Author: Catherine Bates

It is seven years ago almost to the day since we moved into our brand spanking new offices, complete with state of the art air conditioning and wifi! One of my favourite acquisitions was our mugs, which bore the phrase “don’t confuse my law degree with your Google search”. The air con and the wifi […]

Like many solicitors, I’m not very good at maths. It’s one of the many MANY tasks I outsource to those who are better at it, and I’m grateful for their input. As a small child, my eldest’s way of counting was “one, two, three, a lot!”. I laughed much harder at that than perhaps I should […]

And no, I’m not talking about the collapse of the Windies at Lords last Friday which left me bereft. Not because I was disappointed that England won (at least we can still win something) but more that it collapsed before I got to enjoy a day of corporate hospitality (i.e. a lot of champagne) on Saturday. […]

My youngest son has always been sharp. And not always in a good way. I often talk about people’s ability to argue over the colour of air. The first time I heard that expression, it was being used of my son and it was spot on. His godmother was also known to observe that my son’s tongue […]

Being a person of principle is usually an indication of someone who has high standards and expects those around them to be similarly honourable. When you’re looking for a new partner, or a new employee, aspiring to have someone who holds high moral standing is no surprise. You might assume that the same would apply […]

Anyone involved in business will know that their projects or plans can be affected (positively and negatively) by strategy just as much as by anything else. No matter how good your product is, you’ll never be successful if you don’t have a good marketing strategy. Those of you old enough to remember the start of home […]

Most parents and grandparents will be familiar with the idea that you always think of your children and grandchildren as being young. Both of my children are legally adults and have both (finally!) finished school. However, I still worry about them if they’re not home on time, as much, if not more than I did when they […]

With new technology comes new laws. For example, if you look back to when cars became more readily available, laws had to be introduced to regulate their production and driving, although you may be surprised to learn that the law setting an alcohol limit for drink driving wasn’t set until 1967. As transport continues to […]

I have a bit of a reputation. Not just for drinking! Although it is one of my fortes. And not for my blogging! Although I do love how many people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed the last blog and how much it made them laugh! I am also quite well known […]

Everyone knows I like a drink! Even my mother knows, although I’m sure she believes I exaggerate my drinking exploits – thank goodness she doesn’t read this blog! You probably also know how much I like a good legal argument – I don’t mean an argument that is legal, but an argument over the legalities […]