Leathes Prior is pleased to announce the launch of its Internet Defamation and Online Reputation Management Service.
The advent of social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs, as well as the more traditional online forums, has brought with it the opportunity for exercising freedom of speech which 10 or 15 years ago could not have been imagined. Whilst much of this is legitimate expression of opinion, there have been many well publicised examples of individuals falling foul of the law and employers taking action against staff as a result of their conduct online.
Mike Barlow, Head of Dispute Resolution, comments that “it is becoming increasingly common for clients to seek our help where they find themselves the innocent victim of online bullies or trolls, often hiding behind a cloak of anonymity.”
Leathes Prior has developed two types of service for organisations, businesses and high profile individuals, designed to protect and manage your online reputation:
•An Annual Monitoring Service, providing regular alerts and ongoing support •A Fixed Fee Service for one-off cases of online defamation To find out more about this innovative new service, please visit: https://internet-defamation.property118.com/ or contact us for further information.
On the 100th Anniversary of Captain Scott’s expedition to the Antarctic, the Solar Panels provided by RenEnergy to British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera base were switched on. At 3pm the North roof was producing 3.1kW and the South 260W.
RenEnergy designed the system and supplied the components which were shipped to the Antarctic, the panels were installed by BAS staff following training with RenEnergy at the BAS Cambridge office.
BAS currently uses a 340kW generator to meet base electrical demand so the solar panels will not produce enough electricity to affect the main base by a significant amount but any excess electricity generated will be exported to the base electrical network.
The power generated by the array will be used to offset the carbon produced by generators during winter. The carbon savings will equate to: • North Roof will save 3550kg per annum and • South Roof will save 2725kg per annum.
This was a really exciting project for RenEnergy to be involved with and we will be interested to see how the system performs in such an extreme environment. We look forward to receiving pictures of the installation in the next few days.
Yesterday we welcomed twenty nine Environmental Science students from the University of East Anglia to RenEnergy HQ in Norfolk. We are visited by the students each year as part of a week’s field course for the Low Carbon Energy module.
The students came to hear presentations from Neal Shave Head of PV and Pierre Delhougne Head of Thermal Technologies. Neal gave a presentation about the life cycle of a PV project and Pierre talked about the various Thermal Technologies that RenEnergy offer and also gave a summary of the Renewable Heat Incentive.
Our Immigration Team scored two notable victories this month for clients facing imminent removal from the UK. In the first case decided by the First Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber on March 16th an Indian national was allowed to stay in the United Kingdom to be with her partner and daughter. In the second case decided by the Upper Tribunal on March 28th the team were able to reverse a previous decision of the First Tier Tribunal refusing permission to remain for US partner of a British Citizen living in the United Kingdom. In both cases the client previously represented themselves or used other advisers. The team successfully relied on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and were able to persuade the court that our clients removal would be a disproportionate interference with their right to a family and private life in the UK.
We currently have the following two job vacancies:
Legal Secretary (Job Share)
We require a hard-working and organised legal secretary to offer high quality support to our Real Estate team. You will have a minimum typing speed of 70 wpm, excellent IT skills and very good spelling, punctuation and grammar. You will also be confident dealing with clients face-to-face and on the telephone, be very well presented and have a calm and professional persona.
21 hours per week ~ 9.00am – 5.00pm ~ Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Insolvency NQ or 1-2 PQE Solicitor/Equivalent Fee Earner
We require a hard-working Newly Qualified or Post Qualified Solicitor (or equivalent fee earner) to join our busy Insolvency Team. Reporting to the Insolvency Partner, your duties will include assisting with the Partner’s caseload and running your own caseload. You must be confident in your ability to advise clients face-to-face, on the phone, by email and written correspondence, as well as have the ability to accurately scrutinise business accounts.
The ideal candidate would have excellent academics, demonstrate good commercial awareness and grasp the team’s objectives and the industry it operates in. You will be able to understand our clients’ needs, have the ability to tailor advice appropriately and adapt quickly and easily to changing client demands. You will take personal responsibility for learning on the job and keeping your knowledge up to date and have excellent legal research and computer skills. A flexible attitude and a willingness to work extra hours to meet job demands is essential. Your own car and a full driving licence is desirable.
To apply please demonstrate how you meet the above criteria and send your CV and covering letter by email to Anna Godfrey, HR Manager (agodfrey@leathesprior.co.uk)
TV DRAGON and Ryman boss Theo Paphitis has launched a new website for his Twitter-boosting Small Business Sunday.
The retail entrepreneur selects six small businesses each week to mention on the social media site. After analysing their pitches, he decides who to re-tweet to his 230,000 followers.
