Birmingham Law Society Bulletin Jan Feb 2022

BULLETIN

THE MAGAZINE OF THE BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY

JAN/ FEB 2022

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THIS ISSUE

ADVERTISE HERE THE BIRMINGHAM LAW SOCIETY BULLETIN IS PUBLISHED BY FRASER URQUHART MEDIA. To advertise your business to Birmingham Law Society members call Fraser Urquhart Media on 0116 2533445 or email jon@fu-media.co.uk or kevin@fu-media.co.uk Editorial enquiries to info@fu-media.co.uk Disclaimer: Copyright Fraser Urquhart Media. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy in compiling this publication, the Publisher cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies, omissions, breach of copyright or otherwise since compilation. The Publisher cannot be held responsible for any material submitted to the publication, not excluding advertisements. The views expressed within this title are not necessarily the views of the Publisher. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply recommendation by the Publisher. © Fraser Urquhart Media 2022.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 4.

President’s Address.

5.

News

12.

What Does Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Signify In The Higher Education Arena?

13.

The Pandemic In Numbers

14.

Changing Team Behaviour

16.

Is Your Law Firm Going Global

18.

Compliance Top Ten Trends For 2022

22.

The Art Of The Possible: How One Man’s Intuition Revolutionised His Firm

24.

The Great Resignation: Can We Beat It?

26.

Don Quixote Comes To Birmingham

CONTACT US Birmingham Law Society Suite 101, Cheltenham House 14-16 Temple Street Birmingham B2 5BG Tel 0121 227 8700 info@birminghamlawsociety.co.uk www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk Twitter @bhamlawsociety Insta @birminghamlawinsta Officers September 2021 – September 2022 President - Stephanie Perraton - Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP Vice President - Tony McDaid - No5 Chambers Deputy Vice President - Alice Kinder- Anthony Collins Solicitors Hon. Secretaries - Clare Murphy, Harrison Clark Rickerbys Services LTD and Mariyam Harunah, Squire Patton Boggs Board Chair – Dee Kundi, Knights PLC Vice Chair & Finance Director - Ben Henry, Jonas Roy Bloom Committee Director – Rav Hothi Professional Development Director – Nisha Panchal, Harrison Clark Rickerbys Ex Officio as President - Inez Brown, Harrison Clark Rickerbys

EXPERT WITNESSES FOR: l l l l l l l l

Mechanical and Process Engineering Manufacturing Industries Oil and Gas Industries Petrochemicals and Chemicals Pharmaceuticals Fertilizers and Pesticides Metallurgical Industries Safety and Environmental

2012-2018

Contact c/o Birmingham Law Society

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 3

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

new year to complete the marathon walks in London and Scotland to help raise vital funds for the charity - wish us luck! Sifa Fireside is a very different charity, which as well as needing funds and support, also needs donations of clothing, nonperishable food and toiletries. They are putting together a really exciting calendar of events that everyone can get involved with during 2022, and I am hopeful that by the time you read this, I will have spent time at the centre on 30 December.

Firstly, may I take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. As I sit down to write my column on a cold December afternoon, the news is rather gloomy, another variant of Covid -19 more transmissible than before, talk of another circuit breaker, additional measures, a full lockdown? And then a well-known Oasis song comes on the radio, urging us not to “look back in anger,” so true, I think, we can’t change anything that has happened, but we can try to look forward to 2022 with hope of a brighter future.

And there is plenty to look forward to; the Lord Chancellor has announced that there will be a review of the Human Rights Act, by bringing in a “Bill of Rights” which will no doubt be hotly debated in the months to come; after 25 years of freezes and cuts it seems that criminal legal aid rates will finally be increased; and the Consultation is now open regarding the closure of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund and BLS will be responding to the Consultation on behalf of our members.

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We have a number of exciting events planned for 2022, including the Legal Awards on 31 March.

With everything crossed, we hope to be able to present the awards in person to some of our most talented and worthy lawyers and this year we have two new awards, one for InHouse Counsel and the other for equality, diversity and inclusion. If you haven’t already completed your nominations then please hurry as the closing date is 10 January.

As well as the usual training and networking events, we are proposing a Wellbeing event for all members, looking at wellbeing from both an employer and employee perspective, something that is in my opinion long overdue. Plans are well underway for the Big Debate and the “Alternative Dinner” in June for junior members. Details of all of our events will be circulated soon.

You will be hearing much more about my chosen charities over the next few months: Walk the Walk and Sifa Fireside. I do hope that you find the article on the history of Walk the Walk, the brainchild of Nina Barough CBE interesting and informative. The Officers are ready to start training early in the

And no update would be complete without a mention for the Commonwealth Games due to take place in Birmingham in July 2022. I am extremely proud that the games will be hosted in my home city and sincerely hope that as many of us as possible can get to be part of that experience. I will shortly be calling for volunteers to be part of a legal advice clinic to run throughout the games to assist athletes with any legal issues they may have whilst in Birmingham. To be part of that will, for many, be a once in a lifetime experience. Immediately before the games, Birmingham Law Society is welcoming a delegation of Commonwealth Lawyers, who have chosen to have their conference in Birmingham.

I do hope that you enjoy the articles and tips we have for you this month, in particular, the “Top Ten Compliance tips” from Jayne Willetts, the wonderful article from Jude Jennison on “Challenging Team Behaviour”, a very sobering article on the “Great Employee Resignation” as well as a fantastic insight from life coach, Rebecca Mander So as you will see, there is a lot going on. It didn’t take much for me to focus on the positive and as we begin a new year, I would urge you to do the same.

Stephanie Perraton, President of Birmingham Law Society.

With thanks to our sponsors:

LEGAL EAGLES RETURN TO REVOLUCION DE CUBA On 19th October BLS, BSG & BTSS hosted the Annual Legal Eagles Quiz at Revolucion de Cuba. Sponsored

by St Ives Chambers and Robert Walters, Stoo Pittaway, quiz master extraordinaire kicked off the sold-out evening, with 24 teams in attendance.

At half time huge dishes of paella were devoured. The staff were busy serving delicious cocktails well in to the evening.

The charity raffle was a huge success with £400 raised for Walk the Walk, Sifa Fireside, Ecobirmingham and Suited for Success. With prizes donated by Nude Bar & Grill, Cosy Club and Robert Walters.

Congratulations to the winners of the quiz DAC Beachcroft who get to hold the prestigious cup until 2022!

Look out for the next Birmingham Law Society Quiz in February 2022.

NEW YEAR’S HONOUR FOR COUNCIL MEMBER The Birmingham Law Society has been a great aid in helping me voice and highlight the issues of victims and where many don’t have the ability to do so, in order for them and the many domestic abuse organisations, in the area to get the support they need. I will continue my work, as unfortunately there is still more to be done and I will keep fighting for victims. I know the Birmingham Law Society will help me with my cause for the benefit of their members and Birmingham as a whole”.

Council Member Richard Port received an MBE in the New Years’ Honours list, Richard said, “I am humbled and privileged to receive such a huge honour from the Queen. In my years of service to Domestic abuse victims, I never expected to receive any recognition for my passion to help those in need.

President Stephanie Perraton said, “We are hugely honoured and proud at Richard’s achievements, Richard has been a Council member for BLS since 2014 and worked tirelessly on behalf of the ED&I Committee to educate members.”

FAMILY FIRM JUBILANT AFTER MULTIPLE AWARD HONOURS

Staff at Adcocks Solicitors in Lichfield are jubilant after they were highly commended in a prestigious and specialist national awards series.

While it was pipped to the winning post, it is overjoyed to have been won high praise from judges in News On The Block (NOTB)’s Enfranchisement & Right to Manage Awards 2021.

receive this honour. We were delighted to be a finalist, but to be highlighted out and highly commended by the judges was the icing on the cake especially since we were against some large London city firms.

Its Senior Director Mark Adcock, who is the grandson of the firm’s original founder, was also thrilled to be one of only eight solicitors in the country to be a finalist in the Solicitor of the Year category. High praise is icing on cake for specialist Lichfield practice, Mark said: “To be highly commended in a national awards series that recognises the best across the UK in this specialist field is high praise indeed, and we are thrilled to

The award judges looked at the firm’s work during the last 18 months, which included the staging of leaseholder roadshows in Lichfield and Birmingham; and amongst its extensive case load, handling instructions for over 200 lease extension matters, 90 freehold house enfranchisement matters, and 25 nationwide missing landlord cases.

