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Separating couples will be obliged to try mediation before being allowed to go to court to settle disputes over financial and child custody arrangements. The government announcement is part of a major shake-up of the family justice system. The proposals will see mediation become mandatory in all suitable low-level family court cases excluding those that
Hundreds of thousands of people register Lasting Powers of Attorney each year and it isn’t hard to see why. Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 50 years meaning most of us can expect to live into our eighties and beyond. While that is undoubtedly good news, it does raise issues about how we
Press Release 10 February 2023 Kathryn Ainsworth appointed Managing Partner of Machins Solicitors Following the sudden and tragic death of Managing Partner, Mark Pelopida, Machins Solicitors has appointed Kathryn Ainsworth to take over the role of Managing Partner going forward. Mark died unexpectedly after a short illness on Friday 2nd December 2022. At the time
The law on redundancy can seem complex and demanding to an employer. When making staff redundant, employers need to ensure that they follow a fair process that recognizes an employee’s rights while also seeking to achieve the organization’s goals in making the redundancy in the first place (e.g. saving cost). Throughout the redundancy process, the employer
Normally the return to work in January as a trainee comes as a big shock to the system – you’re often starting in a new department with new colleagues, and have to shake off the brain fog brought on by too much food over the Christmas break. This time around, however, I am staying in
Seat rotations are one of the main stresses in your training contract. Making sure you are working towards getting you to the right place for qualification is a careful balancing act of what you think you want, the needs of the firm and a developing picture of where your skills are best utilised. So, here
An employee at Lean Education and Development (LED) training firm won £11,885.62 for her unfair dismissal claim after she was accused of making deliberate mistakes to financially ruin her employer. Tracie Shearwood worked for LED for several years and after numerous promotions she held the role of head of compliance. In April 2018, her managing
You’ve made it past the interview stages, accepted the job offer, the initial excitement has passed and now the first day of your new job in a law firm is approaching. The nerves might be starting to settle in. Here are some top tips based on my experience to help ensure that your first job
An interview is likely to be required almost every time you apply for a role, and this is equally true when applying for training contracts. The process at Machins is currently split into three: (1) an application; (2) an initial interview and (3) a final partner-led interview. This post gives some tips from my experience
Beginning a training contract can be a daunting task for anyone even if you have previous experience. As a paralegal in the residential conveyancing department at two of my previous firms I found the experience to be invaluable in building up the key skills required to succeed in my training contract particularly in the following