Palmers Solicitors fights ‘price of dementia’ with over £2,000 raised for Alzheimer’s Society

Essex-based law firm, Palmers Solicitors, has taken on the ‘price of dementia’ in 2024, raising £2,155 on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Society with a successful charity raffle.

This Dementia Action Week (13 to 19 May), the firm campaigned to raise awareness of the effects of dementia and support the charity in its fight for social, financial and medical support for those diagnosed with the condition.

The campaign culminated in a highly anticipated raffle draw at the Phoenix Bistro, Basildon on Friday 17 May.

Plenty of fantastic local businesses supported the event with donated prizes, including Richard Luckin Chartered Accountants, Rowland Hall, Matthew Douglas Ltd, Sandra Connington HR Consultancy and Clive Emson Land & Property Auctioneers.

Our solicitors said: “It’s been a great experience, organising this event and seeing how the whole community can come together for a good cause.

“In the course of private client work, we’ve seen the impact that dementia can have on individuals and families. We wanted to take the opportunity to do our bit for those affected, and raise funds and awareness of the ‘price of dementia’.

“Congratulations also to our lucky winners, and thank you to everyone who made this event possible and campaigned to support those with dementia and their families.”

Marking two decades of dedicated service to the Thurrock community, Palmers Solicitors’ third office location has reached a major milestone – celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Since the opening of its Thurrock office in 2004, Palmers Solicitors has invested significantly in its support for the local community.

This has included at Thurrock office:

• Acting on nearly 10,000 residential property matters and lending a helping hand to those moving around and into the area.
• Applying unmatched expertise and a sensitive, client-first approach to over 3,100 family law matters.
• Helping over 1,800 individuals and families with wills, probate, advice on trusts and powers of attorney and issues of generational wealth.
• Represented commercial clients on nearly 2500 commercial property and commercial law matters; and
• When things unfortunately meant arguments escalated some 790 dispute resolution and employment matters

Brooke Barnes, a Senior Associate at the Thurrock office said: “It’s a significant honour for all of us to be able to serve our local community through the work that we do.

“We take great pride in acting as advisers to the community, which is a privileged position for us to be in.

“Thank you to all our clients who have worked with us for trusting our team and allowing us to help at life’s major milestones.”

The firm’s success has been reflected in the Thurrock team’s achievements, winning two consecutive Thurrock Business Awards for Excellent Customer Service and other awards.

The team at Thurrock has also embraced its community and charity activities beyond the office – including supporting amongst other worthy causes, the Thurrock Food Bank, Treetops School and Basildon & Thurrock University Hospitals through the Polly Parrot Appeal.

BJ Chong, Supervising Director at the Thurrock office said: “Our Thurrock office has gone from strength to strength since it opened 20 years ago, with a great team dedicated to the community.

“It’s been a great privilege to watch the team and our presence in Thurrock grow as we add new colleagues and work to improve the lives of our clients.

“Looking to the future, we look forward to growing our offering to the Thurrock community even further and providing career development opportunities to our dedicated team – embodying our shared value of ‘moving forward together’.”

Essex-based Palmers Solicitors has hit another mark of excellence, just months after celebrating its 40^th anniversary!

The firm has achieved a renewal of its prestigious Lexcel accreditation following a thorough review of its policies, procedures, strategies and management – with no identified major non-compliances.

Lexcel, the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark, sets the standard for compliance, practice management, client care, and management of people, information and finances.

It also offers a support system for client retention and practice growth, ongoing compliance and lowering new and existing risks.

Lexcel accreditation provides an assurance to clients and colleagues that the firm is leading the way within the legal sector, prioritising great client care and internal management.

The firm itself was recognised for its “comprehensive” risk management processes and “excellent” internal updates to keep the team up to date on the latest developments in the community and the legal sector.

Most notably, the practice received commendation for its “good and honest” strategic plan detailing strengths, challenges and expansion plans.

Gina Newman, Practice Manager at Palmers Solicitors, said: “We’re all incredibly proud of this achievement.

“We’re grateful to everyone in the team who assisted with our assessment, including collating information, taking part in interviews and maintaining a culture of excellence within the practice.

“We were particularly pleased to be recognised for our strategy and business planning, which we’re using to drive our team forward and continually develop the way we serve clients and the services we can offer.

“Looking forward, we’re all taking this opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to one another, our clients and the local community.”

Until recently, partnership in a law firm was seen as the end goal for many junior solicitors, an inevitable destination of a decades-long career.

However, research suggests that this may no longer be the case. A 2024 LexisNexis survey found that 49 per cent of firm leaders have noticed a decrease in the number of associates aspiring to partnership level, rising to 63 per cent for leaders in larger firms.

