http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=Get all the Latest News Stories from M&A Solicitors direct by RSSM&A is one of only 2 Welsh law firms to be a signatory to the Law Society's Diversity & Inclusion Charter. The Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter statement: “The signatories to this Charter believe that a commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential to reflect the society we serve today. It makes business sense because it helps us to attract and retain the best talent, it enables us to understand and meet clients' needs more effectively and so provide a better quality service. Accordingly, we will: Strive to achieve best practice in our recruitment, retention and career progression practices as employers. Support the development of good diversity practice by collecting and sharing with other signatories examples of practical activities that contribute to progress. Assign responsibility for meeting our Charter commitments to a named, senior level individual. Work together to develop and adopt future protocols that support the practical implementation of the aims of this Charter. Publish annually the diversity profile of our UK employees and details of our work on equality, diversity and inclusion. Publish a joint annual report on the basis of a monitoring exercise to measure the impact of this Diversity and Inclusion Charter and its protocols. These reports will form the basis of regular dialogue with stakeholders, employees and clients.” Partner and Head of Employment, James Moss, said: “Given our internal commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion through the implementation of our Equality & Diversity Policy, the natural next step was to make a public commitment to the same by becoming a signatory to the Law Society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter.“ The full list of signatories to the Law Society's Diversity & Inclusion Charter can be accessed via the following weblink: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/inclusioncharter/charter.page M&A has also added an automated feature to its ongoing workforce diversity monitoring by devising an online e-survey which all staff and partners are encouraged to complete. http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=602010-08-12T15:20:53.0000000+01:00Following the substantial experience of M&A’s Projects Team in PFI and PPP projects across a range of sectors, our Projects Team have contributed to PLC Construction by producing a note on common issues in construction sub-contracts in PFI and PPP projects. The note: Gives an overview of PFI and PPP construction sub-contracts (often referred to as design and build or D&B contracts). Considers the key contractual issues and risk allocations in a PFI or PPP construction sub-contract. Highlights typical clauses in a PFI or PPP construction sub-contract, including obtaining relief from performance, obtaining compensation, paying liquidated damages (also known as LADs or LDs) and the effect of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (Construction Act 1996) on the sub-contract. Explains that pay-when-paid clauses are not permitted under a construction sub-contract, and highlights equivalent project relief (EPR) and parallel loan agreement clauses. The note can be reviewed at: http://construction.practicallaw.com/4-502-9195 The note follows previous publications by M&A’s Projects Team on Academy School Projects. http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=592010-08-05T10:44:20.0000000+01:00M&A acted as legal advisers when Paul Ragan, the Motaquote insurance company founder bought Newport-based Dragon Taxis. Ragan, once the star of TV’s Secret Millionaire, acquired Dragon through Radio Cabs (Bridgend), the taxi firm which he took over after leaving Motaquote and Protectagroup. Ragan aims to build up his fleet of 300 cars to 1,000 by mid-2011 by acquiring firms in the area from Swansea to the Severn Bridge. He told Insider: “I see a consolidation play in that sector. To me, they are recession proof. As long as you pick the right firms, they are good solid businesses to run with. It is difficult for anyone to open up next to them.” Santander backed the Dragon deal and KTS Owens Thomas carried out financial due diligence. Ragan, chief executive of the Cardiff Devils ice hockey team, has just joined the Entrepreneurs’ Business Academy, the mentoring group backed by BBC Dragons’ Den star James Caan. To view the original article in the Insider newsletter, please see: http://www.insidermedia.com/insider/wales/36540-ragan-aims-taxi-empire http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=582010-07-21T13:08:08.0000000+01:00M&A has been appointed as the supplier of legal services in Property and Estates to the Auditor General for Wales. Having an ever increasing public sector portfolio and one of the largest dedicated Public Sector teams in Wales, the appointment is further recognition that M&A is one of the leading firms for public sector work in Wales. With a team that possesses quality technical skills and an in-depth knowledge of the property sector, coming on the back of M&A being awarded “Property Firm