Death of creel fisherman after davit failure ruled accidental with no determinable cause 

By Mitchell Skilling

Alexander Wood, who was aged 65 at the time of his death, was a self-employed creel fisherman working out of Burntisland. Mr Wood’s family chose not to actively participate in the inquiry under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Act 2016. 

The inquiry was conducted by Sheriff Alastair Brown. Ms Swansey, procurator fiscal depute, appeared for the public interest and the harbour operator, Forth Ports Ltd, was represented by Mr Craig, solicitor. 

Broke in two 

At the time of Mr Wood’s death, he was working out of the outer part of Burntisland Harbour with a 24-foot fishing boat. He suffered from severe coronary artery disease and minimal ischemic heart disease which left him at an increased risk of dysrhythmic events. The cause of his death was officially recorded as by immersion in water with ischemic heart disease. 

At the top of the quay at the outer harbour was a davit that was permanently fixed to the harbour by its base plate. It was not known who installed the davit. On 24 August 2018, while Mr Wood was using the davit to load bait onto his boat, the davit’s vertical projecting tube broke in two, causing the lifting arm and the box of bait to fall directly onto his boat. At about the same time that the arm fell onto the boat, Mr Wood fell into the water and sustained a fracture to his right arm consistent with being hit by a heavy object. At the time of his death, Mr Wood was not wearing a life jacket. 

After the accident, it was discovered that the steel projecting tube, around which the lifting arm had rotated, was heavily corroded in an area below the visible outer piping. It was observed that any reasonable inspection by a competent person would have resulted in the discovery of the defect, but no proper inspection of the davit had taken place in several years. 

Evidence was given by witnesses to the accident as well as by the Chief Operating Officer of Forth Ports Ltd, Stuart Wallace. He stated that Forth Ports had not used the outer harbour in some time and regarded its use by local residents as their own responsibility. Following Mr Wood’s death, they commenced a review across their seven harbours to identify other items of third-party equipment and instruct the owners to either maintain or remove it. 

Various hypotheses 

In his determination, Sheriff Brown began: “It is beyond doubt that Mr Wood met his death in an accident and that it involved the failure of the davit; but it is not possible to determine at this stage what the mechanism of that accident was or what part the davit played. Various hypotheses can be advanced but the evidence does not point to any one of them being more likely than another.” 

On where responsibility for the davit lay, he observed: “There is a strong argument that the davit had become the property of Forth Ports Ltd by accession. A range of criteria are considered in determining such a question. In this case, the fixture might well be described as permanent, in view of the difficulty experienced in removing the base plate.” 

He continued: “However, the fact that the mechanism of the accident cannot be ascertained - in particular, that I cannot say that the failure of the davit was causally connected with Mr Wood’s death - means that I do not have to decide the question. In addition, it is arguable that Forth Ports Ltd had certain duties arising from their control of the outer harbour; but for the same reason, I do not have to decide that.” 

Addressing whether there was a causal connection between the failure of the davit and Mr Brown’s death, Sheriff Brown said: “I make no recommendations. I have drawn the inference that the failure of the davit which was installed on the quay at Burntisland Outer Harbour occurred at or about the same time as Mr Wood entered the water but it is not possible to reach any conclusion about whether or what part it played in the events which led to Mr Wood’s death.” 

He concluded: “Forth Ports have acted responsibly. They have carried out a review across their whole Scottish estate to determine whether there were any other pieces of equipment installed by third parties and to either remove any such equipment or ensure that it is maintained properly. The conducting of such a review is the only recommendation which might conceivably have been appropriate. Since it has already been conducted, to make such a recommendation would be redundant.” 

Scotland’s prison population rate remains above European average

The 47-nation Council of Europe has today published its Annual Penal Statistics for 2021, compiled by the University of Lausanne.

In January 2021, the prison population rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 134.9 in Scotland, 131.5 in England & Wales and 73.8 in Northern Ireland; this compares to a Europe-wide average of 116.1 and median of 101.8.

