http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ en timur.asar@googlemail.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-26T11:45:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/what_david_learned_from_ilta/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/what_david_learned_from_ilta/#When:14:20:50Z 2010-09-01T14:20:50+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/why_camerons_has_revolutionised_its_charging_structures/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/why_camerons_has_revolutionised_its_charging_structures/#When:10:51:04Z News this week that CMS Cameron McKenna has essentially changed its shopfront by openly laying out a new charging scheme - with some very interesting 'rules' - relates to what we've been writing about at LSN recently so much I felt compelled to write this blog. According to Legal Week, Camerons has sent 3,500 clients information about new alternative billing options, "including five specific alternative fee arrangements". But it's not just offering some of the more 'normal' alternative charging methods - The Lawyer reports that "Camerons has already agreed a ‘pay us what you think the work is worth’ deal with a client", done "a ‘no questions asked’ annual fixed-price one-stop deal" with an "unnamed power client", and "has offered a major oil client a proposal that would match fees to the price of oil". I'm no oil magnate but I do know a good bet when I see one, and I think pegging their fees to its barrel price probably won't put CMS out of business any time soon. But take a look at the 'rules' - called a 'scorecard' in euphemistic management-speak - CMS has laid out for clients wanting a piece of this alternative action. They include (says Legal Week): "paying bills within 14 days; giving Camerons more than 33% of all legal work; supplying work across practice groups; and agreeing to an associate as the main point of contact at the firm rather than a partner". If you read either issue of our new e-zine, Briefing (preferably both, of course), you'll see from the interviews we've done that these rules must have written themselves when CMS's board sat down to discuss them. The firm has had to carefully look at how much work has cost it to do, which is profitable, who should be doing that work (as opposed to who has done it in the past), and how it can leverage its recent huge outsourcing deal to reduce costs. And what comes out of that thinking is: - force the firm use to right - that is, generally, lower-priced - lawyers to do the vast majority of work. This manifests itself most powerfully in even putting an associate in client-relationship roles. Want a partner to call up? That's extra; - work out from your firm data who pays well and regularly, and leverage that to better manage cashflow and revenue; and - force the client to engage in your cross-selling and up-selling. Ensuring the client buys work across the firm forces them to think about what else you can sell them - while asking for a minimum 33% of client legal spend forces everyone to look at how that can be reached and later increased. CMS acknowledges, as I've been writing about for years, that the time for alternative billing has truly come - Legal Week reported that the move comes "after a February client survey showed a significant increase in interest in alternative billing". I'll bet - it's called the recession, and a final and complete loss of patience at in-house departments. What does the legal audience think of this? Interestingly many of the initial comments on the Legal Week and Lawyer stories were negative, saying the move indicates a desperate grab for 'cheap' work. Dayglo Dave said on The Lawyer's site that: "This appears to be classic Prisoner's Dilemma as applied to economics. Perhaps inevitable. I don't suppose anyone in the London Top 20 is going to thank Camerons for being the first to break. A shame that so much emphasis is now being placed on price. Whilst this won't go quite the same way as High Street residential conveyancing charges during the past 25 years, it will unfortunately hasten the decline in profits for major law firms generally. Camerons will, of course, get more work in the short term." But this changed to reflect a far truer and more mature, market-sensitive attitude. Neutral corner, again at The Lawyer: "I think this is admirable, brave and progressive - at last a law firm is ready to break the mould and be judged by the value it delivers and not the time it expends. Expect the predictable catcalls from the risk-averse, change-hating doom-mongers who are happy to reject ideas from their platform of ignorance and self-interest." Amen to that. Now we just need to hear what the business services people think… 2010-08-06T10:51:04+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/im_back_blogging_and_its_about_yorkshire/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/im_back_blogging_and_its_about_yorkshire/#When:11:28:00Z Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been ever so slightly quiet on the blogging front recently, and I can attribute this to a couple of factors. Some may call these ‘factors’ excuses. Fie on them all. Number one, since the introduction of our very own head of content to the LSN team, Rupert White, who is blessed with qwerty skills to the same degree as Mozart was on the ivories, it’s hard not to want to just sit back, listen and enjoy the results. Secondly, LSN has been a frenzy of activity recently and with so many things bubbling away, I’m a sinner for holding on to lots of half written blogs on my desktop! So, I’ll welcome myself back to the fray with one of my more tenuous blogs: The Yorkshire Lawyer Awards! Come 6 October 2010, Leeds will be welcoming lawyers (and, we hope, a few business services/operational professionals too) from all of Yorkshire’s legal community as the town celebrates a decade of legal excellence, and recognises the talents and achievements of the community. If you're in marketing, PR or practice management, and one of your legal snouts is nominated, now is the time to dredge the depths of the marketing budget, I say. On the subject of all things outside London, the LSN team will soon be on the road again with its UK networking roadshow. Previous destinations have included Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh. Watch this space for further region-related announcements! 2010-07-30T11:28:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/monday_night_networking_really_works/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/monday_night_networking_really_works/#When:12:34:50Z Its been 36 hours since the 11th London networking event finished (it was on Monday night in case you're wondering) and my feet are just about touching the floor again. Organising events of any kind, and regardless of the number of people attending, fill me with the strange mix of excitement and apprehension - so by the end of the night when the last of the 262 networkers has left the building (not bad for a Monday night), I can finally sit back and enjoy the warm glow of what has been another successful networking event, or at least that's what people tell me to my face! However, the wallowing in my warm glow doesn't last for too long, as by the next morning the inbox is already filling up with enquiries from guests about people they met and how to connect. So, here's my list of things to do after the event, which will help if you attended and if you didn't, then hopefully it'll be useful for next time. 1) Networking Assistance Scheme - your questions answered On the night we work hard to connect guests who have raised questions before the event. We are keen to get as much of this conversation online for the benefit of the wider community. So, check Networking Assistance Scheme - your business questions answered area of our discussion forum and see if you can contribute to any questions or perhaps ask a question yourself. If you're not already registered, you'll need to register on the forum quickly. 2) Prize Draw results At every event we usually have a networkpartner sponsor a Prize Draw and at this event Tikit Ltd were kind enough to provide a Red Letter Day for the winning Privilege Card draw after the event. So, the winning ticket is No.302. If you have retained your Privilege Card, check out the inside for your number - It Could Be You! If it is you, then please send or and email with the scanned Privilege Card showing the number clearly. We'll then get in touch. 3) Connecting with people you met If you've met someone and didn't take a business card or can't remember their details, give us a call or send us an email and we'll do our best to connect you. On the night some of our networkpartners were present. We often get asked about making introductions, so on this occasion created a networkpartner Passport with all their contact details included, but similarly, if you need to be connected - just let us know. 4) Photos & Video Check out the photos in our gallery and watch this space for the video of the event which will be available early next week. 5) Feedback This is the bit we love! Naturally the only way we can improve is to hear you out - so please do give us your feedback both barrels. We always like your feedback online for everyone to see, so there's no escaping for us and we're keen for everyone to contribute. So, good, bad or ugly - let us know what you thought. Looking forward to the next LSN London Networking event in November 2010. 2010-07-14T12:34:50+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/if_eampy_thinks_non-execs_are_a_good_call_so_might_you/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/if_eampy_thinks_non-execs_are_a_good_call_so_might_you/#When:16:26:54Z The news this week that Ernst & Young is to appoint its first non-exec directors struck me as so interesting I posted it as a news story, even though it's only, on the surface, obliquely relevant to LSN readers. Why? Because E&Y is a huge firm and I was surprised it didn't already have them, sure, but mainly because E&Y is doing this "to strengthen governance but also advise the organisation", says E&Y's chairman and CEO Jim Turley. E&Y isn't bringing external people in as non-execs, but it's a start as at least it breaks the grip on the board currently exerted purely by partners. I bring this issue up because this is precisely the kind of thing that Professor Richard Susskind told us in his interview for Briefing a few weeks back that law firms could do far worse than consider getting non-exec directors in from outside to bring fresh ideas - and oversight - into the business. "If one looks for example at the big accounting firms and they way they’re managed, the power lies really with a far smaller number than individuals. [But] I'm not sure the answer though is necessarily to bring in external chief executives to run the businesses," Susskind told us. "Some firms have non-executive members of their board and that's worked, some even go as far as to have clients sitting on their boards, but the idea of having these new personalities sitting round the table bringing new thinking from other sectors, bringing the perspective of the client, challenging and probing in a way that perhaps firms haven’t been challenged and probed in the past. I think that in itself can bring major change." Indeed, but if E&Y's example is a good one, it can also be good for risk management as well as a welcome commercial injection. One to ponder. 2010-07-08T16:26:54+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/being_client-focused_is_something_for_everyone_in_a_law_firm/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/being_client-focused_is_something_for_everyone_in_a_law_firm/#When:09:38:11Z On Monday next week, legalsupportnetwork will launch something we're very excited about - an e-zine all about the issues, challenges and successes in business services and support in law firms, called Briefing. Our first Briefing interview is with the law firm process and strategy guru Professor Richard Susskind, and it makes for fascinating reading. I know that 'I would say that, wouldn't I', but in talking to him we covered all the role types in business services that are important to LSN - finance, human resources, information technology, marketing, BD and knowledge management - and he tells us what he thinks their challenges are and, in part, how to face them. I was struck most, perhaps because it's my job too, by his straightforward thoughts on why law firms - and the lawyers therein - should embrace social media: "I don't think we've given nearly enough thought to how we can actually bring [social media] to our clients, brief them as a network and then prove that we will communicate with them, collaborate with them and make the information available to them. That's at the heart of social networking." Social media, to Susskind, isn't a load of hooey for marketing people. It's potentially a tool for those facing the customers in law firms to communicate with those customers, and engage in conversation with them. In other words, it's email all over again. He may be right - he may not, though he's been right about quite a lot. What the interview did bring up, though, time and again, is the urgent need for everyone in a law firm to be more focused on how they're increasing value to the client in a firm-wide way, whether they're thinking strategically or acting tactically. This is a cultural thing, but it can be helped along by systems and IT, of course - which is what a lot of the launch issue of Briefing is about. I know that the people who read LSN's content get this, by and large, but there are a lot of people in law firms who don't, and it's our job, and yours, to bring this basic truth to their attention and convince them of its urgency. 2010-06-23T09:38:11+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/battling_for_your_attention_do_you_need_help_to_concentrate/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/battling_for_your_attention_do_you_need_help_to_concentrate/#When:11:58:38Z If you, like me, end up doing several things at once all the time, every day, two things will have occurred to you a long time ago (probably at the same time). The first is that, if you're a man, this multi-tasking thing is frankly a bit over-egged. The second is that there really must be a better way to go through the working day than trying to concentrate on writing a blog (right now) while having email nagging me every few seconds (Scottish Legal News, anyone?), instant messaging and RSS/news feeds and having webmail, Twitter (Hootsuite) and LinkedIn on all the time in the background, just an alt-tab away. Which is why I was intrigued to read in the last issue of the Economist, in the Technology Quarterly, about a growing number of software solutions designed entirely around shutting down all these distractions to make sure you Get On With Your Job. I love the Economist - their podcasts are awesome if you're into podcasts - but when you see software like this in that publication, you know that a) businesses they've talked to are adopting them and b) someone out there might be thinking of investing in them. Law firms have always been pretty fierce about locking down desktops, but this has always been about security, not productivity (no matter what anyone says). But that's usually pretty unpopular, especially when it comes to knocking out eBay and Facebook. But what if your firm set up your PC so that, in every hour, you couldn't use certain systems for longer than, say, five minutes? Obviously lunchtime is an exception. And you didn't do this for security, you did it explicitly because, as the Economist article explains, most of us are just incapable of focusing on the Task At Hand any more. Can you pay attention? Or might you need some help? To me, being forced to just do one thing at a time might, at least some of the time, be a really good idea. You'll pry my iPod that I'm listening to while writing this from my cold, dead fingers though... 