Latest news

Social Media Sites and Adopted Children

Social media sites such as Facebook are now more popular than ever and are having a significant impact upon adoption.    The existence of such sites has led to an increase in breach of guidelines against unplanned contact to adopted children …

Read more...

COMMENT

The tax of owning a horse

For most equine enthusiasts, owning a horse is a pastime, a hobby about which they are passionate, no different to sailing or golf and as such are usually taxed no differently. However unlike boats or golf clubs, unforeseen tax issues …

Read more...

COMMENT

UK’s first marine energy park to be built in the South West

The Government is setting up Britain’s first marine energy park in the South West. The park will stretch from Bristol to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, 28 miles off the Cornish coast. Greg Barker, the minister for climate change …

Read more...

COMMENT

Lenders Panels

Is your Solicitor & Lender compatible?  Does the property have a garden? When purchasing a property the compatibility of your Solicitor and chosen mortgage provider is almost as important as determining the credentials of the property you are buying. You …

Read more...

COMMENT

An interesting month

January has turned out to be an interesting month for the legal profession. The highlights include:-    We may be seeing the beginning of the end of barristers’ wigs. Lord Phillips, the President of the Supreme Court, has issued a …

Read more...

COMMENT

Huhne to take solar FiT case to the Supreme Court

The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne has confirmed he plans to contest a decision by the Court of Appeal preventing him from carrying out controversial plans to cut the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for solar electricity. …

Read more...

COMMENT

Knowing your Court

At a time of Public Funding cuts the Court Service are under increasing pressure.   In excess of 1,200 posts were cut by H M Courts & Tribunal Service in 2011.   At the same time as there are less people in …

Read more...

COMMENT

No Avoiding a Contract

The burgeoning field of restitution provides the Courts with a means of compensating a party in circumstances where the more traditional spheres of law fail to provide justice.  However, the recent case of Costello v MacDonald and Other [2001] EWCA …

Read more...

COMMENT

Stephens Scown family lawyer offers expert advice on BBC Radio Devon

Mark Smith from the family team appeared on BBC Radio Devon this lunchtime, providing expert advice to listeners. During the live broadcast, he answered queries concerning the rights of grandparents to see their grandchildren and provided information about how collaborative …

Read more...

COMMENT

DECC is denied feed-in tarrif appeal

The Court of Appeal has denied the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) a hearing for its appeal against the High Court’s ruling on UK solar feed-in tariffs. This means the feed-in-tariff will now go back to 43.3p for …

Read more...

COMMENT