ISSUE 105 - AUGUST 2010 HEALTH WARNING: This magazine contains comments that may disturb the bar

Manchester’s Administrative Court Opened in January 2009 set 39 Essex Street launched a Manchester branch in June 2009. Chambers director Michael Meeson: “Manchester is a hive of activity.” [] opened in August 2009 in Manchester. Chambers director Robin Jackson: “Manchester is a strategically important site.” [The Lawyer]

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Contact our Regional Manager: Bob Moss T: 0161 839 1002 64 Bridge Street: Manchester Legal Centre 64 Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3BN T: 0161 839 1002 F: 0161 819 5205 DX: 14349 Manchester E: [email protected] PAGE 7 PAGE 15 PAGE 17 PAGE 21 Joe Ferrigno Cold calling Ted & Alice Film review www.64bridgestreet.com

Serving the legal community in Manchester Circulated FREE to ’ Clerks in the “the second legal city” HTTP://MAGAZINE.CLERKSROOM.COM EDITOR’S PAGE

About this time of year the one matter more than any other that exercises the minds of as they return from holiday is Professional Indemnity Insurance. Annual renewal is going to be a painful experience, especially for smaller firms. This may be the case in years to come for members of the Bar that deal directly with the public and have a poor claims record.

On top of that, they are now well aware of the threats from household name companies and ABSs, as well as the Bar and procurecos. A recent YouGov survey warned that the future of many high street firms could be in jeopardy unless they adopt a more customer-friendly approach to business.

Bob Moss Recent analysis found that some 87% of lawyers in sole practitioner and small firms already fear for their future with many citing the competitive threat from ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES TO: 2011 of increased competition from alternative business structures (ABSs). [email protected] recently reported the research conducted for LexisNexis’s law firm comparison website, LawyerLocator. Some 60% of 150 EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES TO: firms surveyed by YouGov said they expect their business to suffer when ABSs [email protected] enter the legal market, while 21% said they had already suffered as a result of the Legal Services Act.

This edition of the Clerksroom A separate YouGov poll of 2,052 members of the public found that 60% said Magazine has been kindly supported the most important factors when choosing a lawyer are specialist legal by the following companies: knowledge and an ‘approachable’ service – ‘precisely the domain of good high street law firms’.

Advantage Office Supply Systems Ltd Take a look at the Wigster site that is “coming soon”. They have a new advert Unit 10, Poole Hall Industrial Estate, on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItMU9iadO0U. Ellesmere Port, Cheshire CH66 1ST. T: 0151 357 3500 F: 0151 356 3459 The first blog comment sums it up: E: [email protected] “This will be terrible. Wigster will charge firms a referral fee which will be passed on to the client and push up fees. Corner House Design & Print Ltd Small firms will be driven out of business by larger firms The Old Chapel, Manchester Road, who can afford to pay referral fees, leaving only large firms Carrington Village, left to abuse their market position to further push up fees. Manchester M31 4BL Specialist firms will struggle to exist resulting in quality T: 0161 777 6000 advice no longer being available. We're talking about the F: 0161 777 6060 intimate issues of our personal lives, not car insurance E: [email protected] promoted by meerkats.”

Clerksroom Magazine is produced under licence by A massive traffic jam in China slowed vehicles to a crawl for nine consecutive JAR Holdings Limited, 9 Old Coach Road, days near Beijing. Vehicles, mostly lorries bound for Beijing, were backed up Kelsall, Cheshire CW6 0QL. 07734 995 902 for about 100km (62 miles) because of heavy traffic, road works and break- downs. Sound familiar?

1 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE Topics raised by the Chairman of the Bar

Extract from the keynote address to clerks by the Chairman of the Bar Nicholas Green QC at the IBC Conference on 26th June 2010.

CPS & Prosecution and we are hoping to make an work announcement in September or October. So far as the other We have the rudiments of a deal details are concerned, and there with the DPP. The principles are are many, there are negotiations essentially agreed in respect of I’m having with Keir Starmer and prosecution work. I’ve had a I’m not going to breach number of meetings and confidentiality. discussions with Keir Starmer QC. I have to say I find him entirely Jackson & CFAs frank and candid and easy to work with. He wears his heart They are of concern to civil bar. on his sleeve, he tells me exactly The new government are thinking what his problems are, which is long and hard. Before the entirely disarming and I find election, Dominic Grieve said to myself actually taking the me that yes they thought that reasonable position with him. Jackson was right and there’s We will get the lion’s share of all going to be primary legislation for CPS work. Events are conspiring CFAs, but he said he wasn’t against the DPP, the economy, its budget, quality certain whether we’d had a full control, reports of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate. debate about the extremities of the various cost options. He said, yes we could wallop CFAs hard but on the other hand we could look at the American scheme, which is He doesn’t feel as strongly about in-house advocacy as based on a contingency fee, or the Germans which have his predecessor did. He wants to do a deal and has got a fixed fee rate, and he said we hadn’t quite worked out a lot of things on his plate. We will do a deal. We will where we should be between the 2 extremes and he get the lion’s share of prosecution work. The Attorney thought there was scope for wide debate. General, as the sponsoring department, are highly supportive. As to rates, we are talking about rebalancing along Carter lines so that money will come Just 3 days ago [June 23 rd 2010] Jonathan Djanogly said out of long complicated prosecutions over 10 days, to me he thinks that Jackson’s got to be factored into the which we hope will be quickly used for the junior bar legal aid rates. That’s because if you wallop CFAs too hard,

