30/07/2010 - Social Media in the Workplace The increased popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter can pose significant challenges for employers. More..

14/07/2010 - The Recession May Be Bad But It Isn't Frustrating? One of the reasons a contract can be abandoned is that the performance of the contract is ‘frustrated’ – something happens which makes it impossible to complete. More..

01/07/2010 - Planning Change Affects Private Landlords Little publicised, but nonetheless important for many private landlords, are changes implemented by the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010, which mean that, in certain circumstances, a landlord wishing to let out a property as a house in multiple occupation may need to seek planning permission before doing so. More..

01/07/2010 - Over Optimism Not Grounds for Claim The developer of the M20 services in Kent was recently successful in court in resisting a claim for damages from the tenants of the service area, who were dissatisfied because representations made to them regarding visitor numbers and the facilities of the site were not realised, causing them commercial losses. More..

01/07/2010 - DDA Not Applicable to Tenant Wanting to Keep Dog A dog may be man’s best friend, but the Court of Appeal recently ruled that the positive effect on the mental health of a woman disabled by bipolar disorder of keeping a dog did not engage the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and so allow a prohibition in the lease on keeping pets to be overridden. More..

01/07/2010 - Compulsory Purchase - Strict Approach Necessary Councils that use compulsory purchase orders must adhere strictly to the relevant planning law, as a recent decision of the Supreme Court makes clear. The dispute pitted Wolverhampton City Council against supermarket giant Sainsbury’s. More..

01/07/2010 - Are your Fire Risk Assessments up to date? Local Fire Authorities no longer issue fire certificates. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 introduced a risk-based approach to fire safety, making it a legal requirement for the person responsible to carry out a fire-risk assessment for all non-domestic premises in England and Wales. This includes the shared areas of houses in multiple occupation. More..

23/06/2010 - Budget Summary 2010 Summary of Changes Affecting Business Clients - During the election campaign, George Osborne nailed his colours firmly to the mast of a deficit reduction strategy. More..

22/06/2010 - Budget Summary 2010 Summary of Changes Affecting Private Individuals- They promised we wouldn’t like it and they were right. More..

21/06/2010 - Why put if off any longer Making a Will is one of those jobs which many of us put off for another day, but why wait until the increase in VAT takes effect on the 4 January 2011 and let it end up costing you more? More..

11/06/2010 - Advice to Employers during World Cup 2010 The World Cup kicks off in South Africa on 11 June 2010 and it is important for employers to be aware of the issues they may be confronted with. More..

09/06/2010 - Huge Increase in Inheritance Disputes Did you know it is possible to challenge a person's Will? Many don’t, as up until only a few years ago disputes following a person's death were relatively rare. More..

09/06/2010 - Safeguarding your Future The future can always seem a long way off, but none of us know what is round the corner. More..

08/06/2010 - Hypothetical Tenant Doesn't Count When vacating premises at the end of a lease, the maximum amount of the tenant’s liability for dilapidations under the dilapidations clause will be based on the difference in value of the leased property in its repaired and unrepaired states. More..

08/06/2010 - Adjudication Error Stays Enforcement Adjudication is designed to be a simple and quick process for the resolution of differences and the adjudicator’s decision is normally one which has to be accepted ‘warts and all’. More..

08/06/2010 - Builder Saved by Contract over Faulty Flue In a recent case, a builder who included a contractual term which reduced his liability in tort (i.e. for a civil wrong) found this was sufficient to defeat a claim brought by a customer. More..

08/06/2010 - Law of Covenants set to Change With nearly two thirds of freehold titles subject to an easement (which gives someone other than the owner a right over the land) and nearly four fifths of properties having some form of restrictive covenant, it is no wonder that disputes over land rights are common. More..

08/06/2010 - Share Manoeuvres Cause Lease Breach A company that was part of a group recently found that it had breached its lease when a corporate reorganisation was carried out. More..

08/06/2010 - Whole Agreement Clause Determines Payment Schedule Construction projects inevitably lead to a large number of contracts being created between the various contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and developers involved. More..