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 5

NEWS

PROPERTY CONVEYANCERS ACCELERATE DIGITISATION STRATEGIES IN FEAR OF FALLING BEHIND COMPETITORS

Survey by Landmark Information identifies that 88% of conveyancers believe paper and manual processes will have ‘all but gone’ by 2025 Landmark Information Group commissioned an independent market research project to understand what impact the past 18 months has had on the residential property market, and to uncover what legal professionals believe is possible by 2025.

We explored: • The impact of the pandemic on residential conveyancing • The challenges and opportunities faced by those who embraced automation • The evolution of the residential transaction We surveyed one hundred solicitors and specialist conveyancing practices including fee earners, heads of department, solicitors, partners and directors.

The report highlights: The increasing importance of technology. The pandemic was a powerful instrument for technological advancement and the entire legal sector changed longstanding, traditional working practices within weeks.

Of those conveyancing professionals who embraced digitisation, two-thirds experienced less business interruption.

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The rise of automation The benefits of software and technology gave an edge to those who embraced them.

79% of property lawyers and conveyancers thought those who had yet to incorporate digitisation risked falling behind.

Uncovering the key to powering up property transactions Our report revealed what legal professionals felt about the impact of getting more property data earlier.

And how the profitability of the entire sector rests on automating a few crucial tasks.

Automation and risk management Will automation and AI help legal professionals manage risk or increase exposure? The answer surprised us and demonstrated the complex nature of this question.

However, a significant majority of respondents agree increased digitisation is coming to the land and property sectors.

Digitisation and the future of conveyancing The law firm of the future looks likely to be a vastly different place.

Our respondents believe automation will change the role of legal professionals and free them up from administerial tasks.

Responding to a changing marketplace The message from our survey was clear: embracing change is critical to the future of conveyancing.

While the industry has had to overcome various significant hurdles in the last 12-18 months, there is an overwhelming appreciation that PropTech has played - and will continue to play - a hugely important role in enhancing the residential conveyancing process across the industry.

What is clear from the survey findings is that conveyancers believe PropTech adoption is inevitable and will deliver a more transparent, efficient and faster process for their clients, while also helping them to differentiate, increase profitability and, importantly, improve risk management.

The full survey findings and commentary are available in a comprehensive report, which is available to download for free.

To download a copy of the Residential Conveyancing Trends: 2021-2025 report, visit https://go.landmark.co.uk/ residential-research-report

SHAKESPEARE MARTINEAU APPOINTS CORPORATE PARTNER Shakespeare Martineau has appointed corporate partner Jody Webb. With more than 14 years’ qualified experience, Jody joins the firm from Freeths where she was a director, specialising in acquisitions, disposals, management buyouts and private equity investments. Jody has particular expertise in manufacturing, energy, technology, automotive and retail sectors and has acted for BGF on numerous investments.

Well known in the Birmingham market, Jody will be based at the Shakespeare Martineau’s Birmingham hub. Her appointment is the

latest in a string of new partner hires as part of the firm’s growth strategy, broadening its footprint both north and south.

Jody’s appointment is not the end of the firm’s corporate team expansion as the firm continues to talk with various partners.

Jody said: “I am delighted to be joining Shakespeare Martineau, which has an impressive client base and offers specialisms that cater for a breadth of client needs. The corporate team is ranked tier 2 in the Legal 500 so their reputation goes before them. I look forward to being a part of the friendly, approachable culture and the firm’s growth journey as it expands its corporate presence in Birmingham.

“Birmingham is a great city with a thriving corporate finance community and numerous businesses right on our doorstep. 2021 has seen increasing M&A activity, from owner managers, ambitious management teams, PE houses and funders. The UK market is attractive right now following the success of our vaccine rollout and the resilience and adaptability shown by many Midlands businesses. I am passionate about working in Birmingham and surrounding Black Country and look forward to working with clients, contacts and colleagues at this exciting time.”

INFOTRACK TRIUMPHS WITH WINS FOR PRODUCT OF THE YEAR FOR ECOS AND SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR shape the future of the legal industry.

Providing a single platform to complete all conveyancing tasks – from onboarding to AP1 – InfoTrack is pioneering the technology that helps law firms manage their conveyancing workflow.

Clive Meredith, Practice Manager at Wollen Michelmore LLP says, “[InfoTrack] saves a huge amount of time and it has given us a scalable solution for growth.

We’ve been really impressed with the software. However, it’s not just the software we’ve been impressed with.

InfoTrack’s customer service is without doubt the best we’ve received from any third-party software supplier. They are responsive, proactive, and a joy to deal with."

InfoTrack has won two awards at the 2021 British Legal Technology awards.

Taking the win for Product of the Year for their eCOS client onboarding solution, the award recognises innovative new products and solutions which deliver vision, differentiation, practicality, and importance to help evolve technology for the legal sector. eCOS is a powerful digital onboarding solution, supplying everything firms need to enable streamlined paperless client onboarding from one consumer-inspired portal. Providing access to bank-grade ID and source of funds verification tools, client care letters, onboarding questionnaires, and licensed Law Society TA forms, firms are benefitting from obtaining key information faster.

Amy Church, Managing Partner at Lucas & Wyllys says, “Sending client care with

eCOS is a breeze. We can open a file and send client care packs out in under 10 minutes, then our clients can complete the paperwork straight away. A process which used to take on average 2 weeks, can be completed within a couple of hours. The process also ensures that no questions or documents have been missed, reducing the need for further communication and delays.”

Mike Leeman, Managing Partner at Bell Lamb & Joynson Solicitors adds, “Clients are verifying identity digitally, which just goes to show it is a product and technology which is very easy to use and accessible to all.”

InfoTrack was also crowned Supplier of the Year, recognising demonstrated excellence in legal technology and client focused services. This award honours the suppliers which are helping re-

Scott Bozinis, InfoTrack CEO, comments, “We're incredibly proud of winning Supplier of the Year as it highlights our dedication to delivering the best technology solutions to law firms. eCOS is a perfect example of one of our latest innovative solutions that is transforming the way law firms interact with their clients, continually demonstrating the value our technology adds, particularly over the last 12 months. The legal landscape is evolving, and digital IDs and electronic onboarding are influential in the shift. Winning Product of the Year for eCOS recognises the appetite from the industry for solutions that can improve the process.”

To see InfoTrack’s award-winning eCOS (electronic client onboarding solution) register for a webinar on Tuesday 7th December, 11am to see how your firm can benefit from this innovative solution. www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 7

2022 Legal Awards

2022 Legal Awards

BOOK NOW! 31ST MARCH 2022

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE, BIRMINGHAM Members - Tables for 10 persons cost £1,000 + VAT Non-Members - Tables for 10 persons cost £1,250 + VAT The quickest and easiest way to to reserve your ticket(s) or table(s) is to complete this booking form and send to: allinallevents@birminghamlawsociety.co.uk Alternatively bookings can be taken via the website by visiting: www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

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... a night not to be missed

2022 Legal Awards

2022 Legal Awards

BOOK NOW! Don’t miss out on your chance to attend the biggest and best event in the West Midlands legal calendar.

Tickets for the Birmingham Law Society Legal Awards 2022 are on sale now.

The Awards, now in their 20th year, will shine the spotlight on the firms, teams and individuals who have excelled over the past 12 months.

Guests will enjoy a pre-dinner drinks reception followed by a four-course meal.

Spaces for the annual awards dinner are limited so it is advisable to book early to avoid disappointment.

Award partner

Please see overleaf for details on how to book your tickets.

Booking Form >

NEWS

SPECIAL FEATURE

7 TELLTALE SIGNS IT’S TIME TO CHANGE YOUR LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE core product you purchased is now costing you more than it did before.

In the meantime, we all know that the legal industry is continually shifting – new rules, regulations and legislation are commonplace.

The importance of an ongoing development roadmap is clear – evolve and comply; be stationary and don’t.

In this situation, it’s best to consider turning to the independentlyowned suppliers who are still clearly investing in improving their products.

