Modern Law Magazine Issue 17

The Business of Law

April 2015 | Issue 17 | ISSN 2050-5744

News: Tim Collins asks whether old models and ways of leading really work for 21st century law firms.

Genuine benefits? Charles Christian asks whether there are still too many lawyers that don’t ‘get’ IT.

“The LSA is not fit for purpose bit it is difficult to get parliamentary time to amend the Act – especially with so many lawyers in Parliament” Sir Michael Snyder Modern Law Magazine | April 2015 | Issue 17

Jonathan Cohen “When tough times come, the experience very often in law firms has not been of people who have had to manage through difficult times” Supported by

Sponsored by

Charlton Grant

03

Welcome S

omething that has resonated with me whilst putting this issue of Modern Law together is that good leadership, throughout peer groups, from management and in businesses, acts as the backbone for success in the modern legal environment.

The idea of leadership is explored firstly by Tim Collins, Director, The Tim Collins Consultancy, who considers the variety of options legal professionals can consider when it comes to leadership advice, and outlines some of the good, bad and ugly examples (page 7). I spoke to our cover star, Jonathan Cohen, Founder and Director of the Boardroom Partnership about issues around governance and leadership within the modern legal services sector, as well as the importance of recruiting top level senior management (from page 13).

Understanding the challenges associated with the strategic support process should be a top concern for modern law firms and I spoke to Sir Michael Snyder, Senior Partner at Kingston Smith to find out about providing effective management solutions to growing businesses (from page 17).

Alongside this issue, we also have a special supplement, dedicated entirely to the third annual Doctors Chambers Modern Law Conference. The conference took place in March and the supplement includes full coverage from the event, as well as the six exclusive roundtables hosted by Modern Law on the day, I urge you to have a read as the coverage provides a sector-wide view of the legal market.

The events portfolio continues to go from strength to strength at Modern Law and I am delighted to announce that nominations are now open for the third annual Eclipse Proclaim Modern Law Awards, which will take place on 19th November 2015 at the Hurlingham Club, London. Call 01765 600909 for more information.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Modern Law and if you have any feedback, comments or ideas for a future edition, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line on 01765 600909 or e-mail me via: charlotte.parkinson@charltongrant.co.uk

Charlotte

Charlotte Parkinson, Group Editor, Modern Law Magazine.

Modern Law Magazine

Issue 17 – April 2015 | ISSN 2050-5744

Project Director Kate McKittrick

Group Editor Charlotte Parkinson

Business Development Manager Martin Smith

Events Director Julia Todd

Production/Editorial Assistant Charlotte Lamb

Project Manager Ben Longbottom

Modern Law Magazine is published

by Charlton Grant Ltd Š2015.

Contact t: 01765 600909 or e: info@modernlawmagazine.com Modern Law Events: www.modernlawevents.co.uk Modern Law Awards: www.modernlawawards.co.uk All material is copyrighted both written and illustrated. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. All images and information is collated from extensive research and along with advertisements is published in good faith. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this publication was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

ML // April 2015

04

17

CONTENTS 03-08 Intro & THE News

07 Tim Collins talks news

“Time, Ladies and Gentlemen TIME – Please!” Tim Collins asks whether old models and ways of leading really work for 21st century law firms and clarifies where to look in the jungle of good, bad and ugly advice.

11-20 The INTERVIEWS 13 Interview with...Jonathan Cohen

Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, spoke to the Founder and Director of The Boardroom Partnership, about the importance of planning life beyond the law and key questions around strategy and governance, which firms need to be asking themselves this year and beyond.

17 Interview with...Sir Michael Snyder

Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law spoke to the Senior Partner at top 20 UK audit and accountancy firm, Kingston Smith about challenges that come with offering strategic support and management solutions to growing businesses, and the ongoing limitations of the Legal Services Act.

21-47 The views

23 Looking ahead...

On 11 March, Sir Michael Pitt spoke at Modern Law Magazine’s annual conference in London. In his speech, he focussed on some recent and future developments in legal services regulation, as he now reports.

25 Q: ‘My client has a quote for a commercial ATE policy. What should I look out for?’

Matthew Williams, AmTrust Law

27

25 Benchmarking for a successful future

Steve Arundale, NatWest

27 Continuing competence: a sea change

Polly Hill, Ralli Solicitors LLP

27 New ways of working

Andy Poole, Armstrong Watson

29 The modern way forward...

Lisa Beale, Chaekaprofessional.com

29 Time to embrace change...

Michael George Davidson, Parabis Consumer Law Services

37

31 What’s your story?

Lisa Middleton, mmadigital

31 The business of running a law firm...

Zoe Holland, Zebra Legal Consulting

Editorial Columnists Andrew Axon Head of Chambers Parklane Plowden

David Drew Founder and Principal Consultant DREW Management Consulting

John Dobson CEO SmartSearch UK

Andy Poole Legal Sector Partner Armstrong Watson

David Simon Chairman Triton Global

Jon Gouldsmith Director Box Legal Limited

Barry Talbot Managing Director Informance Ltd

Derek Fitzpatrick Business Development Manager Clio

Lisa Beale Head Checkaprofessional.com

Charles Christian Editor-in-Chief The Legal IT Insider

Elliot Vigar Chief Executive Veyo

Charles Metherell Managing Partner The Corre Partnership LLP

George Bull Chair of Professional Practices Group Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited

Lisa Middleton Head of Marketing & Communication mmadigital

Colin Taylor CIRM Executive Director, Legal Services Practice Group Willis Darren Gower Marketing Director Eclipse Legal Systems

ML // April 2015

Mark Montgomery Customer Strategy & Marketing Director myhomemove

Gregory van Dyk Watson Managing Director Isokon Limited

Martin Harris Technical Manager Lawlords

Jo Hodges Head of Sales & Marketing Redbrick Solutions

Matthew Williams Head AmTrust Law

Michael George Davidson Head of Business Development, Consumer Law Parabis

Sucheet Amin Managing Director Aequitas Legal & Founder of inCase™

Noel Inge Managing Director CILEx Law School

Tim Collins Director The Tim Collins Consultancy

Richard Burcher Managing Director Validatum

Zoe Holland Managing Director Zebra Legal Consulting

Sailesh Mehta Barrister Red Lion Chambers Steve Arundale Commercial Head of Professional Services & Financial Institutions, Sectors & Specialist Business RBS & NatWest Commercial & Private Banking Sir Michael Pitt Chairman Legal Services Board

05

35 The next step

Mark Montgomery, myhomemove

51 Improving the business process...

35 Reducing training: damaging your wealth?

Colin Taylor CIRM, Willis

37 A compelling vision

Sucheet Amin, Aequitas Legal & inCase™

37 A paradigm shift

Richard Burcher, Validatum

39 Sanctions & PEP checks: a no brainer?

53 Are You Prepared for Change?

John Dobson, SmartSearch UK

39 An inconsistent approach?

Martin Harris, Lawlords

41 Still in business?

David Simon, Triton Global

versus Capital Spend

Gregory van Dyk Watson, Isokon Limited

42 Is there an answer to the

Employment Tribunal Fees?

Andrew Axon, Parklane Plowden

43 Tapping into the talent...

Noel Inge, CILEx Law School

43 Will positive discrimination work?

George Bull, Baker Tilly

45 April Showers brings May Flowers

Erica Wilmot, Conveyancing Data Services

Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, spoke to Darren Gower, Eclipse Legal Systems about the importance of ensuring the right technology is in place before considering diversifying your service offering - and how this will pay dividends in future.

58 Genuine benefits?

Charles Christian asks whether there are still too many lawyers who don’t ‘get’ IT.

59 Modern systems = making a profit

Barry Talbot, Informance

59 Three Must-Have Software

Derek Fitzpatrick, Clio

60 A helping hand...

47 Growth Beyond Referrals

60 Revolutionising the law

Phil Hodgkinson, Pure Legal James T Noble, Propero Partners

48-55 The Features 48 “Proportionate Sentences” for Very Large Companies

There has been an increasing recognition in recent years of the seriousness of regulatory offences and that fines for large companies should reflect this growing concern, as Sailesh Mehta reports.

53

Applications for Successful Legal Practice Managers

45 Choose wisely…

42

57-62 IT Crowd

Jon Gouldsmith, Box Legal Limited

42 Breaking the mould...

David Drew examines one aspect of the change process that was highlighted recently at the Modern Law Conference: Leading A Modern Legal Business, “Managing Change in Changing Times,” namely, that of “Managing Risk.”

55 Diversification: the road to profitability

41 Pay-per-Probate Comparison

Veyo, the joint venture between The Law Society and Mastek (UK) Ltd, will bring together electronically, all the processes, checks and documentation prepared and undertaken by solicitors and licensed conveyancers in the sale and purchase of residential properties. Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, caught up with the CEO, Elliot Vigar in advance of the launch.

Jo Hodges, Redbrick Solutions Darren Gower, Eclipse Legal Systems

61 What can organisations do to protect themselves online?

Steve Lysaght, Solvings Ltd

62 5 minutes with...

Rory Wilson, Amberis ATE Insurance Solutions

62 Ground-breaking ABS to implement Proclaim

Aspire Law chooses Eclipse’s Proclaim Case Management solution

59 ML // April 2015

Next Generation Practice Next Generation Practice and Financial Management

and Financial Management

• • • • • • • • •

Increase fee earning and profitability Increase fee earning and profitability Financial disciplines and controls required by the SRA Financial disciplines and controls required by the SRA

Contact us now to arrange a demonstration!

0845 166 Contact us 2629 now to| redbricksolutions.co.uk arrange a demonstration!

• The only case management provider to achieve the Legal Eye Quality Standard Intelligent, flexible workflows cater for •• The only case management provider tothe achieve requirements of the whole firm the Legal Eye Quality Standard Complianceflexible and riskworkflows management in to •• Intelligent, caterbuilt for the future proof your firm requirements of the whole firm •• Quotes, documents, legal forms, statements Compliance and risk management built in to and bills all produced within seconds future proof your firm •• Flexible and legal payment options incl ourand unique Quotes, delivery documents, forms, statements bills Pay Per Transaction model all produced within seconds • Flexible delivery and payment options incl our unique Pay Per Transaction model

Contact us now to arrange a demonstration!

0845 166 2629 | redbricksolutions.co.uk 0845 166 Contact us 2629 now to| redbricksolutions.co.uk arrange a demonstration!

0845 166 2629 | redbricksolutions.co.uk

TRACK YOUR DX DOCUMENTS FOR JUST £3.75 IF YOU SEND IMPORTANT OR URGENT DOCUMENTS TO OTHER DX MEMBERS, DX TRACKED MAIL WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE SECURITY AND PEACE OF MIND YOU NEED. • RELIABILITY – a minimum 98.5% proven track record of deliveries made on time

• NEXT DAY DELIVERY – be sure that your mail arrives the next working day

• PERSONAL SERVICE – dedicated Account Management & Customer Service teams based locally

• CONVENIENCE – our couriers collect all your items from your DX exchange every afternoon

•SECURITY – Courier signature on delivery

• SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS – with our highly competitive pricing

• PEACE OF MIND – web tracking available to check the status of your items

To place an order email exchange@thedx.co.uk Click: www.dxdelivery.com/exchange Follow: @DX_Exchange DXD/MKT/0376/27JAN15

DELIVERED EXACTLYTM

Tim Collins Talks News

07

Tim Collins

talks news

“Time, Ladies and Gentlemen TIME – Please!” Tim Collins asks whether old models and ways of leading really work for 21st century law firms and clarifies where to look in the jungle of good, bad and ugly advice.

My Fault “I wish that I knew all I know now when I was younger” – is so very true for me!

In this article about leadership, I aim to share some learning about the mistakes I’ve made as well as some great ideas and concepts I’ve been discovering. I’ve always considered myself to be a natural leader and people have trusted and followed me. So despite benefitting hugely from studying psychology, gaining my formative training with P&G, and learning from and working with some great people, how did I end up failing?

Since I walked the plank I’ve been giving that some serious thought and conducting fresh research and learning about leadership. However, I’ve not come across any staggering new revelations but lots of simple common sense that has been available for years.

I guess there are two key lessons from my time managing a barristers’ chambers. Firstly, it is much easier to manage a business up rather than down, and secondly when there is a breakdown of relationships, or lack of trust, it becomes impossible to lead. But sometimes that slap in the face is the

‘We are information rich, and yet increasingly time and decision making poor. We seem to be working harder and harder just to stand still’

wake up call you need. I realised I had to quit, it was no longer healthy or good for me and I was too caught up in trying to keep things going to be able to lead effectively. But as soon as I’d let go and decided to leave I could immediately see what needed to be done.

Learning Over the last 18 months, I have been attending numerous university business school seminars, conferences, watching Ted videos, reading articles and blogs, and meeting some inspirational characters.

There are huge challenges facing many firms and enormous pressure on leaders.

Do our old models and ways of leading really work for 21st century firms? There is a jungle of advice out there, the good, the bad and the ugly. So where can we turn for help? We need help to step back and create the space to think and frame some questions. This could prove to be invaluable. Additionally, leaders need to learn and develop. There are some great resources and ideas readily available.

When I was introduced to David Broadhead from Partners in Management, we clicked immediately and I signed up for his brilliant 21st Century Management Course. I wasn’t disappointed.

Subsequently, David and I co-presented a seminar for Leeds Law Society and realised we had a fresh take on leadership and management that both challenged and resonated with our delegates.

The Opportunity We are information rich, and yet increasingly time and decision making poor. We seem to be working harder and harder just to stand still. Work is becoming more fraught and a lot less enjoyable. We don’t even have the time to ask ourselves “why?” We’re too

busy just doing. We know the market is fragmenting while our universities are producing thousands more law graduates every year. We have apprentices to add to the ranks of paralegals and businesses looking to cherry pick the most profitable work. More resources are being tied up to comply with the ever-evolving regulatory requirements. Technological developments mean that we can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information and data, which in turn is more complex to manage. Some clients expect instant responses for minimum costs, plus the banks are wary of the sector.

Accentuate the Positive – Positive Enquiry Have you ever had an appraisal where you forget most of the positive and encouraging feedback while the

ML // April 2015

08

Tim Collins Talks News

‘How would your firm look if you genuinely wanted the best for your colleagues and gave, and were open to receive honest feedback? We often expect people to be like us, to see things the way we do – do we really want clones?’ “suggested improvements” grew in your mind? With a little time, they probably grew into unfair criticisms. And that was what you remembered.

Often when consultants and coaches work with firms, they focus on identifying the problems and suggesting possible solutions. They will typically frame questions such as: What are the three most significant changes and challenges that have impacted on your firm in the last two years? Had you anticipated them? What’s coming next? Are you ready for it? These are perfectly valid questions, but they focus on the potential problems and feed negative/pessimistic viewpoints?

But if you were asked: When you are treated well how do you do respond? What are the 3 best things you and your colleagues have done in the last 3 years? How can you build upon your positive successes? How can you lead your team to respond to future challenges? Which set of questions do you think are most likely to illicit the most constructive answers? Australian Work Futurist Jeremy Scrivens has some fantastic examples of the power of “Positive Enquiry” and how to really engage people.

He challenges and encourages us to learn from history, to keep things simple, engage all staff, to innovate, and share learning, recruiting talented, diverse people and training them have been critical to Simon’s success. As a leader, his key function is to set the moral code for the business and promote transparency so that everyone knows and understands how they contribute and that they are valued. Trust is critical and everyone is empowered to take decisions by two guiding principles:

“Command & Targets”, No “Coaching & Trust”, Yes Please!

Give people in your business and those you work with 3 things only – which must be aligned: 1. An intellectual return 2. An emotional return 3. A financial return.

Back in 2006 David Maister had a great article in The American Lawyer asking the question “Are Law Firms Manageable?” In it, he argued that it is almost impossible to manage or lead a law firm as the lawyers are trained to see problems, risks and this generates a guarded mindset which mitigates against building trust. Many firms are still run on 20th century industrial management thinking with the classic command and control hierarchies and the obsessional reliance on targets and measurement. And, some people are surprised that Generation Y lawyers are less engaged. What would happen if you trusted them, didn’t hammer them when they made a mistake but praised them for taking the initiative?

How would your firm look if you genuinely wanted the best for your colleagues and gave, and were open to receive honest feedback? We often expect people to be like us, to see things the way we do – do we really want clones? No matter how great you are, it would simply stifle innovation, change and become life-sappingly boring. I love the old African proverb “I am because we are” - so we need to learn to trust one another.

We are challenged, stimulated and learn hugely from other people – diversity is a genuinely good thing.

