tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79213595762860812742012-01-31T09:30:44.523ZSlee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-91872138469177252482008-06-02T09:55:00.000Z2008-06-02T09:59:00.833Z

David Whiteley, a Consultant with Slee Blackwell has recently been appointed Chairman of the newly formed North Devon +.North Devon + is a Not for Profit company formed by the amalgamation of the North Devon Enterprise Agency, the North Devon Marketing Bureau and the North Devon and Exmoor Regeneration Company.The formation of North Devon + heralds a new approach to Economic Development and

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-40896161230427432752008-05-20T08:28:00.010Z2008-05-21T08:54:39.323Z

Thank you to all of those who visited our stand at the Devon County Show. It was wonderful to meet so many of our clients - past, present and hopefully future.For those of you who weren’t able to come along you missed the opportunity of a free wine tasting, after which those taking part were asked to try and identify the genuine Champagne from the sparkling wines.43% of those who entered

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-74662462884937493722008-05-12T09:00:00.001Z2008-12-11T19:33:02.577Z

Many parents will be left wondering whether they should hire a bouncy castle for their children following a recent ruling in a case involving a young boy who suffered brain injury at a friends party. The injury was caused when the child suffered a kick to the head whilst playing on a bouncy castle. The Court ruled that the parents who hired the inflatable were responsible for his injuries as

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-59571265087578908742008-04-14T14:01:00.001Z2008-12-11T20:32:15.088Z

From 6 April 2008 private companies will no longer be required to have a company secretary. Many companies are expected to take advantage of this relaxation in the law and pass these duties on to a director.However the administrative, stamping and filing duties currently undertaken by company secretaries will still need to be completed correctly. Failure to do so can result in costly delays and,

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-82933508078581700782008-03-19T09:26:00.003Z2009-08-03T08:41:57.966Z

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were the driving force behind the Government’s decision to introduce Home Information Packs and soon commercial properties will need them too.Buildings account for an estimated 40% of UK Carbon emission so EPCs are seen as vital to reducing the country’s carbon footprint. The Government hopes they will encourage landlords and developers to improve the energy

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-38570614436167717292008-02-12T09:21:00.001Z2008-12-11T20:39:12.496Z

Slee Blackwell’s successful defence of repossession proceedings brought by Enterprise Inn Plc against Craig and Inez Ward of Mavericks in Newquay has been widely reported in the national press. Articles featured in the major trade publications as well as the national press. Both The Publican (5 February 2008) and the Morning Advertiser (7 February 2008) http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/ ran

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-73817208711127167182007-11-09T14:23:00.000Z2007-11-09T14:25:08.997Z

Everywhere you look you can’t help but notice the latest push for everyone to consider the environment and their own carbon-footprint. Environmentalists throughout the world are telling us that unless we take action now to save our planet there won’t be a planet left for our children. The drivers amongst us are all too aware that a litre of petrol has now passed the one pound mark and you would

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-71603220311463935502007-10-26T13:06:00.000Z2007-10-26T13:08:17.518Z

Is there a better time to be a parent than at Christmas?The answer to that question may depend upon your view of Christmas in the modern world; many people are understandably dismayed by the commercial product-fest that seems to arrive a little earlier each year.For some, Christmas may provide an opportunity to reflect upon how a child has developed over the course of a year. Growth and maturity

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-76562705665590935052007-10-16T11:58:00.000Z2007-10-16T12:00:38.575Z

The latest edition of the prestigious Legal 500 has listed Slee Blackwell personal injury solicitor Samantha Robson as a specialist in women’s issues. The 2008 directory refers to Sam’s niche practice “advising on claims related to cosmetic surgery, institutional sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault and date rape”. Say’s Sam:“I am delighted to be recognised for my work in this field. Women

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-25665227134723510832007-10-08T08:31:00.000Z2007-10-08T08:39:03.915Z

Care Concern (Leeds) Limited has made an asset purchase of Moorfield House nursing home for a total of £4.4m. Care Concern (Leeds) Limited bought the assets of Moorfield House on the 17th of July 2007. Moorfield House is a residential care home on Fieldhouse walk, Leeds, with a long-standing contract with Leeds City Council to provide care and respite beds to the elderly and infirm. The Business

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-72977577730102943602007-10-08T08:27:00.000Z2007-10-08T08:31:38.279Z

JJS Care Limited has acquired shares in ACG Management Limited, the company that runs Ashley Manor care home in Waterloo, Liverpool. The shares were bought for a total sum of £4.4m in June of 2007. Ashley Manor is a family run business, owned by Mrs Joyce and her three daughters, and is being sold due to a retirement decision. Currently, Ashley Manor has 75 residents housed in 61 single rooms and

