Entries Tagged as 'Tim Collins'

 

Blog

Time, Ladies and Gentlemen. Please. Time?!

We are information rich and yet increasingly time and decision making poor. We seem to be working harder and harder just to stand still. Work is becoming more fraught and a lot less enjoyable. We don’t even have the time to ask ourselves why? We’re too busy just doing.

We know the market is fragmenting while our universities are producing thousands more law graduates every year. We have apprentices to add to the ranks of paralegals and businesses looking to cherry pick the profitable work. More resources are being tied up to comply with the ever evolving regulatory requirements. Technological developments mean that we can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and data, which in turn is more complex to manage. Some clients expect instant responses for minimum costs plus the banks are wary of the sector.

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Blog

Lessons from The Boss

OK I admit I am a big fan, but with Bruce Springsteen turning 65 I’ve been wondering… how has he managed to continue to develop his career over the last 50 years? There is talent on every street corner and hundreds of musicians yet only a tiny percentage make it and even fewer can sustain it.

He clearly has great charisma but what else could we learn from him and apply in our own lives:

He works hard, very hard, he is incredibly focussed and driven.

He loves what he does.

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Blog

Seconds Out! – Year 2

I can’t believe how fast the last year has flown by, but it has been a very enjoyable and productive one. It has also been a year of some real learning. More learning, challenges, mistakes, anxiety, growing confidence, fun and meeting and working with some really interesting, open and great people.

I have been to some outstanding talks this last year: my highlights have included Simon Biltcliffe, Steve Edge, Dominic Wilcox and Dr George Madine.  I’ve tried to blog or share the best bits I’ve found as well as

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Blog

Has the Judicial Appointments Commission Created a Level Playing Field for Solicitors?

Depending on the actual judicial post, competition is increasing with the applications to posts ratios ranging from 8:1 to 21:1. So for some competitions you have to be in the top 5% of candidates. No recruitment process is perfect and with the talent applying for both the salaried and fee paid positions the reality is that many very good candidates won’t even make it to the selection day. With HMCTS in the process of cutting 37.8% from their budget and various policies seeking to reduce the work that reaches the courts and tribunals, it seems realistic that the number of sitting opportunities will be reduced. Add this to concerns in both professions and we can expect to see more candidates seeking fewer jobs.

So you have a choice:

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Blog, Staple Stories

A Truly Liberating 5 Letter Word

I had a painful divorce 19 years ago after my wife left me and subsequently I moved away from Sheffield. Sadly I’ve seen her at a few funerals since and it has smarted. I could see we had both been invited to a mutual friend’s 50th weekend party and mini-festival. I wanted to see my other friends but not her nor the guy she left me for.

My wife has been encouraging me to let go and forgive my ex for years but I couldn’t, as I believed I needed her to say sorry.

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Blog

Becoming A Judge – Judicial Workshops

 

 

 I will be donating 10% of the proceeds from my workshop to the CLSA/LCCSA Fund for the Judicial Review of the Ministry of Justice.

However, please also contribute: http://www.lccsa.org.uk/donate-towards-the-cost-of-judicial-review/

Where, when & why should you attend?

Leeds Wednesday 30 April 2014 – please do come and join us and you will:

– gain insights and advice about competency based recruitment;

– learn how to make your application forms standout;

– discover how you can prepare to succeed at interviews.

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Luxury Skimming Stones 

Blog

The Next Tango in Halifax – Luxury Skimming Stones

Artist, inventor and designer Dominic Wilcox came to Creative Calderdale and presented some of his unique work. He gave us an insight into how he develops his ideas and his creative work. He opened with the classic truism from Leonard Cohen “If I knew where ideas came from I’d go there more often”.

At the bottom I’ll share a link to his website as it is simply brilliant.

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Staple Stories

Tough Love and Why I Loathe Scrambled Eggs

Back in 1980 I ended up in Dundee on an Outward Bound course with a cross-section of c50 other young people. On this course we didn’t climb mountains or ford rivers, instead over three weeks, we faced some of the very real challenges that exist hidden in our communities. I experienced 4 placements including: intermediate treatment (pre-borstal): a psychogeriatric ward; decorating the home of an MS sufferer; and most dauntingly- a ward with about 25 patients where the highest mental age was c18 months.

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