Inspiration, Transparency & Sharing I’ve not yet come across a law firm where I’m thinking “wow that’s a great model – I like the way they’re working”. I’ve seen a number that make me wince but I have also met some great lawyers who are swimming against the tide trying to make a difference. However, I have also met some great people working in other sectors and think we have a lot to learn from them.

Some of you will have come across the plain and yet colourful speaking Simon Biltcliffe (MD of Webmart) espousing his “northern values” of honesty, directness and trust.

ML // April 2015

if your mum would be proud of you; if you are content for your action to be in the public domain.

Apply common sense – align the right people to do the right things to achieve your targets. Give training using the best and most appropriate suppliers (many are free). Create an inspiring and varied workspace that is a great place to work. Give your best people the biggest opportunities – this will create the maximum added value. Crucially be very tolerant of failure.

Share information and data on staff performance (the gain and the pain) – so everyone is accountable with and to each other.

Call to Inaction Designer Steve Edge is totally right when he says: “throw one ball at someone and they’ll catch it, six and they’ll drop them all”. So many times, I hear of and see people developing great plans, investing considerable resources and doing nothing. We have to let go and step back. Most of the great leaders I have met make time, often for half a day each week to step back and make time to read, listen, watch, think and be inspired by others.

If 60% of business is “knowing, liking and trusting” then why not start with yourself? You can then cascade this to your colleagues, staff, suppliers, clients and competitors. You then have a foundation to confidently move forward from.

You are able to start asking the more important questions for your firm of how and why rather than just “Are we hitting our targets?”. In my situation, I’d lost my perspective and reacted to each development and challenge and in effect misspent a few years of my life. You may be the senior partner, a partner or team leader but in 10 years’ time will you finally step back and think “I enjoyed that and helped some great people do some great stuff” or will you have just clung on and hit your targets?

Peter Drucker famously said “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn”. My advice is: do create some time to...

Tim Collins is Director of The Tim Collins Consultancy.

Helping you stand out online

Call 0161 452 0311 ACADEMY

PARTNERS

...meet us for a coffee

Why choose mmadigital? @mmadigitaluk

• 100% legal focused • Trusted by 150+ law firms

YouTube.com/user/mmadigitaluk

• Join the mmadigital academy and learn from the experts in our stunning home • No minimum term contracts • Be added to the FREE LEGAL ADVICE CENTRE when you become an mmadigital client

Quite Clearly, ‘F’ in lawless!

For Flawless Legal Costs Recovery #ThinkPURE T. 0151 449 0005

@Pure_Legal

purelegalcosts.co.uk

11

11-20

The Interviews

Legal market – entry options The legal market is valued in excess of £30bn. Over 60% of UK consumers have indicated they would consider purchasing a legal service from trusted consumer brands.

ABS formation, joint venture, contract for services, panel member...

Whatever the solution Parabis can work with you to supply a wide range of legal services.

Contact Us To find out how Parabis can help you, please contact: Michael George Davidson Head of Business Development – Consumer, Parabis Group T: 0787 280 7138 E: michael.davidson@parabis.co.uk

T: 0844 245 4000

www.parabisgroup.co.uk The Parabis Group is neither a legal entity nor a trading name or division of a legal entity, it is merely a description ascribed to a group of legal entities with common ownership.

Modern Law Advert - Issue 8.indd 1

06/06/2014 11:08

Interview with... Jonathan Cohen

13

Interview with...

Jonathan Cohen Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, spoke to the Founder and Director of The Boardroom Partnership, about the importance of planning life beyond the law and key questions around strategy and governance, which firms need to be asking themselves this year and beyond.

Q

Why did you decide to establish The Boardroom Partnership in 2014 and what were the main objective(s) behind the venture?

A

I had founded another company, IDDAS Limited in 2002, this became a subsidiary of Savile Group plc, which was sold to Penna plc in December 2013. Following the sale and with the agreement from Penna, I was able to continue the business I had been doing with IDDAS, but with a new corporate vehicle. In that sense, establishing The Boardroom Partnership was the continuation of what I had been doing for the previous many years.

Q A

What is the biggest issue surrounding firm governance in the modern legal services market?

That is a huge question but the thing I have noticed is that many firms tend to have a Board and an Executive Committee and in some cases, the Board becomes involved in Executive Committee matters and does not stick to the strategic vision and direction that Board’s are meant to. On occasion, the two are confused, particularly when it comes to remuneration, the job of a Board is to decide what the policy for remuneration is and how it will work, whereas the job of the Executive Committee may be to decide what individual lawyers should receive. If the two become confused, the Board can be sucked into discussing the minutiae, when they should be looking at the

ML // April 2015

14

Interview with... Jonathan Cohen

‘The legal profession generally tends to focus on “now”, rather than “then” ‘ overall strategic vision. The other issue with governance, is that largely, law firms tend not to have non-executives involved – this is still relatively rare. This is at a time when many law firms are under pressure in terms of market competition and pricing and so they haven’t traditionally brought in strategic experience from outside the firm. This is something they should be looking closely at.

Q A

What are the specific challenges associated with making career changes at a senior level?

Most of all, when dealing with lawyers, the legal profession generally tends to focus on “now”, rather than “then”. This can mean that forward planning can come second to a lawyer getting on with their assignments and the day-to-day activities of their career. Planning is one of the biggest challenges, to allow enough time to

The Boardroom Partnership Founded in 2014 by two highly experienced practitioners, The Boardroom Partnership provides a range of services to professional firms, including: • Business coaching and mentoring for senior and emerging leaders within the firm or organisation, and other Partners and Directors, focused on their performance and development.

• Experience-based mentoring, providing confidential advice and a sounding board from individuals with extensive professional services firm expertise and insights.

• Development and leadership frameworks for Partners and aspiring Partners.

• Support to individuals looking beyond partnership to other paths, well ahead of any technical ‘retirement’ date to help them make effective transitions.

• Organising events and workshops for partners to assist in planning ‘Life Beyond the Firm’ with approved lead mentors and coaches with professional services experience, and specialist professional services leadership development facilitators.

• For Partners seeking Non-Executive Director and Trustee roles, the firm provides both group and one to one advice and support.

• For lawyers seeking Judicial Appointments the firm provides advice on personal presentation and interview experience.

ML // April 2015

consider future prospects and evaluate how they are going to achieve future goals. Many lawyers simply do not plan even an outline of what they might to next. They need to set aside time during the course of their career to assess what they might like to do following retirement and build their C.V’s. For example, if they are interested in becoming a Trustee or a Non-Executive Director, they need to build the relevant networks and skills and put opportunities in place, whilst continuing to undertake their day jobs. Lack of planning is often the biggest hindrance to lawyers seeking to move on to other roles that might be outside of the law.

Thinking about their future carers in the last 6 months that they are with a law firm is far too late.

Q A

How do you support senior management and Chief Executive’s when sourcing/recruiting talent?

It is important to make sure that the firm wishing to recruit has done it’s homework on what it is they require. The candidate specification is hugely important and very often this can be too loose or far too general. Part of the job of the recruiting firm is to nail down a clear and specific brief (which is exactly what a lawyer would do to a client), and make absolutely sure they know what they are looking for.

Q A

How does working with the legal sector, differ to other professional services sectors, in light of legislative changes in the last few years – are there any correlations between legal services and other markets?

The impact on law firms coming out of the financial crash was not dissimilar to what happened with Investment Banks; they had to cut their costs and a lot of the practice areas found life very difficult - clients became far more demanding on fees and they were having to deal with General Counsel (GC’s) looking for the best deal.

To that extent, their experiences are the same across the entire economy. Law firms themselves had had a very good run and were not prepared (probably any more than any other service organisation), for the severity of the downturn.

Because law firms were traditionally partnerships, the speed with which they could react to the changes to economic circumstances tended to be much slower.

Q A

What are the main factors law firms neglect to consider when planning/executing business objectives and why do you think this is?

Partly, it is because over the years, law firms have been a very successful part of our economy and year after year, partners have made decent profits and good money. When the tough times come,

‘Lack of planning is often the biggest hindrance to lawyers seeking to move on to other roles that might be outside of the law’

Interview with... Jonathan Cohen

15

‘When the tough times come, the experience very often in law firms has not been of people who have had to manage through difficult times’ the experience very often in law firms has not been of people who have had to manage through difficult times. Having said that, that is not the case across the board and there are some startlingly good examples of people who have done a great job but quite often, the choice of the leadership team is drawn from their practice performance, rather than their leadership or management skills.

When a crisis of any kind comes, questions such as “Do we have the right people in the right place to make decisions?” come to the fore, and in some law firms has been proven not to be the case. A number of firms have not implemented leadership and management training for their key people as part of their careers.

Q A

What is your view of Alternative Business Structure (ABS) models in the legal market?

They are good to the extent that law firms can access capital; any model that offers that has to be a good thing. An external involvement in the shape of an investor, who can join a law firm with a view to developing their strategy, must be beneficial. I can see very few negatives in the ability of a firm to go down the ABS route.

Currently, it seems that more Regional firms have gone down this route, rather than larger firms (who may view it as a slightly unnecessary step at the moment). Parts of the law have become commoditised and this will continue, so the high added value areas of legal services will become key for firms. As well as this, firms also need to establish what areas they are good in and what areas they are not good in, and exit these areas – which a lot of firms are doing. Some midsized law firms are stuck in the middle (and being stuck in the middle of a difficult market is not a good place to be, unless the firm is Regional and embedded in the business community), which is why we are seeing a lot more mergers.

Q A

What are the greatest pressures on legal managers at present and why?

The greatest pressures come out of having been through an extraordinarily difficult time, the biggest question now should be “What is the firm’s strategy moving forward?” and “What are likely to be the greatest future pressures on the firm?”. Every generation has its challenges, but for law firms in 2015, “What shape should we be in, in 2025?” is a very big and tough question, particularly for firms in the middle market. Firms are having to answer difficult questions like never before.

Q A

In your experience, what makes for the best balance of skills at management level within a law firm?

The firms which have taken the trouble to develop up and coming lawyers and partners to be able to take on management roles, tend to succeed far better. Developing their leadership team and bringing in external skills, either through NonExecutives, or developing the internal people (HR) function, will be key to the firms who succeed moving forward.

Q A

What’s next for The Boardroom Partnership?

We are currently involved in recruitment, mentoring and providing careers advice and coaching. I have just been to the United States, looking at how we might develop there into the legal arena and have been doing a lot of work on “Life Beyond the Firm”. There comes a day when people need to develop enhanced plans of what to do next and if they are supported in this, the firm also benefits because when their people do move on, they do so as ambassadors for the firm and they are likely to bring business back. Law firms that concentrate on that and ensure they keep partner goodwill, even when the partner has moved on, will benefit hugely.

Jonathan Cohen Following a Cambridge law degree, and qualification with Price Waterhouse & Co as a chartered accountant, he built his first career in investment banking, becoming Chief Executive of County NatWest and subsequently Vice Chairman of Charterhouse Bank. He later co-founded a specialist city headhunter and invested in, acquired, managed and sold a range of private companies. In 2002, he founded IDDAS Limited, now recognised as a leading name in the Board Evaluation market.

He co-founded, with Christopher Beale, former Chairman of The Institute of Directors, The Boardroom Partnership Limited.

He is an experienced Chairman and Non-Executive Director, and a regular speaker on corporate governance issues.

‘The firms which have taken the trouble to develop up and coming lawyers and partners to be able to take on management roles, tend to succeed far better’

ML // April 2015

IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK?...

Medico-Legal Reports turnaround times: REPORTS RETURNED WITHIN 20 DAYS OF INSTRUCTION

80% APPOINTMENTS ARRANGED WITHIN 24HRS

90% REPORTS RETURNED WITHIN 48HRS OF APPOINTMENT

80%

...THE CHOICE IS EASY

...when service matters www.doctorschambers.com

Over 20 years of Medico-Legal excellence

Interview with... Sir Michael Snyder

17

Interview with...

Sir Michael Snyder Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law spoke to the Senior Partner at top 20 UK audit and accountancy firm, Kingston Smith about challenges that come with offering strategic support and management solutions to growing businesses, and the ongoing limitations of the Legal Services Act.

Q A Q A

What is the most significant change to the professional services sector since you started your career?

I think that media and public respect for professionals has reduced although not for any good reason that I can think of.

What do you make of the extensive regulatory reform to the legal sector which has taken place over the last 3 years?

I believe that it is a positive step that Alternative Business Structures (ABS) are now able to be licenced by ICAEW. I also feel that recent changes in the leadership of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and its rules since October 2014, augur a better environment but it will take time to see the outcome of the amendments.

Q A ‘The LSA is not fit for purpose but it is difficult to get parliamentary time to amend the Act – especially with so many lawyers in Parliament’

Do you anticipate that further reform is needed to the legal sector in the near, mid and long term future and if so, why?

Currently, the Legal Services Act (LSA) is not fit for purpose but it is difficult to get parliamentary time to amend the Act – especially with so many lawyers in Parliament!

There are also regulatory challenges such as barristers being regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), but should they be regulated by the SRA? The Bar needs to adapt to modern requirements and embrace change, although there are some encouraging signs of this happening by some barristers and chambers.

Q

You deal with a number of different clients and matters, including professional practices, offering business advice and aiding negotiations. What are the challenges associated with managing such a diverse portfolio?

ML // April 2015

18

Interview with... Sir Michael Snyder

‘The Bar needs to adapt to modern requirements and embrace change, although there are some encouraging signs of this happening by some barristers and chambers’

A

The essence of the portfolio isn’t that diverse. All clients have to deal with some level of regulation but obviously there is more in law, accountancy and financial services. Every client has aspirations, challenges, objectives, opportunities and I regard it as my role to help them succeed.

Q A

Why was it the right strategic decision for Kingston Smith to apply for an ABS license to conduct reserved probate work?

We are now able to offer a holistic suite of probate services to our clients in a sensitive and personal way, taking away the need for outside parties to be involved. The reserved legal activity has always been a very small portion of what we do for clients in the area of wills, trusts, executorships and general financial planning for individuals and families.

Q A

Does the firm have any plans to become a fully-fledged Multi-disciplinary partnership (MDP)?

We are hoping to carry out certain other legal services which are part of a holistic service for clients in terms of small mergers and acquisitions or corporate restructuring, HR, employment advice and other areas which are incidental to existing services provided by our firm. We have no plans to deal with conveyancing or contentious matters (other than those relating to HR and employment), large M&A work, family and social matters.

Q A

What percentage of work conducted

by Kingston Smith is made up of legal services and do you see this changing in the future?

Legal services will constitute a very small percentage and whilst it may grow a little bit in the future, I don’t see it being a major part of our business.

Q

What is your take on the Big Four accountancy practices re-entering the legal services market under the guise of ABSs? What impact could this have on accountancy/legal professionals and will this benefit consumers?

A

The Big Four may be able to compete in terms of fees compared with large law firms but cannot replicate the level of client care and relationships on the same level as medium- and small-sized businesses. I do think that there will be some effect on the larger legal practices however, but again I am not sure it will be that significant.

Q A

What are the biggest challenges that come with offering strategic support/ management solutions to growing businesses?

It is always important to truly understand what one’s client aspires to achieve, on a corporate and personal level, and this needs a real knowledge of the SME market and an affinity with it. Not everyone has this set of values, experience and commitment, which is vital to successfully help growing businesses in a way that lets them reach those aspirations. It is not every client that recognises, and properly understands, the value of this sort of advice and if they do - then they chose the right firm and utilise the advice as they grow.

Q A

What does your role as Co-Chair of the Government’s Professional and Business Services Council (PBSC), involve?

The PBSC operates in collaboration with Government on a pan-professional basis.

Government statistics show it to be the largest sector in the UK; with 11% of GVA, 10% of exports and contributes 13% of employment.

The Council, which includes important and representative players in the sector advises Ministers and senior civil servants on economic,

‘ABS firms are of interest to the PBSC and are seen by UK Government as very important pioneers and ambassadors, given the UK’s recognised global leadership in professional services’ ML // April 2015

Interview with... Sir Michael Snyder

19

‘The Big Four may be able to compete in terms of fees compared with large law firms but cannot replicate the level of client care and relationships on the same level as medium- and small-sized businesses’ Sir Michael Snyder Sir Michael has been Senior Partner of Kingston Smith since 1990, having worked for 11 years prior to this as Managing Partner. He trained and qualified at the firm, which he joined in 1968.

In addition to his role as the Senior Partner and Chairing the firm’s Executive Board, Sir Michael maintains a varied client commitment, including professional practices, offering business advice and aiding negotiations.