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-55216886464844332782007-10-05T14:56:00.000Z2007-12-07T09:06:37.439Z

The Cricket Pavilion at Instow has stood since the late 1700’s but never in it’s 300 year history has it witnessed a battle like that fought by the gallant players of Slee Blackwell versus the North Devon Estate Agents & Surveyors XI. For while the collapse of the England squad may have caused despair for the cricket fan had they cast their eyes towards the estuary of the Taw and Torridge rivers

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-16386586095619048922007-07-24T09:03:00.001Z2007-07-24T09:04:34.326Z

On 24th April this year, a Mr Anthony Young from Gloucester made a small piece of legal history. He was awarded compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for injuries he had suffered a year earlier when his motorcycle had collided with a 12 year old boy, Robert Davis, who was playing "chicken" across the A4174 near Bristol.Mr Young was completely innocent. He was riding

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-54329555455470001982007-07-24T09:02:00.001Z2007-07-24T09:02:58.470Z

A fatal traffic accident on the southbound M5 in Gloucestershire in April 2005 led to the death of 2 drivers and a particularly tricky claim for the family and other dependents of one of them. For reasons which will remain a mystery, both cars were travelling at speeds well in excess of 100mph, with only feet between them. They came into contact, both went out of control and left the hard

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-16443019351915716692007-07-24T09:01:00.000Z2007-07-24T09:02:07.693Z

Trussing chickens with elastic string is not "manual handling"- says the court of Session in Edinburgh. Joking apart, the 1992 Regs refer to "transporting or supporting a load" and the court felt that picking up a dead chicken for a moment to truss it did not fall within that definition.This could have interesting implications for man hand injuries from small, occasional or modest moving of

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-12565330011224217592007-07-24T08:58:00.001Z2007-07-24T09:04:50.730Z

A counter clerk at a North Devon NatWest bank miraculously escaped being blinded when a security device exploded in her face while she was serving a customer in July last year.Her till contained a "raid bundle" of banknotes, concealing an explosive device and a special dye. Such bundles are designed to be handed to a robber in the event of a raid on the bank; when they are taken past the bank

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-85742000008949921372007-07-02T11:18:00.000Z2007-07-05T11:25:27.564Z

Erin Clarke, conveyancing assistant in our Bideford office, has just raised over £500 for Breast Cancer Care and tackled her fear of heights by jumping from a light aircraft at 10,000 feet with only a pocket handkerchief sized parachute for company. We salute her.Somewhat less heroically Andrew Burke of the Barnstaple Property team raised an undisclosed sum for the Matt Hampson Trust by failing

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-51347654923594637722007-06-30T11:17:00.000Z2007-07-05T11:18:02.718Z

Property lawyers, estate agents, pundits and the public remain bemused by the farcical saga that is the governments Home Information Pack (HIP) legislation. Having geared up for a blanket introduction on 1 June, the property industry now gears down for the limited introduction on 1 August, and Estate agents brace themselves for a flood of instructions to sell 3 bed houses with studies/box rooms/

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-48907478551545424002007-06-29T11:23:00.000Z2007-07-05T11:24:34.563Z

Samantha Millington has joined our Property team in Barnstaple. After a successful career as conveyancer in the Home Counties, Samantha is now enjoying the delights of North Devon. Based in Northam and working in Barnstaple, Samantha is already working successfully for many clients on their sales and purchases.In September Legal Executive Caroline Chandler joins us from premier Salisbury firm

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-26289764901850589372007-06-29T11:13:00.000Z2007-07-05T11:16:19.388Z

Chris Jones, managing partner of Slee Blackwell's criminal department, is representing Defence Solicitors in high level discussions concerning the introduction of the Government's new initiative 'Speedy Summary Justice' in Devon and Cornwall. The scheme, which is aimed at dramatically reducing the number of Magistrates Court hearings, is scheduled to be introduced in North Devon in early July.

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-6697496150052990682007-03-13T15:43:00.000Z2007-03-13T17:04:32.561Z

The February meeting of the body responsible for regulating solicitors decided that Chris Jones, a partner with lawyers Slee Blackwell specialising in Criminal Law, should be approved as a Solicitor-Advocate.After over 20 years representing clients in the Magistrates Court, this qualification now allows Chris to appear and represent clients in the Crown Court.The appointment comes in recognition

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-68593120371188654152007-03-01T22:17:00.000Z2007-03-07T11:50:35.823Z

In the 2002 Spielberg movie Minority Report our hero (played by Tom Cruise) is in charge of a 'pre-crime' unit which catches and incarcerates (without trial) would be killers before they commit their crime, on the basis of psychic evidence. Readers who have not seen the film should look away now, because I have to tell you that the ending is not a happy one for those who find this vision of

