- The National Cyber Security Centre Announce Funded Cyber Essentials Programme - Four months to go until Pro Bono week!
- Cycle September is coming - are you ready? - Private Client Conference: Drafting Masterclass - Family Law Conference 2023 - Dates for the diary
- July Messenger - MLS Court Reports Journal Issue 11 - How to have better 1:1 meetings with your employees
This NCSC is helping organisations within sectors most at risk to implement baseline security controls and prevent the most common types of cyber attacks using the Funded Cyber Essentials Programme.
Some sectors are at greater risk of cyber attack than others, perhaps because of the sensitive information they deal with or because they're seen as an ‘easy target’ for cybercriminals. The NCSC focuses on supporting small organisations with low cyber maturity and working with sensitive data that would significantly impact if disrupted. The programme will offer Cyber Essentials Plus to specific sectors that are at high risk of cyber attack at no cost.
Who can apply?
To qualify for this scheme, the organisation must either be:
Micro or small businesses (1 to 49 employees) that offer legal-aid services
Or Micro or small charity (1 to 49 employees, excluding volunteers) that has a core purpose of providing support to victims of domestic abuse
Applying organisations must also meet the following criteria:
Has not previously participated in the NCSC Funded Cyber Essentials Programme
Does not currently hold Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) certification, has not been awarded CE+ certification since May 2022, and is not currently in the process of applying for CE+ certification.
If any of your businesses or organisations meet the above criteria and they wish to express an interest in the Funded Cyber Essentials Programme, please click here.
We are delighted to send you early information about Pro Bono Week this year, taking place from 6th to 10th November, including how you can take part and sharing the official event planning form.
The published themes for 2023 are outlined below:
Changing lives through pro bono – Exploring how and why lawyers and law students across the UK transform lives through pro bono, including celebrating inspiring examples of pro bono and exploring the business case for legal volunteering.
Maximising the impact of pro bono – An opportunity to think about how to measure pro bono and to maximise its impact through, for example, collaborative projects responding to crises; focussing early advice on debt or housing; partnerships with the healthcare sector; incorporating evaluation into projects.
Pro bono within ESG: from climate to sustainable development – Pro bono will be explored as a pillar of an Environmental, Social, and Governance strategy, including how lawyers can help tackle the climate crisis, and how the Sustainable Development Goals can be championed.
Now is the moment to start thinking about planning an event, focusing on what you've been up recently, or your future pro bono plans. We are encouraging co-hosted events so that there are a smaller number of better attended events, but it's completely up to you what you do.
Find out more details including how to let us know what you're planning at probonoweek.org.uk/event-plans. The organisers can help turn your ideas into reality, put you in touch with other event organisers so you can collaborate as well as offer help with venues, speakers and promoting your plans.
Cycle September is a fun, free, campaign from Love to Ride which encourages and supports people to ride bikes. We are encouraging all organisations across Greater Manchester to get involved and there are prizes up for grabs including a £4,000 holiday!
As more organisations and individuals are thinking about sustainability, cost-saving, health, and wellbeing, it’s a great time to promote riding a bike. Register your organisation or group for Cycle September at lovetoride.net/gm and bring your team together to work on a common goal – getting more people on bikes and riding to the top of the leaderboards.
It doesn’t matter if people are in the office, working from home, working full or part-time or volunteering. Cycle September is about getting more people riding bikes and making the choice to switch cars for handlebars where they can.
How does it work?
Getting involved with Cycle September is easy:
People can register for the challenge and join your workplace profile.
It’s not about the number of miles you ride, it’s about having fun and encouraging others to discover the joys of riding a bike
Once someone has been for a ride, they log it on their profile, or the Love to Ride app will do it automatically (iOS app currently available and Android coming soon)
Ride your bikes and encourage others to earn points - the organisations with the highest number of points will top the leaderboards
There are amazing prizes up for grabs to anyone that takes part, regardless of their riding experience!
Last year, 41,861 riders and 7,694 organisations took part and we want to beat that this year. Will you get involved and help make this year’s challenge even bigger?
