In marketing, like anything, you need to get the basics right. Otherwise the time and money you invest in marketing will be wasted
How to win new clients, make the most of existing relationships, encourage referrals and generate new leads
How to approach creating a law firm website that works, from agreeing your objectives to making sure you get the results you want
Why lawyers need to know about social media, how to make the most of the opportunities and how to avoid potential pitfalls
How to use PR to build your firm’s reputation; and how to create cost-effective advertising – traditional and online – that delivers results
How to protect your law firm from cyber attacks. What steps to take if your systems are hacked
How to set up your firm’s systems to provide the information that enables you to improve profitability and cashflow
This is a new section and only covers SRA Accounts Rules and GDPR at the moment. More articles will follow
This section covers succession, specialisation, mergers, selling a law firm, recruitment and talent retention, becoming a partner, and business structure
Compliance
Over recent years, compliance and risk management has been an increasingly prominent and ever-evolving issue for law firms.
Under SRA rules, you must have a compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and a compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA). But it's important for the partnership to recognise that compliance is not something that can just be delegated to the COLP and COFA. The aim must be to create a culture of compliance throughout the firm.
Financial compliance requires a similar approach – not just in terms of protecting client assets but also the requirements of HMRC and Companies House. While day-to-day tasks may be delegated to the finance team and accountants, the firm's partnership (or directors) retain ultimate responsibility.
A useful starting point is to involve people across the firm in identifying the risks the firm faces and the best approach to mitigating them. Particular areas of concern may include data protection and GDPR, regulations around money laundering and bribery, the ever-present threats of cybercrime and the potential challenges of Brexit.
Over the coming months, we'll be adding expert views on the key compliance issues you need to be aware of. We hope you find the site useful – join us on Twitter to keep up to date as new content is added.