The countries with the largest total number of inmates were Russia (478,714), Turkey (272,115), the United Kingdom (87,035), Poland (67,894), France (62,673), Germany (59,045), Spain (55,110), Italy (53,329) and Ukraine (49,520).

Between January 2020 and January 2021, incarceration rates fell significantly in 30 out of 48 prison administrations across Europe; incarceration rates fell by 10.9 per cent in Northern Ireland, 8.0 per cent in Scotland and 4.9 per cent in England & Wales over that period.

In the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, incarceration rates fell by 31.6 per cent in Northern Ireland, 23.4 per cent in England & Wales and 13.8 per cent in Scotland.

The countries reporting the lowest age of criminal responsibility were England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Switzerland (all 10 years), followed by the Scotland, Andorra, Ireland, the Netherlands and Turkey (12 years).

On 31 January 2021, not including countries with less than 300,000 inhabitants, the prison administrations with the highest percentage of pre-trial detainees were Albania (50 per cent), Armenia (47 per cent), Switzerland (46 per cent), the Netherlands (45 per cent), Luxembourg (43 per cent), Montenegro (42 per cent), Denmark (41 per cent), Northern Ireland (40 per cent), Belgium (38 per cent), Croatia (36 per cent), Ukraine (36 per cent), Slovenia (33 per cent) and Italy (32 per cent).

In England & Wales, 6,985 out of a total of 67,352 sentenced prisoners were serving life imprisonment in January 2021; this compares to 483 inmates serving life imprisonment in France, 1,782 in Germany and 1,783 in Italy.

19.2 per cent of prisoners in Northern Ireland were sentenced to life imprisonment in January 2021, the highest proportion across Europe; this compares to 18.1 per cent of prisoners in Scotland, 10.4 per cent in England & Wales and a Europe-wide average of 3.3 per cent and median of 1.7 per cent.

The average amount spent per inmate per day during 2020 was €205.51 in Northern Ireland, €147.06 in England & Wales and €125.00 in Scotland; this compares to a Europe-wide average of €186.7 and median of €77.

Legal aid: Glasgow Bar Association members refuse cases

The GBA represents and promotes the interests of approximately 400 solicitors in the west of Scotland, a large proportion of whom are criminal defence practitioners.

In a statement, GBA president David Fisken said it was “disappointing” that the pleas made to the Scottish government to increase legal aid fees had been ignored.

He said: “The Scottish government have been advised that legal aid firms are in crisis yet have dragged their heels over any increase in legal aid fees. On 1st November 2021 the government asked for detail as to what was required to attempt to address the situation. They were advised in a joint letter signed by the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association on 12th November 2021 that, in broad terms, an increase in line with inflation from the date that the fees were set (1999) was required to avoid firms going to the wall.

“Despite the urgency which was narrated in the above letter, the Scottish government did not respond until 28th February 2022 with fee reform proposals. It is the view of the Executive Committee of the Glasgow Bar Association, and the membership in general, that these fall significantly short of what is required. It seems absurd that the Scottish government would ask for representations on what is required and then almost completely ignore them.”

In response to the government’s recurring statement that it has provided increases to fee levels in the past four years of three per cent, five per cent and five per cent again, Mr Fisken said these do not “address years of under-investment in legal aid”.

He added: “We are acutely aware that there are pressures on public finances as we come out of the Covid pandemic and face the consequences of rising inflation, but these factors have only exacerbated the already precarious position the defence bar finds itself in. The government have also previously pointed to a £20 million recovery fund which was distributed, including a £1 million trainee fund. However, this was more than paid for with a £30 million reduction in legal aid spending during the year 2020-21 as a result of the pandemic. To dress this up as investment in the profession is simply not correct.”

Mr Fisken pointed out that this does not even take into account the “challenges facing civil legal aid practitioners”.

He said: “There have been no proposals forthcoming from the Scottish government for an increase in those fees, despite being in a similar situation. The Glasgow Bar Association is fighting on other fronts to attempt to address the shortcomings in this area.”

