September 2014 by Stu Gooderham, Head Importantly Their People
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
North West Law Focus on long-term profitable delivery of services, not short-term cost reduction September 2014 By Stu Gooderham, Head importantly their people. The big challenge that law of Client Relations, Lexis - You can only reduce admin - firms face in better utilising News Nexis Enterprise Solutions istrative costs by so much their human resources is a and in no circumstance lack of actionable informa - Competition in the UK mid- must cost savings trump tion. Having acquired multi - Gorvins celebrates strong half year tier legal sector is by far the quality of service. ple business applications fiercest and so maintaining over the years across func - results page 6 profitability is proving chal - Law firms need to think be - tions, firms are finding it lenging for law firms. yond short-term cost reduc - hard to get these systems to George Bull, head of profes - tion measures, considering talk to each other, share and Clyde & Co expands page 7 sional practices at Baker Tilly innovative sourcing and assimilate data. All too holds a view that of the 200 procurement techniques, often, law firms are acutely odd mid-tier law firms, only strategic human resource aware that they need to re - Further growth for Citadel Law page 8 50 may survive in the short management, business in - vamp resourcing methods, to medium term. Unlike the telligence and cost/prof - but without an accurate pic - Stu Gooderham larger law firms, the mid-tier itability analysis and an ture of the business, it is category represents overall modern attitude to - neigh impossible to make itable client actually look Catherine Vickerman retires after 34 squeezed margins and wards technology and busi - informed decisions. like, what options are best falling profit per partner ness practices. These will for cross selling services to years in practice page 9 (PEP), a compensation allow firms to build flexibil - Similarly from a manage - other sectors, how can I model that law firms are re - ity and agility into the busi - ment perspective, lack of in - pitch for work knowing luctant to relinquish. Tactics ness – rather than formation is a major what the costs and profit such as downsizing, merger undertaking knee jerk reac - constraint when it comes to margin are, how can I ensure Promotion at Just Costs page 11 and acquisition and cutting tions such as headcount re - strategic decision making. that we use the right people administrative costs have ductions and hastily Often key business perform - of the right matters – should been the typical methods conceived business alliances ance metrics are slow to be be their lifeblood. In reality Features adopted to maintain profits – that don’t necessarily ad - delivered after month and though, responses to these thus far. dress the deep-rooted busi - year end, and even then questions are based on gut ness problems triggered by don’t always contain the rel - instinct rather than logic Talking Heads Henceforth, the impact of the current commercial cli - evant information. When and insightful business intel - cost control alone on organ - mate. lawyers become Practice ligence. A strategic and How is the profession adapting to the isational profitability will be Group Leaders (PGL), typi - structured approach to pric - minimal. This is primarily Better utilisation of human cally there is no training pro - ing, matter planning and E-disclosure reforms?” page 12 due to the fixed nature of resources is imperative. A re - gramme offered to help costing in general is re - the business services cost cent EY survey highlights them become stellar busi - quired. Overtime, the histor - base – premises, deprecia - that staff costs of the top 50 ness managers. Information ical data when analysed will Bringing back old values into the tion of assets, IT infrastruc - UK law firms accounts for 40 such as – which clients are ture, and perhaps most percent of their turnover. profitable, what does a prof - continued on page 4 business of law Julia Baskerville talks to Hugh Jones Warning over the potential financial page 13 fall-out of the Divorce Bill Regulars Divorce proceedings can lies. Legal aid no longer ap - “As anyone who has experi - Manchester Law Society Conferences be complex and emotion - plies to this area of the law enced a divorce will know all page 4 ally draining, but potential so many people are left un - too well, there is no ‘text - changes to family law may represented without a legal book’ case and it may not be Members Reward Card bring further uncertainty steer. feasible to apply a ‘one size when it comes to the finan - fits all’ simplistic formula. A see your latest offers... page 27 cial outcome, according to This brings a lack of clarity husband or wife may have Shelley Hesford, Partner when it comes to interpreta - put their career on hold only and Head of the Family tion of the existing Matrimo - to find that, after a 30 year Monthly Competition team at SAS Daniels LLP . nial Causes Act 1973, which marriage, they will only re - is considered by many to be ceive maintenance for three Verdure Floral Design – Your chance to win a The Divorce (Financial Provi - out of touch. years. Surely a spouse’s bouquet of flowers worth up to £100!! sions) Bill, first introduced by Commenting on the issue greater earning capacity Baroness Deech in February, Shelley Hesford said: “While would have to be taken into page 33 recently received its second Baroness Deech’s call for a account?” reading in the House of more simplistic approach Shelley Hesford Another key factor of the Bill Lords. may seem entirely called for would remove the grey area is the suggestion that both in principle, the reality may around pre-nuptial and pre-nuptial and post-nuptial Baroness Deech believes not be welcomed by many. post-nuptial agreements, agreements are to become that it is urgent for Parlia - The Bill looks to examine provided that certain condi - binding. This, Baroness ment to revisit the law gov - cases on a 50/50 basis, sug - tions are met. While the Bill is Deech argues, would eradi - erning financial provision, gesting that assets acquired still in its early stages, it’s im - cate the horror stories of based on the notion that the before marriage should be portant that people are agreements that are entered law is uncertain and that taken out of the matrimonial aware of the implications into and subsequent costly leading judgments arise pot. In addition, it recom - and that their eyes are wide litigation examining the va - from ‘big money’ cases that mends the duration of open when it comes to the lidity of those agreements. go to appeal but bear no re - spousal maintenance should potential financial sting in lation to low income fami - be limited to three years. Shelley Hesford added: “This the tail.” Single issue £3.50, 12 month subscription £54.00 The Monthly Publication of the Manchester Law Society free to members Manchester Law Society President’s Column 3 President’s Column The reaction to the memories ever sensitive to our clients’ County Council and Bucking - Indeed, MLS has a number of of World War 1 featured in the requirements and we realise hamshire and Milton Keynes significant conferences and last edition of The Messenger that we cannot offer a skele - Fire Authority. This will start seminars as we enter the au - provoked a significant ton services during the sum - operating on 24 November. tumn. The ever popular per - amount of interest. Many did mer. Perhaps it is time that Interestingly they plans to sonal injury conference will not appreciate the direct im - the court and counsel were offer legal services to other take place on Tuesday 21st pact the Great War had on the alive to the fact that our councils, emergency services October 2014 taking a strate - Manchester legal community clients still need assistance and charities. I understand gic look at the future of the and the long term effect that throughout the summer. I that this is not a one off and sector. The high calibre speak - it would have. My thanks cannot think of any other pro - that several other local au - ers will explore techniques to goes to Julia Baskerville for fession that goes into a lower thorities around the country maximise profitability in light her research and effort in pro - gear during August and I do are looking at this model of cost budgeting. ducing such a superb article. find it hard to square this ap - carefully. proach with a backlog of The MLS employment law The Manchester Law Society cases waiting to be heard and Last time I reported that the conference returns on Thurs - (MLS) weekly email is a suc - orders waiting to be drawn at SRA wanted to reduce the day 23rd October 2014 with a cess. The statistics for the first court but what we can be minimum level of PII cover to mix of presentations and in - two months have shown that sure of is that situation will £500,000. Not only has this teractive workshops. I am de - the email is being opened, not change. suggestion been rejected by lighted that Judge Peter read and forwarded by a far Manchester Law Society but Russell, acting regional em - higher percentage than the What does need to change is now the Council of Mortgage ployment judge for the north national average for such the professions attitude to - Lenders have criticised this west of England, will be deliv - emails and far better than we wards data protection. The In - decision. The Legal Services ering a keynote address on at MLS anticipated.