A new Looking to the Future commentary has been included in several relevant matter plans. In the ever-changing landscape of the legal industry, staying up to date with regulatory and legislative changes is crucial. These changes can greatly impact practice, and failing to keep up with them can put clients and firms at risk. By Lawyers already promises to be current, and now we are going further with this new commentary that anticipates what is to come. Read more...

A new article about avoiding disputes after the death of a loved one has been published. Read more...

The Purchase of land guide now includes new Stamp duty land tax questionnaire. This questionnaire can be used at the start of the matter to gather relevant information for the tax return.

Our Sale of land guide now includes new sections of commentary and new precedents. Read more...

Following a recent in-depth author review, commentary on Legal Aid tendering, cybercrime prevention and business continuity planning have been enriched. Read more...

With the welcome return to some kind of normality for us all, the last vestiges of Practice Direction 55C have expired. This means the impact of COVID-19 no longer needs to be discussed in particulars of claim for possession proceedings. The relevant property dispute commentaries and precedents have been updated to reflect this. The related paragraphs in the defence precedents will remain for a few months as we appreciate that responding to a claim may take some time.

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...

n response to a user request, we have compiled four example content documents covering the four most common concise financial remedy orders: Concise clean break order with one joint account to close and one property to be sold; Concise clean break order with a lump sum payment, one pension to be shared and one property to be transferred; Concise order with spousal maintenance, one pension to be shared and one property to be transferred; and Concise Mesher order for deferred sale. These can be found in the Financial Remedy guide, within the C. Settling it early folder. They are alongside a Template Financial remedy order into which the example content can be copied and pasted. The paragraphs in the Clauses for a Financial remedy order (The Orders Project - Financial Remedy Omnibus) can be used to supplement the new concise orders to cater for more complex situations. We have also produced a Deed of assignment to secure legal costs - Sears Tooth Agreement also in response to a user request. This can be found in the Getting the matter underway folder.

To enhance our Practice Management guide, a precedent Referral Fee Agreement has been added helping firms to comply with regulator requirements around transparency and due diligence when accepting introductions from third parties.

The Sale of Property, Purchase of Property, Mortgages and Leases guides have been enhanced with the inclusion of guidance around the Safe Harbour Standard which is being introduced by HM Land Registry. The standard is designed to assist practitioners in meeting the strict requirements for verifying client identification and provides practical clarity in this area.

To assist practitioners working in Debt Recovery – Acting for the claimant, we have published a Debt statement which brings together details of the debt, interest and costs, as well as the payments that have been made towards it. This will be especially useful where payment plans have been agreed with debtors and is designed to work alongside the Invoice, Debt details and Payment tables within LEAP. 1. Insert the debt details in an Invoice table – add another invoice by right clicking on the existing one to record more than one debt amount if required. 2. Insert interest and costs details in the top half of the Debt details table. 3. Insert payment details into a Payments table each time a payment is received – add another payment by right clicking on the existing one. 4. Provided the above information has been entered into LEAP, the Debt statement will be complete. If the information is incorrect, amend the LEAP tables and use the update button in the LEAP ribbon tab to update the document. This document can be produced as many times as necessary to provide successive statements. An accompanying Letter to debtor enclosing debt statement has also been published. Adding these new precedents is part of By Lawyers continuing commitment to enhancing our content and helping our subscribers enjoy practice more.

The Powers of attorney, advance decisions and court of protection commentary has been enhanced covering the creation and registration of lasting powers of attorney in greater detail. We have added discussion of the finer points of how and when the documents should be signed, as well as giving more information about using the online portal. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The Debt Recovery – Acting for the Defendant commentary now includes greater detail on the process for applying to set aside a default judgment order. Example content has also been written for a Draft order – Setting aside default judgment on the basis of a real prospect of defending the claim. This, together with all the other forms needed for this application, are in matter plan folder F. Default judgment and summary judgment. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

A sharp increase in the number of property raffles over the last few months has prompted the enhancement of the Sale of Land commentary with discussion of the pitfalls and problems surrounding this unusual method of sale. Covering areas such as gambling legislation and advertising standards, practitioners who are approached by clients interested in a seemingly swift sale can now read this practical advice. We invite you to explore this updated publication. Comments and feedback are always welcomed.

The By Lawyers Residential Lease commentary has been updated to reflect changes to capital gains tax payment deadlines. A short note regarding income tax has also been added.