Surviving the downturn - how the Law Society is helping solicitors
Practice notes
Helplines
Seminar - facing the credit crunch
Law Management Section
Financial Benchmarking Survey
Toolkits
Lexcel accreditation
Saving money on energy
Law Society Publishing
Practice note - banking crisis
The recent banking crisis has drawn attention to the safety of money in clients' accounts. The Society issued a practice note on the subject which it is continuing to update.
It appears, however, that clients' funds are not adequately protected at the moment and this is of clear concern. We are lobbying the FSA to seek to improve the protection and will keep the profession in touch with progress.
www.lawsociety.org.uk/bankingcrisis
Practice note - redundancy
A practice note on redundancy, giving advice on your rights and information for trainee solicitors, is being developed for release later this month.
Practice Advice Service
This dedicated support line for Law Society members and employees of law firms is staffed by solicitors who have access to a wide range of information services and specialists within the Law Society. For queries and comments on the practice notes telephone 0870 606 2522 or e-mail practiceadvice@lawsociety.org.uk
Pastoral Care Helpline
If you need help with personal, financial, professional or employment problems, this service will refer you to the most suitable helpline for your circumstances. Telephone 020 7320 5795. Lines are open from 09.00 to 17.00, Monday to Friday.
Seminar - facing the credit crunch
Robert Mowbray, principal of Macintyre Hudson LLP and managing director of Macintyre Advisory Services Ltd, presents a 60 minute online seminar designed to help practices prepare for a slowdown in the economy.
www.lms.lawsociety.org.uk/pages/events/list/#Event239
Law Management Section
The Law Management Section provides best practice information and support on the full range of practice management disciplines including HR, finance, marketing, IT, business development, client care, quality and risk.
Products and services include:
- a quarterly magazine with up to eight hours' free CPD per year;
- a regular electronic newsletter;
- a national CPD-accredited events programme covering all management disciplines;
- an interactive website;
- annual financial benchmarking survey;
- free toolkits on merger, risk management, internet policies, HR, business development and legal aid;
- networking opportunities; and
- discounts on a range of events, texts and training packages.
Membership is open to solicitors, management staff of legal practices / departments and suppliers of financial or management services to legal practices.
Price: 2009 membership costs from £50
For more details and to join, go to www.lawsociety.org.uk/lawmanagement, call 020 7316 5707 or email lawmanagementsection@lawsociety.org.uk.
Financial Benchmarking Survey
This annual financial health check represents the most in-depth research of its kind and is an invaluable source of information on trends and best management practice.
Price: £150 or £75 for members of the Law Management Section.
For more details and to purchase the survey, go to www.lawsociety.org.uk/lawmanagement, call 020 7316 5707 or email lawmanagementsection@lawsociety.org.uk.
Toolkits
Small Legal Business Toolkit
The Small Legal Business Toolkit is aimed at sole practitioners, small firms and solicitors thinking of setting up in business. It helps practitioners understand how to set up in business, successfully manage their practices and prepare for retirement. The contributors are experts who have pooled their resources to produce the very best advice, resources and tools available to help users to strategically manage their legal businesses.
The toolkit is currently being updated and, when it is finalised, will be available on this website.
Legal Aid Toolkit
The Legal Aid Toolkit is designed to help practitioners understand how to operate under the new fee regime and prepare for the next wave of changes. The toolkit is chapter-based with new additions issued periodically and made available free of charge to members of the Law Management Section or toolkit subscribers.
Price: £30 including updates (or free of charge to Law Management Section members).
Available online from www.lawsociety.org.uk/lawmanagement or by calling 020 7316 5707 or emailing lawmanagementsection@lawsociety.org.uk.
Merger Toolkit
The Merger Toolkit is designed to assist managers in considering the process, reasons for, and implications of a merger. In the current climate, when more firms than ever are considering merging and consolidating, this is an essential resource for firms considering a merger, providing information and practical tools for every stage of the process from the initial idea, through business planning, to setting the process in motion, including tackling due diligence, cultural issues and integration, and then looking ahead at the future of the new firm.
Price: £100 including updates (or free of charge to Law Management Section members).
Available online from www.lawsociety.org.uk/lawmanagement or by calling 020 7316 5707 or emailing lawmanagementsection@lawsociety.org.uk.
Lexcel accreditation
The Lexcel standard provides legal practices with a supportive framework for their business that focuses on key practice management areas. By implementing the requirements across all areas, firms can manage risk better and enhance client service.
