Liverpool Law

38 AND FINALLY...
Almost Irrelevant
A humorous look at life in the law....
Halloween
Halloween appears to have become a fixture in the
social life of many lawyers. The Merseyside Junior
Lawyers Division organized for its members a pre-
Halloween evening of fun, and the firm of Lees, solicitors,
entered into the spirit of Halloween by organizing an
outing for its partners and staff to “Shiverpool”, which
describes itself as the historic ghost tour of Liverpool.
But for US lawyers, Halloween is not typically a time for
revel making but a time for bringing and defending
legal claims. US lawyers’ websites are full of advice on
how to ensure that homeowners avoid claims from “trick
or treaters” accessing their homes with menacing
demands for tricks. Homeowners are advised that “trick
or treaters” are their guests, even though they may be
of the unwelcome variety, and so are owed a legal
duty of care. The advice includes:
• clearing your lawn of obstacles they could walk into;
• filling in holes in paths;
• removing hazardous decorations.
The message is: be careful to ensure that Halloween
does not become a legal nightmare for you!
The Leaving of Liverpool (FC)
Brendan Rogers was not the only high profile departure
from Liverpool Football Club in October.
Natalie Wignall, who had been working as inhouse
general counsel to Liverpool FC since 2009, also left the
club in October. Natalie, a native Liverpudlian, is a
graduate of Liverpool John Moores University and has
held a number of inhouse legal positions but she has in
the past described her role at Liverpool FC as her
“dream job”.
She has certainly experienced interesting times during
her stay at Liverpool, with the club undergoing a
number of changes of ownership and indeed of team
manager during her incumbency. Natalie oversaw the
change in ownership of the club from Tom Hicks and
George Gillett to its current owner, Fenway Sports
Group. She also handled a number of claims against the
players, most notably Louis Suarez, who faced charges
of racial abuse of Patrice Evra in 2011 and of biting
Branislav Ivanovic in 2013.
Whether her departure is linked to other changes at the
club, including the departure of Brendan Rogers as
manager, remains to be seen.
Landmark Divorce Decision
There has been much publicity lately about the recent
decision of the Supreme Court allowing the courts to reevaluate
a divorce settlement where it can be shown
that one of the parties lied as to his/her financial
situation in the original divorce proceedings.
Representing one of the successful ex-wives in the
Supreme Court was Liverpool barrister, Sam Hillas. Sam
lives in Birkenhead and is based at St John’s Buildings
Chambers in Liverpool. Sam and her team took on the
case on a speculative basis with no guarantee of
payment. Sam told the press that she took the case on
because of what she perceived as the huge injustice
which the ex-wives of lying husbands were suffering. Her
legal skills have resulted in what many will see as justice
served.
Please feel free to send me your comments, observations
or photographs to ai@liverpoollawsociety.org.uk