Finance Archives - The Cashroom

Does your firm have a plan for its future?

At The Cashroom, we have recently started extensive training programmes for our ‘Rising Stars’ and ‘Future Leaders’. The initiative is aimed at identifying key people for the future success of the business, and to start developing them to ensure they are able to perform and thrive when the time comes to step up the ladder. It made me think about my time in practice as a Solicitor, and the fact that I never came across any such deliberate and plan for future detailed plan for the future. Sure, there were appraisals and performance reviews which set goals, and identified areas for improvement, but they were concerned more with performing better in your current role, rather than planning and preparing for future roles, and areas of interest. Have a think for moment – does your firm have a plan for developing its key people for the future?

I deliberately say key ‘people’ because although you must plan for the future ownership of the business via the next batch of Partners, it is just as crucial that you plan for key staff, and older Partners too. The partnership agreement may provide a set retirement age, but retaining people as Consultants or Ambassadors for the firm beyond that may be crucial for retaining certain longstanding clients who have worked with that person for many years. Equally, Paralegals or Support Staff may have the deepest understanding of certain clients, or may be the ones who are in regular contact with them on an ongoing basis.

When developing these key people for the future, it is also crucial to find out what they want and aim for in their working lives. When was the last time you asked your staff what their career aspirations were? There are many reasons to do so – for starters, if you can’t offer what they are aiming for, they will leave at some point, and you need to know that. Secondly, the future wellbeing of your firm will need people to take care of the different areas of the business – not just the practice of law – so you need to find out if you have people who have an interest in being, for example, ‘Business Development Partner/Manager/Director’, ‘Client Relations/Complaints Partner’, ‘Cashroom Manager / COLP / COFA’, or ‘Managing Partner’. It is important to find and develop these people over a period of time, and also to think about these role specifications clearly so you are not setting people up for a fall. All too often, particularly the role of Managing Partner, is given to somebody without enough regard for whether they are the best person for the role, what the firm expects of them by way of splitting their time between fee earning and management commitments and, crucially, any sort of plan as to how they would return to a full time fee earning Partner role thereafter.

plan for future So, perhaps there is some food for thought here for discussion at your next Partners meeting. Do you have the same people in mind to take over the reins, and how are you going to equip them with the skills to do so? I would suggest putting a realistic plan together, with clear and achievable objectives, put it in to practice as soon as possible, and keep in regular dialogue with the people involved. They will likely be motivated by the opportunity, bringing better engagement immediately, and more seamless business continuity and succession into the future.

Gregor Angus, Senior Business Development Manager

The Cashroom Ltd

What are the benefits of pensions for business owners?

Pensions are not always popular with business owners. Only about a third have a pension at all, with many business owners choosing instead to rely on their businesses to fund their lives in retirement. But shunning pensions does mean missing out on some significant tax benefits that could make a big difference to the amount of money they have in the future.

Are you missing out on pension tax breaks?

Because the Government wants people to save for their retirement, pensions come with significant tax breaks. Pension contributions up to the annual allowance receive up to 46% tax relief, and there are other big tax benefits for business owners:

If you have a limited company, pension contributions can be treated as an allowable business expense, helping offset your company’s corporation tax bill
Pension contributions can be a tax-efficient way to take money from your business
If you’re planning to sell your business to fund your retirement, making the most of pension allowances is wise because it can help reduce Capital Gains Tax when the company is sold

Do you have all your eggs in one basket?

Business owners are often much more comfortable investing in their own business than trusting others to invest on their behalf. They know their company and industry inside out so on the face of it, this makes sense. But as with any investment, it is rarely sensible to put all your eggs in one basket.

You never really know what is going to happen to your business in the future. The market could go against you, or you could become ill and need to give up work earlier than expected. You may also need to sell your business for less than expected. With a pension or other forms of retirement saving, you would be less vulnerable.

Getting the best from a pension

We speak to many business owners who have been put off pensions by a bad experience – they’ve paid high charges and ended up with mediocre returns. That’s where financial advice can more than pay for itself. A good financial planner with experience of working with business owners can work with you to construct a pension that helps you make the most of the tax benefits and investment opportunities while also taking into account your individual attitude to investment risk.

A good financial planner can also work with you on your exit plan, helping you understand when you can realistically retire. We use cashflow modelling to create a visual illustration of what your future finances could look like, and we can help transfer business wealth into personal wealth, making sure your assets are structured in the most tax-efficient way.

Would you benefit from our specialist financial advice for business owners?

The easiest way to find out how we can help is to book an initial, no-obligation consultation by contacting Alison Fitzsimons on 0333 014 5429 or alison.fitzsimons@tilney.co.uk.

The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you can get back less than you originally invested.

Mike Wardlaw, Chartered Financial Planner

Tilney Group

The Impact of Outsourcing Law Firm Accounting Services to Third Party Experts

When the time comes to consider outsourcing the accounting services of your business, naturally you’ll have some concerns about what this can mean for you, both in the short and long term.

Outsourcing Law Firm Accounting Services After all, change can bring risk, so you need to be confident that the strategy you implement will be worth it. Speaking to third party experts about outsourcing your account services should reassure you that the impact will be beneficial on your business moving forward.

Some law firms worry that outsourcing their accounting services to a third party could have a detrimental impact on the business. But in reality, the truth makes for a much more pleasant read.

Outsourcing doesn’t mean you’ll lose control of your cashiering services, in fact it’s the opposite. Firms are able to gain a greater understanding of what is going on with regards to their management accounts. This in turn brings even more insights as third party experts are able to help the firm identify:

What area(s) of the business generate the most revenue
What area(s) of the business bring in the most money quickly
What area(s) of the business aren’t profitable
Where money is being spent and the return on investment
Area(s) of growth

Outsourcing Law Firm Accounting Services These insights help your business to run efficiently and continue to grow, while some of your competitors lay still in the water.

