HR Expert, David Thompson, has joined Silverman Sherliker to head up Silverman Sherliker Specialist HR Services, a dedicated HR Specialist service

The service will provide front-line HR advice and resources to complement the legal services offered by the firm’s extremely busy employment team.  
 

Innovative Client Benefit

Senior Employment Partner, Nicholas Lakeland, explains how this innovative step will benefit clients:

“Silverman Sherliker can now provide an integrated and complete HR Service thus assisting clients with practical advice and on site assistance whilst also being able to offer Employment Law advice as and when required. Our HR consultants are available to undertake regular weekly or monthly first-line human resources support on a retained basis or to deal with on one-off projects as may be required.    The services are flexible and can readily be tailored tosuit a client’s requirements.”

A Wealth of Experience

During his 23 years HR career with Barclays Bank, Dave Thompson has acquired a wealth of hands-on HR experience in successfully dealing with contentious and non-contentious HR-related issues.  Dave progressed through the branch network to Operations Management where he quickly gained a reputation as an effective troubleshooter, turning negative situations around through a combination of re-motivating employees and bringing good disciplines to the workplace. From the London Regional HR team, he progressed to Employee Relations Manager in Barclays’ Head Office and also spent two years as a Project Manager for Employee Development and was responsible for implementing Recruitment & Assessment Centres. 

Dave explains the service that he now heads up at Silverman Sherliker Specialist HR Services :

“I am excited to be offering a seamless professional service to businesses of all sizes, backed by Silverman Sherliker’s legal expertise.  We offer a standard HR package to small, medium and larger employers.  Our range of services includes:
 
·        Absence Management
·        Guidance on issues involving incoming employment legislation
·        Assessment & Development Centres 
·        Avoiding Employment Tribunal Claims 
·        Disciplinary & Grievance procedures
·        Employee Attitude Surveys & Employee Relations
·        Managing line managers and personnel to improve attendance
·        Organisational, Employee and Management Development 
·        Record Keeping/Monitoring
·        Psychometric testing, CV and  reference verification  
·        Restructuring and Redundancy
·        Salary Reviews
·        Terms & Conditions of Employment
·        Training Team Leaders on employment related issues.”
 
For further information please contact Dave Thompson on dt@s2hr.co.uk  or Nicholas Lakeland on ncjl@s2hr.co.uk  or call +44 (0)20 7749 2700

Welcome to the Blawg Review #243 from a sunny, snow-covered London.

Fighting Back: A Festive Meditation for Lawyers

The Physical Unverse tends towards chaos and dissolution …the Moral Universe towards injustice and despair ….the Legal Universe, for surely such a dimension does exist, towards obfuscation, misdirection and delay.

But there is a contrary principle.

…the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness comprehends it not.

So let us declare this contrary principle that it may burn ever brighter and more unquenchable in the minds and hearts of all who practise the Law. 

Let us, as lawyers, on the eve of the proximate festivities, at the threshold of another year, and as the destructive tide of the 2009 Recession begins to turn, celebrate and magnify all those amongst our number who, in the practice and profession of The Law,  ….FIGHT BACK! 

For should not the steely and dogged courage and determination to fight back, often in the face of overwhelming odds, often in total default of resource and often when the very capacity to fight has itself been exhausted, be the distinguishing hallmark of our profession?

The case is bad. The facts are poor. The evidence is not there. It seems a forlorn endeavour. It seems a hopeless cause.

No matter. We will fight. We will fight back. We are fighters to the core. We have no choice. We must oppose to overcome. We will keep alive the intermittment spark of hope. Whatever the cost. However long and hard the fight may be.

As @London_Law_Firm, I am known to figure the epigrammatic inspiration of Winston Churchill in my sporadic tweetings. I make no apology for this.

That I am a Scholar of Churchill College, Cambridge University, is irrelevant. That I live a few minutes drive from the Churchill family retreat at Chartwell in Kent is purely incidental.

I would tweet Churchill anyway …because he fought back. Big Time.

He fought back when all hope was already extinct; when the British Parliament had already been bombed to rubble; when defeat and death had already taken up residence in men’s hearts; when there was no rational basis upon which the fight should continue.

When he was an old man ….still he fought back.

The legal blogosphere fairly rings with fighting spirit this week.

Ilya Shapiro, illustrious and ambitious champion of Individual Liberty, Free Markets and Peace, fights back this week against the constitutional dangers of vague laws arguing nobly and persuasively in the context of a Supreme Court review of ‘honest services fraud’ charges against Enron CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, that due process requirements of fair warning and definiteness apply equally in the contexts of white collar business crimes, business torts, and civil regulations. Tim Lynch also takes up the legal cudgels against the dangerous trend of overcriminalization in US federal law. Keep fighting, brothers.

