All men are created equal but born unequal, hence the battle for supremacy. Wherever you have two or more people co-existing, politics thrives. Playing the game of office politics is inevitable and anyone who neglects office politics will be making incalculable mistakes. Office politics is simply the use of one’s assigned power in the workplace for the purpose of obtaining advantages beyond one’s legitimate authority, with a view to influencing the behaviour of others. It is all about manipulations which occur in any relationship where parties adopt indirect means to achieve their personal goals.

We would like to introduce you to our new Senior Administrator – Nicholas Town. Nick joined us at the beginning of May, when we relocated to London. He is settling into his new role well and has been of great help to the Institute so far.

Nick has good experience in administration, having previously worked for Kingston University and the National Association of Licensed Paralegals. He recently finished a fine art degree and is also a keen musician. What impressed us the most is that Nick has a positive attitude and enthusiasm for the work we do at ILSPA. He recognises the value of the organisation, which is a great start to a successful career.

As the United Kingdom is still struggling to get back on its feet after one of the worst recessions in living memory, will the Government’s recent decision to put an end to Home Information Packs (HIPs) provide a much needed boost to the housing market? This is indeed the $64,000 question, and people appear to be in one of two camps over the issue. 

One section of the housing industry firmly believes that the abolition of HIPs is now going to provide a massive boost to the still ailing market. They claim that people were put off from selling their property as a consequence of the additional expense that was involved in having to commission such a report and they generally saw the introduction of HIPs as the final nail in the coffin of the housing market at the time.

Common Areas of Expensive Legal Dispute – Part Two

In our previous article on common areas of legal dispute, we considered the pitfalls of entering into boundary disputes. I suggested that on some occasions it is better to consider the biblical saying ‘Love thy neighbour’ rather than resort to expensive legal proceedings. In this article we are considering complaints of nuisance, intimidation and harassment. Surprisingly, the teachings of Jesus, provides us with a possible starting point to avoid these types of disputes, with his golden rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. It is not only Christianity that provides this simple ethical code; it appears in every other major religion. Unfortunately, despite its being a fairly simple ethical principle, it is very difficult to apply in practice.

When we focus on the positive aspects of our life, we enhance our life experience and create beneficial opportunities for the future. American psychologist Martin Seligman, in his book Learned Optimism, identified certain thinking styles which influence how we feel about ourselves and the world around us.

Those who regard good things as insignificant, temporary and attributable to external factors tend to be those who regard bad things as permanent, affecting most if not all of their life. These negative attributional styles set a person up for increased anxiety and distress

Common Areas of Expensive Legal Dispute – Part One

It is not often that I resort to the Bible to advise clients, but where disputes with neighbours are concerned this can be the best advice. What may seem to be a trivial issue can often explode into a case of biblical proportions. In this article we will consider one of the most common areas of friction between neighbours, which involves disagreements about boundaries. 

Consider this quote from an Appeal Court judge, Lord Justice Ward, reported in April 2009:

“The lesson is never learned that those who fight for their principles frequently end up paying for them…Each of the parties have spent in the region of £40,000 in bringing their case to this court, far more than the land in dispute could ever be worth.”

These days surfing the Internet can put as much strain on your computer as playing the latest games or running bulky office or graphics applications. The increasing demands of online video, flash applications, fancy webmail and badly coded websites have created the need for web browsers to become far more efficient with resources and effective in managing errors and crashes.

There is one browser that really shines through in these areas: Google Chrome. Chrome is a relatively new browser released by Google in 2008. What separates Chrome from the competition (Internet Explorer and Firefox) is the way it handles errors and crashes. I won’t bore you with technical details save to say that it’s quite smart. If a web page crashes, hangs or leaks, Chrome will make sure that the problem doesn’t affect the overall performance of your computer. 

Attending training courses in the current climate may not seem a high priority, but the fact is, with an alarming number of positions being amalgamated due to redundancies, and job functions becoming more blurred by the increased pressure to absorb workload, the need for those able to progress quickly is critical, and thus the need for training is, perhaps, greater than ever. 

Focusing on your professional development will not only increase your skills and enhance your CV, it also demonstrates to management that you are ready, willing and able for career progression. 

Do you ever do a to-do list and not achieve what’s on it? Does your to-do list just get longer and longer? Do you spend hours working out a to-do list and then not have any time to do the tasks on it? Or perhaps you’ve given up on using one altogether! Before you can plan and organise your working day, it is necessary to think of what is to be done and set up some simple drills to help you do it more effectively. So here are the top 10 tips for planning your working day.

If you are interested in advancing your career and becoming a Paralegal, watch the following film by the National Association of Licensed Paralegals.  It was shown at their awards ceremony in March and Cherie Booth QC speaks highly of their merits.

NALP offers accredited and recognised professional paralegal courses, and qualifications for a career in the field of law.  Their paralegal training courses are designed to match your level of experience and we recommend the Higher Certificate in Paralegal Studies if you would like to further your career.