2010-06-18T11:58:38+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/linking_up_on_linkedin_when_less_is_definitely_not_more/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/linking_up_on_linkedin_when_less_is_definitely_not_more/#When:12:21:04Z "I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn." I would imagine that for all the LinkedIn enthusiasts amongst you, that sentence is a familiar one. Yes, that’s right, it’s the boilerplate phrase that pops up in your inbox every now and again, or every day depending on how keen people are to connect with you, when someone invites you to connect on LinkedIn. But in an online world that's already accused of taking away the human touch, surely it makes sense to add a little of your own ‘human touch’ to any invite you send, to soften the harsh realities of using online platforms to build our own network – or am I totally alone on this? The thing is, even if someone just added a ‘Hi David’ at the start of the standard boilerplate email, I think the human interaction gene in me would kick off, and make me feel that at least the person requesting to connect had applied a bit more thought to the connection process than simply: ‘I know that person so I’ll send them a connection request’. Protocols for connecting on LinkedIn I suspect that most of us who use LinkedIn have different motivations for doing so - getting a job, getting access to a pool of talent, maintaining contacts, or for other business purposes. As a result, everyone will have different reasons for growing their network. Some will have a target audience they are looking to connect with, some will have no idea why they are connecting but like to see their network grow, and some will be selective about their network. Others - such as LinkedIn LIONS, or 'LinkedIn Open Networkers' - will connect with anyone. Me? Well I’m a bit of the selective and a bit of the targeted audience, myself. I only use LinkedIn for professional contacts and not friends, although out of my 341 connections 14 friends have sneaked in and I haven’t the courage to de-friend them! Rules for managing my LinkedIn connections As a rule – and I stole this idea from one of the guys in the office as it’s a good rule for managing an online network – I only connect with people I have met in person in the last six months if they are new to me, or with those I have known for many years. Why? It helps me to manage my online network and ensures I don’t get carried away with trying to bump up my number of connections and help my self esteem without there being a good business reason to connect. It never ceases to amaze me how many connection requests I get from people I’ve never met or even know about - is this not a bit strange? Suggestions for connecting So, I thought I’d share with you some of my rules for connection requests. Start by making sure you’ve got a photo on your LinkedIn profile. When you spot someone you’d like to connect with – ask yourself: ‘what will they think when you ask to connect’ - in other words, what’s your motivation to connect? Don’t just send them a boilerplate connection email - make it a bit personal and tailor it to the person. You do want them to connect with you after all! And if your link to the person is a tenuous one, consider explaining in your connection email why you’d like to connect – not everyone is a mind reader. So, if you know me and want to connect – please do send me a nice email when you do it…. Find David's LinkedIn profile here. 2010-06-09T12:21:04+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/learning_the_risks_of_the_information_in_your_firm/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/learning_the_risks_of_the_information_in_your_firm/#When:15:21:35Z We do so much digital content now at LSN it's hard to think about what would happen if it all disappeared without breaking into a cold sweat. Law firms are pretty good at looking after people's information, but they also have the most to lose if that information falls into the wrong hands - which is why I found it intriguing when someone (Matt Sutton, head of IT at Howard Kennedy) posted on the LSN forum about how much a serious breach of the Data Protection Act would now cost a firm: £500,000. It used to be £5,000. That's a big jump. I've tried to read through the Data Protection Act and, frankly, I gave up, but before I did I could see there were lots of ways law firms could breach it if they weren't paying attention. So it's a good thing that Recommind, with the eDisclosure Information Project, Exterro, Field Fisher Waterhouse, IntApp, Legal Technology Insider and the Risk Roundtable have come together with a website all about the issues around storing electronic data, what to do with it, what not to do with it - and how to deal with it after you've done what you shouldn't, perhaps. The site, InfoRiskAwareness, is packed with bloggers and information for companies looking to secure their data, as well as lots of direction on e-discovery, which is Recommind's area. Even better our very own content pro Rupert White will be blogging on the site in the very near future, and we'll be putting up on our site what he does for InfoRiskAwareness. Take a look and then have a think about whether your firm's data is as secure as it might be. If it is, well done you. If not, this a good place to start finding some answers. 2010-05-25T15:21:35+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/join_the_alliance_not_the_rebel_alliance_the_legal_sector_alliance/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/join_the_alliance_not_the_rebel_alliance_the_legal_sector_alliance/#When:10:51:30Z It’s not just the economic and political climate law firms are tackling. If you’ve not already heard of the Legal Sector Alliance then I hope it won’t be long before your hear more about their activities in the legal market via LSN. Whichever way you look at it, whatever your view on the subject, climate change is and will be affecting us all and, more importantly, future generations. The LSA's 'About Us' section on their website says the alliance includes ‘law firms and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable practices’. Currently with 168 member firms, including 60 of the top 100 law firms, the LSA is funded mainly by its 18 founding firms. The one full-time employee I met, who sits under the roof of The Law Society in Chancery Lane, was enthusiastic about the organisation's activities and extending its reach to a growing number of law firms - not just in London but also internationally (international includes Scotland, apparently - only the Law Society of England and Wales would make a point of that!). Launched in December 2008, it can already lay claim to representing around a third (30%) of solicitors in private practice in England and Wales. What can you look out for on LSN about the LSA? Well, in addition to a number of useful resources and business tools available via their website, the LSA run a range of London and regional events to communicate best practice, promote collaboration and information sharing around their chosen specialised subject, climate change. The LSA have an impressive member list , so you might like to check if your firm is on it - and if not, I’m happy to make it easy for you to contact the alliance. 2010-05-14T10:51:30+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/head_and_shoulders_above_the_rest_on_linkedin/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/head_and_shoulders_above_the_rest_on_linkedin/#When:11:00:18Z It used to be good to talk, but now it appears it’s just good to surf when it comes to finding out what’s happening out there. Often of an evening I find myself drawn into the world of LinkedIn, keeping abreast of market news, people’s movements and all sorts of things that tend to populate my daily conversations. So there’s me scouring the site for people I know in my professional circle who will be happy to connect, every one new connection bringing me closer to the 500+ connections status that says to the world "wow David has a lot of contacts" - or at least that’s what it says to me when I see someone else with 500+ connections. Either that or perhaps that they spend too long on LinkedIn and should get a life? Anyway, the point behind this blog was that during my travels through LinkedIn, one of the nice touches of using LinkedIn is that it suggests people you might know as a result of those with who you are already connected. However, what has struck me is that quite often many people using LinkedIn have not satisfied the first rule of social media - add a good photo. Then I did a quick check through my own connections, a paltry 278 at the time of the going press, and an unbelievable 130 of them - or 47% for all you finance people - have not uploaded a photo. Taking it a step further I then checked the first 200 members of the LSN LinkedIn group - which currently stands at 691 members - and a similar statistic showed up: 58% of the sample used were similarly without a mug shot. If you're not a member of the group, you can join it here - but put a photo up first, I say. Why are people without photos? Images on the web, particularly photos, are well known to create interest, drive traffic and endear people to profiles - so if you’re going to use LinkedIn as a business tool, can I suggest you get out the camera and get yourself sorted? You can upload a JPG, GIF or PNG file (file size limit is 4MB) to your LinkedIn profile and centre it using the tool available. Here are a few of my own rules of uploading a photo onto LinkedIn: 1) Don’t use an old photo that doesn’t look like you anymore. (I wish I had the courage to name and shame some of those I come across in my network breaking that one!) 2) Keep to head & shoulders or a head shot. Full body shots are like looking at someone through a set of binoculars at 500 metres and serve no purpose, unless you’ve a face only a mother can love. 3) Don’t make it a shot from your last holiday, or a night out with the girls/boys with your mate cut out of the shot so that only their arm is left round your shoulders. Be a bit (actually a lot) more professional. 4) Try to avoid having your picture taken in a thought provoking pose, or any pose come to that. 5) Get a second opinion from someone else before you load up your photo that you think is a ‘good one’, and ask them to be honest. Please have a look at my personal profile on LinkedIn and feel free to comment on the photo. Please be kind, though - it had been a tough week! 2010-05-05T11:00:18+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/give_me_a_golf_course_over_a_boardroom_anyday/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/give_me_a_golf_course_over_a_boardroom_anyday/#When:13:14:27Z Big thanks to the guys down at FWBS for inviting me to join them at the KnowList Charity Golf day yesterday. I even made them stand in front of our LSN flag on the longest drive hole (which we sponsored) so I could take a snap - looking good guys! Congratulations to Dan at TheKnowList on a really succesful day and to everyone for raising over £3,000 for the Martha Trust. 2010-04-30T13:14:27+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/social_frenzy/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/social_frenzy/#When:11:03:41Z The world is currently gripped by the social media phenomena - not a day goes by these days when I don't hear or read those words somewhere, and there's always something new being said. Some people are trying to work out how to make the most of it, others are unwittingly drawn into its unfathomable web without an idea of what to do, and then there are those who actively abstain on every level. But whoever you are, it has struck me on a number of occasions recently that the sheer breadth of this subject lends itself to being one of the hottest topics of our time. Last week I attended a workshop hosted by Hubbard One, which included a session on how law firms are leveraging social networks, blogs and other social media to help drive client growth. Taking part in the event were a wide range of marketing and IT professionals in law firms and at LSN we were pleased to have Rupert Collins-White, our head of content & community, participating as a panel guest. The reason I mention this event is because it featured that panel session around social media. Like most seminars/workshops it's not unrealistic to expect people to drift off towards the end of the day. This, however, was different. The time for the panel session arrived and the combination of the panel guests, the magic subject matter and the overall level of interest by delegates made for a lively and interesting discussion with excellent, unprompted contributions from the audience. Reading the signs Just yesterday I visited an internet exhibition at Earls Court – Internet World – and being there so soon after that Hubbard One event got me thinking. This was the vision I was confronted with when I arrived at the Social Media Theatre at Internet World: a room packed to the rafters with people there to listen to industry gurus on the magic subject. I'm sure people in the Email Marketing Theatre or the Web Content Theatre would have welcomed the same level of enthusiasm from delegates, but the truth is that social media is quite obviously where it's at. But when it comes to law firms doing it I repeatedly hear that they are often behind the curve – they're just not progressive. One of the key lessons I took away from the Hubbard One seminar was that, for law firms, social media is all about control. Where do the boundaries of responsibility lie, who can say what, when and why and in terms of their peers who will be first to jump in with two feet? From where I'm sitting social media is one of those subjects on which no-one has a definitive answer or model – so it's a consultant's dream - and while people are still learning, probing, testing and questioning its merits, the frenzy of activity will go on for some time. 2010-04-28T11:03:41+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/its_all_about_ambition/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/its_all_about_ambition/#When:19:55:40Z Many of you will be familiar with the name Witan Jardine when it comes to legal recruitment in London. Well all that's about to change, or at least has done already. Last week saw the official UK changeover to the new corporate identity ambition. Witan Jardine became part of the Ambition Group in 2008, a specialist recruitment firm with international offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and now London. Setting their sights high, the team at ambition welcomed over 250 clients to their launch party at The Gherkin in London. 