Considerably involved in public and voluntary work, Michael is Common Councilman for the City of London, in addition to being a member and former Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee (the Leader), member of the Finance Committee and Chairman of two other City of London Corporation Committees. He also serves as Chairman of the Governors of the City of London School for Girls; Vice-Chairman of Governors of Brentwood School; Chairman of London Business Loans (Wholesale) Ltd; and co-Chairman of the Government’s Professional and Business Services Council, which advises Ministers and senior civil servants on economic, business and regulatory issues affecting the largest industry sector in the UK. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Institute of Directors and the Royal Society of Arts; Chairman of the Association of Practising Accountants; Member of the Securities Institute; and a Member of Group A firms. He is also a past Master of the Worshipful Company of Needlemakers, and Deputy Master of the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers, as well as a Patron of Just Share.

business and regulatory issues affecting the largest industry sector in the UK. We have quarterly meetings of Council members to discuss topics affecting PBS firms, with sub groups dealing with specific areas/topics. Regulation is a key area for the PBSC. Rather than using the resources of PBSC member firms to identify specific instances of red tape, the PBSC has authored a paper on a principlesbased approach to regulation based on a ‘gateway test’ of proportionality: “does the potential downside of a piece of regulation exceed the cost of fixing it?” The paper has been endorsed by the SRA, ICAEW, FRC and we are engaging with Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office. ABS firms are of interest to the PBSC and are seen by UK Government as very important pioneers and ambassadors, given the UK’s recognised global leadership in professional services.

Other focus areas of the PBSC include: • Skills Taskforce – We formed the Taskforce, which aims to support an increase in the number of annual Professional & Business (PBS) Higher Apprenticeship starts, to 10,000 by 2017-18, by encouraging the sector and its stakeholders to engage with the most pressing workforce challenges facing the UK. • Promoting UK PBS exports with UKTI. • Hold outreach workshops to get a direct perspective from small- and medium-sized PBS businesses to relay messages to Government on the barriers they are facing.

• Writing letters to the main parties on PBS views in preparation for the next Government – primarily on regulation and access to talent.

In his spare time, he enjoys music, gardening, inland waterways and narrow boating.

ML // April 2015

The Views

21-47

The Views

21

Isokon Did you know that 36% of law firms doing probate work use Isokon software?

Why?

Because we can increase your profitability

Isokon is a quality product with quality support

With no significant competition

Many of our customers report a chieving a profit margin of more than 70% Please call us for further information or to arrange a demonstration Call Peregrine Coysh at 020 7482 6555 or email him at: perry.coysh@isokon.com

The Views

23

Looking ahead...

On 11 March, Sir Michael Pitt spoke at Modern Law Magazine’s annual conference in London. In his speech, he focussed on some recent and future developments in legal services regulation, as he now reports.

M

y central theme at the Modern Law Conference was that, while there has been some encouraging progress in legal services in the last six months, regulators and the profession can expect on-going turbulence in the legal services sector over the next few years.

Future aims...

A very good starting point when considering what might change in legal services is the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s report “2020 Legal Services” published in November last year. The Panel’s carefully prepared report provides a snapshot of what both regulators and the providers of legal services can expect to be the main issues the sector will have to deal with between now and 2020.

The four major issues identified by the Panel are not new. They are the concept of self-lawyering, the impact of technology, changes in consumer behaviour, and ongoing market changes.

These are issues with which each of the regulators and every legal practitioner in this country are going to have to grapple.

And to their credit some in the sector are already looking to respond to these trends through innovation and adapting their business models. Others are not - and the longer they leave it, the more pressing the challenges will become.

The Consumer Panel’s work and the market context have provided a useful backdrop to the preparation of the LSB’s own strategic plan which I’m keen to see contribute to the process. Our work in the coming three years will be based on three clear, inter-related programmes. Firstly, we intend to continue overseeing the performance of the eleven legal services regulators and ensuring that they are effective and independent. This is vital to ensure that the regulators themselves are able to show collective leadership in navigating the sector through this time of change. Secondly, we are going to focus on identifying and enabling the need for legal services to be met more effectively. And thirdly, we will continue to work towards breaking down regulatory barriers to competition, innovation and growth.

Balancing the market...

All of these are intrinsically linked. We (practitioners, the profession, regulators) will not, collectively, be able to meet peoples’ needs unless and until the legal services market is truly open. New entrants to the market, new business models and new products will all contribute to holding prices down and improving access for those on more limited budgets. And there will always remain a role for high value services.

It is our job, and the job of the legal regulators, to balance freedom of the market against the need to protect

‘Some in the sector are already looking to respond to these trends through innovation and adapting their business models. Others are not - and the longer they leave it, the more pressing the challenges will become’ consumers and the public interest. And of course we are mindful that such change needs to take into account appropriate standards and the constitutional principle of the rule of law. We will work across the regulated and the unregulated landscape and continue to make the case for change, backed up by a targeted and insightful programme of research.

Sir Michael Pitt is Chairman of the Legal Services Board (LSB).

For a copy of the speech please see here: http://www. legalservicesboard.org.uk/news_publications/speeches_ presentations/2015/2015_03_11_MLM_Annual_Conference.pdf The Legal Services Consumer Panel 2020 report can be found here: http://www.legalservicesconsumerpanel. org.uk/publications/research_and_reports/ documents/2020consumerchallenge.pdf

ML // April 2015

PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE RENEWING IN SPRING? WILLIS IS HERE FOR YOU ALL YEAR ROUND No matter when you renew Willis can help you through the process and generate competition for your business. n We represent firms of all sizes and specialisms n Have EXCLUSIVE facilities (with A rated insurers) for 1-10 partner firms If you renew in early 2015 we have the experience to help you secure a good renewal.

To find out more contact: Robin Bayly Robin.Bayly@willis.com 0203 193 9415

Jake Fox Jake.Fox@willis.com 0113 283 2970

Jonathan Simon Jonathan.Simon@willis.com 0203 193 9468

Colin S. Taylor Colin.S.Taylor@willis.com 0203 193 9418

w: willisfinexglobal.com Willis Limited, Registered number: 181116 England and Wales. Registered address: 51 Lime Street, London EC3M 7DQ. A Lloyd’s Broker. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

39302/11/14

39302_FINEX_PI_ADVERT_Half Page_2nd.indd 1

24/11/2014 16:01:40

The Views

Q: ‘My client has a quote for a commercial ATE policy.

What should I look out for?’

A:

The schedule will be a good place to start, as it will contain some ‘fundamentals’.

1. Is the insured correctly described?

This may be of particular relevance for corporate clients or multiple insureds.

2. Is the dispute correctly identified?

A case heading and action number can assist. Has any counterclaim been taken into account? Is it included/excluded?

3. What is the amount of cover and what does it apply to?

Cover may be expressed as single ‘limit’ for one or more elements, or could be divided into sub limits e.g. £ ‘X’ to cover opponent’s costs and £ ‘Y’ for own disbursements.

Those limits could be broken down further, with ‘inner’ limits for specific items e.g. £’A’ for counsel’s fees, and £’B’ for experts.

4. What is the cost, and how is premium payable? Premium will usually be expressed as a single sum plus insurance premium tax (currently 6%). It may be payable when the policy is taken out, contingently on ‘success’, or as a mixture of the two. It is common for premium to be ‘staged’ so that the earlier the matter resolves, the lower the premium payable. Check if the suggested wording ‘fits’ well with the current stage and settlement opportunities in your action.

5. ‘Success’ is often defined and can trigger contingent premium and offset provisions. Does the definition work for your case?

You should also pay particular attention to terms dealing with the following.

6. What’s not covered? Exclusions will probably include claims occasioned by conduct of the insured/the legal team, including any failure to obtain approvals required by the policy.

7. Conditions precedent, and/or warranties. These typically relate to disclosure requirements, the provision of costs estimates, and the insured’s ability to finance/pursue the claim.

8. General conditions relating to the conduct of the litigation.

These are likely to require reference to the insurer at certain points e.g. on offers and certain interim applications, and to have provisions governing both the basis for approvals and a disputes process in the event of disagreement.

Taking time to become familiar with policy provisions and general ‘rationale’ is likely to be of benefit to both lawyers and the insured. If you have a case specific query then raise it with the brokers or the underwriters as soon as possible.

25

Benchmarking for a successful future

I

n 2014, the economy started to improve at a greater pace than previous years. This was particularly good news for legal firms associated with corporate work and residential property. And, as we complete the release of our third annual Financial Benchmarking Report, it’s great to see some sustained improvement across the board at SME firms in the UK. This year’s report, released in the middle of March, was the biggest yet – including over 330 firms with revenues below £35 million. The report showed the average rate of fee growth at 5% - up on last year’s 3% - equating to a median fee per equity partner of £473,000.

The median fee per fee earner was £138,000 - a national increase of £2,000 on the previous year. Profit was up 8% with the median profit per equity partner increasing £20,000 on 2013’s total to £107,000. London remains at the top of this group at £271,000 with Scotland the furthest apart at £84,000.

Improved revenue and profit levels are welcome but profit margin overall remains flat. This suggests that although firms are doing well, improved efficiency was not a business focus in 2014. It seems to be that firms need to be better at protecting themselves against the revenue peaks and troughs that are influenced by shifting economic conditions and become more proactive and efficient.

The report also identified a slight increase in lock-up with the median for small firms being 91 days, medium firms 125 days and large firms 132 days. Optimism appeared high for the next 12 months, with many firms believing that revenue will continue to grow in 2015. Many firms are predicting a reduction in lock-up days during 2015 although advisers to the legal sector do not share that optimism - suggesting that additional work can be undertaken to improve cash generation.

The report has grown significantly since we launched it three years ago, and has been a valuable tool for us and our customers in tracking how they are performing against their peers in a relatively unexplored area of the market.

We hope that this report will continue to assist those firms who have a desire to improve their financial performance and are motivated to understand how their firm compares against a national and regional peer group.

To download the report for free go to: http://www.nwbusinesssense.com/financial-benchmarking-law.html

Matthew Williams, Head of AmTrust Law. If you have any further questions regarding this or would like to discuss further with AmTrust, please visit our LinkedIn Forum: www.linkedin.com/company/amtrust-law

Steve Arundale, Head of Professional Services, NatWest/RBS.

ML // April 2015

KEEP YOUR CLIENT HAPPY – by settling their dispute painlessly.

A happy is client is potentially a repeat client and with the right mediator your client will be happy. They’ll face less stress while you can maintain control of their case and manage your on-going relationship with them.

As a member of the CIArb and RICS Bruce has exactly the right experience and knowledge to help you achieve a satisfactory settlement in property, workplace and company disputes.

Bruce’s style is so successful because he is articulate, commercially astute and solution-focussed.

“I was delighted to work with Bruce in a commercial dispute.

The issues were complex and trial seemed inevitable.

Bruce’s pragmatic approach and determination helped to resolve the issues efficiently and painlessly” Call me today on 01372 878841 or email: bruce@bbamediation.co.uk to help solve your client’s disputes.

Bruce Bourne A S S O C I A T E S

Commercial and Community Media tion

www.bbamediation.co.uk

S A Walsh SJ QTR_Layout 1 22/05/2014 10:09 Page 1 S A Walsh SJ QTR_Layout 1 22/05/2014 10:09 Page 1

Concerned about your partner’s motives?

S.A.WALSH was formed in 1984 and provides Specialist Consulting Engineering and Complete Expert Witness service to the Legal Profession. S.A.WALSH has been and continues to be instructed as an Expert Witness for the Civil and Criminal Courts including The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, (Old Bailey), the Royal Courts of Justice, Technology and Construction Court together with regional Crown and County Courts

Protect yourself with advice and support from Ralli, the number one Partnership Law firm.

Call 0161 832 6131 or email enquiries @ ralli.co.uk

rallipartnershiplaw.co.uk follow us @ PartnershipLaw

27, Passey Place, London, SE9 5ZH DX 32515 ELTHAM T: 0844 850 1918 E: sawalsh@btconnect.com

s a walsh qtr.indd 1

3/6/2015 10:19:51 AM

The Views

Continuing competence: a sea change The new approach to solicitors continuing competency. A cause for celebration or concern?

F

rom 1 November 2016, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are to remove from the SRA Handbook the required minimum of 16 hours continuing professional development (CPD) training each year for solicitors in England and Wales. However, solicitors can chose to move to the new approach from 1 April 2015.

The new approach requires solicitors to comply with Principle 5 of the Handbook by providing a proper standard of service to clients. Solicitors will be able to complete their competency with non-accredited CPD providers and only need to: • make an annual declaration in their application to renew their practising certificate that they have considered their training needs and taken measures to maintain their competence; • should the SRA investigate, a practice must demonstrate to the SRA how the solicitor has remained competent and how this was achieved.

Many solicitors will benefit from the new approach when previously, they may have felt their training needs were not met having been restricted to accredited CPD providers whose courses may not have suited their legal discipline or business development requirements. Solicitors will have the autonomy to attend a wide range of courses to suit their individual training needs. One reason for this change is because the SRA recognised the cost for solicitors and that some solicitors attended courses which were not relevant, and others crammed in courses towards the end of a CPD year.

A possible downside is that the public may not feel as confident when their solicitor’s regulatory body has adopted a more relaxed approach, when compared with other professional bodies, thereby reducing a client’s trust in solicitors. If the SRA investigates a practice and finds a solicitor has not complied, will the public feel this is too little too late?

Will firms be tempted to spend less on training in these difficult economic times thereby denying its solicitors adequate training needs? Conversely, will senior solicitors consider they are experienced enough and not recognise their training needs and will more junior solicitors overcompensate in order to satisfy the SRA? To combat this, practices should designate a member of staff to oversee the new approach is complied with.

27

New ways of working...

The SRA are currently phasing out their hours based requirement for CPD, officially ending on 1st November 2016. Will this really mean an end to continual training for solicitors and should law firms consider other options for training moving forward?

F

irst of all, why have the SRA made the change? Although an accountancy firm, Armstrong Watson is an accredited CPD provider for solicitors. We present courses in-house at law firms; we arrange public courses; and we train on behalf of the larger training providers. We therefore see firsthand what is happening in practice.

As good as we like to believe our courses are, in the period leading up to the annual 31 October CPD deadline, we have regularly had people attend our training courses that have clearly not wanted to attend – they have merely turned up to collect their CPD points. In some cases, they have even brought client files, sat on the back row and continued to work!

Training should be there to help delegates to improve, not just a tick-box exercise. My preference would have been for the SRA to continue with minimum required CPD hours, but for those hours to be specifically related to their work or business. Will this mean an end to continual training? It should mean an end to continual unnecessary training, but for most it should not mean an end to appropriate training. As accountants, the ICAEW has moved us away from minimum CPD hours, and we still continue to train our people appropriately. There is a danger that some firms will see this as an easy way to reduce their overheads and will not provide sufficient appropriate training to their fee earners. In my view, that is short-sighted and will ultimately lead to a reduction in both client and staff satisfaction.

The more enlightened firms will take this as an opportunity to provide more appropriate training, geared to the needs of the fee earners and the firm. Rather than individuals booking places on public courses, the forward thinking firms will arrange for suitable training to be provided cost effectively in-house. We are already seeing an increase in demand for our in-house courses on law firm finances and SRA Accounts Rules for example.

Andy Poole, Legal Sector Partner, Armstrong Watson.

Armstrong Watson has been exclusively endorsed by The Law Society for the provision of accountancy services to law firms throughout the North of England.

Doubtless, further guidance will follow from the SRA when its long established regimented CPD requirement has transformed into quite the opposite.

Polly Hill, Associate, Business Litigation, Ralli Solicitors LLP.

ML // April 2015

DO YOU KNOW THE TRUE IDENTITY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS? Our AML check will confirm it in 5 seconds! Call us now to book a free demonstration on: Business checks take a little longer, taking 1-2 minutes.

Sanctions & PEP screening is fully automated, thereafter we monitor all our client’s customers every day. We also automate their enhanced due diligence. Let us show you how!

0113 346 4245 Or visit us online:

SMARTSEARCHUK.COM Powered By

THE ONLY AML RESOURCE YOU NEED SmartSearch delivers UK and International Business checks, plus Individual checks along with Worldwide Sanction & PEP screening, daily monitoring, email alerts and full enhanced due diligence intelligence.

BUSINESS & INDIVIDUAL AML

SANCTIONS & PEPS

DAILY MONITORING & ALERTS

ADVERSE MEDIA

ENHANCED DUE DILIGENCE

RETROSPECTIVE PROCESSING

BROWSER, API & SINGLE SIGN ON

INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS & PEPS

The Views

The modern way forward...

In Issue 15 of Modern Law, Kerry Underwood, Underwood Solicitors said: “Treating law as just a trade or business is wholly wrong.” Do you agree?

I

n order to appreciate Kerry’s comments, you have to read the article these comments were taken from.

There have been and are ongoing changes within the legal sector.

Change for some is easier and welcomed, whilst for others, including the prospective client, this can be confusing, unhelpful and in some areas have included the removal of expected personable experience and customer service provided.

