More Traffic Means More Accidents
It has been reported that road traffic accidents in the West Midlands have dropped by a staggering 65% as a result of lockdown measures brought about by the coronavirus. This should not come as much of a surprise as it has been calculated that traffic in UK during the height of lockdown fell anywhere between 60% and 80%.
What these statistics mean is that there have been fewer people that have suffered road traffic related injuries such as whiplash, fractures and lacerations.
A Guardian Article opined that the number of road miles travelled “has not been this low since 1955, when far fewer people owned cars and there were no motorways”.
Scotland has moved into Phase 3 of the Coronavirus Route Map bringing with it increased freedoms. We can now visit the hairdresser to get those much needed haircuts! It is also possible to visit friends and family further afield. Hotels and restaurants are also now open meaning we can get those well-deserved weekends away.
Whilst there are question marks over how Covid might change the way people work and, in particular, the daily number of commuters what these increased freedoms will result in is an inevitable increase in traffic on the roads which will in turn, sadly, lead to more accidents.
At Walker Laird we regularly act for drivers, passengers, pedestrians or cyclists who have been injured in road traffic accidents that were not their fault. We offer funding on a no win no fee basis. If you have been injured in a road traffic accident and are looking for a personal injury solicitor in Glasgow, a personal injury solicitor in Paisley or the surrounding area get in contact today!
A message to clients and friends of Walker Laird – Coronavirus Update
Coronavirus Update
Walker Laird are actively and continually reviewing our practises in light of the ongoing Corona Virus situation. We are following all Government advice and have put in place necessary measures to protect our staff and clients, as well as to ensure as far as possible that we can meet our clients’ business needs.
We are arranging to ensure that as many of our staff as possible can work from home should the need arise. We are confident that we can deal with clients remotely and will be able to conduct all client business. It seems that there may be some disruption, depending on Government action, but we will do everything we can to minimise that in each case.
Our offices at Gilmour Street, Paisley and Canal Street, Renfrew remain open. For new and existing clients we will arrange telephone appointments for as soon as possible. Where meetings are necessary we will make appropriate arrangements.
We ask that for the time being all clients to contact us by phone or email, the main contact details are detailed below. We will respond to all communications as soon as possible.
Contact Details
Email:
Telephone:
Paisley Office 0141 887 5271
Renfrew Office 0141 886 5678
Please help us with our annual food drive!
We have teamed up with Renfrewshire Foodbank again to help fight hunger at Christmas time. We are pleased to be working together on our annual Christmas food drive for the third year running.
Facing Christmas with little or no money and struggling to make ends meet can be the reality for many. Unable to afford food to make a decent hot meal, let alone presents, is a very daunting time for too many here in Renfrewshire.This is why every year we try to help a little by hosting a food drive at our Renfrew office. We have written to all our legal and estate agency clients to encourage them to drop in with any items they may be able to donate.
Each year we have had a fantastic response from our client base and the local community. With your support lets hope we can do even better this year!
The following items are especially in demand: Long life juice, uht milk, tinned potatoes, tinned tomatoes, tinned fish, tinned fruit and jam, soap, shampoo, toilet paper and toothpaste. Although a full shopping list of essential items can be sent on request.
Show Your Support
Renfrewshire Foodbank provides three days of emergency food to local individuals and families in crisis. Frontline care professionals including health visitors, social workers and school liaison officers refer people who are facing hunger to the Foodbank.
So you can see how important this is. Please pop into the Renfrew office and help us with our food drive. The Foodbank warehouses close on Friday 20 December to allow our volunteers to focus on distributing food to those who need it. They are delighted to accept Christmas items such as nice biscuits, sweets, but cannot give out items containing alcohol.
In order to have Christmas items ready to process and distribute before Christmas the Foodbank really need to receiver it by Friday 13th at the latest.
We've renewed our sponsorship with St Mirren FC
Walker Laird are delighted to have once again renewed their sponsorship with St Mirren FC and are thrilled be the Principal Sponsor for the Player of the Year Awards Dinner 2019/20, for a 6th consecutive year!