Laura Falls made partner at Addleshaw Goddard in Edinburgh

She will join the partnership from 1 May, part of a 20-strong promotion round which will bring the firm’s total global partner headcount to over 340 from 1 May, 2022.

Ms Falls, who is based in the firm’s Edinburgh office, joined AG in 2007 and specialises in mainstream M&A and private equity transactions. She has been a key part of the corporate team’s growth in since AG entered the Scottish market in 2017. She also has a focus on the private equity space, with AG having one of the largest specialist teams of PE lawyers in the UK.

AG moved into Scotland in 2017 and has enjoyed double-digit income growth in every year since then, with the firm’s headcount in Scotland rising by more than 10 per cent over the past year. It has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen among 17 locations globally.

Welcoming the firm’s new partners, John Joyce, Addleshaw Goddard managing partner, said: “We are pursuing a very active recruitment drive across all our offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia and whilst that ongoing recruitment is an important part of our growth strategy, equally important is our providing opportunities to home grown talent.

“I am therefore very pleased to announce these promotions. Each individual has our congratulations and very best wishes. They have all demonstrated exceptionally high levels of performance and potential and we have no doubt that they will continue to play important roles in the future as leaders of our business.”

He added: “We are proud this year once again of the gender balance across our internal partner appointments, with 10 of the 20 appointments being women.”

Thorntons continues firm focus on progression for women

The firm, which now has 566 people including 70 partners, published its annual gender pay report today, covering the snapshot date of 5 April 2021.

The report outlined the firm’s commitment to promoting equality and diversity across the business and showcased an improving picture.

There was a mean hourly pay gap for employees of 16.11 per cent - down from 29.66 per cent in 2017 – and a median hourly pay gap for employees of 19.34 per cent compared to 37.2 per cent in 2017. The gender balance of roles across the firm’s pay quartiles also improved and it retained its 50/50 gender split for its leadership team.

The report detailed the steps being taken by the firm to promote equality and diversity across the business, including introducing unconscious bias training for the firm’s decision makers.

Other measures included the creation of an equality, diversity and inclusion focus group and continued development of its promotions board to include career guidance, mentoring and coaching.

Managing partner Lesley Larg said: “We’re proud of the progress we are making towards reducing the firm’s gender pay gap which is a historic feature of the formerly male-dominated legal sector.

“We’re pleased to see the gender balance of roles across the various quartiles of the business has improved and we are confident men and women in the firm are being paid equally for doing equivalent jobs. It’s telling that our most recent trio of internal partner promotions were all women, and our leadership team has maintained gender parity.

“Having said that, we still have much work to do. Like many other businesses we are dealing with complex, societal issues that won’t be solved overnight. Most of our colleagues who carry out administrative roles within the firm are women, and as these roles are generally paid less across most industries, this is a substantial contributor to our pay gap. We’re working hard to attract a diverse range of job applicants to reduce occupational segregation and develop women in our work force to reach our highest paid roles.

“We’re starting to see these measures make a difference and we are hopeful for the future.”

In an affirmation of its commitment, the firm has escalated equality and diversity to become a foundation of its five-year strategy. A member of the firm’s board has been appointed as an equality lead and will be responsible for implementing the Law Society of Scotland’s Equality Standards as well as monitoring progress.

Aimee Gibbons, commercial real estate partner, started at Thorntons as a trainee solicitor in the commercial property team nine years ago. At 31, she is one of the firm’s youngest partners with a key role in leading the firm’s Glasgow operation.

Ms Gibbons said that the firm had been supportive of her career ambitions, commenting: “There aren’t many young women in the commercial real estate sector, but neither my age nor my gender have been a barrier to achieving partner status at Thorntons.

“I’ve benefited from great mentors and training opportunities, and I look forward to being able to give back by supporting the development of other women in the firm.”

Amanda Millar elected chair of Dundee University’s governing body

She has been elected for a period of three years after receiving 523 votes to the 369 cast for William Patey.

Court is responsible for overseeing the institution’s activities, agreeing its strategic direction, and ensuring an environment that allows the University to achieve its objectives and for all students and learners to realise their potential.

