Horsforth Office Opening Success!

Following the opening of their new offices on 9 Kerry Street in Horsforth, Jordans Solicitors hosted a launch event on 29th March at the Medusa Bar on Town Street, Horsforth. It was a great opportunity for local businesses to meet our team of specialists.

The firm were keen to meet the Horsforth community and local businesses. Christine Sands commented “We can offer expert legal advice without the need to travel to the centre of Leeds or pay city prices.”

Many of the local businesses and professional firms attended the event and feedback was very positive.

Post budget breakfast seminar

Jordans Solicitors and Eaves & Co specialist tax advisors are holding a post budget breakfast seminar on 30th March 2012 at the offices of Jordans Solicitors, 18 King Street, Wakefield, WF1 2SQ

Arrive: 8am for breakfast
Presentation: 8.30am to 9.30am

Following the Chancellor’s budget statement on 21st March 2012 Paul Davison of Eaves & Co will explain what the budget means practically for owner managers and their businesses and will give an update on other key tax developments.

If you are interested in attending you are very welcome simply contact Penny Reddington on 01924 387110 or by email at penny.reddington@jordanssolicitors.co.uk giving any dietary requirements.

Jordans Solicitors launch evening in Horsforth

Following the opening of our new offices on 9 Kerry Street in Horsforth, Jordans Solicitors are delighted to announce that we will be hosting a launch event on 29th March at the Medusa Bar on Town Street, Horsforth starting at 5.30pm.

We are very keen to be able to support the Horsforth business community as well as offering expert advice to individuals from the local area with the convenience of not having to go into the centre of Leeds.

We are looking forward to introducing ourselves to the Horsforth community and demonstrate to you our legal services.

If you are interested in attending the event please call Penny Reddington on 0113 2586 307.

Line up for the final of the Jordans Debating Competition decided

After a tight semi-final last week we’ve now got our finalists. The finalists are a team from Ossett School, two teams from Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and a team from Silcoates School.

The finals will be held at our offices at 5.30pm on 8 March when the teams will debate:

Motion 1: This House supports positive discrimination Proposing: Joshua Skipworth and Julian Ostrowski (QEGS) Opposing:Alex Cruikshanks and Hannah Warwicker (Silcoates)

Motion 2: This House believes an unelected head of state should have no place in Twentieth Century Britain. Proposing: Joe Gerrard and Joe Irvin (Ossett) Opposing: Faheem Lone and Max Grunewald (QEGS)

“Planning Authorities heavy arm of the law”- Enforcement

As a result of the economic downturn many buildings are left empty in need of occupiers or redevelopment. Empty buildings can quickly deteriorate and become dilapidated with no prospective of rejuvenation in the coming months or years.

Local authorities have wide powers under the Building Act 1984 and the Town and County Planning Act 1990 to target such buildings on the grounds that they might be dangerous or else their state and condition has a severe detrimental impact upon the amenity of the local area. Local authorities can serve notices upon the owners and any occupiers of such buildings requiring them to carry out expensive and extensive repair works or even to demolish the building.

You have the right to appeal against such notices and must do so within a strict period of time of being served with the notice. It is important that you take legal advice once you have been served with an enforcement notice to ascertain whether you have any grounds to challenge the service of the notice.

In most instances the local authorities will contact you in writing before they decide to serve you formally with an enforcement notice. It is important that you respond to such correspondence in a positive manner and engage in a dialogue with the local authority; you may be able to agree how to address their concerns about the state of the building to avoid formal action being taken against you.

In the Partnership from hell?

It seemed like a very good idea at the time.

Two or more friends/colleagues/acquaintances going into business together, pooling resources to maximise results and each sharing a mutual passion and willingness to succeed. In the excitement of the moment it is easy to get carried away and forget about documenting basic terms of your agreement. You are in a hurry to start making money and think there will be time later to bottom out the finer details with your business partners later. You all want to achieve the same time so what can possibly go wrong?

If everyone pulls their weight and the money starts to roll in there may not be a problem. But what if someone starts to slack off? Maybe you feel like you are the only one generating the sales leads? Sharing the profit 2/3 or more ways might start to grate after a while. Maybe one of you wasn’t quite as certain as you that the new business venture would succeed and might have another business idea on the side just in case your venture did not succeed. This might be distracting their attention away from your business.

Whilst lawyers might be accused of dampening entrepreneurial passion by weighing you down with reams of papers, there is an important reason why we advise clients to document their partnership agreement, and indeed any form of agreement. We want to protect you when you are faced with difficult times.

By documenting your partnership agreement you are making up your own rule book deciding who will take on which roles, how much effort and/or financial input you will all have to give, how that profit will be shared and on what basis and how problems can be resolved if you hit a bump in the road. Without a partnership agreement disputes can be far harder and more complicated (and expensive) to resolve.

If you are in the early stages of discussing an idea for a partnership venture please contact us today. If you are some way down a partnership you can still have a partnership agreement drawn up if you all agree to sign it. If you find yourself in the middle of a dispute, contact us today for further assistance.

Jordans Solicitors Debating Competition 2012 Semi Final

Following the heats held in November at Jordans’ new Wakefield office teams from Wakefield Girls, QEGS, Silcoates and Osset Academy all got through to the semi finals which will be held this Thursday 23rd February.

The competition has been supported by the English Speaking Union who have organised judges from Leeds University Union Debating Society.

