Basingstoke based Clarke & Son LLP’s chosen charity for 2007/08 was the Samantha Dixon Brain Tumour Trust and the firm raised an impressive £1,090.30 for the Yately based charity.

The solicitors raised the money through a number of in-house fundraising events including staff lunches, Christmas party raffle, skittles evenings, Easter egg mystery prize and a Wednesday Lottery Bonus Ball draw. The firm was grateful for donations from other local companies for their Christmas raffle including Basingstoke Rugby Club, The Red Lion and Halpern PR.

Maria Birchall, Fundraising Manager for Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust (SDBTT) says

We were very happy to have been chosen as Clarke & Son’s Charity of the Year. The money raised will go towards much needed research and patient support. It is a sad fact that more children and people under 40 die from a brain tumour than any other cancer. Support from local businesses like Clarke & Son helps SDBTT raise awareness and funds for research.

Next year’s charity is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, for which the company hope to raise even more cash!

The launch of the Junior Lawyers Division at the Light Lounge, Basingstoke on 19th February was a great success. Around 35 young professionals associated with the law attended and speeches were given by Kat Gibson, the President of the Junior Lawyers Division and District Judge Carney who sits at Basingstoke County Court.

District Judge Carney gave a very informative speech advising young lawyers on practical issues of court applications and Kat enthused about the group being a great support to junior members in the profession.

After the speeches a quiz and business card raffle was held. Julie Mehrabian (pictured), Clarke & Son Trainee solicitor and committee member of JLD thought the evening was a great success,

I think everyone really enjoyed themselves and we were very pleased that the net was cast wide and people came from all over the Hampshire area, proving that the group will offer really good opportunities in the future.

Young solicitors in the North Hampshire area will soon have the opportunity to network with their peers. On the 10th January 2008, the groups formerly known as the Trainee Solicitor Group and the Young Solicitor Group merged to create the Junior Lawyers Division (JLD). Membership is now available to trainee solicitors as well as solicitors, legal executives, paralegals and licensed conveyancers with less than five years’ legal experience or qualification.
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On Sunday 4th November Julie, trainee Solicitor at Clarke & Son LLP ran the Athens Marathon with her fiance, completing the course in 4.58 hours. This was the original course used during the first modern Olympic games in 1896 as well as the official Olympic course of Athens 2004 when Paula Radcliffe was struck with stomach cramps and sadly had to pull out of the race.

On the event’s 25th anniversary, Julie managed a sprint finish to avoid going over 5 hour mark! Julie said of her challenge,

It was a very hilly and humid course and I can see why the ancient Greek who ran the 26.2 miles to tell of the victory against the Persians died at the end! I was born in Iran so a certain sweetness to someone of Persian connection entering Athens triumphant!

While Julie beat Paula’s 2004 Olympics (non) time thankfully Paula has returned to form and won the New York marathon also on Sunday. Julie and her fiancé have entered the ballot to run the 2008 London marathon and if accepted, they will begin fundraising in December for the Clarke & Son LLP charity of the year The Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust.

Great news for Basingstoke Law Firm, Clarke & Son, recently achieving re-accreditation for the Investors in People quality mark.It was particularly challenging on this occasion due to the fact that the standard has been raised. The firm has been recognised as Investors in People since 1999 and has been successfully re-assessed on three previous occasions since, in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Partner Nick Bowers says

We are extremely proud of this achievement since it represents a purely voluntary standard and demonstrates our commitment to training and developing our staff.

Well known Basingstoke car dealership, Webbers, has been sold to Harwoods, ending a history of over 100 years at the Top of Town in Basingstoke. Harwoods will continue to run the long running franchise operation at its present site.

The professional teams acting for Winton Webber were Phillips Solicitors and Lane Monnington Welton Chartered Accountants, and they secured a speedy turnaround of the deal in just a month.

Lynda Lawson, business lawyer at Phillips, was able to draw on previous experience with Audi and Aston Martin dealerships and commented:

Today’s business environment moves fast and our task was to complete the sale of the of Webbers company within a very tight timescale. In fact the transaction went smoothly and we were able to complete the transaction only four weeks after Heads of Terms were negotiated and signed.

Mark Lane from LMW assisted with the negotiations and added:

By preparing a full information pack and giving the buyers all necessary information, we were able to secure an acceptable price at our first meeting with Harwoods and the Heads of Terms were signed within 24 hours.

WW Webber Limited of New Road and Southern Road have supplied cars in Basingstoke for more than 100 years after Walter William Webber moved to Basingstoke in the late 19th century as a grocers assistant and then set up a business selling bicycles.

