Cashroom Blogs Archives and Information - Page 17 of 17

Top Tips for Pension Automatic Enrolment – Avoid the Penalty!

There are some things we would all quite happily miss: cleaning the bathroom, bad traffic, or time recording. However when it comes to Pension Automatic Enrolment that’s not something any employer wants to miss.

The Pensions Act 2008 changed the law on work placed pensions. All employers in the UK are now required to have a pension scheme in place for certain staff and contribute towards it. This is known by most people as “Automatic Enrolment” to some as “AE” and to those very lucky people, like myself, who have an incredibly witty line manager you may even be dubbed the office “AE Geek” -whether you like it or not!

Penalties for Non-Compliance

Now for the scary part! Employers who fail to comply with their Pension Automatic Enrolment duties may face large fines or even imprisonment. Don’t just take my word for it- a quick online search will provide adequate evidence of companies fined by The Pensions Regulator for non-compliance.

One English Football club was fined over £20,000 for repeated non-compliance. Unusually, I imagine, this was a penalty the club would have preferred not to have been awarded!

Eligibility- A Quick Summary

All employers in the UK are responsible for assessing the eligibility of their own work force. All employers in the UK must enrol their staff into a work place pension and make contributions if their staff are:

Working in the UK
Aged between 22 and state pension age
Earn at least £10,000

Full details on eligibility can be found under the “Work Place Pensions” section of the Government’s website. (Link below)

Link: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/joining-a-workplace-pension

Where to start-Your Staging Date

First comes the Automatic Enrolment “Staging date” less theatrical and exciting than it sounds but none the less an important date for the diary. The Staging Date is the date in which your Automatic Enrolment duties come into force. You should receive confirmation from The Pensions Regulator of your Staging Date but if not you should contact The Pensions Regulator for clarity or you can check by using the Staging Date Calculator. (Link below)

Staging Date Calculator: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/staging-date.aspx

The next steps

Once you are clear on your Staging Date there are further issues to consider:

You may wish to postpone your Staging Date for up to 3 months.
Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/postponement.aspx
You will require to select a Pension Provider and Pension Scheme. We advise independent financial advice is sought in relation to Pension Provider selection.
You will require to set your Pension Scheme up and start providing monthly data to your Pension Provider. We regularly assist clients with this part of the process.
Once your Pension scheme is up and running you will require to continue to ensure your employer’s duties are being fulfilled. Full details on employer’s duties can be found on The Pensions Regulator website. We strongly advise familiarising yourself with the required duties. Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers

Setting up your Pension Scheme and the provision of monthly data to your Pension Provider

At The Cashroom we regularly assist clients with the set-up of their work place pensions and with the provision of monthly data to their selected Pension Providers. We ask all clients to seek independent financial advice in relation to Pension Provider selection. Once a client has selected a Pension Provider we can assist by working closely with the Pension Provider and any other third party involved to ensure a smooth set up and effective monthly data transfer thereafter. (We also require to carry out the Payroll work for any client wishing to instruct our Pension Automatic Enrolment Service).

We have teamed up with Armstrong Watson who can give you independent advice in relation to a Pension Provider and who have compiled a FAQ document to give you more detail. Please email emma.oday@thecashroom.co.uk and you will be sent your own copy of this FAQ document.

For more information on how we can help please do not hesitate to email Gregor.Angus@TheCashroom.co.uk.

Useful Links:

An essential guide to Automatic Enrolment Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/the-essential-guide-for-automatic-enrolment.pdf

Detailed Guidance note for Employers Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/detailed-guidance-2.pdf

Full details on Automatic Re-enrolment, employer’s duties and timescales can be accessed on the Pensions Regulator’s website. Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/re-enrolment.aspx

Full details on Compliance and Enforcement policy Link: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/pensions-reform-compliance-and-enforcement-policy.pdf

Don’t forget to email emma.oday@thecashroom.co.uk for a copy of the FAQ document!

Hayley Gibson
Senior Business Development Associate at The Cashroom Ltd

For more information on how The Cashroom can help you and your business please do not hesitate to email, if you are SRA regulated contact Alex.Holt@TheCashroom.co.uk or Law Society of Scotland regulated then Gregor.Angus@TheCashroom.co.uk.

‘Winning Behaviours’ – the Team Sky approach to getting the best out of your team

As someone who is certifiably sports mad, I was delighted to attend a keynote talk from Fran Millar, Director of Business Operations and Head of Winning Behaviours at Team Sky, at the recent Lawshare Annual Conference in Manchester.

Fran spoke about many interesting aspects of the Team Sky organisation, but I thought one of the most relevant to share was about the team’s ‘culture’. She believes that is one of the key differences that makes Team Sky that little bit better than all the rest. They even have name for it: ‘Winning Behaviours’.

