A story with a happy ending...

BigHand speech recognition trial...

Ridley & Hall shortlisted...

Case Spotlight from Sarah Young...

Domestic violence - Vicky Medd

Question Time with Laura Milburn

Running Down Dementia...

see inside

news&viewsIssue 16 | August 2016

01484 538 421 info@ridleyandhall.co.uk ridleyhall.co.ukRidley & Hall Legal Limited, Queens House, 35 Market Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2HL

Here to serve you...

Sam HirstPersonal Injury &

Contentious Probate

Jill WaddingtonWills & Probate

Alison MasonProperty

Peter KearneyAdoption Team

Victoria MaudeWills & Probate

Helen WebsterWills & Probate

Helen DandridgeContentious Probate &

Court of Protection

James CookChild Care &

Adoption

Ruky MahboobPractice Manager

Last month, Laura Milburn joined the Child Care and Adoption team at Ridley & Hall.

Laura has many years of legal experience and was called to Bar in 2010. After qualifying as a Barrister, Laura cross-qualified to become a solicitor in 2012.

Laura is a passionate advocate and has used her advocacy and negotiation skills on behalf of many clients over the years.

What do you think makes R & H a special law firm?

Its approach to clients and willingness to think outside the box.

What is your first memory of R & H?

Lots of smiley faces.

Which famous celebrity would you like to take to lunch and why?

Ranulph Fiennes to ask him what inspires him to go on his adventures.

What book would you recommend to others as a ‘must read’?

The Dark Tourist, by Dom Jolly.

Name your three favourite hobbies and interests outside work…

Walking, travelling and learning Russian.

Do you have a favourite holiday location?

Vietnam.

What have you never understood?

Bad manners.

If you weren’t working in the law profession what would you be doing?

Ballerina.

What’s your favourite word?

Insidious.

Fish and chips with mushy peas, gravy or curry sauce?

None of the above – Tartar sauce!

LAURA MILBURNQUESTION TIME WITH...

Nigel’s Nutty Nine

Dementia is a condition that robs over 850,000 people in the UK of their memories and other abilities, as well as taking away from their loved ones the independent person they knew.

At Ridley & Hall we are passionate about helping those who are living with dementia and their carers.

The ongoing campaign at Ridley & Hall continues. A team from the firm has recently come together to participate in the ‘Running Down Dementia’ challenge. It involves each participant running a significant distance over the summer months to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Named ‘Nigel’s Nutty Nine’ the team range from experienced marathon runners to total novices but all share the same enthusiasm for the cause. It’s a big challenge! Each member must run 100km and raise £100 each.

Leading the team, Nigel Priestley said, ‘’ This is a great cause and continues the work we are doing at Ridley & Hall to support those living with dementia and their carers. “

Nigel’s Nutty Nine would welcome all the support we can get and should you wish to donate please visit our sponsorship page and help.

Please donate herehttp://bit.ly/29uY6AE

#RunDownDementia

Lights, Cameras, Action!!

The screen stars at Ridley and Hall have been working on something special…

Ridley & Hall is a special firm of solicitors and our latest videos demonstrate why. Over the last couple of months, the team have been working on putting together a series of short films that really encapsulate the feel of the firm and what makes it

unique. From really listening to our customers, caring about getting great outcomes for our clients to the highly personal service which is tailored to the needs of each individual client. Things that make us different and that make us stand out from the crowd.

We know that when you need to take legal advice, it can be difficult to gauge what type of

service you need or who is the right person to talk to. The four short videos – The Overview, Family, Private Clients and Property – help bring clarity and point you in the right direction before you have to pick up the phone, fill out a form or type an email. It’s all part of our mission to provide the best customer service.

Our Clients are at the core of everything we do, we want to ensure we give an excellent service at every point. It is

important to us that this excellence is delivered from the outset of a client’s journey. Our video aims to do just that, by giving our clients a feel for the type of people we are and showcasing the type of work we do to make their Legal Services Journey that little bit easier

Adam Fletcher, Managing Partner

R&H 4Ridle

y & Hall

8Augu

st 2016

Our own little green friend!During our filming journey we acquired our very own little green friend who was quickly acquired as our company mascot - ‘The Ridley and Hall Ampersand’. You can watch out for Ampersand making a star appearance, coming to a screen near you soon!