Outsourcing doesn’t have to be costly and can often save you money and more importantly fee earner time. Companies offering outsourcing accounting services are experts and have streamlined processes to ensure maximum efficiency. Furthermore, they understand best practices which can be passed on as additional savings to you. So, as you can see, the impact of outsourcing a law firm’s accounting services to third party experts has a positive effect on the way the business can grow and thrive.

With the introduction of more stringent Data Protection Laws and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), ensuring data security is paramount these days. Throw into the mix that thousands of criminals are attempting to hack into law firm IT infrastructure, then your concern regarding the impact outsourcing would have would seem justified.

However, third party experts have this area covered too. They have the policies, procedures and technology all in place to ensure that any data they handle is safe and secure, away from the prying eyes of those who wish to exploit it.

Won’t outsourcing make managing cashiers harder? You may think this is the case, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. The right outsourced legal accounts third party will remove that burden.

So, we originally wondered what the impact of outsourcing law firms accounting services to third party experts would have. Hopefully we have shown that it needn’t be doom and gloom. In fact it can have a positive impact on your business, helping it to grow and adapt in a changing legal sector, by enabling solicitors to run their businesses better and to earn fees. The experts will identify areas of focus and working together you can help expand your business whilst working efficiently and effectively.

Here at The Cashroom, our experienced team can be on hand to unburden busy law firms by-

Helping firms to prepare and then monitor performance against annual budgets
Producing cashflow projections
Conducting fee and performance analysis
Providing commentary and advice on monthly performance
Preparing for year-end accounts
And more…

If you are considering outsourcing your law firm accounting and would like some more information about how The Cashroom can help, please get in touch.

If you are regulated within the English and Welsh market then please contact:
Alex Holt E: alex.holt@thecashroom.co.uk t: 07817 420 466

If you are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, please contact:
Gregor Angus E: gregor.angus@thecashroom.co.uk t: 07875 598 593

Invest (at least your time) in wellbeing initiatives – it’s a win,win!

It’s well proven that a happier, healthier and more engaged workforce is good not just for those employees wellbeing, but for your business too – a true win,win scenario. You will lose far less days to sick leave, and spend much less on recruitment, training and the management of a constantly changing workforce. In addition, your employees will become your best brand ambassadors, thereby improving the top line, as well as the bottom.

There are various reports and surveys which attempt to quantify the return on investment in workplace wellbeing but, even without investing heavily in financial terms, there are many simple and practical steps you can take within your business to implement some initiatives that will make a difference over time. This is a topic I could write a whole book on (maybe one day!), but here are just a few ideas to think about…

wellbeing investment 1. Starting a new job can be very stressful, so have a look at how you bring new staff into the business at the outset. Only 12% of employees think that their employers do a good job of onboarding them (Gallup State of the Workplace Study 2017). Could you invite new starts to a social get together in the weeks leading up to their start date? Even a chat over lunch will make them less anxious about starting with you. Could you provide them with some sort of ‘welcome pack’ to make them feel part of the team as quickly as possible? Could you ask someone to be their ‘buddy’, that they can ask for simple help and assistance when they start, e.g how on earth does that coffee machine work?!

2. A survey in the US (State of the American Workplace) found that close work friendships boosted employee satisfaction by 50% and people that have a ‘best friend’ at work are seven times more likely to be fully engaged in their jobs. That sounds good on all fronts, doesn’t it? Think about whether you could offer more by way of social interactions for your employees, from lunches, drinks after work, barbecues, teambuilding days, to Corporate Social Responsibility volunteering opportunities, encouraging friendship amongst your employees.

wellbeing investment 3. Some employers are fortunate to have deep pockets, or access to investment cash for wellbeing, allowing them to invest in a gym in the office, subsidise gym memberships, or have personal trainers or dieticians come in to the office regularly. However, you really don’t need to go to that extent to encourage your employees to spend a bit more time moving and exercising regularly during their working day, thereby improving their wellness. How about encouraging walking meetings: a brisk 10 – 15 minutes round the block to chat through something you would normally do while sitting slumped in a meeting room to do. You will likely arrive back in the office refreshed, or at least a little more awake, and ready for the next task. Top tip – an initiative like this requires a top-down adoption, i.e. the leaders and managers of the business need to embrace it and start doing it regularly, to help instil into more junior staff that it is acceptable, and in fact is to be encouraged!

4. Could you invest a small sum in having a specialist come in to talk to staff about mental health wellbeing, such as how to spot when things ‘aren’t quite right’, where to turn for support or advice, and some practical hints and tips or coping strategies. You could go one step further and train a mental health first aider within your organisation, which will help to make this an ongoing initiative, benefitting all within your organisation, and helping to reduce time lost to sick leave.

5. Finally, make seasonal events (e.g Easter, Halloween, Christmas) fun! Think about giving out Advent Calendars or Easter Eggs to all staff – not a huge investment, but definitely a morale booster – or having a dress down/up(!) day for Halloween. This can encourage interaction amongst employees, lift spirits in the office, and at the same time be used to generate some money for a charity of your choice.

I hope there are some ideas here that you might be able to implement in your organisation, even with minimal investment. I think you will see an improvement in morale, health and wellbeing in the longer term, and a reduction in sick leave and staff turnover. With proper commitment to employee wellbeing, and a strategic approach to it, you will also see financial improvement to the top and bottom lines too. As I say, a win,win.

Gregor Angus, Senior Business Development Manager

The Cashroom Ltd

The Ultimate Guide To Outsourced Legal Cashiering

An increasingly strict regulatory regime has changed the legal sector forever. At the same time, the financial pressure on many firms has grown substantially as challenger firms and online providers have made their presence known.

What’s more, with many law firms registering as Alternative Business Structures (ABSs), there has been a rise in non-lawyer experts taking on management roles. And these non-lawyers are applying tried and tested business techniques to improve standards, deliver consistency and reduce costs. In response, more and more traditional firms are having to adopt a similar business-like management approach to keep up.

But it’s not just about surviving. By modernising the way they operate, law firms can also thrive in today’s challenging legal landscape.

One way that savvy firms are choosing to innovate and respond to change is by outsourcing essential business tasks. In particular, legal cashiering is one back-office function that has become increasingly popular to offload.

