Blogs

Since becoming Chair of the Property Bar Association, I’ve really been struck by the sheer hard work which is put in by so many people to enable the PBA and the PLA to serve their members. Whether it’s organising seminars or socials, guarding the bank accounts, responding to consultations or marking student essays, members of both Associations’ committees and others give up hours of their time for the good of other professionals.

A big thank you from the Education & Training Committee to all our delegates, speakers and guests who attended the recent conference in Oxford.  We are currently awaiting the formal survey feedback but, based on the informal messages we’ve had, it seems the event has again been well-received.  If you haven’t yet filled in the online survey about the conference, please do so as soon as possible as your feedback is a valuable part of our planning process for future events.

We are fast approaching that time of year when newly qualified vacancies are released and we are looking forward to welcoming new junior members to the Association. With that in mind the JPLA Committee have given some thought to how we can best help our junior members in their roles through providing know-how aimed specifically at our more junior members.

This is my first blog as chair of LRC. I joined the committee in 2011.  Back then, all the talk was about “hot tubbing” and whether the Dilapidations Protocol would ever be adopted into the Civil Procedure Rules.  Fast forward seven years and I find myself taking over the reins from Kerry Glanville, who I would like to thank for such a fabulous contribution as chair and dedicated membership of LRC before that.

One challenge for the committee is to try and broaden the reach beyond Bristol. Experience tells us that it can be difficult to muster sufficient numbers for events in say Cardiff or Exeter but again any thoughts here are welcome. In any event, we will hopefully be able to arrange video links for the April 26 event.

We have seen an increase in our overall membership and with around 60% of PLA members permanently based outside London, it’s great to see a busy and successful calendar of training and social events across all our regions.

January can be a dark time - both literally and metaphorically. It is a time for trying to curb that sugar habit that you acquired over Christmas and fighting your way through the newcomers to make it to the squat rack at the gym. However, it is also a time for reflecting on the past year and making plans and getting excited about the year ahead. So I thought that I would do exactly that in this first blog post!

If the proverb that “a good beginning makes a good end” is correct, then it bodes well for a productive year for your Website & Marketing Committee (WMC). I am delighted to kick-off 2018 by welcoming a new sub-committee member, Tim Reid (Hogan Lovells), and confirming a new partnership between the PLA and Lexology.

As we start 2018 I can’t help thinking that there’s never been a better time to be a property litigator.

It is 8 months since my last Blog and others/committee chairs have since blogged.