Our experience is that for most day to day legal needs, both for personal and business legal matters, clients prefer to use someone local, for work such as conveyancing or wills, or for a compromise agreement perhaps. If the matter is very high importance or in an unusual legal area such as a fraud problem, then specialist advice is generally sought. so, it’s really, to coin an expression “horses for courses”. There is plenty of room both for local legal services and for niche legal services. the volume is in the more generalised and local work, the prospects for getting work are better for niche work where true expertise can be show,

What’s your experience of these issues ? do you have a website, whether law related or otherwise, which deals with a local target market or perhaps you are in the niche category. We’d love to hear from you.

It never fails to amaze us, as lawyers, at the fact there aren’t more problems with online trade, which often takes place across borders with few if any contract terms to protect consumers. Either the web largely works because if more sellers defaulted the who9l;e thing would collapse i.e online trade or there are more problems than meet the eye but these go largely unreported. It is believed, based on research that up to 40% of consumer in the EU not shop online.

In any event, some new EU law on the issue of online trade is only to be welcomed, as long as it can be enforced in practice. The new laws, which must be implemented in member states within 2 years from July,  provide that :-

• customers  will have  the right to return goods within 2 weeks if they change their mind
• car rentals, airline tickets, hotel bookings and goods which have a short shelf life will be exempt
• Goods will need to be delivered to the buyer within 30 days of purchase
• The seller will be legally liable for damage or loss before delivery.
• Consumers must also be given clear information on the goods ordered and the price

In a highly significant High Court ruling this week, Birmingham City Council has been ordered to scrap planned cuts to services (such that only “critical services would be provided”) for the disabled and elderly.

In legal terms, the basis of the application to the court was on the grounds of disability discrimination and the Judge also ruled that there had been insufficient public consultation.

It is quite clear that elderly and disabled people need the help provided by Local Councils but as against this, if Council funding from Central Government is cut and the Council cannot raise sufficient money from other services, something has to give. If other services are removed, those affected may challenge this legally. Consequently, Councils seem set for a difficult, if not impossible, juggling act for the foreseeable future and probably would be wise not to reduce staffing in their legal departments !

For advice on managing your trade risk, contact us.

Council of Mortgage lenders figures for the period January to end of March 2011 show that 15% more homes were repossessed compared to the previous quarters and this is of particular concern bearing in mind interest rates are at historic lows and rate rises are anticipated.

In the period in question 7,900 homes were repossessed.