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Author: CJCH Solicitors

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Planning for tomorrow – Introduction to Lasting Power of Attorney

By John Moore, Solicitor

We live in a time of better healthcare and advances in science where we are able to enjoy life for longer than previous generations.  We never know what is around the corner, however, with many people experiencing challenges with their mental health in their later years or are incapacitated through accident, injury or illness.

Here at CJCH, we regularly meet people of all ages who come to us for advice and who are concerned about safeguarding their personal affairs in the future.  Where appropriate, we try and assist by arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney for our clients in respect of their property and financial affairs.

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows individuals to appoint someone of their choosing to act on their behalf (as their attorney) if they are no longer able to manage things themselves for whatever reason. An attorney would be able to access a person’s property and finances to help pay bills, manage investments and pay care home fees. An attorney is legally under a duty, however, to act in the person’s best interest at all times.

Sadly, however, many people that we meet have loved ones who have not set up a Lasting Power of Attorney and no longer have the mental capacity, whether by illness or accident, to be able to do so.  We often find that family members hit a brick wall when dealing with banks and buildings societies who will of course only deal with the account holder themselves.  As there is no one legally able to act for the person it means that there are often situations where bills and care fees cannot be paid. This causes a great deal of stress for everyone involved because a person’s finances cannot be accessed or their property cannot be managed or sold.

In order to resolve this our team of experienced lawyers represent families in making applications to the Court of Protection so that family members can be appointed as Deputies to manage a person’s property and financial affairs.  Once the Court has approved an application the family members who have applied will be able to access a person’s finances and manage the sale of a property under a Court Order.  The Majority of applications to the Court are straightforward and dealt with on paper and do not require any attendance at Court.

If you would like to speak with us for a free consultation on better preparing for your future to ensure those things that are so important to you can be managed property should you no longer be able to do so yourself, you can contact Mr John Moore (solicitor) in our Private Clients department:

Telephone number0333 231 6405, or email privateclients@cjch.co.uk.

You can engage with CJCH Solicitors on Facebook, twitter or LinkedIn.

 

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CJCH Solicitors to create 71 jobs in Cyber Security with backing from Welsh Government.

CJCH Solicitors have embarked on an ambitious journey to create a staggering 71 new jobs within the Anti-Piracy and Cyber Security speciality in Wales by year-end 2020.  We are proud to reiterate the announcement made by the Welsh Government, revealing their support of our new global IP Anti-Piracy Unit at our Cardiff head office.

CJCH has been at the heart of digital piracy and Intellectual Property compliance in Wales, with an international impact. In 2014, our Intellectual Property practice launched its internal Anti-Piracy and Compliance consultancy. Our team developed a customised solution for our international clients, to protect their work product and recover lost revenues from software infringements.

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, said “IP piracy, which can range from copyright theft or infringement to counterfeit goods, is a growing global issue that can cause untold damage to businesses, to their protected and valued brands and the economy. ”

Infringements of this nature are a form of cyber crime which impacts business globally, depriving them of revenue and compromising their intellectual property rights. CJCH have tackled this issue head-on and cultivated a bespoke solution for companies suffering from this invasion.

The purpose of this partnership with the Welsh Government is to leverage our thought leadership and create a central hub for Anti-Piracy and Cyber Security in Wales. We intend to bring global best practice into Wales while developing local talent as well. Our 2020 goal, is to have established 71 new jobs in this field, as well as contribute to making the United Kingdom and global digital community a safer and more secure environment. We will be partnering with local businesses and academic institutions, such as Swansea University, to cultivate development and training programs to support this initiative, with specialist content aligned to business needs.

Stephen Clarke, the CJCH CEO, stated “The modern world of digital liberty and innovation offers greater access to information and narrows the global divide. Unfortunately, the digital economy brings with it a growing sophistication in criminal activity. Without proper defences, digital piracy exposes businesses to uncontrollable risk and vulnerability. Our solution enables us to partner with our clients to establish a proactive (protection) and reactive (recovery) governance model. Our goal is to share this experience with the community and grow the local capability in cyber security.”

As of 6 March 2017, CJCH Solicitors has been awarded a £432 000 grant from the Welsh Government to support our active project to establish this new entity. Our objective is to aggressively drive the development of Cyber Security and Anti-Piracy enforcement in collaboration with skills development and knowledge transfer. Making Wales, and the UK, a more secure and impenetrable digital landscape.