2010-04-27T19:55:40+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/recruiters_raise_the_bar_on_best_practice/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/recruiters_raise_the_bar_on_best_practice/#When:14:20:51Z The public puts estate agents and journalists at the bottom of the list when it comes to reputation – but if you asked law firm HR people, recruiters would probably be down there with them. What seems like many years ago I was a recruiter, so I know how important good practice is and how little of it there sometimes is in the recruitment world. So I was delighted to hear that the Recruitment and Employment Confederation has set up a new sector group just for recruitment companies working in the legal and HR fields. REC wants to "raise awareness within the sector of REC standards and also to work closer with key stakeholders such as business bodies, the Law Society, legal publications and of course REC member’s clients" – at least that's what the press release says. Recruitment firms it is holding up as poster boys are Career Legal, Michael Page, Adept Recruitment and the Oakleaf partnership, and they have standards to look up to. We hope more legal and HR recruiters get more involved in the REC if they're members, and if they're not they should be - REC is raising the standard for the recruitment profession at large, and if the confederation can further improve the way recruiters work, it can change the perception of the profession. Which might even improve how people view my CV. http://www.rec.uk.com/regions-sectors/sectors 2010-04-15T14:20:51+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_account_managers_network_-_love_the_client/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_account_managers_network_-_love_the_client/#When:06:11:12Z With social network and groups growing by the month, I was pleased to meet with Eric Toh and Claire Rowles of the Account Managers' Network, a new membership group for those who manage client relationships or are responsible for key account programmes. The interesting thing about Account Managers (not to be confused with Accounts Managers - as in finance/accounts!), is that while they are professionals with marketing and business development skills, they do not sit in the operational side of the business. They are actually more closely aligned with specific work groups within the practice and therefore work more closely with the fee-earning side of the business. This slight nuance of position makes this small but growing band of professionals an interesting case - the power they have is far greater than the profile they have within their firms. Having said that, from the limited time I've spent chatting to these professionals they will tell you that their exposure to clients is - as always - heavily dependant on the partner/fee earner in charge of their most precious asset. So, check out their website at www.accountmanagersnetwork.com or to put it another way www.lovetheclient.com - you've just to got like the message in the second weblink. Or if you're on LinkedIn - check out the Account Managers' Network LinkedIn Group I recently attended one of their evening workshops held at Mayer Brown in London, where Dr Tom Sant of the Sant Corp gave a captivating presentation on proposal documents. If you've not had the pleasure of seeing this guy speak - then you should. 2010-03-30T06:11:12+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_efficiency_supplement_in_the_times/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_efficiency_supplement_in_the_times/#When:15:17:48Z If you're not a regular weekday reader of The Times then make it a special occasion today. In today's (Thursday 25th March 2010) The Times newspaper appears a Raconteur supplement on Legal Efficiency, and Rupert Collins-White our very own Head of Content & Community has contributed (pages 4 & 5) with a piece on 'The IT Crowd'. If you happen to miss the boat, the shops have sold out or you just catch this late, then you can always view the Legal Efficiency supplement online via the Times Online e-paper. 2010-03-25T15:17:48+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_it_show_2010/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_it_show_2010/#When:10:26:19Z Spent the day yesterday at the Legal IT show in Islington, and I have no doubt the organisers have breathed a sigh of relief that the snow has abated and everyone who had planned to attend doesn't have a reason not to! So, what's the verdict? Well, that's all a bit subjective really and depends on who you speak to. I had a chat with a number of technology vendors to small/mid-tier law firms who wished they had packed in more demo booths on their stands as they were busy all day, now that's a good sign, and at the other end of the spectrum I had a chat with a mixture of consultants and suppliers to large law firms who wondered why they were there. So like all events, conferences, exhibitions, award ceremonies and the like - there'll be some happy ones and some not so happy ones. Has the day of the 'conference' passed and is there a future? Well, in my view yes and no respectively. More and more is done online these days, with obvious upsides to online being the time and cost saving aspect. However, what you'll never replace online is the enjoyment of a day out the office, having a face to face conversation (without the use of skype!) and the added value of things like round table discussions. Here's my day in pictures. 2010-02-11T10:26:19+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/chrome_river_flows_in_to_the_uk/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/chrome_river_flows_in_to_the_uk/#When:16:17:00Z A press release hit my desk last week that will put a smile on the dial of a few people in the legal world - or at least anyone that has had any dealings with Elite. Like so many of our favourite celebrities and sports personalities who retire - Kim Clijsters, Lance Armstrong, Take That, Spandau Ballet, to name but a few - Harry Townsend (pictured) the ex.Elite sales veteran is returning to the legal world as Regional Sales Manager for Chrome River the provider of spend management and expense reporting solutions to law firms (www.chromeriver.com). Back in March 2009 Tikit & Chrome River announced a European reseller agreement. In the LSN Discussion forum you'll find the following thread: Chrome River, Like it - love it or hate it?. 2010-02-01T16:17:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/sra_launches_consultation_-_achieving_the_right_outcomes/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/sra_launches_consultation_-_achieving_the_right_outcomes/#When:13:16:56Z According to the SRA website "Outcomes-focused regulation is how the SRA will operate from next year, concentrating on the high-level principles governing practice and the quality of outcomes for clients, rather than tick-box compliance with rules. "This [consultation] paper explains how the SRA intends to transform the regulation of solicitors and the organisations in which they work, and invites the engagement of consumer groups, the profession, and all those with an interest in legal services in the debate about how we deliver it." Topics such as the Legal Services Act, Alternative Business Structures, the SRA approach to regulations, Code of Conduct, support for law firms, and similar are all covered and make for an interesting read. If you want to take part in the consultation, you can do so on the Solicitors Regulation Authority website. 2010-01-22T13:16:56+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/review_theknowlist_awards_2010/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/review_theknowlist_awards_2010/#When:12:03:25Z Last night I was invited to the first TheKnowList Awards 2010, the premier event for Legal IT professionals. Many of you followers of all things Legal IT will know that these awards have taken the place of the Legal Technology Awards which were last held in 2009 so TheKnowList had it all to live up to and expectations were high. The setting for the event was the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in Holborn which provided the perfect backdrop, and the awards were hosted by Clive Coleman one of the country's top comedy writers and former barrister - a full list of runners, riders & winners can be seen on the Legal IT Professionals website. The night was certainly buzzing and everyone I spoke to seemed intrigued about the giant tardis-like structure which sat in one corner - great news for Vpod and LVN who were encouraging guests to record themselves throughout the night - the footage should prove interesting! I was lucky enough to be on Integreon's table, hosted beautifully by Chris Bull, COO who as you can see made sure everyone's glasses were topped up. Like them or loath them, award ceremonies have clearly not lost their appeal and perhaps after the highs and lows of 2009 TheKnowList Awards were just the tonic (or should i say champagne) that the legal community needed. 2010-01-22T12:03:25+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/new_year_new_career_for_some_familiar_faces_in_the_legal_world/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/new_year_new_career_for_some_familiar_faces_in_the_legal_world/#When:11:08:20Z Following my brief blog about Kay Betts leaving Elite, 2010 brings with it a string of other moves and appearances of some familiar faces. Dan Tacone previously of Elite in the US has appeared at IntApp as President Richard Hill previously of Elite (UK) has appeared at Tikit as Regional Sales Manager Tony Barrett previously of TimeKM has appeared at HubbardOne as Account Executive Jordan Adams previously Head of Sales at the ARK Group has started a new legal publication due to be launched in Spring 2010 called Law Firm Management (www.lawfirmmanagement.co.uk) 2010-01-22T11:08:20+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_it_professionals_release_free_iphone_app/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_it_professionals_release_free_iphone_app/#When:10:19:08Z Our friends over at Legal IT Professionals have today announced the release of their new "Legal IT News" application for iPhone. The free application is available for download on the Apple App store. The application brings the latest legal IT news straight to your iPhone and the content can be stored on the device. To optimise the performance, only the introduction of news items are displayed, a ‘read more’ link takes users to the Legal IT Professionals’ website for the complete content. Three different ‘tabs’ are used in the application to separate the news geographically: Global, USA/Canada, and UK/Europe. Downloading the LITP news application is easy: open iTunes on your computer and go the iTunes store. Use the search box in the upper-right corner to search for “LITP”. Alternatively, clicking this link will also take you to the application on the iTunes store. Legal IT Professionals on LinkedIn In addition to this great new iPhone app, if you're working in IT for a law firm, then consider joining the Legal IT Network on LinkedIn. In addition to the usual news, discussions, events and jobs you'll find on LinkedIn, there's a number of useful subgroups to get involved in, including; - Legal IT for Small Law Firms - Law Firm Telecom - USA Legal IT - UK Legal IT - Legal IT Vendors - Law Firm Knowledge Management - Legal IT Training - Law Firm Practice Management Systems - eDiscovery - Legal IT Law Firm - EU Legal IT Join the Legal IT Network on LinkedIn here. 2010-01-13T10:19:08+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/question_is_a_there_a_new_publication_out_of_the_solicitors_accounts_r/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/question_is_a_there_a_new_publication_out_of_the_solicitors_accounts_r/#When:17:00:42Z Whilst we actively encourage people to post questions on the LSN discussion forum, we also regularly receive questions via email from a wide range of professionals in law firm management. When we do, our first action is to identify an LSN networkpartner who can assist in answering the question and respond accordingly, letting them know who's helped us out. So when we received the following question, we approached our latest networkpartner, Taylor Mowbray, and Janet Taylor was happy to assist. It's an interesting question that others may be interested in the answer, so I thought I'd blog it. QUESTION: Is a there a new publication out of the Solicitors Accounts Rules as at 31st March 2009? ANSWER: The very latest version of the SARs are dated 31 March and include all amendments – there have as yet been no changes since 31 March 2009. The Law Society do publish an SAR manual priced at £24.95 but it's just a copy of the Rules which can be downloaded for free as a pdf from the SRA website. The better manual is the Law Society's Solicitors and the Accounts Rules A Compliance Handbook, Peter Camp, which includes the rules plus lots of useful guidance and interpretation, as well as references to VAT issues and Money Laundering Regulations. It's in its 2nd edition, costs £49.95 and the ISBN is 978-1-85328-799-2 2010-01-12T17:00:42+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/just_because_it_doesnt_mention_viagra_it_doesnt_mean_its_not_spam/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/just_because_it_doesnt_mention_viagra_it_doesnt_mean_its_not_spam/#When:13:57:16Z Shortly before Christmas our discussion forum received a post entitled HR Software- What it can do for you, which, at first glace doesn't look like spam. It doesn't mention viagra or other drugs, fake software or my bank account... but when reading the post carefully you will notice that it says nothing useful. It reads like something that has been copied and pasted from a brochure, and certainly doesn't meet our forum rules - "share knowledge, experiences, feedback and information" within our community. The only tangible piece of information is a link to an HR webinar run by Ciber Consulting. Have you ever heard of them? Neither had we. Well, according to their website "CIBER is an international IT provider supplying high quality solutions to customers in the private and public sectors all over the globe." So why would a provider of "high quality solutions" post in our discussion forum and leave such a useless message?? The reason is the link and potential benefit in terms of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Google follows links all over the web and more links means more importance/ relevance for the site linked to. This practise is called link-building, and used effectively (and in the right way) can enhance the Google ranking of a website. Why is this post spam? Because when we googled the link "www.ciber.co.uk/webinar/hrsmm/" we found that the same link had been posted on a lot of other discussion forums (for Accountants, Actuaries, HR professionals amongst others). The text is slightly different, but contains often the same keywords (link + keyword = higher importance for Google), which means that someone creative in writing took a piece of text and ensured that Google (and us) cannot find duplicate text. Google doesn't like duplication and certainly picks it up. But none of the posts have anything relevant to say. What does Google make of this? It doesn't condone spam of any kind and its Hard fact about content spam makes for interesting reading. So, who actually spammed the LSN discussion forum? The post is signed by Isobel at CIBER, but other posts have Amanda and Mandy as the author, sometimes based in London, other times in Cheltenham. As is common with many blogs and forums, we also have a facility to check IP addresses and members have to sign up. The email address used is ciber@agency2.co.uk - and Agency:2 are "the UK's leading social media agency". It's certainly interesting how a leading organisation in a field can behave in such an unethical way and conduct itself in a manner which is considered spamming. Or, how someone else recently put it: "This is the cyber-equivalent of trespassing on someone's land ... for the sole purpose of plastering its advertisements." Isn't this the norm? Isn't this what online marketing is about? It most certainly isn't and spamming has been around for a while in different disguises. Nokia got caught out in 2008 for a similar stunt, and maybe Ciber/Agency2 thought they have less reputation to lose than someone like Nokia. Since Agency2 are a social media agency and we have had no luck to get some questions answered in private, we thought we try the public way. After all, that's what social media marketing is about. So here are our questions: 1) Does CIBER condone the spamming of forums and was this part of their instructions to Agency2? 