Two more trainee solicitors have completed their training contracts at Howells Solicitors, taking the total of successful applicants over the last 18 months to five, with five more due to complete before the end of the year.

Hayley Rees and Richard Jones, gained law degrees from Cardiff and Swansea universities respectively and both completed their Legal Practice Course at Cardiff University before starting their employment with Howells in 2012.

Gaining Experience with Howells

During their time with the firm, and as part of their training, Hayley and Richard have gained experience in all of Howells’ different legal departments. Following the successful completion of their training both graduates were offered positions as solicitors in the law firm. Hayley is now working in our Private Client departments, while Richard can be found in our Residential Conveyancing department, both are in the Cardiff legal office.

Rhidian Hobbs, director at Howells Solicitors said, “Recruiting and training talented young lawyers such as Hayley and Richard is key to our long term success. The time spent during their training has enabled us to identify their strengths and we have worked together to find a position within the firm upon completion of their training to enable them to qualify into their chosen area of law. I wish Hayley and Richard a very successful career at Howells”More...

Last weekend saw the Welsh rugby team play their first match in the build up to the Rugby World Cup. Although it wasn't the start we were looking for, the game marks the beginning of a two month period when rugby fans will be in their element enjoying the games.

The fixtures for the tournament will enable the majority of fans with 9-5 Monday to Friday jobs to watch them without having to take time off work, but there are some matches, including our own against Fiji on Thursday October 1st, that kick off during office hours.

Taking time off for the rugby

Although we are a passionate rugby nation and some employers may decide to allow their employees to watch the match in the office or leave early, this is entirely at their discretion.

Employees who wish to watch the match away from work should therefore book time off, and employers should be wary of these key dates as they may become inundated with holiday requests. As ever, before granting holiday leave, it’s vital that employers ensure the needs of the business are being met.More...

It’s been nearly two years since we last wrote about the rise of the Facebook divorce, and how evidence of couples’ extra-marital exploits was finding its way onto social media and then subsequently into divorce proceedings.

Since that time, social media usage has continued to flourish, with more than 2 billion active social media accounts in existence globally. Also, in the past few weeks, a notorious dating website that enables extra-marital affairs has been hacked, with attackers threatening to expose the identities of the 37.5m adulterers who have used the site.

For this reason, we thought the time was right to revisit the idea of the ‘Facebook Divorce’, and investigate the effect that the rise of social media is having on divorce proceedings in the UK.

New statistics

A recent survey from Censuswide of more than 2000 respondents found that one in seven married individuals has considered divorce because of their spouse’s posting on Facebook or other social media sites. More...