Part of our series of common legal questions and their answers, we look at trusts. Read more...

The prorogation of parliament in preparation for a general election on 4 July 2024 had a dramatic effect on legislation currently passing through the houses. Some bills were rushed through, and some have fallen. Read more…

The By Lawyers Criminal Offences App has been updated to reflect changes to several sentencing guidelines published by the Sentencing Council and effective from 1 April 2024. Read more...

Our author specialising in immigration work, Andrew Nyamayaro of Tann Law, has reviewed and enhanced our Immigration guide. Read more...

A new Enclosure – Domestic violence orders document has been included in the Domestic Violence Orders guide. Read more...

The client care and terms of business document is often neglected in firms, and getting a signed copy onto the file can be a source of worry and risk. We have streamlined this process by creating some simple documents which are easy to create, use, understand and sign. And, of course, we keep them up-to-date and fresh. Read more...

Clients often ask for advice about the types of business structures available, and which might be best suited to their situation. The Business structures and the comparative table reference manual has been added to the Resource materials folder in a number of business and corporate guides. Read more...

At By Lawyers, we believe that matters are more than checklists and simply ticking boxes doesn’t get the job done. But there are times when an easy way to see where the file is up to, allowing others in the office to quickly pick up the threads, is essential. Our To do lists help to manage risk, guide the unfamiliar, and ensure nothing is missed. We have recently carried out a full and thorough review of the To do lists to provide consistency of language and format. This makes them easier to read, easier to complete and easier to keep updated. If you have any comments or suggestions about the changes, do please let us know.

The new Data Protection and Privacy publication discusses the rapidly evolving area of data protection law since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act came into force in 2018. Read more...

Dismissal from work is traumatic, made even worse when the circumstances are unfair and the dismissal is the culmination of a distressing and difficult situation. Read more...

We have removed the link to Dealing with Brexit legal issues from the top of the matter plans as the changes are no longer urgent. The publication remains in the Reference Materials folder of the Practice Management guide for reference.

Court of Protection applications have been given their own guide containing commentary on making an application, deprivation of liberty, managing and terminating a deputyship. The matter plan contains all the letters and forms necessary for this work.

The Motoring offences commentary has been updated to include guidance on various types of unusual motor vehicles, including e-scooters. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The By Lawyers Criminal Law Guide has been reviewed and updated to ensure that the commentaries and precedents are in line with current law and practice. The extensive review takes a practical approach, drawing on our considerable experience to cover all aspects of procedure, with a focus on practical tips that will help practitioners to run a criminal matter to completion confidently. Commentary and new precedents dealing with the following areas have been included: The victim surcharge and Cuthbertson, R. v [2020] EWCA Crim 1883; The professional users access scheme; Family proceedings disclosure; The effects of the Criminal Procedure Amendment Rules 2021; Cautions, community resolutions and triage; and Perjury. We invite you to explore this updated publication and to consider the wealth of assistance the Criminal Law Guide offers.

Following user feedback we have published two new drafted commercial leases which are available on the Commercial Lease - Acting for Landlord matter plan. In addition to the Law Society standard leases, we now have a new commercial lease drafted in By Lawyers plain English style. The Commercial lease - Optimised presentation is formatted to present matter-specific information in the initial pages of the document, with the boiler-plate clauses which need no amendment in the following pages. A new Commercial lease - Standard presentation is also available. The commentary has also been updated with a discussion of the reasons why the optimised style is more useful for clients and practitioners - not least because all the amendments take place within the first few pages of the lease. Both styles contain all the lease considerations that are usually required. We also have increased the number of optional clauses available to insert into these leases where relevant including: Landlord’s conditions of consent to underletting clause Landlord’s conditions of consent to assignment clause Landlord's break clause Tenant's break clause Parking space clause We invite you to explore these new documents. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.