For more information and updates, email us at ip@cjch.co.uk or engage with us via Facebook, twitter or LinkedIn.

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Security of Tenure for Commercial Leases – What does it mean?

Security of Tenure for Commercial Leases

The Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Part II (‘the Act’) confers security of tenure on business tenants and regulates the manner in which business tenancies can be terminated.

What does this mean? Sam Pearson, our commercial law trainee explains that firstly, a business tenancy will not come to an end at the expiration of a fixed term. Secondly the tenancy cannot be terminated unless the Landlord gives sufficient notice to quit.

The statutory right of renewal can be triggered if either the Landlord gives notice of termination or the Tenant requests a new tenancy. Notices must be prepared and served in the required format and within strict time periods. There are many pitfalls with the notice, drafting and procedure and we strongly recommend seeking professional advice.

A Landlord can only oppose a business tenancy protected by the Act on certain statutory grounds:

  • tenant’s failure to repair.
  • persistent delay in paying rent.
  • substantial breaches of other obligations.
  • offering suitable alternative accommodation.
  • demolition or reconstruction.
  • landlord’s intention to occupy the holding.

Compensation may be payable to the Tenant if the Landlord’s application is successful. If the Landlord’s opposition to a new tenancy fails and new terms are not agreed, then an application to Court will be required. A Judge will set the terms and rent after receiving expert evidence.

On taking a new commercial lease the parties may have agreed that the tenancy will not have any statutory right of renewal. In order to do so the Landlord must serve a notice on the Tenant in the prescribed form. The Tenant must make a formal declaration confirming receipt of the notice and accepting the absence of any statutory right of renewal.

Whether you’re looking to renew a commercial lease, seeking advice on a contested lease renewal or looking to contract out of the Act our experts at CJCH Solicitors are ideally placed to provide you with the right advice to suit your business needs.

Our commercial team are available to assist at commercial@cjch.co.uk, or on 0333 231 6405.

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Managing IP Infringements for small to medium enterprises

A word from Tony (Senior Compliance & Investigator Consultant)

At CJCH Solicitors we look to the future of commerce to tackle the questions facing international compliance and governance head-on. Through our ongoing efforts to combat software licencing infringements and anti-piracy on behalf of our clients we have identified potential gaps in the capabilities of small to medium enterprises (SME’s), in particular, in protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights. As a result of the sheer volume of web-based IP infringements it is impractical for many SME’s to identify, monitor and control incidents on their own. The skills and resources to combat the risks associated with this commercially damaging crime are simply not readily available to all SME’s or, in some instances, even larger organisations.

Over time we at CJCH have expanded our offering to address these pain points and support our clients where they need it most – a sturdier and more robust solution than that which they can provide for themselves.

Our services include an automated IT capability which can:

  • detect the scale at which your assets are being infringed
  • actively seek their de-listing from host sites
  • track that the delisting has actually taken place

Our process, including the intervention of our law enforcement trained investigators, is proven to achieve results swiftly and accurately, while being scalable to suit individual demand. With our ability to proactively monitor our clients IP assets and, if required, seamlessly transition the matter for legal action, CJCH are at the forefront of IP protective services.


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Compliance without borders

CJCH Solicitors is a law firm based in Cardiff, United Kingdom. The firm has grown substantially through a combination of a focused expansion strategy and key merger and acquisition projects. With collective legal experience spanning over 34 years, CJCH Solicitors is focused on dedicated solution development for both corporate and private clients.

The firm has developed a standalone Anti-Piracy and Compliance offering, which is coordinated by its team of experienced solicitors and compliance and research professionals. Compliance is no longer a tick-box function of corporate governance. Rather CJCH sees Anti-Piracy and Compliance as a dynamic element of the modern, digitally-aware organisation both in the UK and globally.

At CJCH we are committed to perfecting our compliance solutions to ensure that no client’s software or intellectual property is utilised without licence. We have grown our sphere of knowledge sharing and best practice development. Having recently hosted Attorneys from a leading American Law firm, our CEO and head of Anti-Piracy and Compliance embarked on a tour of partner firms in the Nordic and Baltic regions to share our compliance processes and learn from their local experiences.

The tour included visits with Njord Law in Copenhagen, a prominent Scandinavian law firm, as well as Sorainen in Latvia which was voted Baltic Law firm of the year for 2016.

(L to R) Stephen Clarke – CEO of CJCH Solicitors; Frederik Lindboe Refsgaard – Legal Assistant at Njord Law; Emma Whitehead – Dassault Systemes Lead Investigator, Baltic Region; Jeppe Brogaard Clausen – Partner at Njord Law.