Team Sky recently spent a lot of time involving everyone in the whole organisation, from Chris Froome, to the mechanics, to the chef, to the bus driver, etc talking through every aspect of their culture, and which parts are good and contribute to their success, which are bad and should be stopped, and so on. The outcome was a ‘code’ by which they live, giving them the optimum environment for success. So, what is this ‘code’, and how might it translate to your team/organisation?

‘Winning Behaviours’

team-sky-pp

SELF

This is the principle that taking ownership of things for yourself, is key to human success. Giving power and control to the athletes and people in their organisation makes them feel empowered, and helps get the best out of themselves. Even in circumstances where some of their athletes give that control immediately to their coach, the athlete has bought more into the training, race schedule etc, as they have been empowered to give the control to the coach.

TEAM

This piece of the ‘code’ is that working in a team environment creates the optimal environment for success/productivity. The belief must be that the team is made up of people, including your ‘self’, and that your role is crucial to the overall success. Fran spoke of how no single member of Team Sky is bigger than the team itself. If that is the case, you won’t have winning behaviours. At Team Sky, they will select a slightly less well performing athlete/member of staff who is ‘all in’ for the team, over somebody performing at a higher level who is out for themselves.

PERFORMANCE FIRST

This is the principle that if somebody within the team is doing something that is not contributing to the performance, they shouldn’t be doing it. Team Sky have an ‘Outcome Focus’ where they only start something if they know what the intended outcome is. That way, they can identify the milestones along the way, and track progress against those. Therefore, if you are ever doing something that does not contribute towards achieving those tasks/milestones, you should stop doing it as it is not contributing to the desired outcome.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT / MARGINAL GAINS

This is possibly the aspect of the Team Sky philosophy/culture you have heard of. The idea is that to have a consistently high performing team, you should be constantly looking at every aspect of what you do, to identify each tiny aspect that could be done slightly better in some way. Everybody could be 1% better at their job tomorrow, if you made that an objective for them. If everybody in your organisation is 1% better tomorrow, the organisation or team as a whole becomes significantly better.

One example from Team Sky is their routine at hotels while competing at races around the world. The Tour de France, Giro d’Italia etc require every team to stay in the same/allocated hotels, some of which are better than others! So, Team Sky have a strict routine of going in to the hotel, stripping out the rooms completely and deep cleaning them, before using the same pillows, sheets, duvets etc as the riders have at home, in their own bed. This helps them to sleep and recover better after each stage of the race. In marginal gains philosophy, does that make them win the race? No. Does it help win the race? Yes. The principle of continuous improvement is to keep looking for these marginal gains.

COMMUNICATION

This is a crucial element of the culture of any winning / high performing team. You may have the best plan in the world, but you need to tell the people in your organisation about it. If your people don’t hear about something, they will assume the worst! That is just human nature. Often Managers or Partners in a business take the view that ‘we don’t have anything to tell them yet, we haven’t made a decision’. Simply tell your team that – it will contribute to a higher performing, more engaged and motivated team in a small way, as they feel informed/empowered. A marginal gain if you like.

To conclude, I think there is a lot that businesses of all types can learn from the Team Sky culture and philosophy. There is no doubt that planning and implementing these values/approaches into the core of your organisation would take time and effort. However, I hope you agree it is worth the investment. It has certainly worked for a start-up cycling team, in an ultra-competitive elite sports environment, who have used these ‘Winning Behaviours’ to dominate on the world stage year after year. If it’s helped them, it’s probably going to help your business too.

Gregor
Business Development Manager at The Cashroom Ltd

Cyber Security in the Legal Profession

The Scary World of Cyber Crime – Cyber Security in the Legal Profession

Cyber Security is a term that, in my experience, only experts know much about. It comes with connotations of espionage, complex cryptography and enough jargon to choke a donkey. But the one thing we all know is that it’s vitally important. So, a horrible combination.

Well, recently my eyes were opened to the world of Cyber Security, and its real world effects. We had a solicitor client who’s clients email account was hacked. The criminal then monitored the account until the solicitor asked for their client’s bank details. That email was intercepted and a “fake” reply sent with bank account details, diverting the funds to the criminal.

Now this happened, via a breach of a solicitors client’s security, not the solicitor’s …. but imagine if your email accounts were hacked. Imagine the havoc a sophisticated criminal could reap? If, like me, it makes you break out in a cold sweat, you really need to do something about it.