The framework can also help to lower professional indemnity insurance (PII) rates. A study by the Independent Commissioner in 2005 revealed that 69 per cent of Lexcel accredited firms had benefited from lower insurance premiums since gaining Lexcel accreditation.
www.lawsociety.org.uk/lexcel
Saving money on energy
The Legal Sector Alliance, in which the Law Society plays an active role, offers advice on how going green can help save money. www.legalsectoralliance.com
Law Society Publishing
Titles to help improve solicitors’ profitability
Marketing Legal Services
Succeeding in the New Legal Marketplace
David Monk and Alastair Moyes
Prepare your practice for the future with Marketing Legal Services. This highly practical and user-friendly book deals with the whole range of marketing topics, showing you how to:
- capitalise on the firm's key strengths;
- compete effectively with nationally trusted brands;
- develop your practice through marketing management;
- establish and develop your marketing database and use it to drive business; and
- increase and maximise profitability.
The accompanying free CD-ROM provides useful questionnaires, forms and checklists for easy customisation, saving you time and money.
May 2008, 320 pages, Paperback + CD-ROM, 978 1 85328 658 2, £59.95
Profitability and Law Firm Management
2nd Edition
Andrew Otterburn
"…as would be expected of an author of Andrew Otterburn's pedigree, it hits its target admirably." New Law Journal (of the previous edition).
This invaluable guide to improving the profitability and efficiency of law firms has been completely revised and updated. This enhanced edition offers:
- personal insights from managing partners of leading law firms;
- new and updated case studies;
- discussion of current topics such as the impact of the Legal Services Bill;
- key figures and benchmarks drawn from the most recently available Law Management Section financial benchmarking surveys; and
- a free CD-ROM containing the Lexcel standard and self-assessment forms, departmental business plans, staff questionnaires and Excel spreadsheets that can be easily customised to assist better financial management.
October 2007, 192 pages, Paperback + CD-ROM 978 1 85328 598 1, £44.95
Precedent Library for the General Practitioner
Martin Smith
This invaluable compendium brings together over 180 of the most useful precedents that may be required by the general practitioner on a day-to-day basis. They range from standard letters and wills through to prenuptial agreements and contracts for sale. The precedents are also included on an accompanying CD-ROM enabling practitioners to customise them quickly and easily as needed.
August 2007, 392 pages, Hardback + CD-ROM, 978 1 85328 986 6, £99.95
Lexcel Practice Excellence Kit 4th Edition
The Law Society with Matthew Moore
This official guide to the revised Lexcel quality standard has been comprehensively updated to help you understand the changes, and to attain and retain accreditation. It is also suitable for firms simply aiming to improve practice efficiency and profitability.
The Lexcel Practice Excellence Kit contains one copy each of the Lexcel Assessment Guide and Lexcel Office Procedures Manual. The Assessment Guide provides invaluable advice and guidance on how to meet the Lexcel criteria. It also includes the full text of the revised standard. The Office Procedures Manual offers template procedures to enable firms to draft and enforce policies and documentation to aid compliance. The templates are included on the accompanying FREE CD-ROM to enable quick and easy customisation.
November 2007, 2 books + CD-ROM, 978 1 85328 683 4, £119.95
Books to help solicitors advise clients
Insolvency Law Handbook 2nd Edition
Vernon Dennis
"A valuable tool for the practitioner representing either side of an insolvency procedure."
Initiative (of the previous edition)
The second edition of this handbook provides a comprehensive guide to the current insolvency law landscape taking into account recent statutory developments in areas such as employment, pension and partnership law as well as the new regulations which attempt to deal with the ever increasing number of cross border insolvencies. The second edition includes scores of new case law references including commentary on key recent decisions such as Leyland Daf, Spectrum Plus, Trident Fashions, Powerhouse, Collins and Aikman and Save Group Plc.
November 2007, 576 pages, Paperback, 978 1 85328 628 5, £69.95
Enforcement and Debt Recovery
A Guide to the New Law
Peter Levaggi, David Marsden and Peter Mooney
Parts 3-5 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 reform bailiff law and will have a significant impact on the property industry. Given the increase in personal and commercial insolvencies and consumer debt, these reforms are timely and wide-ranging, including:
- a single regulatory framework for all enforcement agents;
- abolition of distress for rent; and
- introduction of commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR).
January 2008, 440 pages, Paperback, 978 1 85328 653 7, £59.95
Consumer Credit Act 2006
A Guide to the New Law
Julia Smith and Sandra McCalla
The Consumer Credit Act 2006 marks the final stage of the most significant reform of domestic consumer credit law in almost 30 years. The Act amends the Consumer Credit Act 1974 with the principal aim of improving the regulation of consumer credit and consumer hire businesses, whilst at the same time providing better protection and remedies for the consumer.
Legal professionals in the field will find this to be an indispensable guide to the new provisions. It offers a clear explanation of how the new law will affect businesses and includes both a copy of the new Act and the Consumer Credit Act 1974 as amended.
August 2006, 276 pages, Paperback, 978 1 85328 543 1, £44.95