Many aspects of our lives our affected by the law, yet most people in this county and Wales are ignorant of the legal system and the process in the countries. Many of us get our sense of awareness from newspaper articles showing heading like ‘Life for serial killer’, ‘Burglaries on the increase’ or ‘Community service for young offenders’. These types of headlines are so common that is unsurprising that when the law is cited, there are many individuals who think only of criminal cases and the courts that deal with them. In reality, the law covers an enormous range of situations and the legal system in England and Wales has a variety of courts and methods for dealing with different types of cases.

Company Law

Company law is very important in the business world: It regulates how a company should be formed, sets out formal rules for running companies, and deals with the rights and duties of shareholders and directors. Employment law covers all aspects of employment from the original formation of a contract of employment to situations of redundancy or unfair dismissal. As well as these areas of private law, there are also laws relating to land, to copyright and patents, to marine law and many other topics, so it can be seen that civil law covers a wide variety of situations.

Employment

Like any business, staff are needed to keep the business alive. So what happens when the mood turns sour, and their is a real risk of termination of contracts? This is an area in law where alternative dispute resolution has long been used in the shape of ACAS (Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service). When any claim is filed at an employment tribunal, a copy of that claim is sent to ACAS who will then contact the two parties involved and offer to attempt to resolve the dispute without the need for the matter to go to a tribunal. Specially trained conciliation officers work for ACAS, which demands a high level of experience in dealing with the issues of employment.

Bennett Griffin are solicitors that specialise in Personal Law and Family Law as well as Employment and Company Law, and are also well respected as notaries within the profession.