profitability, commercial awareness, risk management and compliance

Profitability, commercial awareness, risk management and compliance

Peter ScottPETER SCOTT CONSULTING

www.peterscottconsult.co.uk

Challenges now facing law firms

The economy Government cuts New competitors in the market The P I insurance market Increasing regulation and compliance Technology The changing needs of clients A fragmented profession

Given these challenges, never has the need to be more competitive been so great

Today’s session

How to compete in tomorrow’s markets Building financial awareness and performance How to manage your risks and compliance

under the new regulatory regime Achieving your goals

How to compete in tomorrow’s markets

The need to be more competitive

“Competition is a process by which …

services that people are not prepared to pay for

high cost methods of production and inefficient organisations

are weeded out and

opportunity is given for new…services methods and organisations to be tried” *

Could this apply to the legal profession today?

*Everyman’s Dictionary of Economics – A. Seldon and F. G. Pennance 1964

Your future market competitors?

ABS - owned wholly / partly by non-lawyers with deep pockets? MDP - owned by lawyers and other professionals? Highly developed ‘traditional’ law firms? - national / regional - branded - strong sector focus - franchised / federal models - heavy investment in IT, management and infrastructure

Combinations / variants of any of the above Others?

Which kind of law firm do you want to be?

The greatest danger?

- complacency!

“Our strategy is to keep a lid on

expenditure and weather the storm. We

cannot reinvent ourselves as something

we are not”

Managing Partner of a major London law firm – Autumn 2008

An alternative view…

“there seems to be a disturbing strategy of hunkering down, cutting some fat and hoping that business will return to normal. That is not good. The terrain will look very different when this is over. This is not a minor blip, but a discontinuity”

“the problem is that most senior lawyers think only two months ahead. They have no coherent picture of the future. The planning is not being done. And it is senior lawyers who need to be driving change”

Professor Richard Susskind – May 2009

Forward planning - focus on the fundamentals of your business

Your clients Your people How you can achieve your goals

The fundamentals of your business – are you making the most of them?

Do you know what your clients want?

Will your people deliver what your clients want?

Your clients

Preventing client leakage

Clients usually do not tell their law firm they are leaving – they just never again instruct the firm.

Are you unknowingly at risk of losing part of your client base?

Key issues for clients?

Client – based research consistently demonstrates that unless law firms listen to their clients and act accordingly, then those clients are likely to migrate to other firms.

Your client base

It is not only the at risk clients you should be concerned about.

The graph shows that typically three out of ten clients have hidden potential to grow that has not been identified.

The cost of sales

The cost and effort to ensure client satisfaction and thus the retention and development of clients is many times less than the cost of trying to win new business

Do you know your clients’ potential which could be unlocked for your firm?

Protect your backyard

This should be an obvious and profitable way to ensure

-not only survival but also-one of the best ways to build long term competitive advantage

But are law firms doing so?

Strategic forward planning

What services are your clients going to need in the future?

What are clients looking for?

Core issue is to add value

More than the competitors

In a way which is regarded as valuable by clients and which differentiates you – to create a

‘brand’

What is ‘added value’?

Value Clients Care About

Our clients’ perspective

Not our own perspective

Is there a gap?

The value gap

It is the client’s perception of value that matters

Professionals often put too much emphasis on service attributes

Not enough on helping clients achieve results

You will add value if…

You provide clients with what they want – and more

At prices they perceive to be value for money; and

You do this better than the competition

Understanding the client’s needs and requirements

So what do clients want?

Price on its own is rarely a determining factor

However, value for money is key

The client’s perspective

“They always try to sell to us on price – but what we really want is to have a good job done at a reasonable price”

Client feedback from a perception survey commissioned by

a law firm

PETER SCOTT CONSULTING

Positioning your practice to be competitive by adding value more than your competitors (Brown and Faulkner 1994, Long Range Planning)

Client

Perceived

Added

Value

Client Perceived Cost

High

HighLow

Low

Ave

Ave

X

Suicide Zone

So what do clients want?