This is not, as could be assumed, purely a result of career dissatisfaction. Three quarters of associates planned to stay in private practice in the coming five years, with 58 per cent planning to stay at their current firm.

It seems it is the result of a negative perception of being a partner and what the role entails.

While we accept that increasing seniority is not going to be right for everyone, some of our most recent Directors are here to demonstrate why directorship looks different for everyone and show just how rewarding it can be.

Directors at Palmers

Supervising Directors, Donna Smy (Private Client) and Erin Cronin (Residential Property, Head of Rayleigh Branch), got together to share their thoughts on their role as Directors at Palmers Solicitors.

Donna said: “I enjoy working within a team of leaders who have the same focus and care about the business, clients and staff. It is so rewarding to create a supportive and positive environment for everyone to flourish in their career.”

“The role of being a partner or director is very different to simply being a solicitor. You are helping to maintain and grow a business which will be a lasting legacy for future generations of solicitors to come.”

Erin was particularly keen on “taking on new challenges”: “Palmers has offered plenty of opportunities to utilise my skills and supported me in progressing into the director of the department. I enjoy how the management committee always welcome new ideas and approaches to improving the firm’s strategy and culture.

“I’ve gained a real sense of achievement and an ability to enhance my skills with the support and guidance of those who have gone through the same process before me.”

Driving the decision

What made our talented Directors decide on a career in legal leadership?

Each person comes into the role with their own goals and strategies, but directorship roles are generally united by a drive to shape the direction of a firm and that of its team.

In Donna’s words: “I always felt that the wellbeing of my colleagues and peers was important and realised that this is outset of simply being a solicitor – I had a desire to manage to ensure that the working environment for all staff was positive.

“I also felt it was important for me to have a say in how things might be run so that I had more control over my own workload and career.

“With being a fee earner and manager, you have to learn at an enhanced level how to prioritise your time, work efficiently and multi-task. You polish those skills so well in juggling lots of different tasks that it naturally is then utilised in all aspects of your job – and sometimes outside of work too!

“As a Director, you also get an insight into the mechanisms of the business and why decisions are made. Understanding the reasoning for something being so important to a business really helps to focus your mind on those aspects of the fee earning role.”

Erin added: “Directorship provided me with the opportunity to take the next step in my career and accept new challenges such as managing teams, being part of the senior management team to help shape both the firms strategy and that of the department.”

Erin and Donna agreed that managing team members during periods of difficulty or sensitivity can be a challenge with a steep learning curve, but a surmountable one with the support of more experienced directors and colleagues.

Choosing the right career path

How firms choose to approach the issue of progression to partnership with junior staff members is central to encouraging ambition.

Presenting partnership or directorship as one of many viable options is crucial since there are plenty of ways to establish a rewarding career in law. We urge junior solicitors to consider directorship as something they can shape, rather than something into which they must fit.

Advising junior staff on choosing a path through the profession, Donna said: “Have the end goal in mind as you progress through your career, as you are always striving to work towards something – but be prepared to take different paths as you go along and learn more about what you enjoy and what suits your skillset.”

Erin’s approach resonated with her colleague’s thoughts: “Career progression is as much the responsibility of the individual as it is the firm’s.

“I would advise setting clear goals and identifying what you want from your career and the next steps in achieving this.

The approach to setting out your career should be a partnership or directorship and actively discussed with your management to ensure that you’re on the right path.”

Please contact us to speak to a member of our team.

By Jeremy Sirrell, Supervising Director, Palmers Solicitors

The inquest into the death of Gogglebox star George Gilbey began last month, hearing that Mr Gilbey’s injuries were “consistent with a fall from height”.

This series of tragic events, resulting in a formal investigation into the circumstances around the death, has brought to light the vast misconceptions on the public stage surrounding the inquest process.

The inquest process

While many inquests involve cases of public interest, there are plenty of misconceptions surrounding the process which can result in confusion.

It is often the case that inquests are run alongside investigations by other state authorities, such as the Police or the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The purpose of an inquest is to determine who the deceased was, when they died, where they died and how they died – but not to determine whether there was any criminal or other liability.

The inquest is running alongside a criminal investigation in which two men have been arrested and questioned.

Accordingly, inquests are often opened, and then adjourned after a preliminary hearing, whilst other organisations carry out investigations pertinent to their own specialism, usually with a view to determining whether there is a criminal liability of some kind.

In such circumstances, inquests will often start and then be adjourned off, waiting to receive a formal report or at least the result of that investigation. It may then resume in a second or third hearing and the inquest being finalised.

Does public interest impact the case?

