The ongoing widespread clarion call for racial equity is heart-warming and reminded me of my previous article on unconscious bias. While it is widely accepted that training for senior leaders…
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A common recent theme at a number of boards/committees where I am fortunate to serve is the important role of producing better board papers that are pitched consistently at the…
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The increasing expectations of board oversight to cover a wider range of issues has placed a greater demand on key performance indicators (KPIs) to be as comprehensive as possible. The…
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The recent reported cyber attacks during the ongoing UK general election period is a reminder why board members should raise their awareness of cyber security and to ensure that cyber…
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The phrase ‘proper scrutiny’ appears to have grown in prevalence over the recent months and its importance is generally emphasised as critical to maintain good board governance. While proper scrutiny…
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The MAKE Better Customer Outcomes framework consists of the following key principles: Make the right promises Avoid empty promises Keep your promises Embrace broken promises Embracing broken promises means acknowledging incidences where the…
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The MAKE Better Customer Outcomes framework consists of the following key principles: Make the right promises Avoid empty promises Keep your promises Embrace broken promises A key goal of effective delivery of the…
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The MAKE Better Customer Outcomes framework consists of the following key principles: Make the right promises Avoid empty promises Keep your promises Embrace broken promises Empty promises are those which a business is…
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The MAKE Better Customer Outcomes framework consists of the following key principles: Make the right promises Avoid empty promises Keep your promises Embrace broken promises A key consideration for any firm that wishes…
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It is not unusual to hear of firms wrestling with the turmoil arising from a failure to keep their promises to customers. It is inevitable that such a breach of…
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The anguish in the voice of an attendee as he stated '…. another meaningless meeting…. ' after a meeting made me wonder why we persist with meaningless meetings. In some respects,…
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A supporting principle of the UK Corporate Governance Code with regard to executive pay stipulates that boards (through remuneration committees) should avoid paying more than is necessary. While on the…
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It struck recently me that press releases on proposed mergers usually slip in the phrase 'a merger of equals'. It seems to me that the use of that phrase is…
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The recent publication by the Law Society of the summary of multiple failings that contributed to the demise of the Veyo project as reported in Legal Futures is commendable. Whilst…
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The next item on the agenda was the strategic risk register which signalled that the board meeting was close to completion. The shuffling of papers by some board members was…
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Infographic The different views from a range of leaders at the recent World Economic Forum at Davos may not have led to global consensus on the key issues but they…
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It was an honour to speak at the TM Group conference on ‘Driving and Adapting to Change’ in London in April 2015 and subsequently at some of the regional seminars…
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A common phrase used by TV chefs is “we eat with our eyes first”. This phrase is usually used to reinforce the importance of presenting the contents on the plate…
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The delegation of risk and compliance responsibilities to nominated officers in legal firms is designed to ensure appropriate organizational focus on regulatory compliance and to enhance accountability for the reasonable…
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It was wonderful to be invited to the TM Group Golf event last week and I was looking forward to having fun utilising my raw golf skills (clearly an overstatement).…
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Organisational design A commonly held belief by senior leadership is that changing the structure of their organisations will lead to significant improved business performance, which is why this is usually…
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A thread that appears to run through many case studies of successful legal firms is how the business leaders made big bets at critical moments. Underpinning such strategic bets seems…
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The licensing of the first Alternative Business Structure (ABS) on 6 October 2011 marked the beginning of the end for traditional law firms (TLF) by some commentators. Although this prediction…
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The announcement by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) earlier this year to remove the prescribed number of CPD hours for solicitors was welcome news to some, regretted by some and…
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During a conversation with a business leader of a legal firm he admitted with much frustration that they had struggled to date to articulate their firm’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP).…
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To maintain competitiveness in dynamic operating environments, it is imperative that legal firms become more flexible and agile with the ability to execute strategy rapidly and more effectively. However, the…
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This article was first published in the June 2014 edition of Property in Practice, the magazine of the Law Society’s Property Section. A rising market presents conveyancing firms with many…
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The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recently concluded the following consultations and the outcome will be eagerly awaited by a range of stakeholders in the legal services market: Compensation Arrangements Review:…