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...continued from page 2 ”What Makes A Clerk Tick?” you are going to increase the pressure on the civil legal been very heartened by the number of civil and aid fund, and if you increase the pressure on the civil commercial and chancery sets who I use in the model Joe Ferrigno is Deputy Senior Clerk & Team Leader at Essex Court Chambers. He has been a member of legal aid fund, this will have a direct effect on the to do all sorts of innovative things, employment law, the clerk’s team there since 1982 and was appointed Deputy Senior Clerk in 2004. He has been a qualified member of the IBC since 1987. According to their website, Joe “is involved with marketing and criminal legal aid fund. He doesn’t want to do anything international work, arbitration, ADR mediation, developing practices at all levels within Chambers and in particular, is responsible for the day-to-day to increase the pressure on legal aid when it’s under such corporate compliance work in the city, planning local practice management of the Queen’s Counsel in Chambers.” With 50% silks, he has his hands full. In stress already. He’s cogitating on it. I think what that authority work. Lots of chambers are thinking long and November 2008 the Duke of Edinburgh visited Essex Court Chambers. means is there is scope; there is room for manoeuvre on hard about how to use the corporate vehicle to make CFAs. So for those of you whose barristers do CFA work, themselves more client friendly. late great Ron Burley. Dad thought it would be a it may not be as bad as we thought it was going to be. I profession that would suit my particular talents! And so think there are going to be some changes but I think It seems to us that there are masses of local authority when a job opportunity arose at 4 Essex Court, he sent there is still something of an open mind and conclusions work they could be sending to the Bar and they’re not me along for an interview. are yet to be formed within Whitehall. always doing that. I’ve been sent tender documents which are focused on solicitors only, and I’ve been So far what has been your best moment The Civil Ba r writing to the local authority saying, why have you in Chambers? limited this to solicitors? Why have you not thought of The Criminal Bar has been suffering plainly for the last It was a great feeling collecting the Chambers and the Bar? And I don’t get a proper response. Invariably, few years with budgetary cuts. One effect of the Partners award for set of the Year in 2005. This was the at the end of the line of correspondence the recession is that the civil bar has actually done very first time that these awards had been held and so it procurement officer will say, I have referred your well. All the clerks I talk to say they have had it tough; was good to be the first set to win it. correspondence to our legal department. I’m then profits are only up 5%. The Law Society conducted a getting lawyers’ letters back saying this is very What has been your worst moment in survey recently and discovered 260 in-house general interesting, would you come and talk to us about your Chambers? counsel who reported a 48% increase in use of the Bar ProcureCo model, and I’m saying yes of course, because Having to explain to an irate Judge, instruction over the past 2 years. That’s because we are cheap and I want local authorities to send more work to the Bar. and client at court, exactly why it was that I had cost effective relative to comparable solicitors, and there booked the same to appear in two different is a wide and increasing range of work where we do When did you start working in Chambers and in The civil bar’s OK. It doesn’t need ProcureCo in the what capacity? courts at the same time? overlap, some litigation, tribunal work. way the Criminal Bar is going to need new models, but I commenced work at 4 Essex Court in 1982 (later to it can certainly benefit from them. And I think the civil become ECC) as the junior clerk / trolley pusher! Were you involved with the visit of the Duke Solicitors haven’t made as much in relation to advocacy and the commercial bar should only thrive in the future. of Edinburgh? as they have in publicly funded work. But there is a lot Why did you become a clerk? I was honoured to be introduced to him and he asked of advisory work where we overlap and there are People often ask how I got into clerking and the answer me what it was that a clerk actually does? My certain types of litigation which suit the Bar and clients is that it was due in part to it being something of family favourite choice of analogies to answer this question are increasingly indifferent as to Legal Services. The Bar tradition, as my Great Uncle Johnny Ferrigno was senior is that we are a mixture of theatrical agent, butler and is a low cost operation, and we must stay so. clerk at the Admiralty law set Queen Elizabeth Buildings Jedi knight! However I could tell HRH was probably (Now Stone Chambers). In addition, my Dad was the not a big Star Wars fan and so did my best to explain Now our business model is designed to make the Bar Admiralty Marshall and therefore had lots of contact what we do in the limited time available. He left more accessible to civil and commercial clients, and I’ve with eminent senior clerks such as David Grief and the looking very puzzled! 4 5 Continued on page 6... AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 A U G U S T 2 0 1 0 ~ I S S U E 1 0 5 ARTICLE

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Who has been the greatest influence on How do you relax? your career? Not sure that I ever have time to relax between work I was doubly fortunate in joining Chambers in 1982 in and my three sons! That said, I have a season ticket at not only joining one of the premier Commercial Charlton Athletic, enjoy live music and I am a prolific Chambers but also to begin my apprenticeship under a reader of historical fiction. clerking legend. It was headed then, as it is now by David Grief, to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude What event anywhere in the world would you for all his good guidance and friendship he has shown most like to witness? me over these many years. I would like to witness the Sunrise over the Great Pyramids of Giza, accompanied by my wife. It is a What irritates you the most? special place to us both. People listening to their iPods too loudly or talking on their mobiles, while I am trying to read on the train! Name one person you would like to have dinner Could be a sign of my old age I guess! with and why? Nicole Kidman, for the same reason that my wife would Established What is the best aspect of the job? choose David Beckham! Chambers has opened many doors for me and has provider of afforded me the opportunity to make many friends on If you were stranded on a desert island, what 2 all sides of the profession. In addition, I very much items would you take with you? high quality enjoy marketing Chambers both here and overseas. A satellite phone with GPS and a flare gun. Creative Design, What is the worst aspect of the job? If you had not gone into clerking, what would Blackberry and Long hours! you have become? I wanted to be a Vet or an Archaeologist before leaving Artwork & Print What is your best characteristic, clerking or School. However, my Dad put me off becoming a Vet at otherwise? an early Stage, by posing the question - how would I to the legal I am an eternal optimist, which is very important when cope with my arm stuck up the backside of a cow at you support Charlton! 6am on a cold winters morning?... Not sure Archaeology professions. would have paid the school fees, so I suspect I would Do you have any bad habits? have gravitated towards becoming a Commodities Broker! Mrs.F... thinks I snore! So what does make a clerk tick? Your favourite film? For me it is all about the sense of achievement you feel 0161 777 6000 “Last of the Mohicans” – Epic historical action, with when work opportunities that you have made for great characters and that haunting music! Closely members of chambers payoff. Whether by a marketing followed by “The Godfather”. strategy that has borne fruit, or a recommendation that has worked particularly well. This always gives me a What car do you drive? tremendous feeling of pride and professionalism. Chelsea tractor!