2) Will CIBER follow up with the forums that have been been spammed? 3) Does Agency2 feel this type of spamming is ethical social marketing and best practise? (after all, they have been shortlisted for an Econsultancy Innovation in Social Media 2009 award) 2010-01-08T13:57:16+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/why_do_law_firms_only_engage_with_fee_earners_when_recruiting/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/why_do_law_firms_only_engage_with_fee_earners_when_recruiting/#When:20:02:47Z When a press release reached us at LSN about DLA Piper's new UK graduate recruitment microsite, it got me thinking. My big question Why is it law firms spend all this money on attracting graduates when support staff represent a significant enough percentage of the make up of any law firm to warrant similar investment, yet so rarely - if ever - have I seen the equivalent platform designed to attract 'support staff'? Just to qualify the terminology 'support staff', in my world that's anyone in Finance, IT, HR, Marketing, General Management, Knowledge Management or any of the operational/non-fee earning areas within a law firm, and depending on the size of your firm you could be some or all of the above. Answers on a postcard My assumption in respect of the arguments 'for' the spend will be along the lines that graduates represent the future fee earning capability of the law firm and that the spend is justifiable in order to attract the highest calibre graduates. It is also from these graduates that firms are most likely to make the biggest margins when it comes to charge rates, so again the expenditure becomes more easily justifiable against a clear return on investment. However, I pretty convinced - and have been for some time - that support staff quite frankly get a bit of a poor deal when it comes to seeking out new opportunities and researching future employers. As an ex-recruiter, albeit some time ago now, when the world of social media, photos on websites, video, podcasts and even websites were still 'coming into fashion', building a picture for a candidate of what it would be like to work at a prospective employer was challenging. Now however, with the evolution of multiple media channels and tools, like video, firms are able to create compelling reasons to prospective employees why they should join them. And my point? Well, my point being that whilst a few law firms have embraced the evolution of engaging with people outside their firm, many are still to do so, and when firms do engage on a recruitment level, its always driven by the need for fee earning staff. How often have I gone to a law firm website only to find out what its like to work for them as an lawyer, or associate or paralegal - whatever happened to what its like to work for them as a Legal Cashier or IT Analyst or Marketing Manager and so on. Surely if one of the reasons that law firms engage with graduates via graduate recruitment sites is because of the potential costs saving proposition, then the same rule must apply to support staff? I can't believe that the so called 'war on talent' applies only to lawyers and fee earners, for I know many firms who strive to recruit the highest calibre support staff, primarily as they know that in order to provide the highest level of service externally, you have to establish the highest level of service internally. My goal during 2010, and without wishing this to sound like a crusade, is to convince law firms of the merits of engaging directly with prospective employees who will populate the support/operational areas of their firm. Roll on 2010 2009-12-21T20:02:47+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/all_i_want_for_christmas_is/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/all_i_want_for_christmas_is/#When:11:44:12Z Possibly the most interesting bit of news in yesterday's LSN newsletter was the announcement that a London law firm are offering divorce gift vouchers to entice clients. So if you're struggling for ideas this Christmas and happen to know anyone unfortunate enough to require advice of this nature, then look no further! 2009-12-17T11:44:12+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/3944_raised_for_charity_from_golf_day/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/3944_raised_for_charity_from_golf_day/#When:11:30:51Z I'm delighted to announce that final figure raised from the combined Pat Levey Memorial Golf Day & The LSN Golf Cup held in October this year is a huge £3,644 - and a cheque has already been sent to the MPS Society, which was the designated charity for the day. This year the LSN Golf Cup was retained by Norton Rose and for those of you who need a reminder about the day, check out the photo gallery of action shots from the day. Thanks to everyone who participated, we look forward to seeing you all, and more next year. 2009-12-17T11:30:51+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/christmas_popularity_rating/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/christmas_popularity_rating/#When:08:11:16Z The season of festivities and goodwill to all men is upon us, or should that be goodwill to all people these days for fear of not being inclusive enough? Anyway, there we are coming up to halfway through December and it struck me as I was leaving the office last night that either my or our (if I cushion the truth by extending the blame onto LSN) popularity may have plummeted judging by the historic popularity benchmark that was Christmas cards received. To reinforce the issue, the one card that does grace our pre-prepared Christmas card line - clearly anticipating a deluge from its length - is from our stationary supplier, and if that's not bad enough, the text is all pre-printed, not a hand written name in sight! Fortunately someone pointed out to me that it might not all be to do with my/our popularity rating and the world has evolved, phew! The world has evolved So consider this. People don't send Christmas cards any more for fear of being a non-tree hugger, who'd want to be put in that category in a climate that is environment friendly. Instead people send e-cards, which in my eyes are possibly as insincere as a pre-printed Christmas cards, barring the fact that someone thought enough about me to add my email to the recipients list. So what do we do, pick up the phone? Well isn't it a bit like Twitter - the more you follow on twitter the more followers you get - so perhaps if we send more cards and e-cards.... To top it all off I recently participated in a blog posting by Ed Weatherall who raised the point that people are now being sensitive to using the word Christmas at Christmas. Read for yourself at Have a merry merry... Happy christmas 2009-12-11T08:11:16+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/i_promise_never_to_mention_billback_again/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/i_promise_never_to_mention_billback_again/#When:12:37:21Z Its not uncommon for me to ask people I meet on my travels through the legal community what suppliers/software they use for things like accounting & case management, credit control, document management, digital dictation, costs recovery, expense management to name but a few areas. For some reason it therefore always surprises me how often someone doesn't know the name of the software/product they use to facilitate a particular area of the business on a day to day basis, and perhaps use regularly - can't help but think the suppliers have missed a trick. Now in the world of expense management/costs recovery for law firms I'm pretty confident that you'll only bump into a handful of recognisable suppliers including the likes of Billback, Copitrak, Ecquitrac - however, that list is about to change. Followers of legal technology news may recall back in March 2009 Billback merged with APS (Advanced Professional Solutions). Now you'll be forgiven for consigning that bit of industry news to the memory banks and even not knowing more about APS, but the future worth considering. What's to know about APS? APS's parent company is Reckon Ltd an Australian company. Established in 1991, APS supplies software solutions to over 70% of the Top 100 accounting firms in Australia, over 60% of the Top 50 firms in New Zealand and 25% of the UK's Top 100 firms. Billback becomes the Advantage Suite So when I say I'm never going to mention Billback again, its primarily because I attended the 10th APS Annual Conference recently and have learnt a little more about the big picture. So what is this big picture? In a nutshell, APS pedigree is based on their 'Advance' suite solution they sell into the Accountancy profession, and judging from the figures, very successfully. The merger with Billback provides APS with a neat route into the legal market in the UK, Australia and US, and one which may well be explored to a greater degree in the future. But for the time being Billback now forms part of the new 'Advantage' suite of solutions for law firms offered by APS. So the next time someone asks you what costs recovery solution - if any - you are using, think hard, as it might not be what you think it is. Product name changes are always a real challenge. Just look at ADERANT for example. Years ago their solution was CMS and although the solution name change to 'ADERANT Expert' has been in place for some years, you'll still find clients of ADERANT requesting individuals with CMS experience on job specifications and not those with 'ADERANT Expert' experience. So the challenge that lay ahead for APS is not a unique one, but worth keeping an eye on - as the future of their business will rely on their ability to communicate the right message to the market and that in its infancy are its existing users. 2009-12-08T12:37:21+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/kay_betts_leaving_elite/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/kay_betts_leaving_elite/#When:08:51:44Z News has reached me that Kay Betts who has run the support area for Elite for as many years as I can remember is being made redundant. As with all things on the legal grapevine I've not spoken to anyone who confirm or deny i.e. Kay or Elite, but am sure that there will be plenty of people who will miss her and be interested to know what the future holds in store. 2009-12-01T08:51:44+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/a_youtube_must_see_for_legal_cashiers/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/a_youtube_must_see_for_legal_cashiers/#When:08:12:02Z Not a day goes by when my inbox isn't bombarded with self inflicted 'Google Alerts' notifying me of something new on the web that falls within the parameters of my interest. So when the Google Alert for 'Solicitors Accounts Rules' flashed up in my inbox with 1 item found, my interest was captured and I clicked on the link to see what was on offer - and didn't it make me smile. Click on the image to see the video. 2009-12-01T08:12:02+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/mow_vember_draws_to_a_close/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/mow_vember_draws_to_a_close/#When:13:59:27Z As November, sorry I mean Movember draws to a close today, I have no doubt there will be plenty of other halves delighted to reclaim their clean shaven partner after what appears to have been another successful Movember. Amongst our community we have come across a number of active participants during our travels and even been able to follow some of their progres on twitter, how's that for use of social media! The most recent LSN London networking event had its fair shar as the photos from the event will testify. Here's a couple of faces you might have seen in attendance, naturally we're always happy to support good causes, so well done to everyone involved. Want your final Movember picture online? If you're an active LSN'er and want your last day Movember picture online - and we'll get you in the blog. Movember faces from the London networking event Last day Movember shots received from the following: Richard Hooper at Balance Recruitment Movember at SJ Berwin Movember at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain Please feel free to comment....! 2009-11-30T13:59:27+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/solutions_for_law_firms_and_vat_compliance_in_twenty_ten/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/solutions_for_law_firms_and_vat_compliance_in_twenty_ten/#When:12:45:50Z In the run up to LSN networking events, we work hard to facilitate any discussions and conversations on specific areas of interest that people wish to have through our 'networking assistance scheme'. Very simply, it aims to match up people with questions to those who may have answers, or in some cases puts lots of people with questions together, so they can establish they they are not alone. Before our last networking event in London, one of the most common threads of interest through the networking assistance scheme was the topic of VAT compliance in 2010. Now my guess is that this blog post might be slightly belated when it comes to the question of sourcing solutions for VAT compliance, as I imagine anyone involved in this aspect of the business in a law firm will have already started the ball rolling and be having discussions about solutions, but for the benefit of anyone that hasn't started those discussions or has just started researching information on this area, I thought I'd quickly cover some useful info that we've received at legalsupportnetwork.co.uk. Start of by scanning The VAT Package thread on the LSN discussion forum which started back in August. Both Opes Consulting and Saturn27 have been working on their own VAT solutions for law firms;Saturn27 launch free bill template health check and new iVAT productVAT Validation package from Opes Consulting snapped up by Clyde & Co and Field Fisher WaterhouseA factsheet on the EU VAT Validation System from Opes Consulting is available as a download. Saturn27 recently ran a very popular Get Ready for the 2010 VAT changes - Breakfast briefing, so if you missed this briefing and want to find out more then get in contact with Saturn27. Also relevant to Elite users will be; Elite Announce Measures to Aid Clients with New VAT Package Directive. So, I hope this brief overview will be usefil and if you happen to have come across aby other useful links or pieces of information, then feel free to share them via this blog post or through the LSN discussion forum. 2009-11-22T12:45:50+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/overview_of_top_100_director_research_online/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/overview_of_top_100_director_research_online/#When:14:02:51Z We've now completed the research into top 100 law firm directors and the overview piece is online for all to read and digest. Top law firms look outside law for finance, inside for IT and to women only for HR sets the scene for what has been a most interesting research exercise. On Wednesday 25th November 2009, we'll be releasing all the editorial and research pieces online, so if you want to be sure you know when the information is available, may I suggest you request the LSN weekly email newsletter. In the meantime, let's hope the overview editorial attracts some interesting comments. 