It seems that over the years, some of the people society looked up to, have let society down, been caught with their hands in the till, or in extremely compromising positions!

The result is that it has left society with a bitter taste, where trust is questioned and the ‘My word is my bond,’ kind of trust for many professions has well and truly disappeared.

It appears that now there are many varying providers of Legal Services, including those which are fast becoming like puppy farms, faceless and unaccountable. This may be seen by some as the modern way forward, however for some the customer service and quality of this service is sadly lacking!

We recently heard from a client of an estate agent, who recommended (I use this term loosely), a factory type of conveyancers. The client was selling her property, after the eleventh week, the client had spoken with over 30 different people who had not returned her call, not one member of the company appeared accountable for the lack of service.

The general quality of service was abysmal.

Businesses have to make a living and therefore have to place themselves in front of their prospective clients, if they don’t, then their competitors will and they will eventually close down. If a business offers good quality service, remembers that it is important to look after and maintain customer relations, then they should be looking to shout this from the roof tops. Clients seek out these qualities, but if they are only able to find factory firms, offering bundles of promises, but NO previous client track record, this leaves them open to abuse!

We hear from some solicitors, who ask: “Why should I have to reassure prospective clients? Consumers need Solicitors.”. This may answer the need for clients to want to research and find out what sort of customer service they expect to get – It is their right to question and make an informed choice!

‘Let your clients compare quality, transparent services, not prices.’ www.Checkaprofessional.com or call us on: 0800 093 8414

29

Time to embrace change

T

here’s undoubtedly uncertainty about what the future holds for lawyers in terms of continuous professional development with the removal of the CPD structure.

Does formal training now end on completion of the training contract?

Thereafter does life become the only real training provider? The old system had fallen into disrepair – attendance at a seminar, a box ticked, job done and, questionably, not that much learned of use to either lawyer or client.

All systems benefit from being tested and reviewed to ensure they remain fit for purpose. Training for lawyers and other professionals cannot be exempt, especially when the pace and impact of legislative change makes now a very different world from the one into which most lawyers qualified.

What’s also been changing is the way, how and where lawyers work. Traditional partnership structures still exist but more and more we’re seeing new entrants to the profession eschew the traditional partnership path for a more flexible working life. The factors of flexibility and portfolio careers which may see lawyers move from private partnership to in-house roles or to working as part of an ABS joint venture must drive change in the nature of ongoing professional development and how such training is delivered.

Lawyers need to be inspired and excited by the change and new challenges in their working world to want to add continuously to their skill set and knowledge.

Inspired because the development of their professional knowledge and experience will open doors to something different, rather than ‘same old, same old’.

Clients too expect the professionals advising them to maintain the highest levels of competency. Advisers have a significant part to play in the probity and quality associated with a client’s brand – especially those brands that are consumer-facing.

We may have doubts about what a new competencybased system means in practice and how it will be measured and tested to see if it is delivering. But, surely, it is good to be attempting to create conditions that mirror the flexibility of today’s professional workplace; that exploit opportunities offered by ever-evolving technology to learn in new ways when it’s best for the individual.

Change must be embraced by individuals and employers must ensure that the removal of the old CPD structure is not replaced by the vacuum of inaction.

Michael George Davidson, Head of Business Development, Parabis Consumer Law Services.

Lisa Beale, Head of Checkaprofessional.com.

ML // April 2015

Let Your REPUTATION DO YOUR MARKETING FOR YOU! Brought to you courtesy of our sister company

Today, clients are looking for an informed choice when choosing a legal service and Checkaprofessional’s new online service is providing just that.

The Checkaprofessional website will give instant access to all legal service providers who have agreed to be vetted by us and continuously monitored by their clients, who can post verified feedback on the site. It will provide a FREE one-stop shop to finding the right legal professional for a client’s particular needs.

Find out about the unique advantages Checkaprofessional membership could provide for your online marketing.

ESTATE AGENTS MORTGAGE BROKERS LEGAL SERVICES OPTICIANS

ΔΔ ΔΔ

SOLICITORS COSMETIC SURGEON SURVEYORS HAIR & BEAUTY

ΔΔ ΔΔ

ACCOUNTANTS THERAPISTS DENTAL VET’S

ΔΔ ΔΔ

IFA’S IT

ΔΔ

0808 901 9042 www.checkaprofessional.com

Whatever volume transactions you manage, Veyo is geared to your needs Veyo, the comprehensive new conveyancing portal, has a flexible pricing structure designed to suit the needs of all sizes of firm.

The adoption of Veyo will enable firms to achieve greater efficiencies that will yield cost savings on administration as well as enabling higher standards of client care. There are no set-up fees, no hardware costs and no software costs.

Pre-registered and early adopters will receive preferred rates.

Launching in Spring 2015.

Register now at www.veyo.co.uk

£20

£50

Transaction fee

User admin fee

per transaction

per user

Free AML searches and downloadable conveyancing forms

Free resources

The Views

What’s your story?

How can/should law firms be tailoring their branding/ messaging to new recruits looking to enter the profession and what is attractive to Generation Y when considering the legal career proposition?

T

he importance of recruiter branding and employee engagement is a conversation that has been quietly had in the sector recently. Law firms are considering current and future recruitment plans and are becoming more in-tune with what may be required to recruit and retain those known as Generation Y.

So what is Generation Y? Generation Y (or Millennials) is the population born from 1980s to mid-1990s. This is the generation which has grown up with access to technology, but have also lived through the huge and rapid change in this area. Dial-up Internet anyone? Generation Y are connected and social, but they also have strong ethical views and a firm belief in a strong work/life balance. This is the generation that puts in a lot – but expects a lot back. Brand identity is not necessarily an attraction to this generation, but a brand story is. What your company is about and why you do it is what attracts Generation Y. What gets them in one of your seats and keeps them there is how well you present – and actually live – your culture and values. The why is very important to Generation Y as well as corporate responsibility goals and employee benefits. Generation Y is the group that wants it all because they have seen what can be achieved. If the story you’re selling doesn’t match up to what your employees are living, forget recruiting the member of Generation Y who will be part of your team long-term.

With this in mind, firms should be looking to differentiate themselves not by ‘selling’ a story, but by living one.

Getting your culture right on the inside makes for a strong and authentic recruitment brand externally. Involving employees in the creation of your brand essence – what sums your company up – and featuring them in your campaigns helps create good internal engagement and translates well externally.

Generation Y-ers are likely to be loyal to a firm that backs up their own values, lives its culture and recognises and rewards employees. In summary, Generation Y want and expect a strong, ethical business; good values; to get involved in pro bono projects; to have a good work/life balance; and to work anywhere at anytime – flexibility is key. They will stay with a firm with a culture that is aligned internally and externally. The question for law firms now is ‘what’s your story?’

31

The business of running a law firm...

Kerry Underwood, Underwood Solicitors said: “Treating law as just a trade or business is wholly wrong.” Do you agree?

I

will start with a quote that has resonated with me since setting up Zebra: “You may not go out of business if you don’t make a profit but you will if you run out of cash.”

Whilst legal services may not be “just a trade or business”, they must be delivered in a business-like manner using good business practises. Lawyers are in many ways no different to other business and there is a basic law of cash flow that says that if you do not have a firm grip on the spending of and the collection of money, you will struggle. No-one went into administration for lack of profit, but most went in for lack of cash flow.

In my experience, too many law firms do not fully understand their WIP profile, are not good enough at collecting their debts or converting their WIP into cash.

If you ignore these business rules the consequences can be catastrophic, just look at the real life example of Halliwells, Cobbetts, Manches and Challinors. The full reasons for these insolvencies may never be fully known but could include: 1. Demands from HM Revenue & Customs.

2. An inability to comply with banking covenants.

3. A cost base that could not be sustained.

The facts are that rent, PII, the cost of the Practicing Certificate, heating, travel, in fact almost all expenditure is going up, whereas what lawyers can charge (and this does appear to be across the board) is going down.

Somehow, this has got to be tackled by law firms and a key component is having a genuine understanding of what is going on inside the business. Too many simply don’t have access to good management information and if they do they don’t use it.

Whether you are a plumber or a lawyer you need to win work and collect cash and fundamentally the business of running a law firm is about turning WIP into working-capital.

Zoe Holland, Founder & Managing Director, Zebra Legal Consulting.

Lisa Middleton, Head of Communications, mmadigital.

0161 452 0311 | lisa@mmadigital.co.uk Twitter: @lisa_middleton_ www.mmadigital.co.uk

ML // April 2015

Thursday 19th November The Hurlingham Club London Sponsorship Enquiries: Martin Smith | martin@charltongrant.co.uk Event Enquiries: Ellie Campbell | ellie.campbell@charltongrant.co.uk

01765 600909

www.modernlawawards.co.uk

Award Categories * ABS of the Year - 1 - 25 employees * ABS of the Year -26 - 100 employees * ABS of the Year - over 100 employees * Lawyer of the Year * Non Lawyer of the Year * Team of the Year * Rising star of the Year * Innovation of the Year * Entrepreneur of the Year * Technology Innovation of the Year * Business Development Professional of the Year * Client Care Initiative of the Year * Outstanding Commitment to Training * External Investor of the Year * New Entrant of the Year * Best Marketing Campaign of the Year * Chambers Of the Year * Law Firm Of The Year * Outstanding Achievement Award * Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominations open May 2015

For further information please call us on

0845 017 5517 Delivering the Future of Digital Dictation. Today Today..

or email customerservices@oyez.co.uk customerservices@oye k

Sinai Synagogue Advert 130x185mm_Layout 1 17/10/2014 14:28 Page 1

Northern Base National Presence

A thoroughbred of the North Eastern Circuit

“Parklane Plowden is a regional heavyweight set which has a growing national reputation. It has ‘exceptional litigators' and ‘genuine strength in depth”.

The legal 500 2014

With over eighty barristers specialising in Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, Employment, Family, Chancery & Commercial, Insurance, Court of Protection, and Litigation Funding, we are recognised as one of the largest sets in the North.

For more information on how our barristers can assist you, please contact our senior clerks Michael Stubbs or Andy Gray on 0844 499 5678, email clerks@parklaneplowden.co.uk or visit our website www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Leeds

Newcastle upon Tyne

19 Westgate, Leeds, LS1 2RD

4-8 Lombard Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3AE

Fax: 0113 200 1018 DX: 26404 Leeds Park Square

Fax: 0191 221 2122 DX: 61062 Newcastle

Email: clerks@parklaneplowden.co.uk

Web: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Follow us on

The Views

The next step How should law firms be tailoring their messaging to new recruits looking to enter the profession and what is attractive to Generation Y when considering the legal career proposition?

N

o generation is less compatible with the traditional Law firm than generation Y, but the legal sector needs to transform its recruitment message to attract and retain top talent in the future. While it seems wrong to lump a whole generation together, the children of the 1980s/ early 1990s share a set of attitudes that are clearly distinct from those of Generation X or the Baby Boomers before them.

Joining a firm, working all hours to impress and eventually gaining a lucrative partner position is a concept that was widely accepted by previous generations, but is one that does not sit comfortably with Generation Y. They value flexible working and want to blend fulfilling work with an enjoyable family and social life. For many ‘Gen Yers’ the importance of a work/life balance is different to many of those currently leading the firms in which they work and they are increasingly pursuing multiple careers in varying sectors within their lifetime.

Tailoring messages to meet the needs of Generation Y therefore means promoting and delivering career development at their pace. Learning & Development programmes that make extensive use of ‘self-service’ tools, such as learning management systems, need to be coupled with clear, merit-based, career paths. Confidence that their next opportunity will allow them to balance work and life means that visible family-friendly policies, sabbaticals and a social working environment need to be part of your strategy and substantial enough to avoid retention becoming an issue; as Gen Y aren’t afraid to switch organisations until they find one that’s right for them.

Gen Y increasingly needs re-assurance that they are valued by senior management, to an extent that is sometimes problematic to Gen X. Senior executive involvement in recruitment and the opportunity for on-going dialog with the boss is highly valued by potential candidates, as is the opportunity to work as part of a team and clear openness and transparency from managers and colleagues; all of which need to be highlighted in recruitment campaigns to successfully attract Gen Y. While some elements of adjusting to the needs of Generation Y might feel uncomfortable, ultimately any business that alienates this group is liable to miss out on the talent that will take their business forward over the next 20 years.

Mark Montgomery, Customer Strategy and Marketing Director, myhomemove.

35

Reducing training: damaging your wealth?

The SRA are currently phasing out their hours based requirement for CPD, officially ending on 1st November 2016. Will this really mean an end to continual training for solicitors and should law firms consider other options for training moving forward?

T

he news that compulsory Continuing Professional Development training of 16 hours per year is being phased out has come as welcome news to many. The system was seen by some as a tick box exercise with many cramming last minute sessions into the CPD year – the process was not as robust as was intended. It was interesting that the first to take an interest in the change were the many finance directors of the medium and larger law firms; no doubt wanting to understand the details of the changes, to see if savings could be made on their considerable training budgets.

The compulsory requirement has been replaced with a self-policing policy of ensuring your firm achieves an appropriate level of competence in order to comply with Principles 5 and 6 of the code of conduct.

There will no doubt be firms that are committed to personal development and the removal of the compulsory requirement will have no effect on their behaviour. There are concerns however, within the Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) community that the removal may result in hard-pressed solicitors with good intentions never getting the training they recognise as being required due to client pressures.

The compulsory aspect of CPD would help risk and compliance teams ensure that training took place irrespective of those client pressures.

I am sure everyone agrees that continual training is important, given the evolving nature of the law and the SRA have said that training can be achieved by self-study, internal or external training. When firms come to renew their PII, Insurers will now want to know more about their culture and commitment to training. Investing in appropriate training will undoubtedly improve the quality of a firm’s staff and so the service they offer clients. That will have a knock-on effect on the firm’s reputation and will reduce complaints and claims with their associated costs. Perhaps the change will enable firms to have a refreshing look at the training they provide. We have provided PII Risk Training for many of our clients over the years and will continue to do so – given the “Claims made” nature of PII policies, it may be three or four years before we discover the effect of change. Reducing training could seriously damage your wealth.

Colin Taylor CIRM, Executive Director, Legal Services Practice Group, Willis.

ML // April 2015

Armstrong Watson is exclusively endorsed by the Law Society for the provision of accountancy services to law firms throughout the Northern regions of England – contact us to find out why.

Specialist Accountants for the Legal Profession Armstrong Watson has a specialist team focusing exclusively on the legal profession that provides proactive advice including: • Formulating strategy • Benchmarking • Law firm mergers and acquisitions • Limited company and LLP conversions • Lock-up reviews to free up your hard earned cash We also prepare your accounts, SRA Accounts Rules reports and tax returns in an efficient and knowledgeable manner.

There are many other ways we can help improve your business, contact us to arrange an initial meeting:

Andy Poole, Legal Sector Partner Email: andy.poole@armstrongwatson.co.uk www.armstrongwatson.co.uk/legalsector Armstrong Watson Accountants and Financial Advisers is a trading style Armstrong Watson Audit Limited is registered to carry on audit work in the UK and Ireland by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8800970. Registered office: 15 Victoria Place, Carlisle, CA1 1EW

Conveyancing Version Now Released

The Views

37

A compelling vision

A paradigm shift

How can/should law firms be tailoring their branding/ messaging to new recruits looking to enter the profession and what is attractive to Generation Y when considering the legal career proposition?

How can legal practitioners apply a structured approach to workflow management, including managing/ estimating resources, time and costs?

T

here has been a significant shift in the attitudes of Generation Y - aka born in the 80s/90s and familiar with digital technology. This group of people looking to enter the profession are keen to find a firm that has a “vision”.

In my experience, Generation Y are just as interested and more importantly motivated, in a firm that has a clear vision for the future and what it needs to do to get there. The days are gone where the candidates are the only ones being interviewed. The firm and those interviewing the candidates are just as much on show for prospects and the firm has to “sell” itself to get real buy-in.

Generation Y are looking for some common traits in a firm.

They include a clear vision; leader (or group of leaders); plans for the future; how a firm prepares for an impending challenge/threat; the firm’s policy for training and personal development; career progression opportunities; use of technology and; views on work-life balance to name but a few.

Recently my firm took the decision to recruit a legal apprentice. There is a pool of incredible talent finishing their A-levels who have no desire (or the funding) to go to university. Yet the prospect of the legal profession is so compelling they crave to be a part of it.

At the initial assessment day where we arrange for a group of “finalists” to perform group tasks and presentations, it was important that I set the proposition of working for Aequitas Legal to them at the start. Explaining what we had achieved and where we were heading, you could positively see those candidates who were likely to be successful fill with enthusiasm, and we hadn’t even seen how they would perform yet. The vision, use of technology and where they would play their part was what really interested them and without doubt, it made a huge difference to their motivation to perform at their highest level.