08/06/2010 - Application for Judicial Review of Planning not Actionable A developer whose planning permission was subjected to judicial review, instigated by a firm which had an interest in the outcome, found that the Court of Appeal was unwilling to rule that the firm which engineered the review could be sued by the developer, despite the fact that it had mixed motives for its actions. More..

07/06/2010 - Holiday Preparations - Power of Attorney? Passports, tickets, money – check. Power of Attorney? Will? The last 2 items might not seem the most essential when you’re preparing to jet off on holiday, but in fact, they could be the 2 most important documents. More..

25/05/2010 - Top legal firm dammed if they did and dammed if they didn't - or were they? During May 2010, national legal firm Eversheds lodged an appeal against an Employment Tribunal ruling that it must pay £123,300 in compensation to a male solicitor More..

19/05/2010 - Power of Attorney Alongside Travel Insurance Lessons should be learned from the recent air traffic crisis, and that much of the personal disruption could have been avoided if people had planned ahead with a Power of Attorney. More..

10/05/2010 - Seminar 26 May 2010 Looking after your clients and Staff - A Dedicated Seminar for Carers and Care Providers More..

30/04/2010 - The Election 2010 The election has been called and no one will have failed to notice the three main parties have gone into campaign overdrive. More..

23/04/2010 - The Importance of a Will Did you know that if you are single or divorced with a child under the age of 18, under the rules of intestacy your child would be the sole beneficiary of estate. More..

07/04/2010 - Wolferstans Launches MyInjuryLawyer.co.uk Wolferstans has launched a new Website, MyInjuryLawyer.co.uk, exclusively for its clinical negligence services this week. More..

06/04/2010 - Employment law - what's around the corner? Employers must brace themselves for a number of changes effective from 6 April.. More..

01/04/2010 - Pioneering Plymouth Heart Doctor to Face Misconduct Hearing Wolferstans has been instructed by a number of clients who have expressed concerns about Dr Joseph Motwani, More..

30/03/2010 - Budget Update – Freeze on Inheritance Tax The Chancellor froze the level of the nil rate band for Inheritance Tax purposes More..

25/03/2010 - Pregnant Women and Risk Assessments The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require all employers to carry out an assessment of workplace risks that could harm employees and to do whatever is ‘reasonably practicable’ to control these risks. In particular, Regulation 16 requires that where women of childbearing age are employed and the work is of a kind which ‘could involve risk, by reason of her condition, to the health and safety of a new or expectant mother, or to that of her baby, from any processes or working conditions, or physical, biological or chemical agents’, the assessment must include risks specific to new and expectant mothers. More..

25/03/2010 - Monthly Rental Payments - BRC Keeps Campaigning The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has been campaigning for the past few years to try to encourage more commercial landlords to accept monthly rental payment arrangements instead of the quarterly payments commonly used. Although the BRC began pushing for changes to the way retailers pay landlords before the recession, it has become an even more significant issue as many businesses are struggling to make ends meet. More..

25/03/2010 - Massive Litigation Shake-Up Proposed Lord Justice Jackson’s eagerly awaited final report outlining proposed changes to the British system of civil litigation has been published and promises a massive shake-up of the current system, which is considered to impose excessive costs on losers in litigation. More..

25/03/2010 - Landlord's Intention Must be Long Term When a tenant’s lease is governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the landlord has limited grounds for refusing to renew the lease. One possible ground is that the landlord wishes to make use of the premises for its own business purposes. More..

25/03/2010 - Ex-Partner Bound by Partnership Accounts In a partnership, the investment capital on which the business is founded is normally supplied (at least in part) by the partners. Their earnings are credited to their individual accounts in the business and the money withdrawn by each is deducted from their individual account. More..

25/03/2010 - Buyers Who Won't Buy - What To Do? Many developers have been faced with the problem of having to persuade buyers, who bought ‘off plan’ before the credit crunch struck, to complete their purchases in the light of the subsequent decline in property prices. More..

