Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

The Red Kite name will once again be flying high in Welsh legal circles “Quality is still the watchword here at Red Kite,” said partner David Sangster,“as our recent Lexcel reaccreditation shows. “And from February 6, we will be trading again as Red Kite Law - a strong, local, Welsh brand and one that resonates in the communities we live and work in. Our research shows that our clients value great service from a local firm rather than a national brand.” "We have a fantastic team of solicitors and long-lasting relationships with our clients who like us because we are local, we are good lawyers and we do a great job for them.” Mr Sangster added: “So far the feedback from clients has been very positive. But the name of the firm just isn’t the most important thing for them. It’s what we do for our clients here in Wales that matters. “Our plans for this year will build on what we already have: a forward-thinking Welsh firm that delivers good quality legal advice to local people ...

The leading law firm in West Wales, QualitySolicitors Redkite, has received a whole host of recommendations in the Legal 500 guide to experts. Redkite partner David Sangster (pictured) said: “Legal 500 is THE guidebook and internet site when it comes to checking benchmarks for quality legal services. “The team at Redkite is delighted to see the names of our legal experts scattered so liberally throughout the guide. It is a real feather in the cap for the quality of services we provide here at the biggest law firm in West Wales.” In the Legal 500 Wales overview, the publication says, ‘Redkite . . . continues its expansion in West Wales . . . and has had notable success in winning work from major energy clients.’ There are recommendations for Redkite team members in a number of legal sectors – Human resources, Employment – ‘Donna Purchase heads the strongest employment team in West Wales. Its excellent client base includes Milford Haven Port Authority and Murco Oil Refinery, along...

The Pembrokeshire branch of Headway, the brain injury association, is getting ready for a busy summer schedule. Top of the agenda will be a major Headway Wellness Day at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne, near Carmarthen, in September. “We have been doing a lot of work to spreading the word about Headway, particularly since the national Brain Injury Awareness week earlier this year,” said Rebecca Proctor, the treasurer of the Pembrokeshire branch of Headway. “The association works as a registered charity and works very hard to raise awareness of what support is available to brain injury victims and their families. “It is estimated that across the UK there are around 500,000 people (aged 16 - 74) living with long term disabilities as a result of traumatic brain injury.” Some of the members of the Pembrokeshire branch of Headway attended the recent South and West Wales brain injury Conference in Swansea. The event included a number of excellent guest speakers and gave ...

QualitySolicitors Redkite, the leading West Wales law firm, has today (Thursday, June 6) announced significant changes to its business. The move reflects the current trend in the UK legal market, which has seen leading national and international firms restructure their operations. “We are fortunate here at QualitySolicitors Redkite in having a clear vision of how to build a successful modern law firm, with the emphasis on effectively and efficiently serving our clients in West Wales,” said QS Redkite chief executive Andrew Manning (pictured above). “Along with other business sectors in the UK economy, we appreciate it is prudent to react to changes in the marketplace. It is a harsh reality that the legal sector now has excess capacity as the economy - and demand for legal services - has shrunk.” The changes begin with the start of a consultation process with staff about potential job losses. The consultation involves 24 staff positions (12 in Carmarthenshire and 12 in Pembrokeshir...

The go-ahead firm of QualitySolicitors Redkite has appointed a new chief executive. Andrew Manning, 47, arrives with an extensive track record in business management. “QualitySolicitors Redkite are at the forefront when it comes to operating a modern-day legal business and I am delighted to be joining the team,” said Mr Manning. “This is a great opportunity for me to help a very forward-thinking team at QualitySolicitors Redkite manage some of the very dramatic changes currently taking place in the marketplace of legal services.” Bristol-born Mr Manning attended Bristol Cathedral School and studied Land Management at the University of Reading before gaining a MBA at the West of England University. Mr Manning has also studied the advanced management programme at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. He added: “Recently, I have been running my own business called Bishopsworth Ltd, advising professional legal practices on management and before that was I was c...

