News from across the firm:

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SEPTEMBER 2011

• Legal 500 ranks Adams & Remers as leading firm in 13 practice areasEmployment : Autumn Breakfast Briefings
• Lewes first for Law Society Scheme

AUGUST 2011

• Adams & Remers advises merger of SIA Group with Institution of Mechanical Engineers

JULY 2011

• Number of people ‘disinherited’ on increase: The number of people who are receiving little or no inheritance from their parents is rising due to the increasing number of second marriages and an insufficient understanding of estate planning warns Deborah Cain, Associate at Adams & Remers LLP.

• Succession Planning: Is Your Business Prepared? : When 80 year old Rupert Murdoch finally steps down as Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation, it was until recently widely assumed that his son, 38 year old James Murdoch, the heir apparent, would take the helm at the global media empire. But the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World and the public and political outrage which has followed has now brought into question exactly who may replace Mr Murdoch Snr and will his departure now be hastened by events of recent weeks?

• Promotions announced at Adams & Remers : Adams & Remers LLP has announced the promotion of three solicitors to Associate; Suzanne Bowman, residential property team, Amy Richardson, employment team and Philip Rowland, commercial property team.

• Southern Cross closure to impact all care homes sector : The impact of the closure of the care group Southern Cross announced this July will be felt across and have wider implications for the whole care home industry, including those owners running individual and small multiples of homes warns Marcel Bradbury, solicitor specialising in the sale and purchase of care homes at Adams & Remers LLP.

• Land option increase could signal return of housing developers to South East : There are signs that the housing market in Sussex could be about to pick up again as house builders have begun to take options on or enter into promotion agreements for new housing schemes with landowners. Since the onset of the recession in 2008, there have been very few developers entering into new option agreements to take land for housing development in the South East.

JUNE 2011

• Sale of Share Capital: Capital Q High Security Systems Limited: Adams & Remers acted for the shareholders of retail banking security specialist Capital Q High Security Systems Limited in connection with the sale of the entire share capital to Secom PLC for an undisclosed sum.

• Sale of Share Capital: Berkley Recruitment Group Limited: Adams & Remers acted for the shareholders of Ireland and Singapore based recruitment specialist Berkley Recruitment Group Limited in connection with the sale of the entire share capital to ReThink PLC for EUR6M.

• Have your cookie and eat it: guide to website cookies rules changes: New rules on the use of website cookies came into force on 26 May 2011. Prior to this date, websites only had to tell users about the cookies they used and give them information about how to opt out of their use, with this information usually being given as part of the site’s privacy policy. Now however, websites wanting to use cookies must obtain the user’s informed consent before doing so.

MAY 2011

• Home Truths seminar for care home owners: June 2011: Adams & Remers LLP is hosting a seminar for care home owners and managers – Home Truths, in association with Chandler & Co on Thursday 30 June at Jury’s Inn, Brighton from 2pm.

• New rights for parents in the workplace: In May 2011 the government published its Consultation on Modern Workplaces, which makes proposals for a new system of shared flexible parental leave and an extension of the right to request flexible working. With employment rights changing so frequently, it is sometimes difficult to keep up. This article will set out, in basic terms, the current system and the proposed changes.

• Employment Breakfast Briefing: July 2011: The Employment team at Adams & Remers are hosting a series of Breakfast Briefings on hot topics for employers and HR professionals the next of which takes place on 7th July (following on from our recent briefings in the series which took place in March and May).

APRIL 2011

• Home owners warned on property fraud: Property owners in England and Wales should be aware of the risks of property fraud and should consider registering a restriction on the deeds at the land registry website to prevent their property being transferred or mortgaged without their solicitor confirming it on their behalf warns Susan Drakeford, Licensed Conveyancer at Adams & Remers LLP.

• The Royal Wedding - a guide to holiday entitlements: Whilst the joy of the Royal Wedding on 29th April will for many people be centered on an extra day off work, thanks to the creation of the extra celebratory bank holiday, they should remember they do not necessarily have the automatic right to paid leave on bank holidays.

• New Bribery Act rules to lead on fight against corruption: The Government has recently announced (31 March) that the Bribery Act will come into force on 1st July 2011 and also gave further guidance on the scope of the Act, which has been causing considerable concern for business owners due to its unknown quantities and possible implications.

• The Budget - implications for residential property owners & developers: The Chancellor, George Osborne, has delivered his second budget which is designed to provide growth. In particular, he outlined the following proposals which affect home owners, potential buyers, investors and those looking to sell in the residential housing market.

• Historic day for South Downs National Park: On Friday 1st April 2011 the South Downs National Park Authority comes into full operation, with the designation of national park status to cover the 627 square miles of land across Sussex and Hampshire. The authority now takes on the legal powers and responsibility for all planning within the park.

MARCH 2011

• Adams & Remers announces three new property partners: Adams & Remers LLP is delighted to announce the promotion to partner of Katherine Haslam and David Hovey and the appointment of a new partner in the property team Yasmin Uddin.

• Refurbishment woes for home owners: ‘Improve not move’ may be the motto for many homeowners at the moment, but those who instruct builders without having a contract in place risk an escalation of costs, serious project delays and a great deal of unnecessary stress warns David Platt, partner at Adams & Remers LLP.

JANUARY 2011

• Paternity Leave Changes: Many new fathers like to take an active role in the care of their children and new changes to the rules on paternity leave which begin on the 3 April 2011 and apply to children born after this date, will give fathers the chance to be hands on for a total of up to 26 weeks and be paid for it, if they meet certain criteria. The qualifying criteria are complex, but essentially employees will now be able to choose whether they take Ordinary Paternity Leave (OPL) and/ or Additional Paternity Leave (APL). Read more ...

• Government confirms abolition of the Default Retirement Age: The Government has confirmed that the default retirement age (DRA) of 65 will be abolished from October 2011, with a phasing out process starting from April 2011. Read more ...

• The Employers’ Charter - a charter to hire and fire at will? On 10 January 2011, the Prime Minister held a ‘jobs summit’ at number 10 with 19 leading UK employers as part of his stated commitment to a “pro-business, pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda”. The Government is also preparing to launch an “employers’ charter”, aimed at encouraging employers to create jobs by reducing the risk of Employment Tribunal claims. Read more ...

• Countryfile case highlights age discrimination issues for employers to consider: The recent and much publicised Employment Tribunal decision regarding Miriam O’Reilly’s claims of discrimination by the BBC have again highlighted the need for employers to follow objective and formal processes when assessing changes to staff roles. Read more ...

• Listed Property Legal Advice Clinic - London Olympia 19-20 February: Solicitor Suzanne Bowman from Adams & Remers LLP is offering 20 minute drop-in clinic sessions for visitors to the Listed Property Show at London Olympia on 19th and 20th February 2011.

• Commercial property trends in the South East 2011: A development project trend which we are seeing in the South East already this year is within two sectors which are benefiting from continued bank financing and positive planning approvals.