The Johnson Partnership

Where solicitors are concerned, the best quality service has to be built on top quality communication.

Traditionally clients have had to travel to see solicitors at their office or wait for a visit in hospital, prison or at home.

The Johnson Partnership’s Derby, Chesterfield, Mansfield and Nottingham offices are all now equipped to enable easy, open communication without expensive, wasteful and unnecessary travel.

All The Johnson Partnership staff have been trained to advise clients using the best modern technology.  As well as conference calls in which solicitors, barristers and clients can be linked over the telephone, we are now regularly employing Skype, Face-time and live TV links to enable clients to give instructions and receive advice without having to leave the “comfort” of their accommodation.

Anyone wanting to consult with staff should place an initial telephone call, in order to book a meeting utilizing the preferred means of communication.

For those of us who still prefer to chat over a cup of coffee there will of course always be an open door and a singing kettle to accompany a face-to-face chat.

Many clients convicted in the Magistrates’ Court have to decide whether or not it is worth putting in an appeal for their case to be considered at the Crown Court.  Whether it is an appeal against conviction or an appeal against sentence, the Crown Court has the opportunity to consider afresh the decision of the Lower Court.

Whether or not to make an appeal is often a difficult decision, particularly bearing in mind the danger of increased costs being awarded against an unsuccessful defendant.

When it comes to The Johnson Partnership clients, there is barely a decision to be made.

The Johnson Partnership’s Derby office along with the in-house Crown Court team have been successful in nine of the last ten appeals.  Findings of guilt and over-heavy sentences imposed by Derby and Chesterfield Magistrates’ Courts have been successfully appealed nine times out of ten by The Johnson Partnership team.

If you have concerns about a decision reached by any Lower Court and you are considering an appeal to a Crown Court judge please consult The Johnson Partnership’s own Crown Court team on (0115) 941 9141.

At The Johnson Partnership Mansfield we are pleased to announce the arrival of Susan Kelly as part of our Mansfield based team of Criminal Defence solicitors.

Sue has provided legal services to the people of Shirebrook for many years.  Her well-appointed town centre office is known by many local people.

Thanks to Sue’s recent recruitment to The Johnson Partnership team, we are now able to provide advice and help to the people of Shirebrook on their own doorstep.

The Johnson Partnership staff will be able to see people with appointments at Mansfield Police Station, Chesterfield Police Station, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court, Nottingham Crown Court and Derby Crown Court on home turf.

The Johnson Partnership clients from the whole of the north of Nottinghamshire who find it more convenient to be advised in our Shirebrook premises will of course be welcome.

Shirebrook sits on the very boundary between Nottingham and Derbyshire.  People from the village often find themselves having to travel either to Mansfield or Chesterfield for legal advice.   By having the outreach facility in Shirebrook as well as permanent offices in Rosemary Street, Mansfield and Burlington Street, Chesterfield we can ensure continuity of service and the constant availability of a friendly face.

Recently, a number of clients of The Johnson Partnership’s Chesterfield office have commented that John Wilford, Denney Lau and Katie Fowkes are providing a Rolls Royce service.

Our convenient offices, looking out over Chesterfield’s main shopping thoroughfare, have proved a welcome dropping off point for many on their way to the Magistrates’ Court or the police station.

Long office opening hours between 08:00am and 6:00pm ensure that those who need to attend Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court, Buxton Magistrates’ Court, Chesterfield Police Station or Buxton Police Station can find advice and assistance even though they are in full time employment.

John, Denney and Katie are all committed to providing a highly personalised service for Derbyshire people who find themselves caught up in the Derbyshire criminal justice system.  The needs of each clients are evaluated and the appropriate service provided, be it a lift to the court door or the rearrangement of a police bail date to fit in with work or family commitments.

A number of clients have recently reported that the service they receive is little short than that expected from that other famous Derbyshire market leader: Rolls Royce!

On 31^st October 2012 we finally rang down the curtain on five years of telephone advice for the CDS Direct service.

Since November 2007 employees of The Johnson Partnership have been providing telephone advice 24 hours for 365 days a year to people arrested nationwide for breaches of bail, warrants and an array of minor matters.