(L to R) Steve Rees – CJCH Compliance and Enforcement Team Manager; Stephen Clarke – CEO of CJCH Solicitors; Agris Repass – Head of Intellectual Property of Sorainen in Latvia; Emma Whitehead – Dassault Systemes Lead Investigator, Baltic Region. Our objective in Latvia was to discuss our IP enforcement policies for the Baltics and in particular increased use of court procedures and raids on premises where businesses are using illegal software.

As illegal usage and piracy of our clients’ software continues to expand globally, so too does our focus on enforcing Anti-Piracy and Compliance on an international scale. The increased use of court authorised raids in particular has proved very helpful, playing a major part in increasing our recovery rate by over 50% in the recent year from €11.8 Million in 2015 to €18.6 Million in 2016.

Engage with us on twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

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Changes to the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage

April 2017: Changes to the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage

Next month, changes will be made to the National Minimum Wage.  Max Wootton, our employment law trainee, talks us through the changes and what they will mean for employees and employers.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour that most workers are entitled to by law. The rate depends on a worker’s age and also if they are an apprentice or not. 

The National Living Wage (NLW) was introduced on 1st April 2016 for all working people aged 25 and over.

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The rates of both the NMW and NLW are set to change every April starting with April 2017. 

The rates from 1st April 2017 will be:

·        £7.50 per hour  – 25 years and older

·        £7.05 per hour  – 21-24 years old

·        £5.60 per hour  – 18-20 years old

·        £4.05 per hour  – 16-17 years old

·        £3.50 per hour  – For apprentices under 19 or 19 and aver who are in their firstyear of apprenticeship.

The following people are NOT entitled to the NMW/NLW

·        Self-employed people

·        Volunteers

·        Company directors

·        Family members/people who live in the family home of the employer who undertake household tasks.

Non-payment of the NMW

It is against the law for employers to pay workers less that the National Minimum Wage

Workers

If a worker is not receiving the correct rate from employer they should speak to their employer and try to resolve this. 

A worker can make a complaint to HMRC who will investigate the complaint. If HMRC find that an employer hasn’t paid at least the National Minimum Wage, they can send a notice of arrears plus a penalty for not paying the correct rate of pay to the worker.

Alternatively, if an employer refuses to comply with the NMW, a worker may wish to instruct a solicitor to resolve the situation.

Employers

To flip the coin on the side of the employer, the maximum fine for non-payment of NMW is £20,000 per worker. Employers who fail to pay the NMW will also be banned from being a company director for up to 15 years.  

An employer may consider instructing a specialist employment solicitor to advise on worker’s payments and up to date legislation changes, therefore, preventing compliance penalties which may be caused. 

CJCH Solicitors have a vastly experienced employment team who are accustomed to dealing with both workers and employees on matters such as the above.   For assistance with a related matter please contact employment@cjch.co.uk.

 

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CJCH Mental Health Department and Mental Health Reforms

Senior Solicitor Keith James from our Mental Health Department tells us about the department and gives insights on Mental Health reforms.CJCH Solicitors have the largest Mental Health Law department in South Wales. We also have a contract to conduct work in the South West. The work involves many challenges including assisting vulnerable clients on a daily basis. We represent clients throughout South Wales and the South West at around 56 hospitals and units. What often strikes us is the lack of understanding in the community and amongst the general public about mental health. Recently, Prime Minster Theresa May gave a keynote speech identifying the need for reforms which particularly focus on young people and their mental health needs.

The Prime Minster was particularly keen that institutions should tackle the stigma around mental health with a focus on children and young people. Additional training for teachers, an extra £15m for Community Care and improved support in the workplace were measures announced by May in her speech.

One in four people at some point in their lives are believed to have a mental disorder and the cost to the country is believed to be around £105 billion per year. The focus on young people is particularly relevant as half of all mental health problems are believed to start by the age of 14 and 75% by 18. May said she felt mental health had been “dangerously disregarded”.

As part of the reforms all secondary schools will be offered mental health first aid and training. There will be a review of improving support in the workplace and attempts to strengthen links between schools and NHS Specialists.  Staff, employers and organisations will be given training to support staff amongst various other changes. The focus is to raise the profile of mental health and try to achieve true “parity of esteem” with physical health.

