Karis Jones, a family law specialist here at Howells has been attending the Huggard Centre, a Cardiff charity once a month to provide their service users and members of the public with free legal advice.

The charity, based on Dumballs Road, is open 365 days of the year. It provides support and accommodation for the homeless and works with authorities and organisations to overcome the problems and barriers which force individuals to sleep rough. The facility also includes a hostel and shared housing which can accommodate approximately 70 people.

During her monthly visits, Karis provides a free legal surgery to service users and members of the public on any issues relating to family law. Due to the significant changes in Legal Aid funding and the quality of advice being provided, Karis’ sessions are very popular at the centre. Karis explains: “The Huggard Centre has been providing frontline services to homeless people for over 20 years. Unfortunately, the economic climate and changes to the allocation of Legal Aid has made it often impossible for everyone to seek legal advice in respect to family matters. The surgeries help those in a vulnerable position and the advice provided is appreciated.” More...

The family of former Cardiff-resident Frank Green, who owned a famous toy shop in Canton for over 20 years, have been able to claim back care costs from the NHS after a recent claim through the team at Howells Solicitors.

Mr Green, who served in World War II and ran the toy shop SF Green on 295 Cowbridge Road afterwards until 1969, became increasingly ill after retirement and moved into care homes in Llandough, UHW and Whitchurch hospitals. There, the authorities made no assessment for his ongoing care and informed his family that any care fees must be funded by them. The family used Mr Green’s savings and sold his home to pay for his care in the final years of his life between 2003 and 2007.

Informed by the Coughlan and Grogan cases, in which families of seriously ill people were able to claim compensation from the health authorities if they were wrongly charged with care fees, our solicitor Alison Huggins worked with Mr Green’s family to reclaim the care fees they paid. More...

Sarah Millard, an experienced family law solicitor, has joined the Howells Solicitors team in our Talbot Green office.

Mrs Millard has practised family law in the Rhondda for over 15 years. She sits on the Children’s Panel Accreditation Scheme, the Family Law Panel, is a member of the Family Law Advanced Accreditation Scheme and Treasurer of the Pontypridd and Rhondda District Law Society.

Mrs Millard joins the firm from a local practice where she had worked for 12 years. Her appointment will provide Howells Solicitors with the expertise to represent clients involved in children and domestic violence cases as well as other family law matters in the Rhondda and Mid Glamorgan. More...

We are pleased to announce that Alun Rosser, a vastly experienced residential and commercial property solicitor, is the latest specialist to join the growing team at Howells Solicitors.

With over 30 years experience at partner and director level at two legal practices, Mr Rosser will be joining Howells to manage the growth of our conveyancing teams in Mid Glamorgan. Mr Rosser is a key senior appointment to our conveyancing department as we continue to record significant increases in the number of cases we are dealing with. In June, we recorded a 62% increase in the number of cases completed compared to the same period in 2012.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Rosser said: “In my previous role, I was a director of a local private practice that grew into a national conveyancing firm. We secured preferred supplier contracts with national chains of estate agents resulting in high volumes of conveyancing cases. More...

A 61% increase in the number of completed conveyancing deals in May compared to the same month last year can be attributed to the continued improvement of market conditions in the housing sector and our investment in new software.

“Low interest rates and improved bank lending are two of the key economic factors responsible for this increase” said Mark Hobbs, managing partner at Howells Solicitors. “There has been a rise in the number of first time buyers who have been saving for their mortgage deposits and are now taking advantage of the low interest rates and Funding for Lending Scheme. Clients are also perhaps a little apprehensive that interest rates might change and that house prices could begin to rise again so they want to take advantage of the current conditions.” More...