Hazel McGinlay (Business Development Manager) said “I would like to say a huge thank you on behalf of Walker Laird to the everyone involved at St Mirren FC, and in particular to Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy, who has been a pleasure to deal with over the years. We look forward to continuing our partnership and wish the club all the success for the 2019/20 season!”
Walker Laird are also pleased to have renewed their advertising boards at the stadium for the 2019/20 season.
Please help us with our food drive!
Walker Laird Solicitors and Estate Agents is calling on their clients to help them fight hunger this Christmas. The firm has teamed up with the Renfrewshire Foodbank for the second year in a row. We are pleased to be working together in a food drive to support those most in need in the local community.
Facing Christmas with little or no money and struggling to make ends meet can be the reality for many people. Unable to afford food to make a decent hot meal, let alone presents, is a very daunting time for too many.
That's why, at Walker Laird, we've decided to help by hosting a food drive at our Renfrew office for the second year in a row. Please drop in on your way past with a donation, if you can. Underneath our Christmas tree, there is a box for whatever you can bring us. We are at 10 Canal Street in Renfrew.
Things like UHT milk, fruit juice (long life carton), tinned fruits, tinned vegetables, breakfast cereal, tea bags, dried rice, toiletries and household cleaning items are some of the most needed items.
We Need Your Support
Please pop into the Renfrew office and help us with our food drive. All the food collected will be taken to Renfrewshire Foodbank on the 20th of December, in time for Christmas.
The Walker Laird building is getting a makeover…
If you have passed the Paisley office of Walker Laird recently, you would have noticed the scaffolding around our building. Our building is undergoing external repairs thanks to the latest round of heritage funding to regenerate the town centre of Paisley.
The works on the building are being carried out through the £4 million Paisley Townscape and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (TH.CARS2). This scheme is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and Renfrewshire Council.
This scheme is a building repair and shopfront improvement scheme which aims to make the High Street and surrounding areas a more attractive place to visit and invest in. This scheme builds on the success of the initial THI/CARS scheme which transformed the Causeyside Street area.
This funding will allow repairs to the exterior of the building with the work being carried out by local construction company, Clark Contracts.
Ronnie McGinlay, Partner at Walker Laird said:
“Our firm is keen to stay in the centre of Paisley and due to the cost of the major refurbishment works sought advice on grant funding from Renfrewshire Council. The decision to award the grant has allowed Walker Laird to maintain its presence in the town and the firm is very grateful for the assistance and advice offered throughout this process.”
Paisley Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme
Alongside a number of different projects, this scheme aims to revitalise Paisley’s town centre. These projects include the proposed relocation of Paisley Library to a vacant property on the High Street, the restoration of the Russell Institute and plans for a £42 million revamp to Paisley Museum.
You can find out more about the Paisley Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme here.
Business is still operating as usual. The property at 9 Gilmour Street is a beautiful B Listed building which will benefit greatly from the planned programme of repairs. We are looking forward to seeing the building on completion.
Still at home with St Mirren FC
This morning, Ronnie McGinlay (Partner) and Hazel McGinlay (Business Development Manager) were welcomed along to the Paisley 2021 Stadium today by St Mirren Commercial Manager, Campbell Kennedy.
Player Of The Year Dinner
Not only are we the principal sponsor for the Player of the Year Dinner for another year running, we also confirmed we would be renewing our advertising boards at the stadium for the 2018/19 season.
The Player of the Year dinner is always a great night and we look forward to this year’s event! Campbell said: "This is the fourth year in a row that Walker Laird have been the Principal sponsor of the club's Player of the Year Dinner which shows their commitment to the club” and on renewing our advertising, Hazel added: "We are extremely proud to support the club for a fourth consecutive year. It’s been a spectacular season for the team, and of course the fans, and they deserve all the success!”
We wish St Mirren another great season and look forward to continuing to support them again in their challenges next season.
What to think about when you have some free time
The weather has been crazy recently and many of us have enjoyed some unexpected snow days! Did you make good use of them? Did you spend any time thinking about your future?
