Aston Bond’s London Legal Walk 2017

Aston Bond’s London Legal Walk 2017

On May the 22nd, Aston Bond took part in The London Legal Walk 2017 for the third year running. This iconic 10km walk around central is the largest fundraising event in the legal calendar. Thousands of lawyers, judges, colleagues and friends (both human and of the four-legged variety) all walked this year to help raise money and awareness for vital legal aid in and around London. The turnout was huge, with as many as 700 teams and 12,000 people taking part – record breaking for this event!

When we arrived we were greeted by a street party. There were people dressed up and on stilts, a duo of walking bushes, flame jugglers, Jamaican steel drums and even Judge Rinder. Everyone that took part was happy to take photos with the walkers and really put the effort in to making London Legal Walk 2017 very entertaining.

The sun was out and it was the perfect day for everyone involved. This year there were two routes to choose from. The park route took you down the Mall, past Buckingham palace, through St James’ Park, Hyde Park, and through Charring Cross.  The other walk was the river walk which lead us down the Embankment, across the river to the Southbank, past the London eye and by Big Ben and back across at Vauxhall bridge and past Parliament. We chose the river walk, as it was the new route for this year.

Our reward for the walk was to be greeted by the much-needed food and drinks stalls at the street party on Carey Street.  The aromas from the churros truck was well worth the wait and after such a walk we all allowed ourselves the luxury of tucking in to some delicious food and a refreshing drink.  The atmosphere at these events is always one of camaraderie and this year was no different.  The organisers did a fantastic job yet again.

As a firm we raised over £623.75 – a massive thank you to everyone that sponsored us to help beat last year’s target!  An expected amount of over £800,000 has been raised collectively during the London Legal Walk from all the firms that took part.

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Windsor Boys Boat Club Success

As their sponsor, we are proud of Windsor Boys Boat Club’s success over the Bank Holiday weekend! The final weekend of April was an eventful and successful one for Windsor Boys Boat Club. Across three days there were four regattas, with over 80 boys out racing! Races took place at Evesham Regatta, Evesham Sprint Regatta, Wallingford Regatta at Dorney Lake and Marlow Spring Regatta.

Evesham Regatta and Evesham Sprint Regatta are held consecutively. The course used is a very testing one, which is narrow and difficult to tackle. The year 9’s of Windsor Boys Boat Club were out racing at their first ever regatta at both events. This served a great learning curve about regatta racing for them.

At Dorney Lake, the senior boys were training on Saturday for the events ahead of them. In defiance of the high winds on Sunday, the teams race excellently. The doubles sculls event was won by Windsor Boys alongside another victory for the quads event as well! Two wins for the senior boys of the boat club. Congratulations!

During the Bank Holiday Monday, the Marlow Spring Regatta took place. This lead to more triumph for the Club. The J14 quad proudly won the novice quad competition and the J15 and J16 quads also won their events.

A great success for the Boat Club and massive congratulations from the team at Aston Bond!

Pure Networking Windsor

Pure Networking Windsor

Aston Bond are proud to announce that we will be hosting Pure Networking Windsor events. The location of these events will be held at Browns, Windsor, every month. Pure Networking was Founded by Dion McCarthy, a Senior Litigation Solicitor at Aston Bond and has been running successfully for over 2 years now.

This event is on every 4th Wednesday of each month at the same location and at the same time, 6-8pm.

Pure Networking in Windsor is an exclusive networking event for energetic and dynamic business owners and professionals to socialise and do business. These networking events are casual and down-to-earth. The social setting promotes natural relationships – from which business flows.

As the name suggests, the event is purely about networking. Every aspect of Pure Networking is focused on networking:

  • The events are pay-as-you-go and no membership is required, making them fully accessible.
  • Drinks coupons are included within the ticket price, adding additional value to the ticket and also avoids wasting time paying at the bar.
  • The food is ‘finger friendly’ and laid out in buffet style, so our attendees can eat while ‘working the room’.
  • We provide name badges to avoid awkward moments of not remembering someone’s name.
  • We provide attendee lists so our networkers can follow-up with each other and is also helpful if you run out of business cards!
  • We rarely allow speakers at our events, minimising interruption to networking.

There is a demand for this unique style of networking and Pure Networking is in the process of rolling out events nationally. Pure Networking currently operate events in Bournemouth, Salisbury and Windsor and are also in the process of launching their first London event.

If you want to see what all the excitement is about, then book onto the next Pure Networking Windsor event. Don’t miss out!