The 3 motions being debated are:

Motion 1- This house believes University should be free and available to all

Proposing: Olivia White and Rebecca Heseltine (WGHS)
Opposing: Hannah Warwicker and Alex Cruikshanks (Silcoates)

Motion 2 – This house believes that the government must guarantee a job for every 16 – 24 year old to stop them becoming a ‘lost generation’

Proposing: Rebecca Oates and Linden Hird (WGHS)
Opposing: Joe Gerrard and Owen Walsh (Ossett Academy)

Motion 3 – This house believes that war is never justified.

Proposing: Julian Ostrowski and Joshua Skipworth (QEGS)
Opposing: Faheem Lone and Max Grunewald (QEGS)

The final will be held in March.

Stephen Proctor, Partner and Cathy Cook, Head of Company and Commercial Department will chair the proceedings.

For further information, please contact Jordans Solicitors on 01924 387110 and ask to speak to Cathy Cook or visit http://www.jordanssolicitors.co.uk.

Why bother granting a Lease?

‘Why should I bother granting a lease?’

With the economic recession still gripping the country some parts of the region have plenty available commercial property up for let, often at very reasonable rents.

Landlords are keen to fill their properties and many find that prospective tenants drive a good bargain on the rent and other terms. Often tenants want flexible terms and short lettings whilst they try their hand at a new venture. In these types of situations it is easy to skip issuing a lease to save on the cost of having one prepared.

But is this a good idea? The answer is no.

Leases protect both the tenant and the landlord. They set out the rent that must be paid, allow landlords to review the rent at regular intervals and charge interest on late paid rent. They set out the fixed term for the lease giving tenants security of occupation should their business being to flourish and give the landlords the security of knowing their tenant is contractually committed to your unit.

Landlords can specify what business activities are to take place at the premises which can be good if a landlord occupies a nearby unit (you don’t want your tenant competing against you by running a similar same type of business to yours) or if you own a few units in a street. Changing the use of the premises requires the landlord’s permission, as does subletting the premises to someone else.

If your tenant is going to want to stay in your premises for a longer period, your lease can specify who is to carry out repairs at the premises and when a tenant comes to leave, you can make sure the building is left in a good state of repair and condition making it easier to let out again to a new tenant.

The main problem with having no lease is place is the state of mind this often gives to tenants. Because they have not been asked to sign anything confirming their occupation of your premises this can often make them believe the terms are flexible and that they are not tied into the premises in anyway. It can give your tenants the wrong impression.

When it comes to protecting your rights it is always better to have a lease in place and can save you the time and money when you come to enforce payment of rent arrears. If you would like to discuss the issues raised in this article further please contact Susan Lewis.

“Your cheque is in the post……….” Tips on how to get paid in difficult times

Being paid for the goods or services you supply is the ultimate goal for any business. It is after all, why we trade and enables us to carry on trading. Sometimes however, it can feel like running a gauntlet when it comes to collecting your payment and doing a good job does not seem to be enough to ensure that you recover payment promptly.

Unfortunately, there is no recipe for guaranteeing payment but here are some tips which might improve your chances of being paid and being paid within a reasonable time period.

1. Know your customer. Doing a small amount of research on a prospective customer can pay dividends. There is a lot of information available online at Companies House if you are working for a company. Indicators of potential problems can be late filing of accounts or petitions to strike off the company on the Companies’ register. Credit checks can now be obtained cheaply and quickly with the credit agencies that score companies on their payment records.

2. Don’t be afraid to say no. We all want work and turning away a prospective customer can feel like going against the grain. In reality, we all want customers who will pay. If your research or industry gossip tells you they are bad news consider very carefully whether to accept their business. If you do, can you ask for payment up front?

3. Terms and conditions. You should have terms of business which set out how you are going to perform your contract, when you expect to get paid and allow you to charge interest on late payments of invoices. They can help you to maximise the most out of each contract. Check if yours should be updated today.

4. Agree the scope of work. It is always better to be very clear with your customer about what you are going to do so they know what to expect. If you are not going to meet their expectations, be honest and tell them so. Explain why their turnaround time cannot be achieved. They may be able to alter their expectations. Gumbles over the work you do can cause problems when you look to be paid and can give your customers unnecessary scope for complaints.

5. Payment terms. Many industries operate on credit terms. Be realistic about the terms you can offer within your industry but be clear with your customer that the terms cannot be exceeded. Monitor credit accounts to make sure you know who is exceeding credit terms and by how much. If the same customer is asking you to do further work consider whether you can ask them to clear their account before you begin on their next project or order. A gentle prompter each month by sending out statements of account help but you may need to be firmer with the persistent late payers. You may want to consider more creative ways of getting paid on time. Agreeing fixed monthly payments might help both businesses cash flow where you are receiving regular orders from customers. Offering a small discount for early settlement can also be a great incentive for prompt payment.

For further information please click on the work types or contact Susan Lewis for a no- obligation discussion of how Jordans’ Litigation Team can assist you today.

Jordans Solicitors open new office in Horsforth

Jordans Solicitors are delighted to announce the opening of our new office on 9 Kerry Street in Horsforth from 30th January 2012. This move compliments and strengthens the legal services which we provide from our existing offices in Dewsbury, Wakefield and Castleford. We are especially delighted to be able to support the Horsforth business community as well as offering expert advice to individuals from the local area with the convenience of not having to go into the centre of Leeds. We are a modern and energetic mixed practice law firm, serving both the business community and private individuals across a broad range of specialisms. An energetic and accomplished Partner heads each department; many of the team are members of specialist bodies within their particular field – providing the highest quality legal services. We are looking forward over the coming months to introducing ourselves to the Horsforth community and demonstrate to you our legal services. In the meantime if anyone would like to contact us on 0113 2586 307 we’ll be delighted to take your call.