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-57677632866014551112007-01-22T15:45:00.000Z2007-03-08T09:09:05.409Z

From The North Devon JournalPersonal Injury Department Gains Entry to The Prestigious Legal 500The highly prestigious law directory, The Legal 500, has singled out the Exeter and Bideford offices of Slee Blackwell as one of a handful of firms excelling in personal injury law.Says partner Lee Dawkins,“We are delighted that the firm has been recognised by an influential and independent publication

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-7355192424631817062007-01-22T15:31:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:48:15.732Z

From The North Devon JournalBideford solicitors recover £1/2m compensation for local man Slee Blackwell’s Bideford office has secured compensation of almost half a million pounds for a former engineer with T J Brent who suffered devastating head injuries in an industrial accident.Adrian Pile, a former Army electronics specialist from Torrington, who now lives in Bideford, was aged 25 when his

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-36882043368281644982007-01-19T11:53:00.000Z2007-03-07T12:08:46.863Z

It has been almost a year since the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 since then the Courts have been kept busy clarifying how the Act should be interpreted in terms of the way Licensed Premises are run.One thing is clear, people are not afraid to contest the decisions made by the Licensing Authorities. Challenges can be brought by Judicial Review or by an appeal. Appeals can be costly

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-62452468444128324662005-10-19T12:06:00.000Z2007-03-07T12:07:49.506Z

I am regularly asked whether it is possible to get an agricultural tie lifted. Usually this is a reference to a planning condition restricting the occupation of a house to people employed within agriculture, horticulture or forestry. M odern occupancy conditions are along the following lines:-"The occupation of the dwelling hereby permitted shall be limited to a person solely or mainly working,

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-47987367267241883412005-10-09T16:11:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:13:42.513Z

Slee Blackwell Solicitor James McNally has been named Young Solicitor of the Year by the Devon and Exeter Law Society.The annual award distinguishes the achievements of a young lawyer who exemplifies outstanding standards of the legal profession in the South West and James was a unanimous choice by the society’s judges.James, who studied law at Exeter University before joining Slee Blackwell in

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-84622765188716871792005-10-09T16:10:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:13:58.728Z

Michael Clarke, a partner at our Bideford office, has just returned from a week shadowing 2 district judges at Exeter Combined Court, giving him valuable insights into the work on the judge's bench, not only in his usual field of injury work, but in a varied caseload including children and divorce cases, trustees disputes over land, consumer credit disputes and small commercial claims; a unique

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-83472234916834403982005-10-09T16:08:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:10:10.713Z

Lee Dawkins (a partner at our Exeter office) has recently become a member of the Professional Negligence Lawyers' Association, a national grouping of solicitors and barristers specialising in the area of professional negligence law http://www.pnla.org.uk/

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-81581087496410533822005-10-09T16:07:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:11:15.786Z

Bray Leino Limited , the fourth largest full-service advertising agency outside London with staff of over 200 and a turnover of £ 33 million has completed a management buy-out from its American Owner and purchased a Bristol based agency.Bray Leino instructed Slee Blackwell and partner Nick Arthur has commented "It was an interesting deal to be involved in, not only tying in 2 deals at the same

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-72917994277337422712005-10-09T16:06:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:07:27.016Z

Our licensing team have been very busy this year assisting businesses with the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003 . Under the new Act all premises which sell alcohol or provide regulated entertainment (.eg Theatres and Cinemas ) are required to apply to their local authority for a licence. Applications had to be made from between the 7th February and 6th August 2005. However, the take

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-78963966460621500572005-10-09T16:05:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:06:30.944Z

We are currently participating in two Wills for Charity schemes: Cancer Research UK and the North Devon Hospice. In both cases the charities will pay us to prepare straightforward Wills and whilst there is no obligation for people to make testamentary gifts to these charities, many do.Legacies can make an enormous difference to the good work that these charities carry out. Over 85% of North

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-79641101101475375922005-10-09T15:57:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:04:13.523Z

When someone buys or sells property, one of the elements they have to go through is a land search from the records held by a local council. The speed this is done by is set to change dramatically, which will benefit the public and businesses.Solicitors and home movers in Devon will benefit from an electronic service for local land searches because of the commitment of all eleven local authorities

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921359576286081274.post-86452607842236316232005-10-09T15:56:00.000Z2007-03-07T16:01:03.070Z

Training is available locally for a qualification that could help businesses comply with the new Licensing Act. The Act, which came into force earlier this year, marks the biggest change in licensing laws for 30 years.The National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) is an accredited qualification that will help individuals to obtain a personal licence under the new licensing regime.

Slee Blackwell Solicitorsnoreply@blogger.com2