Solicitors
All solicitors, whether at assistant, associate or partner level need to take an active interest
in operational risk issues such as:

• client vetting
• the risks posed to the firm by difficult clients
• client engagement and matter risk assessment
• developing an awareness of risks in specific practice areas
• the need for file audits
• compliance with rules 2 and 5 (amongst others) of the code of conduct

 

Managers
Since the introduction of the Legal Services Act in 2007 ‘managers’ has come
to refer to solicitors who are partners (in a partnership), members in a Limited Liability
Partnership (LLP) or directors in a company. However it can also refer to non solicitor managers
(such as legal executives or licensed conveyancers) and to non lawyer managers such
as accountants or others with business rather than legal expertise.
There are many managers (such as risk managers, HR managers or IT managers)
who are are not ‘managers ’ within the technical sense of the Act. However it
doesn’t really matter whether you are legally qualified or not,
a manager in the technical sense or not, risk is an all-pervading and important issue.

 

Other legal professionals
It has been a long time coming but the legal profession is about to undergo major changes.
The process which started with David Clementi’s review in 2004 took a big step forward with the
passing of the Legal Services Act 2007. The Act will facilitate the arrival of the first
Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) on 6 October 2011, the same date that the revised
Handbook for solicitors will be brought into force by the SRA. The Act has been responsible
for the arrival of new regulators such as the Legal Services Board, the Bar Standards Board,
and the Intellectual Property Regulatory Board. Other regulators such as the
Council for Licensed Conveyancers are seeking to become regulators of new practice
areas such as litigation. Tim Prior, director, has been closely involved
with these developments over the last few years.

Risk management is key for:

• barristers considering offering direct access
• licensed conveyancers looking to undertake new practice areas.
• legal executives or FILEX looking to become managers in law firms
• Intellectual Property lawyers and law costs draftsmen looking to capitalise on opportunities
  presented by the LSA

 

Support staff
Support staff play a key role in service delivery whether they are employed in
house or outsourced elsewhere. Depending on how they are managed they
can either improve a firm’s risk profile or have an adverse impact on it.
Ignore them at your peril.