Walker Laird Sponsors Pride of Paisley
Paisley will always be renowned as the origin of a landmark Scottish law case that not only changed the face of Scots law but changed the basis of negligence and consumer rights throughout the world.
On the 26th of August 1928 May Donoghue, a shop assistant, discovered what she thought were the remains of a decomposing snail in her bottle of ginger beer that a friend had bought for her at the former Wellmeadow café in Paisley. The bottle was not clear glass and Mrs Donoghue had consumed most of its contents before she became aware of the snail. The very sight of the snail caused Mrs Donoghue shock and she also suffered from gastro-enteritis. Mrs Donoghue, represented by the aptly named Mr Leechman, raised legal proceedings against David Stevenson, the local manufacturer of the ginger beer.
Given that her friend had bought the ginger beer for her Mrs Donoghue could not sue for breach of contract. Instead, she alleged that Mr Stevenson, as the manufacturer of the ginger beer, had breached a duty of care to his consumers and his negligence had caused her injuries. Whilst initially unsuccessful at the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court, Mrs Donoghue subsequently appealed to the House of Lords and the decision reached ensured that Paisley would be forever talked about in universities and court rooms throughout the world.
The House of Lords established that manufacturers, like Mr Stevenson, owed a duty of care to the end consumers of their products. The Bible story of the Good Samaritan and the principle of loving your neighbour was even considered by the court in reaching their decision. It was held that manufacturers should care about the consumers of their products much like neighbours should care for one another. This is often referred to as the ‘neighbour principle’. The House of Lords held that the case should be returned to the Court of Session.
Mr Stevenson died before the case ever returned to Court and an out of court settlement was eventually reached where Mrs Donoghue received £200 in compensation. The decision in Donoghue v Stevenson 1932 SC (HL) 31 was an important stage in the development of the law of negligence and has also resulted in legislation being passed to protect consumers from contaminated or faulty goods. Some commentators refer to it as the “case that launched a million lawsuits”.
The History Of Pride Of Paisley
Having been in Paisley for over 200 years, we at Walker Laird are a proud sponsor of the Pride of Paisley. The Donoghue v Stevenson case is a historical milestone in this great town’s history and firmly put Paisley on the legal world map. We deal with a wide variety of negligence claims and if you have had an accident of any kind, whatsoever, please visit our website and fill in the online enquiry form or contact Michael Wilson or Robert Moore who have over 30 years of experience between them in this area of law. One thing is for sure, if your case ever reaches court one of the first cases referred to will be Donoghue v Stevenson!
We will be sponsoring the Town Hall Lion by artist, Margaret Fraser and the Wellmeadow Street Lion by artist, Caroline Watson in the exhibition that starts this Saturday (July 9th) and runs until September 25th.
Walker Laird Return As Sponsors of St Mirren Awards Dinner
After sponsoring the St Mirren FC Player Of The Year Awards Dinner last year, we are delighted to be taking on this role for the second year in a row.
The Main Event
The event, which takes place on May 6th at the Glynhill Hotel in Renfrew is sure to be a night of both celebration and entertainment, with a three course meal, a host of speakers, awards ceremonies, prize raffle and grand auction.
Both colleagues and guests of Walker Laird thoroughly enjoyed last year's event and were more than impressed with both the hospitality and organisation of the evening and look forward to returning this year.
With speakers, former Saints player Chick Charnley, former World Sprint Champion, George McNeill and host, well known Saints fan and BBC Sport pundit Chick Young, we're sure this year's event will be just as entertaining!
We would like to thank Campbell Kennedy and all of the team for welcoming us back as sponsors and for organising what we are sure will be a fantastic night.
Happy Customers At Walker Laird
Here at Walker Laird, we are confident that the expertise, local knowledge and experience of our Estate Agency team will help to ease the stress of moving.
We provide a bespoke and personalised service for each individual client. After all, every client is different. Whether you’re selling your first flat or a family home, we will find a buyer for your property, at the best possible price.
