Douglas Wemyss Solicitors

Douglas Wemyss Solicitors
Major practice areas	General Practice
Key people	Sameer Karim Linda Clegg Rafik Karim
Date founded	13th June 1997
Founder	Douglas Wemyss
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website
www.d-w-s.co.uk

Douglas Wemyss Solicitors is a full service law firm in Leicester, United Kingdom. It was founded, when the solicitor Douglas Wemyss opened an office in Leicester in 1997.

On 1 February 2011 Douglas Wemyss Solicitors were the first law firm in Leicester to open a legal shop in response to the so called 'Tesco law', a partial national deregulation of legal services by the Legal Services Board,^[1] as specified in the Legal Services Act 2007. On 18 March 2011 Douglas Wemyss Solicitors and Edward Hands & Lewis Solicitors were jointly awarded the "Law Firm of the year 2011" by Leicestershire Law Society^{[2] [3] [4]}.

History

Douglas Wemyss set up his own practice in Loughborough in 1995, while operating a separate office in Leicester with William Vaughan, under the name Vaughan Wemyss. On 13 June 1997 Douglas Wemyss dissolved the Vaughan Wemyss office and set up his second branch of Douglas Wemyss Solicitors. In 2008 Sameer Karim became senior partner and owner of Douglas Wemyss Solicitors.^[5]

Douglas Wemyss Solicitors won the Law Firm of the year 2011 awarded by Leicestershire Law Society^{[6] [7]} on 18 March 2011. In an interview with Leicester Mercury Sameer Karim attributed this success to their internet strategy, their efforts to provide free legal advice in form of video education on YouTube^[8] and through their free legal shop^[9].

Some notable court cases

In the mid 90s Douglas Wemyss defended Roy Brian Taylor in a murder case. In 2002 Douglas Wemyss Solicitors successfully defended in Giles v Rhind.^[10][11] In 2009 Sameer Karim, head of Douglas Wemyss Solicitors, successfully represented the consumer website Unbeatable in a libel case against the Pool firm Redsave.^[12]

Legal shop

The Legal Services Act 2007, voted for by the Labour government, is scheduled to be put into full force by October 2011.^[13] This is bound to have a strong effect on the legal industry in England and Wales, as anticipated since 2007.^[14][15]

On 1 February 2011 Douglas Wemyss Solicitors opened the Leicester's first legal shop, on Evington road, as a response to these upcoming changes. They commit to be open 7 days a week and offer free legal advice on all aspects of the law to anyone who walks in.^[16]

References

1. ^ Pegden, Tom (2011-02-03). "Free and easy law". Leicester Mercury. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Free-easy-law/article-3186290-detail/article.html. 
2. ^ "The Leicestershire Law Society 150th Anniversary Dinner and Awards". Leicestershire Law Society. 2011-03-23. http://www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk/news-events?action=view&newsID=373. 
3. ^ "Law firms share honours at awards". Leicester Mercury. 2011-03-21. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Law-firms-share-honours-awards/article-3351355-detail/article.html. 
4. ^ Pegden, Tom (2011-05-03). "County firms reap net benefits". Leicester Mercury. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Reaping-net-benefits/article-3510605-detail/article.html. 
5. ^ "New Senior Partner Appointment - Mr Sameer Karim". Leicestershire Law Society. 2008-05-29. http://www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk/news-events?action=view&newsID=26. 
6. ^ "The Leicestershire Law Society 150th Anniversary Dinner and Awards". Leicestershire Law Society. 2011-03-23. http://www.leicestershirelawsociety.org.uk/news-events?action=view&newsID=373. 
7. ^ "Law firms share honours at awards". Leicester Mercury. 2011-03-21. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Law-firms-share-honours-awards/article-3351355-detail/article.html. 
8. ^ Pegden, Tom (2011-05-03). "County firms reap net benefits". Leicester Mercury. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Reaping-net-benefits/article-3510605-detail/article.html. 
9. ^ Pegden, Tom (2011-02-03). "Free and easy law". Leicester Mercury. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Free-easy-law/article-3186290-detail/article.html. 
10. ^ "Giles v Rhind, Court of Appeal - Civil Division, October 17, 2002". vlex.co.uk. 2002-10-17. http://vlex.co.uk/vid/chanf-52574708. 
11. ^ "Giles v Rhind - 2002 All ER (D) 233 (Oct)". lexisweb.co.uk. 2002-10-17. http://lexisweb.co.uk/Cases/2002/October/Giles-v-Rhind. 
12. ^ Bailey, Stephen (2009-10-23). "Dorset firm drops website libel case". Bournemouth Echo. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4700954.Dorset_firm_drops_website_libel_case/. 
13. ^ Ames, Jonathan (2010-06-03). "Is "Tesco law" heading for the long grass?". The Sunday Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article7142637.ece. 
14. ^ Kelleher, Ellen (2007-07-08). "A trip to the shops can end in divorce". The Financial Times. http://www.epoq.co.uk/ep/press-images/2007-07-08-HalifaxLegalServicesFTArticle.pdf. 
15. ^ Robins, Jon (2009-11-19). "Braced for the big bang and Tesco law". The Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6921906.ece. 
16. ^ Pegden, Tom (2011-02-03). "Free and easy law". Leicester Mercury. http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Free-easy-law/article-3186290-detail/article.html. 

External links

• Douglas Wemyss Solicitors (DWS) LLP Homepage
• DWS Conveyancing Department
• DWS Personal Injury Department
• DWS YouTube Channel