“Outsourcing to The Cashroom has been painless. So easy to deal with accommodating everything that we need to do, when we need to do it, whilst keeping us on the right side of the vast array of regulations.

We have complete trust in them to ensure our compliance, and have a Law Society Inspection Report which proves what a great job they are doing for us.

We will never have a cashier in our office again.”

Kate Anderson, Director at Masson Cairns

Why outsource your law firm’s cashiering?

Rather than wasting time on routine, non-legal tasks, many law firms have chosen to contract things out, while they focus on the more lucrative aspects of winning new business and keeping clients happy. And, with lawyers increasingly expected to do more with less, the appeal of outsourcing is only getting stronger.

Here are just some of the ways that outsourcing your legal cashiering can help your law firm.

Reduce the cost and burden of managing employees

Legal accounting is a complex administrative task, so it’s vital that your firm has access to experienced staff. This is especially important in such a highly regulated industry. But, with a shortage of quality legal cashiers, finding qualified bookkeepers can be tricky. And, interviewing and assessing candidates’ integrity and skills is not straightforward for a law firm.

At the same time, the total cost of employing in-house cashiering personnel is expensive. Because, in addition to wages, you also have to take the costs of recruitment, induction, training, mentoring, sick pay, maternity cover, holiday cover, pension contributions, and National Insurance into consideration.

Also, law firms face the challenge of having to fund sufficient senior cashiering resource to deal with complex, high risk elements, while using that same resource to carry out the more mundane, junior tasks. And that’s not cost-effective.

Employing a full-time legal cashier may not even be financially viable for smaller firms. And, if you are one of the 523 new law firms planning to open in the next year^[1], you will need affordable, quality cashiering support to challenge the larger players.

Using an experienced outsourcing supplier lets your law firm tap into recognised, certified expertise, without the burden and cost of employing and managing your own staff; making it a much more affordable option. In addition, a resourcing approach provides you with 9-5 support and real time cashiering, but at a cost based on the actual activity and skill level your firm requires.

Respond quickly to a changing marketplace

Today’s legal market is in a state of flux. Because outsourced services are scalable, your firm can adapt quickly to rising or slowing demand for services, without the worry about hiring or laying off staff. And you only ever pay for what you use.

So, by partnering with a trusted outsourcing expert, smaller law firms benefit from a more agile approach. As such, embracing an outsourcing ethos could help you to adapt and thrive. And secure your long-term survival.

“The Cashroom offer an invaluable service for any solicitor’s firm. Their approach is efficient, professional and responsive. They have allowed us to deal with rapid growth by taking on all accounts functionality.”

Alexis Brassey, Managing Partner and Notary Public at Cavendish Legal Group

Save valuable office space and costs

We have already looked at how outsourced legal cashiering can help your law firm to cut down on employment costs. But the savings don’t stop there.

With outsourced cashiering, you will also save on infrastructure and associated office costs (e.g. energy, floor space, hardware, software, etc.). Indeed, when you consider the total cost, you can save thousands of pounds year-on-year by outsourcing.

Reduce the compliance burden

Compliance is now a pressing concern for most businesses. Not least because the rules and regulations are continually changing. But for law firms, the need for demonstrable security and integrity is vital.

For example, when it comes to legal cashiering, your firm is professionally obliged to keep an accurate set of books. But for lawyers, preparing accounts can be stressful and worrying, especially when they don’t have access to certified experts. However, not taking the time to dedicate the focus necessary to accounts-related work is not an option. Because unintentional accounting errors can prove costly, and, if a mistake happens, the risk to your reputation and your bottom line could be devastating.

However, if you employ an outsourced legal cashier, they won’t just keep your accounts in order. They will also enable compliance with the Solicitors Accounts Rules and Money Laundering Regulations. And, crucially, an outsourced cashier will also ensure that there’s a clear audit trail as required by your accountant or inspector.

With the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) accounts rules set to undergo their first major overhaul in years this November, with significant changes that all firms will need to prepare for, firms should look to get their cashiering processes in order now to stay ahead of the game.

“The Cashroom has definitely been a good business move, not only because of efficiency but also in relation to compliance which can be daunting at times.”

Susan Ayre, Partner at Simon A Holt & Co

Plan for business as usual

Law firms that don’t want to suffer any downtime due to unexpected events have to be prepared. For example, how would you cope if unforeseen and long-term absenteeism hit your business?

By offering support that never stops or takes a break, with outsourced legal cashiering you are free from the burden of sick days, jury duty and family emergencies. So, as well as saving you money, it can also boost your productivity.

Also, as alarmist as it might sound, extreme weather conditions are on the rise. And, with global warming set to lead to more and more changing weather patterns, you have to think about how you can continue to operate if you can’t access the office. Outsourcing business services such as legal cashiering can help to support your disaster recovery planning. With remote support available when you need it.

Free your solicitors up, to get on with what they do best

Law firms depend upon a steady cash flow to survive, so keeping on top of your bookkeeping is essential.

But, for many practices, this can be both challenging and time-consuming. Correcting errors is a costly waste of your valuable time; especially where many other responsibilities need looking after. For example, if you don’t nurture and grow your client base, your business will suffer, you’ll spend less time earning fees, and the less profitable you’ll be.

With time one thing none of us has in excess, it pays to acknowledge that you can’t be an expert in all areas of your business. Instead, you should focus on your strengths.

Removing the hassle from your shoulders, expert outsourced legal cashiering will take care of everything for you. Leaving you free to spend more time with clients and other tasks that make your firm money.

By outsourcing your legal cashiering you’ll also have peace of mind that you are working with people who have experience in dealing with day-to-day bookkeeping, as well as the escalation of matters where necessary.

“We operate a business which requires efficiency and certainty of service. The Cashroom has augmented our own internal accounts team, taking control of key elements and working closely to provide a seamless service to us.

We have found them to be extremely professional and helpful, at a cost which has achieved significant savings as against an in-house approach.”