2009-11-19T14:02:51+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lexisnexis_redwood_analytics_launch_inaugral_uk_user_group/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lexisnexis_redwood_analytics_launch_inaugral_uk_user_group/#When:10:42:21Z In recent weeks I have been the beneficiary of numerous invites to attend conferences, user groups, seminars and other events, and whilst this will probably sound like a familiar scenario to many, you will also be able to relate to my selective approach when accepting these invites. So when I was recently invited to attend the inaugural LexisNexis Redwood Analytics, (Redwood for short!), UK User Group in London, I was more than keen to accept. Working in this space - that's the legal "space" - I have learnt that the more I know about the technology law firms use on a day to day basis, the better I am equipped to support that fountain of knowledge that has become legalsupportnetwork.co.uk. For me the opportunity to learn off the community that are using these products, combined with the chance to mix with a few familiar faces from the Redwood client list was well spent time. Who are Redwoods client's? Well they number the likes of SJ Berwin (London), Clarke Willmott (Bristol), Wiggin (Cheltenham), Charles Russell (Bristol), Bevan Brittan (Bristol), Brodies (Scotland), Gide Loyrette Nouel (France) amongst others and unlike many user groups I have attended, those who use Redwood seem to love it - or at last love what it can do. Now that could just be that as its normally the bean counters that use Redwood and its full of neat little tricks to crunch numbers and manage a firms business intelligence, but my instinct is that as well as the former, its also largely to do with the people that work there. 'Thought leadership' is a mantra that many claim the rights too, and is probably one of those catchy straplines that gets paid lip service by many, but I am sure there are very few like Redwood that can claim to genuinely fall under that banner. I was asked only recently by a Director of Finance of a UK law firm who had attended a Redwood presentation, "why doesn't everyone use it?" Good question I thought, why is that? Unfortunately I don't have the answers, perhaps its not on everyone's radar, maybe its a price point issue, although John Banister COO at Wiggin will tell you from a case study he prepared on behalf of Redwood - If there's one thing that the current economic climate should tell us it is that the days of managing to top line income growth have been left behind. Given that high margins are more difficult to achieve and maintain, firms need to actively manage profit in new and innovative ways in order to avoid running in the red. One of the themes of the User Group which has been more than popular by way of seminar subjects was Alternative Fee Arrangements. So I kindly requested the presentation slide on this subject and you can view them online under Do you have an Alternative Fee Arrangement solution? So it appears that whilst there may have been a few clenched teeth when LexisNexis bought Redwood Analytics a year or so ago, and there were the usual rumblings that things would change, perhaps not for the better of those who had already bought in, that for the time being those fears have been allayed. The UK User Group is now in motion and business intelligence, profitability and alternative fee arrangements are high on the agenda. Next conversation to be had is for us to convince Redwood that an online discussion forum for users is the way forward, so that everyone can get the benefit of sharing, collaborating and exchanging thoughts and ideas 365 days a year, and not just at user groups. 2009-11-18T10:42:21+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/grumpy_old_men/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/grumpy_old_men/#When:07:27:49Z As with all my blogging, the subject for the blog normally strikes like a bolt of lightening, but the 'catchy title' takes me a little longer to decide. In this case for example, my other option was 'oldies and the internet' - either way, you've probably already got the flavour of this post. As many of you will know, for the last few months LSN have been conducting research around the top 100 law firm operational directors, and to the delight of myself and everyone in the office, we'll be going live with the results next week. Now, during the research process I have encountered what can only be described as polar oposites in the way people embrace both the research piece in general but more importantly the 'spirit of the web', which for me is all about freedom and movement of information. Basically the days when you ring up a law firm and the receptionist kindly informs you that they have a strictly no-names policy when you're trying to conact someone are over - or at least should be. Things like the no-names policy are for me as struck in the past as someone not wanting to participate in basic research. Only recently I had a very brief (although not by choice) conversation with a Finance Director of a law firm (that should for many reasons not remain nameless, but because I don't have a backbone and and wary of a lawsuit, will remain nameless!) who in not so many words said "I have deleted your emails requesting my information and will take great pride in being the one FD you can't get [information about]". So I ask myself, is this just someone who is a bit stubborn and I caught him on a bad day, or is it really that he just doesn't get it? Shame is, I think its all three! So, while the rest of the world is moving forward, becoming web savvy and embracing change and evolution, some people will always live in the past. It's not all oldies though - take my mother for instance (although she'll have something to say about the 'oldies' classification). There I was sending her a weblink to a blog I'd commented on which was posted by a friend of mine, and the next minute she's replying back to me that she's joind the discussion - brilliant. Now if that's not embracing the web and in this case social media, then I don't know what is. My Point? So, if you've made it this far, you'll probably be wondering what is my point? My point is that we live and work in a fast moving society, and those who don't embrace change and technology will surely be left behind, and when your in the latter years of your career and someone is champing at the bit to move up the ladder, perhaps you should seriously think about what it is you need to do to be more accepting of the world in which you live. Rant over. Thanks for listening. 2009-11-12T07:27:49+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/every_tweets_a_winner/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/every_tweets_a_winner/#When:10:26:34Z Here is the winning tweet from the LSN Social Media Day, which won Nick Heyward from Barclays a purple (LSN colours, get it?) iPod: "Following on from the 1st quote of the day, todays been like teenage sex, exciting, engaging, but ultimately over too soon!" Congratulations Nick - now all we need to know is where your Twitter profile is?! Below a selection of Tweet entries from the day, partially edited due to some interesting comments. Mentioning no Declans, erm, names. "Been at #LSN Social Net Marketing day - one small step for marketers one giant leap for Twitterkind." "Just finished a meeting with 40+ like-minded people discussing using social media in business. Very thought-provoking and action-motivating" "Very interesting social media events hosted by LSN. Estimate we're doing about 10% of what we should, and most of that blindfolded!" "Excellent LSN day - round table very interesting. My potential clients brace yourselves." "Think will jump on the tweet train now, sorry for not putting this into a funny comment after our discussion about humour in web 2.0!" "Thanks LSN & Chaps for some really useful ideas - not sure can make it to the next events - I have a lot of work to do!" "Cr*p journey fed deep scepticism on arrival. Converted by presentations linked in to good networking conversation. Ambassador for SN now." The last two tweet are from attendees with a lot of creative (and rhyming) juices that day. "Lesson learnt: put the meat in your tweet. Tell this story, in one forty." "Social networking activities such as blogs and tweets are an ideal way of helping businesses meet" And finally some people from the event you might like to follow on Twitter: The LSN Team David Sparkes from legalsupportnetwork.co.uk Ed Weatherall from Concep Lars Plougann from Headshift Dwain Thomas from Concep David Gilroy from Conscious Solutions Rupert White from the Law Gazette 2009-11-11T10:26:34+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ranking_of_legal_industry_websites_for_it_finance_hr/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ranking_of_legal_industry_websites_for_it_finance_hr/#When:12:46:07Z Following on from the LSN Social Media Day recently, where everything from blogs to twitter, linkedin to web analytics was discussed, the LSN web team has undertaken a small research project on the popularity and reach of the various websites that exist in the legal industry space in the UK. We've thrown in the Law Gazette as a comparison.All research was conducted using independent web tools such as Alexa and SEOmoz. The OrangeRag have recently published their viewing figures (pageviews and unique visitors) for October 2009. Using the table below you can get a good indication for other online publications in the field and their popularity. In the Alexa ranking, the higher the score, the lower the popularity. The Guardian (www.guardian.co.uk) is ranked #263 and in the Top 10 you will find Google, Facebook, MSN, etc. No #1 being the most popular. Google Indexed Pages Bing Indexed Pages Alexa Ranking* Site Strength** Law Gazette 3,560 120,915 332,336 49% Delia Venables 843 3,670 379,329 50% legalsupportnetwork.co.uk 1,820 2,850 966,592 46% Legal IT Professionals 734 277 1,684,570 36% Orange Rag 1,310 798 1,771,021 41% The Know List 148 n/a 5,539,767 11% The KnowList, being a reasonably recent entrant to the market, understandably, do not come out of this research with high scores.LSN can proudly claim to be twice as popular in online terms as the Orange Rag and Legal IT Professionals (another fairly new venture) in terms of popularity and page views, if you take the Alexa ranking.Delia's work, long may it continue, is clearly of the highest value in terms of independent resources available in the market with her extensive directory. If you are curious how this data was collected, here is the 'legend' to interpret some of those figures: *Alexa Ranking "Alexa Traffic Rank is a measure of a website's popularity. The rank is calculated using a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews over the past 3 months. The site with the highest combination of visitors and pageviews is ranked #1." **Site Strength Report "Your score is a measure of your page's importance and popularity. It predicts the page's ability to rank well in search engines, the reach of your brand awareness and how well you currently draw in traffic. SEOmoz retrieves data from multiple web services including Google, Yahoo!, Technorati, Bloglines & more and sends them through our custom formula to produce your blog strength score." How do you compare? 90-100% Top Echelon These elite pages are among the most well referenced and popular on the web. 75-89% Extremely Popular Pages at this level are widely renowned and have tremendous recognition. 60-74% Very Important Content on these pages has a strong ability to rank well in search engines and receives moderate to high levels of readership and referral traffic. 45-59% Moderately Important Though not widely read, these pages have an impact on the web and receive solid readership. 30-44% Somewhat Important Low readership, but enough traffic and links to get attention. 15-29% Just Emerging These pages have recently emerged from obscurity and have relatively low traffic and search engine ranking ability. 0-14% Under the Radar These new or rarely noted pages have extremely low levels of traffic and may not even be included in the search engines yet. 2009-11-06T12:46:07+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/social_media_is_like_teen_sex_everyone_wants_to_do_it_no_one_actually_/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/social_media_is_like_teen_sex_everyone_wants_to_do_it_no_one_actually_/#When:13:21:36Z and to complete the quote "...When finally done, there is suprise it's not better" These wise words can be accredited to Avinash Kaushik a Google employee, and formed the foundation of yesterday's LSN event on 'Understanding Social Media' which was hosted at the stunning Gensler offices in London. 2009-11-04T13:21:36+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ogier_secures_ex_simmons_amp_simmons_financial_controller/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ogier_secures_ex_simmons_amp_simmons_financial_controller/#When:11:27:44Z News rolled in earlier in the week that Tony Wightman who was the Group Financial Controller of Simmons & Simmons has turned up in Jersey as Financial Controller of Ogier, the Jersey based international law firm. Now whilst Tony might not think he makes the 'movers & shakers' column, I like to think that there will be plenty of you out there who will be pleased to know. 2009-11-04T11:27:44+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/extensive_report_on_windows_7_reckon_you_wont_need_much_else/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/extensive_report_on_windows_7_reckon_you_wont_need_much_else/#When:03:11:28Z With all the discussions currently surrounding the launch of Windows 7, and you definitely can't escape their advertising and sponsorship, it's been tough finding a thorough guide on switching to Windows 7, what's involved, what the benefits are etc. Gartner have just released a Special Report on Windows 7. The report includes a video by Gartner Research VP and Distinguished Analyst Michael Silver outlining issues surrounding Windows 7 migration. "Windows 7 has been characterized as everything from a major step for Windows to a minor service pack for Windows Vista. Either way, it cannot be overlooked. The new OS introduces a variety of optimization and subtle changes - along with significant new functionality. Gartner highlights our latest research on Windows 7 and other issues surrounding this major release." It seems pretty extensive. Are there any other good guides out there? Maybe specific to law firms? Drop me a comment if you have any suggestions or additions. 