Here are some of our most important research findings from interviewing clients of law firms and in particular from those clients which were in the at risk category

Perceived lack of skills and technical expertise

Clients absolutely expect that law firms have the necessary technical expertise to get the results clients require

This should be a given – but unfortunately it is often not the case

What some clients said

“They are OK for most work but when it comes to something really important to us, we go [elsewhere]”

“If [named partner] is not there we go elsewhere

because they lack depth of expertise.” “They need to improve the quality of staff in the

2nd tier”.

However, it is not enough just to be a good lawyer

The following factors can all influence a client’s choice of law firm

Brand and Positioning

Law firms win and lose work based on how clients and key decision makers perceive them, and particularly in relation to transactions, factors around-complexity-risk; or -size

Some relevant client comments

“For high value / high risk work I would use a big name firm – very unlikely to get bad advice”

“Our accountants tell us to use a ‘corporate’ firm”

“The firm is under pressure if it does not do some bigger corporate work”

“Sometimes we don’t use them for complex work” “(They) may not be able to do complex transactions”

Lack of client awareness of specialisms offered

Sometimes the problem is not so much actual lack of technical expertise but more a failure on the part of the law firm to make clients aware of what the firm can do

The following client quotes show this

“They must not assume that people know what they do” “If I had a £5m project, would I think of (Firm)…probably not…I would think of one or two others first… it may be that I don’t know enough re: the full extent of their expertise”. “Not sure if they have certain capabilities” “They are not proactive with their own clients” “I don’t think they have anyone in litigation...but if (the client partner) told me they did, I would trust him...I’d be interested in talking to them” “Maybe not so good at telling people what they do”

Speed and other service factors including

- Meeting deadlines- Keeping commitments- Ability to offer advice quickly and efficiently- Keeping clients informed of progress- Care and attention to work- Billing as expected- Personable and likeable people / rapport with

the team- Interest in / knowledge of client’s business

These client comments help to illustrate this

“Their response times leave much to be desired” “We had to chase all the time … we said it was urgent but it still ended up drifting” “They didn’t communicate enough, or didn’t seem to be on top of things” “I don’t believe they have the resources”

Relationship and understanding of needs

If a law firm is unaware of a client’s strategic needs then it is at risk

An example of this was a firm which was unaware that it was likely to lose a large client relationship in an imminent review of panel firms

“For service, I would rate them 8.5 out of 10 (they are upper quartile on this)...for strategic value I would rate them 2/10”

Being aware of this client feedback, and effectively responding to it, enabled the firm to retain what was its largest single client

Referrers of work

Different factors are likely to be identified from listening to referrers of work such as accountants, banks, overseas lawyers, IFAs, surveyors and estate agents

Research indicates that referrers consider these factors important

Knowing the individual / the personal relationship / having confidence in the individual

Expertise / technical ability / good quality advice Track record in an area of work Turnaround time / speed / ability to meet deadlines A fit with client Location Reciprocation Working as a team

Your firm

For any individual firm it is key to identify what is important to your clients and referrers of work and how you perform in key areas

Understanding and then responding to the issues can create immediate financial benefit and clarify the future direction of your firm

To be unaware of or to ignore client and referrer perceptions is to put at risk a firm’s very existence

Your people

Your people?

Are you presently unable to add value to your clients because of:

Gaps in your skills base? Under performance? internal attitudes and behaviour?

What should your people be doing:

better? more of? less of? differently?

How are you going to manage this?

In particular…

how should your people be using technology more effectively?

How financially aware are your people?

Making technology effective

Technology without people does nothing Law firms are people businesses People use technology

Are your people helping you to get the most

benefit out of technology?

Your IT

IT is a tool to be used by you in your business to help you be competitive

Is it doing so? Do you analyse the cost / benefits of the IT you

use? Could you use it better to achieve your

business objectives?

Your business objectives

Client service delivery Financial management Business development Knowledge management Risk and compliance management Others?

Encourage your people to think creatively about how to use technology to:

Provide better service Improve productivity Build competitive advantage Build profitability

How financially aware are your people?

“I don’t have a clue about the financial reports I receive”


Do your partners / other fee earners have financial knowledge gaps?

Do they understand why you provide them with financial reports?

Do they understand why you are asking them to take certain actions?


Does your firm have a financial education gap?