From an inquest point of view, no.

Of course, there is significant public interest in this case due to the popularity of Gogglebox and there is likely to be some media presence as a result.

However, this will not affect the coroner in any way. The coroner will conduct their inquest with the concerns of the relatives of the deceased at the forefront of their mind.

Inquests are, first and foremost, an investigation into the death of a person and the most important people at an inquest are the relatives of that person who are given primacy of position.

This of course is very different to a criminal investigation where the relatives of the deceased will be regarded only as potentially useful witnesses during the investigation, with primacy given to state legislation and any potential breaches.

Here it is likely that the inquest will remain adjourned off for many months whilst the Police investigation continues and when it concludes it is likely to resume and with the additional information obtained from the Police during their investigation.

For advice on the inquest process, please contact Jeremy Sirrell at jeremysirrell@palmerslaw.co.uk  or get in touch with a member of our team.

By Karen Bishop, Head of Family Law, Palmers Solicitors

We all know how difficult it can be when a couple decide to divorce or end a civil partnership, or cohabiting relationship particularly when children are involved.

However, with around 42 per cent of marriages in the UK now ending in divorce, and with half of these involving children under the age of 16, it is a part of life that requires a normality all of its own.

This has led to the advent of birdnesting, the latest approach to family living arrangements following a divorce or separation.

Under this arrangement, separated partners retain the main family home and purchase a smaller rented residence such as a flat. Each parent lives with the children in the house for a set period, often switching places weekly.

During this time, the other lives in the smaller property, while the children consistently live in the main home to minimise their disruption.

This may seem like a strange approach to post-separation living arrangements, but family law practitioners are seeing a marked increase in its popularity – and it’s becoming clear why.

A modern approach to co-parenting

Under UK family law, each child has two parents with parental responsibility – typically the child’s biological mother and the child’s biological father as listed on the birth certificate.

A significant part of parental responsibility is the requirement to provide a safe home for the child, which can be made more difficult when parents separate, as this can result in:

• A decrease in total household income
• The sale of a family home
• Conflict over assets, which may include a property

Beyond this requirement, many parents will each want to spend time with their children and take an active role in their protection and upbringing.

Unfortunately, the housing market is not conducive to purchasing a second family home, particularly in areas where housing costs are steep like the South East.

Birdnesting offers a more cost-effective alternative to maintaining two family homes. It adds only the cost of renting a small property to the cost of running the family home, rather than purchasing a second.

It also offers a way for parents to meet their parental responsibilities while maintaining stability in a child’s life.

Maintaining stability in more ways than one

One of the most significant ways that divorce or separation impacts children is through disruption to their lives.

Moving between houses to spend time with one parent or the other is a major contributor to this, as well as the resulting distress from losing their familiar home, changing schools or losing touch with friends.

Stability and reducing disruption are arguably at the core of much of the legislation surrounding children’s matters – the requirement to regularly attend school, parental responsibility, protection from harm – so it is a strong argument in favour of a birdnesting arrangement.

The challenges of birdnesting

However, birdnesting is only suitable in certain situations.

It requires substantial financial ties between former spouses as they continue to own a property together, and have to navigate who pays what in terms of mortgage, rent and utility bills, food, which may not be appropriate when a separation has not been amicable.

This could, in fact, lead to further disputes and ultimately have a negative impact on the wellbeing of the children involved.

A continued financial relationship may also make divorce proceedings and asset separation more complex, although this can be worked around if a birdnesting arrangement is mutually agreeable to both parties.

Finally, there is the question of other relationships. If one parent enters a new relationship, there will need to be a discussion over whether the new partner is permitted to stay in the main home and whether the arrangement can continue if one parent wishes to move away from the area.

A verdict on birdnesting

Birdnesting has the potential to be a revolution in how parents live with and see their children after a divorce or separation.

That said, it absolutely must be a voluntary and collaborative arrangement. Otherwise, it is likely to fail and cause the very disruption it aims to avoid.

As with any separation, arrangements between parents should be detailed and all-encompassing, to include:

• Co-parenting arrangements
• Who bears the responsibility for which costs
• Time spent in the main home/with the children
• Rules for guests and family within the main home
• Rules for holidays and overseas travel

Ultimately, it is an innovative concept that reflects the changing attitudes to divorce in the UK as something which is to be accepted and worked around.

While it is certainly not the only co-parenting solution which prioritises the needs of the children, where a birdnesting arrangement is in place and functioning, it is indicative of a wider respect between parents and a willingness to put the good of the child first.

For advice on living arrangements and children’s matters after a divorce or separation, please contact me at KarenBishop@palmerslaw.co.uk.