Which is why the Cashroom has invested time and money in engaging with a specialist firm of “ethical hackers” to help improve all aspects of our data security. I had an image of a skinny teenager in a baseball hat sitting hunched over a computer in a darkened room a can of red bull by his side. I’m happy to say that Xyone (https://www.xyonecybersecurity.co.uk/), were nothing like that! They took us through their Cyber Essentials course, and carried out various “penetration tests” on our systems and our (soon to be released) client Portal. While a lot of what they did was beyond me, much of it was simply educating (or reminding) staff about simple things –password security, email discipline etc.

I’m happy to say that, with a few tweaks, we came through the course, and passed the penetration tests. We’re as secure as we can be, and I’ll lose a little less sleep worrying about cybercrime.

And we have a certificate!

David

Ham and Cheese Networking

It’s often the simplest things in life that are most effective. The most basic combinations are often the most powerful. As usual I am seeking to shoehorn a metaphor into place…but bear with me. This week members of the Business Development Team attended an networking event in central Leeds alongside some leading firms operating within the legal sector. Barclays, Partner s from Scottish Law firm Digby Brown and Xyone Cyber Security to name a few of the carefully selected attendees.

The networking event was held at the Friends of Ham restaurant in the heart of Leeds city centre with its no-frills quirky vibe it proved to be the ideal location for an event. It gave us great ‘finger food’ (chunks of nice cheeses, ham and bread), copious amounts of high quality wine and a setting which was highly conducive to mingling. We’ve previously used Evuna in Manchester which has a similar vibe, and great tapas. We will call this the base for my metaphor….or the BREAD
Networking is something that everyone agrees is important for business development, but there are so many different ways to approach it. I thought it’d be worth explaining a method that works for us, as it’s not rocket science and is easily replicated.
The ingredients-
A select and manageable attendee list- It’s crucial to keep the numbers to a level whereby everyone will get chance to speak to everyone. Also, it works better if you hand pick your attendees with a view to having credible people who you know will have an interest in the others at the event, and who you also know will be friendly and will engage with the others. Our events tend to have a minimum of 12 people and a maximum of 20. This part is the meat of the event- The HAM
The approach- we’ve all been to events which purport to be networking based, but in fact end up with people preaching and pontificating to the group if given half the chance. So remove that opportunity by making it clear from the outset that each person will be given a maximum time slot of two minutes to explain who they are, what they do, and the kind of intros they are hoping to receive. We have a comedy buzzer and a strict adherence to that limit. This serves to keep things light-hearted and informative, prompting people to seek each other out when mingling for more detailed chats. This is the topping- the CHEESE.

the-cashroom-ham-and-cheese

So there we have it….the makings for a great networking event which I promise will create interest and understanding back and forth between the attendees. Bread Ham and Cheese….you may think what I’m talking is a total croque (monsieur), but try it….you might like it! [The Cashroom apologises unreservedly for this appalling attempt at a pun]
The event was a success with everyone saying what a great evening it had been for all involved. Hopefully the event enabled everyone to make some great new contacts. Thank you to everyone who was involved and hopefully our future events will be as successful as this one (but maybe not so cheesy!).
Alex Holt Director of Business Development The Cashroom Limited

A Day in the Life of a Business Development Manager

When I was asked by our Marketing and Communications Manager to write a Blog on ‘A Day in the Life of a Business Development Manager’, it made me realise just how different each day actually is for me, and the vastly different tasks I undertake.

As Business Development Manager, my role is to bring in new clients, and develop additional business from existing clients. This happens in all sorts of ways! Typically, in the course of a week, I will have spent time communicating with prospective clients by phone, email and through social media, drafted and sent proposals to prospects, sent Contracts to new clients, attended internal meetings to advise on what work is likely to come in over the coming weeks, monitored and updated our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, undertaken marketing activities, attended meetings, conferences or events, and researched current affairs in the legal industry. This list is not exhaustive, but gives you an idea of the sorts of things I get up to.

One of the reasons I wanted to ‘leave the law’ when I was a practising solicitor, was that I couldn’t stand sitting at a desk all day, doing the same thing day in, day out. I wanted a job that got me ‘out and about’, meeting new people, in new places. I can honestly say that being the Business Development Manager at The Cashroom has allowed me to do all of these things, and more. It does, however, mean that every day is different, and it is not really possible to describe a typical day, so I have simply picked one at random!

One morning last week, I set off from home at 8am to drive a couple of hours south to Dumfries for a client meeting. This was a Relationship Management meeting, something that I do with all clients on a regular basis to check that they are happy with our service, and to get feedback from them on anything else we might be able to assist with.

After a coffee and 45 minute chat, I headed to Starbucks to work on a proposal for a prospective new client looking for cashiering, payroll and monthly management accounts. After spending an hour or so finalising the documentation, and a quick sandwich, it was back in the car for a 45 minute drive to a small town further west. This time the meeting was with a new prospect I recently met at a Conference, to explain how our service works on a practical basis, and the likely fee. That particular firm has a longstanding cashier, who has indicated that she will be looking to retire early next year; a situation we encounter on a regular basis.

