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Hopkins News Family Law Blog 26 June 2008 Two alleged drug dealers were on trial at Sydney District Court. Convicted, life sentences awaited them. The Jurors in this extremely complex 66 day trial were seen to be assiduously taking notes throughout, and the Court commended the Jurors for taking their job so seriously. Until, that is, a defence lawyer watched a Juror write something on a notepad, not across the page, but downwards. The Jurors were rumbled. They had been playing Sudoku. The Jury Foreman admitted when questioned that: four or five Jurors had been playing the numbers game since week two of the trial (!) She asserted that the Sudoku had not distracted her “too much” from the proceedings. Judge Peter Zehra summarily discharged the Jury and aborted the trial. £490,000 of tax payers' money went down the drain. Whilst the Judge lectured the inattentive Jurors on playing games and letting everyone down, he couldn’t actually punish them, because being inattentive in a jury box is not an offence in Australia… The moral of the story: You just don’t know what’s going to happen in Court. Any weird result is possible. Try taking the risk out of it if you wind up in a dispute: use collaboration – or commercial mediation – come up with a solution that everyone involved could live with. Would you really want to trust your fate to a Court like this? (From The Times, 11 June 2008) Weird cases: temper temper A man in the US was charged with two counts of assault following an argument at a bus stop. His weapon of choice being a document file. Shocking yes, but how is this a ‘weird case?’ Well, the document file he assaulted the pair with contained his homework for an anger management course he had enrolled on and he was travelling to the course at the time of the assault! The rumour that this assault formed part of the homework has not been confirmed. Source: business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business Why Intellectual Property could benefit your business In today’s ever increasing competitive business environment, Intellectual Property (IP) could be key to developing a sustainable business and staying one step ahead of your competitors. Most people think of IP rights exclusively as patents however, they also include brand names, photographs, music, software, paintings and other creations of the mind. These are becoming increasingly highly sought after so, the collective value of the associated Intellectual Property has never been greater. Three of the key aspects to consider in your business are : Patents – These are legal documents describing a technical invention in detail. Under the duration of the patent, the owner has the ability to prevent anyone else from using the invention. Copyright – This gives legal protection for original works and includes sound recordings and films, it also covers software. Registered Trademark – A trademark is the legal basis for the development of brand identity and can therefore play a key part in the development and recognition of a business. As well as IP enabling you to carve out a competitive position for your company, it is also valued highly by investors, and may aid you if you are seeking to raise finance. Contact Rob Siderfin, Tom Stendall or Nick Elliott on 01623 468 468 to discuss how your business could benefit from the registration of Intellectual Property. Source: news.bbc.co.uk Faced with a dispute at work? If you’re faced with a commercial dispute, read on to discover why you should consider Mediation to help you to reach a resolution. Mediation is becoming the favoured alternative to litigation within the business and commercial sector. Mediation is now considered as the first, rather than the last, or even the alternative, to litigation. Indeed the Court now actively encourages, and even expects, the parties to attempt resolution of their dispute by Alternative Dispute Resolution; mediation being one form of ADR. As an impartial and mutually agreed third party, a Mediator can assist and guide the parties to be part of a process in which they are fully involved and who themselves work towards a resolution of their own invention and crafting. The advantages of Mediation are several, not just saving of legal costs, but also management time; convenience of time and location to suit the parties; the flexible, voluntary and participatory process; the creative options available for settlement; confidentiality and particularly important in the commercial sector the preservation of working relationships. For further detail of the process of Mediation and its advantages please contact Pat Wright on 0115 910 5555. Source: Pat Wright, Hopkins Solicitors New plans announced to tackle discrimination in the workplace Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman recently published plans intended to make companies demonstrate whether they pay male and female staff equally. The purpose of these plans are to tackle discrimination in the workplace. A bill which is to be unveiled in the Queen’s speech later this year will require all public sector firms to publish figures showing the gender pay gap, a requirement which will also be placed on firms with public sector contracts – which amounts to roughly 30% of all private sector firms. The companies will be expected to publish the percentage difference in the average pay of men and women in the company, but not the actual amount. Harman will offer a template which private sector firms can use to publish the data, although there will be no immediate statutory requirement on firms to do so. If you have a query on any aspect of Employment Law please contact Claire Scanlan at Hopkins Solicitors on 01623 468 468 Source: guardian.co.uk/politics

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