What’s on your iPod? Latest additions are, Mumford & Sons, Editors and Kasabian.

6 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE Something about life at the bar Gill Butchard Prepare for Change Principal of Butchard Associates

3 August 2010 The Bar Council has set up a large working party to advise Are you sure you are on top of your sets of chambers on how to contract directly with the LSC • Public finances are in a perilous state. for criminal legal aid contracts. The group is made up of debt collection? • The Government has no choice but to make cuts and to around 100 barristers, clerks and practice managers, seek efficiencies in Departmental budgets. representing the criminal, family, civil, commercial and Are you sure there isn’t room for • The Ministry of Justice is not immune from this, and in chancery Bar and from all around England and Wales. turn, neither is the Bar. improvement? • Big changes are coming down the track whether the There are six sub-committees: the supervisory group Bar likes it or not. The profession has around a year to (led by the Chairman of the Bar); the LSC contracting How about booking a Health Check of prepare for that change. working group (which will draft a proposed contract, led by Michael Todd QC); the business models for the your Fee Chasing? What the Bar does now will determine if criminal and family Bar working group (led by these changes pose a huge opportunity or a Michael Bowes QC); the tendering processes working grave threat. I group (looking at how to win contracts, led by Richard Review of the procedures currently followed Salter QC); the Government savings working group In March of this year, under the last Government, the (looking at how the Ministry of Justice can save money I Ministry of Justice issued a paper entitled “Restructuring Review the system set up (Fee chasing templates etc) without slashing legal aid rates, led by Paul Kelleher QC); the delivery of criminal defence services”. This and the PR and education working group (which will I contemplates a major rationalisation of criminal defence Analyse the Aged Debt : note exposure to possible write off prepare the Bar via information, dialogue and training, contracts. There will be a major change in the way led by Peter Lodder QC, Chairman-Elect of the Bar). Other the Legal Services Commission (‘LSC’) awards I Analyse the time taking to pay working groups may be added in due course. contracts for criminal legal aid. The move will see a preference for larger units bidding for fewer contracts. I The programme of activity is vast. We will update you Identify weaknesses in procedure This will benefit the public purse by providing economies regularly as we approach the start line so that we can I of scale from the restructuring of solicitors’ firms which is Make recommendations to improve speed of debt collection bound to ensue. You can read the paper in full here. help you to compete on a level-playing field. And you should. and/or time savings We will provide information, host events and seminars Although the Government has changed since March, all the and arrange training to prepare you for all aspects of the I Identify cases that aren’t covered by current procedures indications are that the basic message of rationalisation has not. new system.

The big change for the Bar is the prospect of being able to The Bar Council, via its Member Services Board, is in the She could also help you with Supplier review, Expenditure Analysis/Review, bid for contracts and thereby contract directly with the process of setting up seminars and courses which will be Management Reports, Database Management, Client Management, LSC. The Bar must equip itself to do so. This is no small feat. rolled out across the country in the Autumn. Marketing, Debt Collection, Holiday/Sick cover, Job Training, Procedural Nicholas Green QC, Chairman of the Bar, has been travelling Please do not simply hit the delete button when you see up and down the country, speaking to several thousand an email entitled “PREPARE FOR CHANGE”. The aim is review, Business Review, etc barristers and introducing ‘ProcureCos’. This is the model to assist you, and to help you to survive. A huge number procurement company which will allow sets of chambers to of barristers are already giving up their time to ensure For more info: contract directly with procurers (Click here to view the that the Bar survives and flourishes, from the Chairman See Gill’s website at www.butchards.co.uk ProcureCo model). The Bar Council is now moving to the and Vice-Chairman down. Please do your bit to prepare next step in the process of preparing the profession. for the future. Summer 2011 is really not that far away. Email: [email protected] Tel: 0772 591 1320 www.butchards.co.uk 9 Continued on page 10... AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE ARTICLE

