In Business | Law Gazette

How To: write a novel

jmaher — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:42:11 +0000

Ernest Hemingway once said that in order to be a man you should do four things; fight a bull, father a son, plant a tree and write a novel. I sort of agree but I consider that the first two need a more 21st-century approach (removing the misogyny and animal cruelty). As a lawyer I much prefer ‘fight a trial’ and ‘become a parent’.

I can now say I have done all four (of my list, not Ernest’s – no secret trip to Pamplona for me). The merits of the first three I think are plain and simple to appreciate. So does writing a novel make you more mature and a better person?

Law firms’ marketing plans

jmaher — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:45:58 +0000

I get to see a wide range of solicitors’ marketing plans ranging from the weighty dissertation to the single sheet.

Support for deaf clients

jmaher — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:19:43 +0000

With Deaf Awareness Week taking place this week, the spotlight is being shone on those consumers who are Deaf and how legal advice can best be provided to them. In this context, research by the Royal Association for Deaf People’s (RAD) Deaf Law Centre (DLC) has revealed statistics that show that an enormous 85% of Deaf people would prefer to have legal representation from someone who is able to communicate directly in British Sign Language (BSL), rather than through a BSL/English interpreter.

How To: purchase software

jmaher — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:31:31 +0000

Legal IT systems involve significant financial investment in software. There are three main funding models: a perpetual licence, where the software is bought outright; a leasing model involving an initial investment and regular payments over a fixed term; and a monthly subscription model. Many firms adopt a hybrid approach, paying for tools and applications in different ways. Tim Cheadle, of subscription-based cloud provider Ad Coelum, explains that a perpetual licence is not a simple purchase and involves several cost elements.

The Tyco-Eversheds deal – from whiteboard to renewal

Nick.Goodman — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:32:22 +0000

News broke late last week that Tyco is extending the 2006 deal it signed with Eversheds, whereby the firm provides the company’s legal needs for a fixed price – in return for sole-provider status for huge swathes of Tyco’s external legal needs.

PCT: reverse psychology

jmaher — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:43:11 +0000

Two questions. Question one: Have you signed the petition protesting about price-competitive tendering? Question two: Do you think it will make the slightest difference?

I wonder if we have got it completely wrong in our protesting. The more we protest the less likely the protests will be successful. Probably only if we said nothing at all would government stop and rethink. Is not the reality that the public and government will do the opposite of what we lawyers say?

Law firm marketing essentials

jmaher — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:28:55 +0000

With increased competition and tough economic conditions set to continue for the foreseeable future, how can you plan for growth in your law firm? There are essentially four sources of potential new business which need to be explored.

First, look at marketing more of your current legal services to existing clients. This should be the easiest, but too often the information available within a firm does not make a gap analysis easy to perform. For example, recent budget announcements may provide inheritance tax planning opportunities for wealthier private clients.

The benefits of IT forums

jmaher — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:24:27 +0000

The South West Legal IT Forum meeting last Thursday hosted by Michelmores in Exeter was attended by representatives from 30 firms from across the south-west peninsula as well as local sponsors Itec and Nexus Open Systems.

How To: run a ‘virtual firm’

jmaher — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:48:17 +0000

Solicitors looking to work in a dispersed law firm are usually motivated by the same driving forces: a desire for greater flexibility and money, and a need for good support and infrastructure.

Alumni networks make sense

jmaher — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:19:52 +0000

There have been numerous instances in recent times of employees taking to public forums and expressing less-than-glowing opinions about their former employers - and even in some cases going so far as to write a book about them. Views on working conditions are - let’s face it - fairly common in law firms. Bitter reports of super-competitive working environments and a rather biased view of what might have been a well-handled redundancy situation can all be blown right out of proportion when hurt feelings and wounded pride come into play.

To hear is to obey

jmaher — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:08:54 +0000

Don’t clients sometimes drive you mad? Happily this won’t happen any more because they are no longer ‘clients’ but ‘consumers’. I am grateful to the people who responded to my last blog by pointing out the Legal Ombudsman’s site refers to them as consumers. I also note chief ombudsman Adam Sampson’s article in the recent Gazette on this topic.