Telltale sign #2: Your team is still doing a lot of manual and paperbased work There are so many inefficiencies associated with a paper-heavy environment. There’s only ever one master copy of paper files. It can only ever be in one place at one time. Collaboration is harder if you’re working remote. And it’s a versioning and logistical nightmare.

The practice management legal software industry is rapidly changing and with it, new features are being launched all the time. Is your current vendor an innovator or a laggard?

Data migrations and implementations can be hard, but if you’re not getting value from your existing solution, it might be time to consider switching practice management systems.

How do you know when it’s time to find a new vendor? We share 7 warning signs to help you decide.

Is it time to switch your legacy practice management software?

Nobody likes change. And when it comes to your practice management software– there’s a lot at stake. Many law firms hesitate to change legal software providers because they perceive that it will be too hard, too painful and too expensive.

But what about the benefits of growing, evolving and progressing your practice?

Let’s take a trip down memory lane… ask yourself: why did you invest in a practice management system in the first place?

You must have had high hopes for it: you thought it would improve productivity, streamline procedures,

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help you go paperless, keep you compliant and support your revenue goals.

Remember those days? Now, ask yourself – do you still want the same things for your business today? Of course, you do!

So, which do you prefer?

Taking on the challenge of switching to a better practice management solution, or carrying on living with the failing “legacy” system?

To get to the bottom of this, it’s best to understand the telltale signs that your system needs a reboot. Here’s a helpful list of seven tell-tale signs it’s time to make the switch.

Telltale sign #1: The cost of your software has risen, but its features don’t stack up.

With a number of independently owned software companies now acquired, your current vendor may be going through a number of management changes, which will often lead to a slowdown in research and development and worse still – costs increases.

That’s bad news for you as a customer, as you’re paying more for the same product. Adding “value add” services such as customer success teams, free webinars, and more ‘comprehensive’ packages only attempt to hide the fact that the

On top of this, there are all of the disadvantages that come with paper – waste of storage space, damage to the environment, information security risk, lack of transportability, higher costs and more.

If your processes are still heavily paper-based – why? Would it help if your practice management software offered document management capabilities? What about submitting online forms? Options like allowing you to label and find matter files quickly, access document templates and legal forms, bundle everything for court and record time as you go are now available in newer document management systems and it’s well worth investigating.

Take a look at our ‘How to go paperless in 2021’ guide and understand the benefits of ditching paper.

Tell-tale sign #3: You’ve grown and your software hasn’t grown with you When you first started up your business or joined your practice, it’s likely you deliberately kept things small – your organisational structure, office space and software tools. As you’ve grown, no doubt you’ve expanded your staffing and moved to bigger offices. But what about your IT? After having just lived through a global pandemic, the world has changed – including our tech

requirements which differ vastly from 18-plus months ago. For instance, cloud computing should be a nobrainer, but not every software supplier has made the switch!

Alternatively – perhaps you were dazzled by a sales demonstration and decided you needed all the bells and whistles of a pricier practice management system. You may realise a few years in that you’re paying for a lot of features that are “nice to haves” or ones your team rarely use. Perhaps it is better to find a supplier that allows you to pick and mix solutions for more flexibility. Have a look at Quill’s flexible pricing and available add-on boosts for inspiration.

Telltale sign #5: Your software is clunky to use and needs a facelift.

There’s nothing worse than struggling to get to grips with a system that’s supposed to streamline the day-to-day and help you to multitask. We all know slow, bulky systems with an outdated interface will be rejected by your users and ultimately slow down adoption.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that many practice management software vendors have raised their prices, yet this funding hasn’t found its way back into the actual software yet. If your system feels fairly clunky and old looking, then it’s time to consider moving to some of the newer kids on the block that are investing in a better user experience.

Tell-tale sign #6: You are no longer a priority and receive little support after the sale First of all, when adopting a practice management system, it’s important you choose a practice management software vendor that can offer handson, interactive training and support.

Some vendors are focused on closing the sale and then you never hear from them again. So what happens when you need technical, training or account management help?

Should something go wrong or if you have a new starter seeking training, you’re reliant on helpdesk and customer support services and they’re not always responsive. Make sure to ask for references from clients or better yet – ask the sales team to call their support team during your demo!

What you’re trying to ascertain is how the after-sale support will be.

Check out reviews on Capterra, speak with employees, read case studies and research credentials (ie. LSSA membership) before you place your software order.

And don’t dismiss the power of your gut feeling. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

Read on for how Quill manages data migration and offers training and support.

Telltale sign #7: Nothing integrates seamlessly and you’ve been hit with hidden charges You could be using one system for performing AML checks, another for managing your documents, another for recording time, another for accessing legal forms, another for logging matter progress, another for bundling documents for court, another for billing etc… you get the picture.

In fact, the point is there’s no one single picture – or, rather, complete oversight – of your work in process and financial positioning. Instead, there are fragmented images that have to be painstakingly pieced together to visualise the whole. Your staff will be entering the same data multiple times and singing from different hymn sheets. This wastes your valuable time, increases the potential for error and disconnects your teams. Moreover – you’re likely paying for these additional systems that aren’t always necessary!

Bringing everything together – your systems, your data, your documents, your people – is the way forward. If your software doesn’t permit this – or it means you need to buy other, separate products – look further afield.

Smart law firms use practice management software that addresses the pain points above and a whole lot more. For extra insights into how to operate your business the smart way, download our ‘Guide to the essential smart law firm technology in 2021’.

Ready to switch legal software vendor?

If these tell-tale signs match your relationship with your current provider, then why wait?

Quill’s system is super intuitive and easy to use – if you can work a website page, you can work and navigate around Quill. Whether you are looking to unlock productivity, embrace a paperless approach, support remote working, or scale your business, switching to Quill’s cloud-based legal software is a gamechanging business decision that will reap rewards.

Promise.

Quill helps law firms streamline and run their practice better by providing simple and easy-to-use legal accounting and case management software, as well as outsourced legal cashiering services.

Get in touch for more information about Quill’s practice management software and outsourced legal services by emailing info@quill.co.uk. www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 11

NEWS

2022 COULD BE THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE RECOVERY YEAR IN DECADES. ARE YOU READY? year and where your support is coming from. This report helps you do just that: Find out about; • The global outlook for the year ahead including the economic recovery and the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic • Market themes such as the green economy, post-Brexit trade and the likely consequences of underestimating inflation • FX forecasts covering the major currencies including USD, EUR, GBP and AUD In Western Union Business Solutions’ latest guide for global organisations navigating currency exchange and volatility, they uncover the next phase of economic recovery and forecast the key market trends and events set to reshape trade and foreign exchange next year.

Western Union Business Solutions understand the complexity of currency volatility can often feel daunting. Research shows

that 66% of finance leaders felt exposure monitoring was their biggest FX pain point during COVID*. Therefore, it’s critical to re-think the technology and processes you have in place to mitigate the impact on crossborder operations, cash flow and profitability.

If your organisation is doing business overseas, or has clients that have international transactions, it remains critical to evaluate your strategy for next

• Risk management – make future cash flows more predictable and potentially gain a competitive advantage against other businesses who may leave themselves exposed to currency risk If you'd like to find out more about the report and how we can help your business, or support your clients with their business, please contact partners@westernunion.com * Source: FX Hedging Strategies for a Post-COVID-19 World – Treasury Management International Report, 2021

IRWIN MITCHELL NAMED CP SPORT’S PARTNER OF THE YEAR Adi Fawcett, Chief Operating Officer at CP Sport said: “As our partner of the year Irwin Mitchell go above and beyond to support CP Sport and our vision to provide anyone with cerebral palsy the opportunity to be active.

National law firm Irwin Mitchell has been named CP Sport’s Partner of the Year at the charity’s annual awards event. The legal experts’ support of CP Sport spans many years, during which they have helped with resource materials and also used volunteer hours to guide the charity through building awareness campaigns. This year, the company has sponsored virtual events including online social cafes.

On Saturday, 11 December, the 2021 CP Sport Awards were held and during the event, Irwin Mitchell was presented with the Partner of the Year award.

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The evening was attended by various Paralympians, as well as American TV and film star RJ Mitte, who has cerebral palsy himself.

Jennifer Cawthorne, a partner and specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We’re delighted to have been named as CP Sport’s Partner of the Year. The charity does such amazing work for those living with cerebral palsy, and it’s a privilege to be a part of that.

