Band Hatton accelerates onto information super-highway

COVENTRY-based Band Hatton has launched an innovative new range of legal services online.

The firm has rebranded the operation Band Hatton Online and the system allows clients to submit legal documents via the internet before they are thoroughly checked by a member of the firm’s legal team.

Mark Moseley, practice director, said: “The legal profession is sometimes categorised as being a bit stuffy and stuck in its ways – but the way Band Hatton (Online) operates will hopefully challenge that perception.

“We understand that people increasingly have less free time, and while they are able to access services such as banking and insurance online, that has not been the case when it comes to legal matters.”

The firm has recruited IT specialist George Campbell to head up the online operation.

He said: “The aim is to make these services as accessible and user-friendly as possible for existing and potential clients.”

SMEs main fear is sacking workers – Talbots

ALMOST two-thirds of SMEs seeking legal advice are concerned about terminating the employment of under-performing workers, a new survey has found.

The survey, commissioned by QualitySolicitors – whose Talbots subsidiary operates in the Black Country, questioned more than 400 firms and discovered the sacking issue topped the scale of most problematic legal challenges currently experienced by small businesses.

The research found that the second most prolific legal issue for SMEs was making redundancies when restructuring their companies, with almost half citing it as one of the top three legal challenges business owners face. Selling their business was also an issue many SME owners are concerned about.

The main reason for SMEs finding these issues challenging, according to the research, is that in 85% of cases the firms did not know or understand what their legal requirements and obligations are and 45% lack awareness of changes in legislation. In addition, 65% of SMEs often leave it too late to seek legal advice on compliance issues, and 45% of them leave insufficient time to resolve legal matters due to other business pressures.

Craig Holt, chief executive of QualitySolicitors, said: “As an entrepreneur myself I completely understand why the finer points of employment law may not be front of mind for people when they are starting a business, but failure to comply with legislation or taking cuts in the short term can prove costly to a company, and ultimately the profits, in the long term.”

Google battle highlights IP issues for tech firms – Irwin Mitchell

THE high-profile legal battle between internet giant Google and Oracle has highlighted the importance of an early risk assessment for the possible infringement of intellectual property rights and the subsequent use of license agreements, Irwin Mitchell has said.

A trial in the US is looking to determine whether Google violated Oracle’s intellectual property rights in relation to how Google’s Android mobile operating system interacts with Oracle’s Java programming language. Java is best known for allowing one set of code to run programs across a number of electronic devices.

The case, which could have significant implications for the search engine giant, is largely focused on the company’s use of application programming interfaces – or APIs – and how these interact with Java to allow developers to write Java-compatible code for its Android mobile operating system.

It comes following a series of high-profile disputes which have put the issue of intellectual property rights in the technology sector in the spotlight, including a case in which Apple alleged that Samsung had violated its rights in relation to the technology in its Samsung Galaxy Tab device.

James Wellburn, a solicitor at Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham office and who specialises in issues related to commercial litigation and intellectual property, said there was much businesses in the technology sector could learn from this kind of case.

“The case should go some way to providing clarity to software developers in relation to the legal issues they need to bear in mind when developing mobile applications specifically for Android,” he said.

“It could also potentially impact on which companies choose to make use of Java and, depending on the ruling, may even mean that Google could have to alter its Android mobile operating system.”