Ridley & Hall Newsletter Issue 13

1. ...basically, we deal in disputes
The litigation team specialises in disputed wills, personal injury
law and cases involving vulnerable people who lack mental
capacity - these cases are dealt with by a special court, called the
Court of Protection.
We can help with Inheritance Act work (for example, where a spouse or
cohabitee has been excluded from a will), cycling injury work, particularly serious
cases, and accidents at work. Our court of protection work includes disputes
over financial issues as well as health and welfare decisions.
You will shortly be able to visit our court of protection legal centre
website and our cycling legal centre website is now live!
The team is headed up by Sarah Young and includes experienced paralegal
Samantha Hirst, with Helen Dandridge who qualified as a solicitor in 2014,
assisting the team.
From the left of the photo, partner Sarah Young has expertise in inheritance
disputes and missing people cases. Helen Dandridge is a solicitor who is growing
the firm's Court of Protection work and Janet Watson is a highly experienced
legal executive dealing with personal injury work. Tracey Thwaites (PA to Sarah
Young) and Ellie Moore (secretary) provide invaluable support to the team and
are always happy to speak to clients. Finally Sam Hirst (paralegal) has worked
closely with Janet to develop our newly launched online Cycling Legal Centre.
Ridley & Hall fundraising reaches
new heights
Happy Families? Moving in with
Mum!
Family First website is re-launched
Meet the Litigation team
Ridley & Hall leading the way in
kinship care
see inside
news&views
Issue 13 | November 2015
01484 538 421 info@ridleyandhall.co.uk ridleyhall.co.uk
Ridley & Hall Legal Limited, Queens House, 35 Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2HL
The 2015 Legal 500 rankings have been announced and Ridley & Hall is
pleased to be named as the highest ranking law firm in Huddersfield
in all the categories it was nominated for.
The Legal 500 is the leading guide to law firms in the UK and over four
million users visit The Legal 500 website each year. Aimed at buyers of
legal services, it is researched and written by an experienced team and
firms are ranked according to location and practice area.
The best Lexcel result in our history
In the latest Lexcel audit, Ridley & Hall achieved the highest result in
our 11 years of being audited. This is the Law Society’s legal practice
quality mark for excellence in
legal practice management and
excellence in client care. The
inspection took place on 23rd
September 2015 and Ridley &
Hall passed with flying colours.
In fact the inspector did not find
a single thing to make an
adverse comment about.
Meet The Litigation Team...
Ridley & Hall leading the way in kinship care
There is a national shortage of foster carers. This has led to a significant growth in the number of
kinship carers – relatives caring for children who would otherwise be fostered. Many lack appropriate
support. Nigel Priestley, head of Kinship and Community Care, and his team have developed an
expertise in representing vulnerable carers. One of the key kinship support groups, Grandparents as
Parents, states on its website that Ridley & Hall is “the leading firm in England and Wales for advice
on kinship care.” It further states, “Their commitment to human rights and their cutting edge legal
work means that we can provide advice on the responsibilities of local authorities and we know how
to hold them to account for their actions.” Ridley & Hall frequently supports individuals and families in
their challenges to local authorities. In 2014 there were five significant court decisions which either
had a national impact or a significant outcome for the family involved.
Another marker in the Legal 500
In the Legal 500, the Wills, Probate & Trusts department was ranked in the fourth tier of the Yorkshire & Humberside region.
The department continues to provide comprehensive and excellent services covering Wills, Probate, Powers of Attorney, Trusts
and Court of Protection work under the stewardship of experienced solicitor and Head of Department Jill Waddington.
James Cook
Child Care & Adoption
Here to serve you...
Shahida Karim
Family
Alison Mason
Licensed Conveyancer
Sam Hirst
Personal Injury &
Contentious Probate
Jill Waddington
Private Client
Sam Sanders
Child Care & Adoption
Michael George
Child Care
Johanna Allen
Family
Victoria Maude
Private Client
Vicky Medd
Family & Mediation
Ridley & Hall celebrates
top position in the
Legal 500 guide
Northamptonshire County
Council v AS and ORS [2015]
EWHC 199 (Fam)
We have had several clients approach us
recently to say that they have agreed for
their child to be accommodated by the
local authority, often to allow them some
respite at difficult times. However, the
child has ended up staying away for
months and in some cases even years.
Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 allows a
local authority to find alternative
accommodation for a child but can often leave
parents out of the loop with important
planning for the child. The parents retain
parental responsibility for their child and the
local authority do not acquire it but parents
frequently feel that they are not having a say in
contact arrangements or the child’s education
and ultimately, if and when the child can be
reunited with their care.
