Virtual Possibility
FEATURES
Lucy Scott-Moncrieff speaks to Patrick Wingrove
about establishing the UK’s first virtual firm and managing employees from afar
A taekwondo black belt on beating stress,
work ethics and a poor work-life balance
From cybersecurity to new model legal businesses, Patrick Wingrove reports on the hot topics at LPM’s first Birmingham conference
Chris Jeffery at Thomson Reuters Legal Solutions UK & Ireland pins down the key challenges and opportunities for SME firms in 2017
GET YOUR COPY NOWISSUE IN BRIEF
Dear LPM reader, I’ve been able to depose our editor-in-chief from his iron throne and taken command of the editor’s letter. Just kidding, it was a peaceful transition – the real war is probably being waged in Rupert’s home where his youngest daughter is almost three … and can now answer him back.
LPM also turns three this issue and I’m enormously pleased to be introducing this landmark 30th edition to you. Legal has changed a huge amount since the magazine’s inception and we’ve thoroughly enjoyed covering a diverse range of subjects that are important to SME legal businesses.
FROM HERE TO VIRTUALITY
SME law firms have started to embrace remote working because of advancements in legal tech and the realised benefits of a flexible workforce. But at the other end of the spectrum, virtual firms fully embraced remote working years ago – and some even before dial-up internet was invented. The UK’s first virtual firm, Scott-Moncrieff & Associates, was founded as a solo practice by former Law Society president and human rights advocate Lucy Scott-Moncrieff in 1987.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: FRANCIS GEORGE
My love of taekwondo began five years ago, shortly after I started mentoring a young receptionist at the firm. This receptionist wasn’t very good at completing tasks and I felt compelled to instil a better work ethic in him. I decided to enrol him, myself and one of his friends in a local taekwondo class – something extracurricular that would give him a sense of discipline and teamwork, and increased confidence to help him in his work life. I also thought that training to achieve higher belts would give all of us something to aspire to.
NEW GROUND
SME firms face a challenging future and wherever they operate, no matter their client base, those that constantly evolve and innovate will prosper. Innovation was the overriding theme of the first LPM Birmingham conference last November (fittingly held at the Institute of Engineering and Technology’s Austin Court, an institution which has long been a platform for new ideas in its field). A handful of key issues emerged during the conference as industry-leading speakers took the stage, including: how legal businesses can better engage people, defend themselves from digital trespassers and prepare for regulatory upheaval.
NEW BALL GAME
Attracting new clients was the top concern of small and medium-sized law firm respondents when the results came in from our Lawyer-Entrepreneur 2017 report (October 2016). The respondents also agreed that while growth forecasts are good, their operating environment is getting tougher. There’s an increasing recognition that improving the quality of legal advice is unlikely to make a difference – after all, your advice is already perfect, right? Accurate and risk-mitigating legal advice is the very least that a client expects from their firm, and indeed the majority are happy with the advice their firms give them.
