The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1988

£500 £600 £700 £800 £900

£1 .45 £1 .55 £1 .65 £1 .75 £1 .85 £1 .95

It seems to me that the next goal should be greater co-operation and understanding between mediators and family lawyers. It is no acci- dent that one of the best articles in the booklet by the Family Media- tion Service is by Mary Lloyd who is not only a mediator but also a solicitor. In her articles she points out that the success of mediation may be dependent upon the very existence of the courts and the potential for litigation. Mediation works best when guidelines exist as to how the law would be applied to resolve the dispute. Lawyers need to make an effort to educate themselves as to how mediation works; thus they can understand where mediation is useful and what couples are best to refer to the mediation service. Dare I suggest that mediators too should educate themselves to avoid blanket con- demnations of lawyers and to understand how normal family lawyers and experienced general solicitors wo rk in the context of marriage breakdown. The Law Society has made a beginning by providing speakers on mediation at some of its seminars but there is a need for more small groups to meet face to face for in depth discus- sions of our common problems. • Handw r i t i ng & Sub j ect Document Ana l ys is Michael Rasmussen, Mayanncor Ltd. 19, Woodside, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow. Telephone: 0404-69474

Pract ice Note

£1 , 000

Clearly if documents are valued at more than £1 , 000 they can be split up into separate packages and franked up to the maximum value required. It may be that some practices are sending high value items through the mail on a regular basis and in that situation they are advised to consider whether they should take out a separate practice insurance policy to cover any losses which might arise. Because registered mail is subject to close supervision and is signed for at each step of its journey, insurance companies are mo re i nc l i ned t o o f f er ve ry reasonable terms for insurance. Practitioners should also note that An Post operates an express mail system exactly the same as the various courier firms, where each individual item up to a max- imum t wo kilos in weight is insured for £ 5 , 0 00 actual loss, £ 1 0 , 0 00 consequential loss. Items send by express mail are guaranteed next day delivery. It is wo r th noting that the commercial couriers will only cover parcels for £100 actual loss. It may be that practitioners are experiencing current difficulties w i th the registered mail or express system and if this is the case the Society wou ld be glad to file these complaints w i th An Post. In the meantime it is hoped that the infor- mation supplied above will be of practical use to practitioners. •

Re g i s t e r ed M a i l / Re g i s t r a t i on o f Va l u a b le D o c u m e n t s Some concern has been expressed by practitioners in recent months about the low level of compensa- tion available from the Post Office where registered letters or parcels are lost. The normal registered fee is 95p but only allows compensa- tion up to a maximum of £20. However, many practitioners may not be aware that there is in fact a rising scale of charges running from 95p at the lower end of the scale to £1.95 at the top end of the scale a t t r ac t i ng compensa t i on betweeen £20 and £1 , 000. The scale is as follows:

Fee

M a x i m um Comp e n s a t i on

.95

£20

£1 . 05 £1 . 15 £1 . 25 £1 . 35

£ 1 00 £200 £300 £ 4 00

281