After this meeting, it was on to another coffee shop, to catch up on the day’s emails. Another 45 minutes, and another coffee later (yes, a high caffeine tolerance is part of the job description!), and I was back on the road, for the 3 hour drive home.

As I say, no two days are the same, and if I had picked the next day, I had a day in the office with a couple of meetings to update the teams on prospective new work, a Management team meeting, and some time blocked out for ‘brainstorming’ the next advert in our monthly marketing campaign in the Law Society Journal.

My job really does involve a lot of variety, and a lot of time out and about meeting new people…just the type of role I was looking for!

Gregor

Please connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter for future articles and blogs

5 Common Myths of Outsourcing

When I am out meeting solicitors, explaining what it is that we do, and how we do it, they are often surprised at just how simple it really is. They often have misconceptions about what is involved in outsourcing, so I thought it would be worthwhile jotting down my standard responses!

1. Myth 1 – That they will need new ‘IT’, or to learn how to use a new ‘system’
We do not have any ‘system’ or software, we simply access the accounts part of your existing Practice Management System remotely. So, all you need is a legal practice management system of some sort, and a means of us accessing it remotely. You send us instructions by email, to a dedicated email address we will set up, specific to your firm.

2. Myth 2 – That they will get a different person each time they phone/email
We allocate each client to a cashiering team, headed up by a very experienced senior cashier, essentially your ‘Head Cashier’. They will have a small team of people who will work on your firm, in order that holidays, sickness cover etc, are not a problem for you. You will get to know the two or three people working on your firms’ work very quickly, and build a relationship with them. You can pick up the phone or email these people at any point.

3. Myth 3 – That it would be impossible to bring the service back in-house in the future
In fact, quite the opposite is true. As per the response to ‘Myth 1’, we do not require you to use any new software/system, we are accessing your existing system remotely. If at any point you wanted to bring the service back in-house, it would be as simple as recruiting a cashier, changing the username/password for our Login to your system and online banking, and our access would be terminated. All data stays on your system, nothing is held by us.

4. Myth 4 – Loss of Control
Some feel that by having ‘their cashiers’ offsite, they will somehow lose some of the control over what is going on. In our experience, again, quite the opposite is usually the case. Clients tell us time and again that they have a better understanding of what is going on by dealing with our cashiers. Before outsourcing, the cashier at their firm often controlled things, choosing what they wanted to disclose to the Partners. By outsourcing, it puts control back in the hands of the Partners of the firm, rather than the cashier!

5. Myth 5 – That it doesn’t really save money
As a rule of thumb, we can offer a saving of around 20-30% on the salary costs of inhouse cashiering staff. This will vary from firm to firm, depending to a large extent on how well they pay their staff, but in some cases the saving can be as much as 50%. This is simply due to economies of scale, and efficiencies we are able to introduce with the experience of best practice from working with so many different firms. There are additional savings, although more difficult to quantify in monetary terms, such as the additional office space which can be used by fee earning staff, the savings on recruitment / training of new staff, the management time of a Partner in dealing with appraisals, performance issues etc, as well as the cover for holidays/sickness.

If you are thinking about outsourcing your cashiering / accounts department, but have concerns about it which are not covered above, please feel free to get in touch with me by email (Gregor.Angus@thecashroom.co.uk) or telephone (01506 401 284 / 07875 598 593).

Gregor

The Change House

I am lucky enough in my job to spend a bit of time with lots of people in different types of businesses. As in life in general, there are people in business with a million different skills sets, outlooks, attitudes to change, to risk etc . A common theme though, is that those people and businesses with an openness to change become the most successful in the long term. The only constant is change, as they say.

Change, however, is not something that many law firms embrace! Whether it is down to difficulty in getting Partners to agree on things, being too busy with client work, or the dangerous old attitude that ‘we have always done it that way’, the vast majority of law firms do not try new things, or change course with any great speed.

I recently read an article by Roger Harrop, author of “Win! How to Succeed in the New Game of Business” (https://www.rogerharrop.com/books/ ). Roger uses a model called ‘The Change House’…

Roger states, I think correctly, that the only safe room to be in is the ‘The Renewal Room’. More importantly, he says, is that you need to stay there, and not be lured next door to ‘Contentment’. There are so many examples of businesses that have been caught out in ‘The Contentment Room’, or below, in ‘The Denial Room’. Off the top of my head, I am thinking about Kodak, Blockbuster Video… but the list is just about endless. Both Kodak and Blockbuster had numerous opportunities to renew their offering, and innovate along with new technology, but they chose not to, or were unable to, ultimately leading to their downfall.

