-- Solicitors must reorganise their firms to gain job satisfaction in the new era of fixed budgets, says Nick ArmstrongLitigation departments will be radically different places in 2010.

The pressures to change emerging from Lord Woolf's reforms, the legal aid white paper and from clients will mean that firms must reorganise themselves if they are to succeed within the new systems.

The discipline of fixed budgets on costs -- whether imposed by fast track, a block contract or by clients -- will be the greatest challenge.Litigators are suspicious of the impact this might have on their quality of life.

Fixed costs are unlikely to reflect the true cost of doing the work under the current system, and the proposed procedural changes may be of little help.

Indeed, doing the same work in less time may actually increase costs.

Practitioners are faced with more pressure and less job satisfaction from a system that is judged more in terms of its ability to dispose of cases quickly and cheaply than to dispense a quality result.

Commentators have spoken of factory line justice, with lawyers as small administrative cogs in a heavily automated and computer-driven world.

This is a real risk, but there are alternatives.

In order to meet the deadlines and costs restraints something has to give -- and not quality of service or lawyers' job satisfaction.

The firms that prosper in the new era will be those prepared to re-think the role of the litigation lawyer.

These firms will look closely at the new system and carefully evaluate what work has to be done by whom.

Some work must be delegated to support staff and some left to information technology.

The work remaining for lawyers will be that which involves the exercise of legal skills.If this is done effectively, lawyers' job satisfaction could increase.

Legal skills, properly understood, will be more important in the new system than they are now.

Lawyers will have to learn new skills: risk analysis, project management, mediation and other problem-solving techniques, and advocacy.

This kind of work will enhance job satisfaction and will have to be done whatever the type or value of a case.

In an ideal world, the work will also be fairly remunerated and there will be enough of it to go around.-- Tax self-assessment offers solicitors new opportunities to give financial advice and cross-sell services, e xplains Ron DownhillIncome tax self-assessment is now upon us and the first self-assessment returns will be sent out next April.

There is a good deal of misinformation and misunderstanding about the nature of self-assessment and the consequences for the taxpayer if his or her calculations are wrong.Self-assessment is a challenge and offers practitioners new opportunities.

Many taxpayers will wish to retain professional help.

This gives solicitors who are approached to provide this service opportunities to cross-sell other services.There are two key aspects to self-assessment.

First, it introduces administrative arrangements for the assessment and collection of tax together with a penalty regime to ensure compliance.

Secondly, in order to facilitate the administrative changes, alterations have been made to the way in which certain types of income are assessed.Tax returns will now include a self-assessment return.

These must be filed by 31 January following the tax year to which the return relates.

At first the Revenue will, in the absence of arithmetical or other obvious error, process the self-assessment returns as submitted.

Later, it will check returns and have a right to audit them.

Only a small proportion of returns will be audited.The taxpayer will automatically be required to make two payments on account towards the tax still outstanding at the annual filing date of the self-assessment return.

The payments on account will each be equal to 50% of the previous year's liability and are to be made on 31 January in the year of assessment and on 31 July following the end of the year.

The obligation to pay will be supported by surcharges.

If the balancing payment is still unpaid more than 28 days from the due date, a surcharge equal to 5% of the unpaid tax will be incurred.

There will be an additional 5% surcharge on tax still unpaid after six months.

Tax paid late, including the payment on account, will be subject to interest charges.Appeals against the surcharge may be made, but the grounds of appeal are confined to showing that the taxpayer has 'a reasonable excuse for not paying the tax'.A new current-year basis for assessing income generally will apply.

So, for example, the interest on securities actually arising in the years of assessment will be the amount assessable for that year and not, as formerly, the amount of the interest in the preceding year.

Taxpayers will be allowed some latitude with business profits, where tax will usually be charged by reference to the profits of the 12-month accounting period ending in the tax year.