Andrew Kwan, Solicitor-Advocate at Clear Law Solicitors

Help your law firm to grow

An outsourced cashier will ensure an up-to-date log of case-related fees and expenses for regular claim back purposes – resulting in a healthier cash flow. And that’s crucial to business growth. But more than this, with the right support, you will also get access to better forecasting data. So, using an outsourced cashier can provide valuable business insights that can be used to identify trends and inform your overall business strategy.

For example, forecasting data can be used to assess the profitability of certain matters, to intelligently determine opportunities for growth, and to identify legal service areas that are becoming problematic.

What type of firm needs outsourced legal cashiering?

We help many types of law firms with their outsourced legal cashiering needs. Including:

Sole practitioners up to mid-sized firms.
Firms where the cashier has retired (as it can be difficult to recruit cashiers)
Firms where the cashier is going on maternity leave
Firms that are restructuring and dealing with TUPE options
Firms that need help to improve following a Law Society Inspection
Firms where the lawyers have been trying to do it themselves and have no real knowledge of compliance
Forward thinking firms with a desire to do things differently.

The challenges of outsourced legal cashiering (and how to overcome these)

When it comes to introducing outsourced legal cashiering into your law firm, the benefits are clear. But what are the challenges you will face?

Data security

Law firms are a particular target for cyber criminals, not least because of the huge sums of money transacted each day. But criminals are not just looking for financial gains; they are also after the confidential data which is at the crux of the solicitor-client relationship.

When it comes to protecting client money, it’s only natural that you’d be worried about putting your valuable data and finances in the hands of a third-party. But, in most cases, an outsourced partner will have invested heavily in security measures such as encryption, firewalls, password protection, physical data centre anti-intrusion systems, software updates and back-up procedures. They should also have a robust confidentiality process in place to ensure confidential client information is protected as per the SRA code. It can be hard for smaller law firms to provide the same level of protection.

Let’s face it, if you have one single cashier who sets up and authorises payments, a fraudster need only obtain a single set of bank login details. Even if you have multiple cashiers to check payment details, they are all likely to be on one single network, so it’s easy for a hacker to get all the information and access rights they need.

Modern law firms are like mini banks, but without the resources required to protect the money they hold securely. That is precisely where the added value of outsourced provider comes in to play.

The burden of managing a third-party supplier

Some law firms are concerned that managing a third-party could be just as complicated as looking after in-house staff. But this shouldn’t be the case.

Yes, it’s true that, if your requirements are complicated, you may rely on multiple outsourcing partners. And this can become tricky, not least because, in an age of interconnected systems, getting a supplier to take responsibility if something goes wrong can be a challenge. But the right outsourced legal cashier will be used to a multi-party model and will do everything possible to streamline and simplify things for you.

Of course, there are also benefits of simplifying supplier management. For example, using one partner for multiple tasks such as cashiering and management accounts.

Fear of change

Change is both risky and exciting. But it can also foster self-doubt. Will all your effort be worth it?

As we established earlier in this guide, the law is not just a profession; it is also a business. So it’s vital to keep moving forward. And, with a wealth of benefits to be had, not taking the leap could mean that your competitors get ahead while you stagnate.

Cost

When investing in outsourcing, price is always going to be a concern. So, when making your business case, it’s crucial to understand the total cost of ownership (TCO).

What’s more, price doesn’t always mean value. In many cases, spending money and saving yourself time is more cost-effective.

Being stuck with the provider

When looking to outsource, one of the biggest concerns faced by law firms is that they will be stuck with the service provider in some unholy death grip.

Many outsourcers combat this fear with exit clauses in their contracts. However, even with an agreement which allows for termination, you could face difficulties replacing the service, either by taking it back in-house or by finding another, better outsourcer.

There is also a concern about ‘professional behaviour’ on separation. With numerous horror stories where the outsourcer makes life extremely difficult – either by ‘working to rule’ or by being generally obstructive as the service is taken off them.

To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, due diligence is needed before signing any agreement. This should include obtaining a reference from a firm which no longer uses the service and putting a plan in place for end of contract.

Integration with other processes

The last thing you want to do when appointing an outsourced legal cashier is to have to switch all your existing systems. But modern partners should be able to work with your current setup.

To make this work they will look at things such as:

How your systems are hosted and how they access them (e.g. server-based or cloud)
How the system works (e.g. how are documents stored and how will financial information requests be forwarded)
Who will manage the process your end (e.g. will there be a specific contact, or will they liaise directly with fee-earners).

The Cashroom has a totally system agnostic approach. This means that firms need not change their systems before benefiting from the service.

Things to consider before you appoint an outsourced legal cashier

Outsourcing your legal cashiering will have many rewards. But as with any investment, there are some things to consider before making the leap.

What questions should you ask your preferred provider?

Who will manage your account?

For example, will it be a dedicated individual, and, if so, who will cover for sickness or absences?

You should also make sure that you will be supported by specialist legal cashiers. It is vital that any partner you appoint doesn’t just have a firm grasp of accounts, but also possesses an ILFM qualification and has an in-depth understanding of the SRA Handbook, SRA Accounts Rules, and other relevant guidelines.

Can you get a reference from other customers?

A few positive words from a happy customer can put your mind at rest and give you confidence in your decision. As such, ask the outsourced legal cashier for references.

What are the terms of your agreement?

It’s vital that you understand the terms of any contract and Service Level Agreement (SLA) you are entering. Things to look out for include:

Data protection processes and guarantees
If they have an established business continuity and disaster recovery plan
How they would handle a security incident and rectify any data or financial losses
Whether they hold professional indemnity insurance
Who owns your data
What happens if you want to end the contract
If they will support you during a compliance visit.

Do they offer an online portal?

In an age of intense regulatory compliance, demanding client needs and increasing levels of cyber crime, it is imperative that any online portal is able to protect client information, improve the customer journey and provide increased efficiency.

Remain Cyber Secure and GDPR Compliant

Traditional forms of online communication, like emails, are coming under intense scrutiny as phishing attacks and technological vulnerabilities are costing law firms millions each year.

