Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA")

Last week Victoria Wall and I attended the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") #staycation in Birmingham. Over the two days we were treated to some interesting and insightful talks updating us on all things Contentious Probate. To name but a few were talks from Ellen Radley of THE RADLEY FORENSIC DOCUMENT LABORATORY LIMITED discussing her forensic techniques in analysing documents and HHJ Paul Matthews who go gave us an insight into what judges want in bundles! After the conferences finished in the day we then had a great opportunity to network over some pizza 🍕and wine 🍷at the terrace of the The Grand Hotel Birmingham. The evening then continued at Roxy’s Ball Room to play shuffleboard, pool, basketball and even karaoke! Who knew lawyers could sing!! 🎤 We even got to take away a ConTrA branded umbrella 🌂, which I have certainly put to good use this week despite the lovely sunshine last week! Thank you to all of the speakers who prepared excellent presentations on their chosen topic and to the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") committee for hosting such an amazing event. Excited for next years #staycation! #networking #birmingham #conference #law #juniorlawyer

Very much enjoyed Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") Junior Litigators’ Conference in sunny Birmingham. ☀️ The highlight was definitely Ellen Radley’s talk on handwriting and forgery in trust litigation. This covered: ⚪️The importance of handling original documents carefully 📄 ⚪️How they can detect imprints on the signature page on Wills which show the forger practising the testator’s signature ✍️ ⚪️When they identified different inks on a Will which allowed them to discover that the Will date had been amended from 2001 to 2007. This had led the executors to think that it was the last Will of the deceased, which effected how the estate was distributed! 📆 #staycation #contentiousprobate

Last Thursday and Friday, I had a great time attending the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") Junior Litigators' Forum. There was plenty to think about, including interesting sessions on medico-legal matters affecting older generations and the forensic examination of documents. It was also great to catch up and meet plenty of colleagues. Thank you to all the organisers and speakers for arranging such a beneficial event.

Wondering how to live your best life at a Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") conference? Here's how I did it at the Junior Litigators Staycation event last week in Birmingham. Thanks to all who organised such a brilliant event! ** click for audio / captions! ** Informa Private Client Series Stevens & Bolton LLP

Back home after a brilliant few days in Birmingham with Stephanie Antrobus and Kerry McFarlane on behalf of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP at Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA")‘s inaugural Junior Litigators’ Forum. It was a pleasure to speak alongside Simon Atkinson on professional negligence claims in Wills, Trusts and Probate matters. Hopefully the AI-generated images weren’t too off-putting… Thanks again to Ashleigh Carr and James Lister for their vision and tireless hard work in creating and delivering the conference, alongside the team from Informa Private Client Series. And lastly, thanks to Kieran Leahy and Medi Evans for taking us to the Birmingham Law Society quiz the night before the conference. Knowledge of Dora the Explorer and The Four Tops managed to take us to an unexpected 4th place!

Had a fantastic time at the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") Junior Litigators' Forum over the last two days. Plenty to reflect on and carry into my work. A big thank you to the organisers and speakers for putting together such a valuable event.

Had a great couple of days down in Birmingham for the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") Junior Litigators StayCation! It’s always valuable to get the insight of people at the top of their game (so thank you to all the speakers from the two days) and always great to make some new connections with people of the same level! I look forward to more events in the future!

I'm afraid I didn't take any photos of Birmingham Cathedral in the sunshine or of the magnificent plasterwork in the ballroom of The Grand Hotel, so I have resorted to exploiting one of my dogs for marketing purposes. I thought ConTrA's inaugural Junior Litigators' Conference was interesting, practical, useful and even enjoyable. In all, a tremendous success and something definitely worth doing again (from all perspectives). Personal Highlights: 1. HHJ Matthews: File only one A of S even for parties who wear multiple hats [a relief to know Silk has been doing it wrong as well]. Still, are two clear A's of S better than one trying to cover everything? 2. HHJ Matthews' views on bundles: I'm still going to err on the side of caution and take the view that more is more. 3. HHJ Matthews: Write for the Judge, not your opponent [sound advice; to quote my mentor when I was a trainee - "The other side's case isn't a tower of play bricks, you don't have to knock it down every time they put it up."] 4. HHJ Matthews: Case Summaries are generally of limited interest to Judges [bit gutted by that after all the effort I've put into some of them!] 5. Dr Series' fascinating whistle-stop tour of the anatomy of the brain, the causes of different conditions, and their effect on testamentary capacity. 6. Discussing egregious conduct with Jessica Henson at lunch on day one. Surely, the fact that we have had an entire section of the conference dedicated to aggression and litigation conduct shows that something is wrong? Does the way conduct is governed need to change? Is there a greater role for the judiciary to play in policing conduct and client service? 7. Mr Hewitt's discussion of the potential trend towards solicitors being held liable for costs following Kenig. 8. Ms McDonnell KC's discussion of arcane equitable remedies and doctrines. Are there any more? 9. Discussing Hughes v Pritchard with Mr Gomer over a pizza! 10. Mr Dew's statement that "We have to get our client’s story across." Though there was lots of discussion about the problems with litigation, this remains the fundamental truth. 11. Ellen Radley: Blimey! Looking forward to the next one.

Reflecting on a brilliant couple of days at the Contentious Trusts Association ("ConTrA") staycation in Birmingham. Thank you to all of the speakers for their insights and anecdotes, and to the organisers for facilitating a great opportunity to make new connections and catch up with some familiar faces. I’m already looking forward to the next Junior Litigators event! 

That’s a wrap on the fantastic #ConTrAStaycation Junior Litigator’s Forum hosted by Informa Private Client Series. Thank you to the co-chairs Ashleigh Carr and James Lister for organising such a great conference. I really enjoyed speaking about removal of trustees with James Sheedy and Rebecca Piper and making lots of new friends and connections