This recent case highlights the disadvantages
of delaying the issue of proceedings. The local
authority:
1. Deprived the children of the benefit of an
independent Children’s Guardian to represent
their interests.
2. Deprived the court of the ability to control
the planning for the child.
3. Deprived the court of the ability to prevent
or reduce unnecessary and avoidable delay in
securing a permanent placement for the child
at the earliest possible opportunity.
It is likely that local authorities who
continue to misuse section 20 will leave
themselves open to widespread judicial
criticism.
The Care and Adoption department at Ridley & Hall is
headed by James Cook. The team undertakes a
diverse range of cases from special guardianship to
representing parents and relatives in public child care
cases. They have represented clients on cases involving
the abduction of children, removal of children from
the jurisdiction of the UK and injunctions under the
inherent jurisdiction of the High Court.
C A S E S P O T L I G H T
The Care Team at Ridley & Hall comment on a recent case...
“It is great that our hard work to become one of
the leading law firms in West Yorkshire is
recognised by organisations such as the Legal 500.
I want to thank all the departments involved
whose hard work has resulted in the final
rankings. We have a double celebration as we
have recently passed our Lexcel audit. We are very
proud of these recent announcements!”
Adam Fletcher, Managing Partner
LEADING FIRM
2015
RH News & Views Oct 2015 S3.pdf 1 02/11/2015 14:43

2. 100% SATISFACTION
ridley&hall
solicitors
familyfirst
Every firm in every walk of life will tell you that they provide excellent service;
let’s be honest, so do we. But you don’t have to take our word for it.
Sarah Young discusses a problem that she feels she will see more of in the future
Happy Families? Moving in with Mum!
For a long time now Ridley & Hall have been asking clients
to give us feedback on the service we have provided, be it
buying or selling a house or dealing with complex family
matters.
From the beginning of October 2014 to the end of June 2015 100% of
our clients who returned a client satisfaction survey* said that they
would be happy to recommend our services to others.
Even with this feedback, we are always looking to improve our service so
if you have any ideas on how we can do this then please do get in touch.
*250 surveys were returned during the period 1st October 2014 to 30th
June 2015.
FAMILY FIRST WEBSITE IS RE-LAUNCHED
It has now been over 18 months since Familyfirst was launched by Ridley & Hall. Our family
service provides fixed fee packages to suit all budgets for those people going through divorce,
separation, or difficult times with children.
Over the last couple of years, Ridley & Hall have been able to test the ideas that our family team
have had. Everyone has been involved in updating the website and making it look current and
easy to navigate.
We have now updated the website to make it much easier to navigate. Our pricing structure is
also now presented in a much clearer fashion.
Vicky Medd, head of the family and mediation team said “I am really pleased to be able to
deliver a clear website, which sets out the work we do and how we charge. We aim to be
transparent with our clients, who are already going through a difficult time. We are continuing
to provide fixed fee packages to clients where they are appropriate, and our clients appreciate
the choice of services that we have.”
The Family team has been ranked in the
fourth tier in the North and West Yorkshire
region in the Legal 500.
Congratulations!
Please visit our new website at http://ridleyhall.co.uk/affiliated-services/family-first/ or ring us on 01484 538421 for a free half an hour appointment.
Living on your own can be lonely, especially as
you grow older. For many families the logical
answer is that an elderly parent sells their home
and moves in with one of their adult children. But
life doesn’t always go to plan.
I am increasingly coming across cases where family
arrangements like this, made without the benefit
of legal advice, have gone horribly wrong as a
result of unforeseen circumstances.
In one case a mother sold the family home and
used the proceeds of sale to pay off her son’s
mortgage. She moved in with him and it was
always intended that her name would be put on
the deeds to reflect her share of the property, but
that never happened. Her son sadly died some
years later and because he hadn’t updated his will,
his estate, which included the house, all went to
his two young sons who were living with his
estranged wife. On the face of it my client, the
elderly mother, had no evidence to prove her
interest in the property. She was confused about
what had been agreed in the past and there
weren’t any bank statements or documents.
It took a lot of detective work to prove that my
client owned a substantial share in the property
and it was deeply distressing for her and the family
to deal with the dispute immediately following
their bereavement.
The law in this area isn’t always straight forward.
