Good practice

CONDUCT AND SERVICE

Managing expectations

It will probably come as no surprise to learn that an impressive number of complaints comes from clients whose expectations have not been met.

The retort would also no doubt be that what clients expect is often totally unreasonable and then they complain when they do not get it.

Why are clients allowed to entertain unreasonable ideas?

One thing is certain, and that is that if clients do have unreasonable ideas about what can be done for them and the standards of service they are going to be afforded, they will complain when their expectations are not fulfilled.

Moreover, it is almost inevitable that clients will have unreasonable ideas, because they have no idea, unless told, of legal procedures, the realities of private practice, how individual offices are organised and other relevant issues.

It must also be remembered that each individual client will have his own individual ideas about the standard of service he is going to receive.

This means it is almost impossible for the solicitor's intentions about the service he is going to give to match exactly those that every client thinks he is going to receive.

Where there is any mismatch between the two, there is a potential complaint just waiting to surface at any time.

What all this means is that most of those complaints that arise because a client has unreasonable expectations can actually be avoided.

They can be avoided by the solicitor managing the client's expectations, but it has to be done right from the beginning of the retainer.

If it is left until a complaint arises, or it is sensed that the client is becoming unhappy, it is too late.

Whatever the client is then told, no matter how justified, will not be regarded as valid reasons, but rather as excuses to cover up what the client believes are the solicitor's shortcomings.

So principle number one in managing expectations is to manage them right from the start.

There are a number of other principles which will be examined in the forthcoming conduct and service columns.

Every case before the adjudication panel is decided on its individual facts.

These examples are for illustration only and should not be treated as precedents.

LawyerlineFacing a service complaint? Need advice on how to handle it? Contact Mike Frith at LAWYERLINE, the support service offered by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, tel: 0870 606 2588.

RISK MANAGEMENT

Barriers to implementation

Despite all the efforts to introduce risk management procedures throughout the profession, good risk management has far more to do with a firm's culture and attitude to risk than with any of the systems introduced to manage that risk.

Of course, risk management procedures are essential, but they are not of themselves the solution.

For example, take a firm that has adopted the ideas of managing risk seriously at a partnership level and has produced a detailed office procedures manual.

This book is issued to all staff with a fanfare and handed to all new employees during their induction.

And what happens to it nine times out of ten? It is relegated to the bottom drawer, where it gathers dust.

The key to risk management is not the fixed procedures of themselves - especially where they are imposed from above - but the ability to make the procedures adaptable and relevant to all staff in their day-to-day work.

If the culture of a firm is to improve systems and eliminate errors from the senior partner to the junior receptionist, then there is little doubt that mistakes will become a rarer phenomenon.

Naturally, such a culture is easier to describe than it is to cultivate and will vary from firm to firm.

However, here are some fairly straightforward ideas which will get the process started.

If you have a procedures manual, look at it critically.

Often these documents are four inches thick and totally irrelevant to the majority of employees within a firm.

Instead, consider breaking-down procedures on a departmental basis.

If people can see relevance to their everyday work they are far more likely to comply.

Of course there must be a set of guiding principles which can be used throughout the firm and across different office locations.

However, these are more likely to work if they are developed in co-operation with staff rather than imposed from above.

Consider asking the departmental heads to call a meeting of their teams and ask them to suggest ideas to reduce errors and improve systems.

People are naturally far more likely to take on board procedures where they have had a direct input into creating them.

It is common sense that the person answering the telephone is more likely to understand where issues arise about, say, message-taking and their solutions than a partner in another department with overall responsibility for the 'procedures manual'.

Once a department has produced ideas relevant to its own work, it may well work far more effectively for these to be set out in a two-page, pocket-sized pamphlet of 'guiding principles' rather than producing an expensive tome that sits unread.

Also do not forget to revisit the procedures on a regular basis, involving new staff in discussions.

A regular audit and review will keep all employees aware of the importance of risk management and reduction of errors.

It is practically impossible to eliminate all errors and mistakes, but a firm which has an open and constructive culture of risk management is more likely to reduce errors and learn from its mistakes than one with a rigid and patriarchal attitude to systems and procedures.

This column was prepared by the Alexander Forbes professions risk management team.

QUESTION OF ETHICS

Q I have recently qualified as a solicitor and am aware that I may not set up in practice on my own until I have been admitted for three years.

However, I have been invited to become a partner in a firm which is being established by a solicitor friend of mine.

Do I have to be admitted for three years to be a partner in a firm?

A You can become a partner in a firm without being 'qualified to supervise' as defined by Law Society practice rule 13 (as amended).

However, every firm must have at least one principal who is 'qualified to supervise'.

In order to be 'qualified to supervise', a solicitor must have held a practising certificate for 36 months within the past 10 years and must also have undertaken 12 hours of training in management skills.

Therefore, if your friend can meet these requirements then there is no problem.

Please note

The Solicitors' Publicity Code 2001 replaced the Solicitors' Publicity Code 1990 on16 November 2001.

It also repealed Law Society practice rule 11 (names used by a firm).

The new code requires all firms to put 'regulated by the Law Society' on their notepaper.

Practitioners can postpone this until 1 January 2003 but only if they continue to comply with the 1990 code and the old Law Society practice rule 11.

Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team.

Send questions for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch; tel: 020 7242 1222.