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In the news Stuart Kightley asks the question: cycling in London — is it good for your health? HIP Hip Okay – with Home Information Packs now a part of everyday life, Osbornes show how they can help you get the best out of them Counting the cost – Lisa Pepper examines the expense of children in a marriage break-up Jan Atkinson was one of the organizers of the 10th annual Probate Section Conference for Wills and Probate lawyers at the Intercontinental Stuart Kightley has been voted onto the national executive committee of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Adoption – new law and practice Domestic and intercountry adoption Osbornes represents mother in Landmark decision in the High Court Houses in multiple occupation – the new rules How long is your lease? Should you consider extending your lease of your flat or even purchasing the freehold of your building? Resolution Scheme _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Legal _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Events _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Recent Cases _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Archive _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Leaflets/Brochures/ Newsletters _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _	In the news 10th annual Probate Section Conference Jan Atkinson was one of the organizers of the 10th annual Probate Section Conference for Wills and Probate lawyers at the Intercontinental on the 5 and 6 July. Kit and the Widow went down a storm as the cabaret at the black tie gala dinner on the Thursday night. The conference was a huge success, as can be seen from the comments received. "The format of the conference was excellent. " "Excellent value for money and a great opportunity to meet fellow practitioners. The dinner was superb!" "An extremely well balanced and valuable two days." "The venue, facilities, organization and particularly the hotel's food were superb - many congratulations to all members of the Probate Section Executive Committee and Law Society staff for their organization of this excellent conference." "One of the best conferences recently." "I did not realise how little I knew before this event." "Extremely useful as an update on areas crucial to our area of work, particularly for a young lawyer!!" "Materials are great- v.pleased to have notes from all workshops, not just the ones I attended." "Well organised and valuable." "Please may we have an overnighter next year?" "This has been a very enjoyable and valuable event. The opportunity to meet experienced colleagues and expert practitioners is very useful and the chance of a social is always welcome." Top Naomi Angell solicitor and David Vavrecka barrister from Coram Chambers host an evening on Adoption – new law and practice Domestic and intercountry adoption 21 March 2007 Intercountry adoption (ICA) covers all adoptions with a foreign element, where the UK is either the receiving state, or the state of origin and sending state of the child. Although often regarded as a specialist area of law covering a small number of cases and where practitioners are unlikely to encounter more than a few cases in the course of their career . Also where the ones that you do hear about are high profile cases which appear in the media e.g. Angelina Jolie or Madonna or notorious cases such as the “Internet Twins” case of 2002. The reality is actually quite different. The cases in fact cover a wide range of situations and a broad spectrum of people, ranging from Childless couple wanting to adopt a young unrelated baby from abroad, maybe China or Russia. Expatriate single woman who wants to adopt a child while living and working abroad and then wants to bring the child back to the UK for recognition of the adoption and to obtain British nationality for the child. Relatives in this country wanting to adopt a child gifted to them by a family member abroad or to adopt an orphaned related child from a foreign country. A child brought here for a visit, maybe for education, medical treatment or a visit and relatives or an unrelated family decide to adopt the child. An English man marries a foreign woman and wants to adopt her child by a previous relationship abroad and for the child to live as a member of the family in this country. A child in care proceedings, where the best placement is a placement with relatives abroad. Family members in this country wanting to gift a child for adoption by childless relatives abroad. The common factor is the foreign element when the UK can either be the receiving country of the child or the country sending the child abroad where the UK is the child’s country of origin. It is an area of law relevant to solicitors and barristers advising prospective adopters, and also birth families where the child is to be sent abroad. Also adoption social workers, childrens guardians and local authority legal departments, which are increasingly getting involved in these cases. For further information contact Amanda Bradley. Top Osbornes represents mother in landmark decision in the High Court This was the first reported decision to establish that if a husband and wife agree by consent to dismiss their property claims against each other under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 this does not prevent a party issuing a claim on behalf of a child under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 for property on the basis of issue estoppel. more Top Resolution Scheme Andrew Watson is the fourth member of Osbornes Family Department to achieve specialist status under the acclaimed Resolution scheme and joins Naomi Angell, Bridget Thompson and Mark Freedman who between them can now offer expert advice across a range of specialist areas. The Resolution accreditation scheme is the first accreditation scheme of its kind and is recognised as the most strigent test of expertise in particular areas of family law practice. Originally set up in 1999, the scheme is designed to help people who are facing a family breakdown to make an informed choice when deciding which lawyer to appoint. To become a Resolution accredited specialist, lawyers have to agree to uphold the Resolution code of practice and to have passed a written test demonstrating a breadth of knowledge of family law issues and specialist knowledge in at least two areas of family law. Andrew, who qualified in 2001, has been at Osbornes since 1999. He has been accredited in the areas of Advanced Financial provision and Cohabitation. Top	June 2006: Head of Osbornes Property Litigation Department Guy Osborn is made a Partner of the firm _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Family Partner Mark Freedman appeared live on Sky TV News debating the effect of the government's decision to overhaul the Child Support Agency. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Osbornes Family lawyers commended The 2006 edition of Chambers & Partners “A Client’s Guide to the UK Legal Profession” commends Osbornes’ Family team and singles out Partner Mark Freedman for special praise. The latest (2005) edition of the Legal 500 endorses Family Team Head Julian Beard (“highly recommended”) and notes the “strong reputation” of international adoption expert Naomi Angell. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Recruitment Due to further expansion Osbornes is pleased to welcome three new Personal Injury solicitors, Charlotte Williams, Rebecca Reynolds and Manpreet Sura to the PI Department. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ APIL Accreditation The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers is a national campaign organisation that champions the rights of injured people. Osbornes personal injury solicitors are all members of the organisation. APIL has recently introduced its own accreditation scheme to allow the public clear routes and access to specialist personal injury lawyers. Our PI team was awarded the status “APIL accredited lawyers” by APIL in October 2005 and in the same month Partner Stuart Kightley was appointed a Fellow of the organisation, fellow Partner Wendy Wright as Senior Litigator and Associate Jenny Jones as Litigator.