PLS Solicitors has recently invested in the Proclaim case management system. This is an important investment as it will result in several major benefits to the firm.

Firstly, it will be possible to track cases on the system as they develop. Each step in a transaction will be logged and will then be viewable to anybody in the firm logging onto Proclaim. This will improve the flow of information to clients as each fee earner’s assistant will be able to answer calls from clients, thus freeing them up to spend more time on core legal work. Reception staff will be able to respond to client queries by accessing the system, which will improve efficiency across the firm.

Secondly, reports on title will be made easier for fee earners to write as a sophisticated system of precedents has been devised which will save time in terms of manually typing up references to provisions from documents. Also, administrative time spent on scanning in attachments to reports on title will be saved as reports will refer to the relevant provisions within the body of each report and not on separate annexures.

When post and emails arrive each day, they will be logged onto the system and then diary reminders will be set up for fee earners to carry out routine tasks and to chase outstanding information. This will save time in terms of fee earners having to manually go through files and extensive email chains which are currently stored on their own individual hard drives in order to retrieve information and chase important deadlines.

Banks of precedents will be created which will be easily accessible for e.g. client care letters which will save significant amounts of time. Clients’ names and details will be pre-inserted into these documents, saving much time spent in copy-typing. Drafting of completion statements and bills will also be made much easier and less time-consuming due to both the standardisation of these documents across the firm and the pre-insertion of clients’ financial data. It is important to stress that the system will only be as good as the information that is entered into it, therefore the above time saving is dependent on the correct inputting of data in the first place.

An important aspect of the new case management system will be the linking in of our Accounts systems onto Proclaim, resulting in the firm being able to more easily view financial information in respect of each transaction on screen. This will result in more time savings as this data will be more readily accessible to fee earners and assistants, which will ease the progress of each transaction on completion day.

This is an exciting time for the firm as the new system beds in and the above time savings start to be realised. Time savings will start to filter through in the coming weeks and months as more of our clients reap the benefits of our powerful new system.

Please do get in touch if you have any queries on the operation of Proclaim or would like further detail on any aspect of the above.

Employers have faced a 52% rise in the number of employment claims in the past year.  This is due to the ease with which Claimants can lodge a claim at the Tribunal.  A tribunal claim can be filled in and submitted online within a matter of minutes.  There is also no fee for lodging the claim at the tribunal and so there is nothing to stop employees or ex-employees having a go at bringing a claim.

It is very important that the employer responds to the Claim within the time limits imposed.  If the employer does not reply in the correct way then the tribunal can issue a judgment without hearing anything from the employer.  It is extremely important that the response form, or ET3, is correctly drafted and deals with all the allegations.  Using a solicitor to draft the response means that the correct law will be quoted and the employee put on notice that you are dealing with the claim properly.  Many employers can cause themselves great difficulties at the Tribunal as a result of poorly drafted response forms.

The most important thing to remember is to get advice early.  Many problems can be resolved and avoided by having correct procedures and dealing with work place problems quickly and effectively.

Visit our main site for more information on employment tribunals.

There is an enormous difference between a bad and good Conveyancing Solicitor.

The following simple tips will help you make a decision you won’t regret.

The Conveyancing process in the UK can be a painfully slow process leaving property buyers and sellers wondering what, if anything, is going on.

Some Conveyancers are almost Dickensian in their approach and others can seem faceless often hiding behind IT systems (how many have you seen offering online case tracking? Wouldn’t you rather talk to a human?), and some can be a mix of both.

Thankfully there are many highly skilled Conveyancers at PLS Solicitors offering a personal and pro-active service and nearly all clients find that their transaction goes smoothly, allowing for factors beyond his or her influence of course.

Should you choose the Cheapest Conveyancing Quote?

Many of the clients that we speak to will often simply go for the Cheapest Conveyancing Quote that they can find, and fail to consider the fact that you could choose an expensive quote and still receive a poor service.

You might get lucky and get a perfectly good service at a bargain price but whether you are buying or selling a home, this is probably your biggest asset so it really can pay you to do a little research before you choose your conveyancing solicitor.  If you can get it right, then you can:

• See your transaction complete in minimal time.
• Increase the probability of your house sale or purchase going through.
• Avoid costly mistakes
• Save yourself hours sitting on hold waiting to speak to someone in a call centre.

The following advice will help you select the right Conveyancing Solicitor:

• Instructing a conveyancer on-line is all very 21st century and perfectly reasonable but why not call the solicitor before you instruct.  If you can’t get through to anyone when they are in sales mode, ask yourself what the service will be like once you have placed the order. At PLS Solicitors, we use the very latest in case management systems but still maintain the personal touch.
• Better still, call the conveyancer and leave a message.  If it takes them 2 days to return your call it is unlikely they will be very proactive when it comes to pushing your transaction through.   Good Conveyancers cannot over communicate. They know that one phone call can save them 10 incoming calls from clients and estate agents constantly chasing for updates. At PLS Solicitors, the clients will find that our Terms and Conditions state all phones calls will be returned within 24 hours.

PLS Solicitors solicitors are keen to make a move for more legal work from the Italian community.

PLS Solicitors solicitors have Italian speaking lawyers who can assist with any property, litigation or employment disputes. We find that a lot of the Italian community wish to speak and communicate with their solicitors in their mother tongue.

Adam Pavey who heads up the Italian legal sector represents and continues to represent Italian based business that have business dealings in the UK with their litigation requirements. Adam is keen to do more jurisdictional work with the Italian business community and as an extremely pro-active member of the Manchester Law Society he hopes to encourage other likeminded professionals to do the same. Adam feels as an Italian speaking UK qualified lawyer that he can really assist the Italian business community based both in Italy and the UK.

Please feel free to call one of our property or litigation solicitors today with any of your cross jurisdictional UK-Italian requirements.