“We look forward to continuing our work with CP Sport and what 2022 holds.”

“Irwin Mitchell support our online cafes and annual awards ceremony helping us to provide social events to keep the community connected during these challenging times. Behind the scenes they provide access to their expert staff supporting us in a range of areas from digital expertise to printing resources.

We are proud to call Irwin Mitchell our Partner of the Year 2021.”

CP Sport is a national disability sport organisation and charity. It encourages people with cerebral palsy to live more active lives by promoting the opportunity, capability and motivation involved in taking part in sport and physical activities. It provides sport and activity opportunities for people with cerebral palsy, a range of support services and also uses its voice to influence change for the benefit of disabled people.

Find out more at https://cpsport.org

Shred paper-based conveyancing, completely.

Digital conveyancing is more secure than paper-based processes.

Tear outdated paper-based conveyancing processes to shreds. Digital conveyancing means onboarding clients electronically with eCOS, integrating LMS for automation of priority searches and AP1 registration, digitally signing HMLR deeds, and accelerating and automating creation of your report on titles with Property Report. InfoTrack is the only platform that enables a completely digital conveyancing process, end-to-end. Give us a call or email us. But, please, don’t write a letter.

InfoTrack; the home of digital conveyancing.

Join the digital conveyancing movement with InfoTrack. Call us on 0207 186 8090 or visit www.infotrack.co.uk/nopaper

OPINION

WHAT DOES EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AN SIGNIFY IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION Aston University’s Frances Seabriodge shares some of the initiatives, the univeristy have been embarking on, and to inform on how the education sector is embracing inclusiveness in a variety of ways.

I have been a member of Birmingham Law Society’s Equality and Diversity Committee now for just over two years. I am proud to represent Aston University on this committee, sharing and observing good practice, developing ideas and generating discussion on how we can make the legal profession a more inclusive environment, and set the objectives in working towards common goals.

There are two main elements to the implementation of the EDI strategy at Aston University, the first through wide communication, and the second through the review of progress and the mapping of the journey to attaining successful outcomes.

With regard to the first element, Aston University has a dedicated area of its website “Inclusive Aston” 14 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

to ensure that communication is available to all on this important area of its agenda. Working parties have been formed around the various themes (i.e. bullying and harassment, disability, religion, gender, religion, LGBT, BAME, health and well-being) to take the conversations further.

Consequently, the University has been working towards the creation of charters and awards, the development of policies and training, and the creation of inclusive working and learning environments. The implementation of policies within the university are checked through benchmarking and data auditing, conducting qualitative research through surveys and focus groups, the development of action plans and timelines and the formal assessment of impact.

With regard to the second element, there are key objectives in the implementation of the Equality and Diversity strategy; these include the accessing of accurate and current data to assess the University’s position, the interpretation of available data to assess the position of those individuals with protected characteristics, and the

creation of rigorous systems that reach across the departments.

Operationally the University aims to embrace a system of analysis and tracking, to enhance awareness before change, prepare reports in a collaborative way, and share experiences both within the University and externally. Key for me is the latter initiative of sharing experiences across the institution and beyond. This is a great platform to disseminate good practice to the benefit of professional sectors, which will be welcoming our students upon graduation.

Having established the ways, in which the journey is going to be undertaken, how is progress in the attainment of these objectives mapped?

The mechanism for measuring performance is through engagement with awards, for example Athena Swan, in aspiring to attain a Gold award in addressing gender imbalance in the Higher Education sector. If we stay with this illustrative example of the makeup of the Higher Education sector, looking at gender, the statistics relating to the progression of women in the HE sector are

On a national level, Advance HE, the organisation that champions development of the HE sector through training and membership launched the Aurora programme in 2013 to promote leadership in the HE sector for women, through a series of workshops and development days, for networking and sharing good practice. There are now 8,300 women who have joined this programme from across 200 institutions in the UK and Ireland, examining the four key areas of leadership skills: Identity, Impact and Voice, Politics and Influence and Adaptive Leadership Skills.

ND INCLUSION N ARENA? rather illuminating. Women comprise a group of 104,305 compared to the 118, 865 full time male academics in the sector. That is approximately 42 % of the total population in this sector. There, are 6,345 female professors in the UK, compared to 16,415 males. These are statistics published by Advance HE for 2019/20.

Some examples of the initiatives, which have been brought in to address the gaps in progression for those members of staff representing gender, are research into gender issues, encouraging schoolgirls into engineering careers, Aston Women’s Forum, Aston Women in Business Society, Women returning to the work environment following on from career breaks.

In terms of initiatives, which have been adding to this agenda, Aston University convened a workshop on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as part of the Annual Law Conference, which was hosted virtually by Aston University 15th- 16th April 2021. This workshop explored the themes of professional identity and gender and the teaching of Law and race in HE. The underlying message was to be transformative, even if that means development using a very incremental/ slow burn method.

The support of all colleagues from a mental health perspective is of course key to all action plans brought in by the University. The Covid- 19 pandemic has emphasised the significance of this. Those involved in the delivery of education were seen to have key roles; nevertheless, the stress, which the pandemic brought about, was palpable.

Importantly there is excellent peer support offered through the Mental Health First Aiders scheme whereby colleagues who have received a programme of training can talk about: the early signs/ symptoms of someone becoming unwell, and the ways in which people can support themselves and where they go for more help.

I move now to discussing the impact of the EDI agenda on our students. As part of the drive and agenda of inclusivity which Aston prides itself upon, there is recognition for those students who have caring responsibilities, and financial support for those students with children, alongside a nursery facility available to staff and students. Aston University is also signed up to The Disability Confident scheme, which encourages employers across the UK to actively recruit and retain employees with a disability.

In a time when the UK is currently experiencing shortages in the labour market, there is a lot of business sense in embracing this scheme and in engaging with policies and initiatives to recruit the best staff possible whilst at the same time acting positively to create inclusivity in the workplace. This scheme has three levels it offers to support employers on this journey; level 1 Disability Confident Committed, level 2 Disability Confident Employer, level 3 Disability Confident Leader. All employers join this voluntary scheme at level 1 and work through the levels, with the facility to access the guides for good practice, and the resources for free.

The Enabling Team within Aston has an overriding responsibility for ensuring inclusiveness for students in terms of student experience on campus. In respect of the ever-important area of

mental health, well-being and support, this team provides a comprehensive, albeit overstretched service nowadays for students to reach out and receive counselling, and face anxieties or mental health difficulties encountered during their studies.

As well as students having the facility to be able to join any of their own personal faith societies on campus, the Martin Luther King Multi Faith Centre is a congregation forum for all religious denominations, in an atmosphere of interreligious understanding and cooperation. As an academic, I have found this Centre to be of immense value especially where students have recently joined the University and wish to break outside their immediate learning groups to meet other students from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, who are studying a different discipline.

Decolonisation of the curriculum is currently an agenda being picked up by approximately 30 universities in the UK. Aston’s working group in this areas seeks to scrutinise the use of language in teaching, and the curriculum content and how it feeds into stereotypical, traditional and now outdated concepts, which need to be questioned in the modern learning environment. Introducing the themes of Equality and Diversity into our module curricula is positive and assists in preparing students for the workplace and in creating open-minded inclusive leaders of tomorrow.

Universities and HE providers should be providing the forum for high-level debate and the formulation of academic discussion on these agendas. There has been much press coverage recently regarding how academic opinion on aspects of the EDI agenda is received within the HE environment, and questions raised therefore on whether or not there really is freedom of speech in the sector?

My aim in writing this article is to highlight the myriad of ways in which the facilitation of all genders, belief, cultures, races and religions are occupying the same learning space, and are accommodated. These are exciting and progressive times in the development of agendas which support these important themes, and if we can share experiences, and mechanisms which bring about progress, then much the better.

We cannot guarantee the outcome in implementing an agenda, but what we can do is map a path for all stakeholders which involves dialogue, discussion, reflection and dissection of values and ethics, and which hopefully will contribute towards a more inclusive environment for all.

www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 15

NEWS

CHANGING TEAM BEHAVIOUR

things and that sometimes you might be the spanner in the works without realising it. Not because you intended to be, but because you might be the one who is out of alignment. Different perspectives are needed in a team to prevent group think, and everyone will have different knowledge, experience or values to bring to the team.