John A Flood fights back characteristically with humour against the fact that all UK lawyers will soon be required by the Legal Services Act 2007 to be Superman (”Here’s my card, sweetie. I also happen to do a bit of lawyering on the side”). Now, in very truth, all UK lawyers must fight like super-heroes as the UK market for legal services undergoes virtually total deregulation. We say, ‘Bring it on’!

For another great example of a lawyer who is fighting back heroically against the devastating forces of natural disaster and political conflict, look no further than my twitterfriend, Thomas P Valenti, Member of the Board of Mediators Beyond Borders, fighting back undaunted against the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, Climate Change and the political tensions in the Middle East. Thomas it is a privilege to know you.

Brian Inkster is another lawyer who is fighting back, in true Churchillian spirit, this time against homelessness in Argentina….and not just by raising a phenomenal amount of money for the Habitat For Humanity cause. He actually carved time out from his busy and successful law practice in Scotland to go to Argentina himself and get building with his own bare hands, complete with hard hat and impressive boots that he broke in by wearing them to the office before he went. You can read the whole story of the fight from the links on yesterday’s Argentina compendium blog-post. To The Noble Inkster (aka ‘Lord of the Dance’), we say …..

…keep on dancing, brother!

No legal blog on the subject of ‘fighting back’ could hope to be complete without inclusion of the UK Legal Blogmeister himself, CharonQC who copiously and continuosly wrestles with all manner of subjects, some of whom are known to be perfectly law-abiding citizens. Most recently, he continues his trenchant commentary on ‘Trafigura‘ who have, ironically, extracted £25,000 from the BBC, for apparently straying wide of the mark on the subject of causation, a topic generally best left to lawyers. His most excellent podcast on Trafigura filled an otherwise futile 20 minute wait at the Bluewater checkouts recently whilst my eldest son attempted the purchase of exactly the right  kind of hot water bottle. 

Charon has recently taken up the fight against the pretentiousness of the contemporary art scene…a battle from which he has alreay emerged the victor with his revolutionary new concept, F**Kart ……Another Rioja? ….A la tienne!

‘Snow White Snorts Snow’ – Charondigliani

From the sublime to the subject of re-insurance and a particularly interesting blog by Philip J Loree Jr of Loree & Loree who is fighting back to ensure that the limits of arbitral power are kept within proper bounds. Fight on, brother.

Fighting back with both tactics and strategy is that mighty martial foe and quick-witted twitterer The Trial Warrior whose highlighting this week of some state-of-the-art (of War) thinking on forum and jurisdictional issues typifies his declared belief that: “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” (Sun Tzu). Antonin I Pribetic has turned ‘fighting back’ into a noble art form of which he himself is a supreme embodiment. Fight on, oh quick-witted One!

The Efficiency Coach fights back this week against poor delegation skills in law firms . Quite right, Heather. Quite right! Fight on!

Fighting back is a mind-set whether you are One Minute Lawyer fighting back against the routine shackling of young offenders, Criminal Defense Lawyer fighting the 14,000 illegal US consumer scams or Lemon Law Court fighting against, well ….lemons.

Maternal generosity does not normally provoke a major legal battle unless, of course, the mother is, Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L’Oreal fortune and one of the richest woman in the world and the generosity involves gifts totalling over a billion dollars. Andrew Mayoras in The Probate Lawyer Blog records the permission granted to Bettencourt’s daughter by a French Court to press criminal charges against the recipient of such lavish generosity and also to subject her mother to a medical examination on the assumption, presumably, that she must be deranged. It will be interesting to see how effectively the donor fights back in defence of her generosity. Nowhere is the ability to get up and fight back more necessary than in the growing field of UK contested probate work.

Illinois law firm, Levin & Perconti record the legal fight of Linda Kaiser that resulted in the product recall of 50 million roller blinds and window shades after the tragic death by strangulation of her baby daughter in 2002. She thought it was just an accident until she discovered many similar tragedies. She could not but fight back and she did.

The recent fight back in Brent, North London by a Jewish family against the attempt by the Jewish Free School  to exclude their 12 year old son on the grounds that his mother had converted to the Jewish faith at a ceremony conducted at a progressive synagogue is highlighted by Law Less Ordinary along with the Supreme Court’s exhortation that all UK faith schools must now operate strictly non-discriminatory policies.

