Every winter, so many people are ill with colds and flu. They are unable to concentrate well, often with that disconnected feeling of not being a part of the world. There have been a host of unwelcome viruses this season and few offices seem to have escaped their reach. So, how can you boost your immune system to help keep these illnesses at bay?

There are readily available flu jabs, including those from certain supermarket pharmacies. That’s one port of call perhaps. However, there are other things which you can do to boost your immune system and help you stay in good health whatever the season.

A Good Sleep Pattern

One of the most popular questions from our writing and grammar courses is “Can you have an apostrophe after an s?” And of course, as you all know, you can! The apostrophe is a little piece of punctuation that causes some of the biggest headaches and the most discussions (or arguments) in offices. So follow the 10 tips below and always get it right.

Let’s face it: we had to tackle this highly controversial subject at some time or other! At a time when the UK’s economy has seen far better days and when local authorities and public bodies are forced to make dramatic cuts to their budgets, it cannot be helpful that some of the largest companies trading in this country are steering away from paying vast sums of tax to our government.

Throughout last year we have focused on several specific areas of Civil Litigation procedure. For the final article on this subject we are going to take a look at what is just over the horizon for litigators.

The most important change happening in litigation relates to its biggest problem, namely that it is very expensive. In December 2009 we reviewed the 10-year anniversary of the Civil Procedural Rule (CPR). We noted that over a 20-year period, the legal cost of bringing a road traffic claim has risen by 840%. This kind of increase cannot be justified when other areas of legal practice, such as conveyancing, have become substantially less expensive.

You know how it goes – your brain thinks it, and out it pops before you realise it. Sometimes it can be difficult to bite your tongue, especially if you aren’t in the habit of doing so! But that’s all it is, really: a habit. Luckily, there are some techniques you can use to break the habit. Here are the top 10 tips to help you stay in control.

The debate over the legalisation of drugs has continued during the last month and has actually stepped up a notch, following former Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth’s recommendation to legalise. Mr Ainsworth fervently believes that the UK is losing the so-called war on drugs. He feels that legalising even class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine will, in turn, take the control away from the criminal gangs and move us towards conquering this problem.

Stress can work for us or against us. Management of stress at the right level for us and for the task at hand is a really valuable skill. Without some level of stress we would never get up in the morning, nor would we be motivated to perform at our best or to do anything at all. So we can welcome stress, so long as we can control it effectively when we need to.

As a Secretary with the European Institutions you can pursue a fascinating future and help them make a difference for 500 million European citizens. Working alongside colleagues of every nationality in the heart of Europe, you will be vital to everything they do and you can expect a challenging international work environment and a career full of opportunities.

To join EU Institutions, you’ll need to be a qualified or experienced secretary with English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Maltese, Portuguese, Spanish or Swedish as your main language. You’ll also need a good command of a second language (English, French or German), great problem-solving skills and the initiative to make things happen.

Life as a Secretary With the European Institutions

Ever since legal aid was first introduced in England and Wales back in 1949, many people believe that this fund, which is paid for by the tax-payer, has increasingly continued to move away from the fundamental principles by which it was first established to serve. Indeed, the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, has established a consultation period for extensive changes to the legal aid system and has stated that one of the most worrying reasons for this is down to the fact that legal aid is accessible in cases where court intervention may not have been the best way forward. It has been recognised that other dispute resolution services may have produced far better results and at a fraction of the cost to the legal aid fund.

Requests for Further Information

This is the seventh article in a series focusing on specialist skills and knowledge in Civil Litigation. Litigation can be a time-consuming and expensive process, but what happens when one side is not pulling their weight? What I mean by this is how does a party that has set out their statement of case clearly and provided full disclosure deal with an opponent that is giving “the silent treatment”? It may be that a “silent” party does not realise that their statement of case raises more questions than it answers. More likely they know exactly what they are doing and want to say as little as possible. At any point a party may “clam up”, leaving the other side struggling to get a clear idea of the case they are up against.