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Our message is a simple one: You must start to Thirty have registered in the first 10 days of marketing and National Database of UK Mediators prepare for change now. a further 100 have expressed interest, Miller said I should declare an interest in this article. Under one of my several hats I manage 64 Bridge Street “However, it’s worth noting the findings of Manchester for Clerksroom and take a positive role in the management of mediation. Some of my VHCC Scheme from July 2010 YouGov and the Ministry of Justice – former skills as a solicitor help as well. recommendation is still the most popular way of 11 August 2010 sourcing legal help. But in the latter, 83% surveyed didn’t know how to tell a good provider Whilst everyone else was away, in early August who trained the mediator, the dates of subsequent The criminal Very High Cost Cases (VHCC) Panel Scheme from a bad one. May be that will change as the expired on the 13th July and has been replaced with an market changes shape.” Clerksroom launched a new fully searchable, fully observations and details of current insurance policies. individual case contract arrangement. inclusive, national database of qualified mediators. The The launch of the solicitors’ comparison website unique structure of the system [developed by Higher A profile set up wizard takes you through the entire set From 14 July 2010, litigators and instructed on wigster.com, reported by the Gazette, is likely to engender Sites Web engineers] means it is self maintaining. The up process and will not allow the mediation profile to VHCCs with representation orders from that date will polemic reaction from within the profession. operate under this arrangement. new system is available to all UK qualified mediators, go live on the database until the system has checked Many will see the site as another threat to contend with including our competitors and is completely free of and approved the information itself. Cases currently operating under the VHCC panel contracts alongside ABSs, while others will view it as a means of charge to market yourself. will continue to do so until their conclusion. Equally, any fighting back. new cases with representation orders dated between 14 Observer or Trainee mediators take no part in the January 2008 and 13 July 2010 will continue to operate But whichever side they take, no one though who has even under the VHCC panel contracts. Using the latest web techniques to automate most mediation process. Junior Mediator status is awarded to casually considered the global market explosion over the processes, the system allows qualified, insured someone having undertaken up to 25 mediations last few decades, with added fuel from amazing advances Please use this link to take you to the LSC website in technology since the mid-1990s, can be surprised that mediators, who meet the current Civil Mediation (recorded in the history tab), Senior Mediator status is detailing the new arrangement and forms to be used. these forces will now impact on the legal profession. Council standards to set up a profile, manage the awarded to someone with up to 50 mediations or Elite profile and market themselves using the online Mediator status with over 50 mediations undertaken Wigster is launched The lifting of the ban on solicitors’ advertising in 1987 was similarly polarising. I remember a district judge database. together with positive feedback from clients being The Law Society Gazette recently reported that Law firms telling me that advertising was anathema to a profession, recorded. have been invited to register for free on what is claimed and that one would be rightly suspicious of any doctor At an administrative level the system holds personal who had to shout about his services in this way. Quite to be the first legal services price comparison website to contact information which may be a clerk, PA or Regional Mediation Centres and mediation venues will give consumers instant details of costs. what that DJ would have made of the marketing of private medical services these days is not difficult to secretary depending on professional background. The also be able to add their details into the venue Nick Miller, who has practised in the Hull solicitoris guess. Others welcomed the opportunity to compete public facing side of the database includes the normal database which completes the information required to launching wigster.com with funding from a private equity openly on price, although usually proclaiming a high- profile with photograph, a feedback tab which is obtain a complete online quote for any approved investor. Their Youtube advert will have cost a bit. Firms quality service. who obtain work through the site will be charged a completely controlled by clients, not the mediator. It mediator, the administration and venue costs including referral fee. The wigster.com brand will be promoted later Conveyancing scale fees were abolished in 1972, but provides in a graphical format the detail submitted by catering. The entire process is automated and will only in the year with what Miller describes as ‘high-profile’ TV, until the advertising ban was done away with, it was the client following a mediation appointment and display if correctly added to the system and all CMC & radio and press campaigns. difficult for the public to compare prices. Even then, quality of work and service remained hard to displays strengths, as well as weaknesses. The database EU requirements are met. He said: ‘The site will give costs instantly, rather than differentiate, other than anecdotally. Interestingly, wigster is specifically designed to provide real, transparent data “upon application”, which is what other sites do. The aim is part-owned by solicitors, perhaps as testament to the on the mediator. Contact: Stephen Ward – [email protected] is to develop an approachable brand for consumers who view that getting involved with the fight for market share otherwise find lawyers and their fees daunting.’ is better than hand-wringing on the sidelines. In terms of (MD) public perception, a comparison website that scores firms CPD and training information in line with the Civil Lisa Rodger – [email protected] Miller expects law firms offering conveyancing, employment, on price, service and reputation could be of more interest Mediation Council and European standards are shown (Mediation Clerk) debt, personal injury, wills & probate, road traffic accident, than a Law Society campaign that seeks only to persuade business and other consumer-focused advice to sign up. people that solicitors in general are a good thing. in the CPD and Training tab which also lists the provider 10 11 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE Lawyer humour

This was sent in by a lawyer who felt that ambulance chasing was for mugs, and that the lawyers on the other side of the Atlantic had got the right idea. Make your own judgement!

The ultimate in gift “planning” this year, and to provide them with food, I took $120,000 out and used it to feed and clothe them.” An elderly gentleman, quite well to do, realized that his

life was turning down the final stretch, so he The attorney was beside himself. “I am disgusted. Our summoned the three friends that he trusted the most friend asked but one thing of each of us, and trusted us for some advice: one was a doctor, one a priest, and with his last request. How could you two break that one an attorney. trust and go against his wishes?”

“I’ve been thinking lately,” he said to them, “that The doctor replies, “You expect us to believe that you, perhaps there is something to the ancient Egyptian an attorney, left $1 million in the envelope?” belief that when we die, we take some things with us Why choose to the next world. So, I’m giving each of you an “Of course!” replied the attorney. “In that envelope envelope with $1 million cash in it. At my funeral, I ask was a personal check for the FULL amount!” us as your each of you to slip it into my casket so that I can use it one supplier? on my journey to the next world.” Some simple Lawyer Jokes What is the difference between a tick and a lawyer? Has your firm spoken to advantage yet Lower costs A few weeks later, he was dead. At the funeral, each of Save on purchase price and about joining The Professional the three went up to the casket, and each placed an A tick falls off of you when you die. eliminate hidden costs. Purchasing Group and massively envelope into the casket. Afterwards, the three were What’s the difference between a dead skunk in the reducing your office supplies overhead? Flexible ordering talking, and the doctor couldn’t keep it in any longer. “I Work with us to create an road and a dead lawyer in the middle of the road? have a confession,” he said. “This year has been quite effective, efficient ordering There are skid marks in front of the skunk. If not.. call us today to receive details system that’s perfect for you. bad for the clinic. My CAT scan machine broke, and I and information of how you can had to scrape to replace it. I took $80,000 out of the Dedicated service You’re trapped in a room with a tiger, a rattlesnake introduce an innovative new supply One source, one solution envelope to pay for it.” and a lawyer. You have a gun with two bullets. What system that will reduce costs and save gives you more time to focus on the success of your As the other two cringed, the priest then added, “I should you do? time throughout the year. business. must confess, too. The poor have been especially bad You shoot the lawyer. Twice! Tel: 0845 370 3500 Superb choice www.advantageoss.com Choose from over 30,000 Fax: 0845 370 3501 product lines, all available 13 E-mail: [email protected] from just one supplier. AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE A cold calling story By the Editor

Here are the various emails sent to sell me the .com to replace the .co.uk as my company’s domain name. No doubt they are used for thousands of similar situations. In case you have come across them, their emails end …@alpineshore.com. I cannot trace them.

