Intern's Diary - Maria Pantziarou (9) | Regan Peggs Solicitors

Here at Regan Peggs Solicitors we are fortunate to be regularly joined by interns from Birmingham City University. This instalment of the Intern’s Diary is written by one of them, Maria Pantziarou, about her time on 5th of December 2018.

Read previous instalments of the Intern’s Diary here.

The first thing I did today was to call to HMP Wakefield and book an urgent video link with one of our clients who is currently there. Video links are often used to speak to clients, as it is faster than arranging a face to face visit. After I had booked the slot with the prison, I spoke to the Magistrates’ Court to arrange to use one of their video link rooms. Gemma will be able to speak to our client on this secure line in order to take his instructions. I emailed our client in order to confirm the appointment. At the prison, the staff will print off my email, and hand it to our client.

After that, I had to write to a psychiatrist and ask him if he is able to assist us with regards to a client of ours who seeks a new, revised psychiatric report about her case. This client was sentenced over two years ago, and there was a psychiatric report available at the time. However, it has since come to light that the original psychiatrist overlooked a number of severe problems our client has. Her friends and family have raised money for a new report. Depending on what it says, we may be able to ask the Court of Appeal to consider an appeal after all this time.

Yesterday, Regan attended court for a trial. However, when he got there he found that the case wasn’t listed for trial at all, but just for a ‘mention’. This was despite us checking with the court staff 3 times, that it really was a trial. Unfortunately, these sorts of mistakes are increasingly made by the court staff. It obviously isn’t fair for our client to have to pay for this additional hearing, and so I wrote to complain to the court, and ask that the unnecessary costs be repaid by the court.

Last but not least I posted a letter for a client of ours.

Overall it was a full but interesting day, since I had the chance to learn new approaches as to how to write emails to doctors and how to book for a video link conference.

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Regan Peggs

Director at Regan Peggs Solicitors

Regan is an experienced solicitor and advocate, qualified to represent clients in magistrates’ courts, Crown Courts, tribunals and senior courts. He founded Regan Peggs Solicitors in 2015, after a decade spent at two of the most respected law firms in the Midlands and as a senior legal advisor at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.

Regan is an accredited mediator and arbitrator. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a panel mediator for ADR ODR International. Regan has experience in mediating commercial, family and local political disputes, and representing his clients in those sessions.

Regan is a former Chair of the Board of Directors at the Birmingham Law Society and a former chair of its Criminal Law Committee. He has been a lecturer for law students at the Open University. He is the only defence solicitor in the UK to be regularly invited to address international military students at the Royal College of Defence Studies.