Providing the service enabled us to recruit new colleagues at a relatively junior level.  A number have moved elsewhere, but we are pleased to say that a good number have been absorbed into The Johnson Partnership and now work as full time solicitors, crown court clerks or police station advisors.  The Johnson Partnership Derby, The Johnson Partnership Nottingham, The Johnson Partnership Chesterfield and The Johnson Partnership Mansfield are all in part staffed by people who commenced their legal careers at the CDS Direct Call Centre at 12 St James’s Street here in Nottingham.

Six training contracts have already been offered to ex call centre staff. Full time posts have been provided for a significant number of colleagues who regularly advise at police stations throughout South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire.

We wish the new providers of CDS Direct much success and would like to assure them of our ongoing support.

The disadvantage of the CDS Direct Call Centre was of course that it occupied a great many staff looking after clients who we would never see again.  Many CDS Direct clients were the sort of people who were unlikely ever to find themselves in a police station in the future.  Others were arrested in far-flung police stations and were unlikely ever to avail themselves of our services on an ongoing basis.

We are now able to redouble our efforts in expanding the firm’s core client base.  We are in the happy position of having staff available to expand the work undertaken day by day by The Johnson Partnership’s Defence team.

Not only will The Johnson Partnership’s motoring offence specialists have greater flexibility to look after clients in Magistrates’ Courts throughout the Midlands, the North and East Anglia, The Johnson Partnership police station advisors should be better able to ensure that an attentive service, including transportation, can be provided to clients who have to surrender to bail, or who are warned to attend at police stations from Canterbury to Carlisle.

We aim to increase our presence as Defence solicitors in Sheffield, Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire.  Ideally, we would love to be able either to establish ties with local firms of those areas or establish our own bases by way of merger or acquisition.  We have young, enthusiastic and highly experienced staff who are keen to provide the necessary support for new or expanded operations.

Solicitors from The Johnson Partnership’s Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield and Mansfield offices have developed considerable experience in dealing with firearms offences of all sorts.

Andy Bostock, our firm’s newest Partner, has recently been involved in applications before the Crown Court in relation to shotgun licences.

Increasingly, police forces are either refusing to grant or refusing to renew shotgun licences for members of the public, who would normally have had a licence granted or renewed as a matter of course.

Anyone who is experiencing problems with their local police force in relation to the possession of a shotgun certificate should not hesitate to contact Andy Bostock at The Johnson Partnership in Mansfield on (01623) 427575.

For years The Johnson Partnership Solicitors have battled against the employment of unpaid staff even where the post is a short term one.

Looking at the current state of the employment market, the working practices of other firms and the repeated requests received by us for work experience placements, we have had to revise our long term thinking.

We still wish to ensure that anybody working with us for more than a couple of weeks is guaranteed not to be out of pocket.  We believe that by meeting expenses we will be demonstrating that we have a real financial commitment to all of our staff.  Nevertheless, we are now prepared for the first time to offer to a suitable candidate the opportunity to gain valuable work experience and to train for the police station accreditation examinations while helping in our extensive and hardworking Police Station Department.

The internship is to cover a period of maternity leave commencing at the end of March 2012 and will be selectable in length according to the needs of the member of staff who is to be taking maternity leave from that date.

The intern will be able to gain experience in police station advice, magistrates’ court preparation and senior administration work.

Applications should be made to Emma Eardley or Ian Boddy at:   policestationdepartment@thejohnsonpartnership.co.uk

Interviews can be held at either The Johnson Partnership’s Wilson Street, Derby Office, The Johnson Partnership’s Burlington Street, Chesterfield office, The Johnson Partnership’s Rosemary Street, Mansfield office as well as at our Long Row, Nottingham head office.  Where necessary, telephone or video conference interviews will be considered.

The Johnson Partnership Criminal, Fraud and Prison Law Solicitors are among the first in the country to have their own in-house video link system.

From their East Midlands base, this leading Defence firm is now able to hook up Counsel, clients, expert witnesses and collaborating solicitors by way of live video link.

Video conferencing with London Chambers’ as well as the majority of courts and prisons is now only the push of a button away.

In the past, clients and solicitors have spent painful hours travelling to and from London Chambers.  This is now a thing of the past!

Prison Law solicitors have had to leave home at unfeasibly early hours in order to meet with prisoners, who are only available during limited visiting hours.

The close circuit video link system allows swift and easy access for all clients and partner agencies.  Probation officers and psychiatrists will be able to make use of the system.  Expert witnesses will be able to gather information direct from the horses mouth from the horses mouth from the comfort of our East Midlands base.