A full capacity 4,000 runners are expected to take part in the run, for which the online registration system will open on Saturday (March 1) at 8am.

Organisers Kenilworth Rotary Club are reminding all those who wish to enter that there is always a stampede for places – last year all 4,000 were taken in just 19 hours.

The Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club will again be lending their support and Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins have agreed to be the principal sponsor for the ninth year running.

“It’s a wonderful event and the whole firm looks forward to taking part, whether as runners, marshals or by manning our water station,” said Blythe Liggins joint senior partner Richard Thornton. “It’s a very exhilarating event and we are very proud to have been connected with it for so many years.”

The Two Castles is one of the best-loved athletic events in the Midlands and is both for serious runners and for those who run for sheer enjoyment or charity – more than £110,000 was raised for charities last year.

Visit www.twocastlesrun.org.uk to register from 8am on Saturday.

Read more: Race on for the Two Castles Run starting line

Image: Blythe Liggins’ joint senior partner Richard Thornton (centre) with Kenilworth Rotary Club president Richard Martin (left) and race organiser Philip Southwell. (s)

Fundraising for The Myton Hospices will receive a boost this month when local solicitors offer to write free Wills in return for donations.

Almost 20 law firms and Will writers will be supporting the hospice’s ‘Will Week’ from October 21 – 25, including Leamington solicitors Blythe Liggins, who have again named the hospice as their charity for the year and who last year raised £6,000 through various events.

Donna Bothamley, head of trust & probate at Blythe Liggins, said: “All the participating firms will be giving their time free of charge to write or update basic Wills for Myton supporters, in return for a donation to The Myton Hospices. Any sum is welcome, but suggested minimum donations are £80 for a single Will and £160 for a pair of mirror Wills.“A Will written by a solicitor is the best way to ensure that your family, friends and favourite charities will benefit exactly as you would wish”, said Mrs Bothamley, adding that two-thirds of people above the age of 50 didn’t have a proper updated Will.”

David Pratt, The Myton Hospices donor and supporter care manager, added: “There is no obligation to remember Myton in your Will but you might be interested to know that around one in four of our patients are cared for because people leave us a legacy.”

A list of participating firms is available on www.mytonhospice.org. Anyone wishing to make an appointment with Blythe Liggins for a Will to support Myton Hospice should contact Paul England on 01926 884765.

CAPTION: Blythe Liggins trust & probate team (l-r) Sam Thornton, Donna Bothamley, Emma Wallbank and Paul England.

A well-known Leamington solicitor – who was also national chairman of the Standard Motor Club – has retired from Blythe Liggins after almost 40 years to pursue his interest in classic cars and steam trains.

Peter Lockley, a former Warwick School pupil who read law at Wadham College, Oxford, before joining the firm in 1977, was a popular figure on the local licensing scene, where he represented scores of local pubs, restaurants and hotels in their licence applications.

A classic car enthusiast, he was national chairman of the Standard Motor Club for 18 years from 1992 – 2010 (and remains a committee member), and his love of steam trains took him around the world – Europe, the Far East, North and South America, Africa and the West Indies. “Wherever there were steam trains operating I went out to photograph them,” said Mr Lockley, whose partners at Blythe Liggins presented him with a painting of a steam express train for Liverpool passing the old Milverton Station in Warwick New Road, Leamington.
Mr Lockley, who lives in Long Itchington and whose certificate of admission as a solicitor was signed by the great Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls, worked in almost every branch of the legal profession except conveyancing.

Richard Thornton, joint senior partner, said: “Peter was tremendously popular, not just with the firm, where he worked tirelessly for his personal injury clients and was always willing to help, encourage and advise younger members of staff, but also with the local licensing trade, whom he represented for many decades.”

CAPTION: Retiring solicitor Peter Lockley in his 1955 Swallow Doretti leaves Blythe Liggins for the last time, watched by joint senior partners Richard Thornton (left) and David Lester.

Leamington law firm Blythe Liggins has won the contract to provide legal services and a members’ helpline for Bowls England, the sport’s national governing body.

Kevin Mitchell, a partner in the commercial department and sports unit, said the firm has been appointed to act for the national organisation, its regions and 2,500 clubs across 35 counties; and to provide a legal helpline. “Bowls England, which is in the process of moving its headquarters from Worthing to Leamington, is just the right organisation for our sports unit, which has considerable expertise and experience in acting for sports bodies and running legal helplines for members,” said Mr Mitchell.

In addition to Bowls England, Blythe Liggins acts for British Swimming, British Eventing, British Blind Sport, the national Rugby Coaches Association, the national Elite Cricket Coaches Association and Riding for the Disabled. It also represents international rugby players, county cricketers, athletics coaches and Olympic horsemen, as well such local concerns such as Warwick Boat Club and Leamington Cricket Club.

Tony Allcock, Bowls England chief executive and 15 times world champion, said: “Blythe Liggins came to us well recommended and we’ve got on really well with them. They speak the language that we want to hear and they have a great track record with other sporting organisations.”