So how does this relate back to law firms. Well, I think it is very straightforward really: you need to keep trying new things and look at ways to constantly improve and evolve. This might be new service offerings, new ways of offering the service, or even ceasing to provide a service. It might be investing in new technology, revisiting your branding, or moving office to a better location. These are merely a handful of ways in which you could look at renewing your firm. Some things will work, others won’t, but you must try. You will spend some time in the ‘The Confusion Room’, but that is the only way to get to the ‘The Renewal Room’, and it will be worth the trip!

The legal industry is still going through huge changes, and with new entrants, technology and innovative business models, it is more important than ever to keep your firm in renewal mode, in order to seize opportunities, and just as importantly, retain the business you currently enjoy.

Gregor

Please connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter for future articles and blogs

The Cost of Charisma

When you think of a good charismatic leader, who do you think of? The common response is to think of those leaders that have a high profile, particularly in the media, such as Richard Branson or maybe even Alex Ferguson. They are very different but both seem to share one thing; charisma.

However, what do you want from your leader? It might be the same qualities demonstrated by the two individuals mentioned. Or it may be something that feels altogether different. Because when we consider a leader that is much closer to home, it might not be just about what they can do but also how they make us feel.

The charismatic leader has many qualities that can never be underestimated. Their ability to engage an audience, to inspire an individual to want to follow them, not just because they have to. The charismatic leader can not only do this with their peers, colleagues and employees throughout an organisation, but also with clients and valued stakeholders. They seem to have an energy that attracts people to them, with enthusiastic ears, always willing to listen to what they have to say.

It is important that people trust what their leader says. This can also be the case with the charismatic leader, but not always. And whilst the charismatic leader ignites passion and purpose in the short term, what about long term strategy and results? How important is it to know that the leaders can not only open their little black book of contacts to generate significant revenue now, but also to set their organisation up for success once they have left to move on to pastures new or to retire. It is common practice for a new Chief Executive to already have their ‘exit strategy’ in place, on the day that they arrive, very often with their anticipated ‘end date’ being within three to five years. Does this promote a vested interest in the long term or just the short term? How will they be rewarded on departure, on achieving certain targets during their period of tenure, or securing them long after they have left?

Jim Collins, author of ‘Good to Great’, considers this in his Harvard Business Review article from 2001. He studied organisations that had gone through significant transformation and analysed their performance not just after a brief period of time, but after fifteen years, to see which ones had successfully embraced the changes to secure long term results. He then analysed the leaders of those organisations to see what qualities they had to ensure such a significant achievement. Collins looked at 1,435 ‘Fortune 500’ companies to study which companies passed the test of ‘cumulative returns at least three times the market over the next fifteen years’. Only 11 did and as he mentioned these were not a sample but rather the ‘total number that jumped all the hurdles and passed into the study’. Interestingly, the study did not begin with the sole purpose of analysing the senior executives, rather looking at which companies had the ability to jump from ‘good to great’. However, as the study progressed it was noted, ‘we can’t ignore the top executives even if we want to’. Collins identified two key components that were common to all these ‘long term leaders’ regardless of sector, size of organisation or time of transition The two key qualities were humility and determination.

The results of the article ‘Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve’ may sound counterintuitive today but when the article was published it was ‘downright heretical, the corporate scandals hadn’t broken out and almost everyone believed that CEO’s should be charismatic larger than life figures’.

This falls very much in line with the idea of ‘Servant Leadership’ identified in 1970 by Robert K. Greenleaf, the idea that the leader ’holds’ that position in order to make sure the organisation is secure, flourishing and set for success so the next leader can take over the mantle to continue the good work, always with the philosophy of doing what is best for the company. With one eye on the present, the servant leader also has one eye very firmly on the future, way beyond the date of their own exit. It has to be said the charismatic leader is most certainly capable of determination and also humility. Just because they might be an extrovert, a visionary, a great speaker, and a good relationship-builder does not mean they are not humble, but it has to be that way. The charismatic leader must ensure, and demonstrate, that their primary role is for the benefit of the organisation, not themselves.

So what does this mean in practice to have one eye on the present and one eye on the future? It actually means making the most of the skills they inherently have. Whilst they do have the energy and personality to attract the attention of all involved, to be a visionary and to paint a picture that people aspire to, it cannot just stop there. The great leader will not only paint such an inspirational picture of the potential that is available, but will also articulate this with complete clarity. As a result, as an employee, not only do I see the vision of the future but I know exactly the role I play in order to allow the organisation to reach its full potential, because I will be reaching mine. I will understand the very purpose, the core, of what the organisation represents, be given clarity regarding the long term strategy, and understand our short term objectives. I will understand what I am doing, when and why. Not only that but the successful leaders of today will understand that the directive ‘tell and do’ leadership style is now outdated, that the true transformational leader will be empowering, an ideas generator rather than an ideas giver, a coach and motivator, as clearly identified by Bernard M. Bass 1985 in the work on ‘Transformational Leadership’ (later developed with Bruce J. Avolio). They will be collaborative, allow people to take part in the decision-making process where possible. They will give people a voice.