The QualitySolicitors Redkite team has great pleasure in sponsoring the ‘Best Supplier’ category in the Pembrokeshire Tourism Industry Awards. “As a business based in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, we know all about supplying quality services for customers,” said QualitySolicitors Red Kite managing partner Luke Smith. “Recognition for high quality, efficient and successful businesses is very important and we are delighted to be lending our support to the Pembrokeshire Tourism Industry Awards. “We care passionately about highlighting all the very best in local life in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire and worthwhile awards such as these go a long way to rewarding local businesses for their achievements. “They also help to create a healthy competitive atmosphere to ensure that our very important tourism industry stays at the top of its game.” With offices across Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, the QualitySolicitors Redkite team has built up an excellent reputation for p...

Leading West Wales law firm QualitySolicitors Redkite will be helping to host a high-powered business breakfast at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, on Thursday, February 21. The breakfast is being staged in in conjunction with the Scarlets, Grant Thornton, Barclays and Thomas Carroll. QualitySolicitors Redkite partner Betsan Powell said: "We will be discussing the key challenges facing business in 2013 with an invited audience representing a wide range of business interests in the area." The speakers will include Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby legend Robert Jones, who is regional director at Thomas Carroll. Also attending will be Professor Dylan Jones Evans, Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Wales. Weblink -  http://www.qualitysolicitors.com/redkite

The go-ahead firm of QualitySolicitors Redkite has recruited two new members of staff to the firm’s Carmarthen office. Simon Goddard and Natalie Morgans have joined QS Redkite from Andrew Markham solicitors. QS Redkite Managing Partner Luke Smith said: “Both Simon and Natalie have extensive experience in family work in the legal sector and we welcome them on board.” Simon Goddard, 56, is originally from Sussex but now lives in Llanwrda in the Tywi Valley. Married with two children, Simon studied at The College of Law in London and qualified as a solicitor in 1998. Simon is on the Law Society’s Children Panel and specialises in acting for parents and guardians in care proceedings. He is also an Accredited Specialist of Resolution and an Advanced Member of the Law Society Family Law Panel. Natalie Morgans has joined QS Redkite as a legal assistant. Originally from London, she moved to Brynamman as a child. She is married and continues to live in Brynamman. Natalie, 35, was educated ...

The leading legal firm in West Wales, QualitySolicitors Redkite, has been busy distributing money to charitable causes. Donations in January amounted to more than £850. The firm has its own committee of staff members, who meet on a regular basis to decide on charitable donations. QS Redkite Managing Partner Luke Smith said: "We try to be as supportive as we can of many local charities. We try to vary our support as we are keen to play our part in helping different communities of interest in West Wales." January donations included -  £150 to Royal British Legion  £150 to the Christian Lewis (childrens cancer) Charity. £250 to the Laura Rees fundraising event. Laura, 23 from St Clears, died in a car accident between St Clears and Whitland.  She worked at the Glangwili Hospital Day Nursery. £100 to Greenhill School in Pembrokeshire to help them with their rugby tour to Canada. £100 to Sarah Goddard as a donation towards her BSES expedition to the Hima...

The leading legal firm in West Wales has lent its support to junior rugby in Laugharne in Carmarthenshire. QualitySolicitors Redkite has donated £100 to Laugharne Mini Rugby. Pictured above is QS Redkite legal assistant Melissa Halpin with civic officials, representatives of Laugharne rugby and mini rugby players. QS Redkite Managing Partner Luke Smith said the firm was delighted to be able to lend its support to the junior rugby players. "We care very much about our local community and we try and help a variety of sporting organisations where and when we can. Hopefully, our donation will help encourage youngsters in and around Laugharne to take part in sport." The Redkite team was delighted last year to be chosen as the only law firm in Camarthenshire and Pembrokeshire to join QualitySolicitors. Redkite was established in 2011 through the merger of two long-established law firms in South West Wales – Lowless & Lowless and Morris Roberts. The team at QualitySo...