Some fights are eternal.This week @Clarinette02 fights back against Google’s apparently increasing disregard for the principle of personal privacy. With tenacity and gentle irony, she debunks the arrogance of the “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear” argument. We don’t have doors and curtains to preserve our shame, but to retain some vestige of privacy. Google’s pre-eminent position as garnerer of our virtual lives is ever open to hackers, over-zealous government investigators and simple accident whatever the policy of Google may be…and that policy seems to remain frighteningly ambiguous. (..Have you found this blog yet, Googlebot?). Fight on, Tara, fight on!

This week, The AM LAW Daily fights back against a seasonal menace. A flying champagne cork travels at 60 mph. Tipsy lawyers are unlikely to blink in time. Here you will find advice about how to defeat Seasonal Champagne Cork Blues.

Neil Worral, guest blogging this week on The Barrister Blog fights back against the ‘conkers-in-goggles’ ‘elf ‘n safety gorn mad brigade. On balance, he says, over-regulation in the filed of health and safety is not prevalent.

Jonathan Mitchell QC fights back against holiday boredom with a 12 question legal quizz (Question 12: Which court sustained the refusal of a bank to replace a banknote allegedly eaten by the claimant’s cat?). There is a bottle of claret in it for the winner but wrap up warm ….because it is snowing on this site.

@ABeautifulMind1 is not just a beautiful mind. Although not yet sporting a blog (it will be a good read when she does!), she deserves a very special mention as a lawyer who has been fighting back in difficult circumstances and with admirable tenacity against a major UK bank. The bank will lose, of course. Her tenacity has recently yielded good news indeed. Follow her and learn.

Stephanie West Allen (Idealawg) is fighting back this week against the lack of creativity amongst lawyers. For reasons that we must presume are purely professional, she wants us all to dress up as fire-fighters. Result! Now our clients will be able to swoon when they first meet us and not wait until they get the bill. The idea is clearly catching on in London where I have just today seen a fire engine being driven by a team of perruqu’d barristers who are obviously celebrating creatively at the news that they can now be marked up and charged out at a profit and even take their own court bookings online.

Rees Morrison fights back this week against too much information-gathering and not enough intuitive thinking in law departments. This must be right, I feel.

Sam Hasler fights back against the incipient danger of The Stray Text Message.

China Law Blog fights back against ineffective food safety regulations in China in spite of a new Food Safety Commission and Richard Goldfarb on Food Liability Blog fights back against ‘bagel-related injuries’ and, the more prevalent, ‘chicken-related injuries’.

So should we celebrate all lawyers who fight back, in matters great and small, personal and professional. It is an art. We should cherish it.

We live in a strange Universe where lawyers can fight and beat dentists, funeral directors and, surprisingly, catwalk models.

Lawyers are marginal victors over a wet Sunday in London but in the perennial fight between lawyers and a night in with a good book, the solitary night in with a good book wins the contest convincingly.

We should not be too upset about this.

In a world defined by conflict and struggle, we must choose our battles well.

May God bless and sustain all those who fight back, on every level, and in every walk of life, against confusion, evil, injustice, lack, stupidity, oppression and the arbitrary exercise of power and let us, as 2009 draws to a close, recognise and celebrate our own role in that struggle.

Lawyers who fight back will triumph over oppression and injustice. Let us be in no doubt about this.

May I take this opportunity to wish you a peaceful and joy-filled winter respite and a prosperous and sucessful 2010.

Thank you for allowing me to host this Blawg Review.

Blawgreview has information about next week’s host and instructions how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Author: Chris Sherliker

Our heartiest congratulations to Maeve for her magnificent performance on the BBC TV Breakfast Show on Saturday morning.

Maeve O'Higgins Queen of PreNups

Whisked away by BBC chauffeur to Shepherd’s Bush before dawn, Maeve pulled off a masterful ‘double bill’ performance at 6.10am and again, as a panellist, at 7.10am, dealing most skilfully with all questions thrown at her by Charlie Stayt in spite of the unearthly hour, the glare of the TV cameras and her national audience.

 Maeve is now undeniably the Queen of PreNups  in the UK….!

Hits on our Pre-Nuptial Agreement Site  increased by 250% as a result!

Well done, Maeve!!!!!!

BBC and Telegraph are featuring the huge rise in pre-nuptial agreements and you can post your comments at the BBC if you really want to…. but since we are setting the agenda here we suggest that you post your comments below.

Maeve really is the Queen of PreNups

Contact Maeve at prenups@silvermansherliker.co.uk

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest of www.22tweets.com,  an online Twitter Interview that tweets you 22 questions that you tweet back answers to.

We are @London_Law_Firm on Twitter. 

As a huge fan of Twitter, I absolutely loved this innovative use of Twitter, and found the succinctness of the 140 character limitation remarkably refreshing, if somewhat challenging!

