 |
 |
|
|
Backlog Of Driving Without Due Care & Attention Cases Could See Motorists Caught Out
08 April 2008
Hundreds of people in Leicestershire are likely to receive a summons for driving without due care and attention over
the next few weeks because of a backlog of cases warns Imogen Cox, partner at the Leicester office of leading criminal and
business defence specialists Cartwright King.
“We started to receive a huge number of new cases recently and wondered why there were so many all of a
sudden,” says Imogen who specialises in road traffic law. “It seems that there had been a backlog of
cases and it is likely that there are several hundred more to be sent out over the next few weeks.”
“Any motorist therefore that is expecting to receive a summons for a traffic offence that has not yet arrived should
be aware that they could still be at risk of receiving something,” said Imogen. “This is worrying because if
convicted or found guilty of careless driving, magistrates not only have to endorse the driver's licence with 3 - 9
points, but can also disqualify the driver from driving. In cases where the driving causes death, serious
injury or damage, the driver may even be ordered to carry out unpaid work for the benefit of the community or
comply with a Home Detention Curfew.”
It should also be remembered that losing a driving licence for even a short period of time can have a devastating effect on
a person's life and livelihood. The situation can be worsened if a driver already has points on their licence because
if they accumulate 12 points over a three year period, they can be liable for disqualification for 6 months.
“To minimise the potential damaging effects of driving without due care and attention it is best to seek legal advice
early on in the process,” advises Imogen.
|
|
|
End of the line for Company Secretaries?
03 April 2008
Changes recently introduced under The Companies Act 2006 mean that as from 6 April, private companies no longer need to
have a company secretary. According to Andrew Brammer, business defence specialist with leading East Midlands business and
criminal defence firm Cartwright King, this stream-lining does not however mean that the traditional duties and obligations
of the company secretary such as keeping books and records, maintaining statutory registers and providing notices of
meetings are done away with.
Practically speaking, if a company decides to retain a company secretary nothing will change. However, if a private company
decides not to have a company secretary, then the directors must allocate those duties and functions to another director or
person nominated by them. The former company secretary will then need to resign or have their role terminated and this
change communicated to Companies House.
“Despite these changes it is important to realise that the company is still required to keep up to date books and
records, and file annual accounts on time,” said Andrew. “Failure to comply with these basic necessities is a
criminal offence for which all directors of the company remain liable.”
|
|
|
Cartwright King develop new Road Traffic team
08 March 2008
Leading East Midlands criminal defence firm Cartwright King has launched a specialist road traffic unit to provide people
charged with road traffic offences with top quality legal advice in the face of mounting legislation and increased numbers
of cases being brought.
Recent changes to the Road Traffic Act combined with more and more road safety cameras mean that people can face
significant fines or, worse still, a driving ban. In particular this can create real problems for those who rely on being
able to drive to continue to run their businesses.
A driving ban can have a devastating effect on both the individual and everyone else employed in their businesses.
Cartwright King, which has offices in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Sheffield are top ranked by Legal 500 and the
Chambers Directory, so they are well place to give expert advice and representation in these road traffic cases. The right
defence and mitigation can make all the difference between losing a license and staying in business.
Simon Chaplin, partner and head of the road traffic unit at Cartwright King said: “We understand these concerns and
place great importance on mounting a strong defence or effective mitigation in every case. Our road traffic specialists
have many years experience and know how best to appeal to the Magistrate’s sense of fairness. Our record of success
is unrivalled”.
Editor’s notes:
In conjunction with the road traffic unit, Cartwright King have launched a specialist road traffic offence website www.speedingoffence.com
|
|
|
Cartwright King To Be On Very High Cost Case Panel
27 February 2008
Cartwright King, the East Midlands [and S Yorks] based leading criminal and business defence niche solicitors, has been
selected by the Legal Services Commission to be on its new Very High Cost Case Panel for fraud and major criminal cases
following a rigorous national tendering exercise.
The firm demonstrated that it had the expertise and experience to deal with the most complex fraud and other major cases,
and to handle a number of such cases at any one time. Cartwright King is the only firm in the region to gain top ranking
for this work with the two authoritative legal directories - Legal 500 and Chambers.
The Cartwright King business defence team has 4 partners and 15 lawyers all specialising and expert in these cases, and
operating across the firm’s offices in Nottingham, Leicester, Derby and Sheffield.
Mark Wilson, head of business defence at Cartwright King, said: “This shows the specific expertise, experience and
resources that Cartwright King can offer to clients facing charges in these most serious cases, and underlines that the
legal market is moving towards specialist firms dealing with specific areas of law. To succeed in such a tough selection
process is a vindication from those responsible for the public funding of these cases that Cartwright King can offer the
highest level of expertise at the same time as value for money.”
|
|
|
Curry House Staffing Crisis
13 February 2008
The Immigration Advisory Service is calling on the Home Office to lift some of the restrictions it has placed on the
recruitment of workers from Bangladesh. According to David Smith, an immigration specialist for leading Nottingham criminal
and business defence firm Cartwright King, unless the Government relents, it could be the end of the traditional curry
house.
“We have had a long love affair with curry in this country, going right back to the early days of the 18th
century,” said David. “And even though we travel all over the world for our holidays, and have a vast choice of
multi-national restaurants in our towns and cities, curry houses are still an important part of our daily lives. However,
finding the right staff is becoming a huge problem for more and more business owners.”