An effective portal can minimise this risk as both internal and external stakeholders are able to communicate and share information through the secure portal. All communication exchanges are secure with access restricted to authorised members of the firm carrying the relevant security information.

Using an outsourced legal cashier without such a secure portal service poses serious security and GDPR risks. Financial and personal information sent to the legal cashier through word processing documents and email could be intercepted and used by unscrupulous cyber criminals causing financial and reputational damage to your firm.

Improving Efficiency

Working outside of a portal creates a myriad of opportunities for communication to be lost or seriously delayed. It is extremely easy to mislay or overlook an email. Busy practitioners working on legal services are bombarded with email requests meaning the legal cashiers could be delayed. Similarly, sending a request to the outsourced cashier means that your firm’s request is buried within the work of their other clients. This could delay important transactions and reduce efficiency.

A portal can solve this. Each request that is made both internally and externally is unique to the business. Here at The Cashroom, all tasks also have an automated workflow, ensuring that deadlines are adhered to and communication is clear for all concerned.

Portal functions also enable the legal cashier to eliminate internal and external email. All requests are clearly tracked and progress is monitored via the technology. This means that each task has a clear and easily accessed audit trail; something that becomes extremely time consuming when using emails alone.

How quickly can you get up and running?

As with any investment, it’s essential to get up and running quickly. Ask your outsourcer how long this will take, whether there will be any downtime or disruption, and if there is a migration plan to ensure a smooth transition.

Do they offer any other outsourced services?

As previously discussed, it’s not unusual for law firms to be put off by the idea of managing multiple third-party suppliers. To keep things streamlined, find out if they offer any other outsourced services to help you consolidate your supplier management. Could they be a ‘one-stop-shop’.

Why work with The Cashroom?

Pioneers in the evolving legal landscape, at The Cashroom, we supply you with high calibre, qualified and experienced legal cashiers – at a fraction of the cost of employing your own staff. We also help you to unlock a huge range of additional outsourcing benefits.

For example, when you work with us, we will:

Save you money
Offer a fixed monthly fee, so you stay in control of your cash flow
Work with your existing practice management system (or provide recommendations where wanted)
Remove the burden while making sure you stay in control
Help to keep you compliant with industry rules and wider regulations
Facilitate and support your business growth
And more!

More than outsourced cashiering, we also offer management accounts and payroll support to law firms across the UK.

With trained lawyers on our team, and board members who were previously managing partners of their own firms (along with a chartered accountant), we also understand what it takes to run a successful legal business. And we share all this knowledge and expertise with you.

But we don’t expect you to take our word for it. As well as having won multiple industry awards, we are also happy to supply references of current and former customers to give you all the peace of mind you need.

“We have been using The Cashroom’s services for three years now. We brought them in to provide a secure, efficient, compliant cashiering function to support our growing business with their flexible resource model.

They have delivered exceptional service with a real personal touch, saving us money but delivering a quality finance function which suits our forward thinking approach to the provision of legal services to our clients. Their processes work especially well for our very busy conveyancing team.”

Gareth Jones, Practice Manager at Easthams Solicitors Limited

What type of tasks can we help you with?

The Cashroom provides all the legal cashier services typically provided to a firm of solicitors; the difference is we employ “your” cashiers, and they work remotely from our offices. Among many other things, we:

Maintain up-to-date books and records
Process all day to day transactions
Make bank payments
Reconcile firm and client bank accounts daily
Pay suppliers
Perform day and month end routines
Prepare and submit VAT returns
Assist with VAT inspections
Prepare Law Society Certificates and assist with inspections (Scotland only)
Provide information for Accountants’ Reports
Ensure full compliance with Law Society Accounting Rules /SRA.

In conclusion

Today, outsourced legal cashiering is not only helping law firms to make significant cost and time savings, but it is also leading to improvements in productivity and growth. Crucially, outsourced legal cashiering is helping to relieve the massive compliance worry. But when it comes down to it, the most significant benefit of outsourced legal cashiering is that it frees up lawyers to focus on client work.

To find out more about how outsourced legal cashiering can help your firm to flourish, contact Alex Holt alex.holt@thecashroom.co.uk or take a look at our services page on our website.

^[1] Hazlewoods, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers

5 Common Questions about Outsourced Cashiering

When we are 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 to outsource your cashiering. We thought it would be worthwhile explaining some of our standard responses!

Do we need new ‘IT’, or learn how to use a new ‘system’?
We do not have a ‘system’ or software that we use, 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. We also have a secure client portal which all of our clients are on, creating a secure environment for both The Cashroom and client to communicate without the cyber risks of email. This also avoids having to protect sensitive data via email. Training can also be given to ensure you are comfortable when using the portal.
Will we get a different person each time we contact you?
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 with 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 with your firm very quickly, and build a relationship with them. You can pick up the phone or send a query via our secure client portal to these selected people at any point and be ensured that someone will always be about to help.
Is it impossible to bring the service back in-house in the future?
We do not require you to use any new software/system, we are accessing your existing system remotely. Therefore, 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 then our access would be terminated.
Is there a loss of control involved?
Some feel that by having ‘their cashiers’ offsite, they will somehow lose some of the control over what is going on. Clients tell us time and time again that they actually 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, allowing the Partners to make the decisions and be more involved in what is going on in the firm!
Does it really save us money?
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%. There are additional savings, such as National Insurance and Pension contributions, the cost of additional office space which can be used by fee earning staff instead, 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 any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

Scotland – gregor.angus@thecashroom.co.uk / 07875 598 593

England & Wales – alex.holt@thecashroom.co.uk / 07817 420 466

How outsourcing your Legal Cashiering can save time and money

The Legal Institute of Forward Thinking says; “Law firms don’t fail for lack of profits; they fail for sufficient cash to operate.” Change is inevitable in the business world, but how you adapt to this change makes the difference between whether you sink or swim. One way that savvy firms are choosing to adapt is by outsourcing essential business tasks, like legal cashiering.

An outsourced legal cashier provides a variety of functions, including but not limited to: processing the day to day transactions, set up bank payments, assist with VAT inspections as well as preparing and submitting VAT returns. The list is endless.

