-- A new book, The Solicitor's Guide to Good Management, is an essential business tool, says Alexandrina le ClezioThe question of whether a solicitor is 'managing' will come at every stage in a career, from trainee to partner.

People who ask this question never expect the answer 'no', yet solicitors often feel like giving it.

Solicitors are now asked to manage other staff, set and monitor budgets, juggle numerous files at once, develop business, handle difficult clients and perhaps even to take on a specific role to develop a firm's information service to lawyer s or to find new premises.

Dealing with administration successfully is the key to surviving and developing practices.

Those solicitors who deal with it successfully will find the time to enjoy legal practice more.

Practitioners can even aim higher and decide to take control of the future by planning successfully; determining strengths and weaknesses; targeting the areas that need to change and deciding when they need to change; selecting a target market; agreeing the strategy that is needed to attract and serve it; setting and monitoring the budget that will be needed; persuading fellow solicitors to agree on an approach; and, finally, evaluating the progress that has been made prior to the next phase of the plan.However, it takes time to work out how to manage well.

It is possible to consult one of the many tomes on management practice or The Solicitors' Guide to Good Management, by Trevor Boutall and Bill Blackburn, published by the Management Charter Initiative (MCI), could be studied.

This has been developed by the management working party of the Law Society's training committee as part of an initiative to help solicitors and firms increase their competitive edge.The Guide is a series of practical check-lists, adapted specifically for solicitors from the Good Manager's Guide, also published by the MCI.

The Guide will tell you how to run a meeting effectively.

It will also provide ideas about how to meet client needs better, how to establish good working relationships, prepare a budget or a marketing plan and develop a strategic plan.

Quite deliberately, the Guide only suggests what solicitors need to do, it does not prescribe the method of implementation.

The check-lists are concise and are designed to be consulted as required, rather than read from cover to cover.

They do not seek to be comprehensive but to offer sensible, practical advice that is relevant to all solicitors, not just managing partners.-- Image is one of the most effective ways for solicitors to communicate their expertise, explains Mary SpillaneThe legal profession is undergoing a change.

'Marketing' is entering the vocabulary and becoming a part of everyday practice.

Lawyers are becoming more commercially minded -- almost management consultants -- and are realising that business development has an important role.

This shift has been brought about by competition for business.

British law firms are having to take a more aggressive approach in order to succeed in this fierce climate.

Lawyers have to market themselves and their services and they are therefore assessing how they come across in their personal presentations.In the legal profession, where competition is fierce and the pressure to perform is crucial, the importance of image cannot be over-emphasised.

Image is one of the most effective tools at a solicitor's disposal to communicate expertise and authority.

Image is one of a solicitor's most powerful assets because it shows others how someone values themselves and respects others.

It is a solicitor's promise of delivery.

Research in Europe and the USA confirms that good personal presentation is the key to career advancement and success.

Image and appearance are as important as achievements and qualifications.

A poor image is self-defeating; it gets in the way of projecting true qualities and abilities.

When someone looks good they feel more confident, value themselves more and enjoy reinforcement from others.

When they do not bother about their appearance, they are more likely to retreat from opportunities.All the evidence indic ates that image is an essential tool in communicating the value of individuals and their firms, so it is worth investing some time on how they are packaged.