Just a quick reminder about our next Billing 'Masterclass' sessions - 10% discount for CLSA & LAPG members - Further discounts for multi-bookings - JRS Retainer clients qualify for half price tickets -

Both are of benefit for first time billers, those with remaining doubts about the new schemes or just as a bit of a revision session. If our phone casework is correct, there are both costs out there not being claimed and some potentially costly errors which need to be avoided. Just a couple of extra standard fees will justify the course fee.

As ever the Civil session is in the morning and CDS in the afternoon. We shall be at:

Manchester on Tuesday, 18th November
Leeds/Bradford on Thursday, 20th November
Newcastle on Tuesday 24th November

These courses are also available In-House for those firms with 6 or more potential delegates. You might also consider hosting the event and inviting local firms to share the costs - call Sandra on 01642 225553 or send an email to us at jrs@we-are-jrs.co.uk to discuss these options.

http://www.jrsconsultants-uk.com/archives/001133.html

Simon is touring the nation with TMT in September:

Manchester - 3 September
Newcastle - 8 September
Birmingham - 10 September
Cardiff - 16 September
Leeds - 18 September
London - 23 September

You can call TMT Training on: 01323-739988 - tell them I sent you . . . .
_________________________________________________________________________

The positive feedback from Billing Staff to our Fixed Fees made Easy Sessions is proving that this is a worthwhile and useful exercise - please call Sandra on 01642-225553 or send a message to jrs@we-are-jrs.co.uk to book a session in your area.

[so]

Further to this I had a sudden intuitive leap forward early this morning and think I can actually make Litigators Fee understandable. This is likely to form a significant element of the course.

Next Monday and Tuesday still taking bookings. Brum and N'castle still miles away.

You can download en Excel based Litigators Fee Calculator here. It works.

It does not however assist in understanding the actual mechanics of the scheme (in fact despite getting the right total claim it can actually lead to confusion). Having just finished the preparation of this element of my next training venture I do think we can make good on the claim in the title to this post. Will also be doing things like the new PACE Standard Fees, paying agents, what's happening with Crime Peer Review and changes in the new contract.

Dates are

19th November - Manchester

4th December - Newcastle

Here is a booking form.

No time to post right now off to Wales.

See you later.

PS Cars engine warning light came on last night on the way home from the Richard Hawley gig so I might have to revise the last bit.

Regulars here will know of a strange but regular phenomenon which occurs the moment I jump on the Tour Bus.

It involves a sudden influx of new, and generally deadlined, work which has to be crammed into the spaces between training events. (It is compounded today by me having another three hour in-house course shoehorned in between the main tour events). I am beginning to share the experience of veteran sports stars who no longer train between fixtures and use the time to recuperate.

The new demands includes a final twist in the CCA tale, some more on Peer Review and a couple of billing queries and appeals. Onwards and upwards.

Well off we go then. Still nothing on the Litigators Fee mind you so that section is going to be a little bit thin!

If your coming to Bradford see you there otherwise I will do a more substantive post tomorrow.

Checking the oil and water in the tour bus for the these dates which start in Bradford tomorrow.

Writing the course it has surprised me the amount of subtle change in the Unified Contract - over and above the major areas of concern and dissension. There are certainly a number of potential trip wires for the unwary which, given the move away from franchise style auditing and lack of clear communication from the LSC, may well become a future area of friction. I had thought this section of the course would be much shorter than it has ended up - there is however plenty to discuss.

I must also say, as ever out of fairness, there are fewer unclear sections in the LSC's documentation than usual with only a couple of queries outstanding.

It may be of interest to readers that I am also going to shout at some barristers this month too. So not just you lot then.

On the subject of shouting* here is another gig I have lined up in Birmingham. It concerns the very interesting issue of the "out sourcing" of legal work which may well become an important opportunity for legal aid practices in the years ahead. Come along or give me a ring if you can't make it but want a bit of background.

*For non regulars "shouting" is the JRS technical term for Law Society CPD Accredited Training.

PS We are doing this in conjunction with our friends at Freedom Technical and the Birmingham Law Society.

I am preparing for the September training tour concerning the move into unified contract and graduated and standard fees. Just came across this gem:

"We will ensure that there is training and guidance for regional office staff to ensure consistency of approach".

As my youngest kid would say ROFLMAO.

While Mr Pottinger is at a place in the sun we are very very busy in Middlesbrough, promoting our next round of JRS CPD Training Events. Simon's September UK Tour will cover Leeds/Bradford, Gateshead/Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and London. As this is once again such a crucial time for Legal Aid suppliers I have added Birmingham and Cardiff to our usual venues.

Early Scores on the Doors show Leeds/Bradford steaming into the lead . . . information & booking forms will be landing on your desk in the next few days, but you can always call us on 01642 225553, send a fax to 01642-225554 or email jrs@we-are-jrs.co.uk to reserve your place(s).