Having the right person delivering your legal cashiering service is vitally important. If you were looking at having an in-house cashier, you’d have to take time recruiting, vetting, training, providing cover for any absences. Add in the costs for computers, software, pensions and wages, the cost of having an in-house cashier continues to increase. Combine that with the time put into recruiting and managing the cashier, it goes to show that someone’s time will be heavily constrained, preventing them from conducting their daily business.

By outsourcing the legal cashiering service, you are introduced to a talent and knowledge pool of people who can provide cashiering support every day, their training and management needs are taken away from you. They also ensure that you remain compliant with the SRA, CLC and the Law Society of Scotland.

What is the cost benefit of outsourcing?

Maximise your resource: Benefit from a cost based on the actual activity and skill level your firm requires, rather than having to fund sufficient senior cashiering resource to deal with complex, high-risk elements, while using that same resource to carry out the more mundane, junior tasks.
Access expertise and insights: Get access to better forecasting data which provides valuable business insights that can be used to identify trends and inform your overall business strategy.
Improve your cashflow: Ensure an up-to-date log of case-related fees and expenses for regular claim back purposes – resulting in a healthier cash flow.
Reduce your exposure to risk: An outsourced partner will have invested heavily in security measures and will assume compliance responsibility.
Improve efficiency and productivity: Free your employees to get on with what they do best and benefit from more streamlined processes.
Become more agile: Scale resource up and down as you need it, without the hassle of hiring and firing employees.

Outsourcing this part of the business, frees up lawyers to do what they do best, win business and earn fees. This enables your business to grow.

About The Cashroom

When the property market is causing enough headaches for legal service professionals, The Cashroom is ready to help ease the pressure on your law firm by ensuring compliance with the solicitor’s accounts rules, saving firms money and providing accurate and timely management accounts and management information.

Let The Cashroom worry about your firm’s legal cashier and payroll services so that your firm can focus its resources and time on providing expert legal advice to the consumer. Additionally, our management accounts and management information on budgets, cash flow projections and monthly management allow you to reflect on the work that has been completed and accurately predict where your firm is going in the future.

Brexit’s Impact on the Property Market

Since the referendum of 2016, there has been uncertainty about how the property market would fare. Prices have continued to grow in most areas in the UK, but they have been slowing with buyers and sellers reluctant to make a move. Which leads us to the question what will Brexit’s impact on the property market be?

The headline figure that everyone is throwing around is the inactivity of buyers and sellers entering the market. In February, the RICS UK residential survey found that respondents recorded a 40% reduction in new buyer enquiries. Although the net balance figures for March, April and May were slightly more buoyant with only a -26% net balance of new buyer enquiries. It’s clear that buyers are reluctant to declare an interest in property until October 31st when they know what the country is doing next.

Alongside that, the number of registered house hunters per branch fell from 296 in March to 265 in April; it also marks a reduction of 21% in the past year when there were 337 registered house buyers per branch.

The average of 237 house hunters per branch was the lowest recorded number since the financial crisis of 2008. This reluctance from buyers is one of the effects of Brexit’s impact on the property market.

It’s not just buyers and sellers who have been put off by Brexit. The number of properties available on the market has decreased. The NAEA Propertymark’s Housing Report states that the number of properties available per branch fell from 37 in March to 35 in April.

Construction output in May saw its most severe decline since the unseasonably poor weather of March 2018. Thanks to the political uncertainty construction companies haven’t wanted to commit, resulting in their employment levels plummeting to their lowest levels in 6 years. With all of this in mind, less houses, less market activity, less new builds happening resulting in fewer construction jobs, Brexit’s impact on the property market looks to be catastrophic.

There is light at the end of the Brexit tunnel, and we’re not talking about deal or no deal. Reports have suggested that transactions are slowly starting to pick up. The number of approved sales per branch were eight in April, an increase on the seven per branch the previous month.

Research conducted by Reallymoving.com shows that house prices could be set to bounce out of the Brexit blip and could potentially increase beyond the dizzying heights of summer 2018.

The data found that UK house prices are set to soar by 9% between May and August, with the North East of England set to increase by 20.2%.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s ‘Mortgage lending statistics – June 2019’ data also reveals that mortgage lending in 2019 is healthier than in previous years.

The start to 2019, saw the negative impact Brexit had on the property market, but as the year progresses there seems to be a more positive outlook for those looking to take part in the property market in the summer.

About The Cashroom

Top 5 Tech Products For a Successful and Efficient Law Firm

I work in marketing and so part of my day involves checking social media and reading up on tech legal news. Today I was really struck by how Tech focussed the profession is becoming – gone is the image of the lawyer surrounded by paper and difficult to get in touch with.

Now everything is electronically stored and you can even read an email on your watch. It is really beneficial for lawyers to be aware of potential opportunities through the use of technology and at the minute there is more of it available than ever to help your firm function better and more efficiently.

In our everyday life we are surrounded by advancing technology, smart TVs, apps to control your central heating and our cars aren’t far away from driving themselves! We need to embrace technology (many already are!) in the workplace too. As well as technology, the workforce is focusing more on work-life balance and flexible working than ever before. I believe the two go hand in hand.

Below are 5 techie products that I believe would make running your law firm easier and help you get more out of your working hours.

My top 5 tech finds

The Link App

Nobody understands working in a law firm better than a lawyer and this product is designed by a Lawyer for lawyers. This app puts client communication at the core of your business. At the touch of a button you can keep clients up to date with their case. Client cases can be accessed at any time of day, at your desktop or on the go. A happy client comes back again and again; and are your best referrers!

Amiqus ID

Anti-money laundering, identity and compliance checks online. Ok, so I know that not many people get excited about this process, but the checks are there to protect the profession and Amiqus ID is a fantastic product which makes the process and checks much quicker and is cost effective too. When you just want to focus on managing incoming client care, Amiqus can securely handle the money laundering checks and on boarding.