Customer Feedback
But don’t take our word for it, listen to what some of our clients said about us recently:
“We were both extremely happy with our experience with your agency.Walker Laird have extensive knowledge of the local market and your advice was much appreciated. We liked the way we had a named contact and were kept up to date with on-going progress and being involved in the website advert and marketing.”
We sold Mr. and Mrs. G’s three bedroom semi-detached house in Renfrew this year.
Miss B from Erskine said:
“I carefully selected Walker Laird as my estate agent due to their professional and caring approach. They kept in regular contact with myself and reacted to the market as necessary. They matched my first viewer perfectly, which allowed me to sell my flat for the full price with ease. I would recommend them to all sellers, and particularly first time sellers like me.”
There is nothing better than repeat custom though, Mrs. O from Renfrew said about us:
“I've used Walker Laird for over 20 years now, all properties have sold really quickly. They have always given a friendly and professional service and are a natural choice for me and my family.”
We are more than happy to help with the marketing and selling of your property, whatever the situation. If you would like more information, please contact our Estate Agency on 0141 886 5678.
A Day Out At The Races
As we begin to look back over 2015, we cannot thank our staff enough for all the hard work that they do over the year. Some of the Walker Laird team enjoyed a well-deserved day out at the Tennent’s RaceDay at Ayr Racecourse on October 31st.
Our team enjoyed several races throughout the day with horses Cornborough and Island Heights taking home big wins! The entertainment and hospitality were also second to none and a fantastic day was had by all.
Looking To The Future
We look forward to organising another outing to the races in 2016!
Walker Laird At The Business Lunch
We are delighted to be attending The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice Business Lunch this Friday, an annual and much-anticipated event on the Scottish Business calendar.
The Glasgow City Chambers will host an afternoon of both business and pleasure, with the opportunity to meet others and network while supporting Glasgow’s hospice.
Chartered Accountants, Campbell Dallas are enthusiastic supporters of the hospice and have been for 16 years. This year, they return as the main sponsor for the event.
Guests And Supporters
The work of the hospice focuses on providing the best quality of life for those living with life-limiting illnesses and offering support for their families, whether that be at home, in hospital or in the hospice itself. As a business, we are proud to support the hospice and look forward to an afternoon of celebrating the work that they do.
Each year, the lunch hosts a guest speaker and we are excited to hear from this year’s speaker, The Rt Hon Brian Wilson, Executive Chairman of Harris Tweed Hebrides, followed by what we are sure will be an exceptional meal.
Walker Laird Welcomes Work Experience
Here at Walker Laird, we encourage work experience, as we believe that offering students the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice is very important. We also hope that the work experience we provide will be insightful and advantageous to those studying and planning a career in Law.
In this post, Anna Brown, 21, talks about her experience working within various departments and what life is really like at Walker Laird.
"I feel so privileged to have been given the opportunity to gain legal work experience at Walker Laird, a solicitors and estate agents that has been established since 1815, and well renowned in my hometown. My family have used Walker Laird for generations, so to have had the opportunity to gain some work experience from here was hugely appreciated. I started my work experience during the summer between third and fourth year of law school at Edinburgh University.
I was apprehensive at first as I had no previous legal experience, other than what I had studied at university, but from the minute I arrived at the office I was made to feel comfortable, welcome and within my depth.
Starting Work
For the first few weeks I assisted Mr. McGinlay who is a Partner and Head of the Private Client Department. I also helped out organising files for the Conveyancing Department. This was beneficial, as at University, the process of Property Transfer, and how Wills are created and operate is learnt on solely a theory basis. To see real client files containing Wills, Power of Attorney documents, Title Deeds, Dispositions, and communication between the solicitors and clients was useful. It was extremely beneficial to see how everything I had studied about property and Wills during my ordinary degree operated in practice. I felt that after a couple of weeks, I had already expanded my knowledge about these areas of law by handling client files and documents.
