Five solicitors including one personal injury solicitor are being promoted to associate status in recognition of their specialist skills and contribution to the rapid growth of Essex law firm Birkett Long. The firm has announced a series of promotions, alongside the adoption of a new corporate identity to mark its conversion to Limited Liability Partnership status from June 1.

The individuals promoted include Keith Songhurst, a solicitor specialising in construction law and litigation, who is a member of the Property Litigation Association and focuses on property disputes, is to become a partner. Emma Brunning, who works in family law, dealing with divorce, separation, matrimonial finances and contact with children, and is accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer. Ben Twitchen, trained in Collaborative Law, a non-adversarial alternative to the divorce court, and he also advises in motoring prosecutions and health and safety cases. He is a member of the Family Law panel of experts.

Miranda Leate, an immigration law specialist: her work includes work permit and European Association Agreement applications; she is an experienced advocate in the immigration and civil courts and has conducted cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal.  Read more

It’s that time of year again – the time when people up and down the country are making resolutions for the year ahead. With so many people likely to be thinking about sorting out their personal finances in 2008, here are some top personal finance resolutions for you to consider from personal finance author and Chartered Financial Planner Martin Bamford.

Work out your budget

It still amazes me how many people I meet with who simply don’t know how much money they spend each month (and what it goes on!). Working out (and sticking to) a monthly budget is all about spending less than you earn. If you achieve this, month on month, you will be in a better financial position at the end of 2008 than you were at the start.

If you reach every pay day with an overdraft or credit card debt to clear from the previous month you are starting the new month on the back foot. Make it your personal finance resolution for 2008 to never spend as much as you earn each month. If you really want to buy something shiny and new but find yourself reaching for that credit card or store card, stop, think – do you really need it now or would you feel much happier if you bought it in a few months time with cash rather than debt?  Read more

From pensions to mortgages and savings to insurance – difficult economic times impacts on every aspect of personal finances. Now, more than ever is the time to keep a close eye on your money and get the best possible advice.

Here are just a few of the points you should be considering:

Your Mortgage

If you have an existing mortgage, the most obvious change that you will have noticed is the rapid fall in interest rates. As the base rate falls, these changes can have a dramatic impact on the amount that you pay. If you have a tracker mortgage, then this is great news as your monthly payments will be falling. If you are paying a tracker mortgage then the option of overpaying your mortgage is worth considering – saving yourself thousands in interest and protecting the equity in your home as house prices continue to fall.

If you have a standard variable rate mortgage, then chances are you will not have seen such a huge change in your monthly mortgage payments as most banks have not passed on the entire fall in interest rates. If you have a fixed rate mortgage deal then you’re out of luck.  Read more

Like many of our clients, we are constantly updating our Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

One of the many pieces of reading material we were looking through had the title of ‘Advisers Have Vital Role As Persuaders’.

This was based on the results of a survey which asked both individual investors and advisers 5 questions about retirement planning success. Fidelity, an investment group, asked these 2 groups to rank 1-5 the factors below:

The survey aimed to identify how well educated a typical investor is, and to stress how important an advisers job was to ensure that the message they want to get across does indeed communicate itself to individuals. The context for this was that there is a lot of talk about the coming ‘pension crisis’, and how vital it is that investors get the right advice.

Priority / Advisers / Individuals

Amount saved over a lifetime / 1 / 2

Date at which saving started / 2 / 4

Getting the right asset allocation / 3 / 5

Picking the right funds / 4 / 3  Read more

After choosing a bank to help you with all of your immediate personal financial needs, one should also look into applying for a credit card as well. Although credit cards have the potential to create a mess of one’s financial stability, when used properly they will do nothing but improve your status as a potential credit holder in the world.

Having a credit card does not have to be as worrisome as many think it to be. Just like anything else, one should develop a strategy as to when and how he or she will use the card to increase their credit standings. One should note that a line of credit is a very valuable financial freedom and can actually save him or her money over the long run. By having stable and above average credit, when it comes time to purchase large items such as a car or even household appliances, one can often get a better rate on the percentage that he or she will pay for purchasing on credit.  Read more