2009-11-04T03:11:28+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/formula_1_world_champion_inspires_legal_leaders/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/formula_1_world_champion_inspires_legal_leaders/#When:13:41:19Z Last night I had the priviledge of attending the MPF Awards 2009 as a guest of Ed Weatherall, the Managing Director of Concep the digital agency for B2B. Naturally a big thanks goes out to Ed and his team who were all wonderful hosts. I find award ceremonies are always a slightly emotive subject amongst the legal community, who either see them as self serving cash cows for an organiser or they seem to place very little credence in the nomination and selection process, unless they win of course! However, it goes without question for me that the MPF Awards last night were a resounding success on every level. As someone who runs networking events for numbers in the region of 200 people, I know what it's like when an event goes well or conversly doesn't, and I'm left in no doubt that last night went like clockwork. One of the best after dinner speeches I have ever heard was delivered by Sir Jackie Stewart which had me tweeting avidly throughout his speech. Sir Jackie's track record, excuse the pun, speaks for itself, an impressive 23 wins from 99 races during his career and Formula 1 World Champion no less than 3 times. His speeech on teamwork was both enlightening and humbling and with special quotes like "the world is full of generalists, what we need is specialists" and the best of all "in my day motor racing was dangerous and sex was safe", everyone present was captivated. A real benchmark for awards is the pedigree of guests and with no less than 75 managing partners present alongside a neat list of executive directors, all in all the event was extremely well received. Well done all at MPF. This is about as close to Sir Jackie as I got all night, our names were together on the table plan! 2009-10-22T13:41:19+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/shortlist_for_theknowlist_2010_awards_out_now/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/shortlist_for_theknowlist_2010_awards_out_now/#When:09:08:58Z Anyone who is anyone in legal technology will be aware of theknowlist and that they are ramping things up in the run up to TheKnowList Technology Awards January 2010. The shortlist for theknowlist technology awards has been released and you can find all the knowlist award nominees here. Don't let it ever be said that technology suppliers don't have a penchant for an award or two! The last Legal Technology Awards (LTAs) was held in January 2009 by JWH Events Ltd, but having suffered from the crunch and elected not to continue to run the LTAs in 2010, theknowlist have snuck in there and claimed the 2010 Technology Awards slot as their own. Watch this space. 2009-10-20T09:08:58+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/beneath_the_calm_exterior_of_a_law_firm_hr_director_resides_a_gb_triat/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/beneath_the_calm_exterior_of_a_law_firm_hr_director_resides_a_gb_triat/#When:19:48:11Z Day 3 of my 1-a-day commitment to blogging this week and today's chosen specialised subject was an easy choice. One of the things I enjoy most about my role is the number of interesting people I meet on a regular basis. Interesting not only for the wealth of knowledge they often command within their professional remit but more so because of the unique skills people possess outside their professional facade. Today I had the pleasure of chatting with Mike Orton the Director of HR at law firm Ince & Co. Mike's hidden tallent and very impressive claim to fame is that a month ago he competed with the Great Britain Team in the Triathlon World Championships in Australia. From the 92 who started in Mike's category, he came home in 15th position with a PB of 2 hours, 9 minutes & 34 seconds, and was the first GB team member to cross the line. Having dipped my toe in the world of multi sports last year, I am a new enthusiast to triathlon, and perhaps my new found enthusiasm leads me to appreciate Mike's achievement a little more than I would have previously. However, whichever way you look at it, it is a great achievement and there's a GB Triathlete out there who's day job is in a Top 100 law firm! If memory serves me well enough, I seem to recall reading somewhere that Capsticks, a south London law firm also have some keen triathletes. Not so hard to believe that its currently one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. If you're a triathlete and work in a law firm, join the thread, always like to hear from like minded people. 2009-10-14T19:48:11+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/secret_legal_bloggers_shrouded_in_mystery/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/secret_legal_bloggers_shrouded_in_mystery/#When:20:59:29Z As minutes tick away towards my self inflicted midnight deadline - see yesterdays blog post for my 1-a-day challenge this week - I've dipped my hand into the hat and drawn out today's subject from the raft of blog topics I wrote down during my travels last week. Secret legal bloggers Last week my attention was drawn towards two relatively recent additions to the legal blogging fraternity. Drum roll please for the Masked IT Director from The Law Gazette, who's 1st instalment on how to do, and not to do, outsourcing taps into the recent Alternative Legal IT Conference hosted by Informa and provides a first hand account of life on the front line by a Legal IT Director at a suppliers' conference. So, who's behind the mask? Apparently an "IT Director of a major London law firm". Follow future blogs from the Masked IT Director at The Law Gazette In Business blog Second on the secret blogging list comes the Mystery Blogger from TheKnowList, who takes a more tongue in cheek view of life on the inside of a city law firm (that's me speculating on MBs identity). Following MBs most recent blog post made me wince on one hand and laugh hysterically on the other, if this doesn't generate the holy grail for a blogger by way of some comments, then I don't know how close you have to sail to the wind to get one? Perhaps someone should send the link to a few legal secretaries they know! Let me know if you find any more out there, and of course, if you find out who they are then let the rest of us know by posting a comment - naturally you'll want to do it anonymously! 2009-10-13T20:59:29+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/so_much_to_blog_about_last_week_and_didnt_get_time/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/so_much_to_blog_about_last_week_and_didnt_get_time/#When:13:11:03Z 2009-10-12T13:11:03+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/date_for_the_lsn_london_networking_event_in_november_is_announced/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/date_for_the_lsn_london_networking_event_in_november_is_announced/#When:09:03:57Z The 3rd LSN London networking event of 2009 will be held on Monday 16th November 2009 at a new venue called The Vintry in the City. Back in August over 190 people attended, and the time before that in March it was over 200 - so this time we've gone for a bigger venue would like to extend the invite to as many professionals in the operational areas of a law firm as possible. Historically we have always seen a strong representation from those in the Finance and Systems departments, and more recently have seen a growing number of people in the IT department and HR department. Well, we'd like to continue to see growth across all the operational departments so would welcome anyone who has not attended one of our networking events, and also encourage anyone who has to circulate the invite internally. We genuinely believe that there are many people out there who would benefit hugely from attending one of our networking events - please feel free to spread the word. 2009-09-21T09:03:57+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/its_all_in_the_name/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/its_all_in_the_name/#When:08:46:38Z My funny email of the day goes to Kevin Smith at Opes Consulting who kindlu pointed out this news story from The Lawyer - Lovells enters tie-up with France's Kuntz Interestingly enough the article already has 23 comments from interested readers. I guess we'll wait to see if there's a name change. 2009-09-11T08:46:38+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/3_years_ago_today_legalsupportnetworkcouk_was_launched/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/3_years_ago_today_legalsupportnetworkcouk_was_launched/#When:05:46:35Z 3 years ago today www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk went live online. Back then I used to keep a business diary, here's what I have for that day. "2:15pm on Friday 8th September 2006 – no going back from here on in! Lots of hard work, heart ache and tough decisions ahead and relishing the challenge – mixed in with a bit of flexible hours working, golf and entertainment – I think I may have found what I’m looking for! Now the focus is to set the plan, market, raise revenue/sales and move forward in leaps and bounds. This is the day I have been working towards for months if not years – believe it – it has happened." Thanks to everyone who has supported LSN during the first 3 years, attended networking events and generally been extremelly enthusiastic about what we have set out to achieve. I certainly couldn't have predicted how online and social media would evolve so rapidly in the last few years and am very excited about the future. Happy Birthday LSN! 2009-09-08T05:46:35+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/an_unusual_but_humbling_comparison/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/an_unusual_but_humbling_comparison/#When:11:09:54Z When I caught up with an old school friend recently we got chatting about an article in The Sunday Times on his business. In short, after uni he set up shop and now owns/runs a retail business that, as the article states, turns over £42m, is expected to turnover £70m next year, rising to £100m the year after - impressive by any standards and Bransonesque by others. So it struck me, if they were a law firm, and going on The Lawyer UK 200 Annual Report for law firm turnover figures, his company would come in at number 61 on the order of merit last year, next year rise up to aprox. 43 and the year after the achieve Top 30 status. Why is this incredible? Well, for a start they only started trading 10 years ago, secondly the two guys that run the business are both mid-30's (not that amazing really - just I relate to it!) and thirdly, well I remember the first year they started out and turned over £59,000, and whilst in reality there is no real need to compare a retail company to a law firm, I still believe there is a message in there about the future of the legal market. The example given demonstrates a meteoric rise in fortunes of a business supported largely buy outside investment. With the onset of the Legal Services Act and Alternative Business Structures I will be a keen observer as to the legal markets ability to grow and evolve through external investment. The legal markets ability to attract the rising stars of business on an operational level is another on-going challenge. While its competing with growth busting markets like in this example, law firms creativity in attracting key professionals to the firm will be tested to a greater degree. Finally, the need for the legal industry to take a long hard look at itself and how it will embrace the future will be essential. So much will change and with it I hope that many firms will find their minds wandering to new ways of running a law firm. This all kind of ties in with our latest project at LSN which is to research the Top 100 law firm directors. In a few weeks we'll be releasing not only the results of the research, but also the analysis, statistics and interesting editorial around the whole research piece. There is a huge opportunity for operational directors in law firms to leverage greater responsibility and recognition off the back of Clementi and the development of the legal profession and I for one will be extremely keen to see how things progress. 2009-09-02T11:09:54+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/simplylawjobscom_launches_new_blog_and_forum/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/simplylawjobscom_launches_new_blog_and_forum/#When:07:51:21Z The interesting thing about the evolution of social media is that job boards such as www.simplylawjobs.com are no longer just relying on the attraction of vast numbers of job adverts to encourage visitors to their website, but are looking for new ways to entice visitors and keep them floating around their website. So enter the new Simply Law Jobs Blog and Simply Law Jobs Discusson Forum. Naturally like all things Web 2.0 the challenge will be getting people to contribute, discuss, share and chat, and having set out to do it ourselves we know it takes time - but thoroughly worth it when the discussion flows. 2009-08-26T07:51:21+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/are_you_in_theknowlist/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/are_you_in_theknowlist/#When:06:42:50Z A hard copy of the much talked about KnowList landed on my desk yesterday, so I ventured a read through some familiar faces and for those who don't have their hands on a copy of this legal IT bible - you might like to go and see the inaugral 30 people to Know in Legal IT. It has to be said that a few of the 'people to know' could have made a bit of extra effort with their photos, I won't mention any names Stu at Redwood or Tony at TimeKM, but next time, slightly less dodgy looking photos would be much appreciated! I'll leave you all to pick out the others that I won't dare to mention. Having said that I met Dan Brown yesterday, he's the man behind TheKnowList as opposed to the man behind the da Vinci Code, and they have lots of exciting ideas for the Legal IT world. Look out for their 2010 Legal Technology Awards in January as well as some other interesting ventures they have up their sleeve. 2009-08-19T06:42:50+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/photos_from_the_summer_networking_event_are_online/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/photos_from_the_summer_networking_event_are_online/#When:08:25:24Z The photos from the LSN Summer networking event in London are now online. Whether or not you were present you can see the photo's of the event online. Don't be shy, if you see someone you know or just feel like it - try posting a comment against a photo, as long as it's clean we don't mind! In total 193 people attended the networking event. Guests came from a broad spectrum of operational/support departments within law firms including Finance, IT, Systems, HR, Management and other operational areas. It never ceases to amaze us the amount of traffic that the LSN Photo Gallery receives. We hope you enjoy the photos and that they encourage you to attend an event in the future if you've never had the good fortune to attend one of our networking events. The best way to hear about future events is to receive the LSN weekly email newsletter. Our particular thanks go to Michael Bel Photography for providing first class photos from the event. We met Michael via a mutual contact in a law firm where he has been assigned to provide corporate portraits, so we have provided a link to his website in case you are looking for a great photographer. 