Si’s Matters – the Final 2024 edition

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and we’re starting to look forward to a much-deserved time-out with our families and loved ones. 

In this spirit, we are making this week’s edition of Si’s Matters the last one of the year, so that we can concentrate all our energies on our client projects right up until it’s officially time to down tools (specifically, keyboards in our case) for the year. 

Being the final edition, this issue kills several birds with one stone: announcing the winner of the first round of our blog competition “Tried By David”; launching the second round of said competition; and bringing you the year of Si’s Matters in review. Oh, and there’s also our usual roundup of the latest legal-sector news. 

We wish you happy reading, perhaps with a cuppa and a mince pie to hand…

And the winner is…

Back in early November, we announced the launch of our new blog competition for the legal sector. Every second month, TBD’s senior copywriter and Si’s Matters co-author David Mossop will choose his favourite legal blog submitted by you, our readers, with the help of a guest judge.

The category for our first round was Private Wealth. Our guest judge was the wonderful Jono Randell-Nash – if Carlsberg did independent financial advisers… ❤️

After putting their heads together and carefully reading through the entries in our post bag (thank you to everyone who entered!), David and Jono have chosen their top three blogs. Here is their selection – drum roll please!

1. Spurious claims against HNWIs: top tips and how to avoid them

Law firm: Mishcon de Reya

Author(s): Victoria Pigott, Daniel Foley, Tanay Vankayalapati, Isabella Piaseck

David’s verdict: “Our winning blog has it all: a strong headline; a compelling introduction that really ‘sets the scene’ for the reader; a clear, logical structure where every paragraph follows on coherently from the preceding one; and good, clean writing that is easy for laypeople to comprehend – no excessive jargon, no assumed specialist knowledge on the part of the reader (other than not spelling out what the acronym HNWI stands for – a minor gripe). Both Jono and I were impressed by the level of empathy conveyed in this piece. Despite being on the lengthy side at just under 2,000 words in total, this blog is a worthy winner, in my eyes!”

Jono’s verdict: “The first two paragraphs setting out why this topic was a problem got me feeling empathetic towards High-Net-Worth Individuals, which is quite a feat! The headings are brilliant, they take all of the challenges independently, but still feel coherent within the whole piece – very impressive. Overall, the fact that they get that empathy and compassion across, not just in the first paragraphs but throughout, really stands out to me. So for that reason, this blog is the clear winner. If I were to be very picky, there is no definition of HNWI, which as a recovering lawyer bugged me.”

We reached out to let the authors know of their victory. Victoria Piggot, partner at Mishcon de Reya and lead author, commented: 

“We're really pleased with the recognition the article has received, which affirms the importance of strategic legal defence for HNWIs against baseless claims and the need for proactive measures to safeguard personal wealth and reputation. Our thanks to TBD Marketing for this acknowledgement.”

You’re welcome – congratulations to you and your co-authors! 

2. UK Budget - reforms to APR and BPR, what now for the farming community?

Law firm: Withersworldwide

Author(s): Bertie Hoskyns-Abrahall, Matthew Woods, Christopher Groves, Harry Cousens

David’s verdict: “This blog impressed me with its strong advocacy on behalf of a clearly defined target audience. The authors take a clear stance on the recent changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief – there’s no sitting on the fence here, which the target readership are bound to appreciate – and succinctly convey the key points in an easy-to-digest format.”

Jono’s verdict: “I really like the layout; simple things like ‘5 minute read’ put me in the right frame of mind. It is well-written and has a great structure – it is superbly broken down with headings and is really easily digestible. It straddled the line on informative versus passing the buck on ‘we don’t know the details yet’ brilliantly. It also has super-clear next steps.”

3. Bridging the wealth gap in giving – encouraging HNWIs to increase charitable contributions

Law firm: Boodle Hatfield

Author(s): Eleanor Sepanski, Sophie Harcourt

David’s verdict: “The authors demonstrate a clear understanding of the subject matter and write clearly and succinctly. I appreciated the fact that the piece advocates for a socially worthy cause. Although it lacks subheadings to help situate the reader, this blog nevertheless has a clear structure and flow, and is of what I would describe as a ‘Goldilocks’ length - not too long, not too short.”