Chris Sherliker’s Twitterview in Full…..

@London_Law_Firm thank you for joining us today on Twitter. Tell us: who is @London_Law_Firm?
Hi, Lance! I am the ‘voice’ of our firm on T. Lawyer, Husband, Father, Web Marketer, Dog Owner, Fisherman, Artist. Renaissance Man!

Tell us about your law practice.
Silverman Sherliker is a full-service law firm in the City of London. Founded 1980.Now 30 lawyers strong and growing fast.

Congrats on nearly 30 years of success. What type of clients do you represent?
Our client base is very diverse.Many US and EU clients.A huge range of SME’s.We have all kinds of clients all over the globe

What is the single most important legal issue affecting those clients?
Diverse issues!The world is changing fast affecting clients in different ways.The need for effective legal services endures

Indeed. What do you tell every new client before you start working for them?
“What are you trying to achieve?” – Until you know the answer to that one you cannot hope to give an effective service.

Tell us about one of the more significant client representations you’ve had.
We broke the UK Opticians Cartel for US client, changing UK law on eye prescriptions opening up a new multi-million $ market.

That *is* significant…. Why do your clients hire you?
We are a down-to-earth, no-nonsense, entrepreneurial firm. WYSIWYG. No pomposity. No surprises.(Well…only good ones!)

Good surprises = the best kind. What’s the most active area of your practice at the current time? Is that typical?
Very busy in IP-Just been accepted for Chambers Directory for IP work(hooray!) also litigation, labo(u)r and family law

Your firm also provides services in Mallorca as Mallorca UK Legal. How does it differ from Silverman Sherliker?
Mallorca UK is srvce fr expats who move to the Balearics but still have assets in the UK needing mngemt- its a service brand

How will the reforms of the Legal Services Act affect your practice and firm?
The LSA = deregulation and intense competition in the UK legal market.Big & ‘High St’ firms will suffer bt gd 4 niche firms

From this side of the world the changes appear revolutionary. How do you market your practice?
Politically motivated! Best ad is a happy client! Also client seminars, e-wire newsletters, speaking engagements, networking..prayer

How does Twitter fit into the traditional BD / mktg you’ve done since you founded your firm nearly 30 years ago?
We were 1st UK law firm to do TV marketing (horror We are No 1 London firm to TWEET. It pays to be first and its huge fun…..(these lights are killing me…my face needs powder…also a drink would be nice..Oh! how kind

Perhaps we’ll see those TV adverts on YouTube one day…? Besides Twitter, what other Web 2.0 tools do you use?
LOL Hope not! We hve a rolling website dev program. We hve about 12 micro-sites now ..3 more in development..also a new blog

Interesting. What specific impact on referrals and/or client engagements have you realized from Web 2.0 activities?
Web is the single biggest source of new clients and new work. No question. The web referral model is also growing fast in UK

Nice validation of your efforts. How much time do you spend each day developing / enhancing your brand?
I spend 110% (or more) of my time enhancing the business( hot under these lights, isn’t it? Hi Mom! … Hi Dad! . )

Let’s switch gears: what is the most significant issue currently facing the legal profession?
The Legal Services Act will kill off 50% of trad UK law firms. Significant enough? Many ‘000’s of new niche firms will arise instead

So what will the legal landscape look like in 10 years, then?
Total sea chng in the next 2 yrs.Institutions will tk much of market from trad law firms.Niche firms and brands will be born
(…any chance of a drink …its 9.25pm here..)

We’ll have you out of here and on your way soon….
…no problem….I enjoy a good game of tennis!

Sounds like significant opportunities for many…. How do you want to be remembered?
He was a brilliant lawyer and a good guy ..and he could mix a really mean Vesper Martini #twepitaph (I invented this, BTW)

More cutting-edge stuff on 22 Tweets…. What would you do if you weren’t a lawyer?
I wld write, fish, TWEET, spend more time with Mrs London_Law_Firm. Maybe a real estate developer or travel writer or both.

That reminds me – still waiting on that report from the Dordogne… What do you do when you’re not working?
You will *not* believe that Report! I spend time with my wife, family and my dogs. I fish. I paint in oils and watercolors. I tweet.

What advice can you pass along to lawyers currently under- or unemployed due to the economic crisis?
Recgnse the legal world has chngd forever. Its not you. Its progress.Find the need. Meet it. Become a referrer of legal work

That’s a positive message. What advice do you have for people going to law school today?
Learn web marketing skills. Do your own thing. Do something different.Take joy in service. Love your clients, (even the mad ones!)

22tweets.com