How can I grow revenue? How can I price more creatively? How can I improve profitability? How should I manage working capital? How do I control the cost base? What reports do I need to better manage my practice? Why should I fully record time?

How can our partners gain more confidence to talk to clients about money?

Defining the financial education gap

What do our partners and other fee earners tell us they need to know?

What do we think they need to know? What messages are fed back from clients?

Finding the right solution

What is realistically achievable? What is the cost / benefit? What is the most appropriate forum / method

for training?

Gaining partner buy-in

Must be relevant to the partner Needs to be user-friendly and practical Should demonstrate a clear benefit and

improvement opportunity for the firm

Implementation

Identify the key sponsors, stakeholders and likely blockers

Involve partners and other fee earners in the design and implementation of the education programme

Would a financial education programme for your firm help to achieve the outcomes you want?


Measure and report what matters


Financial measurement and reporting

- create KNOWLEDGE

- help to manage RISK


Without good financial measurement and reporting it is not possible to adequately manage your knowledge of what is happening in your business and the risks to which your business subject.


Risk and Knowledge Management

Risk

Management

Knowledge

Management

Financial measurement enables you to manage performance


If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.


What is the purpose of financial measurement and reporting?


To provide clear information to those running the business to enable them to:

- Know what is happening / will happen in the business

- Make decisions based on sound knowledge

- Take effective action


Is your financial measurement and reporting aligned with and helping you to achieve your objectives?


How do you use financial information?


Financial management

- whose responsibility is it in your firm?


Is your IT helping or hindering your financial

measurement and reporting?

Data Vs Information?


Avoiding financial information overload


In a law firm what needs to be measured

- and why?


Only measure what matters


What matters?

-How can we measure the financial performance of each part of our firm?

-How profitable / loss making are our clients?

-Which parts of our firm generate good cash flow

or soak up cash?


Are you measuring and reporting on what matters?


Is there anything you should measure which you do not currently measure and report on?


Your key performance indicators?


Testing your KPIs


Your KPIs?

Why do we produce this information? Does it tell us what we need to know about our

business? What does it not tell us about our business? Do we ever use this information? If not then why do we produce it?


Real time or historical information?


Do you / your people use everything you measure / report on ?

If not – why do you measure it / report it?


Identifying your priority financial outcomes

Aligning measurement and reporting to achieve those outcomes


Outcomes?

- Accelerating cash flow?- Improving profitability?- Building performance?- Effective business development?- Risk management and compliance?

- Others?


How to design clear and understandable reports to achieve required outcomes


How can you ensure the most effective use is made of your financial reports?


Accurate reports build credibility


Financial roles in a law firm

Who needs what?


Hard copy or available on line?


Frequency of reporting?


Is it enough just to provide reports – or do you need to do more?


Questions?


Implementing effective risk management and compliance procedures


Law Firm Risks

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Who has looked at the new SRA Code?

Go to Freedom in Practice at

www.sra.org.uk

Peter Scott Consulting

Timetable towards implementation

April 2011 – publication of final Handbook

August 2011 – Anticipated designation of SRA as a Licensing Authority for ABSs

6 October 2011 – first ABSs licensed and implementation of new Handbook


Key elements of Outcomes Focused Regulation (OFR)

Principles not rules Emphasis on results rather than process Sets out expected outcomes Provides indicative behaviours


A New Online Handbook

Will contain all the elements of the regulations

Principles Code of Conduct Accounts Rules Authorisation and Practicing Requirements Client Protection Discipline and Costs Recovery Specialist Services


Handbook and “risk based regulation”

Firms will need to demonstrate their approach to compliance: through compliance officers compliance plans possible self certification of compliance reporting of non compliance

A new relationship between regulator and regulated required: more openness; more information provision by firms both annually and ad

hoc.


The Principles

Ten mandatory over-arching Principles Embody key ethical requirements on firms and individuals Not part of the Code Six you will recognise but four are new


The six Principles you will recognise

Uphold the rule of law and proper administration of justice

Act with integrity

Do not allow your independence to be compromised

Act in the best interests of each client

Provide a proper standard of service to clients

Behave in a way that maintains the trust the public places in you and in the provision of legal services


Four new Principles

Comply with your legal and regulatory obligations and deal with your regulators and ombudsmen in an open, timely and co-operative manner

Run your business and carry out your role in the business effectively and in accordance with proper governance and sound financial and risk management principles

Run or carry our your role in the business in a way that encourages equality of opportunity and respect for diversity.

