Author: Catherine Bates

Some improvements don’t always make things better and in some cases, we actually make it harder. I’m old enough to remember what the litigation world looked like before the Court Procedure Rules were introduced in 1999.  I know I don’t look it, but that’s just down to a great beauty regime, not to mention regular […]

I’m a big fan of incorporation! I chose not to set up my own law firm until it was possible to do so as a limited company and I actively encourage my clients and contacts to incorporate their businesses at the earliest opportunity.  Not only do I think it looks more professional to be dealing […]

  Lots of things are better if you wait for them. I’m really looking forward to taking my 16 year old son on holiday this summer to celebrate the end of his exams, and I have no doubt that a part of my excitement is that this will be my first trip away in over […]

  You never think of posts as being dangerous, unless, of course, they are either falling on you, or saying something extremely controversial that’s going to land you in trouble. But on this occasion, I’m not talking about a block of wood or something you’d find on social media. This time I’m talking about email […]

As grounds for divorce go, this was probably one of the most unusual.  I’ve never heard of a war as causing the breakdown of a marriage, and certainly not a war that neither party had had any direct involvement in.  My client and his soon to be ex wife were middle class hard working people […]

I’d reached a point in my professional career where I didn’t think anything could surprise me anymore. To be fair, having been in the industry for over 30 years it does take a lot to raise even one eyebrow, let alone two, but today was one of those exceptions. Today I was asked for my […]

  I’m often heard to say, don’t ask a question unless you can deal with the answer. I say it in restaurants – don’t ask me if I’m enjoying my meal unless you can handle me saying that the food was cold, or late, or both. I say it on surveys – don’t ask me […]

    When can you stop wishing people Happy New Year? When you first see them after 1 January? At the end of the first week of Jan? The First week of Feb??? First week of March!!!! But what if your new year isn’t 31 Dec? In Iran it’s in March. In Israel it’s in […]

  I often talk about how you shouldn’t believe everything you read.  That’s not just confined to newspapers, but what the other side say to you too.  Just because they tell you that you’ve got a bad claim doesn’t mean they’re right. However, you might think that this doesn’t apply to social media, such as […]

      It’s a really strange saying, letting sleeping dogs lie.  Any one who has a dog or even has any experience of looking after dogs, they don’t really sleep.  It’s like they constantly have one eye open (or one ear cocked) in case there is something they should be eating, sniffing, peeing on […]