of the Year” by the Insider business magazine in 2009 and the recent short listing for same prize in 2010, the excellent reputation of M&A’s Property Team is well deserved. The appointment, commencing in June 2010, will see M&A provide the Auditor General for Wales with a range of legal advice in property and estate matters – including areas such as landlord and tenant, acquisition and disposals, environment and construction. Stephen Berry, Managing Partner of M&A said “this excellent result is a reflection of the quality of service and reputation of M&A in respect of both our Property and Public Sector Teams”. http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=572010-07-21T12:46:29.0000000+01:00Welsh law firm, M&A Solicitors, have recently advised West Sussex County Council on a revolutionary £1 billion waste disposal project, which could eventually be implemented by councils throughout the country. It is envisioned that the project will enable the Council to: Assist in boosting the County’s recycling rate to over 50% and will divert up to 80% of the residual waste from landfill. Treat food and other biodegradable waste using anaerobic digestion technology – the resultant biogas will initially be used to generate renewable energy and may in the future be harnessed to produce fuel for vehicles. When operating at full capacity the facility will produce up to 3.5MW of renewable energy, enough to power around 7,000 homes. Use waste to create a refuse derived fuel (RDF) – a fuel which can be used to displace use of fossil fuels. Have an impact equivalent to the removal of 19,600 cars from the road by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The 25-year contract adds to M&A’s extensive portfolio of public sector work and will see the County’s black bag household waste undergo treatment at a state-of-the-art Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility at Biffa’s Brookhurst Wood landfill site. The dramatic reduction in the amount of the County’s black bag waste sent to landfill is expected to save the Council around £300 million over the life of the contract. Work will begin on the MBT facility this summer and it is anticipated that it will open in 2013. M&A, who have substantial experience in devising contract and funding structures, advised the Council on various contractual and funding options for the waste project, the outcome of which is an ground-breaking funding structure. The West Sussex funding structure was a collaborative development by client and advisers on the project: Phillip Russell and David Rowlands of West Sussex County Council, Steve Hazelton of Ernst & Young, Pat Wheeler of AEAT and Deryn Rees of M&A. This waste project has now become the first in the UK to be funded by a Council using its prudential borrowing powers and may offer an alternative to authorities across the UK facing increasing budgetary pressures balanced against a need to progress projects for infrastructure (whether schools, transport, hospitals or waste facilities). M&A partner, Deryn Rees, has said of this unique funding initiative: “We are delighted to have been instructed by West Sussex County Council on this project and to have worked alongside a dedicated, commercial and forward-thinking Council team who, in the face of changing market conditions, were keen to explore new ways of funding the project and of retaining flexibility in terms of a technical solution. The innovative funding structure of this project is a key development not only in the waste sector but also in the wider PPP market within the UK.” M&A’s involvement on the project follows previous advice given by M&A’s lawyers on the Council’s Recycling and Waste Handling Contract (“Reclaim Contract”) To see this article on WalesOnline, please go to http://tinyurl.com/33ur4gn http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=562010-07-07T10:25:09.0000000+01:00Cycle Challenge Wales 2010 kicked off earlier this month and M&A took part not only as sponsors but also participated in the race. The annual fundraising event had this year Velindre as one of its’ chosen charities- M&A's Charity of the Year. Having set off in Swansea Damien Cann, James Moss and Live Garseth crossed the finish line at The Vale resort in Glamorgan along with the rest of the cycling team that completed their one week long trip around Wales. The 5th of June, 15 players, coaches, physiotherapists with friends set off from The Vale Resort to begin this gruelling challenge around Wales to raise money for 4 chosen charities: Spring Valley Primary School, Kenya Velindre Cancer Hospital, Cardiff Air Ambulance Wales Ty Gobaith Children's Hospice, Cowy. The team's first stop was in Llandrindod Wells with further stops at Ruthin, Caernarfon, Dolgellau, Aberaeron, St Davids and Upper Killay before finishing the race on the 12th of June. Throughout the journey sponsors and keen cyclists had the opportunity to join the team and M&A took part in the last leg of the journey. Damien, James and Live raised about £500 in total for Velindre and the other chosen charities that equally shared the money raised for this event. A few well known people from Wales attended the cycle challenge and Rhydian