The latest Legal 500 rankings have named five Sydney Mitchell Partners as leading partners in their respective legal fields of expertise. Legal 500 is the world’s leading legal services benchmarking platform. Based on independent research against a broad range of legal practice area competencies, legal expertise, industry sector expertise and client satisfaction metrics, the annual […]
Meet our Dementia Friends Every September is World Alzheimer’s Month, and in 2025, World Alzheimer’s Day is on 21st September. In recognition of these important annual events and the thousands of people across the UK and world affected by the disease, we spoke to Shelley Collingbourne, Partner at Sydney Mitchell and a specialist Wills Trusts […]
Businesses employing illegal migrant workers face fines of up to £60,000 per illegal worker under UKVI’s intensified clampdown on large scale abuse of the UK’s immigration legal system, with reports of increased numbers of unannounced compliance visits by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) investigators. UKVI is growing increasingly tough on illegal working and clamping down on […]
Local law firm Sydney Mitchell has reached a milestone in its professional development strategy to empower the firm’s next generation of lawyers. The top ranking, award-winning West Midlands firm developed an innovative, transparent career progression pathway for its lawyers that includes traditional routes to career progression, alongside less traditional but equally recognised professional development, such […]
Estate planning can be tricky at the best of times, but for blended families, determining who will inherit a parent’s estate can be complex, as it often involves balancing the interests of biological children, stepchildren, and the surviving spouse. In the UK, the inheritance rights of stepchildren are not automatically guaranteed, and proactive steps have […]
It is reported that, in the UK in January 2025, there were 54.8 million social media user identities equating to 79% of the total population. It is little wonder that social media often features heavily in issues following a couple’s separation. Gemma Whitchurch, Partner in the Family team at Sydney Mitchell explains some of the […]
Everyone should feel included, respected, and heard, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or origin. DE&I (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) policies are crucial for creating a respectful and inclusive environment for all. As part of our support and celebration of this year’s PRIDE Month, here’s a reminder of what employers should include in their […]
Being named as an executor in a deceased’s will represents an important responsibility, but is not a role that everyone is happy to take on. Wills, Trusts and Probate legal specialists, Shelley Collingbourne and Hannah Davis in our Private Client team, consider some of the reasons why an executor might not want to accept the […]
Property sales and listings hit a four-year high in May, not least due to improved mortgage availability, lower interest rates on borrowing, and a rise in the amount of funds home buyers can borrow. Unmarried couples pooling this borrowing potential to buy their dream home together isn’t a new trend, but cohabiting couples need to […]
The UK Government introduced a new scheme called Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETA), which was first announced in March 2023 and has been fully implemented since 2 April 2025. The scheme covers all travellers from the EU and now aligns the UK with measures that other countries like the USA, EU and Australia have previously introduced […]