Most of us consult a solicitor at some time in our lives and often this is when we decide to make a Will.  At this important time, we rely on the professional to advise...

Winterbourne View was the last and most high profile of a series of cases where vulnerable adults had suffered horrendous physical, psychological and financial abuse in a ca...

The government has announced its plan to cap social care costs at £75,000 to end the scandal where people, usually the elderly, are forced to sell their homes to pay for the...

A landmark case concluded in the High Court in January 2013 which may allow future sperm donors to apply for contact with their biological children. This particular High Co...

The Final Report of the Independent Inquiry into Care Provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, found that patients suffered 'routine neglect', and staggering lev...

Inadequate treatment for the elderly in hospitals and care homes is part of a growing crisis that has been developing over a number years, comments Stephen Lewis, Solicitor...

Thousands of parents may need to rewrite their wills in order to protect their children's interest as a result of an unintended consequence of the Governments forthcoming Fi...

Medical Negligence Claims - changes to costs rules from 1 April 2013 DAVID TWEEDIE, a partner in Lees Solicitors, discusses impending changes to legal costs rules by the...

Lees Family Law team is pleased to announce that for one month only, they are offering a Spring Sale! Up to 50% off your divorce fees. As has been reported throughou...

Eight major charities are paying for people aged 55 and over to have simple Wills written or updated during their 'Free Wills Month' campaign in the hope that they will be ...

Our offices will be closing on Friday 21 December 2012 at 4:00 pm and re-opening on Wednesday 2 January 2013 at 9:00 am.

We are very pleased to have launched our brand new website and branding for Lees LLP.  We have re-assessed our core values to ensure that we provide excellent support t...

During the month of June 2012, the Wills, Trusts & Estate Department at Lees Solicitors LLP agreed to waive their normal fee for drafting simple wills in return for...

More than 64,000 incidents of domestic abuse were reported in the Greater Manchester area over the last year. But the question is, "Can changes in the law prevent domestic a...

Break clauses are likely to be a hot topic for both landlords and tenants in the year ahead in view of the financial pressures on tenants in the expected downturn in the...

Once judgment has been obtained then assuming that the judgment debt is not paid within the terms stipulated within the judgment, then a Claimant will need to consider how t...

Witness evidence is, apart from disclosure documentation, the main evidence in a case. The court has the power to control evidence and may use its case management power...

The purpose of disclosure and inspection of documents is to allow each party to evaluate the strength of its own case and that of their opponent ahead of any trial and by do...

The vast majority of disputes are settled by agreement between the parties rather than by a judgment following a trial. Part 36 refers to that part of the Civil Procedure Ru...

Most companies are small or medium sized entities owned by a handful of shareholders run by those same people acting as directors. Typically, they start out as businesses...

If you are the Landlord of commercial premises and you have a tenant who has not paid rent then you may be in a position to forfeit your tenants lease by 'peaceable re-e...

The first thing to appreciate is that costs are complicated! They are merely outlined here as a guide. The General Rule Where a court makes an order about costs, it...

Increasingly, Legal indemnity insurance is being offered by Sellers or demanded by Buyers in order to protect the Buyer (and their lender) from perceived defects in titl...

All too often a buyer is confronted with the scenario where work has been done to a property, which would have required Building Regulations Approval, and on raising enq...

Where the continuation of a business partnership is no longer viable, it is possible to dissolve it without court action, provided the partners have some residual willin...

Litigation is a process of last resort. The parties to a dispute are expected to try and resolve it themselves before a claim is issued. The Courts have introduced several p...

If you are a landlord or a tenant of commercial premises with a lease term of five years or more then there is every likelihood that the lease will contain a rent review...

What is a restrictive covenant? According to HM Land Registry a restrictive covenant is a promise by one person with another (for example by a buyer of land with a se...

The courts have a duty to actively manage cases and to do so it has a wide range of case management powers including a range of discretionary powers. The Court's Powe...

If you are a personal injury or clinical negligence practitioner consideration should always be given to Personal Injury Trusts. A Personal Injury Trust (PI Trust) is a vehi...

1. Date of Valuation The date of valuation is the date on which the partnership is dissolved or deemed dissolved. 2. Methods of Valuation of a Partnership Busines...

Everybody will be familiar with the term "vacant possession" as it is an essential part of every contract for the sale and purchase of land. A recent decision of the Cou...

Two of my colleagues, Eleni Kinch and Tania Coventry, have previously published excellent articles on the subject of Chancel Repair Liability on this website. The first ...

Over the weekend the Daily Mail published an article about the so called 'Secret Court' that 'seizes £3.2 billion' from the elderly and 'mentally impaired people'. At...

Prior to the 1 August 1996 a landlord had the right to claim rent arrears from the original tenant under a lease even though that tenant may have long since parted with ...

Contrary to an understandable assumption a business tenancy does not automatically determine simply because the original term of the lease expires. Instead the lease con...

In the Business & Property Services Department at Lees Solicitors LLP we often hear from disgruntled leasehold flat owners (Lessees) about the management (or mismana...

There are several reasons someone (a donor) may wish to gift their assets to their children or other members of their family. Any type of property may be gifted, but the...

Many clients are rather surprised on hearing how long it can take to complete a clinical negligence claim. For many people, this may be their first experience of dealing...

We recently reported on the case of Margerison -v- Bates and the necessity of carefully checking title deeds for restrictive covenants that could adversely affect plans ...

What are service charges? A service charge is the amount payable by a tenant to a landlord who retains responsibility for the provision of the services in a building ...

Under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954), a tenant generally has a statutory right to renew its tenancy at the end of the term if the tenant has occu...

The time limits within which a party can commence legal proceedings are imposed by the Limitation Act 1980. Our first discussion with a client making an enquiry relati...

Out of all case that are started, very few actually end with a trial, the vast majority do settle earlier. There are occasions when it is appropriate in a case to split t...

Our specialist Clinical Negligence team at Lees Solicitors LLP are receiving enquiries from worried patients who have had silicone gel breast implants manufactured by th...

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable on the purchase price of a property, but it is not payable on 'chattels' or 'moveables'. Many people buying a house will come to ...

On 1 October 2007, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 fully came into effect. Its aim is to empower people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible, and pr...

Landowners must be acutely aware of the potential risks of public rights of way being unwittingly created over their land and take swift action to prevent their creation...

In difficult economic conditions, owners of commercial premises may be forced to consider a new use for their premises to avoid it being left empty, and unprofitable, fo...

If you want to buy a property conditional upon the happening of a certain event or if you want to be guaranteed the opportunity to buy a property during a specified peri...

A property case of major importance has recently been settled out of court. The High Court previously held that, if as a pre-condition to consent to assign, a tenant's g...

Personal Injury pre-medical Offers - Mark Rowan Until recent times insurers would only put forward offers in settlement of personal injury claims once a medical report had...

The Court of Protection (CoP) is now the place to deal with personal welfare issues that fell outside the legal system before the Mental Capacity Act 2005 came fully int...

Civil litigation should, in most cases, be treated as a last resort, to be utilised when all other attempts at resolving a dispute have failed. The court will expect this, a...

What you should know when acquiring a property portfolio You will recall from our last article in April that we published details of the assistance being given to fir...

A listed building is a building that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. Listing can affect anything from a...