Latest Stone King LLP Post

Christmas means snow, parties and Santa Claus. It also means rushing from place to place, popping little ones in and out of cars and mounting stress levels. Small wonder then, that sometimes we make mistakes on the roads. Over the festive period, Stone King’s motoring department receives dozens of queries on all manner of driving matters, ranging from drink driving to parking disputes and insurance problems.

Drink driving arrests are common at this time of year. Unfortunately the penalties for giving in to the temptation of “just one more drink” are severe. The offence of drink driving carries an automatic ban for a minimum of 12 months unless “Special Reasons” apply.  The consequences for work and family life can be disastrous. There are strict guidelines governing the length of the ban. However, the courts are open to persuasion and — as happened with one of our cases this week — sometimes the courts agree to impose a significantly shorter ban than they otherwise would.  As you might expect, my client was delighted.

I have spent several hours on the telephone this week, chatting to concerned motorists, with enquiries arriving from as far afield as the Middle East. People often worry that legal advice will cost a fortune. But if you need help, we offer 15 minutes of free advice by telephone or email. After that, we offer fixed fees, tailored to your circumstances. 

All too often I hear from clients that ‘you’re worth every penny’, which is good to know.

For further information please contact  Emma Haley  on email: eh@stoneking.co.uk or call her on 01225 324487.

The event saw the coming together of a number of people to share information and their experiences of the Free Schools application process. It included successful 2011 Free School founders and professionals in the Education industries and the application process giving useful advice and tips to the current Free School proposers, which included individual parents, teachers and charities, who are about to embark on the process. As well as providing insights into how to set up a Free School, the event provided the opportunity for Free School proposers to network and collaborate together.

Tom Legge from the consultancy firm Place Group spoke about the developing policy and approaches in the setting up of a Free School. He recapped on the highs and lows of opening the 2011 Free Schools and provided words of advice to those aiming to open in 2012/2013 and onwards and covered some of the demands that would be placed on the proposer groups.

Toby Young the founder of the West London Free School appeared by video link from the Conservative Party Conference to share his experience of the process and give some broad strategic advice to the current proposers about what they could expect from the process and some of the pitfalls. Key emphasis was placed on identifying a suitable site and working with a co-operative Local Authority.

Graham Burns from Stone King Solicitors gave a briefing on the legal aspects of the process including the requirements in setting up a Free School, the documentation involved and explained the different Free Schools models; including the applicant run trust, the education service provider and the sponsor model.

Graham Fox from European Electronique spoke about ICT planning and why it is so important for Free School proposers. He spoke about the risks, the funding and the importance of involving an ICT provider early in the process to ensure success on the opening day of a new Free School.

Finally Peter Kessler the founder of the Eden Primary School shared his experience with the proposers and gave them his top tips for the process.

The event was held shortly before the recent DfE announcement of the approval given for 55 new Mainstream Free Schools which will open in September 2012.

For further information please contact Graham Burns on Email: gb@stoneking.co.uk or Telephone: 020 7324 1760.

The current recession has many unfortunate side effects of which one is that some charitable institutions are finding that they are being exploited for financial gain and are being seen as a soft target for fraudsters.

This can take a number of forms many of which appear to be legitimate. Some non-exhaustive recent examples include the sale of advertising space – for no apparent good reason when the charity concerned has nothing to sell – and invoices for services that do not appear to have been delivered. Often in attempting to get payment for these services the person or business responsible will go to extraordinary lengths including making at the least implied threats, a frequent example of which is to send bailiffs in to seize goods. This threat is often set against a background of apparently successful court action against the charity concerned, about which the charity has no knowledge.

Our Charity Team are receiving an increasing number of complaints from charities that have been in this unfortunate situation, many of whom feel intimidated into paying up or worse providing potentially compromising financial information including bank card details.

