The pandemic and the ensuing lockdown were challenging for all sorts of organisations, for all sorts of reasons. For probate research firm Fraser and Fraser one of the issues was how we could stay in touch with our solicitor and paralegal clients and contacts when face-to-face interactions were out of the question.
One way we have done this over the past few months has been through a series of interactive webinars, which have proved a resounding success.
Their popularity has partly been down to timing. People working at home have welcomed the idea of joining friends and colleagues from across the sector to hone their skills and update their knowledge. As a firm we have worked hard to use our contacts and influence to source speakers who not only know their subject, but can also share it in a compelling manner during a web-based event where other panel-members, and the audience, may only be visible on screen or via a chat-box.
This has been a year of change in many ways and our webinar programme has provided welcome insights into a wide range of topical issues; from the use and possible pitfalls of video-witnessing for wills, to recent changes related to online probate forms and lasting powers of attorney, to practical advice about issues such as inheritance disputes.
Other highlights have included solicitor Caroline Bielanska and Court of Protection barrister Barbara Rich discussing statutory wills, via focusing on a particularly challenging case study, and John Bunker, head of private client management at Irwin Mitchell, providing timely advice on latest developments in trusts and probate.
We know, both from individual feedback and from the number of repeat attendees who’ve logged on for different webinars, that our mix of subjects and speakers has been well-received. Not only that, we’ve also been approached by various bodies, for example, local STEP (Society of Tax and Estate Planning) associations, to put on events tailored specifically to their audience. And our format, combining a roughly half-hour presentation with 10-15 minutes of Q&A, seems to have hit the spot.
At the moment we’re drawing up a list of topics and guests for our programme in 2021. In the meantime, all of our webinars from this year are available to watch on our website at www.fraserandfraser.com/webinars.
Stephen joins the RRC with over 28 years of experience working in the legal sector and is a professional Paralegal who runs his own businesses specialising in complex investigation on a variety of subject matters both in the UK and overseas. He was the first investigator in a scheme to assist victims of fraud, being piloted by the Home Office and Police, and was engaged over an extended period in the identification of personal assets of a Director following the collapse of a major listed company. Most recently Stephen was responsible for compliance planning and strategy in his role as COFA at a Law Firm.
