Why is Mental Health First Aid Important?

By Chukumeka Maxwell   Founder/CEO of Action to Prevent Suicide CIC and Fellow of The School for Social Entrepreneurs and HCPC registered Independent Social Worker & BASW Member   Action to Prevent Suicide CIC have teamed up with DASLS to deliver a two-day Mental Health First Aid course for law firms across Devon / Somerset and beyond on 7th and 8th November at Exeter Racecourse.   About the Trainers:   It will be delivered by a national Trainer Nick Brown, a freelance Trainer & Coach specialising in Suicide Prevention & Mental Health. He has been a Trainer, Counsellor and Facilitator for over 20 years. His background includes workin...

Time Limited Mediations – thoughts from the recent CMC Conference

In November I attended the annual conference of the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) and share below three issues raised there.   Those issues were access to mediation for mid-level cases, the increasing numbers of defended county court claims and the effectiveness of half day (or time limited) mediations for more complex disputes.   Particular concerns were expressed by speakers  about the availability of mediation services for disputes falling between the small claims limit and larger High Court actions, a ‘gap’ which the  Civil Justice Council Working party final report on ADR (https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/new-report-on-alternative-dispute-...

Six out of 10 people admit to never checking their home’s flood risk by Landmark Information

Tony Rollason, Regional Manager, Landmark Information  www.landmark.co.uk   People in Great Britain are still not checking the flood risk of their homes, in spite of increased incidents of flood events across the country.   62% of respondents to a YouGov survey, which was commissioned by property data company Landmark Information Group, stated that they have never checked the flood risk level of their home.   The survey found that people in Scotland are the least likely to have carried out any checks with 77% confirming they had never researched their flood risk.  This was followed by those in London (71%), 65% of those in the North West of England a...

Oology & The SRA

The first big social event of the year was the annual DASLS Quiz which is the grand finale of the Challenge Cup. It is an event I thoroughly enjoy and I make no apology for making it a bit challenging.   This year did not disappoint there being just ½ point between first and second place and resulting in joint winners of the Challenge Cup. Congratulations to Ashfords and Michelmores both of whom knew that the study of birds’ eggs is Oology. The next Challenge Cup kicks off with the usual Skittles match in Dawlish when the magnificent Skittles Cup will be contested.   The latest meeting of the County Societies Group took place in February when we were gu...

Are your conveyancing clients ‘flood aware’? by Partner Landmark Information

Last month, Storm Ciara and Dennis brought devastation across the country, including the South West.  We saw multiple flood warnings and alerts issued across Devon and Somerset, with many main routes made impassable, and rail passengers stranded as flooding stopped services reaching Exeter and Plymouth (see link at footnote 1).   Due to the increasing concern about flood risk for property owners, the Law Society has recently updated its Flood Risk practice note – the first revision in four years.   The practice note provides guidance relating to information sources that better help clients understand the risk that flooding may pose, as well as offer st...

news from the Devon & Somerset Junior Lawyers' Division: March Update

  National Conference   As the new committee members of the Devon & Somerset Junior Lawyers' Division are starting this year’s culminating activities for our Junior Lawyers' Division members, our National Committee representative has attended the National JLD Meeting held at The Law Society office in London on the 1st of February 2020.     A lot of issues were discussed and tackled and it is important to share the outcome of the discussions. To highlight these, the following are the main points of discussion:-  There will be another consultation with the SRA regarding the SQE as it has been discussed that there are a large n...