I luckily got the opportunity to stay on at Walker Laird for a further few weeks of summer to help out in the office. Here I worked with the reception staff, and the company’s paralegal, Rebecca. It was here where I gained court experience, by going along to court with Rebecca to observe whilst she dealt with civil matters before the Sheriff Clerk. This was really interesting as my only previous court experience was observing criminal cases from the gallery, so to see the civil cases operate enabled me to gain further understanding of what happens when civil matters reach the court, which again is not something I could have gained from a classroom.
Being based in the reception was great to see how a legal office generally operates – from helping clients coming in and out of the office with different needs and enquiries, to answering phone calls. Both of which could be about a wide range of issues as Walker Laird offers a variety of services, from Family Law to Conveyancing.
I now feel after gaining the hands on experience at Walker Laird and returning to University for my fourth year of law school, I have a better understanding of the legal system as a whole. It has helped build my confidence and I am looking forward to putting the knowledge I gained from my time here to use in my final year of study, diploma, traineeship and into my career as a lawyer."
Walker Laird wishes Anna all the best for the future!
Putting Your Trust In Asset Protection
We’re sure that as you look forward, your wish is for your assets to be passed to your children, grandchildren, or other loved ones, but many of our clients often worry about how these assets will be managed should they require full time or residential care.
We recently discussed granting Power of Attorney and the possibility of someone else managing your finances, property and personal welfare, should you not be able to do so. This is particularly useful for those who experience significant life changes, leaving them somewhat incapacitated.
Another way in which you may look to protect your assets is through Asset Protection, which is something you may look to set up while you are still capable of doing so, as it allows you more individual control.
For those concerned about their assets being used to fund any form of care they may need in the future, Asset Protection may be the preferred option.
Setting up Asset Protection in the form of an Family Protection Trust, would allow you control over the management of your assets, should you go into care. Organising this at an early stage will allow for sufficient planning, in terms of protecting your main assets, such as your home.
Placing these assets within a trust protects your family’s inheritance from unscrupulous creditors, unforeseen circumstantial changes, or any liabilities that may arise, which in today’s economy are somewhat likely. It also allows you to decide if and when these assets should be transferred from the trust to certain beneficiaries.
While you are in control of this Trust, you must also appoint at least one other Trustee, who is therefore also responsible for any assets being held within it.
Here at Walker Laird we believe Future Planning is very important and we are happy to offer a free of charge future planning review, to discuss the best choices for yourself and your assets.
Get In Touch
If you would like to explore your options, please call 0141 887 5271, we will be happy to arrange a suitable time to have a chat.
Some decisions are better taken sooner rather than later...
It’s understandable that when making certain big decisions, people often stall or put it off altogether. Often a lack of information, or an information overload, can make the experience particularly daunting. However, we should consider the importance of making these decisions, and what’s more, making them at the right time.
Power Of Attorney
One such decision which is often overlooked is putting in place Power of Attorney. It’s likely that you’ve heard this term being used before, whether that be in a passing conversation or even on TV, but we would stress the importance of making this decision with regards to your personal welfare, finances and property.
For those of you who may not know much about this, a Power of Attorney is a written document that appoints a person(s) of your choice as your Attorney, who therefore has the authority to make decisions on your behalf, should you not be able to do so.
There is a common assumption that it is not as important to grant Power of Attorney until you are older, however we feel you should consider doing so at the earliest opportunity. Many people have their Will drawn up around the time they buy their first property, or when they start a family, this would also be an ideal time to grant your Power of Attorney.
Interestingly, you may prioritise drawing up a Will, in the interest of passing on your assets, but in reality, Power of Attorney is much more important as you never know when you may become incapacitated and unable to manage your day-to-day life, including your own welfare and finances. Should this happen, your Attorney would be able to make certain decisions (as established by yourself) on your behalf.
However, you will not be able to grant Power of Attorney after an accident has occurred and applying to do so at this time is an extremely laborious and potentially expensive exercise through the courts. All of this is avoidable if you have chosen your Attorney beforehand.