Roberts (Singer and X Factor contestant) joined M&A on the last leg. The core cyclists throughout this year’s race included Colin Charvis (Wales and British Lions rugby), Richard Parks (Wales rugby, and explorer extraordinaire), Rhodri Gomer Davies (Dragons rugby and fake actor), Ben Mathew (Cardiff Bay Chiropractor and record breaking bench presser), Will Precious (Dragons video analyst), Steffan Roberts (Poet and Regeneration Manager), Rhys Thomas (Consultant surgeon to Wales rugby team), James Knight, (Dragons conditioning coach and angry man), Steve Williams (ex Neath and Wales second row) and Jason Tovey (Dragons rugby). M&A would like to thank the core team for a very memorable day and David Jones at Cardiff Waterside for lending his bike to us. Being challenged: James Moss, Live Garseth and Damien Cann Colin Charvis was leading the group towards The Vale Resort Finally at the finish line! http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=552010-06-22T16:00:57.0000000+01:00On Tuesday 8th June, we hosted the second of our regular breakfast briefings tackling the important business issues facing Wales today. The briefing focussed on the energy issues within Wales as it seeks to develop its green agenda and sustainability commitments. The session began with a presentation from Paul Webber a Director of global consultancy Arup entitled ‘Zero Carbon in Wales by 2011’ that discussed the challenges and opportunities for businesses in Wales as it seeks to implement its zero carbon aspirations ahead of the rest of the UK. Following the presentation there was a lively debate involving representatives from the Public Sector (including WAG and the Welsh School of Architecture) and the Private Sector (including Arup, other consultants and renewable energy companies) covering a variety of topics including devolution of building regulations, public attitudes to energy efficiency and the future of renewable energy within Wales. If you would like further information regarding this session or details on future briefings please contact Jeremy Williams at jwilliams@manda.uk.com http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=542010-06-11T16:22:25.0000000+01:00M&A has recently expanded its partner numbers with the promotion of Claudia Le Gros and James Moss. Their appointment follows on from the promotion of Steve Morris in December 2009. Stephen Berry, managing partner of M&A commented, “we are delighted to announce that Claudia, James and Steve have been promoted to partner, which is in recognition for their hard work and the contributions that each have made to the success of the firm. All three are exceptional lawyers and have demonstrated their technical abilities by working on a range of high value and complex projects.” Steve and Claudia’s promotion adds further depth to the Property team whilst James heads up the Employment Department. Steve Morris is a commercial property specialist who joined M&A in 2005 and advises on the acquisition, disposal, letting and funding of commercial properties. He also has experience of property joint ventures through corporate and limited partnership vehicles. Steve has acted on a number of large property transactions both in South Wales and England. Claudia Le Gros joined M&A in 2007 as an associate specialising in commercial Projects, acting for clients in both the public and private sectors. Claudia has been involved in many UK wide high profile cases and is currently advising a County Council in relation to a waste management scheme with an estimated value of over £1 billion. Other clients include energy companies, private developers, local authorities and commercial retailers giving her a broad spectrum of experience. Claudia was nominated for the Welsh Women Mean Business Awards 2010 where she was short-listed as one of five finalists in the “Best Woman in a Legal or Accountancy Business” category. James Moss joined the firm in 2009 as a Senior Associate bringing over 10 years experience as an employment law specialist. James studied law at King's College London and at the Sorbonne in Paris. He acts for a wide range of clients, from SME’s to FTSE listed companies as well as public sector organizations, advising on all areas of employment law, both contentious and non-contentious. James launched M&A’s first regular employment e-newsletter in January, which is designed to provide expert analysis of the latest employment legal news, forthcoming key legislation, events and seminars as well as more general news from across the firm. In addition to the recent partner promotions M&A is also pleased to annouce that Craig Criffiths has been promoted to Associate. Craig joined M&A in 2008 as an Assistant Solicitor in the firm’s Commercial Projects team. Having joined M&A from the public sector, Craig has significant experience across a range of commercial work and brings to the M&A team a particular insight into the public sector approach to commercial issues, procurement and outsourcing. He acts for clients in both the public and private sectors, representing local authorities, SMEs and national companies. Craig provided commercial advice in relation to four Academy School Projects – as a result