I am Sundeep Bhatia of Beaumonde Law Practice and I have been a Law Society Council Member for the Ethnic Minority Constituency since 2010. If you want to get in touch with me regarding any of the matters raised in these minutes, then email me Sundeep.bhatia@beaumonde-law.co.uk . The Law Society Council met remotely once more on 15 July. The discussions focused on the work being undertaken to support our members through the Covid 19 crisis and the work to strengthen the abili

Gunjan Hazaria, Head of Production at Zee Tv UK, interviews our Sundeep Bhatia for the “It’s your right” Facebook page. "Self-Employed" – During Coronavirus crisis, What Government Help is available? Across the UK overall, around 15.1% of individuals work in self employed jobs. The numbers have risen from 12.8% in 2004-05 to 15.1% in 2018-19. This is a big number of UK residents who are creating jobs for themselves. Finally there is some help available for the Self Employed b

I , Sundeep Bhatia, of Beaumonde Law Practice solicitors, in Harrow, Middlesex am a Member of the Law Society Council. This is the Parliament of the Law Society and meets every couple of months at its Chancery Lane headquarters. My Constituency is Ethnic Minority solicitors and I have held me seat since 2010. Please feel free to contact me at Sundeep.bhatia@beaumonde-law.co.uk if you want to discuss any of the matters raised at Council. The Minutes of the Meeting are as follo

David Green, DVP of the Law Society, introduces last nights debate on the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements. Last night I attended an excellent event at The Law Society which had been organised by its employment law committee, of which I am a Member. In the light of allegations concerning Harvey Weinstein and Philip Green, non-disclosure agreements are very much in the public eye. These are agreements which try to restrict the ability of those with a potential claim against a

There are many people working in the UK who depend on their driving license in order to carry out their job or in  order to run their business. If you are a taxi driver or a bus driver then  you would lose your job if you were to be disqualified from driving. If you are a salesman travelling the length and breadth of the United Kingdom then the loss of your license is also likely to lead to the loss of your livelihood. Whatever your profession ,the loss of your driving licens

Social media and my smartphone history go hand in hand. Prior to obtaining my first iphone,in January 2010 ,my knowledge of social media was rudimentary. I occasionally used Facebook to stay in touch with relatives and I had a basic profile on LinkedIn . The iphone changed that. I had heard of this phenomenon called twitter and was determined to give it a try. Like most novice twitterers I started by following a few stars such as Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross. Yet the

This week the Law Society Council,of which I am a member,passed a motion stating “That the Society, in the exercise of its representative function, should – (a) By letter invite the claimants to propose mediation, with a stay of proceedings for that mediation, with the option that the Society be involved in that mediation; and Offer to pay the claimants’ costs of that mediation up to a maximum of £30,000. 2. Provided that the Society’s mediation invitation is accep

Seven years ago ,this week ,Apple announced its first iphone. I have been an iPhone user since 2010 and Apple’s wonder phone has enhanced my professional life in so many ways. DICTATION In 2010 I was using an ancient Philips digital dictating machine from the turn of the century. I originally had three but a process of cannibalisation meant that only one was left. One day it croaked out its last digital file and departed for the digital graveyard in the cloud. The cost of a

Last night I attended a Middlesex Law Society COLF/COFA Compliance forum at the University of West London. The forum was presented by Michael Garson ,my Law Society Council colleague. The event was sponsored by JLT insurers and senior members of that organisation were present. JLT were scathing and critical about the SRA proposals. The SRA were accused of not consulting with the insurance industry before issuing their consultation papers. Some of their criticisms reiter

My favourite teacher ,at school,was Mr Newman. He taught me the joys of Shakespeare and the poetry of Chaucer. I studied “The Knights Tale” for A level. My head still rings with Chaucer’s emphasis on Chivalry and the code of honour. I have always felt that solicitors are Knights of the modern era . We live by the SRA’s code of conduct and place the interests of our clients above our own self interest. When I qualified , back in 1992 ,solicitors were mentioned in the sam

This government does not want you to bring a claim at the Employment Tribunal. Its thinking is A It wants to reduce the amount of money spent on the Tribunal system B It wants to reduce the disruption caused to business by Emplyment Tribunal claims. It has therefore introduced several measures designed to make it more difficult for employees to bring claims. This is the thinking behind the introduction of fees and the increase in the period of time you need to work in order

The announcement ,yesterday,that The Lord Chancellor would preserve client choice,is to be applauded and is a testimony to the hard work and passion of the Legal Community. However to what extent will client choice be preserved? In order to be selected by clients BAME firms,offering Access to Justice for local communities, have to survive. Chris Grayling mentioned “managed market consolidation ‘” when he spoke yesterday. The idea is still one about fewer and larger firms.

SUNDEEP BHATIA,BEAUMONDE LAW PRACTICE, PINNER,MIDDLESEX This is no time for complacency. Diversity in the legal profession faces it’s biggest challenge.. According to  Law Society statistics ,(Trends in the Legal Profession 2012), more than half of BAME solicitors are to be found in firms of 5 partners or less. There are several reasons for this. We may have stepped out of pre-existing firms, after reaching a glass ceiling, in order to make our names. We are more likely to ha

I qualified as a solicitor in 1992. Following my qualification I did repossession work for Palmers solicitors in Basildon. In 1994 I moved to work for the firm of Gupta and Partners in Harrow & Wealdstone. Whilst there I became involved in criminal defence Legal Aid work and I gained my qualifications as both a 24-hour police station Duty Solicitor and a Court Duty solicitor. I became head of the criminal department prior to setting up my own criminal defence firm, Brent Law

It was 20 years ago today…..” as Sir Paul McCartney once sang. On 15 October 1992 I was admitted to the role as a solicitor of the Law Society of England and Wales. I still swell with pride when I remember the day. It was the culmination, as it is with all the solicitors, of many years of study. I recall the pride of my dearly departed mother and my father as I accepted my certificate from the then President of the Law Society. I remember being dazzled by the History and

Do you want to give your most problematic employee enough money to buy a brand new Porsche 911? That is what you risk if that employee successfully sues your business for unfair dismissal. This is because the maximum amount that an employment tribunal can award for unfair dismissal is around £80,000 which is dependent upon an employee’s age ,earnings and the length of time that he or she has worked for your business. That sum does not take into consideration the legal costs y

The CPS panel is hailed as being a great opportunity for solicitor Advocates to branch out into the brave new world of criminal Prosecutions. Yet ,in at least one important respect,the odds are weighed against solicitor Advocates. In amongst the small print is a requirement that all successful applicants must have completed a Human Rights course in criminal Advocacy. I understand that this is an integral part of a pupils training. Yet how Many solicitor Advoca

In March of this year it was my honour to be appointed one of the Law society council members for the black minority ethnic constituency(ie the Law Society of England and Wales). The Law Society Council tends to be a secretive body in that most solicitors are unaware of it’s functions and how it’s members are elected. I personally think that this is due to a failure of publicity rather than a wish to rule in secrecy. There is ,therefore,a need for an article such as