We are delighted to announce that Megan James has secured a permanent contract with the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs as our Senior Administrator. Megan started working for us in August 2014 in an administrative role. We have been very impressed by her performance and professionalism over the past six months. She has dealt with her duties and responsibilities with great efficiency and has an excellent work ethic. Within a short period of time, we could see she was a very competent member of the team and capable of taking on more responsibility in the company. Well done, Megan!

Megan has answered some questions about her background and told us about her experience working for ILSPA so far:

What attracted you to work for ILSPA?

Most jobs have been subject to changes over the past few decades as we race to keep up with constant advances in technology. Many technological developments have made life easier, but we need to be aware of how to work with them and stay vigilant.

Research performed by Search Flow predicts that there will be growth in conveyancing work this year. Last year, 75% of Conveyancers experienced at least a 10% growth in their work, and 41% of them saw a work increase of 25% or more.

Because of this, 52% of Conveyancers are looking to increase their workforce over the coming year. This is good news for Legal Secretaries Diploma graduates or experienced Legal Secretaries with Conveyancing skills.

Take a look at this interesting infographic about the future growth of Conveyancing which has been produced by Redbrick Solutions.

As of 4 December 2014, new stamp duty rates will be in place for anyone buying a house anywhere in the UK. These new rates have been introduced to reduce stamp duty for most people buying a home and to make the charges fairer for everyone. You will be affected by the new rates if you buy a residential property in the UK which costs you over £125,000.

Legal Secretaries are being invited to join a new social networking site for the legal services sector.

Mootis – mootis.co.uk – has been launched by award-winning silk Bill Braithwaite QC. 

Commenting on the launch of Mootis, Chairman Bill Braithwaite QC said:

“Sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook are hugely successful, but we feel the world of legal services is large enough to warrant its own bespoke platform.”

In terms of the legal sector, Braithwaite says Mootis will appeal to two audiences: those already registered with sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and those who are yet to engage with the world of social media. 

“It’s got dual appeal,” he continued. “We believe existing social media users will welcome the benefits of a site focused entirely on legal services.

It is not uncommon for law students to complain that they struggle to remember all the case names and Acts of Parliament that make up the legal rules in the UK. There are lots of different kinds of memory techniques that you can try, and we have set out below a few for you to consider using.

Don’t worry if you find that a technique does not work for you, as this is a personal skill and you need to find out what suits your own individual learning style.

Make memory cards

Reading and writing skills may seem a topic more suited to school children, but foundation skills like these are so important that you should always consider if there is room for improvement.

Let’s start with writing skills. Whether you are preparing a document for your portfolio or making a job application, a quick review of your basic English skills can avoid simple mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

A misplaced apostrophe or poorly spelt word can mean the difference between failure and success. It is easy to avoid errors by rereading what you have written. Even better, if you are preparing something like a job application, where you only have one chance to get it right, get someone else to look over it first.

Remember these three main areas where small changes can make a big difference:

Spelling

2014 was a year of extremely important changes in the field of employment law, with various updates having been made as well as the introduction of new legal ideas. Listed below are the most notable changes which have taken place during 2014 that you should be aware of.

TUPE Reforms

In January 2014 TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) was reformed to allow employers to have greater flexibility to dismiss or make changes to a contract following TUPE transfers. Importantly, redundancies made after a TUPE transfer has been made are not automatically counted as unfair dismissal anymore. However, in February, a dismissal of an employee made after a TUPE transfer when they refused to accept contractual changes was deemed automatically unfair.

Minimum Wage Penalties

When working in a fast-paced industry like law, it’s vital to keep up with all the latest news, views and developments. Thankfully, there are some clever legal eagles out there who run some pretty impressive blogs filled with all the latest information. We’ve chosen a few of our favourites that you simply must be reading.

Roll on Friday

Roll on Friday is a blog like no other in the industry. Working similarly to a social media site, it’s a unique place for law workers to discuss what’s going on in their careers, asking questions like “Which restaurant in London should I take my new client?”

Budding lawyers and barristers can look for friendly and confidential inside advice on standard pay, benefits and perks from experienced industry workers.

www.rollonfriday.com

Stowe Family Law

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global legal practice who have more than 3800 lawyers based in over 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Recognised for their industry focus, they are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare.

Wherever they are, they operate in accordance with their global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. They aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of their offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

The Team