Four years ago, the then government implemented the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). Hundreds of thousands of people who were eligible for legal aid on 31 March 2013 became ineligible the very next day. Four years on, the Law Society has conducted a review of the legal aid changes introduced…
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Latest News
We regularly produce news articles related to local topics or legal updates. The articles are always published on this blog but we also publish on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In so please do follow or like us!
We also publish a quarterly enewsletter where we summarise our most popular articles which we hope will be relevant to you and your family, and very occasional emails about our current offers or events.
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September 9, 2017
September 7, 2017
The debate continues over how best to meet Britain`s housing shortage. Large-scale developments on the edge of towns and villages are popular with house-builders on the basis of cost and practicality, but less so from environmentalists who see them as encroaching on our precious green spaces. Likewise residents complain that these projects can fundamentally alter…
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September 7, 2017
As a senior solicitor specialising in children’s cases involving social services, Sandra Bradley is encountering more and more cases where children have been left in legal limbo. When a crisis happens children are often placed with grandparents or other family members, after the intervention of social services. Often there will be no proper system set…
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September 7, 2017
In May 2013 the Government brought in changes to the planning laws in England which made it much easier to convert commercial buildings for residential use. When the national housing shortage was combined with depressed office rents and an excess of empty office buildings it was an obvious “quick fix” to allow the conversion of…
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September 7, 2017
Vulnerable Children are trapped in a Revolving Door due to a lack of Support, so says a report from the Watford-based charity Action for Children, claiming that up to 140,000 young people may be affected. They are children who are repeatedly referred to social services because of issues such as domestic abuse, parental mental health,…
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September 1, 2017
(Apologies to Led Zeppelin fans for borrowing the band’s song titles). King William III brought in a Window Tax in 1696 and George III introduced a Brick Tax in 1784. The Cameron-Clegg coalition had its bedroom tax in 2012, and now we have the government’s so-called “staircase tax”. The staircase tax sums up recent changes…
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August 15, 2017
Lexcel is a quality mark awarded by the Law Society to firms who demonstrate excellence in management of their practice and excellence in client care. It is equivalent to Investors in People. All firms who carry out Legal Aid work, as Bretherton Law does, must be Lexcel accredited. To achieve the accreditation, firms must meet…
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August 13, 2017
Stories have recently been aired in the press about holiday-makers` cars being damaged whilst parked in residential streets near Luton Airport. This has again highlighted the rights of homeowners when it comes to parking outside their property. With vehicle ownership in the UK at an all-time high (over 36 million vehicles licensed at the end…
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August 9, 2017
At the end of July the Government`s Communities Secretary, Sajid Javed, unveiled plans to outlaw the sale of new homes on a leasehold basis. Ground rents on new flats would also be reduced to “peppercorn” rates in the plans. Builders of new homes sold on this basis face legal claims amounting to millions of pounds…
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August 9, 2017
Nationally the property market may be stuttering over the last six months but according to a recent Daily Telegraph report St Albans sits behind only Richmond-upon-Thames in the rankings of UK property investment hotspots. It also predicts that St Albans will see the second-highest property prices rises in the country in the next 5 years…
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Huge thanks to Lucy Madley and her team. They were friendly, helpful and proactive, keeping us informed at every turn and we have now bought our first house. I would recommend happily to friends and family.
Jack du Pille
We recently completed on the sale of a flat and the purchase of a house, with Osman Dervish acting for us. Osman was responsive, professional and commercial to ensure the transaction was done as efficiently as possible. He faced an inexperienced and extremely rude solicitor who acted for our purchaser but always maintained a cool and professional manner notwithstanding how infuriating she was! This really helped to ensure we worked our way through the issues she created. Brethertons were also good value. Highly recommended.
Sarah Wright
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My name is Ruth Palmer Cooper. I am posting this review to publicly confirm that this solicitors is simply the best in St Albans. I have had the pleasure of dealing with Mr Osman Dervish and his team for the past 18 months. Throughout the entire process , Mr Dervish has been outstanding. He is a remarkable solicitor who answered various queries and handled all of the ups and downs with great professionalism and clarity. He supported me through so many very tricky moments and explained everything to me in a way that I could understand. He is polite and courteous.I would recommend him highly and the company are very lucky to have such a brilliant solcitor working within their establishment. Many thanks for making this whole episode so much more bearable.
william palmer cooper
Sandra Bradley and her team were extremely knowledgeable and efficient. Her care, consideration and professionalism were outstanding. I felt totally supported & extremely well represented throughout a very complex & complicated case for nine months. Words cannot express my gratitude for the result she achieved. Highly recommend to everyone.
Jen Bullock
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We are so pleased to have worked again with Osman Dervish at Bretherton Law.
Osman always goes out of his way to support us when buying or selling and is such an incredibly nice gentleman to converse with.
Thanks for all your support Osman. D Grant
Sandra Bradley and team, assisted my partner and I through a very difficult time. They guided us through a very complex arena that was completely foreign to us with professional dedication and compassion throughout. I still have them on speed dial and would use Bretherton Law for all my legal needs in the future and have recommended to many family and friends already, who have also had a highly positive experience.
Richard Saunders
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We recently used Bretherton Law for a sale and purchase. We were really pleased with the service received. The team were responsive and professional at all times. They took the time to answer any queries we had in detail to ensure we fully understood everything. Most importantly, there was a sense or urgency throughout the whole process. We would highly recommend Bretherton Law.
Adam
I have done three conveyancing transactions and handled a Probate via Bretherton Law in the last 6-8 months. Bretherton Law is probably not the cheapest option in either case, but you do get the service and attention you pay for. Both Anne Stockley (Probate) and Isobel Doherty (Conveyancing) were outstanding and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
Joe Hames
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I know this law firm cover many different areas which I would use if I ever needed them. I can never thank Sandra Bradley enough for her professionalism and hours of work over the past 6 months in what was a complex family case. Her support was incredible she was always honest and never gave false hope. I have every confidence in recommending this law firm and will go back to them if I ever need further help or advice. Thank you once again. Dawn
Dawn Brett
Serving Communities
We have been advising our local communities in the Northern Home Counties and London for over fifty years but now, from our base in St Albans, we also serve clients across England and Wales