As chair of court, Ms Millar will be responsible for its leadership and effectiveness.

A solicitor by profession, she has extensive experience of corporate governance at national and local level. She was the first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to be president of Law Society of Scotland and is currently chair of Samaritans Scotland Committee.

Her legal career was dedicated to representing the interests of vulnerable people, and she became the first solicitor in the country accredited as a specialist in both mental health law and incapacity and mental disability law.

“I am delighted to have been elected chair of court and particularly thrilled to see an increase in the numbers of those exercising their right to vote,” said Ms Millar. “I appreciate everyone who took the time to vote in the election.

“The university is just about to launch its new strategy. This, along with learning positively from the challenges of the last few years, make this an exciting time for Dundee. My core values of equality, equity, justice, and respect have led me to build a career based on honesty, integrity, clarity, and an ambitious desire to help people access opportunities and develop themselves.

“These values, combined with a track record of governance improvement, strategic progress, and a passionate belief in equality of opportunity, sit well with the university’s vision to positively transform lives. I look forward to leading the Court to govern, challenge and support the university in delivering on its aims over the next three years.”

Ms Millar will take over from outgoing chair of court Ronnie Bowie from 1 August 2022.

Dr Jim McGeorge, university secretary and chief operating officer, said: “A successful chair of court must share the University’s vision and values and Amanda has demonstrated a clear commitment to all these as well as possessing a highly impressive track record of delivering strategic goals on behalf of the organisations she has led.

“I want to thank both candidates for their interest in this important role and send our warmest congratulations to Amanda.”

England: Surge in divorces predicted as no-fault rules come in

Couples will no longer have to allocate blame to end their marriage, nor separate for at least two years.

Jo Edwards, head of family law at Forsters, said: “My experience and the experience of loads of practitioners I’ve spoken to is that once we’ve said to people, certainly over the last three or four months and in some instances earlier than that, that there was this new law coming in – because we’ve known for a few months it will be 6 April – generally the preference has been to wait for the no-fault based system.

“The experience of other countries where they’ve moved to a no-fault system, is that there is a spike when the new law comes in – in Scotland, for example, when they changed the law in 2006.”

Ed Floyd, a specialist family lawyer and partner at Farrer & Co, said: “There is a lot of pent-up demand. We’ve been seeing clients for a number of months that although they’ve agreed to separate, can’t face the blame game. It [no-fault divorce] is something that’s got a lot of public cut-through.”

The newest divorce statistics, published last week, indicated that divorce petitions fell in the last quarter of 2021 by 26 per cent as compared with the same period in 2020.

Professor Liz Trinder, from the University of Exeter, whose research led to the reform, said: “Making couples find fault to get a divorce caused unnecessary conflict and needless pain. It was an empty legal ritual which particularly had a negative impact on children.

“This reform means people no longer have to game the system by making false allegations to secure a quicker divorce. It won’t make divorce easier or undermine marriage. This change means the process will be less traumatic for families and there will no longer be needless acrimony and game-playing.”

Scottish Child Law Centre celebrates 30th anniversary

Since it was established, the centre has advised over 50,000 parents, carers, children and young people on their legal rights and has had a major impact on thousands of lives.

Alongside emerging from the pandemic and overseeing the incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law, the centre’s upcoming work will be to ensure quality engagement and participation of children and young people in their advice and legal training services. 

Sarah Forster, new interim director of the Scottish Child Law Centre, said: “I’m excited to join the centre as it is celebrating an important milestone in its journey supporting children and young people’s rights in Scotland. The pandemic has exasperated many challenges faced by families putting a strain on children’s development and wellbeing which has to be tackled and meaning legislation at Holyrood securing further rights for children and young people is more important than ever.

“As Scotland’s first centre for Scottish child law, we have a core role to play in empowering children and families by providing them with the legal advice and knowledge they need to navigate the day-today issues thrown up, as we transition beyond the pandemic.”

Maria Galli, chair of the board of trustees, said: “I’m excited that we are able to celebrate the centre’s 30th birthday, and on behalf of everyone who has been involved over the past three decades, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to our invaluable work. I’m especially looking forward to engaging with young people who are being invited to design our new logo and to participate in, and to inform our strategic planning for many of important child law and human rights issues.