Choosing two candidates to join, even though originally I only set out for one, was a good move and indicative of how good they were. These young and hungry people are intelligent, keen to improve, motivated to perform and dedicated to learning. “Selling” the firm was the best approach, not only to find the right candidate but also to get the best out of them.

Sucheet Amin, Managing Director, Aequitas Legal & Founder of inCase™.

M

ost law firms have a very clear understanding of the need to strip cost out of the business. In the past, that cost reduction focus tended to be on the administrative side of the firm such as marketing, business development, professional development and secretarial support.

Fortunately, most firms now recognise that this sort of blunt instrument produces only a short-term gain and that efforts are better directed at strategies to address more fundamental issues associated with efficiency and productivity.

This in turn necessitates a paradigm shift on the part of law firm management to look at the ways in which they can achieve greater efficiency, reduced speed of work production and turnaround time, and the maintenance of quality control and standards which can’t be sacrificed on the altar of speed and efficiency.

There are a number of specific steps that a firm can take: A. Undertake a process improvement initiative. Some firms have undertaken a considerable amount of work around understanding the steps and processes required to execute a particular matter from start to finish. The objective is to identify the individual steps required in the process and through elimination of double handling, better workflow control and elimination of errors, reducing what may have for example started at 100 steps down to 80 steps.

B. There is now a plethora of workflow management software tools on the market. Indeed, it is the range and choice that can be the challenge rather than the unavailability of the technology. However, help does exist to enable the firm to triage its requirements and select workflow management tools, software and IT support that is a best fit for the practice.

C. Introduce into the firm a project management culture and begin to embed skills and disciplines that enable all fee earners to complete work with the rigour and discipline of project management professionals.

D. Start taking pricing far more seriously, help partners acquire the knowledge and skills to be able to deliver innovative pricing solutions and support this with appropriate internal resourcing, in the form of analytics capability and software.

Richard Burcher, Managing Director, Validatum.

ML // April 2015

Emmerson Associates SJ HPGh:Layout 1

28/01/2013

11:28

Page 1

Emmerson Associates Drug/drink drive cases Drugs and drug traces DNA/STR/ blood pattern analysis CCTV/facial & body mapping Data recovery computers/mobile phones Electronic tagging (PID) Fingerprints & documents

Firearms (incl. GSR) Fires & explosions Footwear/instrument/tool & tyre marks Glass & paint Toxicology (including prison samples) Tachographs Fraudulent & stolen vehicle exams Vehicle accidents & reconstructions

FORENSIC SCIENCE CONSULTANTS 9 Stephenson Road, St Ives, Cambridge, PE27 3WJ. Tel: 01480 460 116, Fax: 01480 460 117 DX 46411, St Ives, Cambridge Email: info@emmerson-forensic.co.uk www.emmerson-forensic.co.uk

Expert Witness Services of a Forensic Structural Engineer Chartered Building Surveyor Reports & testimony provided for TCC, ENE, County and Crown Courts, International and UK Arbitrations & Mediations.

For Failure of Duty of Care including both M.I.Struct.E & M.R.I.C.S. Construction & design defects in Commercial and Residential Buildings.

Insurance related matters including recovery actions, collapse, ďƒžre, ďƒ&#x;ood, storm subsidence and fraudulent claims.

Contact Andrew Billingham A Billingham Forensic Consultant 5, Cheyne Close, Amersham, Bucks HP6 5LT Work 01494 727 217 Mob 07961 398 049 Email: andrew@abillingham.co.uk web:www.abillingham.co.uk

The Views

Sanctions & PEP checks: a no brainer?

A survey by the Law Society suggested as many as 48% of Law Firms made no attempt to check Sanctions & PEPs. Was this because many practices found these difficult tasks to execute or was it because their initial risk assessment stated that they didn’t need to do Sanctions & PEP checks?

T

he process starts with an AML check; if you’re old school with less than 10 checks per month, you can simply continue to request client documents. If you check more than 10 clients per month, electronic verification is the way to go with identities confirmed in 3 seconds with no requirement to request client documents; that’s the easy part done!

To check the HM Treasury Sanctions List manually is cumbersome, ineffective, and impossible to monitor changes and additions. It ticks a token box and is marginally better than a policy of “Oh our customers are not the type to be on Sanctions Lists”?

Every regulated firm has a duty to check Sanctions & PEP lists and (from a compliance perspective) be able to demonstrate they have done this. These checks are name matches only, when a match occurs the vast majority of these are “false alarm”, therefore it is important to discharge this obligation with minimum effort and cost.

Electronic verification is the only way to achieve this effectively; firms can subscribe to a Sanction & PEP data provider exampled by Dow Jones or Accelus. These Organisations will maintain their data sources on a daily basis and provide an electronic service to check their global Sanctions & PEP lists. If you choose one of these providers, make sure you subscribe to a service that also delivers adverse media, biography and photographic evidence, this enables you to execute your enhanced due diligence in a matter of 1 or 2 minutes.

The smart players will select an electronic AML provider where this service is already integrated in to the AML check.

The Sanction & PEP check will execute automatically and only email the client when a match occurs, delivering up all the information to enable enhanced due diligence to be completed almost immediately. Additionally some suppliers will also provide daily monitoring for the lifetime of their agreement, and some will provide the Sanctions & PEP checking and daily monitoring service free of charge.

So there really is no good reason for not checking Sanctions & PEPs, if you are set up with the right provider, it’s all handled automatically; it’s a “no brainer”!

39

An inconsistent approach?

W

e do appear to be involved in an era of significant change and only time will tell whether such change will be considered the dawn of modern litigation or the demise of a trusty system.

The introduction of Part 3 of the Civil Procedure Rule, Section II, was undoubtedly one of the biggest changes to costs in Civil Litigation in recent years. Introduced by The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 (SI 2013/262), Costs Management became a fundamental part of litigation and with it came a significant change in the role of a Costs Draftsman.

Costs Budgets are now required for all multi-track cases commenced on or after 1 April 2013 (subject to limited exemptions) meaning that rather than being involved primarily at the conclusion of proceedings, Costs Draftsmen are now involved in the preparation of Budgets and Costs Case Management throughout litigation. Whilst many litigators opted to complete their own budgets, the harsh reality of getting things wrong was demonstrated in the case of Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWHC 2355 (QB). A failure to engage in the budgeting process resulted in the Claimant being allowed his court fees only. Whilst the approach was slightly softened by the Court of Appeal in Denton v TH White Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 906, the message was clear, litigation must be conducted efficiently, at a proportionate cost and rules must be followed.

Solicitors are now turning to costs experts to prepare budgets, attend Case Management Conferences and to prepare the Bill of Costs when the case concludes.

Whilst it is clear that the skills possessed by Costs Draftsmen lend themselves quite naturally to this shift in role, the introduction of Costs Budgeting has brought a period of urgent adaption, which continues today.

The relationship between a Costs Draftsman and their client is more important than ever before, cooperation is vital to achieving an accurate and measured budget.

Its implementation has presented an added burden on the dwindling resources of courts up and down the country and the inconsistency of approach has brought fresh challenges to litigation generally. A day in the life of a Costs Draftsman has certainly changed and perhaps the greatest change in recent years has been the development of Costs Budgeting.

Martin Harris, Technical Manager & Accredited Workplace Mediator, LawLords.

John Dobson, CEO, SmartSearch UK. www.smartsearchuk.com

ML // April 2015

Triton Global Limited One provider. Many services.

> Multi-disciplinary services for the insurance sector > Outsourced claims

> Specialist loss adjusting > Legal services to the insurance sector*

www.triton-global.com | info@triton-global.com Triton Global is an independent business, owned by its employees *Licenced as an ABS by the Solicitors Regulation Authority SRA no.597577

WHAT WILL YOUR FIRM DISCOVER? WHAT WILL YOUR FIRM

DISCOVER?

With QlikView Business Discovery your firm could consolidate multiple data sources into one user-friendly application for instant answers and unprecedented business insight.

• Better strategic decision making QlikView Business Discovery your firm could consolidate •With Improved financial controls and profitability multiple data sources into one user-friendly application for • Analysis on client retention and feedback instant answers and unprecedented business insight.

• Source of business evaluation Better strategic decision making •• Risk and compliance metrics • Improved financial controls and profitability • Analysis on client retention and feedback Drive business growth with a QlikView application from • Source of business evaluation Informance.

• Risk and compliance metrics

Join us at our QlikView Legal Risk Management Webinar, 11 December, 11am – 12pm email: Cathryn.hunter@informance.co.uk to register.

Join us at our QlikView Legalinformance.co.uk Risk Management Webinar, 11 December, 11am – 12pm email: Drive business growth with a QlikView application from Cathryn.hunter@informance.co.uk to register.

Informance.

Informance Ltd, Warwick Technology Park, Gallows Hill, Warwick CV34 6UW ®

Telephone: 01926 623456 Email: info@informance.co.uk www.informance.co.uk

informance.co.uk ®

Informance Ltd, Warwick Technology Park, Gallows Hill, Warwick CV34 6UW

SBT1273 charlton Grant informance ad.v7.indd ad.v6 August1 2013.indd 1 Telephone: 01926 623456 Email: info@informance.co.uk

www.informance.co.uk

20/01/2015 10:53

The Views

Still in business?

In Issue 15 of Modern Law, Kerry Underwood, Underwood Solicitors said: “Treating law as just a trade or business is wholly wrong.” Do you agree?

I

t is instructive to read the feedback attached to online legal periodicals – almost every story is accompanied by moans from lawyers regretting the dire state of “the profession” and expressing (a) their relief that they have retired from it; or (b) their desire to do so at the earliest opportunity.

This indicates that we lawyers still entertain a lingering feeling that despite everything that the last fifty years have thrown at us in the way of declining of standards, loss of income, and loss of respect, we do still hanker for something of a professional ethos.

So, when comparative earnings surveys tell us that a solicitor’s average income is about £40k per annum, why should this still be so? What is the differentiator? Can it just be the application of a skill, based on learning? But there are few truly unskilled jobs around and indeed most “trades” are bounded by a mass of regulatory bureaucracy.

Most of the businesses in the sector (isn’t that a more accurate term than profession anyway?) are locked in a life and death struggle to keep their heads above water and are obliged to organise themselves in a “commercial” way, whether they like it or not.

So, what’s in a name? Being “in trade” is no longer social death, as it may have been in Victorian times. Pace the “declining standards” brigade, but we in the sector are certainly in business – albeit in a way that often deploys words and ideas in the elegant and intellectual way that we like to think is the result of legal aptitude and training. We now organise ourselves in ways that would be unrecognisable to those who ruled the legal profession even 50 years ago and those who laid down its arcane rules governing “conduct” and a lot else besides! The death knell of the Solicitors Client Account has been sounded and it can only be a matter of time before we have our first UK-headquartered plc. At the end of the day, we are all engaged in making money, or at least attempting, in our own elegant way, to do so.

David Simon, Chairman, Triton Global.

41

Pay-per-Probate Comparison versus Capital Spend

I

n the Pay-per-Probate Comparison versus Capital Spend, the Payper-Probate model (or Pay-as-youGo) might at first glance seem to make good financial sense. For the smaller practice with very few estate administration matters that is certainly the case.

The Pay-per-Probate model by contrast is a case management system, without the benefit of a backend accounting database to input and contain the plethora of financial details involved in handling a probate matter.

Let’s consider the costs over 5 years for a case management system (without the benefit of a full accounting system) charging £60 per probate matter for a firm receiving an average of 10 matters per month, which equals 120 matters x £60. Your annual costs in this example would be £7,200. Over a five year period your total spend would be £36,000.

By contrast your capital spend on a system with three fee earners (who with effective software could easily handle 120 cases annually) would be £7,850 plus 5 years support at £1,570 per annum over five years. This would equal a total spend of £15,700 - a difference of more than £20,000. This represents a massive saving compared with the pay-per-probate model.

Comparing the two models with 4 cases per month, the capital spend model over 5 years (with fewer fee earners) will cost £12,500 compared with the PPP model, which would cost you £14,400.

Let’s not forget that after 5 years your costs on the PPP model will continue at a significantly higher rate than the capital spend model, which will cost £1,570 per annum against the PPP model which will cost £2,880 annually (at 4 probate cases per month).

Ultimately, the equation shows that receiving any more than 2 cases per month using the PPP alternative will be like throwing your money away. The Pay-per-Probate model only begins to compete financially with the capital spend model if your intake of estate matters is two or fewer probate cases per month.

Most important of all, the capital purchase model will provide you with a complete accounting system combined with integrated case management, whereas the PPP model will only provide case management. The conclusion is that in the examples above the capital spend model provides more software for less money.

Gregory van Dyk Watson, Managing Director, Isokon Limited.

ML // April 2015

42

The Views

Is there an answer to the Employment Tribunal Fees?

Breaking the mould...

How important is it for Chambers to be innovating in terms of business model/market, and service offering and what are the most effective ways of doing this in the modern marketplace?

B

I

n March 2014, the MoJ published the quarterly statistics of Employment Tribunal cases received between October and December 2013. It showed a drop of 79% of claims issued in the Tribunal, compared with the same period the previous year. A fall so dramatic, the Government promptly hinted that the newly introduced Tribunal Fees, accepted as the reason for the fall, could be too high and that they would carry out a review. However, with no further news on when or if any change will take place employment lawyers are becoming concerned.

Optimistic commentators said not to pay too much heed to the numbers of claims issued in the final quarter of 2013 because there would have been a significant hangover from the rush to issue before the introduction of the tribunal fees system. But, with Claimants now paying up to £230 to issue a claim in the Tribunal and £950 when the claim is listed for a hearing, it’s clear that the fees are a significant burden for prospective claimants, the majority of which will be recently unemployed.

Employment lawyers are commonly reporting that the number of new instructions remains significantly low and when received, claimants will often give up if forced to issue a Tribunal claim because of the cost. Respondents are wise to this with many people saying that offers are not forthcoming until after the hearing fee is paid.

But maybe employment practitioners should look to civil litigators for a solution. An area of law where high fees, disbursements and the risk of adverse costs are a way of life.

In many areas of civil litigation clients can be offered a nowin no-fee service because the liabilities incurred in making the claim, disbursements and adverse costs, are often protected by an after the event legal expense insurance policy (ATE). With Box Legal, it is now possible to take out ATE insurance for employment tribunals, covering fees, incidental disbursements and up to £5,000 of adverse costs. Funding for the claimant’s fees can also be provided.

As the fees are insured, there is no risk to the claimant because either their claim succeeds and the fees are recovered from the other side or they are paid by the policy if they lose. Could ATE be the answer to Tribunal Fees?

Definitely, maybe.

Jon Gouldsmith, Director, Box Legal Limited.

and cumbersome.

arristers’ Chambers have long been criticised for their lack of innovation and reluctance to adapt to the changing legal market. Doing things ‘differently’ however, is not easy. This is, in part, due to the traditional structure of a Chambers, which means that the decision making process can often be slow

Like many other Chambers, we went down the route of appointing a Chief Executive. And whilst we have prospered under this format, as a Set we felt that it wasn’t quite enough.

Over the past 12 months, we have undergone a unique consultation process which has scrutinised all of the key functions associated with running a Chambers. The result is a new innovative structure that will enable us to deliver a legal service that is more efficient and responsive to the changing legal landscape.

We have moved away from the traditional structure of Barristers’ Chambers and created an Executive Management Board whose role it is to oversee and drive delivery on all aspects of the growth strategy. The other key element in the restructure is the setting up of a separate service company charged with managing the internal systems associated with running a Chambers.

The Board and Service Company include a number of external non-executive members who are well recognised within the legal arena. They include Geoff Harrison, who played a key role in the integration of Eversheds in 2000 and Natalie Rodgers, a Marketing Consultant and former DLA Piper lawyer, who has specialised in working with Barristers’ Chambers for over 10 years. In addition, Chambers has appointed Jenny Hatfield as Financial Director.

The new structure will allow the Chambers to focus on quality in everything from the service we provide to clients, to the efficiency of internal chambers operations.

Importantly, there is a team of decision makers who can move quickly and seize opportunities.

This root and branch change will enable barristers and clerks to work with increased efficiency by freeing them of the administrative tasks that do not enhance the solicitor-client experience. The change will also pave the way for exploring new avenues of work including ABS arrangements and block contracting.

Andrew Axon, Head of Chambers, Parklane Plowden.

ML // April 2015

The Views

Tapping into the talent...

How can/should law firms be tailoring their branding/ messaging to new recruits looking to enter the profession and what is attractive to Generation Y when considering the legal career proposition?

