We are still working and continuing to assist clients but we are no longer able to have face to face appointments in the office. The health and welfare of staff, visitors and clients is a priority.
We can offer appointments for advice by telephone or video such as zoom.
You can telephone the office on 01296 397794 and speak to a member of staff.
5th January 2021
UPDATE 26th Aug 2020
The office building is open although some staff are working from home.
We can offer telephone and video appointments.
You can use the following email,
or one of the telephone numbers below.
Private law: wills and probate
We have now been joined by Mrs Jennifer Bleby who will be working part time on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. She can advise on wills, powers of attorney and probate matters.
You can use the following email reception@pickupandscott.co.uk or one of the telephone numbers below:
Mental Health department
Justin Start 0777 236 8637
Georga Godwin 01865 596717
David Pickup 0783 158 6017
Criminal department
Alex Brown 07972 546215
Rav Dhillon 07816 489528
Immigration department
Salma Khan 07813 351631
Kevin Scott 07794896477
Salma Khan won the Award for Rising Star in Law at the British Muslim Awards 2019!
In March 2018, following the High Court decision in the case of Worboys, the Secretary of State announced a comprehensive review of the Parole Board rules. The report, following that review, has now been published and several proposals for further reforms have now been set out.
This post is addressing the following question:
“My partner has been recalled back to prison for having a positive drug test. He volunteered to stay in a probation hostel for 3 months and to be drug tested, Will he have to do a full recall of 19 months?”
Following the revocation of his licence and recall back to prison your partner will be entitled to have a review of his detention in custody. That review will initially be carried out by the Public Protection Unit on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice. They will look at what triggered the decision to recall and whether the recall was appropriate. They will then need to consider whether his risk could be safely managed in the community or whether his risk remains too high to be released.
His case may then be passed to the Parole Board who will decide whether he should remain in custody, the matter progress to an oral hearing or whether he should be re-released.
This is the position for someone who has received a standard or emergency recall. If your partner has received a 28 day recall he will be released after having been detained for 28 days in custody.
If the Public Protection Unit and the Parole Board fail to release your partner following the first review he will be entitled to a further review approximately 12 months later.
Therefore the maximum your partner will be detained as a result of being recalled back to custody is 19 months but he will have the opportunity of being re-released before that time.
It is important your partner obtains the help of a prison law solicitor to assist him through this process. Pickup and Scott Solicitors are experts in this area of law and would be happy to advise further.
Lisa Gianquitto
Prison Law Supervisor
Pickup and Scott Solicitors
Justice Secretary David Gauke ordered a review of Parole Board processes in January, with the purpose of increasing its transparency, restoring public confidence, and improving the treatment of victims. The findings of the urgent review have been published alongside a comprehensive package of reforms.
One immediate result of this work is the introduction of transparency to the parole process by amending Rule 25 to remove the blanket ban that prevents the Parole Board from disclosing information about its decision-making.
Will this affect you if you have a Parole Board Hearing due?
Contact our Prison Law Department for help
As you may be aware, on 2 December 2013 the Government issued widespread cuts to the Legal Aid. The act restricted the types of work we could undertake under public funding.
However, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service have spent many hours fighting to challenge this decision and in April 2017 the Court of Appeal finally ruled in their favour.
The three appeal court judges, Lady Justice Gloster, Lord Justice Patten and Lord Justice Beatson, stated:
“At a time when … the evidence about prison staffing levels, the current state of prisons, and the workload of the Parole Board suggests that the system is under considerable pressure, the system has at present not got the capacity sufficiently to fill the gap in the run of cases in those three areas.”
The Courts concluded that Legal Aid should be restored in three key areas of Prison Law:
We are pleased to confirm Legal Aid will be available for these matters from 21 February 2018
More about our Prison Law
Sometimes I think it is easier to explain what we do not do than what we cover, so let us start off with that.
At our practice, we do not offer conveyancing; this is the service you need when you are buying and selling houses. We are also not able to offer Family Law which covers divorce, relationship breakdown and disputes regarding children. We do however have a strong network of local contacts and are more than happy to refer clients to other firms that can help with these areas of law.
We do have a team of specialist solicitors who have an extensive range of knowledge and expertise when it comes to Criminal Law, Prison Law, Mental Health Law, Immigration Law and Private Law. Letus outline what these cover:
These areas of law are very specialised and every member of our team who is involved in giving advice has been specially trained. We also have to ensure that our advice is up to date, so you can trust that we provide current and informed advice.
There may not be an obvious link between the different types of law we cover, but our aim is to provide the best support to people who need our help.
When you work with this range of specialist solicitors, there is no such thing as a typical day. Our lawyers may be going out to see people in court, in prisons, in hospitals, or in their homes if they cannot get to us. We often get contacted by people in police stations, hospitals and prisons, who need urgent help. So even if we plan ahead, our schedule can change as we provide an immediate response.
With people coming in and solicitors going out, you can see the benefit of a strong team that also includes office-based staff. If you give us a call, you won’t get directly through to a solicitor. Be prepared to let us know what area of law you wish to discuss and we will ensure you get to speak to the right person.
David Pickup – Senior Partner – Head of Mental Health Law
Over the last 10 years, the legal profession has changed considerably. It used to be the case that most solicitors’ firms covered all aspects of the law. Nowadays most firms specialise. This is due to the fact that legal work is increasingly complex and it is very difficult for anyone to know everything about everything.
The first step in choosing a solicitor is to be clear about the area of Law that applies to your case. You can then search for the service you need on the internet, or ask professionals, family and friends for recommendations.
A good place to start is to visit a number of solicitor’s websites to see the services they offer. Be aware that the specialist solicitors that would be best placed to help you may not be based in your town. With modern technology, you may find you would benefit from the services of a solicitors based miles from where you live. If travelling to their offices is difficult or inconvenient, it may be possible to communicate via email or Skype.
Local advertising provides a good way for firms to share their specialist areas. As a good example, Pickup & Scott ran a radio campaign to promote our expertise as immigration solicitors, which is one of our specialist areas. As a result, we were contacted by people from a broad geographical area. We knew that it would be difficult for some families to visit our Aylesbury offices, so we travelled to them.
If it would help you to have a translator, an accessible office or a solicitor willing to travel to you, ask if these services are available before you choose your solicitor. It can make all the difference.
The Future of the High Street Solicitor
Given that so much has changed, has the high street lawyer got a future? In our view, there will always be a place for a local lawyer. As part of the community, they should be approachable, able to give advice on a range of subjects and if necessary refer matters on to another specialist.