Change your approach It often seems easier to do what you’ve always done, and it’s more comfortable to carry on as before. You know how that ends.

Unresolved differences of opinion.

Frustration. Tension in the team.

Stress.

Everyone tells me that changing someone’s behaviour is difficult.

I’d say it’s almost impossible. But you can change your own writes Jude Jennison, Founder of Leaders by Nature, a leadership and team development company specialising in non-verbal behaviour and disruptive change.

As you kick off 2022, you can be certain that there will be changes ahead. Some of those changes may be instigated by you, your team or organisation. Other disruptive change will be thrust upon you – health or family issues, job changes, market changes, the ongoing pandemic. You’ll have to adapt, whether you like it or not. Whenever there is change, there is uncertainty, and we need to develop the skills to continually flex and adapt. This is harder in a team where everyone adapts in a different way and at a different pace.

One of the questions leaders ask me most is: how do I get people to do what I need them to do? This question implies that you have all the answers, and if you can get everyone to do what you want, then you’ll have brilliant teamwork and achieve what you set out to achieve.

If only it were that simple!

Instead, explore a different question: Who do I need to be to lead a team (or to be an effective team member)? And: who do we as a team need to be together to do great work?

Be curious We like to be in control, but we rarely are. So when other people don’t behave as we would wish, we often blame, judge and criticise.

Instead of trying to get others to change, consider how you can 16 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

change your own behaviour. If you are not getting what you want, what happens when you change? How might that achieve a different result?

Changing behaviour means exploring what is working and what is not. Be curious about what you want and need, and be curious about what other people want and need too. They may not be the same. Consider a different approach from your default one.

When you shift your attention from what you want to being curious about what the team needs, you act in service of the whole team, rather than self-serving. That’s not easy, but it’s the role of everyone in the team if you want to be aligned, to inspire and engage each other.

Create clarity When you change your behaviour, those around you change theirs too, so a team is always in a state of flux, requiring adaptability and awareness. The non-verbal behaviour in a team continually influences everyone’s behaviour as much as the verbal, but it is by its very nature unspoken and therefore often overlooked.

Although we experience dissonance in teams, we often continue as though it does not exist. Some members of a team will be more vocal than others, so the quieter ones may appear compliant even though they disagree.

Seek to understand what is not being said and have an honest dialogue to create clarity and a common understanding in the team.

You may not always agree, but if you understand the different points of view, you can keep everyone engaged and will be one step further towards aligning as a team.

It’s uncomfortable to accept that there might be a better way of doing

When one person changes their behaviour, everyone responds differently and so the team is changed. Focus on how you can change your behaviour first and let go of blame, judgment and criticism.

Know that everyone is doing their best and may need your support.

A 2019 McKinsey report on high-performance innovation teams highlighted that whilst most leadership development is focused on the individuals in an organisation, ‘reframing the discussion from individuals to teams helps tremendously to unlock performance.’ Therefore, it is beneficial for teams to explore their development together, so you adapt together in a more conscious and supportive way and increase understanding.

Changing behaviour is challenging because it requires you to accept that there is a different way of doing things, to let go of the old behaviour and practice the new. Embrace the uncertainty of change. Create a culture where it is safe to be honest, to say what you think and feel without judging others’ behaviour.

Above all, if you want someone else’s behaviour to change, change your own. It will create a different response, and it’s much easier to change your own behaviour than to change someone else’s.

Leaders by Nature develop leaders and teams to create alignment through disruptive change. We work with a herd of horses to reveal your default patterns of non-verbal behaviour and invoke lasting behavioural change.

If you would like to know more or get support for you or your team to lead through change, email jude@judejennison.com for more information or call 0800 170 1810.

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OPINION IS YOUR LAW FIRM GOING GLOBAL? According to findings from the State of the UK Legal Market 2021 report from the Thompson Reuters Institute, ongoing pressures, such as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit, are causing disruptions and the shifting of priorities in the UK legal market writes Amy Deakin, Channel Partnership Manager at Western Union.

The report found that the demand for cross-border legal advice had increased since 2017 because of the uncertainty caused by Brexit. Specifically, 80 percent of UK corporates were looking for international legal support, and 47 percent of UK corporate legal spend was dedicated to international legal work.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 has created global opportunities for many law firms who now have clients all over the world being serviced virtually. The scope for expansion is huge but moving into new markets can be intimidating. However, there is a way for UK legal firms to take advantage of the new opportunities and it may not be as daunting as you think.

What is stopping you? Some common areas of concern You may need cross-border transactions to facilitate payments for intellectual property, or cases related to immigration. Or perhaps you have expanded overseas and need to organise your foreign associates’ payroll and payments, and foreign office funding. Whatever the reason, any organisation making international payments for the first time has concerns and questions about how it will all work.

Keeping costs low If you are just making the occasional bank transfer overseas, your first thought will be to utilise your current banking relationship. However, Bank transfers may not always be the most 18 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

convenient way to make international payments.

A good provider will have a comprehensive global footprint, enabling you to pay foreign associates in multiple countries and territories, using your home currency, without the need for overseas bank accounts.

With a payments provider, in-country banking relationships enable transfers to be treated as local currency transactions, reducing wire charges and your firm's expenses. Bank reconciliation is quick and easy with fully referenced payments and statements.

You will also need to keep an eye on any incoming payments. If bank fees are applied to these, you may receive less than your invoiced amount, so make sure your provider has a transparent charging structure.

Managing the risk of currency fluctuations Another concern when entering the global arena, is currency exposure risk.

Creating a risk management strategy will help you optimise your cash flow and mitigate the risks of currency fluctuation, giving you certainty and control.

A good payments provider will work with you to develop a strategy in line with your business goals. If, for example, you are concerned about currency fluctuations between invoicing a client and the payment’s due date, you may want to lock in exchange rates. This reduces your exposure to currency risk, and enables you to bill clients fixed amounts, safe in the knowledge that the amount budgeted for is the amount coming in, and can give you more security of knowing that wherever the market moves, your profits are protected.

No need for currency bank accounts The last thing you need is more admin to deal with, so you will probably want

to avoid opening a currency bank account. In fact, if you are not going to have equal incomings and outgoings of that currency, they can be a false economy.

A specialist payments provider can offer other solutions, such as holding balances. You can store incoming payments free of charge for up to 90 days. This gives you control over your funds, flexibility to secure favourable exchange rates, and the ability to make same day payments, reducing your currency risk exposure.

A trusted partner Western Union Business Solutions provides payment services for over 600 law firms globally and can equip you with the solutions you need to send, receive, and manage international payments.

We have an extensive global network, spanning 200 territories and 130 currencies, and an in-depth knowledge of local markets and compliance.

Our skilled team of legal industry experts will work in partnership with you to design a customised solution, to help simplify your international payments, payroll and invoice workflows.

We provide seamless integration with our payment platform, which can process up to 200 invoices a day, helping you to focus on servicing your clients, and making the most of your billable hours. Reports and notifications can be automated, and our team will work with you to adhere to your own approval flow.

For further information about Western Union Business Solutions on how can we support the Legal sector please contact our partnership manager to set up a free non-obligatory meeting or visit www.westernunionbank. com or email amy.deakin@ westernunionbank.com

HOW DO I GET MY TEAM TO DO WHAT I WANT?

cartoon by Dave Coverly

A leader in the legal sector uttered the phrase I have heard so many times.

When I asked for more details, they told me their team were de-motivated and they had been accused by one member of “micromanaging” writes Rebecca Mander.

As is common in the field, my coachee felt they needed to get involved in the detail to prevent potentially costly mistakes for the clients and the organisation. I didn’t doubt the good intentions of my client, wanting to impart the knowledge acquired over the years to younger less experienced employees of the firm.

I have seen many leaders fall into the trap of thinking they need to get into the detail and keep an eye on how something is delivered in case it isn’t done well. In our sector, where there is often a right or wrong answer, we foster a fixed mindset, and this gets in the way of allowing teams to grow.

Adopting a growth mindset allows us to constantly find new ways to grow, often through making mistakes.