The main difficulty is that locals (whether of white, Asian or any other ethnic background) just don’t want to
complete the long and arduous training or work the long hours for a modest salary, required to be a top-class Indian chef.
It is unusual in the UK for chefs to train in Indian cooking so in order to maintain the high standards required,
restaurant owners need to bring in top chefs for near enough every Indian restaurant across the country, and they come from
Bangladesh (and India and Pakistan).
As a result, the language used in the kitchens of Indian restaurants is predominantly Asian with the head chef speaking
little or no English. It also means that other kitchen staff must speak that language too – and British Asians are,
more often than not, setting their sights higher than washing up or chopping ingredients in their local curry house.
Another problem encountered by curry restaurants is that up until January 2007, there was a scheme to bring in semi-skilled
workers specifically for jobs in the catering industry which were very hard to fill with resident workers. The scheme
allowed kitchen workers to come over from Bangladesh for 12 months only. Despite the scheme working well, just over a year
ago the Government decided that the majority of these jobs could be filled by workers from Bulgaria and Romania, which had
both just joined the Common Market but whose workers had restricted rights.
For most of the catering industry, where the international language of the kitchens is English, this has worked reasonably
well; but for the curry house, the effect has been a disaster.
“We are working with many employers in Nottingham to find the best ways to bring in essential staff from overseas as
the whole work permit scheme is changed this year as part of the Government’s new ‘points-based’
approach,” concluded David.
|
|
|
Tough Times Ahead For Companies Facing Corporate Manslaughter Cases
11 February 2008
In anticipation of the Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 which is due to come into force on 6 April this year, the Courts are
now receiving advice on how to sentence companies convicted of the offence of corporate manslaughter.
According to Andrew Brammer, partner at leading business defence firm Cartwright King, the Courts are being advised to
treat a fatal accident in the work place as seriously as death by dangerous driving.
“One recommendation is that the level of any fine should be directly linked to the annual turnover of the company,
typically between 2.5 and 10 per cent, with a fine of 5 per cent as the starting figure,” said Andrew. “This
mirrors the maximum penalties of the Office of Fair Trading in relation to cartels and price fixing.”
The construction industry is particularly at threat, as they often work on very tight margins sometimes as little as 2% of
turnover; so the impact of even a small fine could be potentially devastating for the company and employees. In the East
Midlands the construction industry accounted for 5 of the 14 fatal accidents in the workplace recorded in the year ending
June 2007. Along with agriculture, construction has one of the highest accident rates.
“Fines are only going to become heavier and not just for fatal accidents,” said Andrew. “All businesses,
not just those in construction, need to be carrying out a detailed review of their management systems to identify and
remedy weaknesses that might impact on the health and safety of employees.”
|
|
|
New Regulations Will Hit Local Employers Hard According To Local Solicitor
06 February 2008
New rules for the employment of overseas workers that come into force in February will hit local employers hard, according
to David Smith, a specialist in business-related immigration law at leading Midlands business and criminal defence
specialist firm Cartwright King.
“If you accidentally employ someone from abroad who doesn’t have the ‘right’ immigration stamp then
you will face a civil penalty of £10,000 for each worker,” says David. “On the other hand though, if you
fail to run a fair recruitment policy you’ll be guilty of racial discrimination so you have to be very careful In
addition if you’re found to be deliberately employing ‘illegals’ then from February you’ll face not
only an unlimited fine but also prison.”
“The Government promised a major publicity campaign to let businesses know about these changes and how to deal with
them, but we’ve seen little sign of this locally,” he continues. “Firms need to be reviewing their
employment practices and HR record systems very carefully, to make sure they are not caught out by these changes.”
To add to the changes, new rules for skilled workers from abroad also come in later this year as part of the
Government’s new ‘points-based’ scheme. It will mean that all businesses that employ specialist staff
under work permits will need to register for a new-style licence – even if they only want to continue to employ
someone on an existing permit.
“Smaller businesses will be especially hard-hit by the new rules” said David. “Many local restaurants,
for example, rely on skilled chefs from abroad. Sectors such as manufacturing as well as companies that export also tend to
employ people from abroad and will be hit by the new regulations. Ignorance of the new law will be no excuse – and
the penalties of you get it wrong are going to be very serious.”
David advice to local businesses is to review their practices carefully, and soon. “Make sure that whoever is
checking your systems understands the new rules – or gets help from a specialist who does” he says. “The
new rules will actually work very well for those who are prepared – but local firms will ignore them at their
peril!”
|
|
|
NEW CORPORATE IDENTITY UNVEILED FOR CARTWRIGHT KING
31 October 2007
Leading East Midlands niche business and criminal defence firm Cartwright King has launched a new corporate identity.
The new look is an evolution of the firm’s current identity as opposed to a complete change, with the main corporate
style remaining the same, but with new looks introduced for the different specialist departments within the firm –
business defence, criminal defence, and civil liberties which includes mental health, immigration and public law.
These changes reflect the developments that have taken place in the firm over the last few years, since it was established
in 2000. Since then the firm has grown to a partnership of 15 partners and 70 specialist lawyers, with a network of four
offices in Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Sheffield. Cartwright King remains very much a boutique practice focusing on
its niche practice areas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