We look forward to seeing you there.

Sandra and Joanna

Friends of this site Afentis are "shouting" at lawyers, on this subject, next week. Rodney and I are at it too, in Birmingham.

Travel, today to Cardiff, precludes a lengthy post again today (and perhaps tomorrow). I look forward to the another perspective on Carter etc. from another part of the UK and will report back later in the week.

Very brief post as the tour bus is revving up outside. I might see one or two regular readers over the course of the next week or so.

May I also refresh that request for copies of recent Peer Review results - i think this might prove vital in the current appeal I am preparing and probably in future ones.

My latest training adventure begins on Wednesday next week in the esteemed company of Mr Rodney Warren. He and I have just been whinging about the difficulty of writing courses in this climate of mass consultation and uncertainty - all the more disturbing given his centrality to the "negotiations".

There are still places available and I (modestly) think my bit is quite good. Plus you could also get a free mousemat! But so you can simply by ringing Sandra or Joanna.

Sandra recently came across these people who run a massive data base of CPS courses. They are going to be on the sidebar here once the redesigned of the site is complete. In the meantime you might want to bookmark them.

Sandra Ozturk writes:

All the feedback comments below came from one of our regular training delegates - you know who you are - and you did make us laugh - we thought we would share this witty repartee with everyone to possibly cheer up a gloomy Monday (not sunny up North today I can tell you):

“A face like Grey Wallace from MasterChef Goes Large, with knowledge of the intimate workings of the LSC, similar to Greg’s knowledge of exotic fruit & vegetables” . . .

“A more fun afternoon I have not had since my last visit for root canal work” . . .

“Here is a man who had the foresight 10 years ago to realise that a growth business was legal consulting and NOT Legal Aid” . . .

“Simon’s knowledge is such that he must surely come into the category of “sad ?*!@#~&” – Get a Life” . . .

“A course that promised so much, and yet in real terms delivered only a free mouse-mat”.
======================================================

If you would like to take part in the next round of training updates, Simon is working with Rodney Warren in May on the Carter Comprehensive Update tour. Please contact us or TMT Training for further details.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible . . .

Simon Pottinger returns from the USA this week

Simon is teaming up with Rodney Warren and TMT again to bring you an update of last years very popular Carter Comprehensive Course.

The tour dates are as follows:

9th May
Newcastle

5th June
London

You can get a booking form here: Download file

Today begins a somewhat frantic last 4 days before I head off to the land of the Giant mouse on Sunday. Training events at Newcastle and Manchester have, hopefully my last, London Cost Committee sandwiched in between. This requires somewhat convoluted travel plans involving Sandra becoming a chauffeur and me getting a late flight from the land of the Geordays*.

Tomorrows hearing is unusually at 2pm necessitating a late flight back from Heathrow which will coincide with the match. This might however be a blessing in disguise.

I wonder if Sandra will turn up in a peaked cap?

*This spelling of Geordie comes from here:

At one time our CDS MasterClass (Billing for Dummies) was our most popular course and which I would be guaranteed to deliver a couple of times per month. Times have now obviously changed, and this course has been replaced by ‘Peer Review - Are you Competent?’ as our most frequently delivered session.

Yesterday was therefore something of a break from the routine and it was actually quite fun to be tested on knowledge I had not used for some time. What is most striking however, when systematically going through the CDS claim structure, is how very many fee-earning opportunities have been taken from the profession since the inception of Contracting. With further restrictions and new Standard Fees in April, on the back of the re-introduction of Means Testing, it does make one almost astonished that firms continue to survive.

Anyhow, I now prepare to struggle with the London traffic and spend another day with a firm having to (re-)learn the skills necessary to be Competent Plus.

Sandra has done a new easier to manage PDF of the Spring training booking form for those interested.

That's probably it on here today as I am off North training on Peer Review again.

Spring time - daffodils, birds singing, lengthening nights, lambs gambolling in the fields, Leeds facing relegation and another JRS Training Tour.

This time we are reverting to a format we used some years ago, a mixed "magazine style" course covering a number of topics. In essence it will be an essential updater for all practitioners without time to digest all the many and varied consultation papers. It also allows us to give an insight into our practical experience of the impact of these policies on practice.

The course will cover:

Peer Review in action
Carter developments
Preferred Supplier "roll out"
The new IT requirements
News Update

The tour dates are:

Tuesday 20th March, Leeds/Bradford, Cedar Court

Thursday 22nd March, London, Mostyn Hotel Marble Arch

Tuesday 27th March, Gateshead/Newcastle, Marriot Metro Centre

Thursday 29th March, Manchester, Marriot Victoria and Albert

The course attracts 3 CPD points at a reduced price, for blog/internet bookings, of £130. (Oh and that includes some lunch).