Breathe HR

As a growing business, we have discovered that HR is really important. But you don’t need to pay for someone in-house. We took our own advice and outsourced but in the form of an App called Breathe HR. There are a lot of these products out there but this one works great for us. Staff holidays and sickness can be logged easily and teams can view when other members have holidays booked. Staff contracts and documentation can all be stored in one secure place and it is easy to claim expenses and have them go direct to your accounts department. A great all around company tool.

The Cashroom Portal

Of course our Cashroom portal! We are an outsourced accounts department for legal firms and we also provide management accounts and payroll services.

We have been developing our very own portal, it is a secure method for clients to send their instructions to us and both organisations benefit from a full audit trail, it is extremely user friendly.

You will always have your own dedicated cashier however with the ability to add attachments and comments to the portal the need for phone calls and emails is minimal. An efficient and compliant accounts department should be a top priority for every law firm. Download our client portal presentation here.

E-CPD

CLT Scotland are now offering e-learning CPD -you can now gain the necessary CPD hours by fitting it into your own schedule, you could even do it from home wearing your pyjamas (if you wished!) Topics include the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, powers of attorney and social media law. I really think that CPD without having to leave your desk is a great idea.

If you know of any other products then please let me know, we are always looking for tools that can benefit our clients.

Emma O’Day

Marketing and Communications Manager

Most Common Accounts Rules Breaches

It is important to remind yourself frequently about common breaches in the accounts rules. At The Cashroom we put policies in procedures in place for our clients to safe-guard them from breaching the rules, in this short piece we demonstrate the most commonly breached rules and advise on ways you and others in your firm can avoid these.

FUNDS TRANSFERRED WITH NO WRITTEN AUTHORITY

To avoid breaches-

If funds are transferred between clients without the client’s written authority this is a breach, i.e. I am selling my flat and buying a house with a partner. As an individual I am selling a property, I am a singular client and must give written authority for the proceeds of my sale to be used in another matter, such as the purchase of a property jointly for my partner and me. For the purchase transaction my partner and I are dealt with as a joint client and matter. Therefore, my written authority is required to transfer the proceeds from the sale of my flat for the purchase of our house.

Put a procedure in place to ensure confirmation that the mandate giving the client’s written authority for a transfer to another client is on file and obtain a partner/directors approval in the instruction to Cashroom to transfer the funds

Put a procedure in place to ensure confirmation that all bills have been issued to the clients on creation

2. WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS HIGHER THAN BALANCE HELD

To avoid breaches-

A breach can take place when there is a withdrawal of client funds from a ledger where the current balance held for that client is lower than the actioned withdrawal. A client account must not be overdrawn.

Ensure that before a payment is made/requested against the client account there are enough funds currently showing on the client side of the financial ledger to cover the withdrawal. If there are not sufficient funds on the client ledger you must not make the withdrawal.

3. RECORDING INTERMISSIONS OF PAYMENT

To avoid breaches-

There is a rule where a solicitor is not required to pay sums into the client a/c but must record such intermissions in the client ledger.

Ensure procedures are in place to log all incoming client cheques and log the outgoing details; of either by banking the cheque or endorsing the third party cheque direct to the client

4. CLIENT BALANCES AFTER CONCLUSION OF A MATTER

To avoid breaches-

Client balances held after the conclusion of a matter should be dealt with promptly. Any balance held after conclusion of the matter is a breach.

Review all balances currently held when receiving your month end balance listings from your Cashroom; and ensure all finalised matters are checked for balances before archiving

Obtaining the client’s bank details upon opening a new client will avoid the need to search for clients’ in the future

5. CLIENT ACCOUNT DISBURSEMENTS

To avoid breaches-

Transfer of costs or disbursements from client account within 14 days of rendering the bill of costs or incurring the disbursement; or within 28 days of completion. Any funds still held in client account after 14/28 days is considered to be in breach.

Your Cashroom can produce reports to highlight all matters with outstanding office balances and where funds are held in client account to identify any potential transfers

Ensure procedures are put in place for all transfers to be instructed to your Cashroom on payment of the bill or disbursement

6. PROFESSIONAL DISBURSEMENTS

To avoid breaches-

The payment of billed professional disbursements should be made within 48 hours of receiving the funds in payment of your bill. If the professional disbursement has not been paid within this timeframe the funds are considered client monies and as such should be immediately transferred to the client account.

Ensure procedures are in place to identify that when a bill has been paid by your client; instructions to make payment of all unpaid disbursements included on the bill are sent to your Cashroom.

If you would like any advice on compliance, a health check inspection carried out on your accounts or are thinking about outsourcing your cashiering function, management accounts function or payroll then please do not hesitate to contact alex.holt@thecashroom.co.uk (for England/Wales) or gregor.angus@thecashoom.co.uk (for Scotland/Ireland) or visit www.thecashroom.co.uk for more information.

FUNDS TRANSFERRED WITH NO WRITTEN AUTHORITYTo avoid breaches-

Put a procedure in place to ensure confirmation that all bills have been issued to the clients on creation

2. WITHDRAWAL OF FUNDS HIGHER THAN BALANCE HELD

To avoid breaches-

A breach can take place when there is a withdrawal of client funds from a ledger where the current balance held for that client is lower than the actioned withdrawal. (SRA Accounts Rule 20.6 & CLC Rule 12). A client account must not be overdrawn.

3. RECORDING INTERMISSIONS OF PAYMENT

To avoid breaches-

There is a rule where a solicitor is not required to pay sums into the client a/c but must record such intermissions in the client ledger (SRA Account Rule 16 and CLC Rule 11).

Ensure procedures are in place to log all incoming client cheques and log the outgoing details; of either by banking the cheque or endorsing the third party cheque direct to the client

4. CLIENT BALANCES AFTER CONCLUSION OF A MATTER

To avoid breaches-

Client balances held after the conclusion of a matter should be dealt with promptly. (SRA Account Rule 20 & CLC Rule 12.2.6) Any balance held after conclusion of the matter is a breach.

