Legal resurfaces
FEATURES
How can SME law firms disrupt and grow their own businesses? LPM South in London, February 2019, was a hotbed of discussion.
Aziz Rahman at Rahman Ravelli outlines the risks and obligations law firms face over money laundering
Mike Stevenson at Iceberg says law firms could do a lot better on financing their professional indemnity insurance
Sarah Trude, business development director at Symphony APS, on the ‘puck mindset’ and key takeaways from LPM South conference
GET YOUR COPY NOWISSUE IN BRIEF
April showers LPM with lots of love and excitement. It’s our editor Kayli’s birth month, Easter break is around the corner and the Earth is warming up for spring. We’ve also got LPM West in Bristol towards the end of the month, on Wednesday 24, and LPM Practice Excellence Awards submission deadline on Friday 26 at noon. Enter now: www.lpmmag.co.uk/awards. Everything is kicking off. You may notice some little transformations to LPM itself in this issue.
Give a warm welcome to LPM’s new columnist Karen Edwards, practice manager at Hedges Law (p10), as she talks about activities from her firm’s recent awayday.
LEGAL PRACTISES
It can be difficult for SME law firms to put in place new working models, policies and technology. Kayli Olson reports on the LPM South conference 2019 in London, which explored key areas for SMEs to sink their teeth into, as well as officially announcing the LPM Practice Excellence Awards 2019 with the ILFM.
TRY CLEAN
Law firms are in a position of huge responsibility. But it may be that not everyone is fully up to speed with either the potential for money laundering in a law firm, the legal obligations such firms have to prevent it, or how they should go about preventing it.
DON’T BE OVERDRAFT
There are many shifting regulations and legislative changes for law firms to keep up with; one perennial obligation is professional indemnity insurance (PII). With every firm now choosing a slightly different path, flexible financing is more important than ever, says Mike Stevenson, managing director at Iceberg.
PUCKS, PROBLEMS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Although we were introduced to the phrase “skating to where the puck is going to be” by Gary Boomer, of Boomer Consulting in the USA, the source is Wayne Gretzky, Canadian former ice-hockey player. It’s a mindset that has served us well, and it sure beats staying with the status quo.