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Aston Bond Backs Windsor Boys’ Boat Club

Aston Bond is delighted to announce that it is to provide sponsorship to Windsor Boys’ Boat Club this season. The funding provided will enable the Club to invest in better equipment so that the students can fulfill their true potential during the forthcoming regatta season, from the more local events to top-flight regattas such as Henley Royal Regatta. The Director of Rowing, Mark Wilkinson, was delighted with the news of the backing and said: “We are extremely grateful to all at Aston Bond for their support. The boys train extremely hard, and they and their parents have to raise funds to support the club.

With Aston Bond’s backing, the students will find it much easier to achieve their goals. Already the boys have laid down some significant markers with a couple of gold medals at the recent Junior Sculling Head and they will be aim-ing high this season.” Co-founder of Aston Bond and old boy of the school, Duncan Thomson, said: “Aston Bond are committed to helping young people succeed in achieving their aims and wish all at Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club our very best for the season”.

“Rowing is the school’s flagship sport which is incredibly rare for a state comprehensive school. Despite the school’s status it is blessed with a host of national champions, and international representatives as well as host of well qualified and dedicated coaches. All of the boys at the school are given the opportunity to row.” – http://www.twbs.co.uk/rowing/

It is important to us here at Aston Bond to help within our community as much as possible. We’re constantly giving back and we know that the Windsor Boys’ Boat Club deserve to go far! We expect great things from them.

Windsor Boys' Boat Club
Stephen Puri (left) and Duncan Thomson (right) of Aston Bond along with Mark Wilkinson (far right) and members of the senior squad.

Theresa May Calls For General Election

Theresa May Calls for General Election

Prime Minister Theresa May calls for General Election to take place on the 8th June 2017.

Theresa May made the announcement outside number 10 Downing Street earlier today, in a bid to further establish her party’s power in government leading up to Brexit. She stated “I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8.” Theresa May explained that despite months of Downing Street denying she would call one, that she had only come up with the decision “recently”.

Theresa May said “Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit, and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country”. As prime minister Theresa is trying to bring together Westminster in preparation for Brexit.

“We need a general election and we need one now. Because we have at this moment a one-off chance to get this done, while the European Union agrees its negotiating position and before the detailed talks begin.” She added.

“The country is coming together but Westminster is not” Theresa said. Will her plan backfire?

The election has yet to be voted on by the Commons which is due to happen tomorrow, however this is largely viewed as a formality.  And with Labour down in the polls, the bookies are currently confident that the election will only prove to strengthen the Tories hold in the Commons.

London Attack

London Attack

Four dead in Westminster terror attack and 40 injured.

Yesterday (22/03/2017) a London attack was carried out in Westminster. The attacker drove a car along a pavement aiming for pedestrians, stabbed a policeman and was shot dead by police on parliament grounds. Four people sadly lost their lives in the attack yesterday and reports have estimated that at least seven have “life-changing” injuries”.  We’ve been on high security for a long time now but attacks like these are hard to prevent. Our public services deserve utmost respect and applaud for the fast response carried out.

London attack in westminsterThe dead officer was named as PC Keith Palmer, 48, who was a husband and a father. The attacker has not yet been named, although head of counter-terrorism at the Met police, Mark Rowley, has said they think they know who he is and that he was inspired by international terrorism.

Both the Met Police and Parliament today held one minutes silence to show their respect for all those involved yesterday.  But the mood in London seems to be positively resolute with people turning up to work as normal, determined not to let such attacks have the impact these terrorists clearly want.

Our thoughts go out to all those affected and our thanks to all the brave service men and women whose fast response helped so many.

Let us know what you think…

The London Legal Walk 2017

The London Legal Walk 2017

Aston Bond are always getting involved in charity events to help raise awareness and funds. This year, for the third year running, we will be taking part in the ‘London Legal Walk’ to help raise money towards supporting free legal advice in and around London.

This iconic 10km walk around central London is the largest fundraising event in the legal calendar and will take place on the 22nd May. Funds raised enable the advice centres that provide legal aid to help thousands of people including the homeless, housebound elderly, victims of domestic violence, people trafficking and many more. Thousands of lawyers, colleagues and friends take part every year to help out towards a great cause.

Last year over £740,000 was raised, which is amazing, but this year we want to beat that target! Please make a donation on our Virgin Money Giving page to help support vital legal aid in and around London.

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Windsor Boys School Careers Fair

Windsor Boys School – Careers Fair

Aston Bond love getting involved in our local community and recently we were pleased to be invited to attend a careers fair at Windsor Boys School. These events allow us to meet young students who are thinking of different career choices and give some support and guidance to them. Windsor Boys School is a great example of a school with many students considering a future career in the law. The careers fair took place on 8th March and we met students ranging from year 9 to year 11 and 12.  We talked to them about what working in a law firm is really like and discussed their options and the different routes available for becoming a solicitor.  We thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many enthusiastic and engaged students and were impressed by their thoughtful questions and confident interaction with us.