Hi there, Go to http://jarholdings.com. If there’s a price listed on the page, you can pay immediately. If not, simply email I recently won the domain name jarholdings.com at an me back to make an offer and we’ll take it from there. auction of expired domain names. I checked out your website and thought that jarholdings.com could be of great Sirs, benefit to you. Contact me with any questions or offers. I noticed you saw my email regarding Hi there, jarholdings.com the other day, but for some reason you did NOT take advantage of it like I’m curious why you don’t own the domain most people do. I’m curious why you didn’t go jarholdings.com! ahead and acquire jarholdings.com immediately.

I can only think of 3 reasons…….. Sooo...Can you do me a small favor? Please hit the Contact me now to discover the quickest and reply button and tell me why you decided not to safest way to acquire jarholdings.com. accept my offer. Thanks in advance for your help. Hi, Okay Sirs... I’ve noticed that you haven’t yet taken advantage of my I’m about to give up [ why do I think not?], but I’ll try offer for jarholdings.com. So, I’ve taken the liberty of “one last time” to convince you to take a look at this answering the most common questions I receive about chance to acquire jarholdings.com. my domain names. [ 10 Qs & As in all!]  Q: “Why do I need jarholdings.com?” In case you overlooked my previous emails, let me recap the important benefits of owning jarholdings.com:  A: You’re currently diluting your brand and losing valuable makes it easier for your visitors and prospects to find traffic. When many individuals think of the Internet they you online.  automatically think of “dot com”. How many potential ensures that more of your existing clients will visitors are looking for your site but instead go to the remember your web address. memorable and prestigious jarholdings.com?  allows you to protect your brand and stop potential competitors from diluting it. Q: “Is jarholdings.com for sale and what is the cost?”  gives you the prestige and credibility of a world class enterprise. A: Yes, it is currently for sale. Please check  is very affordable and can be yours today. http://jarholdings.com for pricing. If no price is displayed, email me back to make an offer. Don’t waste another year wondering what your online presence might have been if you had owned Q: “Sounds great, how do I get started?” jarholdings.com. Get started today!

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Sirs, I have no idea why you haven’t responded yet. - a problem shared!! My accountant will return from Hong Kong in a A few weeks ago, I told my accountant that I was few days and we need to close the Some more of your printable offerings! wondering whether I should sell jarholdings.com jarholdings.com deal before then. As soon as my at a 20% discount. He advised me not to do it. accountant calls me from the airport, this So I didn’t. outrageous 20% one-time discount offer will be gone forever. Let’s get this ball rolling! But this week, my accountant is out of town. He’s on a business trip to Hong Kong. And just Sirs, Dear Ted & Alice, Ted: One for you Alice, although I must say I don’t to get back at him, I decided to literally slash a I have recently joined what was until my arrival fancy the idea that he is scratching himself and massive 20% off the price of jarholdings.com... Did you know that there are HUGE domain name an all male clerksroom. Bless them, Alice; they then picking up my tea bag. but ONLY while he’s gone. hoarding corporations out there that automatically are making such an effort. Whenever I walk into register hundreds of thousands of .com domains and the room you can sense the banter change from Alice: A bit of health and safety training is called for. To take advantage of this deal, email me back NEVER sell any of them? Instead, they put up ads to pure chauvinist to vaguely tolerant of female And if it is not in the manual about washing for ordering instructions. jarholdings.com could make a profit. I’m sure you’ve seen such domains in the company. That may not sound much, but believe hands properly before handling anything in the be yours today if you act now! Help me surprise past: no useful content, just ads. me from the stories I’ve heard, it is a big step kitchen, including mugs, then it needs writing in. my accountant! Reply now to claim your 20% for mankind. I know we [I mean “they”] are discount. I’m standing by for your response. Fortunately, jarholdings.com did not fall into the hands making progress. I was asked yesterday when I Dear Ted & Alice, of those offshore corporations. I made a lot of sacrifices would like to go on lunch. For a minute I What do you feel about ties? I mean the ones [This one is from the Accountant] (and quite a few enemies) to rescue jarholdings.com thought it was an offer of a date. I almost wish you string round your neck. Only some of us from their clutches, and if you act now, you can secure it was! But I cannot say anything as it might have been having a discussion, and though we I’m on my way to the airport, but before I left I wanted the domain for a one-time fee. spoil the whole vibes, so I wondered if you guys accept dressing down on a Friday may not be in could thank them for making me feel welcome? to check back with you regarding jarholdings.com. My order, maybe the rules in summer could be records indicate that you haven’t acquired the domain However that might soon change. My accountant is relaxed. Ted: Guys, this is clerking 2010. There is now a female name yet. What’s holding you back? back from Hong Kong and I found out this morning that Gondolier in Venice. Need I say more? he has conspired with my lovely husband to push for a Ted: Do you mean a variation on the summer “shirt sleeve order” code when jackets can be hung Sirs, huge price increase! Alice: Yes but the lads do need encouragement to live up? Lots of offices dress that way all week these a modern office existence. We all like a laugh days. Whatever the current fashion, and it is only My accountant just called me from Hong Kong. They say I’m an utter fool for charging such a small and a bit of banter. I wonder if they now know current, I still think you cannot beat a smart He’s taking an early morning walk along the amount when I could easily double my professional fee. who they are. I hope so, but somehow doubt it. modern tie. Hong Kong waterfront, admiring the impressive skyline. And let me tell you, he has NO CLUE I don’t know how long I can hold them off. I might Dear Ted & Alice, Alice: We haven’t by any chance put a couple of extra that I temporarily slashed a massive 20% off soon have to increase the price of jarholdings.com just Our junior has just come back off holiday pounds around the middle on holiday have we, the price of jarholdings.com! Obviously, this to restore peace to my office and to my home. I might covered in mosquito bites. Apparently he fell and the shirt top button is struggling to meet the special offer can’t last forever. And it will NEVER even have to take the domain off the market entirely. asleep for several hours in some bushes in a tee button hole? A tie not correctly displayed and be repeated! shirt and shorts. The rest of that story is a bit covering the top button is neither one thing nor Dear Sirs, messy. Anyway, the bites are starting to itch as the other. It looks worse than no tie at all. As soon as my accountant calls me from the they heal, and he is constantly scratching them. airport to tell me that he’s back from Hong It’s a beautiful day and I’m in a deal-making I would not be bothered but he does it when he Kong, I’ll immediately cancel this special mood. So, make me an offer for jarholdings.com is delivering the coffee. Heaven knows what he discount deal. That’s why you and I need to and I might just say yes. Warm regards….. is up to in the kitchen. He is not the most complete this transaction before he returns. hygienic clerk. Should he be told? 16 17 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE ARTICLE IBC Conference 2010 Law and Disorder