Jono’s verdict: “This blog is short and sweet, and the flow is very good – an easy read. I really enjoyed the analysis of the different jurisdictions and how the authors pulled together the different cultures, tax structures and incentives across the different sections. The main area that is maybe lacking for me: who is this aimed at? It feels more like a public-interest piece, with no clear actionable steps. A worthy finalist though!”

Kudos to the authors of our two runner-up blogs!

Round two, fight!

For the second round of our blog competition “Tried by David”, we are looking for entries in the category of Employment Law. There should be plenty to say on this topic in the wake of all the negative publicity surrounding Gregg Wallace and the questions his alleged behaviour raises around workplace culture.

A quick recap of the entry rules: all blogs have to have been written by a lawyer or barrister who is either a regulated individual or working at an UK-regulated law firm or chambers – no ghost-written content will be accepted. To make the longlist, each entry must have a headline that reaches a headline score and SEO score of at least 70% in our headline optimisation tool. It must also have a punchy first paragraph.

To enter your blog, please use our submission form. Your blog needs to have been published between today (13 December 2024) and midnight on Valentine’s Day. 

We will announce our guest judge closer to the time - we have a couple of people in our sights, but they're tied up dealing with Christmas party-related employment law issues today, we believe. The winner of round two will then be declared in a few weeks’ time.

A year of Si’s Matters in review

The takeover editions

This year, we were lucky enough to have some amazing guest editors who volunteered to craft and curate some absolutely brilliant, timely and thought-provoking takeover editions. Thanks again to all of you for taking the helm and contributing your time and expertise!

Financial wellbeing – Carla Hoppe

International Women's Day (Female Founders) – Florence Brocklesby

The Gen Z social media takeover edition – Jacob Nomafo

Back to School – Sarah Arnold and Laura West

Femicide is not just a statistic (VAWG) – Claire Farrelly

Compliance and professional ethics – Eloise Butterworth

Black History Month – Jacqui Rhule-Dagher

World Menopause Day – Silvia Van den Bruel

If you would like to guest-edit an edition of Si’s Matters and get your words in front of thousands of UK legal sector readers, please get in touch!

From our own correspondent(s)

We have chosen our three favourites from the editions we penned ourselves this year. Our top choice also happens to be the one that got the most reads from our loyal subscribers – it clearly resonated with many of you!

1. Heavy is the Head… – a look at the trials and tribulations of being a law firm leader

2. Death by a thousand cuts – examining what happens when trust in the legal profession is eroded

3. Six lessons from six years of TBD Marketing – celebrating our 6th anniversary with some hard-won wisdom

In other news

Latest research shows 50% growth in UK legal services market over past decade

As reported in the Law Society Gazette late last week, the Law Society’s latest economic value report has found the gross value added from the UK legal sector was £34.2bn in 2022, compared to £22.8bn in 2013. Among other insights, the report also found that nearly half of UK turnover is derived from London, with the majority (53%) coming from outside England’s capital.

Disciplinary tribunal upholds professional misconduct charges against former chair of Criminal Bar Association 

Once tipped to become a future director of public prosecutions, former KC and erstwhile chair of the CBA Navjot ‘Jo’ Sidhu has been found to have inappropriately initiated sexual contact with an aspiring lawyer in a case dating from November 2018, the Guardian reported on Monday. The five-person bar tribunal and adjudications service panel upheld three charges against Sidhu in total.

Barrister behind “boys’ club” Twitter thread cleared of professional misconduct

Dr Charlotte Proudman, who specialises in family law and is also a women’s rights campaigner, has had all charges dropped against her partway through a Bar Standards Board (BSB) disciplinary tribunal. The Guardian noted on Thursday that the five charges all related to a 14-post thread written by Proudman on Twitter (as it still was then), in which she called out a “boys’ club” attitude in a judgment by now-retired High Court judge Jonathan Cohen regarding a domestic abuse case Proudman was involved in.

I really hope you enjoyed this week’s edition, and wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year!

Thanks,

Si Marshall

[email protected]