T

hose who regularly attend university law fairs will be the first to confirm that the number of recruiting employers attending is diminishing. Also evident is that despite this decline, there is still a lot of competition for talent, and that the big careers events remain hugely popular.

Why then, with the surfeit of applications, do law firms bother attending law fairs at all, much less sending partners and other expensive staff? The truth is that they are in competition for top talent, and law fairs are a good measure of the potential aspirations and outlook of the next generation of lawyers.

Smart employers are stealing a march on their rivals by tapping into talent at a much earlier stage of potential employees’ careers. CILEx Law School has been helping law firms and other legal service providers by visiting schools to recruit legal service apprentices and CILEx trainees.

These recruits are for farsighted employers, the employees of the future. The message that they are sending to school leavers is that their professional aspirations will not be thwarted just because they do not attend university. Indeed, legal apprenticeships will often appeal much more to the ‘finisher-completer’ potential recruit, than the deferred benefits of a university education and its associated debt.

Those enlightened employers who cast their net widely are usually also sensitive to their CSR responsibilities. They can see that despite the allure of university education, the prospect of student debt is a major deterrent to some very talented individuals from following a career in the professions. This is especially the case for those who come from communities who have in the past been under-represented in higher education. By recruiting at school leaver level, employers can often ensure that their recruitment and selection practices help fulfil their CSR objectives.

So what conclusions can be drawn from these trends?

Certainly, the message is more important than the medium.

Gen Y may have different attitudes to previous generations, but many of their aspirations will be the same: that is, to become professionally qualified in a fulfilling role, without the yoke of huge debt in the future. Achievement of lawyer status through legal apprenticeships combined with the CILEx professional qualification can help Gen Y meet this aspiration, while giving progressive employers a genuine head start on the rivals.

Noel Inge, Managing Director, CILEx Law School.

43

Will positive discrimination work?

T

here is no excuse for gender bias in recruitment, career advancement or remuneration in any professional firm. Although the demographics of the legal profession are changing rapidly, allowing time alone to change the gender balance of the profession will not achieve the necessary shift with sufficient speed.

So will positive discrimination work?

Many believe that positive discrimination would be helpful in accelerating the transition. With no shortage of suitably experienced candidates of either gender, the practical objections to firms improving their diversity in this way are reducing. At its simplest, diversity targets applied to candidates of equal merit could accelerate trends toward gender equality.

Others are concerned that positive discrimination demeans the successful appointee. In the eyes of clients, colleagues and the public at large, the mere existence of positive discrimination may imply that the professional in front of them has not reached that position through merit alone but through some sort of quota system.

A variation on this approach is to identify all the candidates who meet the requirements of the role, seal each of their names in a plain envelope and draw the successful candidate at random. Statistically the result would be that new appointees reflected the gender balance of applicants, not the current gender balance of the profession.

This brings us to the nub of the question.

In 2015, the arguments about diversity and mechanisms to change the status quo have been well rehearsed. The fact that no satisfactory methodology has emerged suggests that we are asking the wrong question.

The relevant question is not ‘What shall we do about the gender imbalance?’ but ‘What shall we do about children?’

While in 2015 law firms may offer both men and women a decent career path, child-bearing and child-rearing are biological factors that cannot be ignored. As a society, we need to ask ourselves questions about how parenthood and the future of the next generation can be secured in a way that parenting does not represent an undue burden on employers or colleagues. Firms are making huge progress towards family-friendly workplaces but, until this issue is resolved, solutions to gender imbalance will always feel somewhat incomplete.

George Bull, Chair of Professional Services Group, Baker Tilly.

ML // April 2015

WARNING RISK OF NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS!

ARE YOU OFFERING YOUR CLIENTS

ATE INSURANCE? *The SRA Code of Conduct requires a discussion of costs risks and consideration of insurance (Outcomes 1.2 & 1.6; Behaviours 1.13 – 1.17) - www.sra.org.uk

Call us now for the personal injury ATE insurance policies you need

For more details, contact Kirsten Roberts 0870 766 9997 | kirsten@boxlegal.co.uk | www.boxlegal.co.uk

Supplied by Solicitors...for Solicitors

The Views

April Showers brings May Flowers

‘A

pril Showers brings May Flowers’ is a mid-16th century rhyme which asserted the importance of rain in early spring for growing plants.

In the 21st Century April Showers can mean properties are at a risk of flooding and now asserts the importance of making sure that your client is aware of the flood risk to their homes. There are over 5 million, or one in six, properties at risk from flooding in England and Wales.

Properties are at risk from flooding from rivers (fluvial flooding, where rainfall over an extended period causes rivers to overflow) or seas (coastal floods, where the wind pushes water up creating high waves causing the sea level to rise). 1 million of these homes are also vulnerable to surface water flooding and 2.8 million homes are still susceptible to surfacewater (pluvial flooding) alone.

In 2007, the Government declared that 240,000 new homes needed to be built per year in order to keep up with population growth and satisfy demand. As well as building in flood prone areas, new housing estates will lead to an increase of paving, large areas of concrete and a lack of vegetation and woodland, all of which creates a lack of drainage in an urban area. Drains don’t have the capacity to get rid of the excess volume of water running off the ground after a heavy rainfall, which leads to surface water flooding.

Coupled with climate changes and global warming drastically increasing the risk of flooding in England, and with up to 5 million homes exposed to potential damage from high waters, the need for a flood search on a client’s potential new home is imperative. £600 million has been spent on protecting homes at risk of flooding and during 2014 and 2015, 42 new flood defence schemes, together with other projects, will protect 42,000 more households. That is all well and good, however, the Government have recently cut funding for flood defences.

45

Choose wisely…

Flexible working is a hot topic for many in the legal industry at the moment but is there a danger that it will be talked about and not adopted in practice by many firms, or not ?

P

ersonally, my opinion is that flexible working should be adopted in certain circumstances, but there are many dangers also associated with it.

If a business were to simply offer flexible working to all staff, and not properly manage the transition, you could quite easily be left with many areas of your business which do not have effective cover at all times.

The Legal Industry is there to provide a service to consumers and clients alike, so there is the argument that as long as flexible working hours cover a wider time period, particularly early mornings and evenings, then you would indeed be providing a better service to the consumer by being available outside of their normal working hours. This would therefore allow your business to become more accessible, to your client base.

Flexible working has to be given correct thought and consideration before a company embarks upon implementation. I believe that ultimately it is a positive thing and will absolutely improve the ability to obtain and retain clients, and also provide them with a significantly better service, but only if it allows legal firms to be open outside the hours of 9 -5, and that is a tradition which may take some time to break.

As with any type of change, many law firms will talk about flexible working but never adopt it, as they will fear the ultimate disruption it may cause to their business.

However, the more forward thinking firms will embrace it and no doubt watch it benefit the growth and operation of their firms.

Phil Hodgkinson, CEO, Pure Legal.

Make sure your client is safe in the knowledge and aware of the flood risks surrounding their home.

By doing so you will mitigate your risk, avoiding any heavy expenses that could be incurred throughout the negotiations, protecting your client and also yourselves.

Erica Wilmot, Marketing Assistant, Conveyancing Data Services.

ML // April 2015

The Views

47

Growth Beyond Referrals…

With increased competition from marketing-smart practices, you’re slowing down your firm’s growth if you’re relying solely on referrals for new business.

R

eferrals may still be your practice’s primary source of new clients, but how many clients are you missing out on while you wait for the next referral?

And how many of those referrals have you lost to a weak online presence or to a competitor that stands out with authoritative marketing content?

With 97% of people researching local professional services online before making a purchase decision, law firms that aren’t using online marketing tactics are missing out on desirable work, regardless of reputation or ability (sources: BIA/Kelsey; Alyn-Weiss).

What This Means for Your Firm Where law firms have traditionally been dependent on existing relationships to generate new business, new survey data from Alyn-Weiss shows that the majority of clients are bringing their cases to firms that they find and research online without a recommendation or referral from a friend, colleague or lawyer.

The fact is, with increased competition from increasingly marketing-smart practices, you’re slowing down your entire firm’s growth when you don’t have marketing processes in place to attract, respond to and convert your best prospects into clients.

Linking Industry Together Linking thethe Industry Together

How it Works To attract your best clients, your firm should be producing original content for your website and distribution channels.

This is an opportunity for you to build your firm’s authority and ensure that you’re front-of-mind whenever a potential client needs your services (Google rewards your original content production with higher search engine rankings).

By automating your lead nurturing processes using a marketing automation platform, you’re able to respond instantly with highly relevant and personalised content whenever someone shows interest in your firm.

These processes ensure that your firm attracts a consistent stream of qualified enquiries who have been pre-warmed on your services, making it easier for you to convert them into paying clients.

Importantly, these processes free you from the feast/ famine cycle of regular law firm life... busy one month, then hunting for revenue the next.

James T Noble will be holding a free seminar on the “3Step Process for Growing Your Firm Between Referrals” at LegalEx, May 13th and 14th.

James T Noble, Propero Partners, james@properopartners.com

July2014 2013| |Issue Issue 10 02| |ISSN ISSN2051-6495 2051-6495 November

September 2014 | Issue 09 | ISSN 2051-6495

Ben Insurance FraudPyall Bureau, talks to The Fletcher, burden of proof: John explains to whatClaims extentabout reinsurers must adhere Modern collaboration in the to fight settlements what an against fraud and the risehappens of ghostwhen brokering. insurance contract does not have to follow a settlements clause.

Fraud data sharing: A lack of best practice over the sharing of fraud data using exemptions in The Claims Journey: Emma Holcroft outlines whythat’s outsourcing anGould.

But about theinvestigations change, writesto Ant independent expert, can lead to surprising outcomes for insured parties.

Linking the Industry Together

and explains his hopes for the claims industry moving forward.

Professor Fenn, speaks to Modern Claims about the aftermath of LASPO, Jackson and The Crystalresponse Ball: Tovah the government’s to hisGrosscurth MoJ report.explains the need to keep the customer front of mind during times of change in the UK Personal market.The recent Law Society Don’t Lines get mugged: anti-insurer advertisements certainly turned heads. Modern Claims speaks to professionals on both sides of the fence about the ‘love it or hate it’ campaign.

“Sausage machines and client care don’t fit together, service has to go - I know people won’t agree with that” Andrew Twambley, Amelans

Ed Rochfort

TimJOHNSON Oliver DAVID Parabis Group

Mark Savill ASHWIN MISTRY Lyons Davidson

“The introduction of fixed costs for some fast track cases will put FOIL, MASS and APIL in a much in terms of aligned interests.

It will be “I predict therecloser will bespace no more than half a dozen defendant interesting to see how that in the asmonths” there are certainly going to lawplays firmsout within thefuture next 18 be more opportunities for the organisations to work together moving forward” Association of Regulated Claims Management Companies

“As the whole sector is united in being ‘distrusted’, I wanted to take “What a joint venture gives a common goal, a willingness the opportunity to get ouryou actistogether as a separate sector and to work with one another ensure, that your prove toclosely whoever is prepared to to listen thatimportantly, we are different, listening systems are aligned... thischange makes itaccordingly” easier and quicker for the andIfcan customer then it has to be a good thing.”

Sponsored by A CENTURY OF

PROFESSIONALIS M

A CENTURY OF PROFESSIONALISM

Sponsored by Charlton Grant Charlton Grant

Charlton Grant

Charlton Grant

Supported by

Association of Regulated Claims Management Companies

“More and more, e-mail is replacing the good old fashioned ‘conversation’ and removing, “Cutting backbit on by bit, whatservice was such customer is an part of the a important false economy... insurance market – If you don’t deliver negotiation” an excellent service, Neilwill Sully, Triton you lose a Global customer and then spend more money on marketing to try and get them back.”

Peter Horton, LV=

Modern Claims Magazine | September 2014 | Issue 09 Modern Claims Magazine | September 2013 | Issue 03

Modern Claims Magazine | November 2014 | Issue 10

Modern Claims Magazine | July 2013 | Issue 02

“Telematics is about giving the customer a tool that will help them understand their driving better... the people who check that data learn more from it and tend to perform better, reducing the risk of accidents and claims”

Supported by

News: The Association of British Insurers

(ABI’s) James03 Dalton outlines the body’s September 2013 | Issue | ISSN 2051-6495 strategic approach, both past and present

Supported by Supported by Association of Regulated Claims Management Companies Association of Regulated Claims Management Companies

Sponsored by Sponsored by A CENTURY OF

E C L I P S E

PROFESSIONALISM

A CENTURY OF

PROFESSIONALIS M

Have you seen our sister publication?

To arrange your free subscription please e-mail info@charltongrant.co.uk

www.modernclaimsmagazine.com

48-55

The Features “Proportionate Sentences” for Very Large Companies There has been an increasing recognition in recent years of the seriousness of regulatory offences and that fines for large companies should reflect this growing concern, as Sailesh Mehta reports.

T

likely… to have the greatest potential to cause the most serious damage”. The Court concluded:

How Big Should a Fine Be? As early as 1999, in R v F Howe & Son (Engineers) Ltd [1999] 2 All ER 249, Rose LJ stated that one of the objectives when sentencing companies in health and safety cases was to make the fine big enough to hurt the company:

“[I]n the case (as here) of a large wealthy company defendant, the overall penalty should, if required, be substantial enough to have a real economic impact so as (along with the attendants bad publicity) to bring the necessary deterrent message home to those who manage the company, and also to its shareholders.”

he sentencing trend for environmental offences suggests that fines are on the increase. It is likely that the trend will also be reflected in other regulatory offences.

“A fine needs to be large enough to bring that message home where the defendant is a company, not only to those who manage it but also to its shareholders” (R v F Howe at 255) In R v. Thames Water Utilities Limited [2010] EWCA Crim 202, the Court spoke of the “need for equal deterrence of all potential offenders, whether wealthy or of limited means - not least because the wealthiest potential offenders are

‘It is likely that the step-bystep approach in the Definitive Guidelines that must be followed by a sentencing Court in environmental offences will be replicated in health and safety and other regulatory cases’ ML // April 2015

Recent Cases In R v Sellafield Ltd; R v Network Rail Infrastructure Limited [2014] EWCA Crim 49, two appeals were heard together as they “raise issues of principle in relation to the level of fines to be imposed for breaches of safety and environmental protection legislation on very large companies” [at para 1].

Sellafield had been fined £700,000 for offences arising out of the disposal of radioactive waste and Network Rail had been fined £500,000 for an offence arising out of a collision at an unmanned level crossing, causing very serious injuries to a child.

After a careful analysis of the turnover and corporate structure of Sellafield, the Court concluded that a financial penalty will directly affect the shareholders who will be able to hold the directors to account for the convictions and to ensure that they give “the highest priority to safety as Parliament has directed”. In upholding the sentence for Sellafield, the Court upheld the £700,000 fine: “A fine of the size imposed, even though only a little more than a week’s profit and about 2% of its weekly income, would… achieve the statutory purposes of sentencing by brining home to the directors… and its professional shareholders, the seriousness of the offences committed and provide a real incentive …to remedy the failures…” [at

The Features

49

‘If the company’s turnover greatly exceeds £50 million, then the Guidelines require the Court to consider whether it may be necessary to move outside the suggested ranges to achieve a proportionate sentence’ para 65].

Network Rail had no shareholders and was publicly owned.

The Court concluded that “A significant fine imposed on Network Rail would, unlike the case of Sellafield, in effect inflict no direct punishment on anyone; indeed it might be said to harm the public.” [at para 72]. Despite this, the Court upheld the fine of £500,000 and observed that if the Crown Court judge had “imposed a materially greater fine, there would have been no basis for criticism of that fine.”

(At para 72 emphasis added).

The judgment of Lord Thomas CJ in R v Southern Water Services Ltd [2014] EWCA Crim 120 was handed down one week after Sellafield, which was cited with approval.

Southern Water Services were fined £200,000 for failing to notify the Environment Agency in relation to faulty sewagepumping station in Margate which was pumping untreated sewage in to the sea. The sentence was upheld. The Court stated that it made no difference that the company ploughed most of its profits back into the business and that the Court would look at profitability in the ordinary way.

Section 164 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires the Court to enquire into the defendant’s financial means before fixing the amount of the fine and to take into account his financial circumstances. Although this section is used mainly to reduce the starting point of a fine for defendants with little or no money, it can be equally used for a proportionate increase in the final figure.

Sentencing Guidelines for Environmental Offences All of the above matters are reflected in the Sentencing Council’s Definitive Guideline for Environmental Offences, which came into force on 1st July 2014. The Guidelines require a structured approach to sentencing based upon the size of the company, ranging from Micro (turnover or equivalent of up to £2 million), small (£2 - £10 million), medium (£10 - £50 million) and large companies (turnover or equivalent of £50 million and over).

