News

"As General Secretary of the Labour Party, Peter Watt was at the heart of government during one of  the most tumultuous periods in recent political history."

Peter Watt's book  'Inside Out' gives an insight into 'Donorgate' and provides a little detail about Greg Powell representing Peter through this difficult period.


Well done to Luisa Ricotinni who is now an accredited Police Station Representative.  Luisa is also fluent in Italian and can translate for our clients in police stations.

Congratulations to Rupeka Kanani and Ross Leek, two young solicitors from the Ealing office who are now Duty Solicitors.

Chris Humphreys of our Trade Union Department has recently defended a US pilot who has admitted to being over the legal alcohol limit to fly  click here
 
We have a new Family Law solicitor joining us in the Ealing office , Sandy Randhawa will head up the Family Department in Ealing and will specialise in Family and Matrimonial matters
 


Greg Powell's letter in response to the article in The Guardian, Wednesday June 17 2009, Peer pressure by  Afua Hirsch

click here for Greg's letter published on Friday June 19 2009

 
Greg Powell  & The Paddington Green Law Centre
 
On Thursday 30 April Greg Powell was elected to the management team of the Paddington Green Law Centre.

The Paddington Green Law Centre is at 439 Harrow Road, London W10 4RE
(Tel: 020 8960 3155 email: paddingtonlaw@dial.pipex.com). Law Centres were established to provide free legal advice to people who live or work in their areas.
 
Law Centres were to set up to overcome the obstacles faced by people who need access to the legal system. Free, publicly provided legal advice should be available to everyone, not just to those with financial resources or to those few that can get legal aid because of their income, there are many areas of law where legal aid is simply not available. This means that even in areas where fundamental rights are in dispute there is no access to the legal system. Legal aid is not available, for example, for representation at Industrial Tribunals or Immigration Appeals Tribunals.

Law Centres are managed democratically by individuals and organisations from their local areas. They work closely with their communities and provide the kind of services that are most suitable for that area. This accountability means that they complement the services of other community groups and advice agencies in the area, ensuring that there is no duplication of work and providing the local groups with back-up legal advice when needed

(taken from the focusondisability.org. website)



Compensation for False Imprisonment

In March Tina Donoghue who practices in the area of civil actions successfully claimed £2,300 in compensation for her client who had been falsely imprisoned by Brent magistrates’ court. Her client had been arrested on a warrant for a sentence which had previously been appealed to the Harrow crown court.


Grays Inn Weekend Trainng

Greg Powell attended the annual Grays Inn Weekend Training Course for newly qualified barrister advocates to add the expereinced solicitor's  view and comment in the intensive training sessions

Prison Law - 'A Practical Guide'

Margaret Obi's book Prison Law - a Practical Guide  has been published and is available on the Law Society Bookshop website.

From the Foreword by Declan O' Callaghan :  'It is hoped that the busy practitioner willl obtain suitable guidance by way of this practical publication.  It is a warmly welcomed addition to the library of prison practioners'


Powell Spencer has once again been fortunate enough to obtain another LSC Training Grant for a Trainee. Sandra Payne is the most recent Trainee to have been taken on at Powell Spencer under this scheme.  Sandra will start her  training contract in the Crime Department, working on Prison Law cases


Congratulations to Oliver Lewis and his family on the arrival of Dorris !


Powell Spencer has launched a TV advert for both our Crime and Medical Negligence work which was screened on OBEtv
We are excited about this new development and hope to take forward this idea with other channels and advertising mediums.

see our advert.

Missing you :

To Barbara Scheck and Michelle Smith, two of our Criminal Lawyers, both of whom are off on maternity leave.  Barbara is visiting family in Ghana and congratulations to Michelle and their new addition to the family ! 

New Legal Aid Lawyers

Powell Spencer have always had a strong tradition of training young legal aid lawyers 
Congratulations to some of our most recent successes.

Jenny Corbett
Rupeka Kanani
Chris Humphreys
Mark Troman
Sabrina Fitzgerald
Tina Donoghue
Amy Shipton


Legal Services Commission Training Grant

Last year Powell Spencer were successful in obtaining one of the Legal Services Commission's Training Grants.  James Bird who was our successful applicant has now been with us for 9 months.  Jamie is committed to Social Law and has enjoyed his first seat in the Housing Department, much to the amazement of the crime trainees !  He will shortly be moving on to the Welfare Benefits department before his final seat in the Family Department

click here to see what Jamie has had to say about his time at Powell Spencer so far.

Musical (?) Colleagues

Our musical colleagues, Rhys Davies, Oliver Lewis, Graham Brierton, Lydia Cox and our freelance associate Frank Williams, play in a fabulous band called Babble, and are often to be found in various  venues in Kilburn , sometimes they even play music, as original and eccentric as one could hope for.

Community Participation

Ross Leek, Rupeka Kanani, Aisha Faruqi and Lydia Cox have all taken part in school legal education, talking to young people about the work of a legal aid lawyer, legal careers and answering a large variety of questions which inevitably include police powers of Stop and Search.
 
Greg Powell recently took part in the 'Tell it like it is'  Conference organised by the Brent Youth Service at the Bridge Park Complex .  This conference encouraged young black boys aged between 13 and 15 years to move in a positive direction and build on their goals and aspirations for the future.

At Powell Spencer we support a number of the Work Experience consortiums by offering work experience placements to young people who are interested in a career in law.  Some of the organisations we support are :

Brent and Harrow Education Business Service
Hampstead School
Camden Education Business Partnership
Whitefields School
Barnett College
College of Northwest London 

 

Ealing goes from Strength to Strength !
 
Established in 2005, this is now a thriving office with 8 solicitors and a rapidly expanding client base in West London covering the Ealing, Brentford, Uxbridge, Feltham, and West London Magistrates Courts and their associated police stations.  We have been delighted to be able to reproduce our high quality client care and community commitment outside of our traditional community heartland.

 
 
Professional Associations
 
Greg Powell is the immediate past president and executive officer of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association

Margaret Obi is a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society, and author of Prison Law - a Practical Guide

Rupeka Kanani is a committee member of the Society of Asian Women Lawyers

Mike Tait is a member of the Law Society Children's Panel

Helen Tobin is a member of the Law Society Children's Panel

John Gillman is a member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel and the Law Society Clinical Negligence Panel.