Lowri Davies, a legal assistant at the Cleddau Bridge offices of QualitySolicitors Redkite, has successfully completed her Level 6 CILEx Certificate in the Practice of Employment Law.  QS Redkite Managing Partner Luke Smith congratulated Lowri on her achievement and added: “We work very hard here to make sure all our staff are given every chance to fulfil their potential. “Qualification successes such as Lowri’s show that we are constantly working to improve the quality of service we are able to offer our customers.” Lowri is a legal assistant supporting the employment and HR department at QualitySolicitors Redkite. She assists in preparing contracts, handbooks and compromise agreements. She graduated with an honours degree from the University of the West of England, Bristol and has also achieved her ILEX Level 3 Certificate in Employment Law and Practice. CILEx is the professional association for Chartered Legal Executive lawyers and other members of CILEx. It regulat...

The go-ahead firm of QualitySolicitors Redkite is yet again breaking the mould of traditional legal services. The firm is going to open its Haverfordwest office from 9.30 am to 1 pm on Saturdays from this weekend (October 6). “We are in the vanguard of changing the face of legal services here at QualitySolicitors Redkite,” said Managing Partner Luke Smith. “We like to think we are in tune with what our customers want from us in terms of providing a service. “We reckon that Saturday opening will work well for both new client instructions and for servicing existing clients. “QualitySolicitors is a brand which is changing the face of legal services in the UK: you can see that from the mould-breaking TV advertisements and other publicity the brand has attracted in recent months. “The goal in opening on a Saturday morning is to provide a more convenient time to meet our customers and to help provide an ever better service for customers old and new.” Mr Smith said the QualitySolicitors Red...

‘The Business Brief’ is the column from QualitySolictors Redkite in the Carmarthen Journal. Dymphna Powell, Associate with QualitySolictors Redkite puts the spotlight on an important issue for landlords . . . Novice landlords often make the mistake of assuming they will obtain vacant possession of a rented property immediately upon expiry of the fixed term of a tenancy. However, if a landlord re-enters a rented property to resume control with the tenant still in occupation, the landlord could potentially be sued by the tenant for damages for unlawful eviction (notwithstanding that the tenancy term has ended). A landlord who wishes to obtain vacant possession of rented accommodation at the end of a fixed term Tenancy Agreement, can do so by serving the appropriate Notice in the fourth month of the tenancy, coinciding to end on the last day of a fixed term of the Tenancy. The Notice must be in the prescribed format and be compliant with legislation and common law. At the end o...

QualitySolicitors Redkite partner Tim Haggar has a new qualification which is regarded as a major ‘STEP’ forward in his industry. Mr Haggar is one of only a handful of solicitors in Wales to gain the STEP Qualified Practitioner diploma from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. The society’s qualification is widely regarded as major benchmark for those working in wealth management, tax, trusts and estates planning. “I am delighted to receive the qualification,” Mr Haggar said. “There’s a lot of hard work gone into it and it represents something of a personal milestone for me - and a feather in the cap for the firm of QualitySolicitors Redkite! “There aren’t many people in Wales who hold the qualification, so I think it puts QualitySolicitors Redkite right up there in the vanguard as a leading light in the field of trusts and estates and specialist tax issues.” Mr Haggar had to complete three dissertations to gain the qualification. His topics were – Lifetime Tax planning...

The team at QualitySolicitors Redkite, the biggest law firm in West Wales, has just been awarded a new ‘quality mark’ for legal aid services. The firm has received the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM), a benchmark first introduced in 2002 as a quality management system for legal aid providers. It is part of a family of standards that aims to enable legal services providers and organisations to demonstrate that they are well-managed, provide good levels of client care and have systems in place to ensure delivery of good quality advice. Managing Partner Luke Smith said he was delighted with the SQM award. “A great deal of hard work and effort goes into securing benchmark awards like SQM and the team at QualitySolicitors Redkite deserve praise for their efforts. “Of course, the main aim of securing a ‘quality mark’ such as this is to demonstrate to customers that we do exactly ‘what it says on the tin’ when it comes to delivering legal aid services.” The legal aid scheme in England and Wal...

