The Abbey Hotel in Redditch is the place to be this October for the SWW conference. The SWW will be holding our 22nd annual conference and are pleased to announce that we have a host of great speakers and exhibitors joining us.
The SWW conference is quickly turning into the ‘go to event of the year’ if you’re looking to expand your knowledge of all areas relating to succession law. On Monday the 8th and Tuesday 9th October we’re delighted to welcome industry expert speakers like Emma Chamberlain, Stephen Lawson, and Gemma Hopper but to name a few.
We’ll kick off day one with an engaging breakfast slot from Nigel McGinity from Certainty the National Will Register. This breakfast slot meeting will inform attendees about the great work that Certainty are doing, how registering Wills works and what experiences they have had over the last 10 years. The SWW have been working with the team at Certainty for nearly two years now and they attending the SWW conference last year. We only wish we had begun working with them sooner. One thing we have learnt is that there is real value in the registration of Wills through Certainty and as a result, the SWW have made the decision to register all Wills that come into our custody with them. As a result, we have already had a number of successful searches and repatriated those Wills.
Brian McMillan, Director General for the SWW will then give the opening address to let everyone know what we (the SWW) have been doing, who we’ve met up with and what the landscape looks like. This is always an informative session which increases our engagement with SWW members and other industry stakeholders throughout the year.
Gemma Hopper, a Court of Protection solicitor will then be the first guest speaker at this year’s event. She has a great deal of experience following her work with the Office of the Public Guardian and Court of Protection so her discussions on statutory Wills, and Property and Financial Affairs court applications will be very useful to most.
Due to the number of speakers we are keen to hear at this year’s event we have split the next slot into two snappy thirty-minute segments. Beth Clarke, Program Manager for Charities Aid Foundation, a long-standing supporter of the SWW conference will be talking about our partnership with CAF and the work that CAF do to promote charitable legacies. This slot will give you an idea as to how your clients can effectively leave money to charities without the pressures traditionally attached to these gifts.
The second slot will be held by Robynne Casswell. Robynne is an SWW member passionate about self-development and customer care. She is a non-practicing solicitor and Director of Legal Services at her firm Town and Country Law. Robynne will be using her experience to give an engaging segment on Living Wills (also known as Advance Medical Directives) and where and when these might come into play.
Following lunch, we’ll have the pleasure of listening to Stephen Lawson. Stephen is the Head of Dispute Resolution at FDR Law and will be able to share his wealth of experience in dealing with Problem Wills, difficult files and Larke v Nugus letters. Stephen has been recommended to the SWW and has done many presentations for organisations including STEP. Get ready for an enthusiastic look at rather a scary topic.
Our closing session for day one will be led by Emma Chamberlain, an industry leading tax barrister. Emma is back by popular demand having presented at previous events and really knows her stuff. We’ll be able to take a step into trusts with Emma.
Those wanting to attend the conference will have the opportunity to join us for our private dinner. On the Monday evening at every conference we host an evening of fun and frivolity where members will join us and others for great food, company and entertainment. If you would like to join us best to book quickly because we are limited on space and reach capacity every year.
We’ve carefully chosen our day two workshop presenters to provide us with an interactive approach to their chosen topics this year. There was a host of subjects called for in last year’s feedback and we’ve settled on topics that were most in demand.
Siobhan Rattigan will be giving us a guide to practical considerations you ought to make when taking instructions. Siobhan’s slot will be a software-based presentation covering the SWW’s chosen and supported software – Sure Will Writer – Professional Will Suite. Siobhan has been with the SWW for over two years and is the lead behind the development of the software as well as being the lead tutor for the College’s introductory course.
We’re pleased every year to be able to state that Derek Forbes will be the Master of Ceremonies for the conference. As a bonus this year, Derek will be presenting a marketing workshop covering some of the key elements you should look at when selling funeral plans. Derek has managed to secure a discussion segment with Graeme McAusland who is the CEO for the Funeral Planning Authority. This will be an interesting opportunity to understand how you can and should earn money from ethical plans.
Our third workshop is from a name that those familiar with the College of Will Writing’s new courses may know, Rob Newman. Looking for an engaging speaker who practices what he preaches? Look no further! Rob has launched and run several multi million-pound practices and will share insight into how you can develop your practice. Not one to miss! Rob’s recent courses with the College are all over subscribed and should be booked well in advance.
Our media partner for the event is Solve Legal. Solve opperate Today’s Wills and Probate who will be doing a write up on the event. Solve Legal also assist businesses within our sector with marketing support, content, web design and consultancy with their message being to spend your marketing budge more wisely. Solve and their group of companies are keen supporters of the SWW’s activities and events and we are regular contributors to their trade press.
With speakers like those attending the SWW conference it’s no wonder that we have more than 140 people attending the event each year. We expect to be near capacity again this year too. It isn’t just the speakers that draw in visitors to the event. Our conference sponsors also provide huge engagement at the event. Our sponsors are carefully selected to provide maximum benefit to members and attendees. We’re pleased to have Seb Shakh at conference again this year. Seb is the developer behind the SWW Will Drafting package and his team work tirelessly to ensure that our software proposition leads the way and users reap maximum benefit. You’ll have more than enough opportunity to speak to Seb and Siobhan about how it works, the benefits, and how to sign up. We’ll be giving a short demo at lunch during the event.
Whilst the team at our document store won’t have time to attend the SWW conference this year we will have Sam Smith from the SWW membership team on hand who is well versed in the document storage process. Sam has manned the stand at the event for the last two years and is looking forward to speaking with all members again in October.
When the SWW Trust Corporation was set up in 2004 it was aimed to provide members with support and assistance in relation to both specialist services (lifetime trusts) and professional executorship. Over 14 years later the business enjoys successful relationships with a host of estate planning firms. A number of their team will be on hand to answer your questions and discuss how working with them can benefit you and your clients.
As well as CAF providing content for attendees they will be manning a stand at this year’s event. Stephanie Moss and Julie Davis will be familiar to many at the event who have attended the SWW conference before and will be on hand to help clients with charitable legacies.
Executor Solutions are enjoying continued growth and their MD Darren Leggett will be at the event for the third year running. Darren presented the breakfast slot at his first SWW conference which went down fabulously, with many delegates wishing they understood more about the business sooner. October will be good opportunity for those not currently working with the team at Exec Solutions to begin to engage. I’m sure those that work with Darren’s team will also look forward to catching up.
Having had Tim Farmer present a workshop at the SWW event previously we have had calls for a return to the event. As such, we’re delighted to announce that TSF Consultants will be present at The Abbey Hotel this Autumn to help members understand more about mental capacity assessment. As well as being incredibly engaging, TSF’s transparent and thorough approach to the way they assist clients will be a welcome addition at this year’s event.
Another company back by demand is Professional Deputies. With this company seeing real growth due the issues surrounding the vulnerability of clients, it’s great to welcome Andy and his team back to show how they can support those clients who lack the capacity to manage their own financial affairs. Andy has been described as a thought leader and has provided real positive input at recent roundtable meetings with organisations like Today’s Wills and Probate.
This year’s event is one not to miss and will be reported on by our media partner Today’s Wills and Probate. You will see their team at the event as well as members of the Solve legal team who provide marketing assistance to legal firms.
For more information about the event, to book or if you would like to become an official sponsor then please ring 01522 68 78 88 or email [email protected].
