Plymouth is a spectacular waterfront city which has seen many exciting changes over the last few years. These include the growth of Plymouth University, the redevelopment of sites such as the Royal William Yard, the opening of Plymouth Life Centre – one of the best sports and leisure facilities in the country – a growing events programme and a burgeoning reputation as a foodie heaven.

Jamie Carr, Solicitor and Team Leader with the Commercial Dispute Resolution team joined Nash & Co Solicitors as a solicitor in April 2019, having previously worked for a regional law firm in Cambridgeshire.

Living the Devon dream has never looked so appealing, with beaches, moors and tranquil woodlands on our doorstep, plus value for money if you know where to look.

But when you move here from a different part of the country, it’s hard to know where the best place is to live. Everyone you speak to seems to have different suggestions. So rather than simply going by guess work, we thought we’d get some experts on the case.

Whilst it may not be possible to have a ‘good’ divorce, it is certainly possible to have a bad one. Fortunately, there are things that both parties can do to make the process as painless and amicable as possible. One of these is known as Collaborative Law.

A recent first instance Tribunal case has emphasized the importance of consistency of treatment amongst staff, as well as suggesting that a social media policy can be important when seeking to regulate non work-related messages.

You may have seen in the press recently that the Government has announced that the ‘triple lock’ for State Pensions in 2022/23 will become a ‘double lock’. What does this mean for pensioners?

We were delighted that Jennifer Thorne has agreed to write an article for us. For many people, getting life back on track following a divorce can be a difficult process to follow.

Parental alienation is, for want of a better word, terrifying. It is something we sincerely hope you never have to experience. The long-term effects on the children and the alienated parent can be really damaging. In short, parental alienation is where a child – either intentionally or unintentionally – becomes distanced from one parent without a good reason. This can be because they’re coached to dislike the other parent. It can also happen because they have repeatedly overheard negative conversations about that parent.

Nick Winslet and his family moved to Plymouth from the South East. He joined Nash & Co as a Partner and the Head of Commercial Property.

I have been happy and proud to “fly the flag” for the firm and to spread the gospel according to Nash – a revitalised firm, with fresh impetus, excellent lawyers and support staff and a real force to be reckoned with in the region, at work and play!

Eleanor Barber, the Head of our Family team, lives on Dartmoor, but loves the variety of life available to her and her family, together with the quality of work she gets.

Ian Grimshaw, Head of our Employment team here at Nash & Co Solicitors talks about his decision to move to Plymouth, the work that he and his team do, and the culture of the firm.

Where parents share parental responsibility for a child, and there is no order in place stating where the child lives and what time the child spends with the non-resident parent, it can sometimes occur that the ‘non-resident parent’ takes steps to keep the child in their care, against the wishes of the resident parent. This can be a very upsetting and anxious time.

It’s 5pm on a Tuesday, I log off of my computer and head home. I pack my shoes and get in the car. Within 30 minutes, my friends and I have arrived at Sheepstor, in Dartmoor National Park.

Rhianna joined us as a final-year student from Plymouth University. The firm supported her through her training contract and she’s now qualified as a Solicitor in our Family team.

Over recent years, the rate of non-fatal injury to employees has shown a flat or downward trend. However good this may sound at first, the statistics for work based injuries are still much higher than you’d expect.

We look into a recent case where a patient underwent surgery for a medical issue, but then issues persisted after the surgery. Was the surgeon to blame?

Clients will often ask me about the ‘rights’ of fathers and mothers. The question of grandparents’ rights comes up often as well. However, the correct legal answer is that no such ‘rights’ actually exist. The law that governs children’s relationships with the significant adults in their life is found in the Children Act 1989. This legislation took a very deliberate step away from considering any ‘rights’ of adults involved. Instead, it focused on the responsibilities of adults and the rights, and more specifically the welfare, of children.

Making Nash & Co Solicitors more sustainable and in turn reducing our impact on the environment is especially important to us. Everyone’s aware of the climate emergency that we face. Some very significant changes need to be made across the world, and the 14th-century proverb “Mighty oaks from small acorns grow” comes to mind.

The Government has launched a consultation on more effective ways to bring unused or underused public land in England back into use. The consultation is called ‘Right to Regenerate’. What is it and how could this change things?