Our advice in such circumstances is that if there is any uncertainty as to whether the claim is legitimate then follow the steps set out below:-

1. Ask to see a copy of the relevant bill and ask for a breakdown of the services provided.
2. If you are told there is a county court Judgment against the Charity ask to see a copy of it.
3. If you are contacted by someone purporting to be a bailiff then ask to see written credentials.
4. Do not hand over any money until you are satisfied that the situation is genuine and if you are not convinced, you should contact us to obtain further advice (even if they are standing on your door step!).

If you are intimidated into paying up and consequently have doubts as to whether the claim is genuine contact your bank and ask them to watch for any unusual activity. Potentially also cancel bank cards in the event that there is any unexpected activity in a relevant bank account.

The matter may also be of interest to the Police but they are often reluctant to become involved unless there is clear evidence of a fraud. Local Authority Trading Standards departments are usually more interested in complaints of people trading in an unfair way particularly since the Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations became law in May 2008. The Regulations give wide powers to investigatory authorities to deal with many aspects of unfair trading including making it now a criminal offence to act in an intimidatory way towards consumers by what is termed an aggressive commercial practice.  

If you are concerned that you have been a victim of a fraud or are uncertain as to where you stand or what you should do, please contact Andrew Banks (AndrewBanks@stoneking.co.uk).

The Stone King team consisted of Tamsin Simmonds, Hugo Greer-Walker, Myles Taaffe and Simon Walker.

Wednesday 21^st September – Day 1

100 miles – longest hardest day through the Kent countryside from Crystal Palace to Dover. A 5am start for the lads, Tamsin wondered down at 6.15. Busy traffic getting out of London. We were called lots of names by irate and not very understanding drivers. Kent White Van Man didn’t share our enthusiasm for the ride. Tamsin fell off her bike after taking a wrong turn and Myles valiantly chased after her even though it took him 600 yards out of his way. Tamsin suffered a cut and some grazing on her leg but bravely soldiered on and wasn’t afraid to tell the other 51 contestants about it afterwards. Very hilly, rained most of the day and there were some dodgy junctions where some cyclists almost got run over! We were very glad to reach Dover and have some respite and a long awaited beer. Fish and chips on the ferry satisfied the hunger that we were feeling having completed approx 90 miles. Once we arrived in France we had to wait in the cold for about 20 minutes until all the traffic had left the ferry before starting a further 5 mile ride to the hotel.  We arrived about 9 30 pm very tired and ready for bed.

Thursday 22^nd September – Day 2

Just over 70 miles. Still hilly! We had thought after the first day it would be fairly flat but this wasn’t to be. Weather was kinder to us now we were in France with less rain but the wind was quite strong. We cycled from Calais to Abbeville where again we stayed overnight to recharge batteries for day 3. There were lots of high elevations which were often exposed and bleak. We had lost the use of the Blackberry and were unable to send photo’s back. The news from the office of the pictures we had sent seemed positive and therefore the loss of keeping those who had sponsored us up to date was really disappointing. Everyone was now really tired and there were more periods of silence (not from Simon though) and less banter. The humour often returned after lunch when we had replenished ourselves but the glucose high only lasted for a short period. Many people were suffering from sore bottoms too! Padded shorts and chamois cream (!!) coming in handy. It turns out you’re not supposed to wear pants when cycling. At the end of the day we reached a town with a super market. This provided Myles with the opportunity to buy fetching new cycling shorts. The request to do so had come from the team direct as the rain the day before had revealed more than we had expected. Version 2 was a touch on the revealing side also. We could only apologise to the other riders!

By Day 2 overall the group was getting more competitive and it was clear that Simon fancied his chances. As he took off he was pursued by Hugo who then spent the next two days trying, and largely failing to keep up. Simon’s nemesis was Penfold, a less talented and older cyclist who seemed to cling on to the pack of the leading group somehow.

Friday 23^rd September – Day 3

65 miles from Abbeville to Bouvais. Yet more hills. Beautiful countryside to distract attention from the cycling. Some people starting to flag from two days hard effort. Legs very tired. Starting to get sick of having to eat all the time for energy! Craving for curry instead of every single flavour of pasta you can think of. Random dog attacking people on away to lunch stop. Was Day 3 when we blitzed the field and won a stage ?

