New rule on ‘offers to settle’
The Civil Procedure Rules have been clarified in respect of the amount of damages a claimant must be awarded to gain a ‘more advantageous’ outcome than a previous settlement offer. …
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Referral fee ban welcomed
We welcome today’s announcement that the government plans to ban the payment of referral fees in personal injury (PI) litigation. A specialist Associate in Willans’ personal injury team has been…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
JCT contracts - Main changes to the design and build form of contract
Introduction The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (LDEDCA) is being implemented on 1 October 2011. Part 8 amends the Housing Grant Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (often…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Alternative resolution conferences (ARCs) - a new option for divorcing couples
This month, we are hosting the launch of a new initiative to help separating and divorcing couples resolve financial disputes. The service, believed to be the first of its type…
Sharon Giles LLB (Hons)
Partner
Accurate record-keeping can help businesses get paid
There is little point in pursuing a debt and getting a judgment if you are ultimately unable to enforce that judgment. However much that sounds like stating the obvious, it…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Luxury house disguised as barn breached planning law
A recent landmark ruling by the Supreme Court over planning breaches acts as a serious warning to landowners and developers. The developer in the case had disguised a luxury home…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Contracts can sometimes be implied by the courts
Katie Froud reports on a recent High Court decision that demonstrates how contracts can sometimes be implied by the courts on the basis of performance, in the absence of an…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Restrictive covenants that can be relied on
Restrictive covenants in contracts are widely used by businesses in order to prevent the use of privileged information. They can provide protection for a business, which may have to enforce…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
‘Endeavours’ clauses in contracts
When a contract imposes an obligation on a party to do something, in particular, failure to do it will usually amount to a breach of contract. To avoid this, those…
Kym Fletcher LLB (Hons) Euro
Consultant, solicitor
Business property relief and inheritance tax
When one is preoccupied with the everyday running of a business, or with the one-off opportunity of selling it, it is easy to overlook the importance of securing business property…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
The Dilnot report: care funding
In July, the distinguished economist Andrew Dilnot published his report into the best way to fund care for people in old age. Willans’ Wills, Trusts and Probate team looks at…
Simon Cook LLB (Hons), TEP
Partner
Are your retention of title (ROT) clauses effective?
Retention of title clauses (ROT clauses) are commonly included in standard terms of business. They provide that ownership of goods only transfers to the buyer once he has paid for…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Formation of the contract of employment
When we meet employer or employee clients for the first time, it is notable how many will tell us: ‘there isn’t a contract’, meaning they have never issued, or been…
Jenny Hawrot LLB (Hons)
Partner
Time to get ready for new bribery law
The Bribery Act 2010 becomes law in July this year. Essentially it creates new offences relating to bribing another person; being bribed; bribing of foreign officials and most significantly for…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Changes to the Construction Act by LDEDC Act 2009
The Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction (LDEDC) ACT 2009 and new JCT forms of contract This Act received Royal Assent on 12 November 2009. Part 8 amends the Construction…
Graeme Roberts LLB (Hons)
Consultant, construction law
Testamentary freedom under attack
The principle that you can leave your estate to whoever you like has been undermined in a shock decision by the Court of Appeal. In the recent case of Ilott…
Simon Cook LLB (Hons), TEP
Partner
Japanese knotweed risk for developers
Most developers are well aware of the need to check a potential site for pollution and contamination in terms of chemicals and industrial waste. However, many are less savvy about…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Rights of entry and removal
Willans looks at the powers available to the HCEO (High Court Enforcement Officer) when he is on the trail of a debtor who has failed to pay up. HCEO The…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Contract was created in casual email
A recent case shows how easy it is for a contract to be created in what may seem a fairly casual exchange of emails. In the case, Nicholas Prestige Homes,…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Defamation? Prove it!
In January, Nick Clegg announced plans to introduce sweeping changes to our much-criticised libel laws. If the new legislation (currently being drafted) is passed, it could become harder for a…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Competition Act
From April, all existing and future land agreements will be subject to the full force of competition law. Willans reports on the new regime that will affect landlords, tenants, sellers,…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Right to request flexible working
The right for employees to request flexible working has been around for some time. It was introduced in April 2003 and extended in April 2009 to cover parents with children…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Dismissing when an employee has less than a year’s service
Once an employee has a year’s service, he has the right to claim unfair dismissal. As part of the employment tribunal reforms, the government is considering doubling this requirement to…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Tribunal system reform
In recent months, employers’ groups have been voluble in their efforts to persuade the government to create a better climate for employers by reforming the employment tribunal system. Willans considers…
Paul Gordon LLB
Partner
Employer was vicariously liable for theft by employee
Where does an employer stand when an employee has done something illegal or even criminal in the course of his work? Willans reports on the most recent example, where the…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Royal wedding gives bosses a public holiday headache
The extra bank holiday on 29 April for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is going to be expensive whichever way you look at it, says Willan’s Employment…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
New rights for unmarried couples?
Sir Nicholas Wall, the country’s most senior family law judge, has, this week, called for new rights for unmarried couples to share property and money when they split up. Willans’…
Sharon Giles LLB (Hons)
Partner
A better way to divorce
Going through a divorce can be stressful but there is a new approach that can help make it a less traumatic process for those involved. Called the “collaborative approach to…
Sharon Giles LLB (Hons)
Partner
You can’t take it with you
Who would have thought a TV programme about wills could fire up so much interest? The new BBC2 series, Can’t take it with you has certainly given people something to…
Willans
Solicitors
It’s all a matter of compromise
Compromise agreements can be an expedient and versatile answer to a great many employment impasses. They offer employers a fast way of avoiding drawn out dismissal procedures and the associated…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
YuleTube if you want to …
As everyone knows, the office Christmas party has long been a traditional source of trouble in the employment context – a supply of free alcohol often acting as a catalyst…
Willans
Solicitors
Breath of fresh air on ‘elf & safety’
Lord Young’s 65-page report on health and safety Common sense, common safety, published in October, is a breath of fresh air and it is to be hoped it will blow…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Breach of a repairing covenant
A recent case emphasised that the traditional approach of assessing damages prevails: tenants cannot rely on making offers which may have no substance as a way of getting around dilapidations…
Nick Cox LLB (Hons)
Consultant, solicitor
Land agreements & Competition Act
Since the Competition Act 1998 came into force, certain agreements relating to land have been exempt from anti-competition rules. That exemption is to be revoked next year. From 6 April…
Nigel Whittaker BA (Hons)
Partner
Protecting your privacy
The recent case involving Huntingdon Life Sciences laboratory provides an example of a situation where company directors would prefer to keep their home addresses out of the public domain. In the…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
Equality Act 2010
The main elements of Harriet Harman’s Equality Act 2010 came into force in October, introducing some new and tricky areas for employers, says a Willans solicitor. The Act purports to…
Chris Wills LLB (Hons)
Partner
