7 minute read
Is Your Law Firm Going Global?
OPINION
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. 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 convenient way to make international payments.
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. 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, incountry 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 make 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.wu.com
In business and in life in general, many of us can lack self-esteem and confidence. Career men and women, often feel they are in a position through sheer luck. We may fear being “found out”, particularly as we progress in our careers, writes Rebecca Mander of GuruYou.
Ironically, as we aim to progress in this fast-paced environment we fail to see and take credit for our success and the reasons behind it. Girls may outperform their counterparts in school but later, when aiming for top positions and salaries, men win hands down with women occupying just under 10% of FTSE 100 executive roles. Of course, there are often obstacles in our way but quite often the biggest of all is our own mindset.
Many of us short-change ourselves because of the negative messages we pick up on. We humans like to be proven right and so we selectively attend to the times that confirm our belief that we are not quite good enough and we ignore evidence to the contrary. Those of us who suffer from low-self-esteem, when paid a compliment may think the person commenting is only being nice. The genuinely paid compliment goes against our inner critic and so it is tossed aside in preference for the more familiar feeling “I am not good enough!”
It is this inner critic that stops us going for a promotion or salary increase. Let’s be honest - how often do we have a great idea and then think “I couldn’t do that”, or go to make an arrangement to meet a prospect client thinking “I am sure they are too busy for me…”? Perhaps we dread walking into a situation for fear of what others may think.
Imposter Phenomenon was a term first coined by Suzanne Immes and Pauline Rose Clance in the 1970s. They defined it as “An intense feeling of intellectual phoniness despite successes” which would give rise to the feeling of being found out as a fake, an imposter. This phenomenon is often referred to incorrectly as Imposter Syndrome which denotes a medical condition, which this is not. Negative experiences early in our life and career with family, friends and colleagues do increase the likelihood of being impacted. How was being different perceived in your family or at school? How was failure or setback managed? Was success celebrated? If you were the first in your peers to go to Uni, the only boy in a family of girls, the only person of colour in your first law firm then it is not surprising if you feel held back by Imposter Phenomenon from time to time.
I was the only woman on a board of many European companies and on reflection this impacted me when I came into the world of coaching. I wondered what on earth I could bring to organisations when it seemed implausible that I should have been in the role, given the ratio of men to well…me! I slipped comfortably under the radar and played ‘safe’ until I was supported by an incredible coach and some unbiased mentors.
Worryingly, our biggest predator in business and in life, can be our own self-talk. Would you speak to a friend the way you speak to yourself? Probably not. Catch your inner critic when it rears its ugly head and ask yourself what your best friend would say to you? What would you say to someone else in a similar situation? It is probably far more encouraging! One way we can do this is by reflecting on what has gone well and looking for evidence that proves our inner critic wrong.
My PAL is a great tool for those of us who feel like an imposter from time to time or all the time. Unlike a gratitude journal that helps you notice the good that happens TO you, the Positive Attitude Log helps you attend to the good that happens BECAUSE of you. The PAL helps silence the inner critic and bring you a balanced, honest reflection of self thus improving confidence. Studies show that 3 weeks of completing a journal like this can improve performance for 3 months!! Download yours here for FREE: www. guruyoucoach.com/your-pal-for-life/
If you feel you would like more support in silencing your imposter then please email rebecca@guruyoucoach.com
