Accreditations

Lexcel

Lexcel is the Law Society’s legal practice quality mark for excellence in legal practice management and excellence in client care. It provides a flexible, supportive management framework to help practices develop consistent operational efficiencies and client services, manage risk effectively, reduce costs and promote profitability.

Lexcel sets the required Standard in seven different areas: structure and strategy, financial management, information management, people management, risk management, client care, file and case management. Lexcel scheme rules outline the design, principles and governance processes of the scheme.

Practices and organisations accredited against the Standard have the flexibility to implement procedures that are appropriate to their circumstances.

Conveyancing Quality Mark

The Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a recognised quality standard for residential conveyancing practices. Membership establishes a level of credibility for firms with stakeholders such as regulators, lenders and insurers as well as residential homebuyers and sellers.

Since inception in 2011, the CQS has created a trusted community which has helped year on year to deter fraud and continually improve standards across the residential conveyancing sector.

The CQS is designed for practices that are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that offer residential conveyancing.

Practices applying for accreditation must demonstrate compliance with the CQS protocol and, where necessary, amend existing policies or draft new ones to meet the requirements.

STEP 

STEP’s mission is to help families plan their assets across generations.

All of our members are subject to an extensive Code of Professional Conduct, requiring them at all times to act with integrity and in a manner that inspires the confidence, respect and trust of their clients and of the wider community. Our members are also required to keep up to date with the latest legal, technical and regulatory developments. You can recognise a Full Member of STEP by the letters ‘TEP’ (Trusts and Estates Practitioner) after their name.

STEP members spend their professional lives working with families and tackling real problems. Common issues for members to advise on are:

  • Providing for a husband or wife after the death of a spouse while protecting the interests of any children;
  • Ensuring that a family business will pass safely from one generation to another; care and support for elderly or vulnerable relatives;
  • Ensuring that families with interests and family members spread across differing countries are compliant with the laws and tax rules of different jurisdictions; and helping donors support philanthropic causes in an effective way.
  • STEP members are also required to keep the process of preparing your will open and transparent.

Our recognised members solicitors are: Gabrielle Dell (Full Member) and Jagat Shah (Full Member)

For further information about STEP please click here.

Collaborative Law

A legal process enabling couples who have decided to separate or end their marriage to work face to face with both their lawyers and, on occasion, other family professionals in order to avoid the uncertain outcome of court and to achieve a settlement that best meets the specific needs of both parties and their children without the underlying threat of litigation. The collaborative process can be used to facilitate a broad range of other family issues, including disputes between parents and the drawing up of pre- and post-marital contracts. All collaboratively trained lawyers join a local practice group called a ‘POD’ which meets to discuss practice issues in order to work more effectively together on collaborative cases.

Our Collaborative solicitor is: Christian Abletshauser

Notary Public

Occasionally an individual will require the use of a notary public in order to certify or authorise a document. This will generally happen when the particular document needs to be used in another country. In order for that country to be sure that the document they are receiving is what it purports to be, the authorities may require it to be notarised by a notary public. A notary is therefore an individual who has the authority to authorise a document and certify its legitimacy so that it can be used in another country.

A notary public will have to have certain legal qualifications in order to practice as a notary; usually they will have been or are also a solicitor. The notary examinations and qualifications ensure that the individual notary is sufficiently qualified to ensure the documents they are signing are what they claim to be. A notary will therefore usually require to see the originals of all documents they have been asked to notarise rather than copies.

Our Notarial solicitors are: Peter Meadows and Piers Meadows

Memberships

Resolution

Formerly known as the Solicitors Family Law Association (SFLA), Resolution is an organisation of family lawyers and other professionals in England and Wales who believe in a constructive, non-confrontational approach to family law matters. Resolution campaigns for improvements to the family justice system and supports the development of family lawyers. The Resolution Code of Practice sets out the principles of a non-confrontational approach to family law matters and exemplifies good practice for all family lawyers.

Our Resolution solicitor is: Christian Abletshauser

Reunite International

This professional membership is the leading UK charity specialising in international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders. It operates the only telephone advice line in the UK offering practical, impartial advice, information and support to parents, family members, and guardians who have had their child abducted or who fear their child may be at risk of abduction, as well as parents and guardians who may have abducted their child. Reunite assists and advises in international contact issues and cases of ´permission to remove´, organising mediation, conferences, raising awareness and working closely with governmental departments (including the Ministry of Justice, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Home Office) and non-government organisations.

Our Reunite solicitor is: Christian Abletshauser

LexLink

Meadows Ryan Solicitors is proud to be a member of Lexlink, an international network of lawyers engaged in general practice. Each member of Lexlink is authorised to practice law within its own country and can provide legal services there for clients of other Lexlink members using English as a common language to conduct matters of corporate and business law, international transactions, commercial litigation, arbitration, taxation and private client matters.

Certainty – the National Will Register

Certainty is the National Will Register, the Law Society’s endorsed provider of a Will search service. This service records the existence of your Will, so that the people you have left your estate to, or those you have chosen to be your executors, can find it when you have passed away.

Registration on Certainty, the National Will Register, ensures that if beneficiaries and executors are unaware that you have written a Will or forget where it’s located, it can be easily found by conducting a Register Will Search. The existence of your Will and its location are confidential. Only when you have passed away can your Will’s location be declared.

Business@Brooklands

Business@Brooklands is an established business community initiative designed to encourage and foster potential business relationships and to truly ‘keep business local’. The initiative supports collaboration and gives support within the Brooklands and Weybridge area.

Business@Brooklands also has a strong CSR focus; supporting businesses with their Corporate Social Responsibility strategies and encouraging local philanthropic activities.

Business Biscotti

Business Biscotti is a dynamic interconnected business community made up of local groups and online networking.

It’s all about relationships and trust – building both takes time and effort but the rewards are limitless.  At Business Biscotti we are passionate about true networking.  Not just making lots of contacts and filling up your business card box, anyone can do that.  It’s about communication, trust and building relationships that lead to lasting and mutually rewarding business.

Cappuccino Connections

Cappuccino Connections is an informal, drop in session for Athena members providing them with an opportunity to network with members from surrounding Athena groups and the flexibility of a ‘drop-in’ useful to catch up with one another. Typically we attract around 20-40 local business women who turn up for a coffee.

Elmbridge Business Network

Meadows Ryan Solicitors is a member of EBN; a committee membership initiative giving elected business representatives the opportunity to have a voice for their town or business park in the Borough of Elmbridge.

EBN brings together business groups from across the Borough to work with the local councils and other public services on initiatives that promote the local economy.

Weybridge Town Business Group

Weybridge Town Business Group has been established by local businesses with the prime intention of raising the profile of the town as a whole, improving and energizing the footfall and creating a better environment for the benefit of all businesses.

We are interested in improving and invigorating the look of Weybridge to :

  • Create more footfall in the town.
  • Enhance the general look of Weybridge.
  • Make the town a safer place to visit.
  • Make the town a better place to shop.
  • Make the town a better place to start a business.
  • Make the area of Weybridge a better place to live.
  • Create awareness of what businesses there are in Weybridge.
  • Create awareness of what activities there are in Weybridge.