QualitySolicitors Redkite has given cash support to the 21st annual Tenby Arts Festival. The law firm, which has offices in Tenby and throughout Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, will be putting £500 into the festival funds. Managing Partner Luke Smith said the firm was delighted to be able to lend its support to the festival. He added: “It is very much a key event in the Tenby calendar and we wish the festival every success. “As usual, the festival organisers have worked very hard to ensure there is a varied and attractive programme of events. We hope the festival proves a delight to residents and visitors alike.” The festival runs from September 22-29. There are two outstanding one man shows – Richard Elfyn portrays Lloyd George in the aptly-titled The Wizard, the Goat and the Man that Won the War.  Jenny Coverack tells the fascinating life story of Kathleen Scott who was married to Scott of the Antarctic.  The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be marked with a special...

QualitySolicitors Redkite, the biggest law firm in West Wales, has announced two new promotions.  Solicitors Lucy Morris and Dymphna Powell have both been made ‘Associates’ with the firm. Managing Partner Luke Smith said he was delighted to announce the promotions. “We are a growing West Wales business keen to encourage and develop all our staff to fulfil their potential. The promotions to ‘Associate’ level are well deserved for Lucy and Dymphna.” About Lucy Morris  Lucy is a solicitor specialising in all aspects of commercial property transactions, including leases, sales and purchases of business premises, agricultural matters, mortgages and guarantees. She also has broad experience in commercial and business affairs and in employment law. She acts on behalf of a wide variety of clients, including sole traders, partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited companies. She joined the firm as a trainee solicitor in 2006 after studying at Cardiff University an...

Diane Doona is finance manager with QualitySolicitors Redkite, the biggest law firm in West Wales. The firm has seven offices in the area, including one in Carmarthen. Here is her Holiday Heaven and Hell, as featured in last weekend's South Wales Evening Post. What was your best holiday? I’m lucky; I love travelling and have a lot of really good trips. We abandoned the ‘holiday package’ a long time ago and on our first trip to Sardinia we decided to rough it; no hotels booked, no transport. We would use local buses and cheap B and Bs. We weren’t too old to backpack! We arrived in Alghero, a beautiful old town steeped in naval history, with wonderful churches, squares and museums to explore. Not as cheap as we expected, on our third day we headed for the bus station, knapsacks on our backs. We waited for a bus to take us to the beautiful Maddalena Islands in the North East. No-one seemed to understand where we wanted to go. The bus drivers looked at us blankly and the informati...

In the latest QualitySolicitors Redkite ‘Business Brief’ column from the Carmarthen Journal, QualitySolicitors Redkite partner Betsan Powell looks at how to prepare your business for the future. As an SME (small to medium-sized enterprise/business) your best hope for growth, possibly survival, may be investment for working capital and cash flow purposes. It is openly acknowledged by funders and commentators alike that business growth is key to economic revival. The common complaint of businesses however is that access to finance, or the lack of it, is the main barrier to achieving growth. Recent Bank of England Trends in Lending reports said that access to credit was broadly unchanged for SME’s in the first half of 2012 and is set to remain that way. Yet demand for funds from small businesses rose in the three months to the end of May according to the same report. With bank term loan funding akin to gold dust, what options are there for SMEs that want to grow? ...

Alison Brant is a finance support assistant with QualitySolicitors Redkite, the biggest law firm in West Wales, who have seven offices in the area, including one in Carmarthen. Here is her Holiday Heaven and Hell (published in the South Wales Evening Post today). My worst holiday My worst holiday was back in the dim and distant past (thank goodness!). I hadn’t been married long and my (now ‘ex’) husband’s family always went to Barmouth in Mid Wales for their holidays because that was where all the ‘Brummies’ from Birmingham went to roost for their summer break. At that time we lived in Burnley so we had travelled down to Walsall on the Friday night ready to set off all together the next morning. (My husband’s sister, brother-in-law and two children always came with us, too) Overnight our car was broken into and our suitcases were stolen. Once in Barmouth, true to form, the weather was atrocious all week and to cap it all my ‘ex’ picked up a stomach bug. So there I was, trappe...