A giant leap into cyberspace!

Tweeters Beware: Twibel

2011-03-23T14:16:00.000Z

Tweeters Beware: Twibel

Last week Colin Elsbury, a Caerphilly County Councillor, was ordered to pay damages in what is believed to be the first

libel action for posting a libellous comment on Twitter. Although suing over the contents of Tweets is common in the United States this is understood to be the first such case in the

Mr Elsbury tweeted that his challenger in an upcoming by-election had been “forcibly removed” by police from a polling station. Although this turned out to be false and Mr Elsbury tried to correct his post claiming that “It was a genuine case of mistaken identity”, Mr Talbot took him to court.

The High Court in Cardiff ordered Mr Elsbury to pay £3,000 in damages together with legal costs of around £50,000 after he acknowledged that he defamed Mr Talbot. In addition, he has been ordered to post an apology on Twitter.

Mr Talbot’s solicitors told the court that “The amount of compensation wasn’t an issue, it was the protection of Mr Talbot’s reputation. The implication of the Twitter statement was that Mr Talbot had been forcibly removed for criminal or disreputable conduct”.

This case will no doubt act as a warning that everything posted on Twitter is subject to libel laws. Further, it suggests that correcting an error in a subsequent posting is unlikely to be an adequate defence.

Potentially, this case has opened the floodgates to claims of libel on Twitter or “Twibels” as they are known in the United States.

3rd Woolley Bevis Diplock quiz is a resounding success!

2011-03-08T14:00:00.001Z

3^rd Woolley Bevis Diplock Quiz

The firm’s annual pub quiz has become a fixture in the diaries of many local property professionals.

This year’s event was another resounding success. Once again one of Woolley Bevis Diplock’s teams came very near to the top of the leader board, although they disqualified themselves to prevent rumours that it had been a fix!

The Seven Stars on Ship Street in Brighton was closed for the evening to accommodate 24 teams and 92 players. Our quiz master for the evening was Mark Stack who entertained us with a fun-packed evening of quiz questions that included a Family Fortunes-style round and a live music round!

Prizes were awarded at the end of the evening to the following:

1^st: Snow Chance (Clarke Brownscombe)

2^nd: Gee Jays (Graves Jenkins)

3^rd: Amodoma (Manta Finance)

Middle of the board: New Mishon (Mishon Mackay)

and finally, the big trophy prize of the evening (as any one can come last, but it takes real skill to come second to last) …

Second from last: Viscous and Delicious (Svenska Handelsbanken)

And very importantly….Bevis & the Bank Heads came in a very respectable 5^th place!

RebeccaWBD

Debtors’ prisons: A modern solution?

2011-03-02T16:22:00.000Z

Debtors’ prisons: A modern solution?

The last couple of weeks seem to have flown by!

Last week I attended a 2-day intensive employment law course with a view to expanding my knowledge and adding another skill to my belt. So, you know where to find me if you have any employment issues!

I also visited the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham (purely out of hours!). It was interesting to see how debtors were put in prison until they repaid their debts. The prisoners were also charged for the pleasure of being in prison, on a sliding scale according to how comfortable their accommodation was!

The obvious question to be asked is whether this could be a modern solution during times of cut-backs!?

And finally, the Junior Lawyers Division (Sussex) was recently launched. It was great to see lots of new faces at the event held at the Mesmerist bar in Brighton.

The Junior Lawyers Division (

Sussex

) exists as a forum for those new to the legal profession to network and socialise and provide opportunities for those at similar stages in their careers to share experiences. It will be arranging numerous social, networking and educational events throughout the year.

To come…tomorrow night is the 3rd annual WBD Quiz!

RebeccaWBD

Another Woolley Bevis Diplock sporting event ends in injury!

2011-02-10T12:57:00.001Z

Woolley Bevis Diplock got together with Crown Office Row last night for a “friendly” game or two of badminton.

However, a pattern of accidents at these sporting events is beginning to form!

Last summer’s stoolball match resulted in two members of the WBD team visiting A&E after a nasty clash that resulted in a lot of bruising and a broken collar bone.

Last night ended with a shuttle cock in the eye for Crown Office Row’s Rachel Willcock. Rachel was very brave despite her eye swelling up. I am pleased to say that the ice pack did its job and there is very little bruising this morning.

A final mention must be made of Chris Clifton-Moore of WBD who, it has to be said, is always involved (dare I say at fault?!) in these incidents!

RebeccaWBD

Woolley Bevis Diplock shall go to the ball!

2011-02-07T23:43:00.003Z

The “Woolley Bevis Diplock” table had a great night at the Brighton & Hove Estate Agents Association’s annual dinner and dance on Friday!

I must thank our guests who made the evening even more entertaining:

Steve Haskew of Manta Finance

Vicki Alderton of Barrie Alderton Estate Agents

Ashley Butler of Mishon Mackay

Dominic Scott of Sawyers

It was lovely to get dressed up for a night out which, as always, started very civilised and later…well…!

It was also really good to put faces to the names of those people I have dealt with but never met. Hopefully this will help (and not hinder) future negotiations!

And finally… a particular thank you to Steve Haskew who introduced me to the joys/perils of raising your hand in the middle of an auction. I was the lucky winner of 2 tickets to watch Brighton & Hove Albion play at the new stadium. As an avid football fan I am very excited about getting a tour around the amazing new stadium and then watching a game. However, as an Aston Villa fan I am still slightly concerned that we may be relegated and playing a newly promoted Brighton in the npower Championship!

RebeccaWBD

A giant leap into cyberspace!

2011-02-03T15:33:00.001Z

A very warm welcome to anyone who may be reading my first leap into the world of cyberspace!

As the most junior solicitor at Woolley Bevis Diplock and as the “one who gets around” I have been appointed to keep you entertained.

I am pleased to say that so far this week I have received two bottles of champagne and a beautiful bunch of flowers so hopefully, I am doing something right!

RebeccaWBD