“The centre was founded at the same time as the UK signed up to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. After 30 years we have many positive areas of progress in Scotland to reflect on, but we still have work to do. Our commitment firmly remains helping those children, young people, and families who need legal advice, training or information to protect their rights.”

Lawscot Foundation: Applications open for ‘less-advantaged’ aspiring Scottish solicitors

Bursaries will be offered to aspiring solicitors who have an offer to start the LLB course at a Scottish university in the coming academic year, with applications being accepted between Tuesday 5 April and Friday 10 June 2022.

Successful applicants who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend university are provided with an annual grant of £2,500, mentoring, networking and work experience opportunities.

The charity was set up by the Law Society of Scotland in 2016 as part of their work on improving access to the legal profession, and is funded by generous contributions from corporate sponsors and individual donors.

Christine McLintock, chair of the Lawscot Foundation, said: “These bursaries aim to level the playing field for less-advantaged people who are seeking a career in law.

“Every year we are impressed with the calibre of students who apply for this funding. Past recipients have demonstrated they are capable of developing into excellent lawyers, and I have no doubt that will also be the case with the successful applicants this year. If you’re interested in the law and fit the criteria, I’d encourage you to apply.

“Last year six Lawscot Foundation students became our first ever law school graduates, a fantastic achievement and an immensely proud moment for them, their families and the Foundation. At the end of this year our first two Trainees will start work at Scottish law firms, marking another key milestone.

“Graduating from law school takes hard work and perseverance, especially for students who have faced more challenges than most just to get there. That’s why the Foundation provides not just financial support but mentoring and other forms of support to help recipients make the most of their abilities.

“We are a small charity making a difference, but we’re only able to do that because of the generous contributions we receive from the legal profession. It’s important that we recognise their role, as well as the amazing achievements of the young people who are receiving support and pursuing their career goals.”

Applications can be made at the Lawscot Foundation website.

Quote of the day

The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what’s true. We have a method, and that method helps us to reach not absolute truth, only asymptotic approaches to the truth.

Carl Sagan

And finally… much ado about mutton

Raw chicken and eggs were thrown at another home and car in the strange incidents under investigation in Herefordshire in the west of England.

West Mercia Police has shared photos of the aftermath of the crimes in an appeal for information, the BBC reports.

One photo shows a solitary raw chicken drumstick hanging from the rim of a car wheel, while another shows the mutton-laden car exhaust.

Why New Business Teams are catching on

Jose Mourinho famously said, “Good teams win titles, but great teams retain them”. Makes sense. And acquisition and retention, albeit in the form of clients, is definitely something we are seeing more law firms focusing on in 2022.

If it’s not broken, don’t fix it…?

It is far more complicated for champions to strengthen their side than it is for their rivals. Winning the league is a veil; it means that even a flawed team has a legitimacy, that even those players whom a manager believes might be improved upon most easily have a right to keep their place. Football has always believed that you do not change a winning formula, that if something is not broken, you do not fix it, even when actually it might be rather more broken than it first appears.

The same can be said for law firms. Firms sometimes don’t know there are better ways to work. They do quite well, they’re bringing in fees, so all is well. But not adapting to a changing environment can be costly. And as much as many lawyers and law firms have formed great relationships and in many cases friendships, the desire of your rivals is to win, to do better, to catch and overhaul the firm that did better than them the previous year. That is a powerful emotional impulse, particularly when combined with a freedom to change their working practices to address their problems.

A taste for success

Great football managers often talk about a hunger for trophies. Brian Clough always said that the most important triumph in his time at Nottingham Forest was not the league title or the European Cup, but the 1977 Anglo-Scottish Cup, because that was the one that set the team on the way to further glory, which included two European Cups. That first gave them a taste for success. This is called the “Champagne Effect.”