Not only are there potentially extensive costs, but this process is not quick or easy and therefore could take months to have someone officially granted Power of Attorney, all happening at a time you really need someone you trust looking after your interests.
Responsibilities of Attorneys vary, as they can manage day-to-day finances such as bills or larger decisions such as investments. Nevertheless, we suggest granting Power of Attorney to one or more person, as soon as possible to ensure that your affairs continued to be managed as you, would manage them.
Constructing Schools in Ghana
Giving something back to communities is something that at Walker Laird is very passionate about. Two of our staff Graham Paisley and Luke Eaton, of our Paisley office, went over and above in helping those in need by giving up their time to fly to Ghana and help build all new facilities at a new school this summer.
This level of dedication has impressed the whole team at Walker Laird, and we wanted to share their story from their time in Africa and just how their work will go to help children over there.
Inspired from a previous trip to Uganda two years ago, also to help construct important buildings, Luke was wanting to return to the continent and assist once again. For Graham, this sounded like a brilliant opportunity to give something back and signed up alongside Luke to go out to the village of Kaleo in Ghana for 17 days, both there as part of a team of nine to help build a teacher's dormitory at a new school.
Once they were both signed up, they worked hard at fundraising the money they needed to go over for the trip. After some hard work putting on dedicated fundraiser evenings, raffles and sponsored walks, they both met their target and were ready to embark on this trip.
They arrived in Accra, the capital city of Ghana, which both described as being as “a bit more upmarket”. From here they then had a 17 hour bus journey to the small town of Kaleo, where they would be spending the rest of their time to help construct the dormitory.
Arriving on the Sunday, they met with the builders on the Monday to go over the full project and understand exactly what work needed to be done. Graham and Luke’s team of nine were joined by another group, also from Scotland, who were building classrooms. During their time their, they all worked hard to construct these much needed areas for the school.
Supporting Education
In this school most of the kids who would be attending were not actually from Kaleo, but from outside. This is simply due to the fact that it still costs money for a child to attend. So over the 17 days they were there, Graham and Luke were able to get to know some of the local children and residents, including the village chief, who could be found enjoying a refreshing beer in the 40°C heat!
Since they returned, they both said that they would “go back in a heartbeat”, and have plans to return in a few years and volunteer once more. The experience has been an extremely positive one for Graham and Luke, and everyone here at Walker Laird are happy to have two such giving members of the team.
If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved with helping communities abroad, why not check out the charity Graham and Luke supported on their trip - Connected. Check out more of their pictures from the gallery below!
For generations, for generations
As you can probably tell by the title, we are proudly celebrating our 200th year, we’ve now been providing bespoke legal and estate agency services throughout Renfrewshire and Glasgow since 1815.
It’s a great source of pride for us to be able to say that 200 years on since our beginning, we are still fully operational in the same location we started in. Something that not many companies are able to boast!
What started as a small legal practice in Gilmour Street, known as Miller and Walker, has grown in the last two centuries to the strong legal firm we have today. We have evolved to a considerably larger, modern day law firm with 50+ experienced staff across two branches, all operating under the Walker Laird brand.
Our Background
From 1815-1901 the firm went through various name changes until TD Laird became a partner. Following his arrival, we became T & W Walker and Laird, which remained the firm’s name until the 1980’s when it became simply, Walker Laird.
There is no question our roots are right here in Paisley. TD Laird was Paisley Golf Club Captain, a prominent member of the club and also helped secure the land where the course is to this day. The ninth hole at Paisley is named ‘Laird’s Victory’ in honour of TD Laird.
These strong local connections have grown over the years, particularly helped by the large number of families we have been pleased to serve for generations, through many family generations. We often hear clients remark on Walker Laird being the legal firm used by grandparents, great grandparents, and even great great grandparents.
As a firm with strong family values, and 200 years experience in family law, we are delighted to welcome new generations of clients to the business every year.
Our goal now is to continue to improve the practice of law for the modern age, whilst not forgetting our traditional values that have allowed us to provide the highest quality services for the past 200 years, and hopefully 200 more!
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