One of the benefits of being a solicitor (non-practising) is that you get to use the Law Society library. Plenty of space, peace and quiet, and free wifi – what could be better? This afternoon it’s a little different as there’s been a ceremony downstairs admitting newly-qualified solicitors to the Roll (the list). Every few minutes another excited new solicitor, clutching a certificate, has come in, accompanied by proud relatives, to tour the library and take photos holding a suitably ancient tome from the shelves. Distracting, certainly, but also a reminder that it’s still a profession to be proud of. It’s a demanding job, needing a wide range of skills, but the young lawyers that I’ve trained this week seem more than equal to the challenge.
Court reminds us of need for accuracy and care in drafting legal agreements
Two High Court cases on legal drafting have come across my desk this week, both on topics covered in my modular drafting training course:
Liberty Mercian Ltd v Cuddy Civil Engineering Ltd [2013] EWHC 2688 underlines the importance of getting the right contracting parties. In this case the court was unsympathetic to the Claimant, Liberty, who had used the wrong company name for the other party in the contract, confusing two related companies with similar names. It only came to light when Liberty wanted to end the agreement for breach. Claims for misnomer and for rectification for mutual or unilateral mistake all failed.
Moral: Never assume – always check the names of contracting parties (your client’s or the other side’s) particularly carefully.
In Alegro Capital LLP v AllProperty Media Pte Ltd [2013] EWHC 3376 (QB) both sides felt that they had lost out financially through the court’s decision that the agreement between them had failed to record clearly what they had agreed (or thought they had agreed). Not only did each party lose its claim; they also had to bear legal costs that were probably at least five-figure sums. Nobody was the winner.
Moral: You need to check and cross-check, before the agreement is signed, that it reflects what your client intended. And in an ideal world your drafting should be so clear that no other interpretation is possible.
Who touched base in my thought shower? A treasury of unbearable office jargon
Marvellous title for Steve Poole’s new book. I’ve just ordered it, and am looking forward to reading it (and cringing!).
Other excitement this week – our remote learning drafting course, Introduction to Modern Legal Drafting in English, is coming along nicely. In the first place you’ll be able to buy it on three DVDs. Eventually we hope to make it available online.
And we’re nearly ready to launch a new course called Effective Minute-Taking. Watch this space!
Update from Meadow End
Now that the two weeks of jury service are over, it’s back to business as usual. November is looking very busy. We’ll be delivering training nearly every week-day, which means lots of weekend work tailoring materials and sending them out.
After the success of the first year in business we wanted to give something back. We’ve joined a charity called 4C (Companies Committed to Community Collaboration) https://4cbucks.co.uk/ It fosters corporate social responsibility in local companies. We plan to get involved in 2014, offering our services in any way we can.
How time flies – Cathy Wilcox Training is a year old
This week marks the first anniversary of setting up the company. We’ve come further than we could have imagined. The time has flown by, and we have a lot for which to be thankful, including new contacts, many of whom have become friends.
We now have a range of lovely clients, from law firms (UK and global) through PLCs to other organisations including professional services firms and a regulatory body. We’ve delivered courses on almost every topic in our portfolio, in Paris, Cannes, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Bookings are coming in for the year ahead and beyond – we have some bookings for 2015 already! A hot topic for the coming year seems to be remote drafting training for law firm offices (and in-house legal teams) in Europe, the Middle and Far East so we’re looking at what we can provide to fill that need – watch this space.
Authorised to deliver PSC electives at last!
Very pleased that the SRA have just confirmed my authorisation to deliver Professional Skills Course Electives to trainee solicitors. I’ll be spending the summer perfecting the courses but I expect to offer quite a few three- or six-hour electives on topics including:
Brush up your grammar and punctuation
Effective business writing
Effective legal advice letters
Modern legal drafting
Principles of time recording and risk management
I’ll also be happy to tailor electives to firm’s specific needs, and to incorporate their standard documents as appropriate.