We all know that the economy has been going through difficult times, due to the banking crisis and turmoil in the Eurozone. There are signs of it turning around, however, and this is reflected in the job market. In particular, there is something of a mini-boom happening in the legal industry in London.

Everyone recalls a time or a particular situation when we wish we had been more assertive. Assertive communication is all about putting our point of view over – clearly and calmly, free from the distortion of mood or circumstances – so that we can best communicate how we feel about something and what we need as a result.

If a particular situation nags at our thoughts, this can be because our response was not as we wanted it to be. Replaying the same situation through our minds, again and again – what could or should we have said differently? – is a sure sign that we have not expressed ourselves as we needed to. The mind keeps working on a solution before we can let it go.

22 September 2012 marked the third Annual World Rhino Day. Many of you may have heard about it, but some of you may not have. One thing for sure is that we have all heard about the plight of the rhino at some point. Having grown up in South Africa during the ’80s and ’90s, I hold rhino conservation very close to my heart. At least once a week the news would break that a poacher ring had been dismantled by force.

Following the Energy Act 2011, a new government initiative known as the Green Deal is due to become active on 1 October 2012. This is designed to install new green technology into homes without the owner having to pay an upfront cost. Instead, the costs are paid back through your energy bill over a period of time. There are a whole range of improvements that can be claimed, including double glazing; cavity wall and loft insulation; gas and oil boilers; and renewable technologies such as solar PV, solar thermal and heat pumps. 

Every year scores of awards are up for grabs for Lawyers and HR teams but never for Legal PAs or Secretaries. This has now changed! One of the UK’s leading legal Secretarial and PA agencies, Strictly Legal, has launched the inaugural Legal PA of the Year Awards. The process offers a unique opportunity to recognise the vital role that Legal PAs and Managers play in the industry. 

Following the tragic and shocking murders of two policewomen in Greater Manchester – Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes – that old debate of whether capital punishment should be brought back has been reignited for the murder of police personnel. Aside from a small number of sick people who decided to pay tribute to the killer through social media sites, the vast majority of the population of the country were shocked to the core when this terrible news reached their ears.

 One of the biggest concerns for anyone studying a course is finding the time and motivation to commit to it. This is easier for some people than others, depending on a number of different aspects which are prevalent in your life. One of these aspects is having a good diet and being healthy. 

You can’t really “manage” time, which is why I’m not the biggest fan of the term “time management”. I use it only – and then only very reluctantly – because that’s the term most people are familiar with.

But in actuality, the only thing you can control is what you do with your time; you’re really managing your activities, not your time.

This may seem like a silly distinction, but this small shift in thinking can profoundly and positively affect your productivity. 

In her book Time Management from the Inside Out and other writings on the subject, author and professional organizer Julie Morgenstern advises that instead of thinking of time as abstract, you should think of time as something tangible – a container. There are only a limited number of things that can fit into the container.

 When you think about how domestic violence was perceived in this country only a few decades ago, it is shocking to acknowledge just how blasé society was in general. In fact, to some degree, it appears to have been regarded as the norm, and this would have represented one of the harshest injustices of the time. Even to this very day, in criminal law, domestic violence does not seem to be tackled in the same way as if you were to simply attack a stranger on the street, for example; the law is still apprehensive about interfering in matters that go on behind closed doors.

Once you’ve taken the Oath or given an Affirmation in Court you are legally obliged to be completely honest. If you’re caught out lying you can be charged with perjury, contempt of Court or even perverting the course of justice. Lying under oath can be both a criminal and a civil offence. The punishment could include a fine and/or a jail sentence, depending on what effect the lie has.