Love to Ride’s Cycle September is funded by Transport for Greater Manchester, which means it’s free for any business, community group or organisation to take part.
Date: 4 October 2023 Time: 09:30-15:30 Location:Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ Cost to attend: MLS Members £95.00 + VAT (£114.00)
Non-members £120.00 + VAT (£144.00)
We are delighted to announce the MLS Private Client Conference will take place on 4th October 2023 and take the form of a drafting masterclass.
The interactive sessions will give practical tips on how to improve your drafting of wills, trusts, Court of Protection applications and Deeds of Variation and s144 appointments. A great refresher for the more experienced and a brilliant guide for those early in their careers.
The day will round off with a session looking at Imposter Syndrome with QCH Therapist and Coach Sally Heady. Sally will cover what Imposter Syndrome is, how to spot it and what you can do about it.
The masterclasses will be delivered by:
Trusts:Steven Appleton, Brabners
Court of Protection applications:Beverley Beale, Principal Associate, Weightmans LLP
Wills:Rebecca Clarke, Clarke Willmott and Nicola Walker, Private Client Solicitors
Deeds of Variation and s144 appointments: Paul Davies, Clarke Willmott
Date: 18 October 2023 Time: 09:00-17:00 Location:Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ Cost to attend:
Full day MLS Member £120.00 + VAT (£144.00)
Full day Non-member £160.00 + VAT (£192.00)
Half day MLS Member £75.00 + VAT (£90.00)
Half day Non-member £100.00 + VAT (£120.00)
The MLS Family Law Conference returns on 18th October for a jam-packed day of updates and explorations.
The morning will focus on the Children side of Family Law with the afternoon focusing on finance and divorce. Delegates can attend the full day or opt to attend either the morning or afternoon, both including a networking lunch where you can catch up with your colleagues in the sector.
Topics covered at the conference include:
Parental Alienation Dr Gemma Parker, Clinical Psychologist, Director of Altogether Human CIC
Domestic Abuse – where are we now? Shaun Spencer KC, St John’s Buildings Chambers
Grandparent Applications Jack Harrison and Claire Athis Schofield, Deans Court Chambers
Tracing Crypto Currencies in Divorce Proceedings Rob Moore, Security Consultant at Grant Thornton
The Court’s view on Expert Evidence Andrew Wastall and David McCormick of Exchange Chambers
Debate: Is an expert’s report worth the paper it is written on? Chair: Sam Hillis KC Debaters: Charles Eastwood and Abigail Bennett
Effective 1:1 meetings are vital for managers and employees. They are useful for various purposes such as performance reviews, onboarding, informal feedback, pay reviews, recognition, wellbeing checks, exit interviews, and ad-hoc discussions.
To ensure successful one-on-one meetings, managers must understand their impact. These meetings make employees feel heard, provide valuable insights, foster immediate discussion, and align managers and employees. However, it is crucial to put effort into making them effective. That’s because ineffective meetings can be worse than no meetings at all. For example, annual performance reviews often have issues with timeliness and accuracy, leading to dissatisfaction among managers and employees.
There are 10 golden rules to follow to run effective one-on-one meetings:
Give employees control of the discussion to address their concerns and engagement.
Collaborate with employees to create an agenda that outlines topics for discussion.
Regular, shorter meetings are more effective for building trust than occasional, lengthy ones.
Make decisions based on evidence and facts, maintaining fairness and transparency.
Focus on active listening, asking questions to gain insight and show engagement.
Develop an action plan together to ensure clarity on next steps.
Allocate sufficient time for meaningful conversations instead of rushing through them.
Provide equal access to one-on-one meetings for all team members to foster fairness.
Create an informal and relaxed atmosphere to encourage open and honest dialogue.
Respect confidentiality and keep sensitive information private unless necessary.
Weekly10 is a software platform designed for employees and built for Microsoft Teams. It supports your 1:1 meeting process, as well as regular feedback, goal-tracking, sentiment analysis, and automation for performance reviews.
Try Weekly10 with a free 21 day trial, or book a demo with our team today at www.weekly10.com/mls