Review all balances currently held when receiving your month end balance listings from your Cashroom; and ensure all finalised matters are checked for balances before archiving

Obtaining the client’s bank details upon opening a new client will avoid the need to search for clients’ in the future

5. CLIENT ACCOUNT DISBURSEMENTS

To avoid breaches-

Transfer of costs or disbursements from client account within 14 days of rendering the bill of costs or incurring the disbursement (SRA Account Rule 17); or within 28 days of completion (CLC Rule 12.1.4). Any funds still held in client account after 14/28 days is considered to be in breach.

Your Cashroom can produce reports to highlight all matters with outstanding office balances and where funds are held in client account to identify any potential transfers

Ensure procedures are put in place for all transfers to be instructed to your Cashroom on payment of the bill or disbursement

6. PROFESSIONAL DISBURSEMENTS

To avoid breaches-

Ensure procedures are in place to identify that when a bill has been paid by your client; instructions to make payment of all unpaid disbursements included on the bill are sent to your Cashroom.

Would you like a risk-free 2017?

I’ve never been a very keen gambler. The occasional office sweepstake for the Grand National is the limit of my daring. I just hate losing money on things outside my control.

Gambling with someone else’s money (see what I did there) would be even more scary I think. I spoke at a conference the other day hosted by Armstrong Watson Accountants, alongside Xyone cyber security specialists. It was pointed out that law firms are like mini banks, but without the security. It’s one of the reasons that more than ever law firms are under attack from these new-fangled cyber criminals. You’re probably yawning right now- “Not another hacking blog?” but no!! Grab yourself a coffee because I think we need to talk in a more broad sense about ‘Risk’.

After the strange global occurrences of 2016…Brexit…Trump…Leicester winning the title…Ed Balls on Strictly…it seems that we live in very uncertain times. It’s never easy to predict what is going to happen with 100% certainty, however putting the right measures in place can provide a solid yet agile basis to withstand risks while enabling your business to still remain highly functional.

This is all inspired (as many things are) by a business lunch- this time with Jake Fox (an independent Insurance broker of some note!). I mentioned the ‘mini-bank’ anecdote to Jake and we agreed that more than ever, a firm must pay close attention to its risk profile. As Jake pointed out, it’s crucial to look at it from the perspective of Professional Indemnity insurers. The insurer is quoting you a premium based on how risky they think your practice is and that relates to much more than just cyber threat. They will consider your previous track record of claims for negligence, the strength of the sector you operate in, the accuracy of your accounts procedures, your history of compliance with the SRA, the robustness of your IT systems for resilience as well as security, and the general quality of your people- both those within your organisation and those providing services externally.

Over the next couple of months we will explore ways to combat risk, and you’ll be relieved to hear that I’ll be roping in some far more qualified friends to provide guest articles around the subject. We will have Business Continuity specialists, cyber geeks, Compliance gurus, all augmenting some hopefully informative content from us around best/safe practice cashiering, and how better quality management account information supports decisions on business strategy.

So as we look ahead to what may be a turbulent 2017 I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Risk-free New Year.

Alex Holt
Director of Business Development at The Cashroom Ltd

Enquire Now

Law Firm Fees: What do you do when your client asks for a discount?

We have all been there…you listen to your client give you chapter and verse on a legal problem they need advice on. You give them a general overview of the work involved, and then comes the ‘killer’ question: “how much is this going to cost me?”

You set out the usual disclaimer that it depends on this and that, and give them a range of figures, the lower end of which is probably very unrealistic. Sometimes the client is happy, and goes away in the hope that your fee note is going to come in at the bottom end of the range you have quoted. Others will tell you that the figures are more than they were expecting, or more than they have a budget for, and ask for a discount. The question is, what do you do in that situation?

The answer is…firstly, ask the client why? Often they are not actually looking for a discount, but simply certainty as to the cost. That is a completely different request, although the client doesn’t realise it. You may be able to agree a fixed fee, at a level you reasonably expect your WIP to be at by the end of the matter (meaning it is not, in fact, a discount). This will often result in a happy client, simply because they know exactly what their spend is going to be. An awkward conversation has then turned into a ‘win, win’ situation, leaving both you and your client happy.

In the situation where a client is genuinely looking for a discount because they have a budget they cannot exceed, or because they have a cheaper quote from another firm, you need to think about a number of things, such as:

Is this a loss leader that will definitely lead to further, better paid work for you, or others within your firm?
Can you get the client to do some of the ground work themselves, thereby taking up less of your time?
Can you delegate the work, or parts of it, to more junior fee earners?
Can you offer to carry out the work in stages, with a fee cap for each, and the decision on whether to proceed further lying with your client?
Should you say ‘no’ and refer the work to another firm?

In order to answer these questions, and others which will likely arise, you need to know the ‘value’ of your time, and whether you can do work profitably at a certain rate. You also need to understand your firms’ strategy (which will often be far from clear!). For example, are you a high street firm that wants to retain all business, regardless of whether some of it is not profitable, or do you want to be the market leader, or niche firm for a certain type of work, where people will be willing to pay slightly more for an expert service.

What is important to remember is that saying ‘no’ is sometimes a very powerful, and in the long term profitable, tool. By saying to a client that you cannot do this particular piece of work for the price they are looking for, you emphasise the value of what you do. On one hand, you may make the client think that your service is worth paying for, and get the work at a profitable rate. On the other, by referring them to somebody else who can do it cheaper, there may also be a number of benefits. Firstly, it will free up your time to do profitable work. Secondly, your client will respect your honesty and appreciate you finding a cheaper way for them to get the work done. Having built that trust with them, you will probably find that when they have a different legal issue that they consider justifies your price, they will come back to you. In addition, by referring work to another firm, the chances are that firm will refer other work to you when they have a conflict of interest, do not have the particular expertise, or perhaps even in another area of law where they cannot do a piece of work for as cheap as your firm can!

So, remember the next time a client asks for a discount, to think carefully about your response. It could be an opportunity to agree a fixed fee, or emphasise the value of your service. Also, hard as it can be for many lawyers to comprehend, sometimes saying ‘no’ is the best and most profitable way forward.

Gregor

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

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