Businesses today face levels of litigation risk unheard of even a few years ago. Threats could come from employees; customers; regulators and the costs to fight even the most frivolous cases are significant. Indeed the risk and potential costs associated with fighting are often too great.

Despite this many continue to rely on conventional time based relationships with solicitors. They pay for time to design contracts and agreements, only to pay again if they are challenged.

Is there a better way?

What if you could avoid an open ended cost commitment and yet choose to work with your preferred solicitor. What if your business and its directors were protected in the event of a qualifying dispute? Better yet, what if we could reduce your legal costs next year?

Is that monkey getting too much?

Our clients enjoy enhanced levels of protection thanks to our innovative service which gives them access to their own legal team. They have a fixed cost for this legal service and know that within that costs they can act against employees, customers or suppliers as appropriate.

Let us explain how

Terry Ratcliffe will be follow up with a view to setting up an initial discussion to establish if there is a business fit between our organisations.

PLS Solicitors are experienced in all sorts of litigation and our expert team are ready to take your calls on 0161 941 7449.

It is essential at the start of every litigation case that a barristers legal opinion is obtained at the start of every retainer in order to verify the prospects of successfully defending or making a claim through the courts.

PLS Solicitors maintain a close relationship with all the barristers they instruct and will ensure that your case is clearly present to the barrister so that the prospects of success can be adequately obtained.

PLS Solicitors appreciate that litigation is not always the correct approach to resolving an issue and our litigation lawyers are always keen to assist in negotiating any settlements pre action.

In addition here at PLS Solicitors we appreciate that most clients are concerned with the cost of litigation and in order to assist to quantify this risk our litigation lawyers have the following proposals:

1. An initial review of the case is conducted in order to gauge the prospects of success of the case
2. In the event that the prospects are high then they will take the case on the basis of a no win no fee
3. You will only be obliged to pay for the disbursements such as court issue fees and allocation fees.
4. We will obtain an insurance policy to cover you against your opponents litigation costs in the event that you do not win your case

PLS Solicitors would be keen to assess any potential litigious matter which you have on. In that regard please refer to our page on commercial disputes or alternatively call 0161 941 7449.

Kirsty Owen in PLS Solicitors’s residential conveyancing department is not in favour of the recent news regarding first time buyers relief being stopped from March 2012.

Kirsty’s believes that with the cuts the government are making to Working Tax Credits that she believes not only will people struggle to obtain a Mortgage they will also struggle to raise the funds to cover the Stamp duty payable. This change will most certainly hold many first time buyers back from getting on the property ladder in Manchester.

Kirsty has found that the majority of the first time buyers she has dealt with in the residential conveyancing department have welcome this relief and have said that the savings they have made have really made a big difference to them as it has allowed them to purchase much needed soft furnishings.

PLS Solicitors’s residential conveyancing department are used to acting for first time buyers and always dedicate an appropriate residential conveyancer who appreciates the needs of a first time buyer.

PLS Solicitors’s residential conveyancing department always take the first time buyers through their conveyancing guide at the start of every instruction. Please refer to Our Guide to Conveyancing.

Ted Kingsnorth joined the PLS Solicitors team in August this year and has since undertaken a mixture of both residential conveyancing and commercial property work. In the last few months, Ted has taken on an increasing number of commercial property transactions ranging from leases, acting for both landlord and tenant, option agreements and sales and acquisitions across the North of England. This demonstrates the firm’s ability to handle all of our clients’ property requirements, ranging from their residential conveyancing needs to more bespoke commercial property requirements. Ted produces a detailed lease report to accompany each lease when acting for tenants and this contains useful information summarising the main terms of the document.

It is vital that option agreements are properly drafted to reflect the desired aims of both the grantor and grantee of an option to purchase a particular property. This is something that Ted is experienced in and would be delighted to assist with. It is essential also that any commercial lease is properly checked and reviewed prior to completion to ensure that the agreed heads of terms between landlord and tenant are properly incorporated and that there are no onerous terms present. This is part of the PLS Solicitors service to ensure that our clients get off to the best possible start in their commercial premises, knowing that their lease has been professionally handled.

Please contact us today for further advice on your commercial property needs and we will be happy to provide you with a quote.

Compromise Agreements and are a contract between the employer and the employee relating to ending the employment relationship. The purpose of a compromise agreement is for the employee to agree that in exchange for a sum of money they will not bring any claims for issues such as unfair dismissal and discrimination. The agreement also covers other types of claims which could be brought in the County Court.

As the compromise agreement is such an important document, the employee must seek legal advice. The compromise agreement itself contains a section detailing the name of the solicitor who has advised and that they have indemnity insurance in place. The adviser must be certain that the employee understands the effect of signing the agreement and that they will be compromising legal rights as a result.

It is generally the case that the employee will not have to pay the legal costs in obtaining the advice. The usual arrangement is that the employer will cover the legal fees of the advice up to a maximum level.

