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...

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...

A new article about cohabitees rights sets out the problems and solutions that currently exist. Read more...

The Scale-up Visa is for talented individuals who have the skills needed to enable the UK economy to grow. Both sponsored and unsponsored applications can be made but the unsponsored route is only available to applicants after they have had sponsored permission for a while. Read more...

We are pleased to announce that a new Estates Disputes publication has been published. Comprising two guides, Estate disputes – Acting for the claimant and Estate disputes – Acting for the defendant, the publication contains all the commentary, precedents, and forms needed. Read more...

The Immigration commentary has been updated to include information regarding family asylum claims, child asylum seekers, overstayers and human rights claims. The matter plan now includes a Letter supporting application for a skilled worker visa.

The Immigration Appeals guide has been updated to include new forms for proceedings in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). The matter plan now also includes precedents for a Brief to counsel, Skeleton argument and Witness statement for use in Immigration matters. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The recent decision to change the name of this folder to General Deeds, Agreements, Statements, Declarations, Consents & Execution Clauses grants the opportunity to highlight its usefulness once again. Read more...

By Lawyers are delighted to announce the release of our two comprehensive guides to UK Immigration law, providing practitioners with detailed but easy to follow commentary and a complete suite of precedents for managing any immigration matter, from initial engagement to final determination. Read more...

Two new precedent Deeds of Easement have been made available on the Sale of Land matter plan: a general deed of easement which can be adapted to suit the grant of standard rights between grantor and grantee; and a deed of easement which incorporates mutual obligations for positive covenants to run with land.

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.

The By Lawyers Sale of Land and Purchase of Land guides have 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 confidently run a sale matter to completion. Commentary has been included covering the village green cases of Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council & Ors (2005) and others [2006] UKHL 25 and TW Logistics Ltd v Essex County Council & Anor [2021] UKSC 4, the recent adverse possession case of Amirtharaja & Anor v White & Ano [2021] EWHC 330 (Ch) and the recent vacant possession case of Capitol Park Leeds Plc v Global Radio Services Ltd [2020] EWHC 2750 (Ch). Commentary regarding conditional auctions, sometimes called the ‘modern method’, has been included and the section regarding high rise cladding has been expanded to include the guidance from the Royal Chartered Institute of Surveyors. Guidance on the requirements for a septic tank permit has also been included. A new precedent letter has been included in the Sale of Land guide for use when requesting a contribution from the Land Registry for indemnity insurance to cover a defect in the title which they have created. We invite you to explore this updated publication and to consider the wealth of assistance the updated Sale of Land and Purchase of Land guides offer. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

A folder of new precedents for clients who are commencing or operating small businesses has been added to the Purchase of Business, Companies and Partnerships guides. The new library of precedents provides a suite of documents which practitioners can provide to their clients who own and operate small businesses, to assist them with the day-to-day running. These documents can be provided to clients both when they are setting up or purchasing a new business and when required for existing businesses. The documents are general in nature so they can be customised and amended as required for the needs of different clients. The precedents are designed to apply across various sectors, whether traditional storefront retail or online and whether supplying products or services. These new precedents are: Agreement for supply of goods and services Credit application Data protection policy for a business Dispatch and delivery policy Director guarantee Liability waiver and consent Returns and refunds policy Example tax invoice Terms of trade Website terms of use for advertising and booking personal services Website terms of use for downloadable online products Website terms of use for physical products The new If required - Library of precedents for small business clients folder is located in: Purchase of Business matter plan - in folder H. Mid-transaction Companies matter plan – in folder B. Setting up a company Partnerships matter plan – in folder D. General business This practical material was added to these existing By Lawyers publications in response to requests and suggestions from By Lawyers users. The precedents provide practitioners with additional tools so they can better assist their clients with all aspects of their business. We invite you to explore these new precedents. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

InfoTrack’s property report is an opportunity to do conveyancing differently. Having seen a couple of demonstrations of the new ‘property report’ feature from InfoTrack it is clear that the use of clever technology to simplify the lives of conveyancers is here to stay. Drawing information from a number of sources into one place, the property report is mostly completed before a practitioner has even touched their keyboard, but is fully customisable to ensure that clients receive tailored information. Land Registry information, search results and replies to enquiries are all included. The InfoTrack enquiries platform was a revelation, and a revolution, to this author. Hyperlinks to InfoTrack have been incorporated into the matter plan and there is a new Letter to seller’s solicitor with amended contract and draft transfer – Enquiries via InfoTrack which alerts the other side to the process.

Two special conditions have been added to the Library of special conditions found in the C. Contract folder of the Sale of land matter plan. These relate to the buyer reimbursing the seller for the costs of searches or reports and the buyer’s responsibilities where a property is sold subject to a tenancy agreement.