Bowls England resulted from a merger in 2008 between the men’s English Bowling Association and the English Women’s Bowls Association.

The move means that regional, national and international men’s tournaments will now be played at Leamington; which has long been the national base for women bowlers.

Mr Allcock, who was awarded the MBE for services to sports and sport in the community (working with disabled and blind bowlers), said the move was primarily about economics and geography and would make Leamington the new ‘Wimbledon’ of bowls. “It makes sense for us to have our headquarters in Leamington as it is much more central than Worthing and it will make it easier and cheaper for players to get to tournaments at the Leamington club in Victoria Park, Archery Road.”

CAPTION: Bowls England chief executive and 15 times world champion Tony Allcock MBE with commercial lawyer Kevin Mitchell from Blythe Liggins

Following recent changes to the legislation it will be easier for employers and employees to discuss a possible termination package without fear of those discussions being used in a court or tribunal as evidence. Prior to the change in the legislation on 29 July, 2013 “without prejudice” discussions could only remain confidential from the court if there was an existing dispute between the parties.
The new law permits both parties to offer and discuss settlement terms even where no employment dispute exists in the knowledge that their conversations cannot be used in any subsequent unfair dismissal claim. But employers should be aware that if any of their conversations relate to automatically unfair reasons for dismissal such as whistleblowing or relate to claims of discrimination, harassment, victimisation or other behaviour prohibited by the Equalities Act 2010 or claims relating to breach of contract or wrongful dismissal, then those conversations will not be protected.

Richard Moon of Blythe Liggins Employment Law Unit says:
“I can see employers using the new law where there is a poorly performing employee and they wish to offer a deal rather than having to go through a lengthy disciplinary process”

There are additional provisions to make sure that the employer is not behaving improperly towards the employee in relation to the settlement agreement negotiations or offer. ACAS recommend a minimum period of 10 calendar days for the employee to consider the proposed settlement terms and received independent advice. Any terms must be recorded in a formal agreement. This was previously known as a compromise agreement that has been renamed a settlement agreement under the new law.

CAPTION: Richard Moon

Blythe Liggins Solicitors has launched a new will disputes and Court of Protection unit after seeing its caseload increase.
Partners at Blythe Liggins said there had been a substantial increase in the number of family disputes over wills and over the personal affairs of elderly relatives who can no longer manage their own finances.

Donna Bothamley, who runs the Wills and Probate department and heads the new unit with senior partner Richard Thornton, said: “We have seen the number of cases involving family disputes increase substantially over the last couple of years. This is a growing niche area of law that requires specialisation.”

Mrs Bothamley – who is experienced in handling contentious issues in the Court of Protection – said that the ageing population was partly the cause.
“People are living so much longer now and that can cause family strife as the elderly – either through the natural ageing process or through illness, such as dementia – can no longer manage their own affairs. There are particular problems when people have not delegated decisions to family members or friends through power of attorney documents, or who have not ensured that their wills are up-to-date.

“Inevitably, this can lead to friction amongst family members and some disagreements are so severe that they require the Court of Protection to resolve them. Such is the increasing number of cases that the Court of Protection no longer only sits in London, but now also has regional courts, including one at Birmingham”, she said.
The new unit at Blythe Liggins also includes two recent additions to the firm – Sam Thornton and Emma Wallbank.

CAPTION: Blythe Liggins’ new wills disputes and Court of Protection team: (l-r) Sam Thornton, Donna Bothamley, Emma Wallbank and Paul England

Sponsors and organisers of the annual Two Castles Run between Warwick and Kenilworth were here at Blythe Liggins Solicitors last week to cheer on the law firm’s team of runners.

Richard Thornton, joint senior partner of Blythe Liggins, which is sponsoring the event for the eighth year, joined Kenilworth Rotarians Bob Kelly and Philip Southwell and race referee Alan Edwards as the law firm’s squad of runners and marshals were put through their paces.

Race organisers Kenilworth Rotary Club said all 4,000 places for the 10km event on Sunday June 9 had sold out within 24 hours.

Mr Kelly, Rotary’s press officer, said: “In recent years there has been an explosion in its popularity, brought about in part by The Leamington Cycling and Athletics Club expertise in helping to raise the status of the event, and by providing a race for both serious runners, and people running for charity or just for the fun of it.”

Mr Thornton said: “This is an enormous endorsement of the popularity of the Two Castles, which just goes from strength to strength. Kenilworth Rotary Club does an amazing job with its organisation and promotion of the race – now in its 31st year – which last year raised more than £110,000. A fantastic effort.”

Caption: The Blythe Liggins team at Kenilworth Castle having completed the run.

Blythe Liggins is to hold talks with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) this month about funding for the new Leamington-based Rugby Coaches Association (RCA).

Blythe Liggins represents this new organisation for professional rugby union and rugby league coaches and Richard Moon, head of both the firm’s sports law and employment law units, sits on its board.
The talks will take place at Twickenham on Thursday January 31 between Mr Moon and Rob Andrew, director of operations for the RFU.