If you have been asked to sign a compromise agreement or you are an employer looking for advice in relation to the termination of employment, please get in touch. We would be delighted to talk with you.

If you are buying or selling a property in Manchester, it is important to instruct an experienced Conveyancing Solicitor who is familiar with Manchester and all the local areas.

New Build Properties in Manchester

There are many new build properties in Manchester which are both flats and houses. Conveyancing of new build properties is a very complex area and there are many issues which are specific to the conveyancing of new build homes. Properties are often incomplete when the contracts are exchanged, which often means that the Buyer will not know when the property is due to be completed. PLS Solicitors are currently acting for buyers who are purchasing properties at developments in north and south Manchester including Chorlton, Didsbury, Withington, Stockport, Cheadle and Altrincham.

Environmental Issues in Manchester

Manchester City Council provides information on many different issues in the area, including environmental and planning issues. An environmental search should be carried out on any area that you are planning to buy a property in. This search will identify issues such as areas that are at risk of flooding and landfill sites.

Listed Buildings in Manchester

The Planning Act 1990 states that consent must be given for any external or internal work to take place on a listed building.  Your Conveyancing Solicitor will carry out a local area search which will reveal this information. In Manchester, there are many listed buildings such as the Manchester Town Hall (Grade I listed building) and Manchester Cathedral, which is medieval Church on Victoria Street.

Right To Buy Properties in Manchester

In the Manchester area, there are many council properties which, under the right to buy scheme, a tenant may have the right to purchase. The home is sold on the current market value, less any discount that may be given.  A proportion of the discount, in some cases, has to be paid back to the landlord, if the property is sold within 5 years of buying it.

For further information, please ask to speak to a member of the team at PLS Solicitors.

PLS Solicitors seek to stand out from the crowd in the following ways:

1. PLS Solicitors are a very young, pro-active and dynamic law firm. Aashim Dhand, was educated at Leeds University graduating with a first class honours in law and winning the Margaret Simpson award for property law. He then graduated from Chester Law College with a distinction, following which he trained and worked at Pannone LLP. Robert Thomas was educated at Sheffield University graduating with a 2:1 in law and gaining a commendation from Chester law college for his LPC. Robert then trained at Brabners and then moved on to work for Eversheds.
2. PLS Solicitors feel that the majority of industries have changed their working processes over time – however unfortunately the legal profession has not.
3. PLS Solicitors run a paperless office which means that they communicate with their clients and yourselves on email and the phone. PLS Solicitors do not use the post as not only is it unreliable it wastes time having to wait for the post to be received by the recipient.
4. PLS Solicitors are extremely competitive on fees.
5. PLS Solicitors are a niche commercial and residential property law practice that means all we do is deal with Property transactions so the clients are assured they are receiving the very best advice.
6. PLS Solicitors aim to keep sales and the legal departments up to date every week by having an online portal for our largest clients which is held in a google cloud so it can be updated in live time at both ends.
7. PLS Solicitors are 100% client focused. We obtain client testimonials from each client on completion.
8. PLS Solicitors are constantly investing in our IT infrastructure in order to ensure that they have the most modern technology in our offices. They have recently substantially invested in a state of the art phone system and purchased a Proclaim case management software which will in essence mean all PLS Solicitors clients can web track the progress of their cases and also we will have an instant text messaging option which will provide text updates to clients when their files are worked on.
9. PLS Solicitors have recently signed up with a company called “Docusign” so all client care letters and replies to enquiries on part exchange properties can be completed online with electronic signatures.
10. PLS Solicitors aim to recruit some of the finest legal minds in the conveyancing market. This has been demonstrated as we have a strong fee earning team of Ted Kingsnorth (Solicitor); Catherine Jordan (Solicitor); Adam Pavey (solicitor); Aashim Dhand (Solicitor); Robert Thomas (Solicitor); Emma Selbie (Legal Executive) Pauline Gill (Conveyancing executive); Maura Sherlock (Licensed Conveyancer);. All fee earners have a dedicated Conveyancing assistant to assist on each file.

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In the past, it used to be that you used your local solicitor to fulfill all your home buying needs, as you needed to visit to sign documents and take advice. With the advent of the Internet, this is no longer the case. While many of our clients live in the South Manchester area, including Hale, Bowden, Altrincham and Timperley, we also have plenty of clients further afield. Correspondence can now be undertaken by email, and the majority documents can simply be scanned into your computer and sent directly to the PLS Solicitors offices. This speeds up the whole process especially useful when your mortgage offer depends upon a quick completion, and is of benefit to busy people with busy lives, who rely on the internet and their mobile phone to conduct the majority of their business matters. There is no reason why buying, selling or even part-exchanging your house can not be undertaken by our qualified and experienced conveyancers in this manner. Current clients are from all four corners of Great Britain, and we can also act for customers living abroad, who are purchasing property in England and Wales. Why not contact us now, for a competitive quote and move to the house of your dreams, with the minimum of fuss and in the shortest possible time, at a cost you won’t believe.