The leader here understands the significance of the next generation, ensures a clear and robust succession plan is in place, so when they depart, there will be a confidence that the legacy left is one that will see the organisation into the next decade, or even century. Also, that the younger generation actually want to step into the shoes of their elder leaders, that such a position is attractive, empowering and worth waiting around for. Already the younger generation not only understand that the ‘job for life’ is unrealistic, but they don’t even want it.

The great leader also paves the way for the next leader. What if the next leader is by nature, quiet and more reflective? They may think they have big shoes to fill, and they will, but to be given the seal of approval by the outgoing, and possibly more popular leader, genuinely and wholeheartedly, is important. And the next leader can rest assured, that although maybe quieter and more introspective, maybe not as natural at public speaking or radiating energy, they might just have a couple of qualities that do come more naturally, the qualities that Collins recommends so highly, humility and determination.

Katherine Farnworth

Reference

Jim Collins, ‘Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap and others don’t’, 2001.

Jim Collins, Harvard Business Review ‘‘Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve’, 2001

Bernard M Bass, ‘Transformational Leadership’, 1985 (developing the original work of James MacGregor Burns, 1978 and laBruce J. Avolio)

Robert K. Greenleaf, ‘The Servant as Leader’, Essay, 1970.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I recently came across an article from January 2014 which reports that only 68% of junior lawyers aspire to become a Partner. Perhaps more interestingly, of the 1800 lawyers surveyed worldwide, just 37% of those aged 26-30, and 43% of those 30-40, viewed law as a job for life. I suspect that a similar survey a generation ago, or even 10 years ago, would show a vastly different result.

The key concern identified was flexible working, and a desire for a better work/life balance. It made me wonder whether the legal profession has fallen behind others in terms of technology, or alternative, more flexible, ways of working. Perhaps it is just the nature of a lawyers’ work, or the fact that a reduction in available work has meant lawyers having to do more work, and resultant longer hours, to make the same fee income as they did 6 or 7 years ago.

The other article I came across was again on the The Lawyer website . It reports that Mishcon de Reya, the international firm with offices in London and New York, have told their lawyers they can work as many or as few days as they want. In other words…unlimited holidays! They can also work anywhere they want. Sounds good doesn’t it?

For those who have felt awkward about working from home for a morning / day, for fear of it being deemed as ‘skiving’, a culture where this is the norm sounds great. In my personal experience, working from home is in fact often far more productive. With nearly every firm operating a time recording system of some sort, or means of tracking fee income per fee earner/Partner, those sitting at home watching Jeremy Kyle would soon be caught out anyway.

So, the point is – will we see more of this in the future, as a way of firms retaining staff in the profession, and in their firm? It could also mean that large firms need less office space, thereby saving on rent, heating and lighting etc etc.

The flipside is that some will say the arrangement at Mishcon de Reya will actually result in people taking less holidays. Without the ‘structure’ that comes with an annual holiday entitlement, will people compete with each other to take the least holidays? One key phrase that Mishcon de Reya state is that the flexible working is unlimited, ‘as long as it doesn’t affect their clients’. Will it mean that lawyers can never fully switch off, or leave work behind?

I am interested in your thoughts on this, and whether such measures at your firm would actually make a difference to your views on whether law is a career for life?

Gregor

Please connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter for future articles and blogs

Becoming a Partner at a Law Firm

You may have worked hard for years, progressing through the ranks from Trainee, to Assistant, to Associate, before finally getting invited to become a Partner. On the other hand, you may be an Assistant who is frustrated at the management of your firm, or simply decided you like the idea of ‘going it alone’. Either way, you are to become a Partner in a law firm. So, what do you need to do from the point of view of your regulatory body? The answer is…very little!

In Scotland, provided you have 3 years unrestricted practice, you require to attend a 1 day mandatory practice management course within a year of becoming a Partner. That’s it! No assessment to pass and no further training, even if you are to set up alone, be responsible for accounts rules compliance, setting up anti-money laundering procedures, or dealing with client complaints etc. In England and Wales, you do not even require to attend such a course, and there is no requirement of being in practice for a certain length of time before becoming a Partner.

Should the regulators require more of a Solicitor who intends to become a Partner? If the regulator is seeking to ensure the protection of clients, should those becoming a Partner require to demonstrate that they understand the responsibilities of their role? Does it depend on whether they are going to be in practice alone? Does it depend on the type of work they are going to do? Does it depend on whether they are going to be responsible for cashroom compliance, or anti-money laundering?

