ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course contains a conveyancing module which is based on residential conveyancing. This article will look at some of the differences in the procedure if you are working for a Commercial Property lawyer. 

Commercial properties can be bought and sold just as domestic properties can, but they are also commonly occupied by commercial tenants under a lease. Indeed, most commercial property transactions will involve leasehold property, although some are freehold.

One of my hobbies is going to folk clubs. I do comic songs, and once I made up some doggerel about things which can go awry in a legal office – for instance, an inexperienced casual receptionist telling a client point-blank that the legal eagle is too busy to talk to him or her, rather than ‘talking round the subject’, explaining the fee-earner is presently occupied and taking a message. I do not want to alarm any budding young Legal Secretaries by mentioning solely things that can go amiss, however.

Buying and selling a property has long been regarded as one of the most stressful things you will ever do in life. After all, you are dealing with the most important and costly financial asset you are ever likely to own, and you want any such conveyancing transaction to go as smoothly as possible. Of course one hopes the instructed conveyance firm will be able to deal with the transaction as professionally and expeditiously as you deserve; however, according to the Legal Ombudsman, in an increasing number of cases this is not proving to be the reality.

‘Gazumping’ may sound like something big, fluffy bunny rabbits in a fairy-tale land do – perhaps a term used in the place of ‘jumping for joy’. But in reality it is a deeply unscrupulous and alarmingly common malpractice in real estate. Gazumping is shockingly common in England and Wales, and the fact that it happens is not nearly as shocking as the fact that it is legally allowed to happen. Let’s find out more about what gazumping actually is and why it continues to occur in England and Wales.

This is the second article in my series of relaxation exercises. The whiteboard exercise, which I will describe here, is useful to reset the mind to shift away from any particularly negative things and instead focus on things which are positive and supportive for you. No actual whiteboard is necessary! You just need to plan some time when you are unlikely to be disturbed and can be quiet for a while.

At the Office Show towards the end of 2012, National PA Day celebrated Britain’s estimated 600,000 highly skilled Personal Assistants, showcasing the increasing importance of PAs working in offices throughout the nation. The aim of National PA Day was to promote this exciting and stimulating profession amongst well-educated, career-minded young people.

This event also saw the release of a survey conducted amongst nearly 1,500 PAs to find out about their pay, qualities and career prospects as well as other interesting information about their roles. Here are some of the results:

Applications for the trainee Legal Secretary scheme offered by Berwin Leighton Paisner usually take place in January of each year, however, they will now be starting in February or March instead.

Those of you who are interested in the scheme, have a little more time to make sure that you have a top quality CV and think about what you can offer the firm.  As well as presenting a copy of your CV, you will need to complete an application form outlining your skills, attributes and capabilities so it is good to be prepared.

The school years may be a distant memory for some, but study and work habits that ground us in later life (while often taken for granted) are often set in place during this formative phase in our lives. This is not to say that one cannot change one’s study habits, but if good practices are put in place during the school years, studying as an adult will be that much easier. Learning how to study and how to memorise at work can be extremely difficult and may seem very frustrating, but there are things you can do to help yourself improve.

During the Queen’s Speech of May 2012, an announcement was made regarding a new bill of law that is aimed at improving the lives of children and families. The bill seeks to implement plans that will permit parents to share parental leave, enabling the father to also take time off during a maternity leave, for example. The bill also proposes to make the process of adoption easier for international families. Along with these changes more options are to be made available for children who have special educational needs. And finally the bill seeks to improve the level of access fathers have to their children after a divorce.

Last month, I promised to tell you about my ‘run-in’ with His Honour Judge Claude Duveen of Slough County Court. This happened in the mid-1970s whilst I was with Campbell Hooper & Austin Wright at their Sunningdale/Ascot branch office – a very upmarket firm with some famous clients, such as Diana Dors, England’s answer to Marilyn Monroe. In fact, Ms. Dors was the English equivalent of all the blonde bombshells of Hollywood. She described herself as “the only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva”!