Whenever money is used to part fund the
purchase of a property or is used to repay a
mortgage on a property there is a possibility that a
trust may arise giving someone an interest in the
property. This can happen, for example, with
couples who cohabit where the property is in one
of the party’s names as well in cases involving
parents and children. However strong the ties of
love and affection between those involved it’s vital
to have clear discussions about everyone’s
intentions; who owns what? What should happen
if one of you dies? Ideally those decisions should
be recorded in a declaration of trust which can be
drawn up by a property lawyer to avoid any
confusion later down the line.
The recession means that more families are having
to live together for longer and for financial reasons
it may make all sorts of sense for a widowed
parent to move in with one of their children. But if
that person loses mental capacity for example;
who will be able to give evidence about what was
agreed in terms of any financial transaction?
Arguments between families can often arise not
just over their inheritance but also over gifts and
loans made by their parent during their lifetime. It
may sound harsh, but it’s best to plan for
the worst and hope for the best.
Sarah Young is a Partner with
Ridley & Hall Solicitors and
specialises in will disputes, cases
involving missing people and the
Court of Protection. Sarah offers
practical, friendly and cost effective
advice. She understands the
sensitive nature of cases which
often involve disputes between families and has a
record of bringing the most complex cases to a
successful conclusion.
For further information please contact Sarah
on 01484 538421 or mobile 07860 165850.
We’re good, but don’t take our word
for it!
Ridley & Hall fundraising reaches
new heights for Hospice
Over the past year, Ridley & Hall have
really pulled out all the stops to raise
over £7,000 for Dalton based
Kirkwood Hospice.
Our enthusiastic and energetic staff organised a
huge variety of events to raise funds for Kirkwood,
from dressing up in festive costumes to taking on
epic treks. We raised a grand total of £7,397.
In December, the team organised a 12 day festive
fundraising drive, participating in a number of
zany tasks, from dressing as their favourite
‘Frozen’ character to a colouring in challenge.
Showing just how dedicated the whole team are
to the cause, some members of staff even donned
elf costumes to help out at Kirkwood’s annual
Santa’s Grotto events.
A cycling soiree at the Huddersfield Criterium
followed and a race night at Huddersfield’s Irish
Centre. To top it all off, the Ridley & Hall team
took on the formidable 3 peaks challenge, walking
40 gruelling kilometres in under 12 hours!
Kirkwood Hospice Fundraiser, Wasim Hussain, said:
“We have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with
Ridley & Hall over the past year. The amount of
money raised for the Hospice is outstanding and
the initiative they have shown in the ways they
have raised it is truly inspiring. Taking on the Three
Peaks is no mean feat in itself!
On behalf of everyone at Kirkwood Hospice, I
would like to thank Ridley & Hall for all their hard
work and dedication.”
We are delighted to have raised
money for Kirkwood Hospice and
enjoyed the experience. It has
been a great year and we send
the Hospice best wishes for the
next 12 months
Nicki Heaversedge – on behalf of the Charity Committee.
VIEWPOINT VIEWPOINT
With 20 years’ experience, David joined Ridley &
Hall in 2015 to head up the commercial property
department. He brings to the firm his knowledge of
the local market and takes pride in offering
sensible, straightforward yet commercially astute
advice to his clients across an exceptionally broad
range of matters.
What was the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Only pick up a piece of paper once – otherwise, you are just putting off
dealing with something.
Who is the person you admire the most?
I would find it difficult to single out one person. I’ve never really tried to
follow in anyone’s footsteps. If pressed to answer, then Bradley Wiggins,
James Bond, Rumpole of the Bailey….
What was the best moment of your career?
Qualification as a solicitor – it represented the end of a long time in higher
education, followed by completion of the training contract.
What has changed since you started at R & H?
This is a tricky one for me to answer, as I’ve only recently joined the firm,
but I would say that the firm feels like it is
going places.
If you had to describe R & H in one word
what would it be?
Refreshing
What’s your idea of a perfect day
outside work?
Cycling up to the top of a moor on a rainy
day with a group of friends. There’s even
more satisfaction when the weather’s
against you!
If you could go back in time, where
would you go?
I’m interested in Renaissance art but the children would never forgive me
if I took them around art galleries, so I’d like to go
back to Italy in the 14th century.
Three favourite songs?
As by Stevie Wonder, St Matthew’s Passion by J.S.
Bach, Autumn Leaves by Nat King Cole
What do you want for Christmas?
A faster road bike. And faster legs!
QUESTION TIME WITH DAVID AMIES
RH News & Views Oct 2015 S3.pdf 2 02/11/2015 14:43