Here is a booking form.

I am one of the turns at this event should you be interested.

UPDATE

Here is some further information.

Today sees the start of my latest Training Tour. There are still places available and a booking form is available on the above link.

I also mix it in with a couple of CCA Appeal hearings, so I won't be back in front of this machine until Friday Morning. I hope to do some posting whilst on the road (I know one of the hotels has tinternet access). So Manchester, Cardiff and London here I come.

You probably know by now that as well as shouting (training) under our own brand we do some collaborative work with TMT Professional Training. I am writing the update PR course as we speak.

Chanced upon this alternative explanation of their name earlier today. New course title:

"TMT applied to Peer Review"

Who are the most long suffering touring band in music history? Guinness World Records don't have this category, at a guess its probably someone like Motorhead.

I have had a couple of days back in the office and now my next nation-wide training round looms. It is, surprise, surprise, the Peer Review course again.

The itinerary is as follows;

CARDIFF
8th November

NEWCASTLE
10th November

BIRMINGHAM
14th November

LONDON
16th November

MANCHESTER
21st November

LEEDS
22nd November

More importantly "slow time mondays", my musical collaboration with my kid brother, next perform live on 2nd November at the Rudds Arms, Marton, Middlesbrough. The long awaited debut album is released on this date, advanced purchases from Sandra at the office address!

I begin my Autumn (yes Summer is officially over at JRS) training tour today - well at least the travelling. The first lucky delegates get to see the show tomorrow.

If you have not seen the itinerary here it is:

Cardiff - 5/9/06

Newcastle - 26/9/06

The course is a 6 hour one called "Carter Comprehensive" jointly tutored by yours truly and Rodney Warren. It looks good on paper we will try and provide a review later in the week.

For further details contact timtmt@btinternet.com

Our training response to Carter will once again be a joint one, with TMT training, and friend of this site Rodney Warren. It will involve a full-day dealing with the detail of the proposals and with practical advice on survival techniques. Details of the course are here and if you wish to come you can download a booking form. (Be patient with the downloads).

We hope it will live up to its title and prove the most comprehensive package of information and advice available regarding this central challenge.

I don't imagine many of you will want to come however I really like the fact that I can save something as a PDF file so simply on a Mac and then link to it with ease here.

Being vain, check out the quotes we did not make them up!!

This in the e mail:

We've just confirmed a new seminar with Lincoln House Chambers looking at 'the role of digital evidence in modern justice' - free session with CPD credit and a complimentary reference book for all delegates.

There's more info and a copy of the invitation notice available online.

If this site had a theme tune what would it be?

No time for my planned, longer post on a Peer Review appeal outcome (more gloomy news I'm afraid) as I am off to Manchester for the NW Legal Services Conference. 20 lucky punters get 45 mins of me on "Audits" mid afternoon. And it is optional!!

I never quite trust evaluation feedback on training courses. Even if you think it is a good course which has gone well you remain suspicious that it is similar to the polite praise for a meal one receives from a house guest. Vanity however encourages acceptance and these therefore appear to be pretty good courses. What is clear is that people have given Peer Review very little consideration and that this major leap forward has largely passed the profession by.

We also - by chance ran the courses in the same hotel the LSC are using for a briefing on Preferred supplier in a couple of weeks. Apparently this will involve the top brass coming oop north. There is clearly a charm offensive on.

Getting better at the technical side of blogging so here is a picture of our shouting venue this Wednesday taken on my shiny new phone.

With hindsight it might have been a somewhat risky setting for the depressing message many perceive the Carter proposals to be. We did a full head count at the end and all souls were accounted for.

On a positive note whispers reach us this morning that things may not end up quite as bad as they initially seemed.

We can now confirm the final details for the Preferred Supplier and Peer Review training tour.

Initially we intended just to do the latter however when the PSS consultation hit desks we thought it made sense to cram a briefing in on the mornings at the same venue. We have as promised added a London date but are struggling with a date and venue for the West Midlands.

So now these dates involve:

Preferred Supplier Scheme: An Outline 11 am to 1 pm
Are you Competent? A Guide to Peer Review 2 pm to 5 pm

VENUES

MANCHESTER - Tuesday 25th April
Victoria & Albert Marriott

LONDON - Tuesday 13th June
Mostyn Hotel, Marble Arch

Remember Fred Pontins advice!

Slightly later than originally promised, due to the intervention of the Carter proposals, we are about to tour an updated version of our Peer Review course.

The course - Are you Competent: A Guide to Peer Review - grapples with the requirements of this largely unnoticed addition to the assessment process. This is an issue we have discussed regularly.