Over 4 issues starting with the June edition we will reproduce the lecture given by Baroness Ruth Tim Kevan talks about his legal comedy novel which is being re-issued under the new title Deech, Chairman of the , entitled: Law and Disorder Embrace change & deliver Back in 2007 I had been practising as a barrister for where not only have I been able to go surfing a little some nine years when I started writing a blog about a more frequently but I have now finished the first two Edition in 2010 Topics fictional young trainee barrister who I called books in the Babybarista series. The blog has now June The changes we made BabyBarista, a play on words based on his first moved from The Times to its own site and has also July Our survey impression being that his coffee-making skills were been taken on by The Guardian . The first book came August Entity regulation probably as important to that year as any forensic legal September Clerks & the Cab Rank Rule out last August and was originally called BabyBarista abilities he may have. One of the most satisfying things Conclusions and the Art of War and is now being re-issued in I found about blogging was the immediacy of the August under the new title Law and Disorder . It does publishing process. You think it up, type it out on your seem to have been well-received with broadcaster Entity Regulation So what is likely by way of BSB entities? The SRA can keyboard and then publish. It also allows the writer in Jeremy Vine describing it as “a wonderful, racing read - already authorise LDPs and is working towards many ways to busk or play around with ideas and see well-drawn, smartly plotted and laugh out loud” and So in designing entity regulation the BSB has to guard becoming a regulator of a wide range of types of ABS – how they work. the identity of the Bar, its excellence in advocacy, its they will be a suitable regulatory home for commercial The Times Law Section calling it as “a gallop of a read” commitment to pro bono work and the willingness to enterprises that include a few barristers. What there and their Books Section mentioning its “relentlessly take on every case. Therefore a line has to be drawn in It’s a strange thing to say but I discovered that this will not be, unless we create it, is a regulator which racy, rumbustiously Rumpolean humour”. the sand, or rather, a ring fence (with a gate or two) bold, irreverent and mischievous voice along with a specialises in the regulation of advocacy and specialist around the profession embracing the Bar and the clerks. collection of colourful characters had simply jumped legal advice; available to regulate new forms of entity The book centres around BabyB’s first year in chambers Logically the BSB could go all the way with entity into my head and the words started pouring on to the either as an adjunct to chambers, or as a free standing where he is fighting his fellow pupils for the coveted regulation. The desirability of BOPs leads inexorably to page. I was hopeful it might raise a few smiles, but in body doing similar types of work to that now done by prize of a permanent tenancy. It’s a fictional caricature LDPs, ABSs, MDPs and then to the need for litigation, my wildest dreams I hadn’t imagined quite the barristers, but with more freedom to adopt different of life at the Bar and includes characters that probably cash handling, direct access, all then to be available to extraordinary set of circumstances which then unfolded. the self-employed as well as the employed Bar. Then structures and work with a wider range of people. The exist in most workplaces. Alongside the race is BSB would meet regulatory objectives if it became a an altogether different battle with BabyB’s corrupt there is no difference between the branches of the legal First it received a glowing comment in a legal magazine profession and no hallmark of the Bar. This is not regulator for that kind of entity. There is little point in pupilmaster whose dishonest fiddling of chambers’ and off the back of that I emailed a few publishers and ultimately to the benefit of the public, let alone to the regulating other kinds of business, in replicating what records all starts to unravel and threatens to embroil started getting interest as well as taking on a literary clerks and the whole profession. Barristers and solicitors the SRA is doing. The BSB does not have the expertise agent who had approached me direct. In the meantime, BabyB’s entire career. and their clerks may work together but this is not or experience and it would be very expensive to seek to The Times kindly offered to host the blog and finally, I equivalent to doing the same work. They are do so, not least in terms of the practising certificate fee. was offered a book deal with Bloomsbury – all within Tim Kevan is a barrister and the author of ‘BabyBarista complementary and each has its specialism, the Bar Risks would be very high with little or no public benefit. and The Art of War’ published by Bloomsbury and distinguished for advocacy and specialist advice, not the space of less than three months. available at www.amazon.co.uk. For more information handling clients’ affairs and money. The BSB will also continue to resist referral fees as a matter of ethics and Since that hectic start, it’s been a long haul. I’ve finally visit www.timkevan.com and choice, and avoidance of corruption. taken a break from the Bar and moved to North Devon http://timkevan.blogspot.com .

18 19 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE Clerksroom Magazine Film Review

Film Reviews by Aimée Summers

Inception [Cinema]

This year’s obligatory summer blockbuster is the intelligent Inception starring Leonardo Di Caprio.