2009-08-11T08:25:24+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/saturn27_alive_and_well/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/saturn27_alive_and_well/#When:12:12:57Z Only a few weeks ago Saturn27 the legal consultancy & solutions provider to law firms was in the news having called in the administrators. So when this image arrived in my inbox it made me chuckle. oh how the legal world likes a story to plunder! If you've ever been to the Saturn27 website then you may recognise the image. Since then however, turns out that all is well at Saturn27 as David Gallagher and Andy Stokes were found mixing at the LSN London networking event last week! 2009-08-07T12:12:57+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_answer_to_the_one_question_everyone_wants_to_ask_me_and_never_does/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_answer_to_the_one_question_everyone_wants_to_ask_me_and_never_does/#When:13:05:28Z Arriving back in the office today still feeling the euphoria of another amazing turnout at the 8th LSN London networking event, I'm determined to answer to the one question that is always on peoples minds when they come to one of our events. How do you make money?. This is normally followed up quickly with, why are you doing this? At this moment it probably helps to set the scene a bit for anyone who hasn't attended an LSN networking event, or possibly does not know about www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk. So, last night for example, we hosted a networking event for close to 200 people in the operational areas of law firms. Our interpretation of 'operational areas' is anyone in the Finance, Systems, IT, HR and other non-fee earning areas within a law firm. The events are free to attend for anyone who works within a law firm. Hospitality free and provided with the assistance of key sponsors who are networkpartners of LSN. On this occassion we had organisations like APS/Billback Systems, Elite & inTechnology amongst others, who were generous enough to support the event. Now, at this point everyone wonders, how do you make your money? Hospitality (i.e. food and drink) is free, there is no entry fee for attending and I have a great opportunity to mix with like minded professionals - so where's the catch?! The old adage, no such thing as a free lunch springs to mind. So, in a nutshell like form, here's the explanation. We (LSN) have 4 income streams; Stream 1) networkpartners who syndicate content through www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk. These networkpartners are organisations that are intrinsically involved in the legal market. In essence anyone who provides products/services/consultancy to the legal market can be a networkpartner. We believe that there is a thirst for information out there, and that by providing targeted and relevant content from our networkpartners via our weekly email newsletter, you benefit from easily accessible information. Stream 2) networkpartners who advertise vacancies through our job board i.e. recruitment agencies and law firms to advertise directly to the community. Naturally with a community like ours there are always a number of job seekers, and a useful by product for both job seekers and advertisers is the opportunity to exchange info. Stream 3) Web banners - if you've failed to see any of these on our website then please look harder! Stream 4) Sponsorship at networking events. Many of our networking events are sponsored by networkpartners. The networking events give people in law firms the opportunity to meet like minded professionals in an informal/social environment and often meet either existing suppliers or possibly some new ones. So, as you can see, our whole aim is to provide a platform both online and offline, for professionals in the operational areas of law firms to meet and exchange ideas, share views and collaborate on similar issues and challenges, and at the same time by introducing networkpartners to that equation we have the opportunity to maintain your industry knowledge and hopefully add value to you personally and profesionally. If you're interested in the detail, then you'll find a detailed history of LSN on the website. 2009-08-06T13:05:28+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/tweeting_on_twitter/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/tweeting_on_twitter/#When:19:29:01Z You will now find The LSN Team tweeting on twitter at http://twitter.com/lsn_team, so if you're a fan of the latest craze in online communication or even if you're just geting to grips with it you can follow our tweets. My quick guide to Twitter Twitter is a real-time short mesaging service. Basically once you create an account you can 'tweet' about anything you like. A 'tweet' is a message of up to 140 characters long. A tweet would look like this; Legal Cashiers and Co Launch new Recruitment Division http://bit.ly/17BXNO In this tweet you will see a strange url (universally recognised link) or weblink. This is a service provided by http://bit.ly/ and basically enables you to shorten longer links which enables you to achieve the 140 character limit set for a tweet. Why are we tweeting? Well, we're always up for trying something new and it seems lke this craze may be here to stay. So you'll find us tweeting about all news that passes through the news pages of www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk, as well as the occassional tweet from the lsn team on current events, latest jobs and even the mood in the office! Follow and be followed With twitter you can follow people who tweet as well as be followed by anyone who has a twitter account. As I blog we are up to 142 followers and we're following 143 tweeters. I am sure there will be plenty of people who out there don't have the time for twitter and really don't see the point, and catch me on the right day and I might agree. However, in the short time we have been tweeting we have already seen an increase in site traffic to www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk and there are plenty of web savvy organisations out there who are using twitter as an additional route to market and a medium with which to communicate with a growing twitter audience. 2009-07-20T19:29:01+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/researching_the_top_100_law_firm_operational_directors/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/researching_the_top_100_law_firm_operational_directors/#When:15:03:20Z In light of recent changes to Legal Services Act, there has been increased interest surrounding the role of Directors in the operational and management side of law firms now that they can form part of the partnership deed. As a result at legalsupportnetwork.co.uk we have started a new project and are currently compiling a complete list of Top 100 Law Firm Directors in Finance, IT & HR, with a view producing some editorial pieces around the results and displaying the data online. For those interested in the results and editorial, you might find it useful to receive the LSN weekly newsletter which will highlight when the features are available online. This research will enable us to produce some interesting pieces around the following areas; - % of non-law firm arrivals into Director roles of Top 100 law firms - % of women in a Director capacity in each operational area and how the areas compare against each other - Average length of service and longest serving individuals in each operational area - Differing job titles Compliling the data Now what's interesting about the research is that we're not just relying on the information that is in the public domain, oh the wonders of the web, but actually contacting the individuals to ask for their participation by providing the few bits of information we need i.e. name, current job title, year they joined the firm and previous employer. Why are we doing it like this? Well, for starters we believe that it will make the data as accurate as possible and in addition to that we think that it is important for those in the community to be involved in the process as well as understand our motivations for compliling such research data. The funny thing is.... When it comes to participating in things like this there are definitely two distinct camps. Camp One (Happy Campers) - those who are more than willing to participate. They generally view the research as a quick job, simple to complete and unobtrusive. They adopt a more enthusiastic outlook and collaborative approach to such requests for information and are keen to see the overall results knowing they have contributed. Camp Two (Miserable Campers) - those whose kneejerk reaction is negative. It will take too much time, they don't see how they will directly benefit from the results and are weary of having any information about them in the public domain - has no-one told them about the spirit of web! The truth is out there, like it or not Anyone who has ever googled themselves will know that with the meteoric rise of social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Zoom, MySpace, the likelyhood of finding information about themselves, and sometimes information outside your immediate control, can be quite high. One of the funny things about requesting information is when someone refuses to participate and unbeknownst to them their entire academic and career history is on LinkedIn, details of their role and current employment are on their employers website and sometimes their name and other information will populate numerous press releases and other articles circulated around the web! Will those miserable campers please go and google yourselves and perhaps this will open your eyes to the power of the internet and the art of adopting a caring, sharing and collaborative approach to such requests for information. 2009-07-14T15:03:20+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/using_video_to_communicate_your_message/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/using_video_to_communicate_your_message/#When:07:05:57Z The evolution of social media and online technology never ceases to amaze me, and whilst it's nothing particularly new on many peoples radar, I was interested to see that following last weeks announcement from Norton Rose and Deacons Australia the use of video to communicate the same message. See what you make of Don Boyd Chief Executive Partner of Deacons Australia and Peter Martyr Chief Executive of Norton Rose Group in their video message. 2009-07-01T07:05:57+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/name_in_lights_in_leeds_amp_yorkshire_lawyer_magazine/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/name_in_lights_in_leeds_amp_yorkshire_lawyer_magazine/#When:06:45:24Z We all know that the legal market suffers from 'small world' syndrome so it came as no surprise when I received a call from someone I knew many years ago who has since moved on from the recruitment battle ground that is London to The Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer magazine, which is The Leeds Law Society Official Journal. Naturally we were delighted to have The Leeds & Yorkshire Lawyer attend our last Leeds networking event in May '09, and even more delighted to see the LSN message reaching a wider audience through a mention in the magazines latest edition. Thanks Cathryn! 2009-06-30T06:45:24+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/points_mean_prizes/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/points_mean_prizes/#When:13:18:49Z Organising good corporate events is hard enough, but when you're at the mercy of global warming and the british weather you know you've pulled it off when the sun is shining and your golf day has no last minute drops outs! Well done Barbara at ADERANT for organising a fantastic day last Friday. There'll be plenty out there wondering what on earth I've done to deserve an invite to such a prestigious client event, and after my return home ladened with prizes for longest drive and runner-up in the singles and team competitions, I'm sure the ADERANT folks as well as their real clients will wonder how as well! I understand from Thane Jensen, ADERANT's Sales Director, that the idea for the golf day was born from his attendance at the last LSN Golf Cup which was held in conjunction with the Pat Levey Memorial Golf Day , so we'll be sure to see an ADERANT team later in the year when the LSN Golf Cup finds a venue for its 2nd competition. I also hope the team from Norton Rose who claimed the LSN Golf Cup in its inaugral year will be back to defend the prize trophy. 2009-06-22T13:18:49+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/do_open_plan_offices_for_law_firms_really_work/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/do_open_plan_offices_for_law_firms_really_work/#When:10:25:28Z Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the Law Symposium hosted by Gensler at Reed Smiths new offices in London's square mile. The foundation for the symposium was the hotly debated 'open plan' or 'cellular' approach to law firm office layout. During my day to day activities I regularly visit both ends of the spectrum when it comes to law firms. Those magic circle giants whose corridors alone could fit in a small law firm and are lavishly decorated with artwork that needs guidance notes, to high street practices with fake mahogany finishes and whose office space is often shared with a mountain of client files. Needless to say, when it comes to dreaming about which law firm I would work for (if indeed I could) its all to easy to be swayed by the glamour of the large city offices, restaurants, gymnasiums, sleeping pods and clean cut work space. As for the debate about 'open plan' or 'cellular', I'll happily leave that to the professionals. Gensler have produced an interesting law firm benchmarking survey which looks at the workspaces commonly found within law firms and the impact they have on the employees who work there. It makes for interesting reading with everyone considering more and more the environment they work in and the amenities available as part of their work offering. For me its interesting to see topics like this falling more and more onto the radar of those in the operational areas of the law firms, with notable contributions and interest from people in the Finance, Human Resources and of course IT departments. I'm sure that everyone who works in a law firm must have something to say about the environment they work in - love it or hate it? 2009-06-17T10:25:28+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/bringing_together_professionals_in_law_firm_management1/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/bringing_together_professionals_in_law_firm_management1/#When:11:07:59Z Since 1st January 2009 nearly 400 people from the management and operational areas of UK law firms and solicitors practices attended an LSN networking event. The UK networking roadshow is our way of demonstrating to law firms across the UK our commitment to providing a platform for collaboration, networking, information sharing and exchanging ideas for those in the management of their firm. When I refer to 'professionals in law firm management', I am really referring to those in the finance/accounts, IT/systems, HR/Personnel and other operational areas. Hence, these are exactly the type of professionals who attended our networking roadshow events. So often I hear the phrase "it's nice to know I'm not alone" or "I rarely get the opportunity to meet like minded professionals locally". perseverance is everything These events are now in their third season and having been through the growing pains of standing in a room of only 12 people once in Cardiff, perseverance has brought us to a point where numbers in all locations have swelled significantly. continuing the discussion online To enable the conversation to continue, we are encouraging everyone to register on our discussion forum and contribute to a thread. If you ever thought you were alone – you were wrong! Someone somewhere is highly likely to have experienced the same problem and found a solution – take a look at the recent threads posted below: Fee Earner bonuses Sanctions for Partner Drawings IRIS ILE V1.8 BPM (Workflow) Tool - Question Credit control software packages Potential VAT Reclaim – 31st March “lock up” definition AAT or ILCA Diploma Accounting for disbursements in a different currency Predicting forward cash-flow Certificate of tax residence What are your thoughts about using video marketing to differentiate your firm? Law firms cutting carbon footprint Paying Counsel Residual Client Account Balances / Old Client Monies - Deminimus Limit Advice on bankruptcy order Credit checks Wolfram Alpha Take a look at some stats taken from the Guest Lists of the events. Guest List breakdown by Operational Area 56% Finance/Accounts 12% HR/Personnel 25% IT/Systems 7% Other Guest List breakdown by Size of Law Firm (No. of Partners) 23% 100+ Partners 18% 50 – 100 Partners 7% 25 – 50 Partners 5% 15 – 25 Partners 12% 5 – 15 Partners 5% 1 – 5 Partners 30% No Info Available Guest List breakdown by PMS Supplier (Practice Management System) 13% ADERANT 1% Eclipse 38% Elite 1% Firmware 6% IRIS 10% LexisNexis Axxia 1% Linetime 3% Miles 33 2% Norwel 4% Pilgrim 1% SAP 2% Solicitors Own Software 4% TFB Plc 1% Timeslice 13% No Info Available the future We're currently in the planning for the next London networking event alongside a number of other special interest groups we have been looking into, such as Credit Management, Human Resources, Finance Systems, US law firm managers amongst others. We'll be sure to keep pressing ahead with events throughout the UK and look forward to meeting you soon. You can keep track on all events and other info by receiving the LSN weekly newsletter which is circulated every Wednesday. 