To watch the video, please visit

our web site

Tracey LingCommunity Care

A local law �rm & a national presence

To visit Laura Milburn’s

profile please scan the QR code

Good news can often be hard to find in care proceedings. But not always!

For more information, scan

the QR code

Great News- Ridley & Hall Shortlisted

A BigHand Speech Recognition trial proves to be a BIG winner for customers

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND JOHNNY DEPP - WHAT WE CAN LEARN

Christopher’s story has a happy ending….Christopher was placed in foster care in Huddersfield after his mother, a failed asylum seeker, had to leave the UK. She moved to Canada but didn't have citizenship and couldn't get a visa for her son to join her. His mother had left Christopher with a friend in the area and the local authority were not happy with the arrangement.

After care proceedings were started, Nigel Priestley from Ridley & Hall visited the mother in Calgary, Canada. Working with the solicitor for the child, Ranjit Uppal, and with the Courts consent, arrangements were made for Christopher to live with his aunt in Kampala, Uganda.

Christopher thrived in his family's care and Nigel kept in touch with the family and visited them when he was in Kampala.

Nigel said recently, ‘‘And that wasn’t the end. Like all good stories, Christopher’s has a happy ending. Finally, in June 2016 the Canadian authorities gave permission for Christopher to live with his mother in Calgary. He's delighted! Mum's ecstatic. Congratulations to the aunt who has done a great job.’’

Ridley & Hall are delighted to have been shortlisted for the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2016. The awards ceremony, which celebrates excellence within the region’s legal profession, will be held on Thursday 13th October 2016 at New Dock Hall, Leeds. This recognition is a big accomplish-ment for Ridley & Hall who were competing against some of the largest legal firms across Yorkshire. It is fantastic news for a local Huddersfield firm to have not only been shortlisted, but shortlisted for two awards. Nigel Priestley, Senior Partner at Ridley & Hall Solicitors has been shortlisted for the Partner of the Year Award.

Adam Fletcher, Managing Partner, said “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for not only one but two awards in Family Law and Partner of the Year. I am really proud of the work the family team do on a daily basis helping individuals and families across Yorkshire and beyond. It is clear from the feedback we get that we are really making a difference. It is great to be part of such a vibrant Yorkshire Legal Community. We are really looking forward to the awards ceremony in October.” We wish Nigel and the Family Law team the best of luck!

Ridley & Hall have run a BigHand Speech Recognition pilot project and have further invested in BigHand’s latest technology.

Ultimately, this will lead to a more streamlined service that will benefit clients – improving efficiency, productivity levels and ensuring customer service at Ridley & Hall continues to be first class. After clearing a backlog of work, fee earners are now focusing on making their voice profiles as accurate as possible to be able to produce a variety of documents such as client letters and email correspondence.

Cheryl Ward, Assistant Practice Manager at Ridley & Hall explains how delivering excellent customer service was the key driver behind the technology project, “Ridley & Hall is a forward-thinking firm with a keen eye on future technologies. Keeping up with new and more effective ways of doing things is how we are going to deliver the best service to our clients, which is our main focus and priority. We want to ‘work

smarter not harder’ and BigHand Speech Recognition is certainly helping us to do this.”

Amber Heard married Hollywood actor Johnny Depp in a lavish island ceremony in February 2015.

Depp and Amber Heard have hit the headlines recently for other reasons. There are allegations that Depp tried to suffocate Heard with a pillow. Heard also applied for a restraining order against her husband in a Los Angeles court. Heard alleged that Depp had violently attacked her on a Saturday night in their penthouse apartment. There have been subsequent photographs submitted to the court showing Heard with a large bruise on her face, as well as picture of broken bottles, picture frames and shattered glass on the floor.

The media reaction to these allegations has been quite striking. Some newspapers and public reaction seems to be that Heard was trying to secure a premature financial resolution by making the allegations of abuse and therefore was not to be believed. It is only recently, since the pictures of her sporting a bruise were published that sympathy now seems to be turning towards Heard.