The level of culpability (deliberate, reckless, negligent and low/no culpability) and the category of harm (ranging from the highest harm at category 1 to the least harm at category 4) decide the range and starting point for sentencing, based on the size of company. If the company’s turnover greatly exceeds £50 million, then the Guidelines require the Court to consider whether it may be necessary to move outside the suggested ranges to achieve a proportionate sentence.

compliance, offences committed for financial gain, and obstruction of the regulator’s investigation. Mitigating features include good character, that the offence was a “one-off” incident, and the lack of financial gain.

It is likely that the step-by-step approach in the Definitive Guidelines that must be followed by a sentencing Court in environmental offences will be replicated in health and safety and other regulatory cases.

It is the view of many commentators that very large companies, who have previously received extremely low fines in proportion to their turnover, will now face significantly higher and more proportionate fines.

The Trend There have a number of recent Crown Court sentencing cases which strongly suggest that the Definitive Guidelines and recent Court of Appeal Authorities have moved sentencing for companies in regulatory cases on an upward trajectory. This is so even for strict liability cases. The lower Courts have used a “multiplier” to reflect the turnover of a very large company, or simply moved to a higher sentencing “box”. Two of these cases await consideration by the Court of Appeal. It is likely that the Court of Appeal will confirm the upward trend.

Adjusting to the Future For the very large companies who are at risk of committing regulatory offences, sentences are likely to rise steeply over the next few years. There are a number of mitigating measures that they should consider adopting: (a) appoint a regulatory director to ensure the risks are minimised (this also has the benefit of providing some protection for other directors); (b) ensure that reaction to any incident is swift, proportionate and properly documented; (c) consider generous reparations – they have the effect of significantly reducing fines and can counter-act negative publicity; (d) appoint a legal team early and ensure the team knows the regulator well and (e) start preparing for mitigation long before the Summons arrive.

Sailesh Mehta is a Barrister at Red Lion Chambers, specialising in regulatory crime.

The Guidelines require the Court to look at statutory aggravating features such as previous convictions/non-

ML // April 2015

Do you need to review your staffing structures to increase profitability?

We are now teaching over 100 legal apprentices employed by our client firms. We also deliver tailored CILEx training programmes through client in-house academies.

To find out how you can benefit from our expertise in targeted legal training please contact Noel Inge on 01234 844325 or n.inge@cilexlawschool.ac.uk.

CILEx Law School, College House, Manor Drive, Kempston, Bedford MK42 7AB www.cilexlawschool.ac.uk

05724 Advert update.indd 1

04/02/2015 11:48

The Features

51

Improving the business process...

Veyo, the joint venture between The Law Society and Mastek (UK) Ltd, will bring together electronically, all the processes, checks and documentation prepared and undertaken by solicitors and licensed conveyancers in the sale and purchase of residential properties. Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, caught up with the CEO, Elliot Vigar in advance of the launch.

Q: Currently, what are the key challenges facing the conveyancing industry?

A: Solicitors need to be vigilant against fraud. According to the latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, reports of fake law firms have increased by 125% in the last two years. Fraud via impersonation is a growing problem in the conveyancing industry. Solicitors also need to adhere to strict anti-money laundering and identity check formalities by statute and regulation. Conveyancers need to invest in appropriate safeguards and remain watchful. Also, recent figures have indicated a resurgence for residential conveyancing with volumes reportedly hitting a ten year high.

Conveyancing is a very competitive market and the profession is faced with the challenge of servicing a very high level of demand under a backdrop of increasing demands from clients.

Adopting technological solutions to improve business processes, offering operational agility and significant savings in operating costs will help meet these challenges.

Q: How is Veyo different to case management systems?

A: Veyo is a new cloud based tool that enables the various parties involved in a residential conveyancing transaction to communicate and exchange data seamlessly, enabling the end to end, online resolution of a sale and purchase. Although it comes with an inbuilt case management system, Veyo goes further by allowing parties on the system to communicate with each other in a secure shared space.

Q: What are the real benefits of innovative products to the conveyancing market?

A: Innovative products that will succeed in the market have to be able to improve conveyancers’ day to day

‘Conveyancing is a very competitive market and the profession is faced with the challenge of servicing a very high level of demand under a backdrop of increasing demands from clients’ working life, whilst offering cost saving benefits and ultimately improving their service to their customers. Veyo will reduce the administrative burden and offer business savings. By being able to transmit and receive key documents instantly online, exchange contracts, directly interface with Land Registry as well as transact residential property in a secure space (the deal room), the conveyancing process will be streamlined significantly. In addition, Veyo will improve and make easier security and compliance. The system has inbuilt AML checks and identity checks, with inbuilt adherence to Law

Society protocols and CQS workflows.

As well as providing a full audit trail within a secure and trusted community of users. Veyo will offer significant improvements to the customers who will benefit from not only a faster but a more transparent service, where they will be able to see how their house sale or purchase is progressing. The service will also enable conveyancers to communicate and interface with a client in an online environment and therefore less time will be taken up answering client queries for both the conveyancer and, moving forward, the estate agent.

With all of these functions plus a fully integrated Case Management System (CMS) available, Veyo will offer costs savings with a price at launch of £50 (+VAT) per user per year plus £20 (+ VAT) per transaction.

Q: How can practitioners and consumers ensure solutions are secure and robust? Would users be more vulnerable to fraud?

A: All conveyancers who use our system will be subject to a vigorous and robust, vetting and onboarding process, to ensure that they are who they say they are, and that users can have confidence that they are working within a trusted community of peers.

We believe we are offering a far more secure process that is currently available and one that will assist greatly in helping to counteract the problem of fraud in the conveyancing industry.

Q: Will joining Veyo be a precondition to ongoing membership of CQS? A: No, there is no precondition to be in CQS to be part of Veyo and likewise there is no precondition to be in Veyo to be in CQS. Conveyancers who are solicitors can be members of either, neither or both.

Elliot Vigar is CEO of Veyo

ML // April 2015

Need to settle personal injury claims more quickly and fairly?

ISO's Claims Outcome Advisor (COA) and PICAS Plus solutions provide the ability for insurers and claimant solicitors to settle personal injury claims fairly and consistently, more quickly than ever before.

Helping to streamline your personal injury and anti-fraud processes Need to quickly identify and investigate Fraud?

ISO’s anti-fraud solutions, ISO ClaimSearch and NetMap for Claims, offer insurers and solicitors advanced tools to rapidly scour in-house and shared databases to reveal hidden patterns of claims activity using scoring, querying and visualisation techniques.

When the goal is to provide fast and fair personal injury compensation, or stopping fraud, talk to ISO.

01252 365460 info.uk@iso.com www.uk.iso.com

The Features

53

Are You Prepared for Change?

David Drew examines one aspect of the change process that was highlighted recently at the Modern Law Conference: Leading A Modern Legal Business, “Managing Change in Changing Times,” namely, that of “Managing Risk.”

I

n today’s business environment, it is often said that “change is the only constant.”

In the post LSA environment, with over 400 licensed firms already opting for the Alternative Business Structure (ABS) model, change certainly seems to be the order of the day, and indeed, for the foreseeable future.

The risks I will discuss are not those relating to “business as usual” but, rather, those presented by market consolidation, mergers and acquisitions, the entrance of new players and the trend of movement away from the traditional partnership model.

Whatever your firm’s plans for the future, and whether or not the prevailing wave of change will directly impact on you and your firm, it would surely be advisable to be prepared for any realistic eventuality.

‘It is not too late to take stock, and take control of the situation by preparing a resilient strategy for survival and prosperity’ The impact of change Whilst it might be oversimplifying matters to say that change presents either opportunity or risk, surely those industries (e.g. Manufacturing, Building Society, Insurance, Telecomms) that have already experienced drastic changes, would agree that the risks are significant, and that few emerge from the experience unscathed.

So, in managing the risks of change, perhaps the relevant question is not “will

change impact my firm?” but “how will change affect the firm?”, and, “are we adequately prepared for the impact?”

Let us examine some of the risks that typically arise in these situations: • Have we adequately assessed our strengths and weaknesses?

• Have we adequately assessed the external influences that impact us?

• Is our current Business Model fit for purpose?

• Do we understand the needs of our clients; is the way we do business aligned to client needs, or our own?

• Do we understand the buying motivators of the next generation of potential clients?

• How do we protect our future revenue streams?

• Whether or not we act, do we risk damaging our reputation?

• Are we taking full advantage of new technology, social media and economies of scale?

• Do we currently have adequate management skills to deal with the risks?

As a highly qualified and experienced Legal Professional, it is in your DNA to prepare thoroughly when handling legal matters for your clients. Surely, then, it is your duty to adequately prepare for the threat of change to you and your firm with the same degree of care and attention? Even now, it is not too late to take stock, and take control of the situation by preparing a resilient strategy for survival and prosperity, and to manage the risks I have listed, above.

The complex matters at hand can be simplified by adopting the following high-level model: Audit-Analysis-PlanningImplement-Review Whilst there is no “one size fits all” approach to managing change and risk, there are tools available that can be used to assess risk and develop risk management plans that can underpin the process of managing the change.

Among those that I have found useful in supporting Client’s Change Programmes, adopting the above model, include: • Stakeholder Analysis (e.g. Clients, Executive Management and Personnel, Regulators, Competitors, Suppliers, Legislators) • SWOT Analysis (to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats) • PEST Analysis (to identify Political, Economical, Social and Technological influences).

These simple tools can be incredibly powerful in identifying which risks are, and which are not, relevant to your circumstances. Once risks have been identified, they can be prioritised and a Risk Management plan built, to ensure your firm gets from where it is now (position A) to where it needs to be for the future (position B). Action points can then be identified and assigned to the Management Team to deliver.

Many large organisations will have sizeable in-house teams and resources to design and implement the changes, and can be confident of emerging as “winners” in the face of change.

Others may turn to their NED’s for non-executive input and opinion.

Perhaps a significant majority of firms may adopt the strategy of bringing in an external expert, to temporarily boost the level of expertise around the table, to bring experience of what has worked and what has not worked elsewhere, and to support the Management Team design and implement a plan for change for now, and for whatever the future holds.

David Drew is Founder and Principal Consultant of DREW Management Consulting, est. 1997. David.J.Drew@ btinternet.com. LinkedIn uk.linkedin. com/in/daviddrew/

ML // April 2015

2XU FOLHQWV WDNH FRPIRUW LQ RXU ULVN EDVHG DQG PHDVXUHG DSSURDFK WR SURMHFWV ZKHWKHU WKH\ EH FRQVXOWDQF\ EDVHG EDQN IRFXVHG :,3 SURILOLQJ GLDJQRVWLF DXGLWV RU 0 $ GXH GLOLJHQFH ZLWKLQ WKH OHJDO VHFWRU

5,6. _ 9$/8( _ 23325781,7<

*HQHUDO (QTXLULHV

HQTXLULHV#]HEUDOF FR XN

=RH +ROODQG 0DQDJLQJ 'LUHFWRU ]RHKROODQG#]HEUDOF FR XN

=HEUD /& LV D XQLTXH WUXVWHG &OLHQWV LQFOXGH OHDGLQJ ODZ ILUPV DGYLVRU DQG GXH GLOLJHQFH EDQNV LQVXUHUV LQYHVWRUV VSHFLDOLVW ZLWKLQ WKH 8. OHJDO IXQGHUV DQG QHZ HQWUDQWV VXFK VHFWRU GHOLYHULQJ FOLHQW SURMHFWV DV )DLUSRLQW *URXS 3/& DQG ZLWK D GLVWLQFW PDUNHW OHDGLQJ 1RUWK (GJH &DSLWDO DSSURDFK .QRZQ IRU DGYLVLQJ LQ VRPH RI KLJKHVW SURILOH GHDOV LQ WKH OHJDO VHUYLFHV PDUNHW

ZZZ ]HEUDOF FR XN #]HEUDOF

Our expertise is your solution Baker Tillyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Professional Practices Group is a multidisciplinary team whose flair and sector expertise have helped us to achieve our position as one of the UKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top providers of business services to the professions.

Like most businesses in the current economic climate, professional firms, both large and small, corporate or partnership, are facing numerous challenges. Our position enables us to not only influence technical and legislative developments for the good of our clients, but also to lead the way in identifying innovative and efficient solutions to their problems.

To learn more about how we can help you, please contact: George Bull Chair of Professional Practices T: +44 (0)20 3201 8000 george.bull@bakertilly.co.uk

www.bakertilly.co.uk Baker Tilly Corporate Finance LLP, Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP, Baker Tilly Risk Advisory Services LLP, Baker Tilly Tax and Advisory Services LLP, Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP, Baker Tilly Business Services Limited and Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited are not authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but we are able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services because we are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. We can provide these investment services if they are an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide. Baker Tilly & Co Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to conduct a range of investment business activities. This communication is designed for the information of readers. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, information contained in this communication may not be comprehensive and recipients should not act upon it without seeking professional advice. Š 2014 Baker Tilly UK Group LLP, all rights reserved. 0422

The Features

55

Diversification: the road to profitability Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law, spoke to Darren Gower, Eclipse Legal Systems about the importance of ensuring the right technology is in place before considering diversifying your service offering - and how this will pay dividends in future.

S

ince the liberalisation of legal services, in the form of the Legal Services Act (LSA) 2007, followed by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, market competition and financial pressures have caused many law firms to consider other revenue streams to maintain profitable entities, and for some, to stay in business.

The right reasons Before considering diversifying as a legal business, it is important to fully assess your options and create an effective and coherent strategy. Some core aims when considering diversifying should be establishing the reasons you want to change your offering, as well as how you are going to achieve it. For example, are you looking to broaden your geographical presence in order to target a different demographic of potential clients? Alternatively, perhaps you are succession planning, considering a future merger or acquisition and aiming to make yourself more ‘sellable’, or appealing to investors. In the current market environment, one of the most widely recognisable and popular types of diversification is broadening the existing service offering. This option is certainly not without its potential pitfalls though. Take the personal injury (PI) market for example, where practitioners who had previously operated around a low value, volume model, have begun to move into high value noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and Clinical Negligence claims, without fully understanding the capital injection these cases would require and the cash flow lockup they can cause, in the form of WIP.

Before considering this option, it is also important to assess whether the firm, and its existing partners and staff have the capacity and skill-set required to broaden their case-load. It is also vital to ensure there is a robust technological strategy in place to support the transition and any subsequent expansion.

‘The availability of pre-configured and ready to go workspecific modules for that system... can save months of IT time in terms of rebuilding processes’ Darren Gower Technology: lifting the burden Selecting and investing in the appropriate software solution for your firm prior to any strategic changes will pay dividends when it comes to exploring new areas of potential income. So, if you are looking to broaden your service offering, it is important to select a user-friendly solution which will alleviate the burden of having to wait months for existing systems to be altered. The solution should be scalable, easy to use (for everyone in the firm) and rapid to implement. Selecting a case management solution, which can be implemented quickly and in a department-by-department fashion, will help relieve the stresses that can come with implementing a ‘clunky’ case management solution and will allow those leading the business transition to concentrate on what matters most: the day-to-day running of the business and its strategic goals.

Darren Gower, Eclipse Legal Systems, comments: “We at Eclipse have seen some excellent ‘re-engineering’ among some of our clients; firms that have successfully moved into new work areas while being able to maintain their brand position and their hard-earned reputations. To make this transition successfully, a flexible and scalable case management system is vital. And just as important is the availability of pre-configured and ready to go work-specific modules for that system - this can save months of IT time in terms of rebuilding processes.”

For further information, please contact Darren Gower, Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc via darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100.

Alternatively visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk

® Proclaim is the only Practice e v a H Management Software solution Endorsed by the Law Society. you heard? CALL 01274 704 100 www.eclipselegal.co.uk/lawsociety lawsociety@eclipselegal.co.uk

MLFP0000317072013

Because litigation is rarely black and white If you’re a solicitor looking for a legal expenses insurance partner, there are several options on the market - few with the levels of free-thinking flexibility offered by AmTrust Law. Our underwriters specialise in tailor-made commercial legal expenses policies that give your clients the cover they need.

With an ‘A’ (Excellent) credit rating from A.M.Best, worldwide cover capability and a strong balance sheet, we also have the financial clout needed to underwrite higher indemnity values for large commercial clients.

www.amtrustinternational.com

Call 0844 854 6838 to set up an introduction to a broking partner

AmTrust Law

An AmTrust International Division

AmTrust Law is a trading style of AmTrust Europe Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

AmTrust Europe Limited has been rated ‘A’ (Excellent) by A.M.Best.

IT Crowd

57

57-62

IT Crowd

ML // April 2015

58

IT Crowd

Can IT bring genuine strategic benefits to a law firm or is this still primarily a back-office overhead?