Protect client money and assets


Outcomes

Generally replace rules in the Code Describe what you are expected to achieve in order to comply with

the relevant Principles in the context of the relevant chapter Supplemented by Indicative Behaviours

NB – there are 81 outcomes but they are not an exhaustive list of the application of all the Principles


Your Challenge

How can you best achieve the outcomes, taking into account the nature of your firm, the particular circumstances of the matter and the needs of your clients?


How they work

Principles and Outcomes are mandatory Indicative behaviours are not mandatory

NB – Indicative behaviours specify, but do not constitute an exhaustive list of the kind of behaviour which may establish compliance with or contravention of the Principles


The Code

Has five sections You and your client You and your business You and your regulator You and others Application, waivers and interpretation

Each section is divided into chapters

Applies to solicitors, RELs, RFLs, authorised bodies and their managers, and all employees in relation to “practice from an office in England & Wales”. Has in-house and overseas application.


1st section – You and your client

Chapter 1 Client Care Chapter 2 Equality and diversity Chapter 3 conflicts of interest Chapter 4 Confidentiality and disclosure Chapter 5 Your client and the court Chapter 6 Your client and introductions to third

parties


2nd section You and your business

Chapter 7 Management of your businessChapter 8 PublicityChapter 9 Fee sharing and referrals


Under Chapter 7 the Outcomes provide that firms

must inter alia .... - have appropriate systems and controls in place to achieve and comply

with all Principles, rules and outcomes and other requirements of the Handbook

- identify, monitor and manage risks to the achievement of all outcomes, rules, Principles and other requirements in the Handbook if applicable and take steps to address issues identified

Who already has appropriate systems and controls in place …to comply with the present regulatory framework?


3rd Section You and your regulator

Chapter 10 You and your regulator


4th Section You and others

Chapter 11 Relations with third parties Chapter 12 Separate businesses


Authorisation Rules

Every firm must have

- a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) who must be a lawyer; and - a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration

(COFA)

COLP and COFA role requirements

COLP must ensure general regulatory and statutory compliance by the firm and its managers and employees

COFA must ensure compliance with the Accounts Rules

Both must promptly report non compliance

Notes to the rule make clear that the firm and its managers are not absolved from their own responsibilities

NB - Authorisation Rules para 8.5 (b)

The COLP of an authorised body must:

(ii) as soon as reasonably practicable, report to the SRA any failure so to comply.”



Consider the risks of non-compliance

Disciplinary action Bad publicity and loss of reputation Lost clients Complaints and claims Increased P.I. insurance premiums

Complaints

LSA sets up role of Legal Ombudsman (operational from 6.10.2010) to handle complaints

Establishment of Consumer Panel – now operational – to represent interests of consumers and report to LSB


Complaints handling Legal Ombudsman and Consumer Panel both targeting poor

standards of service.

Legal Ombudsman is examining “first tier” complaints handling by firms - firms that don’t measure up will be penalised.

Consumer Panel have laid down outcomes they want to see in relation to complaints handling. Also want firms to analyse complaints and learn from mistakes.


How to approach OFR?



What is required?

A need to manage your:

Resources Knowledge


Resources?

People and Money Internal or external? Part time partners or professionals? Bespoke or ‘off the peg’?

Carry out a cost / benefit analysis to establish the most resource effective method for your firm

to manage compliance

Knowledge? - Failure to manage knowledge involves widespread risk

Compliance / Risk Management

Knowledge

Management

Compliance and risk – do you know your compliance risk areas?

Where does the knowledge of your compliance risk areas reside?

Can you access it?

Do you have systems to maintain and

upgrade your knowledge?



Where to start?

A systematic approach is needed

Management driven, with top level buy-in

Zero tolerance is required

Managing risk and compliance needs to be seen as ‘everyone’s job’ – a mind set change is needed

Need a ‘no guilt’ culture to encourage disclosure

Approach compliance and risk management from a knowledge management viewpoint and vice versa


A systematic approach is required

Put in place a formal compliance and risk management process to identify and manage every area of

compliance and risk for the new SRA Code

Establish a comprehensive database covering all compliance and risk areas

Standards such as Lexel and ISO 9000 are likely to help

Use of IT systems?