When we fail, we learn, and building psychological safety around our teams empowers them to develop and take responsibility. As leaders when we proport to have all the answers we are encouraging fixed mindset as our own learning is not apparent to those we are

supporting. When we hide the fact that we are learning, we set a poor example and prevent others from sharing their questions and vulnerability.

I asked my client to think about a time early on in their career when a leader had asked for their help and ideas. They told me how proud they had felt, how respected, and stretched by the challenge they had been. In a period of silence following their response, they realised they wanted the team to feel this way also and so would need to adopt a new way of leading.

When we ASK our people how they would solve a challenge rather than TELL them how, we allow them to use their brain’s seeking system. Dan Cable’s book, “Alive at Work”, highlights the biological need for our brains to generate dopamine through interest, curiosity, and excitement and thus we are intrinsically motivated.

My client’s team were not learning but following guidelines and procedures, completing tasks in accordance with detailed directions without the ability to engage their seeking system. Even with the best intentions, micromanaging can lead to attrition and a significant lack of motivation. Young lawyers want to move bravely and take on responsibility and they will go wherever they can do that in a way that nurtures but does not suffocate.

I asked my client how they could empower the team in the way their own leader had. My client realised that they could still share the ‘what?’ and the ‘why?’ but allow the team some room to seek out the ‘how?’ for themselves, resulting in significantly more empowered and motivated people.

They decided to set some boundaries of time and non-negotiable parameters and then ask the employee how they may go about the task and what support they may need. I suggested check-ins to be scheduled throughout the project to prevent the employee and my client from the feeling of overwhelm that can come from taking on extra responsibility…and in my client’s case relinquishing it!

So how did my client feel at the end of our session? “I can’t wait to try it out” they told me excitedly. Their renewed energy came as no surprise despite them considering they may have failed their team in some way through their previous methods.

Why? Because throughout our session, I had been fully engaging my client’s seeking system!!

Rebecca Mander is an executive coach, specialising in supporting leaders in the legal sector. If you are a leader and want to help motivate your team to engage their seeking systems, growth mindset or delegation skills, then please do get in touch with her at Rebecca@guruyoucoach.com

EVENTS & WEBINARS Tuesday 11th January 2022

Private Client webinar for Junior Laywers session one

Wednesday 26th January 2022

How small law firms can compete and overcome today’s challenges 1:00pm - 2:00pm Virtual

Thursday 31st March 2022

Legal Awards 2022

6:00pm - 7:00pm

6:30pm-12:00am

Virtual

ICC

To reserve your place and find out more visit www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 19

REGULATION REPORT

COMPLIANCE TOP TEN TREND

What does 2022 have in store for us?

With so much to choose from, here are ten of the significant compliance issues for the New Year from Jayne Willetts Solicitor Advocate and Bronwen Still Solicitor Consultant both of Jayne Willetts & Co Solicitors Limited

1. TRANSPARENCY RULES The SRA has been ramping up the pressure on firms to ensure that they are aware of, and complying with, their obligations under these rules to give clear costs and other information to the public.

Further guidance was issued on 3 August 2021 to help firms and this included suggestions for best practice plus templates which cover all areas of work where costs information is mandatory.

At the November 2021 SRA COLP COFA conference there were indications that the SRA is 20 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

preparing to do another sweep of firms’ websites to check the current level of compliance. Firms have fallen down in the past for a number of reasons, including that the information was not sufficiently prominently displayed, VAT was not included and it was not made clear what work was included and what excluded from the quote.

These rules go to the heart of achieving the regulatory objectives of “protecting and promoting the public interest” and “promoting competition” and the LSB is keeping a close eye on levels of compliance and enforcement by the SRA. They have now been in force for two years so any failure to comply can be expected to be dealt with harshly.

2. TREATING OTHERS WITH RESPECT The SRA has been under pressure for some time to take action against firms that create “toxic workplaces”. High profile cases involving junior solicitors who have cracked under relentless pressure and bullying, misled

their clients and been struck off have led to questions being asked about why the firms that created the problem did not face censure.

By their actions and/or omissions, these firms had put clients at risk, damaged the reputation of the profession and risked negligence claims.

The Code of Conduct for Firms is prefaced by a statement that it aims to “create and maintain the right culture and environment for the delivery of competent and ethical legal services to clients”.

However, there is nothing in the Code’s standards that puts this into mandatory form and the SRA has, therefore, had no real peg on which to hang disciplinary action against firms which operate poor workplace environments.

Surprisingly, there is also no guidance on creating the kind of work environment that the SRA would ideally like to see.

At the COLP COFA conference there was finally an indication that the SRA is about to address the problem. In one of the conference

continue. To make this successful, managers have had to re-think their management arrangements for supervising client work. Issues to focus on include: • Ensuring client confidentiality – what do you know about your employees’ home working environment? Do they have somewhere to make calls without being overheard? Can others see their computer screens when they are working? What instructions do they have with regard to the use of home electronic devices? Is IT security sufficient?

• File reviews – what arrangements do you have? Do these continue to be done regularly?

• Isolation and insecurity - do your employees feel supported when working remotely? Do they know who to contact with a problem? Are there regular team meetings? Are you able to identify those who are struggling?

4. COMPETENCE

DS FOR 2022 workshops, the SRA indicated that it is contemplating a rule which would place an obligation on firms, their managers, and employees to treat each other with respect. Obviously,the SRA’s thinking about this issue is, at this stage, in its infancy so we have no idea of how this might convert into a requirement that is sufficiently clear to be enforceable.

There will, however, need to be a consultation so this might be something worth looking out for.

3. SUPERVISION The Code of Conduct requires that firms “have an effective system for supervising clients’ matters”. This should include file reviews, appraisals and a management system which encourages employees to be open about problems they are having with their caseload, or on individual matters or about their mental health.

The Covid pandemic changed working practices overnight when home working was mandated. This has now led to most firms adopting flexible working arrangements with their employees attending the office for part of the week and working the rest of the week at home. It seems likely that this will

The profession has had a fairly free ride with the new continuing competence arrangements under which individuals have to assess their own training needs and ensure that they are met.

Checks by the SRA have largely been a tick box exercise as part of the bulk renewal process. Things, however, are about to change. The LSB now has this subject under its microscope and issued a consultation in December 2021. The end result will be “outcomes regulators should pursue to ensure legal professionals have the necessary and up-to-date skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours to provide good quality legal services”. The LSB wants regulators to set standards of competence, regularly assess these and intervene when they are not being met.

The LSB has done some preliminary work by looking at how other jurisdictions deal with lawyer competence and has held some information gathering exercises involving interested bodies. It is clear that the status quo is not going to be an option.

Currently, the Code of Conduct requires the service provided to clients to be competent and that managers and employees are competent to carry out their role. The SRA has not enlarged on what competence looks like – but this is clearly about to change. 2022 will see the introduction of a far tighter regime.

5. PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE Firms are increasingly aware of the difficulties caused by a hardening of the indemnity insurance market. Not only are premiums skyrocketing but insurers are increasingly becoming risk averse and this is beginning to have a limiting effect on innovation in the legal profession. For example, this has had a big impact on those wanting to provide reserved legal services through “freelance practice” which has effectively been strangled at birth because of the lack of availability of cover.

These difficulties have been noticed by the LSB which now wants to review the way the insurance market operates to see if it is possible to establish the right balance between protecting consumers when things go wrong, and the costs of that protection and associated impacts.

The LSB’s underlying concern is that the increased costs of insurance will be passed on to consumers and that this will reduce access to justice. There will undoubtedly have to be some dialogue with insurers about the minimum terms and conditions but it does seem that LSB intervention in the debate may ensure a more holistic approach to the issue which moves away from the SRA’s continued attempts to reduce the minimum cover required. Again, 2022 may have some changes on the horizon.

6. PLANS TO INCREASE SRA’S FINING POWERS With the SRA agreeing to pay costs of £228,000 to Jamil Ahmud and facing a claim of £534,000 from Liz Ellen both because of failed SDT prosecutions, it seems bad timing for the SRA to be asking the profession for approval of proposals for an increase in its internal fining powers from £2000 to £25,000 but that is what is contained in the recent consultation paper.

Added to which the SRA is suggesting that it should take into account the turnover and/or the income of firms and individuals in setting fines and also introducing fixed penalties of up to £1500 for minor breaches.