I would add my genuine regard for the ombudsman’s guidance on costs and commend it to you. I would also be concerned as he rightly is, if clients felt too intimidated to complain.

Law firm merger activity shows importance of IT

jmaher — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:59:04 +0000

The pace of consolidation across legal services is reflected in M&A activity involving law firms and legal IT, where the biggest providers are buying up their competitors. The legal IT community got a nasty shock with the recent failure of IT services firm 2e2. Despite the attention this story received in some quarters, Taylor Wessing IT director Stuart Walters says the lesson is not associated with the risks of cloud computing, but rather the risks of doing business in today’s difficult economy.

Action plan for difficult times

jmaher — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 09:21:25 +0000

Sometimes it takes a crisis to force change, and for many solicitors in high street practices April 2013 will be experienced as the defining moment in the crisis that has been brewing since the financial meltdown in 2008.

Language lessons

jmaher — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:36:57 +0000

Most businesses have a language problem. Or rather, several language problems, depending on what they do: a technical jargon problem; a management-speak problem; a legalese problem; a writing-like-we’re-stuck-in-the-1950s problem.

It can lead to clients being baffled by confusing letters, and colleagues drowning under a deluge of pointless verbosity. Bad writing can be a terrible waste of everyone’s time, effort and money.

‘Legal’ communications, whether drafted in-house or by a law firm, can be part of that problem.

Using Google AdWords

jmaher — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 10:28:14 +0000

Google AdWords is a system created by the US company which allows businesses to advertise on its search engine; and it operates on a pay-per-click basis. You can bid for keywords and use a small blurb, designed to be clicked on by web users when they’re looking for, say, a solicitor. The more clicks the ads receive, the more you have to pay Google (you pay the amount bid for the words following a click-through). Here is a list of tips to help you get the most out of the service:

1. Make use of geographical targeting

Pro bono and volunteering

jmaher — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 10:32:24 +0000

The Olympics, and the big society, have, among other things, put volunteering firmly in the public consciousness of late.

People have been praised across the nation for the selflessness they have shown in giving up their spare time and donating their skills and talents for the greater good. There have been various debates about how all this has been achieved, and whether it will continue, but few challenge the fundamental assumption that volunteering to help your fellow man is a good thing.

Jackson – an overview

jmaher — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:23:45 +0000

The Jackson reforms, due to take effect 1 April, have met with some controversy and even a degree of bad press. The details are complex; the ultimate effects unclear. The precise wording of some of the measures only became visible when laid before parliament at the end of January, and a number of interested parties have campaigned vigorously against the reforms, fearing loss of business.

The intervention dilemma

jmaher — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:02:49 +0000

There are many challenges facing the legal profession and access to working capital is becoming even more of a major issue.

This will be increasingly so as up to £300m is removed from the legal aid budget from March 2013 and as the effects of Jackson ripple their way through the profession. If firms face an uncontrolled failure then the Solicitors Regulation Authority will have to intervene to protect the clients whose affairs would otherwise be at real risk.

Seeing the positives in change

jmaher — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:49:23 +0000

Complaints allowed before we’ve even signed up the client? This can’t be true, you may cry. Well, I’m afraid it is, but behind every threat is an opportunity waiting to be seized.

The news that even potential clients can now complain about you, following the changes to the Legal Ombudsman scheme rules, as reported on the SRA website, is likely to have been met with a cry of ‘not more pointless regulation!’.

Strategies for success - what’s your blueprint?

jmaher — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:07:19 +0000

At a time of exceptional economic turbulence for law firms of all sizes, please share your thoughts on the best strategies for success in a rapidly mutating market. This thread will remain open as the profession prepares for the Jackson reforms of civil litigation costs and cuts to the scope of legal aid funding. We hope that as the discussion develops, readers will derive useful business intelligence from digesting and comparing the analyses of their peers.

How To: offer apprenticeships

jmaher — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:13:09 +0000

Peace broke out last week between the Law Society and Solicitors Regulation Authority. I am being flippant, of course; but that was one message to take from a high-profile seminar on legal apprenticeships, held at the House of Lords and hosted by Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger and regulatory skills council Skills for Justice.

