
Solicitors
Zero-hours contracts Q&A
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Employment law What are they? A zero-hours contract is an agreement under which there are no guaranteed hours of work and the individual, also known as…
Willans
Solicitors
A warning for directors when signing documents
Category: Press releases, Commercial, Dispute resolution In the case of Hamid v Francis Bradshaw Partnership (FBP), Hamid was the director of a company, Chad Furniture Store Limited (Chad), trading as…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Do you know about Family Dispute Resolution Week?
We all know divorce is a horrible thing to go through. More than 230,000 people in the UK get divorced each year. Many of us have seen friends and relatives…
Willans
Solicitors
Protection from village green applications
New rules effective from 1 October 2013 mean that it will be possible to stop private land being designated as village or town green without the owner’s consent. To prevent…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Family Q & A - helping answer some commonly asked questions
Our divorce & family lawyer Jonathan Eager answers three common questions that are asked in his line of work. What financial information do I have to give my spouse as part of…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Common Agricultural Policy - new scheme announced
Political settlement was reached in June 2013 on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). With most of the detail now agreed, we have a good idea of what…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Biodiversity off-setting consultation
DEFRA has published a green paper on biodiversity offsetting in England and launched a consultation on the government’s proposals. The consultation closes on 7 November 2013. Biodiversity offsetting is to…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Taste food & farming awards - And the winner is….
Representatives from the food, farming and drink industries were on the edge of their seats as the winners of the 2013 Taste of Gloucestershire Food & Farming Awards were announced…
Willans
Solicitors
Farm buildings for housing?
The government has been de-regulating the planning system for some time in an effort to help boost the economy. Permitted development rights already exist for the change of use of…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Make the most of employment law reforms
Much has been written about this year’s employment law reforms, mainly by employment lawyers looking to pick holes in the Government’s proposals. However, there are ways in which shrewd business…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
New opportunities for developers
In an effort to boost the economy, the government has announced that from 30 May 2013, agricultural buildings of up to 500 square metres are covered by new permitted development…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
Should a charity enter into an authorised guarantee agreement?
As numerous traditional high street retailers feel the economic pinch caused by ongoing poor trading conditions and internet competition, many charities are taking advantage and are increasing the number of…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Celebrating the best of Gloucestershire
We are delighted to be one of the sponsors of this year’s Taste of Gloucestershire Food and Farming Awards and, in particular, to be sponsoring the award for “Best Farmer”.…
Willans
Solicitors
Don’t click now and think later
In recent years, social media sites have provided the general public with a platform for sharing news and views on all sorts of matters. Naturally, some of the comments made…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Invoicing Q&A
As suppliers tighten their credit control systems and customers look for more favourable payment terms, Paul Gordon, our dispute resolution partner, answers common questions on invoicing and payment obligations. Q1:…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
New share buyback scheme
Share buybacks enable a company to purchase its own shares from one or more of its shareholders. This can have several advantages including: returning surplus money to shareholders increasing liquidity…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Have you checked your air-conditioning lately?
Air-conditioning is considered to be a comfort of modern life, but do you know what is in your system? Air-conditioning plants use refrigeration units with hydrochlorofluorocarbon refrigerants, including one environmentally…
Emma Thompson LLB (Hons)
Senior associate, solicitor
Obesity in the workplace
UK adult obesity rates have risen substantially in recent years. While the effects of this are primarily borne by the NHS, a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case demonstrates that…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Late payment of commercial debts
On 16 March 2013, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 (“Regulations”) came into force. These amend the provisions of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (“Act”)…
Nick Southwell BA (Hons)
Partner
Employee shareholder status
In March we reported on ‘A new kind of employee ownership’. Since then, further detail has emerged. The idea of ‘employee shareholder’ status, which comes into force this autumn, is…
Matthew Clayton MA LLM (Cantab), CIPP/E
Partner
Charity business rates relief
Mandatory relief from business rates is available to charities where the rate payer is a charity and the property is wholly or mainly used, for charitable purposes. The relief is…
Charlotte Cowdell BA (Hons), LLB
Senior associate, solicitor
Family and divorce Q&A
Our divorce & family legal expert Jonathan Eager delves into some commonly asked questions in his line of work. I have been married less than a year, can I get…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
It is time to improve building efficiency
It is time to take energy performance certificates (EPCs) seriously when renting or buying commercial property. New regulations for the private rented sector (which includes commercial property) will be brought…
Alasdair Garbutt LLB (Hons)
Partner
Volunteers are not protected against discrimination
Businesses are now protected from potential discrimination claims made by volunteers. In the case of X v Mid-Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau, the Supreme Court has ruled that an unpaid volunteer…
Charlotte Cowdell BA (Hons), LLB
Senior associate, solicitor
Are company assets safe during a divorce?
According to the Supreme Court the answer is maybe not. On 12 June 2013 in the case of Prest v Petrodel Resources Limited and others the Supreme Court overturned the…
Jonathan Eager FCILEx
Partner, chartered legal executive
Easements – interference and remedies
Are you having problems exercising a legitimate right of way? What can you do to ensure your rights are not being infringed? Rights of way, rights to drainage and rights…
Adam Hale BA (Hons), TEP, FALA
Partner
