For some reason, the public’s image of a lawyer seems not to have changed in the past hundred years or so. Even a high profile legal aid crisis can’t shift the negative way in which we are often perceived. This is not good. Even with Rupert Penry-Jones sexing up TV show Silk, Michael Fassbender on … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Social
Social media mishaps of 2013: what can we learn?
End of year round-ups are all well and good, but what can we learn from the mistakes of the past 12 months? As well as planning resolutions for 2014, we should take time to look (and laugh) at some of last year’s most cringe worthy social media mistakes and how to avoid more of the same. … Continue reading
Total recall: safety concerns and dangerous products
Every year in the UK, 400 products are recalled but only 10-20% are ever returned. Product recalls are often made about safety concerns where the goods in their present state may pose a danger to the user. By law, manufacturers must take all reasonable steps to inform consumers when a product is recalled, but there is … Continue reading
All the world’s a stage (or a life of P.I.)
It may have been ten years since I completed my training contract and last worked in a high street firm, but as I took my seat at the Donmar Warehouse theatre recently, all too many memories came rushing back. As soon as I entered, the vast set stood proud in familiar shades of magnolia and … Continue reading
Lawyers not immune to social media mishaps
A trainee solicitor with one of the world’s top legal firms now faces the possibility of dismissal following the reporting of an online video in which he describes his role as “f***ing people over for money”. The Clifford Chance trainee, whose name has not been disclosed, was seen in a video interview with Oxford University student … Continue reading
Cold calling – Britain starts fighting back
In my first weekly appearance on The Alan Titchmarsh Show I joined journalist Fiona Foster to discuss the growing problem of cold calling, especially for the elderly and vulnerable (view below). New research Which? suggests that in June this year, an estimated 700million nuisance calls were received by people in the UK. Calls range from live … Continue reading
Employee shareholders: a new way of working
I was invited to join the BBC’s Your Money programme (video below) to discuss the introduction of employee shareholders under the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013. Although the provisions are introduced from 1 September 2013, there remains some uncertainty about how they will change we work and how many employers will embrace them. In essence, this is … Continue reading
Dismissed buttock-tweeting rugby star awarded £150,000 damages
A Yorkshire rugby star sacked after a photo of a teammate’s bottom appeared on his Twitter feed has been awarded almost £150,000 for wrongful dismissal following a hearing in Leeds. Keith Mason has been awarded significant damages after his former Rugby Super League club Huddersfield Giants, for which he had played seven seasons, dismissed him … Continue reading
NZ employee ordered to disclose Facebook pages
A flight attendant in New Zealand who was dismissed for allegedly ‘pulling a sickie’ has been ordered to disclose her Facebook entries for the period. Air New Zealand claimed that the employee, Gina Kensington, had fraudulently claimed 2 days’ pay for time she said she was caring for her sister. Ms Kensington took her case to … Continue reading
Tesco: every twitter helps?
A senior Tesco manager who tweeted that shutting five depots was an example of “awsome teamwork” and #worldclass has come under fire in Westminster. Distribution Director Steve Strachota sent the tweet about the re-structuring of Tesco distribution centres which will see thousands of posts transferred with some quite possibly at risk of redundancy. The depots facing closure are … Continue reading