Changes to Civil and Family Court Fees
On the evening of 4 March 2015, the House of Lords discussed and approved the amendment to the Civil Proceedings and Family Proceedings Fees Order.
This has brought about several changes to the court fees incurred by different claims. As of 9 March 2015, these are the fees which claimants will be obliged to pay in order to receive the money won in court:
• Any claim of a sum of money between £10,000 and £200,000 will be subject to a fee of 5% of the total amount claimed. Claimants will be able to benefit from a small discount on this amount if they issue through Secure Data Transfer (SDT) or Money Claims Online (MCOL).
• Any claims worth a total amount over £200,000 will incur a fixed fee of £10,000.
As a Legal Secretary, you will be aware that confidentiality is essential in the legal field. Issues concerning confidentiality arise when information is disclosed by one person to another in a situation where it could be reasonably expected that that information would not be disclosed to anyone else. Confidentiality is protected as a fundamental human right and is expected to be observed in a very extensive range of circumstances.
When it comes to effective team working, are you an Efficient Emma, an Improving Imogen, a Not Bad Nora – or a Struggling Susan? These fun stereotypes have been created by specialist matter and case management software company Iken as part of its campaign to highlight and share best practice for team working, especially amongst in-house legal departments.
New powers have recently been handed over to a number of different local authorities – including the police, landlords of social housing, and town and district councils – to provide a new approach to anti-social behaviour. These new regulations have been introduced to try to empower victims and to make communities safer. 
Countries throughout the world have very different systems in place for making and updating laws. The two main systems are common law, which is based on cases, and civil law, which is based on government legislation. A third system is called sharia law.
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!
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.
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.