Finance Resources

There are very few firms that do not have a problem, to a greater or lesser extent, with old residual balances within their clients’ ledger.

This month we take a cross-topic look at risk management, from how outcomes-focused regulation will affect PII, to how firms can turn processes into compliance. Interview: A&O’s head of risk and compliance, Heather McCallum, talks to Briefing about how risk is changing in today’s top firms, and why globalisation and client needs are driving grander changes than local regulation can ever make. Feature: The first year of the rest of our lives? Philip Hoult reports on how a new regulatory environment is yet another challenge to today’s law firm risk management leader – and how the legal industry is changing to adapt.

There can be no doubt that 2012 will be a challenging year, and we think it’s very much going to be a ‘keeping the lights on’ type of year for legal firms, with a continued focus on profitability, risk & exposure management plus sensible expansion (where possible) combined with continued cost management and outsourcing initiatives.