Hundreds of businesses have benefited from the Theo touch since the service was launched in October 2010.
Now to support the scheme, where Theo rewards small businesses that tweet to @TheoPaphitis and describe their business in one 140-character message, he has launched a new website – Theopaphitissbs.com – designed & developed by one of his weekly winners.
Mr Paphitis explained that Small Business Sunday – hashtag #SBS – has captured the imagination of entrepreneurs throughout Britain. “It has created a tremendous buzz among entrepreneurs and the small business community and is fast developing as an exciting new networking initiative,” he said.
When Mr. Paphitis decided to launch a website for the service he turned to social media professional Chris Wheeler who runs Marketing Agency and web design company Metalfrog Studios Limited, from offices in Norwich.
The 43-year-old website designer, developer and search engine marketing professional had almost given up on his Small Business Sunday tweet after failing to get recognised by the business guru, who is chairman of the Ryman stationery group and owner of the lingerie company Boux Avenue. He also jointly owns Red Letter Days with fellow TV Dragon Peter Jones and has interests in a variety of other businesses in which he has invested through the hit television series.
Mr Wheeler, who employs eight staff staff including his wife, Julie, who is the company’s finance director, said: “In July last year I decided to have one more attempt at grabbing Theo’s attention. I resubmitted my tweet which explained how we offer a legal contract which guarantees success on search engines for UK businesses.
“The next morning I went in to work and realised that Metalfrog Studios had been one of Theo’s chosen businesses and we had had 20,000 visitors to our website. It was my Eureka moment. Absolutely incredible. It has given the business a phenomenal boost.”
Earlier this year, Mr Paphitis invited developers to pitch for the work of designing a website for Small Business Sunday and Metalfrog was awarded the contract.
Mr Wheeler added: “It has been an incredible journey since we won the pitch and I first met Theo and his team who run Ryman. I am very proud of the website we have produced and I am sure it will offer a focal point for these businesses.”
Mr Paphitis said: “I admire people who have passion and energy. If you cannot bore your friends to death about your own small business then something is seriously wrong. I was struck by the number of business owners on Twitter who wanted to tell me about their new products and services.
“Small Business Sunday was born so that people have a specific time slot and can pitch their ‘sell’ directly to me.
“My vision is that everyone who has ever won an #SBS retweet from me becomes part of a friendly club. Like-minded individuals can share successes and learn.
“The website will give a valuable profile to the winners chosen to date and should help those who have not yet won but want some tips on how to do so. You will find news about the latest winners plus events and activities of interest.
“I know I have been lucky in business and I am keen now to spread goodwill to others, of course not forgetting that very often, you make your own luck by making use of every opportunity.”
To take part in Small Business Sunday describe your business in a tweet of 140 characters or less and direct it to @TheoPaphitis not forgetting the hashtag #SBS on a Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm.
To contact Mr Wheeler at his office in Norwich please either view his website: https://www.metalfrog.co.uk or call 01603 861830
Many businesses in the region will have the option of paying tax based on cash profits, rather than full accounts, under new proposals that could come into effect next year.
But they will need to consider a number of factors in making that decision, according to PKF Accountants & business advisers.
Michael Muskett, Norfolk-based senior partner for PKF, said that some smaller businesses could benefit but others might lose out and it was vital to weigh up the pros and cons.
His advice follow HMRC’s consultation document on ‘Simpler income tax for the simplest small businesses’. It provides more detail on George Osborne’s proposal to allow businesses with a turnover less than £77,000 to pay tax based on cash profits rather than full accounts.
“As things stand, entrepreneurs need to weigh up some of the following points in reaching a decision,” said Mr Muskett.
Pros – Simpler paperwork and less detailed record keeping – In the first year, converting businesses can write-off of 100% of the remaining capital allowance pools -Using an established standard mileage allowance will be simpler – Ongoing asset purchases (apart from vehicles) can be written off as an expense; seemingly with no size limit – Fixed rate expenses for use of home offices will reduce arguments with HMRC over expenses.
Cons – Insisting on the use of 5 April as the year-end date means some people will end up advancing tax payments for the year before they join and they may, therefore, struggle with overlap relief claims – No relief for interest on loans used to support the working capital of the business is allowed. – LLPs and companies are excluded so those using the new basis cannot limit their personal liability – No ‘sideways’ loss relief will be allowed – Businesses will be locked in to claiming standard mileage allowances on cars (rather than CAs) even after they opt out of the scheme.
“Overall, the proposals will probably benefit businesses without large capital assets, such as smaller retailers, consultants, freelancers, domestic service providers etc, and short term roles – for example, those forced to work as a self-employed consultant between jobs,” said Mr Muskett.