When STEP Members contact me for technical help on using our online services, the advice I provide is often based on the operating system of their computer. Most members are using a recent version of Windows but some are still running Windows XP, which increasingly is going to affect how you access STEP’s online tools.… Read More Are you due for an upgrade?
STEP only has a presence in one of the four fast developing MINT nations – a chapter in Mexico, with no presence for STEP in Indonesia, Nigeria nor Turkey. There are good reasons for the lack of a presence in those last three. STEP is not strong enough to develop everywhere without getting developmental indigestion… Read More A second MINT for STEP
A critical new online security exploit dubbed ‘Heartbleed’ was announced on Monday night after being discovered by a member of the Google security team. The vulnerability is widely considered to be one of the most serious security flaws in the history of the internet and has been potentially exploitable since December 2011. Heartbleed affects the coding… Read More Heartbleed Exploit: STEP’s response and cyber security measures you should take now
We will always have our favourite reference books and much-thumbed precedents, however the world is constantly moving forward and the ‘Google it’ age is upon us whether we like it or not. I’ve decided if you can’t beat them, join them! You may have noticed that STEP has recently revamped its website. If you have… Read More Getting the most from STEP in practice
Technology may very well be the bane of a busy practitioner’s existence. It makes us all too accessible. It deprives us of the solitude we all need to think and recharge. It makes available too much information. Then we have to deal with the follow-up surveys and questionnaires! Fortunately, the editors of Trust Quarterly Review… Read More Why it pays to keep an eye on developments in foreign jurisdictions
On Monday STEP announced that nominations for the 2014/15 Private Client Awards (PCA) had opened. Now in their ninth year, the PCAs are our opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the professional achievements of our peers in private client practice, be they solicitors, attorneys, accountant, barristers, bankers, family business consultants, trust managers or financial advisors. This… Read More Time to acknowledge excellence
Last week, as part of the STEP 2021 consultation process, I had the pleasure of visiting STEP’s Bermuda branch to meet with members, the branch committee and employers. During this time we discussed the major issues in the next STEP business plan, debated STEP’s priorities for the future, and discussed the trust and estate industry… Read More Taking stock of STEP Bermuda
This week I sent out a letter welcoming everyone back for another busy year in 2014. Looking back at 2013, I noted that my role was marked by three Cs: Communication – Not just telling our membership about our mission and values but taking on board their own visions for the future of STEP Connections… Read More Happy New Year from Hélène Anne Lewis, Chair, STEP Worldwide
As a professional body, STEP seeks to promote the highest standards of practice amongst its members. In an increasingly regulated world, it has long seemed to me odd that the preparation of the most sensitive document most people will ever sign, their will, is almost entirely unregulated in England & Wales. Anyone can do it,… Read More Will Code Welcome News
As people who have spent at least an hour in a room with me will know, I have never been backward about coming forward and so am pleased to see so many like-minded individuals get involved in STEP’s 2021 member consultation. It is refreshing for an organisation to open up the floor to its members… Read More Have your say
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