Blog Posts: August 2012

An article I saw recently made me think about the way in which legal documents are written and whether it might be possible to do this differently. The author was advocating simple documents written in plain English and using legal documents such as terms and conditions as an opportunity to create a good impression of your business. I think most people would agree with his idea. Business matters can be complicated enough without being expressed in jargon or using too many of those sometimes colo.... (read more...)

In hard economic times commercial landlords are often fighting a day to day battle to recover rent and enforce lease covenants. So here is a resume of the available options. Rent and Service Charges 1. Distraint: the first and most used remedy is to distrain for rent. This can also apply to service charges if they are reserved as rent in the lease. Distraint is an ancient remedy which was about to be confined to the history books, but it lives on due to a change of mind on introducing a new pr.... (read more...)

The Home Office have just published a 45 page updated Guidance on False ID, replacing the February 2011 edition. The full document can be found on the Home Office website. It seeks to offer best practice guidance on identification evidence, where it is required to prevent under age sales of alcohol, what types of ID are acceptable, checking for forgeries, checking for wrongful use of genuine ID, and handling confiscated ID. The Guidance contains: 1. helpful examples of Military ID, which ha.... (read more...)

Having read my colleague Sue Mann’s blog last week (New customer or supplier? How to manage your risks), I realised I might be missing an opportunity to advise clients who ought to be reviewing their standard contract terms or their terms of business. As someone who tends to work with businesses that either don’t have adequate written contracts in place, or are using the terms of a contract to try and obtain reparations from a third party, I am pretty familiar with some of the confus.... (read more...)

How often have you heard someone say that they wish they’d checked through a contract before they agreed it? Because if they had checked it first they certainly wouldn’t have signed it! The sad fact is that if a business signs up to a contract they will generally be bound by its terms whether they have read it or not. Trying to argue or negotiate your way out of an unfavourable deal is much more difficult, and the outcome is less certain, than making sure you are happy with it before.... (read more...)

There are many times that work is carried out where no price has been fixed. Does this leave the workman without a claim? Not a bit of it. It has long been a principle of English law that someone should not have the benefit of unjust enrichment. There are 3 possible scenarios: 1. Work has been done under a contract that has subsequently been found to be invalid 2. Work has been done for someone who expressly or impliedly requested it but no price was agreed 3. A price was agreed but only par.... (read more...)

If you’ve just won an important new customer or client for your business – congratulations! You’ll be pleased at this boost to your business’s future prospects. Similarly if you’ve just secured a new supplier for materials, parts or services which will improve your business’s offering to your customer base or provide an opportunity for expansion. When the initial euphoria has worn off and before you get down to work, I would like to offer you some advice on ma.... (read more...)