There are many investment business development opportunities within law firms and the successful development of these opportunities in the early years of a firm offering a new investment service is absolutely crucial in reaching break-even within an acceptable time.The person appointed to run a new investment department must first familiarise him or herself with those areas of work that are likely to be the main feeders of the new service.

Three months or more of familiarisation will give the adviser a valuable insight into the conduct and circumstances of files for a better understanding of the timing and presentation of discussions with the client, which might lead to a continuing role for the firm as investment portfolio manager.In the traditional legal practice, the areas of greatest portfolio management potential are as follows.-- Wills.

A number of organisations offer will-drafting services.

They do this not because they particularly want to prepare wills but because they wish to sell other financial products.

These firms are seeing an opportunity which many in the legal profession should have seen long ago that when a will is prepared, it is an opportunity to discuss the client's whole affairs.

If, therefore, your firm can offer an investment service it makes good sense to involve your investment manager at this early stage in the general discussions of a client's affairs, particularly where the client may benefit from investment management advice.

It is not the purpose of the inv estment manager to persuade the client to enter into an investment management arrangement but it is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate a firm's depth of experience and knowledge to the client by making comments of a general nature without offering specific advice, so that the seeds can be sown early as to the expertise of the firm generally in investment matters.

The investment manager must blend in with the firm's overall approach which, if successful, will give no impression of selling because the firm's investment expertise will form part of the legal matter in hand.-- Probate.

In probate matters, timing is all-important and it is inappropriate to mention future investment of residuary entitlements at too early a stage.

On the other hand, if the fee-earner waits until the estate accounts have been prepared before mentioning the firm's investment services, the client may have committed the money elsewhere.

A better approach is for the fee-earner to notify executors and beneficiaries following receipt of the grant of representation as follows: 'In accordance with our usual practice we have referred the assets of the estate to our investment department for an opinion as to which are suitable for transfer and which should be encashed.

Following receipt of their views, we will write to you again.'This approach may be very relevant where there is a surviving spouse who may previously have had little to do with financial matters.

In such a case a meeting often results between the fee-earner, the investment manager and the client at which the manager can reinforce his or her initial views.

It is a case of always selling self before product which more often than not results in the client suggesting that the firm take on the future management of investment matters.Every manager will have his or her individual approach, but there are few probates where you cannot look at building society accounts or other assets and find something to comment on which will send the desired message.

This should then be followed up by a further meeting with the client and the matter developed accordingly.

The same principle can be applied to other beneficiaries and, in this way, there is again no selling impression given because the advice is incidental to the probate matter in hand.

It also gives the firm an ideal opportunity to impress the client before he or she has thought about asking other advisers.-- Enduring powers of attorney.

Clients making wills should also consider the possibility of being unable to manage their affairs during their lifetimes.

Road accidents are commonplace and more and more solicitors' firms nowadays often combine a new will with an enduring power of attorney to cover both eventualities.

What is more important, however, for investment potential is that it is again an opportunity to discuss the client's whole affairs and the cross-selling possibilities are obvious, particularly if the client wishes to appoint partners in the firms as attorneys, as is quite often the case.-- Court of Protection.

The Court of Protection has its own panel stockbrokers but where a receiver has a preference for an out-of-court adviser, provided the court is satisfied as to competence and that the arrangement is in the patient's best interests, there is normally a good chance that this outside adviser will be appointed on investment matters.

Many firms have a significant Court of Protection practice so practitioners will be aware of the many day-to-day matters for which their assistance may be necessary to relieve ongoing stress for receiver and patient, subject to the court's consent.-- Trusts.

Many legal practices administer numerous trusts, some with financially sophisticated trustees.

Such clients do not automatically agree to the law firm providing investment services simply because the firm already deals with the trust administration.

Presentations may well have to be given, sometimes beauty parades and the manager's presentational skills and credibility will be tested.

The manager will have to convince trustees that any fee for investment management is worth the benefits provided.

Some of these benefits are:1.

The traditional solicitor/stockbroker relationship for trusts usually provides for a valuation of the portfolio once or twice a year with views given at that time.

Rarely does such an arrangement provide for daily monitoring of the portfolio.

Therefore, the first benefit is that the portfolio will be looked at every day which is vital in an ever-changing and volatile modern world investment environment.2.

I have always managed to secure low dealing rates with stockbrokers who are usually happy to agree in exchange for good quality execution-only business, where they are not asked to advise or prepare long schemes as under the traditional arrangement.

These low dealing rates are a real benefit to the client and the better a negotiator a manager is, the greater the benefit to the client.3.

There is a real benefit in the trust administration itself because trust managers and partners are able to obtain an immediate opinion from the investment department on such things as rights issues, as opposed to sometimes having to wait longer and chase for the stockbroker to advise.

This can save time and therefore cost to the trust.4.

If the firm decides to rebate all commissions as we do, this is an extra not offered by most of the competition.5.

Finally, Law Society regulation, with all the financial security which it provides, is a marvellous selling point, which cannot be over-stated in these difficult times.-- Personal injury.

Many personal injury law firms recover substantial sums of money for highly vulnerable clients.

This is the situation at Osborne Morris & Morgan which has a niche personal injury practice specialising in catastrophic head injury.

It is wrong for any personal injury practice to turn the client loose on investment matters at the conclusion of the claim, with the risk of investment advice being given by others, possibly poorly qualified, which might not be in the best interests of the client.

Apart from this, however, there may be other matters equally relevant to this client, such as a will, enduring power of attorney, receivership, inheritance tax planning and particularly a possible trust for continuing protection, all as part of an in-house comprehensive service which, with the investment, can be properly termed 'financial aftercare'.In this type of matter, as usual, the investment manager should involve him or herself early to build credibility, initially through consideration of incidental matters such as, for example: claims for DSS benefits, investment advice on an interim payment or general financial counselling possibly relevant to ongoing care.Established involvement can ensure a smooth transition to an ongoing investment portfolio when the full compensation is paid.There are other opportunities, such as lump sums available on the sale of a property and purchase of one of lesser value, which again should be raised at an early stage.The new investment manager must impress him or herself upon partners and fee-earners and provide continuing ideas for marketing and business development.

There will also be occasions when it is necessary to encourage colleagues to reciprocate by providing them with a real immediate benefit, such as making available to company and commercial colleagues the broker research received.

This can enable the investment manager to provide a profile of a company to which the firm might be presenting for legal services.

In such a situation I have received favourable feedback from colleagues with the client company being impressed that the firm knew so much about their business.

This is a basis for fee-earner reciprocation.