Society's News

President’s Charity of the Year – Bristol Children’s Help Society

                            The Bristol Children’s Help Society is a privately funded volunteer led charity that owns and runs Barton Camp our 100 bed residential children’s centre in the beautiful Mendip hills. Barton Camp operates through the year as a base where disadvantaged local children can enjoy a few … more

BLS features in Bristol Post oldest thriving companies in Bristol

Excerpt from the article: How Bristol’s oldest companies are still thriving after more than 100 years in business They include the city’s last-surviving chocolate maker a wine merchant and a tannery. Why do some companies struggle to survive beyond a year while others flourish for hundreds? Although more than 90 per cent of small companies in Britain will survive one … more

No 12, The Meeting Rooms – Conference, Meeting and Mediation Rooms for Hire

Bristol Law Society’s suite of conference and meeting rooms including a suite of mediation rooms are conveniently located in the centre between the Waterfront Area and the Old City in a modern building situated on the corner of Colston Avenue and St Stephen’s Avenue. There are a number of large public car parks within a 5 minute walk from the … more

JLD Forum Report

 

On Saturday 10 March 2018 Bristol Junior Lawyers Division hosted the JLD’s Forum for trainees and NQs at BPP Law School in Queen Square. The turnout was fantastic with many local junior lawyers giving up their Saturday.

The JLD hold a number of events throughout the country each year with the aim of providing useful sessions for its members to help them advance their careers.

The event covered a wide array of topics and welcomed a variety of speakers from the Bristol legal community. The day started with a session on costs from Lucy Baldwin, head of commercial litigation costs at Paragon Costs with tips on how to maximise costs recovery.

Next up was Natasha Dzameh of St John’s Chambers, BLS’s barrister of the year 2017 who delivered a talk on how build good relationships with counsel. The talk included a list of counsel’s pet peeves when it comes to receiving instructions (never send a broken folder!) before Natasha opened up the floor to pet peeves solicitors have about barristers.

The afternoon session commenced with horror stories from Michael Murray of Brunel Professions about the negligence risks faced by law firms. Thankfully Michael was able to include a ray of hope at the end of his talk and tips on what junior lawyers need to do to avoid negligence claims from the outset.

The next session was a panel covering the topic of moving firms after qualification. The panel consisted Gishan Abeyatne of BCL Legal, Coralie McKeivor of Foot Anstey and Helen Hancock of Simmons and Simmons LLP who were able to give a range on different perspectives on the benefits and pitfalls of moving firms after qualification.

The penultimate session of the day was delivered by Tony Anderson and Simon Martin of Anderson Financial Management. The session focussed on what junior lawyers should be aware of at various stages of their careers, when planning for their future financial security.

The final session of the day was delivered by Leon Smith of DAC Beachcroft LPP on the benefits of getting involved in your local law society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For full details of future Bristol JLD events please sign up to our mailing list here.