The key issue here with the increase in fining powers is a lack of impartiality.

The alleged breaches would be investigated by an SRA investigator; the same investigator would then make a recommendation as to sanction and a decision would then be made either by an SRA Executive Director or an SRA Adjudicator or an SRA Adjudication Panel. The whole process would be undertaken by individuals employed by www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 21

the SRA. It is one of the cardinal rules of natural justice that no-one should be a judge in their own cause (“Nemo iudex in causa sua”). At least with the SDT, the case would be considered by an impartial panel which includes two practising solicitors.

The deadline for responding to the consultation paper is 11 February 2022.

I would encourage our members to review the proposals and respond.

7. LEGAL OMBUDSMAN DELAYS The Legal Ombudsman acknowledges that its unopened caseload is still ”unacceptably high” and is attempting with its relatively new management team to address the growing backlog of complaints. However, problems with staff performance particularly during the pandemic as well as increased demand for its assistance have left the Ombudsman struggling to maintain a proper level of service. The latest proposal together with a request for an increase in funding is for there to be an amendment to the Legal Services Act which would allow the Ombudsman to contract out some of its workload to agency or temporary staff.

Whilst some clients and their complaints are always destined for determination by the Ombudsman, firms should try wherever possible to resolve client issues and avoid the involvement of the Ombudsman even more so whilst it is unable to offer a timely service.

A dissatisfied client can become even more dissatisfied if he or she has to wait 18 months for the first letter to arrive from the Ombudsman. The delay damages the reputation of the firm itself as well as the profession with an inevitable reduction in public confidence in the ombudsman scheme.

8. REPORTING CONCERNS TO THE SRA At senior level, the SRA has in the past cautioned firms not to report every concern unless they genuinely believe it to be a breach of the rules. It has also been said that the SRA did not want to encourage “defensive reporting”.

The current duties to report, especially Rules 7.8 (Code for Individuals) and Rule 3.10 (Code for Firms) which provide for “bringing matters to the attention of the SRA in order that it may investigate”, achieve the very objective that the SRA is seeking to avoid.

Firms are petrified of being criticised for failure to report “promptly” so this fear inevitably leads to over-reporting.

In addition, the rules are being used extensively as a tactic in litigation

and/or partnership and employment disputes. Threats to report to the SRA are being relied upon in a way that was not intended. Reports to the SRA are also becoming more complex and therefore more time consuming to investigate. The SRA needs to issue detailed guidance on what it does and does not require of firms and to deal robustly with firms who use the reporting regime as a litigation tactic.

Until then the SRA will continue to be overloaded with reports and the problem continues.

9. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING OBLIGATIONS According to the SRA, approximately 6,500 firms fall within the ambit of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 (MLRs). As a “professional supervisor” for anti-money laundering purposes, the SRA is required to report to HM Treasury progress in ensuring that those it regulates are compliant.

The pressure applied to the SRA will inevitably mean tighter checks and controls on the firms which fall into the MLRs’ net.

Many firms will already be aware that the SRA has conducted reviews to check levels of compliance with regard to the requirement on firms to have a risk assessment in place to identify and assess the firms’ risks of money laundering and terrorist financing. In 2019 it discovered that a fifth of the 400 firms it contacted did not have a risk assessment in place.

As a follow up, the SRA then contacted all in-scope firms and asked them to make a declaration that they had a risk assessment in place which was compliant. Following a patchy response, the SRA in the last 12 months conducted 85 firm visits and 168 desk based reviews to take a closer look at compliance. These revealed that some firms have continued to have inadequate risk assessments in place whilst other firms have poor client due diligence and checks on funds. Other issues uncovered were poor staff training and supervision.

Given the SRA’s reporting responsibilities as a regulator, this is an issue where pressure will continue to be applied to firms and, given the extensive publicity surrounding it, there is likely to be little quarter given for failure to comply in 2022.

22 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

10. UNCLAIMED CLIENT ACCOUNT BALANCES And finally, this is an old chestnut but, from questions at the recent COLP COFA conference, it is obvious that firms are still not entirely clear about the procedure for dealing with them.

The first point to highlight is that the effective closure of files when a matter is concluded and the proper accounting for money held at closure should minimise the circumstances in which these balances appear in client account. It is a requirement of the Accounts Rules that money must be returned promptly to the client when there is no longer any need to hold it.

There will, however, always be circumstances in which clients move and fail to retain contact. Again, this can be minimised by setting out in your terms of business that the client should inform you of any change of contact details.

When contact is lost and the balance in any individual case is £500 or less there are “prescribed circumstances” in which the Accounts Rules allow firms to withdraw these small balances. These circumstances are not contained in the rules themselves but in a separate SRA statement which can be found on its website with the Standards and Regulations. This emphasises the fact that they are mandatory. The following must be complied with: • The balance must be paid to a charity of the firm’s choice • Reasonable steps to trace the rightful owner must be taken. What is reasonable will depend to a large extent on the amount held and the age of the balance. The steps taken must be recorded.

• Details must be kept on a central register of the client (or rightful owner), the charity chosen (and receipt for the money) plus any indemnity provided against the return of the true owner.

• Any costs associated with any search for the owner cannot be deducted from the amount transferred.

Reporting accountants can ask to view a firm’s register of balances transferred in this way. If this has not been kept in accordance with the prescribed circumstances, this could lead to a qualified report.

For sums over £500, application must be made to the SRA on the appropriate form.

walkthewalk.org

Walk the Walk - Make Every Step Count!

Walk the Walk: How it all started In 1996 Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Walk the Walk Worldwide, woke up one morning with the idea of Power Walking a marathon in a bra to raise money for breast cancer. Just months later, she led a group of 13 women, as they Power Walked The New York City Marathon wearing decorated bras. Just weeks later Nina was diagnosed with breast cancer, but continued to Power Walk to help keep positive.This was the starting point for Walk the Walk and soon to follow would be the famous MoonWalks!

Nina Barough CBE at The MoonWalk London

25 years later, Walk the Walk has become on e of t he most successful grant-making breast cancer charities in the UK, raising to date in excess of £134 million. The flagship MoonWalk has become an iconic event and is known, not just for being another walk; it is an experience!

Walk the Walk – How is money raised?

Walk the Walk specialises in all things walking – organising many different challenges and events from family 10k distances, to 100 mile treks, as well as promoting the now proven benefits of walking for health and wellbeing.

• LIVE MoonWalks are held in London, Scotland and Iceland • Walk the Walk has also developed an extensive range of ‘Virtual’ walking challenges • Walk the Walk organises The Arctic Challenge – a 26.2-mile backcountry skiing marathon in the Swedish sub-arctic • The charity organises treks such as the Inca Trail in Peru and the Camino Challenges. The charity’s supporters also take part in marathons across the globe, including the New York City Marathon • Almost half a million women, men and children have completed Walk the Walk challenges

The MoonWalk Scotland

The MoonWalk Iceland

COMMITTEE NEWS

THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE: HOW ONE MAN’S INTUITION REVOLUTIONISED HIS FIRM on offer. He discovered nothing was designed to deal with the challenges he saw his clients facing. He explains, “I just could not find anything that would help the client cope with that first advisory conversation, so I started researching the issue and found it was a well-known problem”. Then Alan did something surprising. He learned some coding basics and started to use technology to create a new approach. “With no-code apps now available, I would not even need to do that these days!” he observes, wryly.

Ten years on, the firm owns the Family Law Lab providing technology to help clients prepare for their first consultation. “It is all about thinking from the client’s perspective; if that was me, what would I want and need right now?”, he says. Alan’s research generated evidence which showed that what reassured clients most was keeping costs low and giving them a sense of control from the outset. With these insights, he set about using technology to become more efficient, enabling the client to share their experience and information early in the process.

This had positive knock-on effects, letting the lawyer hit the ground running and freeing up time for client care.

On 15th December ’21 the Birmingham Law Society Legal Tech Meet Up featured Alan Larkin, a lawyer without any experience or expertise in technology, who revolutionised his firm by thinking hard about client need, being curious and putting technology to work to support his practice. What is striking about Alan’s story is his sense of purpose.

He began by identifying a problem which was getting in the way of him being as effective as possible for his clients writes Nicola Jones, Co-Chair of Birmingham Law Society Legal Technology Committee.