The Law Society of Scotland recently instructed an independent review of the mandatory practice management course and associated practice rules. The report makes for an interesting read. I think that it reaches a sensible conclusion that if there is to be a mandatory course, there should be some sort of assessment to ensure that those who are required to attend, understand what they are being told. Otherwise, it is simply a tick box exercise to say you were there, and whether you engaged in the content or not, is irrelevant. The report also recommends an additional module for those likely to immediately become cashroom partners, or solely responsible for running the business, and refresher modules for all partners in certain areas as part of their CPD cycle (every 3/5 years).

I would welcome any comments / ideas you have, and would encourage Scottish solicitors to respond to the Consultation which is now underway. I think that more guidance on the various responsibilities required of a Partner can only be a good thing, and that some form of assessment ensures that. We do however require to be careful not to make this too onerous, so as to put practitioners off becoming a Partner or setting up their own firm. What do you think?

Gregor

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Innovative Legal Business Models

Many of you will have read my colleagues’ article last week on what 2014 may hold for the legal profession (https://www.thecashroom.co.uk/legal_article/profession-2014/ ). One thing we are likely to see as a result of all the points mentioned in that article, is more by way of innovative legal business models.

We have already seen the emergence of businesses taking a new approach to a very old profession, such as LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer and Riverview Law. While each of these may have slightly different models, the point is that they have taken a fresh look at (a) what clients want, and (b) how legal firms provide that to them.

While the precise need of each client will be different, on the whole, what clients want is a quick and cost effective solution to their particular issue. Your average individual or small business client does not care if you are the most intelligent lawyer in the country, what they want is you to buy/sell their house, sort out their divorce, resolve their personal injury claim, draft a basic employment contract, or set up their company as quickly as possible. For most, a lawyer is somebody they have to use in order to achieve a particular outcome, and the quicker and cheaper it is to reach that outcome, the better. For clients who require bespoke or detailed advice on a complicated area of law, there are always going to be firms that provide that, at a corresponding pricing point!

What the innovative firms have focussed on is providing services at a time, and in a way, that is most convenient for the client. They allow clients access to services in the evening and at weekend, rather than being bound to the usual appointment between 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. Some have a portal or other way for clients to log in at any time of the day or night, to access free forms and documents, or to check on the progress of their case. They are also providing these services at a fixed cost – something which is becoming more and more attractive to clients.

These businesses have clearly taken a step back, looked at what they think is most important to clients, and done something about it. Out are hourly rates, postal correspondence, and waiting for an appointment to meet a lawyer face to face (unless necessary), and in are transparency over fees, fixed costs, and access for the client to his case/documents online, at a time convenient to the client. It would seem that now, even for lawyers, ‘consumer is king’.

I think that we are going to see more legal firms adopt these types of business model and feeing structures, and the expansion of the current market leaders (Legal Zoom have, after all, recently raised £122m of private equity funding – https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/legalzoom-eyes-acquisitions-taking-major-private-equity-investment ). There may of course be plenty of work for those who remain more ‘traditional’ firms, where they have a long established and loyal client base. The point is that those firms need to consider how they keep that work in the future. Are the next generation going to be willing to pay more for ‘traditional’ legal advice too, because they know and trust the firm, or are they going to ‘google’ what they need, and use a firm that provide their services online, at a time more convenient, and at a cheaper price?

The important thing is to take time and think about all of this, how it might affect your firm, and make strategic decisions on how you approach the future. The legal market has changed, and clients’ behaviour has changed. As a result, I think that firms need to respond – either to change as well, or by taking steps to retain their loyal client base. Either way, doing nothing is not an option!

Gregor

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What does the future of the legal profession look like?

When people consider the future of the legal profession, many still think of solicitors sitting behind large wooden desks, in grand old buildings, a library of books behind them on a bookshelf, and filing cabinets full of client files. While that may still be the reality for most, we are seeing more and more firms going ‘paperless’. This often means documents being stored more securely electronically, in a way that is easier to find and access at a future date, and freeing up space within their office for staff that make the firm money.

We are also seeing a growing trend of solicitors considering whether they even need an office at all. The new generation of client wants value for money, access to legal advice at a convenient time for them, and in a convenient way. With internet/email access and a mobile phone, many types of legal work can be easily done outwith the traditional setting. Often legal work does not require many face to face meetings, and in fact in some types of work (eg personal injury), a solicitor may never meet their client. Therefore, if a firm can provide a slick and efficient service, for a lesser fee, by cutting unnecessary overheads, they are going to win more clients. Even if your line of work does require meeting in person, there are many serviced offices available in convenient locations for your client, and I don’t think clients are bothered these days about whether your name plaque is on the wall. The additional services required, such as somebody to answer the phone, to run your cash room, and to type letters/documents, can all be easily outsourced.