of which he was asked to produce two practice notes on the Academy School process for PLC, the leading provider of know-how for lawyers. From left: Stephen Berry, Craig Griffiths, James Moss, Steve Morris and Claudia Le Gros http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=522010-05-13T16:09:19.0000000+01:00 Cardiff based solicitors have a lot to shout about in May 2010; the firm recently celebrating their 10th Anniversary with a special evening at their the new Cardiff Bay offices. M&A Solicitors also used the event to launch their first Charity of the Year partnership. Alan Whiteley, Senior Partner, said “We have supported a range of charities in Wales over the years, but given this special anniversary we wanted to focus on one local charity and give them our maximum support. We thought that the fairest and most practical way to do this was by putting it to a staff e-vote and the winner was Velindre Cancer Centre. We are pleased to be supporting them and aim to raise a considerable sum through a range of fund-raising activities over the course of the year”. Andrew Morris, Head of Fundraising at Velindre Cancer Centre, said “We are absolutely delighted to be chosen by M & A Solicitors’ staff as their Charity of the Year, and look forward to a successful partnership; last year Velindre supported over a hundred thousand patients in Wales, and with cancer on the increase, we need to grow our fundraising activities to keep pace with the new challenges this will throw up. M & A Solicitors’ support will make a significant impact in helping us face that challenge and we are very pleased to be working with them.” M&A Solicitors is a commercial law firm providing a partner led, “City quality” service at cost effective rates, focussed on the business requirements of its clients. Its approach is to work closely with its clients to ensure they benefit from the best technical legal advice and achieve their business objectives. Its client base includes a large number of leading private sector companies as well as a number of public and third sector bodies. Headquartered in Cardiff Bay, the firm employs nearly 70 staff and provides legal services throughout the UK and overseas in the areas of Corporate, Commercial, Construction, Commercial Disputes, Employment, Insolvency, Projects, Property and Sport. About Velindre Cancer Centre Velindre Cancer Centre is the largest non - surgical cancer Hospital in Wales providing Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and other specialised anti-cancer treatments for over half the people of Wales. We have been providing support and care to cancer patients in South Wales for over 50 years. Every possible effort is made to ensure that each visit to Velindre is as comfortable as possible, and our experienced staff aim to provide high quality care to patients and their families. On average every year Velindre Cancer Centre provides care, treatment and support for over 110,000 out patients and day cases. It is this commitment to high quality care which means that Velindre is widely regarded as being a Centre of Excellence. We have a fully integrated award winning Therapies team which includes Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics, Speech and Language Therapy, Lymphoedema and Complementary Therapies. Velindre Cancer Centre is the first Cancer Centre in Europe to have a totally integrated service for patients in most need – our Active Support Unit provides the highest standards of care and quality support to palliative care cancer patients. More people in Wales survive cancer now than ever before thanks to early detection and better treatments. It is estimated that by 2015 there will be a 30% increase in the most common forms of cancer in Wales; we are determined to raise the money necessary to enable us to meet these new challenges. If you would like more information please visit our website www.velindrefundraising.com phone Fundraising on 029 2031 6211 or email info@velindrefundraising.com. Contact Andrew Morris Head of Fundraising, or Kylie Parfitt Deputy Head of Fundraising http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=482010-05-13T15:12:32.0000000+01:00On 28th April M&A held a joint celebration to welcome clients to our new offices and to commemorate their tenth anniversary. Over 200 clients attended the event at 3 Assembly Square in Cardiff Bay. The new BREEAM Excellent building was officially opened in June 2009 and M&A moved into the new offices in December. The last 10 years have seen M&A grow from strength to strength with the addition of many new partners and staff. M&A were delighted with the support shown by clients who attended the party where members of the Welsh National Opera performed throughout the evening. We would like to extend our thanks to all those who joined us for a most enjoyable evening with special thanks to Cardiff Waterside, Welsh National Opera, Green Ant Events Ltd and EJ Catering Ltd Photography by Maryanne Hawes and Bridget Worth. Please see link below. http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/106329856615813557839/OpeningParty28April2010 http://www.manda.uk.com/news.aspx?newsid=472010-05-11T12:31:01.0000000+01:00