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Over a decade ago Alan was in a good place. Co-founder and equity partner in a small, thriving family law firm in sunny Brighton, he had good work, a young family and every expectation of a rosy future.

And yet, Alan tells me, he was feeling frustrated about his work.

Doing things the way they had always been done was not giving his clients enough support as they navigated traumatic experiences like divorce or separation. In particular, his intuition told him that clients struggled with the emotion and stress of their first consultation with a lawyer.

Never having had anything to do with technology, save the usual tussles with practice systems, he was drawn to explore what was

Alan agrees that putting power in the hands of the client can feel counterintuitive for lawyers who are trained to be authoritative and cautious. However, he also reports unlooked for benefits, “Taking innovation seriously has allowed us to invest in wellbeing. Staff retention is high and the firm is growing rapidly”. He explains this is partly down to colleagues feeling better informed from the outset of a case which, he feels, reduces stress, and partly because the firm now has a reputation for innovation and a client-centric approach.

As a result of growth the firm is able to make their work available at no cost to universities offering free advisory services. Being clear about your firm’s purpose as a mechanism for improving the way people experience the law is crucial to Alan’s approach, “Ultimately”, he says, “this is about understanding your values and how you express those in the nature of your offering as a firm”.

Focus on the matters that matter most Run your law firm from anywhere

0161 236 2910 info@quill.co.uk quill.co.uk

OPINION

THE GREAT RESIGNATION – CAN WE BEAT IT?

If you’ve read the news in the last 12 months then the unprecedented attrition of employees from businesses in all industries across the globe cannot have escaped your attention. The Great Resignation, as it’s been termed by the media, left over a million jobs open across the UK in July 2021 with more than 40% considering a move within the year, according to a survey by Microsoft writes Chrissie Wolfe, Freelance consultant, Founder of Law and Broader and Chair of the BLS Professional Development Committee As a member of club “TGR” and former Chair of the Birmingham branch of the Junior Lawyers Division, I was invited to speak at this year’s Legal Geek conference about the impact specifically within the legal market, which, you will see from the data below, has proved no exception to the trend.

This data provided by Codex Edge shows almost double the exodus from private practice within the last 12 months compared with the previous 12.

Breaking this data down a little further, there are some clear trends in the demographic of leavers. Firstly, they primarily fall into the 0-3 years PQE bracket and 26 www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk

secondly, there are more women than men within this bracket.

There are also some key themes in where they are going. This graph below shows the movement solely of those shifting within private practice and we can see that the vast majority (just under 50%) have actually moved to a lower ranked firm by revenue. Down at 27% are those who have moved up and those who have moved to a similar-sized firm make up 26%.

Whilst there was significant movement within private practice, the most common moves overall were from private practice to in-house and from private practice out of the traditional framework altogether; either to an alternative legal model e.g. ALSP or consultancy, as I did, or out of the law entirely.

Following the analysis of this data, I was keen to know more about the reasons why so many, largely junior, lawyers were making the jump from their current employer.

I enlisted the services of the London Young Lawyers Group, KC Partners recruitment and my extremely helpful 75,000 strong social media network to help me get to the bottom of it and these were the most common answers: To accompany the data, here is some helpful narrative from the leavers themselves: 1. Pay/progression. Whilst this was the highest reported reason for moving jobs, on a deeper exploration, most of those who gave this answer also said that they only began to question pay and/or position once they had become dissatisfied with their job as a whole and were no longer happy in the role.

2. Job satisfaction/purpose. Within that, there was the desire to be doing more impactful and meaningful work and to feel like they were really making a difference to their client’s lives, and the world.

It’s not enough to be simply hitting the financial targets that the firm sets, they want to add wider value and achieve more holistic goals to benefit a wider market.

3. 15% said that they were dealing with a heavy workload with unreasonable targets and not enough support.

Particularly in the remote climate, they felt as though they were working a lot more hours with no increased support or recognition. Particularly those who were working in the regions felt like they were working London hours without London remuneration and were looking to London firms to offer them remote work options instead.

4. Culture and flexibility. Remote/agile working has become very popular, particularly for those who previously commuted. Businesses who are not offering a flexible work option, or demanding that staff come in more than 2 days a week suffered the most criticism.

A better work/life balance was also cited as a key reason for looking elsewhere.

In terms of culture, one of the comments which arose frequently was in relation to inclusivity.

Diverse candidates, particularly those who are cognitively diverse, reported that they felt like they were being forced into a work mould that they did not fit and did not thrive in with little or no flexibility afforded.

5. Finally, management. This certainly caused the most violent responses with a common theme being that management had all but fallen apart in the remote landscape in some cases and the management that they did have was being delivered by more senior staff who were undeniably great lawyers but not necessarily great managers. Many reported feeling more like a number on a sheet at times rather than a valued individual.

Following the Legal Geek conference in October, the BLS Professional Development Committee held its first event covering this topic with guest speaker Kelly Barker of Barker Morris recruitment. Kelly added some additional insight from her experience including the rise of the Keystone/Gunner Cooke model which many had opted for over the traditional pathways and the increased availability of in-house roles for more junior lawyers now which has historically been a later career move.

She highlighted that the millennial/ Gen Z cohort generally had different expectations from their careers and do not necessarily aspire to partnership; a concept which is very much new to the world of traditional legal practice.

lawyers in particular are demanding something more from their job roles over and above pay and title. They are seeking more meaningful work with purpose and to feel valued as individuals.

Flexibility, supportive culture and a better work life balance are key to job satisfaction and employees are more willing to consider a move in the current climate in order to find the right role which offers them what they need.

Every employee is different with a unique set of values and goals.

Open and honest communication between managers and those they manage is critical to understanding what drives and motivates each individual to thrive and perform at their best.

Happy lawyers = productive lawyers so why not keep them happy?

Chrissie Wolfe. Freelance consultant, Founder of Law and Broader and Chair of the BLS Professional Development Committee

So what can we learn from this?

It is apparent from the data and accompanying narrative that junior www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk 27

OUT OF HOURS

Carlos Acosta. Photos © Man Yee Lee.

DON QUIXOTE COMES TO BIRMINGHAM Birmingham Royal Ballet’s new production of the classic Don Quixote will put a smile on faces and bring a touch of summer sunshine promises Company director Carlos Acosta. He spoke to Diane Parkes about why it’s a must-see ballet classic.

The show, which will be premiering at Birmingham Hippodrome from 18 to 26 February, is a firm favourite of Carlos’s and he is convinced it will also be hugely popular with audiences. Created by one of history’s most renowned choreographers Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus, it was premiered in 1869 and has been a key part of the world ballet repertoire ever since.

“Don Quixote is the best ballet to attend if you are not a ballet connoisseur,” Carlos says. “If you don’t know anything about ballet this is a great chance to learn something about it by watching Don Quixote. It appeals to family audiences, it is great for children because the story is easy to follow.

“It’s very sunny and people will laugh a lot. The world of ballet is so full of tragedies, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet etcetera, they are all tragedies but in Don Quixote nobody dies, it’s a happy tale.

The ballet is based on Spain’s most famous novel – Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote which follows the adventures of the knight Don Quixote and his trusty servant Sancho Panza. The ballet focuses on one of the tales in the book – that of the young lovers Kitri and Basilio whose hopes to marry risk being thwarted by Kitri’s father who has other plans. But with Don Quixote a firm believer in true love, maybe he can help the young couple find happiness.

For Carlos, Don Quixote has always been a special work. He performed an excerpt from the ballet to win the Gold Medal at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne at the age of 16. Success at the international dance competition catapulted the Cuban teenager onto the world stage, launching a career which saw him dance in theatres across the globe.

“The ballet is very exotic, it provides escapism into this amazing world of colour and the music has an amazing Spanish flavour. When it’s raining and cold then you want to come and see Don Quixote because it’s a sunshine ballet. It’s a great show - when you’ve seen it, you leave on a high.”

Don’t miss this reimagined classic. Book direct at Birmingham Hippodrome by clicking here Or if you’d like to know more about supporting Birmingham Royal Ballet through corporate opportunities or individual giving, contact Emma Thompson.

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Director Carlos Acosta

Don Quixote 18 –26 February

Céline Gittens as Ktiri.

birminghamhippodrome.com