Author: Catherine Bates

  Ain’t no big surprise that employers are starting to pay more attention to the love lives of their staff. Following a number of recent developments, including the #MeToo campaign and the activities of various high level employees found to be having relationships with junior colleagues, such as at McDonalds, the likes of Blackrock have […]

…..they will only make you feel ugly. For those of you who were around in the 1990s, you may remember Baz Luhrmann’s production of “Wear Sunscreen”, an essay set to music, giving advice on how to live a happier life and avoid common mistakes. I don’t necessarily agree with all of it, but there are […]

  Being an heir or a potential heir can raise more problems than you might think. When there is a death in the family, beyond the sadness and the funeral, there are often expectations of Hollywood style readings of the will, complete with sombre solicitors reading out the last will and testament, and an aggrieved […]

Apparently my diary is lying to me.  It is telling me that it’s August (or at least it is at the time that I’m writing this blog) but that cannot be right because according to a well known high street chain of coffee shops, it’s much much later.  They’ve just emailed me to promote their […]

  Or indeed at any other time. As a junior lawyer, I loved a document briefcase because they are really really useful if you know what you’re doing.  I learned this at the start of my first ever high profile case, where I was given a large heavy document briefcase to carry in and out […]

Who needs enemies! Or, is your best friend actually your worst enemy??? I often talk about how you shouldn’t always believe what you read.  The press is often full of “legal” comments, such as reference to common law spouses, when no such concept exists, or telling you about the outcome of a case, then their […]

You may think that being a landlord is as easy as taking a walk on the beach.  You own a property, you rent it out, and you sit back in your deckchair whilst the money rolls in. Sadly, it’s never been as easy as that, and COVID restrictions are making it harder, with delays and […]

If I told you that I’d had an email from a Nigerian prince, wanting to pay me a huge sum of money for no reason, you’d all laugh. If I told you that I’d had a strange email from my co director, wanting to know if I was at my desk and could I make […]

  I don’t gamble. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration.  I have been known to say things like “a pound says that it will rain before the end of the day because I’ve got my best killer heels on” but that’s usually about as far as it goes. I’ve been to Vegas and other […]

Court orders are like parking restrictions. You can’t just ignore them.  Or if you do, you will bear the brunt of the traffic warden and his punishing tickets. Take, for example, a Child Arrangements Order.  Once it’s finally agreed, parents will hope the court proceedings are over and the arrangements are set in stone. However, […]