03/03/2010 - Asbestos Statement The decision by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Jack Straw) to uphold the Law Lords’ decision, (17 October 2007) that the existence of pleural plaques does not constitute actionable or compensatable damage is a disappointment. More..

04/02/2010 - Fit Notes to replace Sick Notes from April 2010 No one is very happy with the present system of GP sick notes... More..

28/01/2010 - Rights for unreliable workers Seemingly we should now avoid advertising for a reliable hardworking employee... More..

27/01/2010 - Mercy Killing is Not the Same as Assisted Suicide Following high-profile ‘right to die’ cases, which have spawned extensive public debate, and two criminal ‘mercy killing’ cases which reached different verdicts on seemingly-similar facts, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has issued guidance on the factors which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will apply when determining whether to bring criminal charges against those involved or not. More..

22/01/2010 - Wolferstans goes live with Wills register Wolferstans joins Certainty Will Register as founder member More..

20/01/2010 - Pensions - 'landmark reforms' Pensions – “landmark reforms, on a scale unprecedented anywhere in the world” More..

11/01/2010 - Retirement changes look imminent Equalities Minister signals major change in retirement law... More..

08/01/2010 - Taking Control of Your Future Lasting Powers of Attorney avoid delays and uncertainties of Court of Protection More..

19/11/2009 - Wolferstans advises Argyle shareholders Rogers Sands of Wolferstans advises Plymouth Argyle directors on share sale More..

04/11/2009 - Wolferstans joins QualitySolicitors.com Leading firm Wolferstans joins exclusive nationwide alliance of legal firms More..

03/11/2009 - Retirement Changes Look Imminent In recent weeks Equalities Minister Harriet Harman has signaled a major change in the law on retirement, with huge implications to all of us who have yet to reach that milestone. More..

03/11/2009 - Careful Drafting Essential to Preserve Rights Careful drafting of all legal agreements is critical, as was illustrated by a recent dispute between a landlord and tenant. More..

03/11/2009 - Electric Shock for Developer When a developer bought a piece of land, intending to build an office block, it was in for a shock. The land benefited from an easement granting access over adjacent land (the garden of a house). This allowed the right of passage of utility companies over and through the adjacent land. More..

03/11/2009 - Zero Rate plus Standard Rate equals Standard Rate Property developers should take note of a little-reported VAT case, in which a fairly common VAT planning device has been challenged by HM Revenue and Customs as an ‘abuse’. More..

03/11/2009 - Workers on Long Term Sick Leave - Non-Payment of Holiday Pay The judgment of the House of Lords in the long-running case of Stringer and others v HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be a blow to many businesses struggling to survive in the current economic climate. The Law Lords have overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal and found in favour of the employees. More..

03/11/2009 - Separate Use Planning and VAT VAT isn’t the first thing you tend to think of when you look at the wording of a planning consent, but the VAT payable on the construction costs of a property can be severely affected by the wording, as a recent case shows. More..

03/11/2009 - Disability Discrimination - "Likely" means "Could Well Happen" Employment disputes often arise because an employer does not consider that an employee’s condition is one that qualifies them for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). It is therefore important that the definition of disability contained in the DDA is understood and interpreted in a consistent way. More..

03/11/2009 - Blow for Charities as Tax Man moves Goalpost Charities which acquire buildings face an unexpected blow following the announcement by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that a concession relating to property used for charitable purposes is to be altered. The announcement came out of the blue, with no prior consultation having been held. More..

03/11/2009 - Are LLP Members Employees In many ways a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is as much like a company as a partnership. Recently, an LLP member who was required to retire from the LLP claimed he had been unfairly dismissed. More..

04/08/2009 - Swine Flu - Guidance for Employers A surge in infections is expected and employers need to be prepared... More..

03/08/2009 - Procol Harum Co-Writer Wins Share of Royalties Organist Fisher wins share of Whiter Shade of Pale royalties after 40 years... More..

31/07/2009 - Landmark Right to Die Ruling Law Lords issue landmark ruling on right for clarification of Suicide Act 1961 More..