Even for larger firms, who are going to maintain an office, these are no longer old grand townhouses, but modern buildings designed to accommodate up to date IT services. I think that the forward thinking of these firms will also continue to encourage provision of remote access, hot-desking, flexible working arrangements and amended hours. Why wouldn’t they?

Remote/home working allows firms to retain young talent, male and female, who may have children to look after, but still want to progress their careers. The same applies for amended hours (eg starting/finishing earlier and condensed hours) which will often work better for childcare arrangements. There may also be a benefit to your clients that somebody is there to answer the phone, or respond to enquiries, before the rival firm down the street that doesn’t answer calls until 9am.

Flexible/remote working and hot-desking also frees up space within your office, or may in time allow you to lease slightly smaller premises and thereby make cost savings. It also appeals to young lawyers entering the profession. These are people who would happily work from a laptop, in a café or at home. In fact, they are not only happy to do it, but they expect to be able to do it. I have heard of banks and large accountancy firms seizing upon this, and putting clauses in employment contracts that require staff to work outwith the office a certain number of days a week. I think that law firms will eventually catch up with this.

The issue which may take longer to address is the perception that the person who sits at his or her desk for the most hours every day, is the ‘hardest worker’. This doesn’t take account of two important things: (a) people working more efficiently, and (b) people working remotely or flexible hours. Perhaps over time, firms will look at efficiency and fee/new client generating work as more important than spending endless hours at your desk!

So what does the future of the legal profession look like? Who knows, but I think it is being forced to look at cheaper, more efficient ways of providing legal services to clients. The future of the legal profession is likely to lead to new and innovative ways of running a legal firm, with less non fee-earning staff, less need to be physically present in an office all day, and increased use of technology to provide services at times and in ways more convenient for the client, rather than what is convenient for lawyers. With the advent of Alternative Business Structures, there is now competition from non-traditional law firms, who are likely to have a better awareness of client behaviour and demands. Lawyers are no longer able to sit within their comfort zone, where they only have to compete with other lawyers.

Gregor

Please connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter for future articles and blogs

Scale your business – how big do you want to be, and how quickly?

If you have answered the first three questions, this one should answer itself. If you have decided that you want to create a niche firm specialising in a particular area of law, acting for a relatively small market segment, and those clients will instruct you because of that expertise, you probably do not need to create a huge firm. However, if you want to create a firm acting for a wide range of commercial clients, across a wide range of market sectors, then you need the scale your business to allow you to do so.

The point is – let your market decide the scale of your business, not the other way round. There is no point in creating a large business, with all the costs that involves, if there is no need. Alternatively, a small business may find it hard to service the clients you intent to work for, or the work you intend to do.

The size of your business will also determine the capital required to launch it. All things being equal its easier to launch a small business than a large one. However, it’s easier to launch a larger business now than it was.

If you have compelling answers to the first 3 questions (What sort of law firm do I want to own, who are my prospective clients, and why should these clients instruct me?), then it will soon be possible to attract external investment to law firms. This should allow legal entrepreneurs to create firms with greater scale, more quickly than was possible in the past.

For a topical example, Google Brilliant Law.

David

What sort of law firm do you want to own?

This is the first article in the “Creating a Law Firm From a Blank Sheet of Paper” series, and it’s perhaps the most fundamental. Before you start ordering computers and letter head, think hard about what sort of law firm you want to create.

How many lawyers take time to think about exactly what kind of law firm they want to work in, and then set out to create that firm? Very few I suspect.

It’s a very personal question. It touches on the fundamental reason of why you became a lawyer in the first place. I dare say it’s different for each of us. But it is the key question to ask when creating your law firm.

If you became a lawyer because of the legal profession’s role in fighting for individual rights, then you probably don’t want to create a large commercial law firm acting primarily for large corporations. If you became a lawyer because you are interested in the process of starting and growing business, which create wealth, opportunity and employment, you might not want to create a niche criminal defence practice.

Trivial examples I know, but they illustrate the importance of the question.

But it goes beyond these trivial examples, to encompass all aspects of your firm. Do you want to have partner’s meetings in a lecture theatre, or do you want all your partners to fit round a board room table? Do you want to practice in a very specialised area of the law, perhaps in a specific sector, or do you want to act for a wide variety of people, helping them with more general legal problems?

The point is – spend time thinking about what sort of lawyer you want to be, and what sort of firm you want to create. These decisions will (and should) have a significant impact on how you create your firm.

The next question is – “who do I want to act for”.

David

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