Our resident IT guru Charles Christian writes…

W

ay back in the 1990s, Professor Richard Susskind lamented that lawyers don’t “get” IT – but are they any better now or do they still regard it as a tedious, expensive back-office overhead that offers no benefits to either their own work as lawyers (the ‘lawyering’ bit) or to the quality and convenience of the service they offer to clients.

I’ve been doing a little digging and find that ten years ago, back in March 2005, Stephen Spooner of British Land telling delegates at a commercial property briefing that lawyers needed to “work smarter” and embrace new technology.

“Gone are the days,” said Spooner, “when we looked forward to receiving a weighty tome of nicely bound paper documents to review. We now expect our legal partners to provide all data electronically for transparency and ease of use. The time, money and resources saved in working this way has a huge potential for improving operating efficiencies and business performance.”

Building relationships Fast forward ten years to March this year and the latest Winmark Looking Glass Report (produced in conjunction with Thomson Reuters and Mayer Brown) found that General Counsel are still complaining that “the attitudes of law firms and their clients towards technology and new legal service models are significantly out of kilter.”

For example, the report found technology was cited by corporate clients as a top 10 factor for starting and retaining a legal business relationship with a law firm – yet technology did not feature at all in the top 10 list compiled from law firms’ answers.

So what is the problem?

One issue is most lawyers really don’t understand technology. Not only do they not appreciate it’s potential but they also have only a dim idea of what systems they have at their disposal within their own firms – despite the fact they probably spent the previous 18 months quibbling over its cost.

An added complication is that most new business development is ultimately left to lawyers. Sure, there may be a business development or marketing team lurking in the background identifying prospects but the actual ‘rainmaking’ and contractual negotiations are handled by lawyers – and usually partners. This is in stark contrast to

ML // April 2015

many ABS legal service providers where a ‘sales’ team concentrates on winning the business and confines lawyers to the ‘lawyering’.

It is also in stark contrast to the rest of the real world. For example, in the insurance and financial services sector, it has been the practice since at least the mid-1980s (when I used to report on technology trends for that market as well), that new business projects would involve three distinct disciplines: (1) the insurer/underwriter/broker/actuary to provide the domain expertise plus (2) the marketing specialist to ensure the timing, messaging and positioning of the new product was correct (there may be a niche in the market but is there a market in that niche) plus (3) the technology specialist to ensure the systems were in place to deliver and support any new product launch.

‘Not only do [lawyers] not appreciate [technology’s] potential but they also have only a dim idea of what systems they have at their disposal within their own firms – despite the fact they probably spent the previous 18 months quibbling over its cost’ The basics…

By contrast in the legal industry, not only are the technology specialists frequently the last to know of a new client signing but they are also equally regularly mortified to learn what IT services have been promised to these new clients, despite the impossibility of the service delivery timeframes and budgetary constraints involved. It all goes back to the problem of lawyers not understanding the fundamentals of technology.

The net result, when you talk to in-house legal teams and corporate clients, is that almost without exception, they complain about the service delivery aspects of their law firms and the fact they have to push (a polite way of saying ‘nag’) law firms for technology support, whereas ideally the firms should be offering it from the outset as a matter of course.

This is why Chris Fowler, the General Counsel for UK commercial legal services at BT, recently commented “If law firms can take technology and harness it, it can be a game changer.”

Perhaps but it looks like far too many lawyers still don’t “get” IT. Charles Christian is IT Crowd Consultant Editor and Editorin-Chief of the Legal IT Insider.

IT Crowd

Modern systems = making a profit Can IT bring genuine strategic benefits to a law firm or is this still primarily a back-office overhead?

I

t has been a while since this question has been asked and it is probably because most people believe that IT has evolved to the point where the strategic value of information systems and everything that goes with it, is now a requirement in any business, and following recent changes, particularly law firms.

The huge advances that software and technology have made in recent years is quite startling and the amount of innovation that goes into a modern software system is quite incredible. People have worked out how to write programs in such a way that using software is becoming a natural thing for us mere mortals. No longer does one have to spend ages learning how a specific piece of software works; it is now all very intuitive and dos not require a huge effort.

The impact that more tech savvy youngsters are having in the modern business world, is further affirmation that IT technology is not to be ignored, but should be embraced and included in any overall strategy for a law firm.

One element of any firm’s strategy must be to make a profit, and modern systems are now designed to make it easier to run the business and therefore, make a profit. In addition, besides the systems that manage the transactions and the business processes, new, agile systems that turn the data into meaningful information in a quick and affordable manner make it easier to introduce the changes that are necessary to manage a business in today’s ever changing environment.

IT is more than capable of bringing strategic benefits to a law firm; they need the tools to be able to deliver what is required. If they are not delivering any strategic benefits, it most likely means that insufficient investment has been made in key elements of modern systems. In order for this statement to be true, law firms need to look inwards and determine if they want to have an IT department that will provide real strategic benefits and invest in what is currently available to every law firm.

Barry Talbot, Managing Director, Informance Ltd.

59

Three MustHave Software Applications for Successful Legal Practice Managers H

ave you ever wondered why some law firms always seem to be scrambling to find invoices and files, while others are the model of efficiency? Every firm is mired in data and paper; it’s unavoidable.

At least, it used to be. Now, with quickly expanding options in legal technology, there is no reason for this to still be an obstacle. It all comes down to how you handle this information. Here are three types of tools that will help your firm get there: A legal practice management (LPM) platform This is the heart of any well-oiled law firm. It centralises the management of your day-to-day tasks so that you can keep your billing, time-tracking, calendars, and more all in one place. If your LPM platform is cloud-based, all the better, as this means that your data is accessible from anywhere at any time without the need for an expensive in-house server.

Accounting software Having a good piece of accounting software, like Xero or Quickbooks, is also crucial to keeping your books balanced and managing things like retainers, trusts, and income. It makes things easier for you and your accountant. If your accounting software integrates with your LPM software, even better. That would save you even more time because it minimises the administrative work - no more manually importing and exporting large amounts of financial data.

A document management system From documents, to audio, to video, your law firm will be handling all kinds of information. And a lot of it. Filing cabinets are clunky and it’s difficult to sort and find specific files in them (especially compared to running a simple search on your computer). It also costs more to maintain storage for so much paper, while document management systems are becoming more and more affordable. One very popular option is Dropbox, which is easy to use—and conveniently, cloud-based. Some intuitive programs go one step further, like Bundledocs, which bundles all of your individual PDF and Word docs into one document (complete with contents page and hyperlinks). No matter which application you choose though, make sure that it is cloud-based. This will save you from having to invest in hardware and servers; just sign up for an account and go.

Derek Fitzpatrick, Business Development Manager and EMEA Account Executive, Clio, a cloud-based practice management solution for lawyers.

ML // April 2015

60

IT Crowd

A helping hand…

Training: how do we get lawyers and other fee earners to actually make use of the technology their firms are buying - do techniques such as “gamification” help or are they just gimmicks?

E

very firm will approach the roll out of new technology differently, in my opinion, the one way that firms can ensure a successful roll out is by engaging their fee earners and staff from the outset.

Some firms will take the ‘cloak and dagger’ approach to buying new technology, the senior partners will meet with potential new providers, make a decision (in this instance the decision is usually based largely on cost) and announce to their team the day before that, come the morning, there will be a new system in place. This inevitably stresses people out, they’ve had no time to prepare and have had no input into the new system. It only takes one person to refuse to use a new system, or to not use it properly, to really undermine the value for the firm - how accurate will business decisions be when based only on 80% of the actual data?

Far more successful are the firms who gather input from fee earners and other staff prior to meeting potential new suppliers, those who find out what those ‘at the coal face’ want and need to make their lives easier. The benefits of this approach are two-fold, not only are firms making a better informed decision, they are also engaging key staff from the outset which leads to a far smoother training programme.

A key part of our implementation and training process is the kick off meeting and gap analysis. We insist on meeting key people from each department, and in many cases fee earners and cashiers too. This gives us a clearer sense of the expectations and gives us the opportunity to agree between us each departments exact requirements. Come training time everyone is well informed and excited about the process.

Gamification undoubtedly has it’s place in increasing engagement and adding the fun factor but we find that making the training relevant and as ‘real life’ as possible leads to less downtime and a smoother training experience.

We use clients live files as part of the training process so that straight away they are gaining familiarity with the system. We also offer unlimited ‘hand holding’ and support at no extra cost, which is always reassuring to new client firms and it clearly works as one such client commented “The training and support have been exceptional and it is very reassuring to know that someone is always on hand to support us.”

Jo Hodges, Head of Sales & Marketing, Redbrick Solutions.

ML // April 2015

Revolutionising the law Can IT bring genuine strategic benefits to a law firm or is this still primarily a back-office overhead?

T

he days of IT being a strict ‘backoffice’ creature should - should - have long since gone. But just in case anybody reading this is in doubt, let’s have a very swift look at the background to that opinion, and why - in a few short bullet points - it is very wrong!

IT as a back-office overhead Ten, twenty years ago, yes any software or IT solution was generally something that underpinned an administrative process - something that was numberbased, admin-heavy, and carried out as an operational activity. Very much a cost to the business. So that, in legal fields, generally translated as the financial accounting functions, the number crunching behind closed doors that was unglamorous but very much a vital cog in the machine.

IT as a strategic partner Times change, and technology’s lower costs; easier accessibility; and increasing presence in everybody’s lives has brought it to the fore. In terms of business strategy, can you really imagine running your law firm without utilising technology to…

• Provide a ‘shop window’ for your customers, enabling them to engage with you and procure your services without ever having to pick up a telephone?

• Enable your business partners to share matters, data, and progress with you, bringing together a chain of service provision and opening doors for greater volumes of businesses, and ongoing profitable alliances?

• Empower your fee earners to forge strong connections with customers, by being able to track historical activities and suggest new service lines to prolong mutually beneficial relationships?

The use of IT such as case management software has revolutionised how legal services are provided, and have created a highly visible service-based culture. This can only strengthen as time progresses and the strategic importance of technology will continue to grow.

Darren Gower, Marketing Director, Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc.

IT Crowd

61

What can organisations do to protect themselves online?

A

Law firm’s reputation is key to its business growth. Recovering from cyber-attacks and breaches is not only costly and time-consuming, but will have a significant impact on the perception of your business. This is particularly pertinent for lawyers and solicitors as clients will only select businesses that they trust. If they aren’t confident of the security of the data you hold on them, they are unlikely to choose you.

It’s vital that you take a proactive approach to your IT security. Regardless of your business or practice size, the importance of implementing high-level IT security can’t be underestimated. The risks of theft, data protection breaches and cyber-attacks are all too real. Being a small company doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk either, as many hackers will perceive you as a ‘way in’ for targeting larger businesses.

It’s a common phenomenon that companies only take action once it is too late. Although this may stop similar issues in the future, it doesn’t prevent the reputational impact that a security breach has now. At Solvings, we strongly encourage you to seek advice as soon as possible about how to protect yourself and your clients.

Typically, your IT security solutions are split into three main categories of Physical, Network and Information security.

Ensuring that each of these areas are addressed and supported on an ongoing basis is essential to minimising your security risks.

We can help you by offering everything from Cyber Security Training Courses, Network Security Assessments, Security Information Operating Procedures, Consultancy and Cyber Essentials certification. We can also work with you to help you achieve the European ISO2701 (Information Security Management) accreditation. We are fully-qualified security consultants and will ensure that you have the right level of security accreditation, all the way through to the Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme.

The benefits of Cyber Essentials accreditation are twofold. Not only does it enable you to get your own data and IT security in order, but it also demonstrates to your clientsyour commitment to data security. However, the first step is to speak to a professional and understand what it’ll entail to ensure you are secure. The costs are relative to the risks your firm faces, and with a real understanding you can undertake the investment, knowing the benefits it will bring.

Steve Lysaght, Managing Director, Solvings Ltd.

62

5 minutes with...

5 minutes with... Rory Wilson Q Q A

Did you expect the legal services sector to change so drastically when you started working in it?

When I started, 7 years ago, the sector was relatively stable having gone through an evolutionary period a few years previously. Subsequently, in the lead up to and following LASPO there have been significant and far-reaching changes affecting all areas and leading to market wide uncertainty, which we are still experiencing as we speak. The extent of the changes implemented by the Government and their unwillingness to find compromise has been particularly concerning. However, I firmly believe that ours is one of the most innovative and resilient sectors and we are seeing firms making significant changes to their business models, resulting in them being leaner and hungrier than ever before.

A

What has been the key positive or negative impact of the liberalisation of legal services?

I am a positive person, however; it has been extremely difficult to remain so in the face of everything that has been thrown at our sector in recent times. My overriding concern is that in all the changes little consideration has been given to the customer and the impact on them, in what is already a distressing time when the need for legal services has arisen. The sector is having to balance good customer service against profitability and certainly the attempt to dumb down the provision of legal advice can only be detrimental to the customer with the important role of skilled professionals being reduced to an online submission and response system.

Q A

Who inspires you and why?

I try to take something from everyone that I work with, whether they are peers or colleagues. I firmly believe we need to continually keep learning without the arrogance to believe we know everything.

Q A

Have you had a mentor? If so, what was the most valuable piece of advice they gave you?

There have been certain individuals who invested a lot of time in myself and my development. They taught me a great deal about not only my role at that time, but also involved me in making higher-level decisions. My skillset as a result was expanded massively and given me the impetus to keep pushing forward with my career. I suppose the best advice was that there are always peaks and troughs in business; never rest on your laurels when things are good and keep pushing forward.

Q A

If you were not in your current position, what would you be doing?

I’m really not sure! Perhaps I’d like to think that I would take a punt at running my own business, whether it is within the legal sector or not.

Rory Wilson is Business Development Manager at Amberis ATE Insurance Solutions.

Ground-breaking ABS to implement Proclaim Aspire Law chooses Eclipse’s Proclaim Case Management solution

A

spire Law - a partnership between Aspire, a national spinal injury charity, and Moore Blatch, a personal injury law firm - is implementing Darren Gower Eclipse’s Proclaim Case Management Software solution.

Aspire recently became the first organisation of its type to own a stake in an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) law firm. The new venture will be dedicated to providing a specialist service to people with spinal cord injuries, creating a Social Enterprise Model which places clients’ needs and requirements at the centre of work, delivering a highly personalised service. The service could in time

ML // April 2015

expand to include advisory elements around housing, education, care and rehabilitation.

Aspire Law will make no deduction of fees from the compensation awarded to clients and - as a joint partner - the charity will receive 50% of profits to reinvest into projects, like the Aspire Housing Programme which provides accessible accommodation to spinal cord injured people discharged from hospital who would otherwise have nowhere suitable to live.

The new ABS is implementing Proclaim across the business, providing a desktop solution for fee earners dealing with a broad range of claims.

Proclaim provides scope for the firm to expand its offerings into other areas, providing the ability to service the complete needs of its client base.

Chris Byron, Managing Director of Aspire Law, comments: “We are extremely proud to be able to introduce an alternative way of delivering legal services to people with spinal cord injuries, which combines the legal expertise of our team with strong charitable values. The decision to implement Proclaim was commercially right for us as a business; having seen how the system enhanced processes at another Moore Blatch business, Moore Blatch Resolve, we were confident that Proclaim would be able to deliver in line with the aims of Aspire Law.” For more information, please contact Darren Gower, Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc, via darren.gower@ eclipselegal.co.uk, or call 01274 704100.

Alternatively, visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk

A truly independent broker service with over 14 years of proven service and quality

Bespoke ATE Insurance solutions shaped around your specific needs.

Independent No broker fee Tailored to your needs Highly competitive premiums Supported by leading insurers On-going support and assistance 14 years of proven service and claims history

Ask about our four key steps:

Listen Define Create Operate

e: info@amberis-ate.com t: 0161 703 9300 w: www.amberis-ate.com Bespoke insurance solutions for after the event

e v a H you heard?

Proclaim® is the only Practice Management Software solution Endorsed by the Law Society.

It speaks volumes that Proclaim, Eclipse’s market-leading system, is the solution of choice for 22,000 legal professionals in 800 organisations. Proclaim encompasses practice, case and matter management, and is now the only system to be endorsed by the Law Society.

From new start-ups to industry heavyweights, Proclaim is the system of choice for forward-thinking law firms.

• • • • •

Fully integrated Practice Management Software solution SAR-compliant legal accounting End-to-end case and matter management workflow processes Ready-to-go workflows for specific practice areas Fast to implement, easy to use

Contact

e the Proclai se – n o ti ra st n o em d us for a

CALL 01274 704 100 www.eclipselegal.co.uk/lawsociety lawsociety@eclipselegal.co.uk

m difference