Unbelievable as it is in June Fran had been working at Manchester Law Society for an amazing 35 years! And on Saturday, she celebrates her 60^th birthday.

We couldn’t let this pass without singing her praises and letting her know how important she is to our community. Read all about how wonderful she is here.

On Wednesday the MLS Team surprised Fran with a dinner at Manchester Hall with the Officers and a few Past Presidents. Manchester Hall provided us with a sumptuous four course meal with matching wines in one of their beautiful private rooms.

Manchester Hall even gifted Fran one of the boutique hotel rooms for the full luxurious experience. You can see some photos of the night here.

A full account of the evening will be in the August Messenger!

Fran - we all wish you a Fran-tastic birthday and here is to many many more to come!
 

Welcome to the bumper July issue of the Messenger! Published with our partners at Legal RSS don’t miss this month’s issue.

Articles in this issue include:

• Full coverage of June’s Manchester Legal Awards including interviews with the winners and sponsors
• Updates on the fundraising efforts of our President and Vice President for We Love MCR
• Advice on how to avoid being a micromanager
• With Disability Awareness Day on 16^th July the ED&I Committee look at the road to achieving social inclusion
• An exploration on the wider fixed costs regime by our Civil Litigation Committee
• BSN look at how a new order could increase racial diversity in the Judiciary

Read it all here!

Why not join in the conversation and share YOUR news with YOUR community.

Tell us all about your:

• Movers & Shakers
• Award wins
• Charity work
• Wellbeing initiatives
• Interesting cases
• We’d love to hear from you!

The deadline for the August edition is 21st July.

Don’t forget Manchester Law Society Members get their articles published FREE OF CHARGE!

Please submit your articles in a Word document or similar format, with a photo, by emailing messenger@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk
 

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 18^th 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

Book your place here or by emailing ChandreMay@manchesterlawsociety.org.uk with the name and email address of the delegate.

 

Date: 12 July 2023
Time: 13:00 to 13:45
Location: Online via Teams
Cost to attend: Free but you must book your place

In the second of our personal branding series of webinars join Phil Ossai as he demonstrates the value to your firm in building your personal brand and how it will enhance your firm’s visibility.

Join us to learn how:

• Creating a personal brand boosts your firm’s reputation
• To address unique challenges in the traditional legal sector
• Implementing OSSAI’s 3C’s Framework for brand visibility will support you and your firm

To register this event please book though the Teams link here or alternatively contact ChandreMay@ManchesterLawSociety.org.uk

This event is free but booking is essential
 
More about Phil:
In 2022, Phil turned his passion for personal branding into a mission, founding OSSAI into a thriving six-figure personal branding agency. OSSAI, under Philip’s leadership, has enabled everything from small law firms to FTSE 100 companies to harness LinkedIn for business results that all professionals actually want: a tangible return on investment not on vanity metrics.
 

As part of our Pledge to Net Zero, at Landmark, we have committed to work positively toward the 2050 global net zero goals. We’ve put climate change at the top of our agenda, and we want it to drive decisions across the property and real estate industry. 

Together, as a community, we have the power to make our innovations and choices make a difference. Because if we’re going to make a difference, climate change has to be at the front of our minds.  

To find out where the rest of the industry stands and where it’s heading, we reached out for conversations with industry experts to bolster our understanding of the property sector. Those conversations grew into a collection of learnings we published and shared as our Climate Change Reports: The New Frontier of Real Estate Due Diligence. The paper explores the ways the property and real estate industry is working to build a better planet. 

Between a rock and a hard place 

In her white paper contribution, Theresa Wallace, co-founder of The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC), identifies multiple quandaries facing landlords, tenants and letting agents who want to do the right thing in the face of climate change risks – yet lack legislated direction. 
 

“With no concrete guidelines or advice, landlords are unable to effectively plan and act. Many landlords want to do the right thing; they want to make the changes… but first they want to know what the right changes are.” 

She warns the risk goes beyond the effects of climate change, citing the erosion of the rental sector and an acute crisis for renters. Therefore, she argues, both landlords and agents need help in the form of information, education and the right tools to make a difference. 

Finding the way forward 
 

“Until we know the regulations, boundaries, caps, structures, dates and exactly what standards landlords must comply with, the lettings industry is in limbo. Landlords are waiting to take that next step. They’re waiting to hear, plan and act. In the meantime, they might fall back on guesswork – but that could prove expensive. Agents and advisors are none the wiser, either.” 
 

As the industry waits for further information and guidance, Theresa shares cautionary tales of landlords taking proactive measures; one who refitted a whole block of flats with electric heating, and unwittingly lost his C rating. Another successfully found an electric heating system capable of getting the EPC to a C rating, but at massive expense. Little wonder, then, that some landlords are delaying energy efficiency works until they hear further. 

Theresa and the members of the TLIC are united in their desire to improve standards across the sector. In our Climate Change Reports: The New Frontier of Real Estate Due Diligence paper, she encourages collaboration between parties to provide one voice in support of a regulated industry. She draws on European case studies and examples from other industries to explore a streamlined future for both tenants and landlords. 

It’s a fascinating read that will give you and your organisation plenty to think about as you build your own clearer picture of the current state of climate change reporting in the rental sector and where it’s heading.  

Read the executive summary of the white paper & the video from our Climate Change event here.