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International Edition

The online brief

During the past 12 months there have been numerous articles in the legal press concerning the growing discontent over the levels of private practice lawyers' fees. However, driven by the greed that has gripped the City over the last 10 years, the majority of City law firms have failed to take any notice. While most in-house lawyers would agree that high quality specialist legal advice doesn't come cheap, many City law firms are charging clients top whack rates (of anything between £275 to £550) for general commercial or transactional overflow work.
5 minute read

International Edition

What's in a name?

There is a rise in alternatives to partnership in the UK legal market. Colette Llewellyn takes a closer look at what it means to be 'of counsel' In recent years, as part of a strategy to attract and retain the best lawyers, law firms have been developing more formalised career structures. These new structures offer clearer staging posts as lawyers progress through their careers either to partner, or in many law firms, to new roles which offer a genuine alternative to partnership. As part of this, the role of 'of counsel' has become increasingly common in the UK legal market.
4 minute read

International Edition

The power of networking

As the business world becomes increasingly reliant on technology for communication, the legal profession is also noticing a shift. This has been seen not only in document transfer and communication, such as email or efiling, but also with knowledge sharing and networking.The 2008 Networks for Counsel Survey, commissioned by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell, has revealed that almost 50% of lawyers are members of online social networks, and more than 40% believe professional networking has the potential to change the business and practice of law over the next five years.
6 minute read

International Edition

Route to the top

For many lawyers, reaching partnership is the realisation of an ambition harboured since law school, if not even earlier. It cements years of hard work and underlines a dedication to the firm. Partnership also brings kudos and attractive financial rewards.Yet before opening the champagne, there is the small matter of the selection process to get through - one which many lawyers, despite their sharp technical skills, often fail to get right.
5 minute read

International Edition

New spaces

In stark contrast to the trading floors of banks or the quirky workspaces of the creative industries, the offices of law firms are often perceived to be fusty and outmoded places.However, the need to present a modern image which distinguishes a firm from its competitors - both in the eyes of clients and potential new recruits - has never been stronger.People associate modern offices with openness and equality, where communication flows easily and the hierarchy within the space is broken down. But lawyers need quiet spaces where confidential conversations and work that demands high levels of concentration can take place. Designers need to be wary of undermining those aspects of law firm offices that have made them effective workplaces for hundreds of years. This was the challenge facing Swanke Hayden Connell Architects (SHCA), which was chosen to design interior spaces for Kennedys - at 25 Fenchurch Avenue, a Sir Norman Foster-designed office building in the City - and Bristows, which has taken space in the revamped Unilever Building, now known as 100 Victoria Embankment, next to Blackfriars Station."Designing offices for law firms is about creating an atmosphere that is studious and collegiate, while also ensuring that you are building active spaces that do not feel dead and lifeless," says Angela Sasso, a senior associate at SHCA.
6 minute read

International Edition

You're fired

When dealing with underperforming partners, emotions can run high. The remaining partners may resent carrying dead weight, the outgoing partner may feel betrayed. However, in a difficult market, weeding out underperforming partners could be vital for survival. How painful and disruptive the process is depends upon the skill of the lawyers advising the partnership and the ability of those in charge to manage the outgoing partner's exit with dignity.Before going down the route of expulsion, it is worth considering other options, such as reduced profit share or de-equitisation. If expelling an equity partner, the remaining partners will have to work out if they can afford to repay the outgoing partner's equity share.
4 minute read

International Edition

Profit prophecies

Gaining business intelligence (BI) can be likened to lifting the lid off your business and seeing its internal mechanics. It is not a new idea - BI has its roots in decision support systems (DSS), which began in the mid-1990s. However, the legal sector has been relatively slow to absorb such techniques.Business intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a set of concepts and methods designed to improve business decision-making. It uses fact-based support systems that provide law firms with a higher quality of information than they can get from their standard financial systems. Gaining business intelligence enables a law firm to access, interact with and analyse data to manage their operations, improve performance and generally function more efficiently.
5 minute read

International Edition

How insurers and clients can make sure they click

Time-consuming quibbles over insurance contracts may soon be obsolete as more people turn to online digital database facilities. Andy Bellinger explains Historically, the insurance industry has provided protection for business customers without finalising the precise contract details until a much later date after a formal agreement has been struck. Unsurprisingly, this practice led to disputes over what precisely had been agreed.
4 minute read

International Edition

Defend against the sick leave bug

Absence management is a challenge for all employers, with numerous potential pitfalls. There are various types of absence, but sickness absence is probably the most significant in terms of costs to employers. These costs include salary, overtime and temporary replacement expenses. It is also important to consider indirect costs, brought about by the drop in quality of service that sick leave can result in. By implementing mechanisms, costs can be reduced and a firm's overall profits can be maximised. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) 2008 annual survey report on absence management states that on average sickness absence costs employers £666 per employee per annum, which equates to eight days per employee and 3.5% of an employee's working time.A report from People Count Law into absence in 90 law firms, published in November 2007, found that sickness absence in the legal sector was lower than the UK average, although the survey did not include absence levels for all types of employee.
7 minute read

International Edition

Driven to despair

As a psychotherapist with a practice within easy reach of the City of London, it is hardly a surprise that I receive a lot of enquiries from lawyers. What I do find slightly shocking is that lawyers make up one of the largest single occupational groups among my clients, despite the fact that there are better represented occupational groups in the area. Although they have specific individual problems like any other group, I began to realise that there were common factors which make lawyers prone to psychological problems, particularly depression. The first thing I noticed was how difficult it is for lawyers to find the time to attend sessions. Some can only manage appointments on Saturday. Others arrive by taxi at 9pm - having left the office early - and in some cases return to work after the session.
7 minute read

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