Domestic abuse is defined in English Law as any incident or pattern of incidents, of

a controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (whether psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between individuals who are associated with each other. Many survivors of domestic violence say that they could cope with the physical violence but found the torment and mental abuse from their partners as being most damaging. For some victims of domestic violence, it can take months, even years, to deal with the physiological trauma of having been through domestic violence. Here at Ridley & Hall, we always try and deal sympathetically with client’s and try to put ourselves in their shoes. For sufferers of domestic violence, we do try and offer a warm and friendly service where clients feel that their voice is being heard.

If you do need to apply to the court for a non-molestation order, Legal Aid is available.

However, because they are required to pay a monthly contribution if their income is above a certain level, some clients find even with Legal Aid, it is cheaper to pay privately forinjunctions.

If you do need some assistance in this area, please do not hesitate to contact the Family team on 01484 538421.

C A S E S P O T L I G H TCourt Decides Missing Huddersfield Man is “Presumed Dead “ Against Family’s WishesAfter more than 8 years, a judge in Leeds has decided that Steven Frank Cooper of Golcar, Huddersfield, who went missing in January 2008 must be presumed to have died, despite the opposition of his family.

The court case was brought under the Presumption of Death Act 2013 by Steven Cooper’s partner Claire Lodge, represented by solicitor Sarah Young. Claire had been in a relationship with Steven for 10 years before his disappearance on 21st January 2008, his 47th birthday.

Steven, who was an experienced carpenter and joiner was unemployed at the time of his disappearance due to a disability from a medical condition, Marfan Syndrome.

He left the jointly owned home that he shared with Claire in Golcar early in the morning. A few days after he went missing, his Ford Focus car was found near Loch Laggan in the Scottish Highlands. A massive police and mountain rescue operation failed to find any trace of him.

The contested hearing took place at the High Court in Leeds on Monday 27th June.Steven’s sister Trish Cooper, brothers Christian and Mark and mother Margaret have never given up hope that he is alive. They have, over the years, made many appeals through the media for help in finding him – but to no avail. They opposed Claire’s application as they felt that there was still hope that Steven Cooper could be found alive.

As her home is held jointly with Steven, Claire was unable to re-mortgage or sell the property without a declaration of presumed death. No one had the right to deal with Steven’s financial affairs. The court order means that Claire can now apply for a grant of probate to deal with Steven’s estate.

Claire Lodge is relieved that the order has been made, she said:

“I have to accept that I don’t think we will ever know why Steven went missing or what has happened to him. No one has had any contact from him since the day he went missing and over time I have had to come to the conclusion that he has died. I had to make the application to court to sort out Steven’s estate and I’m glad that I can finally start to move on with my life now”.

Claire’s solicitor Sarah Young, a partner with Ridley & Hall, specialises in resolving the affairs of missing people. She said:

“It is disappointing that Steven’s family contested Claire’s application and that we had to have a full day court hearing in front of a judge; but I’m glad that we got the right result. Steven Cooper’s disappearance is tragic and although I understand that his family feel unable to accept that he is dead, Claire has to be allowed to move on with her life.

The case is an unusual one because the judge was not prepared to find that there was enough

evidence to prove that Steven had died. But, as there have been no sightings of him or contact for more than 7 years, under the Presumption of Death Act the Judge had to make an order that Steven Cooper was presumed to have died on 22 January 2008.

A lot of people think that you always have to wait at least 7 years before someone can be presumed dead. Although that was true in this case, in many cases that’s not true; an application can be made at any point after someone has gone missing if there is evidence to support the view that they have died”.

Vicky Medd, Head of the Family Department at Ridley & Hall comments

Christopher with his aunt, Ranjit Uppal and Nigel Priestley in Kampala, Uganda

Ridley & Hall has a track record of fighting to keep children in the care of their family where it's in

their best interest.Please feel free to contact our

team on 01484 538421

Cheryl Ward of Ridley & Hall

Sarah Young specialises in contentious probate cases and has a particular interest in cases involving missing people. She campaigns alongside and supports the work being done by the charity Missing People. This is the only charity in the UK which specialises in and is dedicated to bringing missing children and adults back together with their families. Their helpline can be contacted on 116 000.

For further information please contact Sarah Young on her direct dial 01484 558838 or her mobile 07860 165850.