Most SMEs will have thought of their clients first – a laudable and appropriate response. However, survival will also require firms to focus on core business skills: we must first help ourselves to ensure that we can then help others. There are three simple ways that small firms can focus on both their clients and […]

There’s no doubt that the industry, or all of humanity for that matter, is going through some tough and stressful times. The April issue of LPM doesn’t only focus on the pandemic for just this reason – read up on all the other things that still matter deeply to your business: people strategy, tech, risk […]

The lack of investment in technology solutions was noticeable, with less than 15% believing that their firms were investing sufficiently in new technology. This was highlighted further by a sense that the volume of activity that is currently automated was marginally down on last year’s report, but the perception around what could be automated had […]

And while there are many undeniable advantages to cloud provision, the following common mistakes should be avoided: Lack of planning – Before migrating anything, you need to consider security, management and finance. Audit these areas to determine which critical features you’ll migrate, the order in which they’ll move, and how long they’ll need embedding before […]

A sound financial base is vital to any firm; strategic decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information are doomed from the outset. Allocating sufficient importance and resource to getting the finances of your firm right, and making sure your key team members fully understand the information being prepared – and reviewed – allows firms to […]

Memorable brands are seldom born overnight unless they’re outrageously different or controversial – the legal sector has never felt comfortable doing this, probably for all the right reasons. So, what can be done? The most important thing to consider is that people only know what you tell them. Carefully planning your course of action and […]

I hope everyone had a smooth February – I nearly forgot about that extra day we had slip in this year! And if you were able to beat the storm to join us for LPM South, thank you for attending and I hope you stayed around for our LPM Practice Excellence Awards ceremony – winners […]

About 18 years ago, I had a fantastic annual appraisal but one comment haunted me: my boss said that I needed to toughen up and be far less sensitive and emotional. It came from a good place – he didn’t want me to take other people’s problems too much to heart. It was typical of […]

When Travelex decided to take its currency exchange services offline after discovering its systems had been compromised by an ‘REvil’ ransomware attack on 31 December, cybercrime again became headline news. More disturbing perhaps than the $6m (£4.6m) ransom, is the cybercriminals’ claim to have downloaded sensitive customer data, after accessing the Travelex network six months […]

What does data have to do with relationships? Working tirelessly in the background, your firm’s communication systems likely manage hundreds, thousands, even millions of transactions each day. Email and other systems not only facilitate digital communication, but they also log and store data about each of these transactions. This data is something that often goes […]

Thin client solutions have waxed and waned in popularity over the years, but with the ubiquity of good-quality networking and the continuing evolution of business requirements promoting mobility and enhanced security, thin client delivery can have real advantages. What is it about the new generation of thin client technology that has led to it becoming […]

Client engagement for the legal sector has evolved greatly. We continue to see the methods used to obtain and maintain clients improving through the use of a more considered and joined-up approach. Now, more than ever, firms must pause and look at the environment around them to see how client-centred operations can create new and […]

Welcome to the future. Hope everyone’s on track with the transporting hubs, wearable wellbeing tech and flying vehicle airspace car park permits. Or for those more pessimistic, have you got your staff radioactive suits upgraded, air filtration systems running and fully functioning on-prem gardens tended? There’s a lot to absorb as 2020 gets underway, and […]

The word ‘compliance’ is often followed with a huge sigh or groan of despair. Compliance and risk management have always been one of the biggest challenges faced by SME legal businesses and disproportionately impacts them the most. It’s a reality we must accept, so what are the regulatory risks we face? The fact that law […]

The compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) role is nearly seven years old and there are still mixed views on the purpose and success of the role in becoming, along with the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP), the lynchpin – or, some might say, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) ‘watchdog’ – of compliance and […]

As 2019 nears its finish line, the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) is keeping close tabs on regulatory and legal activities in the pipeline. With the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new handbook right around the corner, SME firms need to be on top of potential changes to process and administration. A particular area of […]

How its innovative ‘Talking Works’ case resolution method results in happy

LPM’s people guru Polly Jeanneret talks Love Island, social media slander and secret HR meeting recordings Q I have noticed that you talk a lot about ‘difficult’ or ‘temperamental’ partners. But in my experience it’s the clients that are the worst. We have one who treats our staff pretty shoddily: shouty, critical, unpleasant. Another told an […]