Over the years, as the town of Basingstoke continued to grow and develop, Webbers also moved with the times, although the company remained a family owned business under Winton Webber, Walter William’s great grandson.

Basingstoke law firm, Lamb Brooks solicitors, is going from strength to strength with the appointment of Alton resident, Adrian Owen, as head of its Business Restructuring and Insolvency team. Adrian, who joins from Bond Pearce in Southampton, said:

Basingstoke is a growing business community, and in times of rising interest rates and uncertainty in the lending market it is important that businesses in difficulties take early commercial advice. This has been my specialist area since I qualified in 1990 and that experience is invaluable to the clients I work with.

Adrian, who trained as a solicitor at top City of London firm Freshfields, also spent several years as a senior government lawyer with the Treasury Solicitor’s Department.Adrian has contributed to a number of leading publications and is a Fellow of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals.

David Evans, senior partner at Lamb Brooks and commercial practitioner, in welcoming Adrian to the team said,

Adrian is a great asset for our commercial department. His expertise compliments the services that we already provide and will enable us to advise insolvency practitioners, banks and other business stakeholders on all aspects of restructuring and corporate recovery.

As part of their commitment to growth, Phillips Solicitors are delighted to announce three new appointments.

Phillips, regarded as one of Basingstoke’s leading firms of solicitors, are investing in a successful future by expanding their teams of solicitors.

Kelly-Jean Lees, solicitor specialising in employment law, has joined Gill Brown’s employment law team, adding considerable weight to the commercial arm of Phillips and its business clients.

Melanie Roberts, solicitor specialising in residential and commercial property, strengthens Alex Preshaw’s residential property team at a critical time, with the introduction of Home Information Packs.

Rob Parker, recently qualified solicitor, joins Howard Gardener in the disputes and family law team.

Howard Gardener, senior partner, says

Our most important resource is our people and in order to deliver the very best service to our clients we are investing in new and highly professional people. I am confident that they will enhance the future expansion of our services to our private and business clients.

Businesses in North Hampshire are being urged to protect themselves against intellectual property theft as the Alliance Against IP Theft calls on all businesses to adopt IP Compliance Policies.

With more and more theft of intellectual property taking place in the work place, businesses are increasingly at risk with:

• Confidential commercial information available to hackers
• Computer systems open to viruses and other attacks.
• Company directors running the risk of damaging legal action as IP theft is against the law.

Launching their AAIPT Leaflet providing guidance for businesses on how to reduce these risks, the Alliance Against Intellectual Property Theft is urging businesses to protect themselves by adopting proper intellectual property (IP) compliance policies. Companies are also being urged to run regular checks to ensure their systems are not running illegal or unlicensed programs.

IP theft can occur in businesses when software, DVDs, CDs or written material such as books and journals, are illegally copied or used without the permission of the rights owner. For example, this could include putting software onto more computers than the license allows, or allowing employees to access illegal file sharing sites from their work PCs.

Illegal filesharing can seriously affect the integrity of companies’ networks. Hackers can access confidential commercial information and computer systems can become open to viruses such as spyware and malware including viruses that can bypass firewalls.

In addition, by failing to respect intellectual property, company directors can face fines of up to £5,000 in a Magistrates’ Court and up to six months in prison, or unlimited fines and up to 10 years in prison at Crown Court.

Estate agent Des Res has recently brought in new Internet usage procedures and tighter security after Alliance member The Federation Against Software Theft discovered illegal software was being made available from its computer system.

A surveillance operation revealed that one of the company’s computers had been involved in a file-sharing network making copies of FAST member TomTom’s software available for free download.

Susie Winter, Director General of the Alliance, said:

We are working alongside business organisations to ensure that companies large and small understand the importance of respecting intellectual property.

By having a clear staff policy in place which prevents infringement of intellectual property, companies can protect themselves without placing undue restrictions on their workers.

John Lovelock, Director General of The Federation Against Software Theft, said:

By working with industry, we hope to raise awareness of the importance of intellectual property and why it must be properly protected.

It is to be applauded that companies like Des Res are setting an example by rooting out and dealing with IP cheats in the workplace.

You can download a sample IP compliance policy here.

The Alliance Against IP Theft was set up in 1998 as a coalition of trade and enforcement organisations from the creative and manufacturing industries. It represents businesses that have a combined turnover of more than £250 billion, employing over one million people in the UK. It seeks to strengthen and bring consistency to existing laws in the area of intellectual property to ensure people’s ideas and creativity is properly valued and protected.

More information can be found on their website: www.allianceagainstiptheft.co.uk