Learning to say 'no'

There is a tendency among solicitors to take on work simply on the basis that if they do not do it, it will go to the competition.

But is all work worth doing? Should firms be looking at this the other way round and asking themselves why they should take on new work, rather than thinking that all work is good work, unless proved otherwise?

There are several good reasons for refusing to take on new clients or their business, and each case should be evaluated before work is carried out to find out whether it is worth doing.

First of all, will the client pay the bill in a timely manner? Fees should be discussed frankly at the outset and if the client is reluctant to pay at your firm's rates, do not carry out work for them, as you may well end up cutting corners to fit the work into the reduced fee agreed.

Is the client a high risk within your firm's anti-money laundering framework? Any business that deals largely in cash will present a potential problem.

Is it worth working for these clients? Will you have to put in extra levels of 'know your client' checks, such as taking up references? Can you recover the costs of doing so from the client? You need to consider refusing the work.

What exactly are you being asked to do? Is the work within your competency or the competency of the firm? Although you may be able to research areas within your own specialist areas, stretching yourself to cover new fields of law, or fields you have not practised in for some time, is always hazardous.

This is not just because you may not know the potential pitfalls, but also because there will be a tendency to spend too much time on getting up to speed, for which you may not be able to charge the client, or which might cause you to neglect other clients.

Vain solicitors who think they can pick up on any field of law are serious risks to any firm.

Finally, is this the kind of work the firm wants to do? Is it in line with the business plan? Do not carry our residential conveyancing if the firm is directing all its marketing efforts to attracting business clients.

There is a cost to risk management and if you cannot charge fees to cover those costs, the work ceases to be attractive from a business perspective.

A considered risk policy encourages solicitors to refuse work which is not within the scope of the firm's business plan or acceptable level of risk.

Learn to say no to clients.

This column was prepared by AFP Consulting, a division of Alexander Forbes Risk Services UK