A dream within a dream within a dream, conduced by a powerful concoction of drugs, so that the dreamer can search victims’ subconscious minds to extract thoughts and secrets carefully locked away … or on an even deeper level, to plant ideas through inception then watch them take seed and grow, forcing the desired mind-altered decision. Confused? After watching this film you certainly will be, but the leftover feeling of bewilderment is part of the film’s charm.

The basic storyline is that expert extractor Cobb has been employed for the purpose of corporate espionage to incept an idea in the head of billionaire industrialist Robert Fischer, so that he abandons the family business and his competitor can claim market monopoly positioning. In return for this complex job, Cobb will be But visiting dreams is dangerous. Firstly, time expands, given the freedom to return home to his family, from so that five minutes in the real world equates to years whom he’s been estranged since the death of his wife in the deepest levels. Secondly, if killed, the dreamer is for which he’s been blamed. trapped in limbo. Thirdly, by entering the dreams of such a high profile, rich, dominant, protected Cobb carefully assembles the new dream team – an businessman, there’s tight corporation security architect to design the layout in maze-like format, a throughout, attempting to kill the invaders. Fourthly, thief and a chemist to submerge dreamers down three the gang are constantly threatened by the knife- levels, one within the other like Russian dolls. wielding appearance of Cobb’s deceased wife Mal.

21 Continued on page 22... AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE ARTICLE

...continued from page 21

I don’t want to give away too much and ruin the many instead of watching this mind-blowing film! What solicitors really think elements of surprise. You’ll have to go and watch the I was tempted to deduct a star rating because even ...about barristers’ marketing film to find out how they orchestrate the dream now I’m not 100% sure of the plot, but this is partly invasion of Fischer, what happens at each dream level why it’s so enjoyable and Christopher Nolan’s film is By Sue Bramall of Berners marketing to enable them to incept the required thought and see well deserving of full marks! if their mission is successful enough for Cobb to return One of the afternoon workshops at the IBC Conference last June was entitled: “marketing your home. You also learn about the background to Mal’s ##### Chambers including harnessing the power of email marketing”. death, if Cobb is to blame and why she plagues his The speakers were myself, Neil McHugh Senior Clerk at Cobden Chambers, and Louisa Hope Marking dreams. Key manager at Guildhall Chambers.

#$$$$ - Don’t bother When planning the session on marketing for the IBC conference, my co-presenter Neil McHugh of Even if you can’t easily follow the film’s progress, you’ll Cobden House commented that it would be really useful to find out what our solicitor clients thought of be impressed with the special effects – the world ##$$$ - Consider seeing the ‘marketing experience’ that they received from barristers. folding in half, amazing chase scenes and feats of ###$$ - Recommended viewing gravity. The dream invaders keep a special totem, a In a totally unscientific and far from statistically robust ####$ - Definitely worth seeing chosen physical object which keeps them in check with piece of research, we asked clients within 20 solicitor’s reality. You may at times wish you had your own ##### - A must see practices to give us their views on barristers’ marketing totem, as it’s easy to imagine you’re actually asleep and how they choose a barrister.

All respondents were promised anonymity, and here are the unedited comments that we received in response:

How they choose

• Good individual counsel LAWCARE • Good back-up – ie knowing that if our preferred counsel cannot act, there are others in Chambers who LawCare is an advisory and support They offer the opportunity to discuss are equally good service to help lawyers, their staff and health issues and problems which are • Quality of previous working relationship • Relationship with clerk / regular contact and updates their immediate families to deal with interfering with, or have the potential to • Reasonable fees health problems such as depression and interfere with, work performance and/or • Flexibility addiction, and related emotional family life – and to seek help in resolving Experiences – Brand difficulties. the problem in its early stages. The

service is free and entirely confidential. • “Bigger chambers do lend themselves to a corporate feel – but it is the individuals that count” 23 Continued on page 24... Helpline: 0800 279 6888 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 9 a.m. - 7.30 p.m. weekdays 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. weekends and Bank Holidays ARTICLE

...continued from page 23 • “Bigger chambers are more comfortable for our foreign Experiences – Relationships clients who don’t understand how the law works here” • “Individuals sometimes fail to live up to the brand, • Since leaving one of the national firms – I have when they do not follow up or keep you informed – definitely fallen beneath the radar with the chambers some can be arrogant and inaccessible.” that I used to use.” • “Clerks rarely kept us informed about good juniors”. • “When you build a close relationship with any Experiences – Facilities supplier, you want to feel that you can get a deal or a favour occasionally – leverage the relationship. • “XXX Chambers – very smart modern premises Barristers don’t seem to grasp this”. – impressive” • “With other suppliers you know if they would be • “YYY Chambers – premises are like a Victorian jail. sorry to lose you – they don’t act as if they are doing Remember the opening sequence of Porridge?” you a favour!”.

Experiences – Seminars Experiences – Service quality • “Customer service skills generally are pretty poor – • “Courses are effective, especially if they are reasonably don’t even bother to write and confirm receipt of priced and provide decent written materials” instructions or give you any progress report.” • “Counsel needs training to deliver well – listening to • “We never get asked for feedback on an individual someone reading from notes is just off-putting and it barrister – this would help identify training needs” is surprising how often it happens.” Experiences – Web site • The words “dull” and “un-worldly” come to mind. • “I could read the case myself if I just wanted to know • “Good web sites with decent pictures are important – the law – I want to know why it is relevant and the you know who you are looking for when you get to court implications...” and you can find out a bit about their specialisms.” • “Some photographs are very out of date when you Experiences – Hospitality meet them!” • “Some profiles are so brief that they are useless – they don’t know how to differentiate themselves.” • “Seems all very London centric – nice to be asked, but no good unless I happen to be there.” Experiences – Newsletters • “..garden parties /gallery viewings – I actually like these as I get to talk to counsel and their clerks – it’s the • Daniel Barnett E-news is excellent – little & often” clerks that get us to good counsel and the work done • “We get a paper bulletin (not email) on important on time, so it is important. I cherry pick the important decisions in cases they have acted in (!) – but not on chambers and just go for a reason, not a jolly.” the law generally” • A very occasional dry magazine often covering topics • “XXX have a very glitzy annual ... party. We never of no interest to us, otherwise no contact.” hear from them otherwise, so I’m sure they could • “Usually do not hear from them between cases” spend their money more effectively with a drip feed.” • These are all a bit dry and academic ... it is all a bit dull.” 24 AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 ARTICLE A Wine Society A to Z of wine tasting terms (sub-titled ‘How to sound like you know what you’re talking about when it comes to wine!)

