Risk management

Chaos theoryTake three everyday situations.

In the first the storm is gathering; in the second the clouds are bursting; in the third, youre surveying...Chaos theoryTake three everyday situations.

In the first the storm is gathering; in the second the clouds are bursting; in the third, youre surveying the wreckage.l When Jane checked the diary she found an entry for today about one of Tonys files.

Hes away until next week.

The diary doesnt say why today is critical.

The files a mess.

If only I knew what I was looking for...

l The client rang his solicitor: The bailiffs have taken the car.

Whats going on? I thought you said I had a good defence! Shuffling of papers.

Embarrassed cough.

Ah, yes, replied the solicitor, your papers are here they were buried under some files.l When we received a claim, our insurers asked us to identify the final version of the lease.

There were four different versions on file.

We had to say that we did not know which one was the final version, nor in which order the drafts had been prepared.It is tempting to look for complicated reasons why things go wrong.

But in the vast majority of cases, there is a simple cause disorganisation.

Organise you diary systemMake sure your office diary states legibly what has to be done, on which file and by when.

Check it regularly to ensure crucial dates are not overlooked

Organise your filesKeep files tidy and organised, so that you would happily allow a colleague, a client or a judge to inspect them.

Make sure they tell the whole story.Keep correspondence and documents in a logical order.

Date and number successive drafts of the same document.Keep clear attendance notes (preferably typed) on the correspondence clip rather than loose at the back of the file.

Use checklists, case plans or file summary sheets and keep them up to date to show the position reached in a transaction.

Remember to write a detailed letter to the clients at the outset about the case and what you hope to achieve for them.

This can serve as a useful introduction to the case if another fee-earner needs to get involved

Organise your deskMake sure that your desk is tidy.

People often comment that an untidy desk is how they like to work and that it is not a problem because they know where everything is.

That may be.

But they will not necessarily be around when the problem arises and they may not be the ones who have to sort it out.Keep only one file open at a time to prevent papers getting mixed up on another file.Check through the papers on your desk now.

How long have they been there? If you had put a dot in the top right hand corner of each sheet every time you looked at it, how many dots would there be? Bin it, file it, or deal with it.l This column was prepared by the St.

Paul risk management team