Roger Hardwick, Head of Leasehold Enfranchisement at Brethertons, is once again a finalist in the categories of Young Professional of the Year and Solicitor of the Year. The Firm is a finalist in the award for Regional Professional of the Year.

You can read more on our website. Well done Roger and his team!

The spinal injuries community is a relatively small and compact one and in our work we get to meet many dedicated professionals who devote their lives to helping people with spinal cord injuries. In our view all these people deserve to be celebrated for the amazing work they do.

As awards sponsors we have nominated an amazing lady we work very closely with who has a huge role in helping many of our clients and others in her role as case manager. Glynis Kenny specialises in providing case management services to patients with spinal cord injuries. A former spinal injuries nurse at Pinderfields, Glynis is the epitome of best practice in providing case management services to our clients all over the UK.

When introducing her to our clients for the first time we often describe her role as being that of the buffer between the client and the outside world. Her common sense, down to earth approach and her unstinting dedication and devotion to helping her clients is truly remarkable. Her help is much appreciated by all we have introduced her to.

Glynis travels all over the UK in helping clients with spinal cord injuries and her role in the teams we build around our clients is hugely important. She has frequently had a pivotal role in helping us secure substantial awards for our clients and supported by her colleagues Katie Ryall and Anna Brown Glynis is every inch the model case manager.

The SIAs Women in Spinal Cord Injury Awards will be held in Birmingham in June and we wish Glynis every success. Irrespective of the Judges’ decision on the night we are pleased to be involved in the SIA’s celebration and recognition of ‘women in spinal cord injury’.

To find out more about Glynis and her work use the link below

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/glynis-kenny/29/5ab/4b

To read more about our work use the link below.

http://www.brethertons.co.uk/Home/Individual/Spinal-Injury-Claims.aspx

If there is a topic you would like us to cover or there is an issue you would like to discuss about any aspect of the legal consequences of spinal cord injury email me at jonrees@bretheretons.co.uk or telephone 01295 661531.

There are relatively few solicitors in the country who are genuinely experienced in dealing with the modest number of (approximately 300) spinal cord injury claims that arise year on year.

We often hear about patients ending up using the family solicitor, the family friend, the solicitor mentioned by the chap in the shopping centre, the insurance company panel firm solicitor and then learning the hard way how important it is to make the right choice when engaging with a solicitor who can help with spinal cord injury claims.

We have taken on cases where the wrong experts have been instructed, where vital evidence has been destroyed, where the value of the claim has been hugely undervalued or where the original solicitor was simply out of his or her depth.

It is vitally important you choose a solicitor you can be confident in. If you have any reservations air them and speak to the solicitor about your concerns. You will be better able to form a judgment about whether you want to instruct the solicitor having done so.

The solicitor you choose will need to be capable of securing all that you need for the rest of your life. It is a tragic fact that increasingly the individual’s decision about who to instruct is being removed from them because so much personal injury work has become commoditised and somebody else’s financial interest in the claim is placed as a higher priority than the individual’s absolute right to choose the right person to help them.

Some quick dos and don’ts when it comes to instructing a solicitor:

Do

1. Seek recommendations from people you trust, but remember choosing a solicitor must be your choice rather than anyone else’s.
2. Make contact with a few solicitors and meet with them to ask them about how they can help you so you can assess whether you feel comfortable with them. You should not be charged for that.
3. Do take your time to ensure you are making the right choice – your solicitor will often be one of the most important professionals in your life. Ask how many spinal injuries cases the solicitor has dealt with, what the outcomes were and how quickly the cases were resolved. Ask questions about your solicitors experience, expertise and connections with the various experts who will be needed to assist with your case.

Don’t

1. Don’t assume that you have to go with the first solicitor who is put in front of you. Make a contact with a few solicitors to see which you prefer. You are likely to be closely involved with the solicitor for 2 years or more and it is important you find the right chemistry with the solicitor who will help you.
2. Don’t feel restrict your search to local solicitors. Spinal injuries work is extremely specialised and good solicitors will have a national reach. Similarly don’t assume that bigger, brasher firms trump smaller niche firms. They don’t.
3. Don’t be afraid to interview the solicitor. A good solicitor will expect and welcome it; a less suitable solicitor is unlikely to give a positive account of himself or herself.

To read more about how we work and to see answers to frequently asked questions follow the links below.

http://www.brethertons.co.uk/Home/Individual/Spinal-Injury-Claims.aspx

http://www.brethertons.co.uk/Home/Individual/Spinal-Injury-Claims/FAQs.aspx

If there is a topic you would like us to cover or there is an issue you would like to discuss about any aspect of the legal consequences of spinal cord injury email me at jonrees@brethertons.co.uk or telephone 01295 661531.

They were both British nationals, having been born while the mother and father were still together and before they had relocated to Canada. The family had their property shipped to Canada and, after moving there, the mother began working and the father attempted to set up a business. However, the parents’ relationship ended and it was agreed that day-to-day care of the children would continue to be shared between the mother and father.

After saying he was taking the children on a trip to a lake, the father returned to the UK and sent a message to the mother saying they would stay with him until his solicitor instructed him otherwise. The mother applied to the High Court Family Division for summary return of the children. She said that their joint intention had been to permanently relocate to Canada and the children were by then settled in their home abroad.

Upholding the mother’s application, Mrs Justice Pauffley said that, on the evidence, it was ‘indisputable’ that the children had acquired habitual residence in Canada. The parents had spent several years applying for residency in Canada;  their schooling in the UK had been wound up, with one of the children enrolled in and attending a Canadian school and the younger going to a nursery.

“There really can be no other conclusion but that these two children were indeed habitually resident in Canada at the time of their removal to this country. On any objective analysis of what has happened in the life of this family, taken together with the supportive documentary evidence provided by the mother, any other result would be simply perverse,” the judge concluded.

Date: 5 June 2013
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Speakers: Shaun Jardine
Cost: Clients Free, ARMA/IRPM members £40 + VAT (£48.00), Non-members £150 + VAT (£180)

For more details and booking information, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.

Date: 6 June 2013
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Speakers: Amy Edwards
Cost: Free

For more details and booking information, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.

Date: 12 June 2013
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Speakers: Jitendra Patel and Brian Auld
Cost: Clients Free, ARMA/IRPM members £40 + VAT (£48.00), Non-members £150 + VAT (£180)

For more details, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.

Date: 13 June 2013
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Speakers: Roger Hardwick
Cost: Clients Free, ARMA/IRPM members £40 + VAT (£48.00), Non-members £150 + VAT (£180)

For more details, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.

Date: 19 June 2013
Time: 12:30 – 13:30
Speakers: Shaun Jardine and Dean Spencer
Cost: Clients Free, ARMA/IRPM members £40 + VAT (£48.00), Non-members £150 + VAT (£180)

For more details, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.

For more details, please visit our Events and Webinars page on our website.