This month the Wine Society have drawn together an A-Z of terms associated with wine and the wine industry to help make more sense of wine and help you in the selection of wine to suit your taste.

A D Acetic – Tart, vinegary smell indicating bacterial spoilage Depth – A measure of intensity and complexity of flavour Serviced Office Facilities: Acidity – An important preservative and a vital E G 218 Strand offers UK and overseas lawyers the opportunity to element in keeping wine balanced. Some grapes are Extract – The ‘solid’ fruit and tannic elements extracted share resources in a serviced office suite, directly opposite the higher in natural acidity than others from the grapes which boost flavour. Over extraction can Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, London WC2. Astringent – Describes the dry, harsh sensation lead to astringency G sometimes found in very tannic wine The reception is on the 3rd Floor and staffed 8am - 6pm. F G Attack – The initial impact of a wine on the palate Meeting Room available include Single rooms for 1-50 people Finesse – Evokes class, subtlety, specialness - the opposite Austere – A tough, hard, uncompromising wine which of pedestrian, dull or four-square up to Mediation Suites. is unlikely to mellow with age Finish – The wine’s final chance to impress after it has B gone down the hatch. The perfect finish is clean, decisive, Accommodation: convincing and sufficiently long-lasting to ponder G Backward – Immature, further back in its life cycle Fleet Street apartment available for short term rental to than expected Flabby – Lacking in acidity professional people when in London. Baked/Cooked/Stewed – A hot (but not burnt) Flintiness – Stony, gunflint quality found in some Chablis G Superbly located studio apartment situated just off Fleet Street. character indicating arid vineyards or warm vintages G Bite – The trenchant impact of acidity and young Grip – Positive effect on the palate of a wine with tannin on the palate Disaster Recovery Suite: well-balanced tannin and acidity G Body – The combination of fruit, extract and alcohol Suite with 24/7 availability of hot desk PC’s connected Green – A characteristic associated with unripe grapes, registered on the palate. Sometimes referred to as ‘weight’ as opposed to ‘verdant’, which is a positive descriptor to the Internet. Bouquet – Collective noun for the aromas which make for fresh, grassy wines up a ‘nose’ H C Herbaceous – An aromatic, shrubby quality, rather like Cloying – A sweet wine lacking acidity or balance. the smell of a bouquet garni, found in many wines from Contact Us: Contrast with luscious the southern Rhône and Provence 218 Strand, London, WC2R 1AT L Complexity – Thought-provoking, multifaceted quality T: 0845 083 3000 F: 0845 083 3001 which separates quaffers from keepers Leafy – A character sometimes found in cabernet franc Corkiness – Musty quality caused by infected corks and some other cool-climate reds DX: 232 London Chancery Lane E: [email protected] 26 Continued on page 28... AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 www.218strand.com ARTICLE

...continued from page 26

Length – How long the flavour of the wine lasts in the Tears (or Legs) – Viscous drops which cling to the mouth; the longer the better glass, denoting alcoholic strength Limpidity – The best kind of colour, firm, clear and Terroir – The French word for soil, more generally used positively shining. A sign of good wine to mean regional individuality, the result of the combined Chambers Luscious – Describes a sweet wine in which all the influences of soil, topography and microclimate on the grape Mail Bags for elements are in perfect harmony ed Plastic Texture – The feel of the wine on the palate on a Personalis M range from astringent to velvety Maderised – Brown, oxidised, Madeira-like V I Sending out more than 20 bundles a day? N Vegetal – A farmyardy or cabbagey whiff sometimes I Nutty – Associated with fortified wines and top-quality present in mature red Burgundy How about your logo and details printed on your whites. Some premium Burgundies have hints of hazelnuts Velvety – Describes a wine which is rich, ripe, opulent plastic mail bags? O in texture I Oxidised – Exposed to too much air Vinosity – Concentrated, ‘true’ wine character in the glass Ask for details: It is cheaper then you think! P Y Piquant – Pleasantly fresh and palate-stimulating, as Email Mailpac: Yeasty – Just-fermented, bread-like smell often found opposed to ‘sharp’. Denotes good acidity in Champagne [email protected] R Z Racy – Often used of fine German riesling to describe a pleasing interaction of vibrant fruit flavour and brisk acidity Zesty - Describes a crisp, zingy and refreshing white Telephone: Robust – Honest and upfront, rather than complex 07734 995902 or aristocratic For more information about The Wine Society, including how to join, go to www.thewinesociety.com . Rustic – Lacking breed or finesse, coarse, and not particularly well made Life membership of The Society can be yours for S a one-off payment of £40, giving you a share in Short – Refers to a sudden finish or aftertaste which this co-operative business. cannot wait to escape Structure – The ‘build’ of a wine, incorporating backbone and muscularity Sulphury – Prickly or acrid sensation caused by an excess of SO2 Stalkiness – Hard, astringent edge on the palate caused by unripe grapes, or too many stems in the fermentation vat T Tannin – Key preservative in red wine, present in grape skins and pips. Feels like stewed tea in the mouth

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AUGUST 2010 ~ ISSUE 105 MAILPAC IS THE TRADING NAME OF JAR HOLDINGS LIMITED, THE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE ELLESMERE PORT CHESHIRE CH65 3EN