On days like these, we all have a lot of extra time and it’s a good time to think about the future. From Wills to Power of Attorney, it’s imperative that we have everything in place from an early time.
Wills
It is important that you start thinking about a Will as early as possible. It is also crucial that you update your Will if and when your circumstances change. This will make sure that, following your death, your estate will be distributed in accordance with your wishes.
You can leave legacies of personal effects or sums of money to relatives, friends or charities. You can determine in your Will exactly what would happen to your estate if for example someone named as a beneficiary in your Will predeceases you. You can provide that your estate is to be held in trust for a minor beneficiary or to be held in trust for someone who has a mental or physical disability. You can also make provision in your Will for funeral arrangements.
It really is best to put your affairs in order by making a Will or reviewing your existing Will to ensure it reflects your current wishes regarding your estate
Power of Attorney
A Power of Attorney is a document which enables you to appoint someone whom you trust to manage your financial affairs, and perhaps also your welfare affairs, should you lose the ability to do so through mental or physical incapacity.
You must grant the deed while you have the capacity to understand the nature and extent of the powers contained within the deed. A solicitor or medical doctor must sign a certificate at the time you grant the deed certifying that the solicitor or doctor considers that you have sufficient capacity to understand the implications of granting Power of Attorney.
Get in touch with Walker Laird today and we can help you plan for your future.
Walker Laird attends Gin and Jammies
On Sunday 18th of February, Hazel McGinlay and Anna Brown of Walker Laird attended a unique fundraising event hosted by the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice – the inaugural Gin and Jammies Lunch.
The event, which included a gin reception, fantastic entertainment and an amazing meal, featuring a gin-based dessert, asked guests to wear their best jammies to support the hospice. Special guests included Miss Scotland, Romy McCahill and Scottish Actress, Karen Dunbar.
Fundraising For Glasgow Hospice
Hosted by the always-entertaining Edward Reid, at The Grand Central Hotel, the lunch also featured a raffle and auction, raising an amazing £30,000. Guests also took part in a catwalk competition, with one of our table guests winning a bottle of gin!
On the day, guests were encouraged to host their own Gin and Jammies event at home to raise money for Glasgow’s Hospice.
While we support the hospice every year at The Business Lunch, this was definitely a special event and we were delighted to take a table – we’re already looking forward to next year’s event!
*Featured Image credit - The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice (Facebook page)
Changes afoot for civil litigation expenses
Following a debate in the Scottish Parliament on 16th January 2018 the long-awaited Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Bill (“the Bill”) passed stage 1 of the pre-legislative consultation process. The Bill seeks to continue the recent legislative process of Court reform in Scotland and it seeks to implement recommendations made by Sheriff Principal Taylor in his 2013 Review of the Expenses and Funding of Civil Litigation in Scotland.
Most notably, the Bill proposes to introduce Qualified One-Way Costs-Shifting (QOCS) which provides that the Pursuer in a personal injury action will not be liable to the Defender in expenses. This provision is on the basis that the Pursuer conducts themselves in an appropriate manner. According to the Bill a Pursuer not conducting themselves in an appropriate manner is a Pursuer that has made a fraudulent misrepresentation, has committed an abuse of process or has behaved in way which falls below the standard reasonably expected of them in civil proceedings.
Civil Litigation Expenses and Group Proceedings (Scotland) Bill
The Bill’s principal policy objective is to improve access to justice. The rate of claims per head of population in Scotland remains well below that in England and it is thought that the fear of an adverse award of expenses inhibits people from exercising their legal rights. It has been argued that QOCS will help improve access to justice by addressing the David and Goliath relationship between Pursuers, who tend to be individuals with little experience of the legal system, and Defenders, who tend to be insurance bodies. According to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee thousands of people living in Scotland could benefit from these sweeping changes enabling them to litigate without fear.
As The Bill moves forward into Stage 2 of the pre-legislative consultation process it is hoped that the Bill will help to create a more accessible, affordable and equitable justice system. Time will no doubt tell.