The By Lawyers Criminal Offences app now includes new sentencing guidelines for Perverting the Course of Justice and updated sentencing guidelines for Witness Intimidation. The guidelines are effective from 1 October 2023. Read more...

Following feedback, we have added precedents for Variation of a domestic agreement and Termination of a domestic agreement. We have also reviewed the Cohabitation agreement and Nuptial agreement to add automation and efficiencies.

Our recent spring clean of the Private child arrangements guide has seen additions to the commentary including case law, guidance around spotting and responding to parental alienation, and applying for barring orders under s 91(14) of the Children Act 1989.

The domestic agreement process can be tricky for clients to understand. By Lawyers have published several new client enclosures to help practitioners further explain the process and inform their client. 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...

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.

A precedent Damages-based Agreement has been added to the Debt Recovery guide along with a new letter to the client and enclosure explaining the purpose of a damages-based agreement. The commentary has also been enhanced with some relevant discussion. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

We are very pleased to announce the release of a Letters of Administration guide. The guide covers all aspects of practice and procedure when acting in the administration of an estate where there is no will, or there is a partial intestacy. The guide assists practitioners with all aspects of the estate administration from applying for a grant through to distribution. The commentary is practical and easy to understand and is supported by numerous helpful precedents. Key content includes law and procedure relating to the intestacy rules and the impact that they have on the distribution of the estate to creditors, claimants and beneficiaries. A number of new precedents have been published, including: 6 examples for the content of an administrator’s statement of truth; A full suite of letters to administrators, beneficiaries and third parties; and A very useful precedent Estate Summary Pack. The Letters of Administration guide is an invaluable resource for all practitioners who deal with estate administration, including those with limited experience in this area or those supervising junior lawyers.

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.

We are pleased to announce a new Short residential tenancy disputes guide, with detailed commentary including rent arrears, noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour and deposit disputes. Repossession proceedings are stepped through in detail when acting for the landlord and acting for the tenant. Tribunal and court proceedings are discussed, as well as the current impact of COVID-19. The comprehensive matter plan is divided into two folders; Acting for the landlord and Acting for the tenant. Precedents that practitioners will find useful include: Letters and notices to tenants in breach of their tenancy agreements; Letters and enclosures for a rent repayment plan; Letters and enclosures relating to the use of a deposit protection dispute resolution scheme; A library of carefully drafted common possession notices under both s 8 and s 21 of the Housing Act 1988; A full suite of litigation letters and documents, and example content for claim forms and defences. This Short residential tenancy disputes guide is an invaluable resource for practitioners who regularly conduct landlord and tenant matters, as well as those with limited experience or those supervising junior lawyers. We invite you to explore the new guide. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The Commercial Lease guide has been enhanced with points to note from the recent case of Sara & Hossein Asset Holdings Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd [2020] EWHC 1263 (Ch) regarding service charge certificates.

As users will be aware, this folder of vital precedents is present in every guide and always located in the ‘Getting the matter underway’ folder. There has now been a full review of the accompanying commentary, with guidance added around privity, ‘force majeure’ clauses and electronic execution. The precedent documents have been reviewed and updated to ensure that each one is uniformly formatted and easy to read, use, amend and customise to a particular client and situation. A new standard clause excluding the rights of third parties has been included in the Standard clauses for deeds and agreements folder and a standard statutory declaration of solvency is now available in the Statements and declarations folder of the matter plan. General precedents for an affidavit and exhibits prepared outside court proceedings are also now included in this folder, as well as gathering together the general civil and family matter witness statement precedents that are already included in other publications. New deeds for change of name have been added in a folder of their own, Change of name, with subfolders to assist in the event that adults or minors wish to enrol their change of name deeds at the Supreme Court. The full list of new precedents is therefore: Third parties clause; Affidavit – General; Exhibit sheet for affidavits – General; Witness statement – Family matters; Exhibit sheet to witness statement – Family matters; Witness statement – Civil matters; Exhibit sheet to witness statement – Civil matters; Statutory declaration of solvency; Change of name deed for an adult – Concise; Change of name deed for a minor – Concise; Change of name deed for an adult - For enrolment; Statutory declaration – Enrolment of adult change of name deed; Notice for the London Gazette on the change of name of an adult; Consent to enrolment of change of name of an adult; Change of name deed for a minor – For enrolment; Statutory declaration – Enrolment of minor change of name deed; Affidavit of best interest for the change of name of a minor; Consent to enrolment of change of name of a minor. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

With every new costs management practice direction comes a new spreadsheet and the 122nd Practice Direction update was no different. According to the revised Practice Direction 3E, Precedent T should be used from the 1st October to advise the court and other parties about variations in the costs budget during claims. Oppressive behaviour is also mentioned in the new practice direction and parties who believe that they are being pressured into spending money unnecessarily can apply to the court for relief. The By Lawyers Debt Recovery publications have been updated accordingly and Precedent T is available in the matter plan. The opportunity was taken to enhance the commentaries with recent case law discussions regarding: Security for costs applications relating to the economic consequences of COVID19. Reasonable adjustments which allowed a vulnerable witness to provide evidence. Choice of expert to provide evidence. The costs consequences of withdrawing a Part 36 Offer. The admissibility of ‘without prejudice’ material in limited circumstances. We invite you to explore the updated Debt Recovery – Acting for Claimant and Debt Recovery – Acting for Defendant publications. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

Legislation has now come into force permitting wills to be executed and witnessed using video-link facilities. The legislation has retrospective effect, meaning that any wills executed using video-conferencing since 21 January 2020 will be valid if the correct process was followed. The Wills commentary includes detailed discussion of the processes involved in the witnessing of a will using video-link. Precedents for client instructions, a practitioner’s checklist and an attendance note have been created, as well as example wording for a will attestation clause. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The Purchase of Land commentary has been enhanced to include, in addition to searches of local registers carried out by local authorities, the process for applications for searches of a local authority register which have been migrated to HM Land Registry and are made using the registry’s Search for local land charges service. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.