To get in touch with our highly experienced Mental Health team please contact healthlaw@cjch.co.uk

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Cardiff Law firm hosts Washington DC Lawyers Arent Fox

The Anti-Piracy and Compliance department of CJCH Solicitors were privileged to welcome guests from the Washington DC office of Arent Fox Law firm  on the 1st and 2nd February 2017.  Lawyers Luna Samman and Diana Bae came to Cardiff to experience the successful anti-piracy operation in relation to a mutual client, Dassault Systèmes, and to receive training in the systems and processes used to target infringers.

 

 

Luna Samam commented;

‘CJCH are recognised through Dassault Systemes as being the leaders in tracking down software licence infringers and getting them to regularise the situation. We were keen to see how they operate so that we can replicate this in the USA.  They have been extremely professional and helpful and we look forward to building on our relationship with them’.

Stephen Rees, manager of the Anti Piracy and Compliance team at CJCH said

‘We were delighted to welcome our colleagues from Washington DC. Their firm is a leader in licensing and trade mark law in the USA and whilst this was meant to be a learning experience for them it was a two way engagement and we were able to learn how things operate in the US legal community and to create a pipeline for both firms to benefit from the experiences of the other. Software piracy is a global issue and can have a major impact on companies.  Our role is to identify the infringers and to encourage them to regularise without resorting to court action.’

We are excited to nurture this relationship into the future and continue to grow the scale of our Anti-piracy and Compliance reach. 

If you are interested in finding out more about how CJCH can help your company tackle piracy issues, please contact us at iplaw@cjch.co.uk.

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Gender Pay Gap: Corporations will soon be legally made to publish the pay gap between male and female employees

Publishing the pay gap between male and female employees will soon be a legal requirement
Our Government will soon be putting into place legislation that seeks to ensure women aren’t paid less than men in the workplace.

The move to tackle pay inequality follows evidence that suggests that while women are better performing academically, once they reach the workforce, this isn’t reflected in their pay packets.

 

Current figures suggest that 63.6% of girls achieve 5 or more GCSEs at grade A* to C compared to 54.2% of boys, and that 57% is the proportion of first degree graduates that are women.

Subject to parliamentary approval, the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017, which set out the detail of the gender pay gap reporting duty, will come into force on 6 April 2017.

This will mean employers with 250 or more employees will be required to publish details of their gender Pay gap and gender Bonus gap. Employers will have 12 months in which to publish the information, meaning that first publication will be required no later than 4 April 2018.

The pay information must be based on data from a snapshot date of 5 April every year, beginning with 5 April 2017.

The Bonus information must be based on the preceding 12-month period, beginning with the 12 months leading up to 5th April 2017. i.e. 5th April 2016.
Under the draft Regulations, employers will be required to publish:
* the difference in mean pay between male and female employees;
* the difference in median pay between male and female employees;
* the difference in mean bonus pay between male and female employees;
* the difference in median bonus pay between male and female employees;
* the proportions of male and female employees who were paid bonus pay; and
* the proportions of male and female employees in each quartile of their pay distribution.

It has been estimated that further bridging the UK gender gap in work has the potential to create an extra £150 billion on top of business as-usual GDP forecasts in 2025.

Announcements

CJCH Solicitors have become a limited company

As of Monday October 14th, 2024, CJCH Solicitors have become a limited company.

CJCH Solicitors is now the trading name of CJCH Legal Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15452031. The registered office is Williams House, 11-15 Columbus Walk, Cardiff CF10 4BY.

CJCH Legal Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number 8009371). Please note there is no change to our bank account number and sort code.

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Winner: Public Law Team of the Year 2022 – Wales Legal Awards

We are proud to announce that the CJCH Court of Protection team was named the Public Law Team of the Year in the 2022 Wales Legal Awards. Recognising the work they do with individuals who lack the capacity to act in their own best interests.

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Winner: Cardiff Life Awards 2019

With a dedicated focus on service excellence, and a passion for innovation the CJCH team was the proud winner of the best Legal and Financial Business of the Year in Cardiff for 2019!

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CJCH Solicitors appoints new Board member

Wales top 20 Law Firm and 2018 Financial and Professional Services Firm of the Year in the Cardiff Business Awards - CJCH Solicitors, has announced a major promotion in their leadership team welcoming Jodi Winter to their Board.

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Winner: Cardiff Business Awards 2018

CJCH Solicitors has experienced unprecedented growth and achieved important milestones over the last few years, all of which have culminated in the first half of 2018 being a prosperous year for us at the Firm and winning the Financial and Professional Services of the Year award.

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