Venues confirmed to date are:

MANCHESTER - Tuesday 25th April
Victoria & Albert Marriott

NEWCASTLE/GATESHEAD - Thursday 18th May
Marriott Metrocentre

We are also seeking venues and dates for Birmingham and London in June.

All courses are 2-5pm afternoon sessions.

Sandra is by the phone eagerly awaiting your bookings.

Off shouting at people in exchange for cash again. This current "product" - look at a sample of closed files and build the findings into our "Are you Competent: A Guide to Peer Review" course is currently selling like hot cakes.

What is clear is that even those procuring the course (to use the word of the moment) have largely missed the introduction of this new assessment technique. It is one now inextricably linked to any post Carter reform. Received with warm words from most commentators the importance and potential impact of this new scheme has largely gone unnoticed.

We will be updating and re-running the course in April and May confirmed dates will be here on Friday. The in-house option can be booked now.

Our mini training tour starts today.

Places still available.

I am away training today - "CDS Masterclass".

This remains our most popular course; a root and branch examination of the world of CDS billing and cost assessment guidance. It is a session which always finds its own level, from good basic training for new comers to CDS reporting through to more arcane discussion of points of principle.

Today is an in-house course for a large firm which makes a highly cost effective way of gathering CPD points. Others have "promoted" us, i.e. found a venue and sold tickets in the locality thus getting their CPD points either very cheaply of even for free.

If either option is attractive to you (both for this course or any others, especially Peer Review) contact Sandra at Middlesbrough.

A very talkative North East audience for the first date of the tour. Unusually everyone was quite open about current difficulties with the LSC especially regarding the "top 10%" club. If today's crowd were in any way representative it is significantly more than the top 10% who are facing an inquisition regarding PACE costs. The recurrent themes of this are also coalescing; attendance which should be properly recorded as waiting, travel, and a mixture of both when undertaken by agents, are top of the list of LSC concern.

We are also encountering a growing number of firms facing early peer review and everyone reports a harsher regime on CDS7 assessment, especially when enhancement is being sought.

None of this is much of a surprise I suppose but its nice to confirm one is not completely out of touch, when as desk bound as I have been recently.

The general mood seems resigned but resilient.

Will report on the rest of the UK over the next fortnight.

The Autumn training tour begins today on home turf in Gateshead, we get move further afield in the next two weeks.

I'm covering the current regulatory framework, especially the auditing and assessment techniques in operation. Rodney Warren is dealing with the grander political stage. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Places are still available.

I'm tidying up the slides for the forthcoming training tour with TMT and co-speaker Rodney Warren. It is proving difficult as there is so much going on - getting four topics into 2 hours is proving an exacting task. I'd say it's a pretty essential course for criminal practitioners, but then I would wouldn't I.

Details from Sandra at the office.

We are embarking on a major new training venture in conjunction with TMT Professional Training. The autumn tour involves joint sessions with Rodney Warren and myself. We will visit 8 venues across the UK in October ranging from our neck of the woods in Newcastle down to his on the south coast.

If you have not had a flyer about this contact us using the address on the left or give us a ring.

No new post today as we are preparing for the start of the mini training tour tomorrow (see below for details, places still available). If you've not seen them yet however do read the two entries below on the new compliance checks emerging last week.

The new Supervisor course got a road test on Friday. Yes that's right someone wanted three hours of LSC related training, in this heat, on a Friday afternoon, rather than heading off early to the nearest pub with a picnic table! (The real meaning of the old Legal Aid logo?).

Despite this it was well received by a firm clearly shaping up for the next set of challenges - peer review, output funding, competitive tendering, preferred supplier etc. Surprisingly the non-supervisor legal aid fee earners seemed to get something out of it.

Places are still available for the public performances in the next few weeks (see below). For further information use the contact details to the left.

Did you see yesterdays post? Guess what training course we are delivering today?

This afternoon's course is not now just for the firm's billing team but for the entire Magistrates Court Department. It is another outing for our most popular course ever - "Criminal Billing for Dummies". Originally commissioned to that title (it was not our creation) it plays at least once a month, although it often seems more than that.

CDS reporting still carries a significant amount of risk influencing CMRC data, QPRs, audit methodology and now even Peer Review. Contract Compliance has not yet been ended in the criminal scheme either. Getting it right remains a key priority therefore.

So shutting down near on your entire criminal department for the afternoon, even if a large chunk of the course is mere revision, is perhaps not so dumb after all.

Simon is back out on the training circuit. This tour involves a practitioners guide to successful "Peer Review" and a definitive guide to "What every good Supervisor should know". Both topics are central to the new relationship with the LSC. Confirmed dates are:

LEEDS 19 JULY 2005
MANCHESTER 21 JULY 2005
GATESHEAD 26 JULY 2005
NOTTINGHAM 28 JULY 2005

For further information contact Sandra on 01642 225554