Advantages of a formal compliance and risk management process for the new SRA Code?

Structured approach focuses on key compliance and risk areas

Can demonstrate how a firm is complying and the effectiveness of compliance / outcomes

Continuous monitoring ensures management of compliance and risk is “lived” day to day

Universal application to all compliance and risk areas

Comfort / assurance to PI insurers [and SRA?]


Use of IT systems for compliance and risk management?

Use an integrated compliance and risk management system to cost effectively manage compliance and risk areas by:

creating and maintaining one central, up to date compliance and risk database

providing information access to all who need it in relation to exposure to risk

embedding compliance and risk management procedures – e.g. client inception procedures

streamlining identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring


Implementing a compliance and risk management strategy

Diagnosis Identification and assessment

Implementation of complianceprocedures and Mitigation of riskAvoidance, control or transfer

MonitoringAuditing, tracking and reporting

LimitationMinimising the effects of

crystallised risks


Identification of compliance and risk areas?

Needs to be management- driven

‘Top down – bottom up’ brainstorming sessions to: - to identify every compliance and risk area - are we achieving every Outcome under the new Code? - are we compliant in every area? - do we have gaps? - what will be required to fully comply? - to what standards should we comply? - how should we prioritise our efforts?

Assignment of responsibilities and lines of accountability


Assessment of non-compliance and other risks

Consider the impact of, inter alia:

Disciplinary action

Bad publicity and loss of reputation

Lost clients

Complaints and claims

Increased P.I. premiums

Risk Mapping-where to focus resource?

Try this out on your ... Supervision arrangements Financial controls Business continuity planning Client care letters AML procedures

etc

Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Designed to:-

Ensure effective compliance

Avoid / reduce non compliance

Avoid / reduce incidence of risks

Transfer some risks



Some techniques to put in place compliance and mitigate risks

Top level buy-in – management must not only drive compliance but also live it

Zero tolerance – just do it!

Training and education programmes to build awareness and change mind sets

Continuous and systematic monitoring and reporting

A need to continuously challenge the effectiveness of compliance and risk management

Compliance and risk monitoring involves…

Auditing, tracking and reporting

Comparing actual outcomes to preset indicators

Confirming effectiveness of risk responses

Reporting compliance and exceptions

Annual compliance and risk management report


Start now

Systemise your compliance and risk management


Any questions?


How to achieve your goals?

You have developed a realistic plan, but…

This will require RESOURCE - resource which many firms cannot realistically and at an economic and acceptable cost provide themselves

Is lack of resource making you

- uncompetitive?- non compliant?- financially underperforming?

Lack of resource

Often a lack of resource of expertise(client perception surveys will show if this is the case)

Often a lack of financial resource(inability to invest in your people and in the business)

Resource to enable you to…

attract and retain the best talent


provide clients with the depth and breadth of expertise they

will require when they need it where they need it


build the quality management which will be

required to successfully compete in the future


provide the necessary infrastructure to underpin the effective provision of high quality professional services


provide the necessary technology to make you

more efficient and profitable

Building resource to compete

Will you be able to build sufficient resource on your own to achieve your goals?

The profession is too fragmented

Over 11,000 law firms Over 85% have 4 or fewer partners Many will not be able to compete and survive

if they remain as they are

Size does matter

Competitive growth models?

Organic growth alone? Some form of consolidation?

How can consolidation enable tomorrow’s law firms to compete?

Not about size for the sake of size

A means to develop resource at an acceptable economic cost to each constituent firm which individual firms cannot on their own provide

A better platform on which to build a more competitive law firm capable of succeeding in tomorrow’s legal market

A Vision

To build a law firm which over a given period of time will become “greater” than the sum of the individual firms which comprise it. This will involve building a BRAND which can begin to compete with larger, more developed firms for better quality, higher value work leading to greater competitiveness and profitability.

Is that a Vision you share?

How are you planning to compete to win?

Any questions?

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