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...

Following user feedback, we have added some additional precedents to the Divorce - Applications made after 6 April 2022 guide. 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.

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.

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.

In the light of the UK Government’s Living with COVID-19 plan the Dealing with legal issues during COVID-19 publication has been amended and updated. This helpful resource can be found at the top of every matter plan and covers a wide range of issues.

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...

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.

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.

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.

The Purchase of Property commentary has been updated to include two new cases of note. Alexander Devine Children's Cancer Trust v Housing Solutions Ltd [2020] UKSC 45 is an interesting case on the pitfalls of asking for forgiveness rather than permission. A developer built thirteen affordable houses on a piece of land which was encumbered by a restrictive covenant preventing the construction work. While the public interest benefit of the houses was clear, so was the conduct of the developer in proceeding without covenant consent. Planning permission had been obtained, but of course this is no guarantee of lawfulness. The developers lost their application under s 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925 to have the covenant disapplied, proving that restrictive covenants should be ignored at a purchaser’s peril. Fiander & Anor v Revenue & Customs [2020] UKFTT 190 (TC) is a heartening case for practitioners who are worried about multiple dwellings relief being incorrectly applied to stamp duty land tax. Claims handlers are actively approaching home-owners with offers of running negligence claims against conveyancers who may have failed to apply this relief on their client’s behalf when properties may qualify. This case makes it clear that establishing a ‘separate dwelling’ is not as easy as some clients may believe.