How to Become a Lawyer

How to Become a Lawyer

After the careers fair Aston Bond attended it became clear to us that many students wanted to know how to become a lawyer and the different ways of doing so. There are many different routes you can take to become a solicitor/barrister and we outline below the most popular ones.

Choosing Your GCSE’s/A-Levels:

Firstly, when picking GCSEs it is best to go with something that you enjoy the most and are great at. This will ensure that you get the best grades to allow you to take your A-Level qualifications. If you know you definitely want to get into to Law, there are a couple ‘preferred’ subjects to take in A-Level (although it is not mandatory). English is a key subject; it will be a huge part of working within Law. History is also a subject which is often suggested, as the learning process of past events is similar to how you study the history of Law. And of course you can take an A-Level in Law, although if you are planning on doing a degree in Law this is not necessarily recommended.  A-level Law would be more beneficial to those who intend on taking a degree in another subject except law (as further detailed below).

University: Law Degree:

The most common route to becoming a lawyer/barrister is to do a degree in Law at university. A degree in Law takes 3 years to complete. Once your 3 years have finished there are 2 different options, both a year long, depending on if you want to become a Lawyer or a Barrister. A Legal Practice Course (LPC) is what you study if you want to become a Lawyer. The other option is a Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) which will help you to become a barrister. Once you have finished either of these year-long courses you will have your degree and are ready to find a training contract (or pupillage if you are intending on becoming a barrister). This can be quite difficult at it is a very competitive industry.  Something which will really help you secure one of these positions is work experience, and as much of it as you can get.   A summer internship for a law firm would also be worthwhile considering.  A Training contract is a 2 year long process in which you will experience all different types of Law to help you decide which area you want to specialise in. Here you will gain hands-on experience but you will work directly under a supervisor who will teach you and check your work. When these 2 years are up (and upon completion of a short exam which you take whilst still undertaking your training contract) you will be a qualified solicitor/barrister.

University: Conversion Course

Surprisingly, you don’t have to study Law at university to get into the industry.  Although it is the more direct route there is a different option if you are looking to attend University but have other interests. It is possible to undertake a degree in anything you like, but at the end of it you take a year-long ‘Conversion’ course in Law before going forward with your LPC or BPTC.  The process is the same from here onwards and in total it takes an extra year compared to the direct law degree route. The benefit of choosing to do this is that you will end up with affectively 2 degrees rather than just one. Also, if you know the type of Law you want to get into you can study an area which would be beneficial for that type of law.  For example if you were to study Human Rights this would relate to Public Law, the same way in which studying Business would help with getting into Corporate Law.  Indeed, a degree in another subject is often highly regarded and those with a scientific or technical background find that they would do well to study these subject and then ultimately could become a more specialised solicitor in that field.

Apprenticeships:

As of 2016, the government have introduced brand new apprenticeship schemes in Law. This is an entirely new and different route into the world of Law. With hands-on experience from the get go this would be beneficial for someone that is better at learning in a working environment and wants to earn a wage at the same time. To become an apprentice you must have the following qualifications: 5 GCSEs, including Mathematics & English – Grade C or above (or equivalent) and also 3 A levels (or equivalent) – minimum grade C. The apprenticeship route takes 5 to 6 years. This may be reduced if exemptions from training are applicable.  However, as apprenticeships are fairly new and the number of firms offering this is currently low, competition is likely to be high.

There are a few other ways to become a lawyer but these are the most popular choices. There are many different options for all different types of people but one thing we would suggest is gaining as much work experience as possible. This shows that you have a keen interest and enthusiasm within the industry and will help gain placements into university and the workplace.

If you would like to gain some work experience at Aston Bond, email your CV and Cover Letter stating dates of interest to feedback@astonbond.co.uk and we will get in touch with successful candidates.  We are currently accepting applications for work experience for Autumn 2017 onwards.

Slough Aspire Careers Fair

Slough Aspire Careers Fair

This month we participated in the Slough Aspire Careers Fair.  Here at Aston Bond we love the opportunity to help out around the local community.  This event allowed us to meet young students who are thinking of different career choices and give some support and guidance to them. Many different schools attended including Baylis Court School, The Langley Academy, Westgate, St Joseph’s , Slough & Eton and many more.

Students were enthusiastic about learning about the different routes to becoming a either a solicitor or barrister. A few even asked how long it takes to become a judge! Questions varied and we feel we have made a positive impact on some potential future lawyers.

Aston Bond was on the panel for each Q & A session. This gave us an opportunity to welcome the schools into the event and speak to them about career paths and answer any questions they had for the panel.

We also held a competition giving students that are interested in law a chance to win a £50 gift card of their choice! We will be announcing the winner soon, so watch this space.