For law firms to change and succeed can be difficult. Mainly because as friendly as you might be with the firm at the opposite end of the High St, you really don’t know what they’re up to internally. You don’t know what they’re planning, the trends they are following or the work the backroom staff are doing to get their team ready to not just compete, but to potentially take the title! But what you can do is create small wins to give you that taste for success.

Structured success

Many of the law firms we speak to are gearing up and restructuring their business for a busy year. One even used the term, “Its Game On!”, hence the title of this article. The trend we’re seeing is that the introduction and/or expansion of ‘New Business Teams’ (NBTs) are going to be business critical for law firms.

We’ve heard so many law firms talking about this, and many are now adopting a dedicated New Business Team to enhance and structure their sales processes. Primarily because the importance of tracking the marketing spend and conversion values can’t be underestimated in today’s market. Firms are becoming laser focused on not only driving new business but improving comms and analysing their client data to ensure they retain them.

Change your tactics

The general rule that successful firms are following is that if the cost of client acquisition is too expensive for the work the client is paying you for then it’s time to change tactics.

The trouble with law firms is they are normally hired for a one off piece of work for a client and struggle to sell other services to enhance the income stream they worked hard to sign up. The enthusiasm to try and structure this process and retain business weans because most firms are busy and believe they don’t have the time. This may be true, but the amount of money being lost and the likelihood of you falling way down the law firm league table because you don’t focus on this growth area is going to make our break the long term success of your business.

Here are 3 key areas you need to consider to succeed in the NBT challenge:

1. Methodology and Process – how to do it within the context of your work types, legal knowledge and customers.
2. People and Organisation – are you structured in the right way for success, with the right people owning the right things?
3. Systems and Resources – using the right tech and resources is critical, and ensuring your software includes a dedicated way to Intake, Track & Convert enquires easily.

Denovo’s “Champagne Effect”

It’s a law firm leaders’ job to teach their team to be hungry for success. It’s Denovo’s job to give your team the “The Champaign Effect”. In other words, we’ll show you how using the right technology to manage new business and retain existing clients will help your law firm be successful. Coupled with great people and a structured process we’ll give you the efficiency and data you need to see success. We’ll give you some wins.

If you’re ready to change your tactics, visit denovobi.com, call us on 0141 331 5290, or if you would prefer to write to us our email is info@denovobi.com.

Property Market – A Perfect Storm for Fraudsters?

A report on money laundering activity showed these fears to be well founded, as property fraud was a key theme with £200 Million of criminal activity in 2020.

Many of these cases relate to transactions where a criminal purports to sell a property without the knowledge or consent of the proper legal owner. Where they are successful, a legitimate buyer and their lender can face enormous losses.

Protection against this type of loss is provided by Stewart Title’s Fraud Solution Policy. This policy offers safeguards against losses arising from fraud for buyers and their lenders where a criminal successfully impersonates the owner of a property. Cover of up to £1,000,000 is available for residential properties in England, Wales and Scotland with premiums starting at £28 (inclusive of IPT).

Solicitors acting for buyers are also protected as all rights of subrogation are expressly waived so their Professional Indemnity Insurance is protected.

Policies can be ordered online at: www.stewartsolution.com. Where cover is required for all of a firm’s buyer and lender clients, it is also available as a Block Policy.

For more details, please contact:

John Logan
Country Manager
01698 833308
john.logan@stewart.com

Elizabeth Birrell
Business Development Executive
07940 513681
elizabeth.birrell@stewart.com

Your trusted partner for title indemnities

We can provide the following:

Online Ordering

Our Stewart Solution application enables you to get a quote for more than 150 title risks in three easy steps. Our technology can reduce time, costs and the risk of errors, streamlining your practice.

Bespoke Solutions

Our knowledgeable Underwriting Team is available for more complex matters or where you need to discuss your transaction.

Dedicated Service

We approach working with our clients as a partnership – responding quickly to your needs, understanding the problems you face and providing prompt solutions to help resolve potential issues.

Contact us to discuss your transaction. We would be pleased to assist you.

Elizabeth Birrell

07940513681

elizabeth.birrell@stewart.com

www.stewartsolution.com