A glass half full

jmaher — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:33:51 +0000

Despite not wishing to be thought a grumpy old lawyer I decided to look at the Legal Ombudsman’s recent report, The price of separation: Divorce-related legal complaints and their causes.

This report made the news as it features lots of stories about wicked lawyers. The press revel in bad stories about us. We are told that 13% of divorce clients are dissatisfied with their lawyer as against 7% of clients overall. As a glass half-full person that means to me that a very high proportion of clients are satisfied with our services.

All doomed?

jmaher — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:58:42 +0000

Monday’s news that midlands firm Blakemores, with a headcount of 250-plus, is the subject of an SRA intervention – effectively confirming that the SRA believes that the firm’s finances mean it cannot safely continue to trade – may leave principals of smaller traditionally run firms, who are staring at diminishing returns, struggling to plan for the future, wondering what on earth they should be doing.

Blakemores, and its consumer-facing brand Lawyers2you, ticks pretty much all the boxes that a firm planning for a viable future would want to tick.

Facebook - not for the faint-hearted

jmaher — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:19:12 +0000

The subject of Facebook has cropped up quite a lot recently in enquiries I’ve had from law firms.

I don’t know why, Facebook has been running for many years so it’s hardly new. Maybe Spring is in the air and firms feel they need to do more on their marketing, especially on the social media side.

The question is: should Facebook be part of their marketing mix and how do they go about it? This is an awkward question for me because my instinctive response is to say, unless you’re really committed, don’t bother. Facebook isn’t like Twitter, or LinkedIn... or even Pinterest.

Holes in your client experience?

jmaher — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:47:26 +0000

Whatever your marketing budget, it is important to ensure that every enquiry is handled efficiently and effectively in order to maximise the proportion which are converted to an instruction.

An enquiry can pass through many parts of your firm (website, reception, secretaries and other lawyers) before reaching the appropriate person. It will also pass through the phases of an explanation of circumstances and needs, discussion of a solution, outlining costs and benefits, confirmation of proposals, follow-up, acceptance or decline.

Pro bono pressure

jmaher — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:30:33 +0000

My comments on complaints and the pressures of regulation seem to have hit the mark. Thank you for your responses. Strangely no one has written to say ‘let's have more regulation, audits, and KPIs’ or ‘let's make the complaints regime more onerous for us’. I don’t think that is because solicitors want to lower standards but simply because we are struggling. For years those of us on the high street have had to do better and better work for less and less money.

Harassment, sexism and progression

jmaher — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 17:09:04 +0000

In the past week the Liberal Democrats, for whom I once worked, have started to investigate and confront the way that complaints of sexual harassment by party figures were dealt with in the past – announcing two independent inquiries, one QC-led, and co-operating with the Metropolitan police.

We also know the new additions to the Supreme Court, formally announced today, are all men, making Lady Hale the court’s only woman judge.

The Lib Dem subject of these allegations denies the story, and I’m concerned here with the issue of workplace harassment and its link to gender equality.

Learning from LFW

jmaher — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:36:36 +0000

A selection of the world’s fashion designers descending on London in order to show their latest collections may not seem to be the natural focus for the legal world, but this bi-annual event is worthy of some study. Whilst you may have little or no interest in the resurgence of the 1960s trend, or the fact that stripes are huge this season, you will no doubt have seen some coverage of London Fashion Week, even if only images of the catwalk shows or gossipy headlines.

Website delays

jmaher — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 11:34:03 +0000

With a growing percentage of new enquiries arriving via solicitors’ websites these days, online is undoubtedly a law firm’s most valuable marketing tool.

How To: price litigation

jmaher — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:14:48 +0000

Practitioners face a sea change in litigation from April, as radical changes to the way cases can be funded could see firms take on a greater share of the risk. The new costs budgeting regime also comes into force for most multi-track civil cases, with warnings that practitioners who get it wrong face limited scope to apply for relief, disciplinary action for professional misconduct and being sued by clients for negligence.