Saturday 24^th September – Day 4

The last day and the ride into Paris – about 54 miles. Much more relaxed and looking forward to the end – lunch on the Seine and a ride into Paris so traffic busy and down the Champs Elysee with the whole group (about 54 cyclists all raising money for their own causes) – everyone jovial and spectators were cheering us on.  They seem to like cyclists in France! (unlike England). A celebration at the Eiffel Tower and even a proposal (none of us!) and then a short ride to the hotel to rest and get ready for the celebratory dinner with everyone. Amazing feeling to end the trip at the Eiffel tower and bring the four days to an elated conclusion.

Sunday 25^th September – Day 5

Travel home – exhausted but happy to have completed the challenge. Had to get across Paris to the train station, with large bags full of very sweaty smelly clothes. All were feeling very tired and emotional. It had been such a rush reaching Paris, now the challenge was complete we all felt slightly flat. We arrived at the Gard Du Nord (train station) an hour before our return to London. The question that still remained was how were we to get our bikes and bags across London but decided that we would sleep on the train and figure logistics when we arrived. Four hours later saw us dismantling our bikes and shoving them into a black cab for the hour’s journey to Crystal Palace where our adventure had begun. Only to follow with another 3 hours travelling time back to Swindon and Bath. Looking forward to seeing how much money we had raised for H4H. Feeling it was all worthwhile. Trip was fantastically well organised and we were well looked after. Great team of fellow cyclists to spur each other on.

On behalf of the London to Paris cycling team, thank you to everyone who has so generously given to the H4H charity for our efforts. It really has kept us all going through all of the hard times on the ride and made it all worthwhile. If you haven’t donated but would like to, it is not too late to visit the link here.

After much delay and controvery, the Bribery Act 2010 finally came into force on 1st July 2011. Secretary of State Kenneth Clarke responded to criticism of the Act by claiming that it takes a commonsense approach to tackling bribery and that “bribery is one of those things we know when we see”.  That may be so, but the Act has a very broad scope and creates a variety of new offences to deal with the wide range of situations in which bribery can occur.  The Charity Commission has made clear that it expects trustees to comply with the new law and to implement recommended good practice.  Please click here to view Stone King’s QuickPoint which sets out the main issues charities will need to consider to do this.

For detailed advice on the Bribery Act 2010 and how it may affect your charity or organisation, please contact Tom Murdoch on 020 7324 1750, tm@stoneking.co.uk.

It is not uncommon for the founders of a successful business which is family owned to find that as the next generation or two become involved, as owners and/or managers, serious issues come up over the years.  Disharmony and harmful alienation can be minimised by the adoption of what is known as a “family charter”.   Such a document will not normally have legally binding elements but will record a consensus as to hopes and aspirations and also the principles and policies to be adopted in relation to the particular business. 

Each family charter will be unique but the sorts of matters which are covered are long term goals, ownership into the future employment of family members operational oversight and the making of major decisions.  Sometimes a family council is established and what are called next generation meetings may be provided for.  The vision for the business and ethical or other values to be applied will naturally come into play.  Dividend policy, the effects of marriages and divorces and any failure to perform as director and/or employee can be dealt with within a settled framework.  It is even possible to provide for a charitable foundation or an enterprise fund to assist those who wish to pursue other ventures.  Reviews of the charter and a dispute resolution procedure can be built in.

Such a document is not an alternative to having sufficient arrangements of a contractual nature in the parent company’s articles of association and/or in a shareholders agreement.  Those are needed to cover the current position whereas a family charter is a particular benefit in building for the future.

For more information please contact Roy Butler, Partner, Head of Corporate & Commercial on Tel: 01225 326769 or Email: RoyButler@stoneking.co.uk.

Stone King has launched a new blog to keep you up-to-date with interesting topics and to provoke debate and discussion. Enjoy!