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It was a wonderful honour to speak at the LSN Practice Management Conference 2014. During my session (see my presentation here), we explored developing a better customer experience for tomorrow’s…
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The first Monday of each month is designated for the senior management meeting at a 15 partner law firm with 180 staff (Firm A). The meetings held in the conference…
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The recent Oscars provided some memorable moments and inspiring speeches. However, surprisingly the speech that resonated most with me, were the words spoken by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, President of the…
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One of the wonderful benefits of the digital age and mobile enabled world is easy access (particularly through blogs and podcasts) to the diverse and inspiring experiences of successful entrepreneurs…
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Warren Buffet famously stated “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” Value based buying approach is when customers make purchasing decisions based on a balanced consideration of…
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A culture that supports the delivery of a better customer experience is one where all business decisions are taken in the best interests of the target customers. Embarking on any…
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The recent announcement by QualitySolicitors to abandon hourly billing and to more widely embrace fixed fees was surprising but very welcome. Although a pricing strategy based on fixed fees is…
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We must ‘change the culture’ are buzzwords that are used frequently in a variety of situations where organisational performance has fallen below the reasonable expectations of stakeholders particularly customers. Although…
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Last month I was very honoured to speak at the LFS conveyancing conference 2013 as well as a judge of the LFS conveyancing awards 2013. It was rewarding to share…
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A guide to better pricing The use of fixed fees is increasing in many industry sectors including professional services. Although it is commonplace in a variety of sectors, there remains…
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A guide to treating customers fairly Encouraging firms to deliver great customer service may be obvious advice. However, the ongoing feedback and complaints from consumers in a variety of industry…
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I tend to watch a number of consumer issues programmes including some of the following: Watchdog Cowboy Traders Rip off Britain Your Money Their Tricks Cowboy Builders Don’t Get Done…
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I recently read a thought provoking book by Michael E. Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed called “The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think”. The authors propose the following three rules, which…
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In recent weeks, a number of commentators have given their respective perspectives on the ‘perceived’ failure of In-Deed. The comments ranging from ‘I told you so’,’ What were they thinking’…
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In Part 1 of this article, we started sharing some thoughts on developing an effective strategy for retaining membership on lenders’ panels. Here is the conclusion of the article. Understand…
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A few weeks ago, I participated in an interesting discussion on separation representation in a LinkedIn group. That exchange of views highlighted the pain that legal firms are still facing…
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The traditional approach to regulatory compliance by some legal firms is to focus their risk and compliance efforts on keeping the regulator happy or avoiding the regulator getting angry. Whilst…
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The partners and the other staff involved in the post opening duties were enjoying the regular daily banter, which was suddenly brought to a halt when a letter was opened…
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The recent report by the Legal Ombudsman on divorce related legal complaints is a helpful reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by some consumers in their interactions with lawyers. Although…
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Legal Futures recently reported the following finding from SRA’s interim thematic report on conveyancing, which I found quite puzzling: “conveyancing clients were in most cases no less financially valuable to…
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In December 2012, the Legal Services Board (LSB) published its thematic review of conveyancing. The LSB looked at the conveyancing market from the point of view of legal regulation and…
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The clarion call for increased transparency and certainty of legal fees is getting louder as highlighted in the recent article in the November edition of Management Today; (Luke Johnson: Trade…
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Constant change in the external environment arising from competitive pressures, customer/stakeholder expectations, regulatory changes, and rapid technological innovation necessitates effective organisations to adapt continually their organisational architecture to ensure execution…
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Regulatory landscape In an ever changing regulatory and business environment with increasing consumer expectations, regulation is constantly evolving and legal firms need to keep up with the changes and the…
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Despite the initial concern about the new compliance requirements for legal services providers regulated by the SRA. It is pleasing to note the steps that firms are taking to comply…
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This is a question that many firms are grappling with and anxiously seeking guidance to address their concerns with regard to Regulation 8.2 of the SRA Authorisation Rules. In particular…
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