The two are former playing colleagues, having represented Cambridge University and been paired at scrum-half and fly-half respectively in the 1984 Varsity Match.

Mr Moon, who went on to play for England, the Barbarians and Harlequins and was recently interviewed on Radio 4’s Today programme about rugby refereeing, said: “The RCA is a new, independent not-for-profit association (chaired by Sir Ian McGeechan, a former head coach of the British and Irish Lions) and we are seeking additional funding to help us represent all member coaches in their dealings with governing bodies and other stakeholders in both rugby codes.”

Mr Moon is no stranger to the corridors of power at Twickenham, having once sat on the governing body of the RFU. He was also involved in the establishment of the Rugby Union Players Association in 1996.
In addition to the RCA, Blythe Liggins’ sports law unit has represented a number of sporting individuals and organisations, from local concerns such as Warwick Boat Club and Leamington Cricket Club to international rugby players, county cricketers, athletics coaches, Olympic horsemen, the English Women’s Golf Association and Riding for the Disabled.

CAPTION: (1) Richard Moon and Sir Ian McGeechan at the launch of the RCA. (2) Richard Moon preparing to give a radio commentary at Twickenham.

Richard Moon has played a major part in the launch of a new representative body for professional rugby coaches.
Richard Moon, head of sports and employment law, has got together with rugby legend Sir Ian McGeechan and others to form the Rugby Coaches Association (RCA) for professional coaches in both rugby union and rugby league.

Mr Moon, a former England, Barbarians, Harlequins and Cambridge University scrum half (whose brother Rupert played scrum half for Wales), said that RCA had been set up as an independent organisation to represent all member coaches in their dealings with governing bodies and other stakeholders in rugby union and rugby league.

Mr Moon once sat on the governing body of the RFU and was also involved in the establishment of the Rugby Union Players Association in 1996.

“The association will promote the two codes and the views of coaches on key issues within union and league and the wider sporting world, acting as the collective and representative voice of its members,” he said. “It will also safeguard the rights and privileges of its members in areas such as employment law (including reviewing employment contracts and dealing with termination and disciplinary issues) and financial services.
The RCA has been set up as a not-for-profit company which ensures that all profits will be re-invested back in the association. Other directors include Phil Davies (Cardiff Blues), Glenn Delaney (London Irish) and Professor Dave Collins (former performance director of UK Athletics). In addition, Neil Back (Edinburgh Rugby), Jim Mallinder (Northampton Saints), Conor O’Shea (Harlequins) and Tony Smith (Warrington Wolves) have agreed to be ‘ambassadors’ for the Association.

Commenting on the launch of the Association, Sir Ian McGeechan said: “It has been clear for some time that rugby coaches have become more exposed as we work under close scrutiny and with greater expectations. We have no united voice and have been left to look after our individual affairs, unlike the players for example, for whom the Rugby Players Association does an excellent job.
“The RCA has been set up to represent all our professional colleagues. It is unique in that it brings together coaches from both codes to co-operate in the interests of all. I’m confident that it will have an important role to play in looking after its members as professional rugby develops in this country,” he said.
Blythe Liggins’ sports law unit represents a number of sporting individuals and organisations, from local clubs such as Warwick Boat Club and Leamington Cricket Club to international rugby players, county cricketers, Olympic horsemen and disabled riders.

Kevin Mitchell and Nick Watts of Blythe Liggins’ commercial department – who are also part of the sports law unit – praised the work of Sean Farnell, client services partner with accountants Burgis & Bullock, for helping formulate the business plans and forecasts of the new body.

The RCA (further information available at enquiries@rugbyca.com) is based at the Blythe Liggins offices in Edmund House, Rugby Road, Leamington Spa, CV32 6EL

CAPTION: Richard Moon and Sir Ian McGeechan being interviewed on SKY TV earlier this week.

The Myton Hospices is opening its latest charity shop in time for Christmas, thanks to the speedy assistance of Nick Watts.

Nick Watts, a commercial solicitor here at Blythe Liggins, has pulled out all the stops to ensure completion on the property in Atherstone, near Nuneaton – the charity’s 18th shop – before the Christmas rush.
Mr Watts said: “We needed to complete in plenty of time for it to be refurbished and fitted out as a shop. It looked as if it was going down to the wire but we persuaded the other parties to pull out all the stops and get the job done well before Christmas.”

Myton’s corporate development manager Hannah Morris said that it was important that they caught the Christmas trade as its network of shops provided about £1 million of the £6 million plus required each year to run the charity’s three hospices.

The charity began in 1982 with the opening of Myton Hospice in Warwick, followed by the Rugby Myton Hospice day centre in 2002 and the Coventry Myton Hospice last year.

Myton Hospices, which has more than 500 volunteers, offers palliative care to those with life-limiting conditions.
CAPTION: Nick Watts from Blythe Liggins and Hannah Morris, corporate development manager at The Myton Hospices, with some of the goods on sale at the charity shops.