This course satisfies the supervision requirements in the LAA Standard Contract & covers the key skills needed to ensure compliance with the LAA Contract.
As workplaces seek to become more deliberate in enabling inclusivity, managers play a vital role in shaping environments where neurodivergent team members can succeed.
The LAA operates a strict compliance regime when it comes to auditing family controlled work matters, and mistakes can often result in a Contract Notice, corrective action, and further follow-up activity within 6 months. This course will discuss the various aspects of family controlled work billing, with discussions on topics such as how to bill private law, public law, and help with mediation matters; how to evidence whether substantive negotiations and a settlement have taken place in private law matters; how do the LAA audit travel and other disbursement claims; what evidence must be present on files to avoid any issues on audit – including scope, gateway evidence, and forms/evidence of means (rules on evidence of means will be included in brief, however, a separate, more in-depth course will be announced in due course); and the rules on claiming separate matters and escape fees. Key aspects of the Civil Contract and associated LAA Guidance (including the Codes Guidance) will be included, along with a discussion of common errors that are made. Target Audience This online course is aimed at anyone involved in billing Family Controlled Work matters or managing an LAA Family Contract. Resources Course notes will be provided to all delegates which may be useful for ongoing reference or cascade training. Please note a recording of the course will not be made available. Speaker Steve Keeling, Consultant, DG Legal Steve joined DG Legal after leaving the Legal Aid Agency in August 2016. In his 17 years at the LAA, he worked in the audit team as both auditor and manager and was a Contract Manager for several years. Steve is also a certified SQM auditor and undertakes audits on behalf of Recognising Excellence as well as running training sessions for the SQM Audit Team periodically.
LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Siân Ellis-Martin joined Blake Friedmann in 2018 and is building a list of fiction and non-fiction at the agency. With regards to fiction, Siân is looking for commercial, upmarket and accessible literary novels. She always wants to be completely absorbed by the world of the novel, to jump into the character’s life and be swept into the narrative as if she’s been there all along. She’s drawn in by compelling characters and relationships, and loves stories with a mystery or question at the heart of them. She’s open to these ideas being explored in a variety of ways, but at the moment, she’d particularly like to find an epic love story, a fun, queer rom-com with an unusual setting or pitch, and/or a sweeping family saga. Siân leans more towards contemporary settings but does enjoy a historical backdrop too. In non-fiction, she’s looking for narrative non-fiction, history from different perspectives and books that make complicated ideas around things like politics and literature more accessible. Her favourite type of non-fiction book is the one that makes you interested in something or someone you’d never thought you would be. Siân would also love to find cookery and food books too, particularly cuisines that are less visible in the book world, or budget cooking. She’s not currently taking on YA, children’s, fantasy or science fiction projects. Siân would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 - 2 page synopsis and the first three chapters (or 5,000 words, whichever is shorter) of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Siân is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. Submission Deadline: Wednesday 13th August 2025
Learn how to create and manage a successful YouTube channel for your business. This workshop will cover everything you need to know when setting up and using YouTube in your business. You will also learn how to use YouTube analytics to track your channel's performance to help you make improvements.
This is a full 4 day course covering the requirements of commercial fire alarm systems to BS 5839 Part 1 2017 Code of Practice for Design, Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance of Systems in Non-Domestic Premises. This is one of the few externally examined Level 3 courses available and is supported by the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and Independent Fire Engineering & Distributors Association (IFEDA). All successful delegates will receive a EAL Level 3 Award in the Requirements of Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems for Buildings BS 5839-1:2017
LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION Marilia Savvides founded The Plot Agency in 2024. She began her career in publishing at Peters Fraser and Dunlop, where she spent eight years, first as International Rights Agent, and later as Literary Agent, building her own list of authors. In 2019, she joined 42MP, where she worked as Literary Agent for four years, helping to launch and set up the Book Division. She is particularly interested in fiction that is beautifully written and cleverly constructed, but still accessible to a wide readership. She is often drawn to darker tales that weave together excellent characters and an impossible-to-put-down story, from immersive book club novels with a splash of suspense, crime and thrillers, accessible horror, and speculative, genre-bending or dystopian stories. She also adores smart, witty contemporary rom-com in the style of Emily Henry. In the thriller, crime and mystery space she is interested in most areas, except military thrillers and organised crime/ mafia / mob stories. Big hooks and clever set ups are a big bonus! She adores Karin Slaughter (especially her standalone novels) and Gillian Flynn. In the book club / reading group space, she’s particularly drawn to fiction in the vein of Jodi Picoult, Liane Moriarty and Celeste Ng, and absolutely fell in love with Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll, both for the incredible voice, and the exquisite use of structure and time. Complicated family dynamics, empathetic and smart approaches to controversial issues, stand out protagonists (like Elizabeth Zott in Lessons in Chemistry or Bernadette in Where D’You Go Bernadette), long buried secrets, complicity, the road to justice, and impossible decisions, are all themes she finds herself drawn to. In the horror space, she’s a sucker for amazing female-centric stories in the vein of Yellowjackets, and the kind of contemporary, accessible horror that Stephen King always nails. She wants to get lost in a world that feels within reach of ours. In the speculative and dystopian spaces, she’s interested in genius ideas that set up big questions or reflect the most broken (and sometimes hidden) parts of society. She loves Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, and also adored The Leftovers, Station Eleven, Wanderers, and The Power. The what-ifs of life and fiction fascinate her. In the grounded sci-fi space, she’d love to find a smart, immersive, and accessible story like The Martian. She doesn’t represent fantasy or romantasy. In regards to sci-fi, unless it’s very grounded and has crossover potential to a mainstream audience, it’s not for her. In the romance space, she’s particularly drawn to smart, complex and witty characters, where the chemistry is jumping off the page. She loves contemporary settings and all the tropes, though the voice and characters must come first to make the reading experience fully immersive. She wants to be cackling, and rooting for the characters with all her heart. She is very hands-on editorially, and loves working with her authors to shape their manuscripts, and brainstorm ideas. The best part of the job is discovering debut authors, and helping them find a home for their books. Marilia would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 - 2 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single Word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Marilia is kindly offering one free session for low income/underrepresented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Wednesday 13th August 2025