2009-06-10T11:07:59+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/not_strictly_work_related/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/not_strictly_work_related/#When:09:25:33Z Although its not striclty work related, I thought I'd better come clean over the distinct lack of blogging activity over the last few weeks, having in my first blog made some veiled threat that I would be committed to blogging weekly. I guess by now the photo will have given the game away. Yes, I went off and got married right in the middle of the LSN UK networking roadshow. The networking events were made all the more enjoyable with everyone's good wishes and as it turns out wedding chat is a great ice breaker! Thanks to everyone who I've met along the way who has contributed with a pearl of wedding wisdom. The advice ranged from wedding speech advice to suggestions on places to stay during our honeymoon around the west coast of Scotland (in a VW campervan, no expense spared!). Picking up on the advice for the grooms speech, after much web research it turns out that Edinburgh (the venue for the wedding) may not be further west than Bristol....will leave that thought with you! Now its back to work. 2009-06-10T09:25:33+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/elite_3e_implementation_slips_under_the_radar/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/elite_3e_implementation_slips_under_the_radar/#When:12:36:07Z Is it me or did the news that DWF Solicitors, a national law firm with offices in Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Preston, having recently 'gone-live' on Elite 3E not create quite the level of excitement I would have expected from such an announcement? See the press release: UK Law Firm DWF LLP is up and running on ELITE 3E® financial management system Is it that everyone in the Elite world and a whole host of interested observers have been so focused on news of the Allen & Overy implementation of 3E that any successes outside the leviathan law firm bracket do not provide a suitable benchmark for success. If so, it's a tough audience to please. I recently met a couple of DWF employees from their IT department at our Manchester networking event and was interested to see them fielding numerous questions on the implementation confidently and with a smile. As for Allen & Overy, well the last press release I saw said d-day around end of June 2009 from memory – so keep your eyes peeled for what is possibly the most anticipated press release of 2009. 2009-06-04T12:36:07+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/interesting_news_for_law_firm_credit_managers/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/interesting_news_for_law_firm_credit_managers/#When:08:26:17Z For those who read the newspages of legalsupportnetwork.co.uk or receive the weekly email newsletter, it may not have escaped your attention that MiniSoft Worldwide who provide the ARCS credit management software for law firms, recently announced the successful implementation of ARCS in to Blake Lapthorn. The reason this sparked my interest to blog was that it was this very subject, the implementation of credit management software, that recently generated much discussion at the first LSN Credit/Revenue Managers Forum which was held back in March 2009. Whilst I have no stats to hand, I think it's fair to say that a majority of Top 100 law firms fall into one of two camps in terms of credit management software. Some use ARCS by MiniSoft Worldwide and some use CreditForce from Innovation Software. There are those firms who fall in to none of the above and either use the functionality that came with their existing practice management system (PMS), possibly the odd firm who have a clever Excel spreadsheet (although I hope not) or opted for another credit management software (I'd be interested to know which?). There's already been some interesting discussion on credit control software packages in the LSN online forum and the online forum for Credit & Revenue Managers is gathering traction with a number of relevant threads and posts. We're planning on the 2nd Credit/Revenue Managers Forum in early July 2009 - keep an eye out for this and other LSN events in the future. 2009-05-05T08:26:17+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_legal_market_is_not_all_about_london_just_ask_any_regional_law_fir/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_legal_market_is_not_all_about_london_just_ask_any_regional_law_fir/#When:07:00:35Z When I first decided that legalsupportnetwork.co.uk (LSN) should extend the ever popular London networking event to the regions, I took the opportunity to do a bit of research. By asking professionals in the operational areas of regional law firms their thoughts about whether LSN providing a regular platform to mix with peers would be useful, as well as speaking to organisations like professional service providers, technology vendors and consultants about their own experiences in attempting the same, I came away with two phrases to bear in mind. The general feedback from those is Law firms was: yes, we'd be keen to meet with other like minded professionals in our immediate community, but more often than not we receive invites to London based events, and when your based in the regions its not the best use of time or money to attend. We'd like to see more done for professionals in regional law firms. However, the feedback from professional service providers, technology vendors and consultants was very different: generally those I spoke with said things like user group roadshows, seminars and social events they had tried outside London had rarely received a strong enough attendance to warrant a regular return trip So, one group say 'do more for us' and the other say 'when we do, you don't turn up' - who's right? Well, in my experience they both are. I'm not sure the sentiment from either side will ever change - it's a bit like the 'them and us' culture of a law firm - steeped in history and no-one really knows why its like that or why they believe it, but they do and life goes on. Maybe its about time someone challenged it. With the LSN networking roadshow we've been through, and in some cases are still going through, growing pains of gathering traction in some regional locations like Southampton, Cardiff and Bristol, whereas the momentum has propelled us forward far quicker in places like Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds & Edinburgh. Why is this? Well, for me this is more of a reflection of the numbers of law firms in those locations within easy reach of a central venue, but can also be as a result of those within the local community buying in to what we do - and that in essence is put like minded people together in a room to network, share experiences and collaborate with peers. It's good to see firm like Elite putting on workshops in the regions like their Review the future direction of legal PMS solutions which will take place in Manchester and Liverpool in May. If more and more professional service providers, vendors and consultants organise workshops, seminars and events for the legal market like this, it will certainly help to demonstrate to those in the regions that the legal market is not all about London. You can find out more about LSN networking events and see photos online. 2009-04-29T07:00:35+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/law_firm_salary_survey_for_legal_accounts_jobs/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/law_firm_salary_survey_for_legal_accounts_jobs/#When:14:03:40Z It never ceases to amaze me, however much hard work to put in to producing reams and reams of editorial, news articles and press releases and other useful information - the single biggest download on the legalsupportnetwork.co.uk website in the last year was the Legal Accounts Salary Survey 2008 So, with the latest Legal Accounts Salary Survey for 2009 under way - we hope you will consider contributing to the survey by filling in our survey spreadsheet. What does it take to get you to participate? Naturally, the more contributions we receive from the community the better and more accurate the survey. So aside from offering you the opportunity to win some exotic holiday in Tahiti or an iPod - I hope you will consider contributing to the legal accounts salary survey and take away that warm feeling of doing a good deed home with you. After all, these survey are extremely useful business tools and you know you will be interested in reading it. Whether you want to know what you are worth in the market place, how much to pay your staff or just benchmark against other firms in the same region - the old adage says 'the more you put in - the more you get out'. 2009-04-28T14:03:40+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/whats_this_about_professional_standards_for_recruitment_agents/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/whats_this_about_professional_standards_for_recruitment_agents/#When:16:15:00Z Very recently I was blogging about how nice it was to see recruiters adding value to the legal market by taking the initiative to contribute in another way than just filling empty seats. The example I used then was of Hays recruitment, who recently started the ball rolling on a Legal Credit Managers Forum which encouraged Credit Managers of law firms to attend a round table session and meet like minded professionals to discuss hot topics, exchange views and share experiences with each other. In a similar manner, earlier today I had the pleasure of being invited by Career Legal, one of London's larger recruitment consultancies, to attend their first, of what may prove to be many - but don't quote me on that - Professional Standards seminar, which was run with the support of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). The seminar was the idea of Martin Snell who looks after the legal accountancy team at Career Legal and is also the firms Compliance Officer. Open to all Career Legal clients, it was well attended by professionals involved in HR from a range of UK & US law firms in London. Now for those with any kind of experience of recruitment agencies, mentioning professional standards and recruitment agents in the same scentence may raise an eyebrow or two, and sure enough in Martins opening words we were reminded of ascenario that happens all too often in the recruitment world. The employer, who has instructed more than one agency, receives the same CV from different agencies - raising the question of which agent is doing the job properly and speaking to the candidate under full disclosure - and which is just submitting the CV as a knee jerk response to receiving a new job specification without prior consent from the candidate? (Could debate that one for hours.....) Anyway, following on from Martins introduction, representatives from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) gave us an interesting insight in to their activities as a trade association for the recruitment industry and also the statutory body The Department for Business Enterprise & Regulation Reform which look safter the Employment Agency Standards and is run by Peter Mandleson. (I'm still trying to work out why the ripple of laughter when we were asked "do you know who he is?") A few stats from the REC: The REC has approx. 3,700 membership companies across approx. 7,000 branches Last year they received 827 complaints and enquiries, of which 35% of complaints were against REC members and 15% against non-members They have 4 inspection teams inthe UK and check on average 25 REC members every month. Hot Topics for discussion During the course of the seminar we were all exposed to some very interesting and useful discussions, some of the most animated of which revolved around;vacancy advertising - what are recruitment agents allowed to advertise?receiving speculative CVs - how to avoid recruitment agents taking you to task on speculative CVs and accepting TOB'stransfer fees - how are they calculated?Service Level Agreements with recruitment agents - what to include in SLAsID & Eligibility Checks - What documents should you be checking and what should your recruitmet agent be doing on your behalf?Academics & Professional Qualifications - What consititutes as a complete and thorough check?Assessment Without doubt, seminars of this nature serve as a valuable reminder to those who attend exactly how much legislation there is to understand in recruitment as well as what they should be expecting from their recruitment agents in terms of professional standards and service. The dialogue between like minded professionals is extremely useful to all who participate and moving forward I hope that Career Legal will continue to set the bar for professional standards in an arena that, as someone so eloquently put 'has historically drawn similarities with those in esate agency and car sales!' If you want to continue the conversation online, then I would encourage you to register today on the LSN discussion forum where you will be able to post questions and answer threads with like minded professionals in law firms. 2009-04-09T16:15:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/whose_legal_blogs_are_you_reading/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/whose_legal_blogs_are_you_reading/#When:06:46:30Z When an email flashed up on my BlackBerry recently, I showed it immediately to my colleague who was sitting next to me on the train, and her response was "about time to!" The email was from someone I know well and read 'We're blogging away over on the gazette now...' For those not in the know The Law Gazette, is the weekly magazine of The Law Society and whilst I'm reluctant to cast aspersions about my experiences of the society's archaic protocols and love of red tape - I have to say it is very pleasing to see them, like so many other organisations, embracing the spirit of the internet and not only re-launching their own website but launching an InBusiness blog which features some interesting views on the legal market from a management perspective. Read Rupert White's first blog entry. As I travel around the UK meeting a broad spectrum of professionals who work in law firm management and also those vendors and consultants who deliver technology, products, training & consultancy services, I regularly have discussions about how they are communicating their message to a wider audience. With the evolution of Web 2.0, rise of community websites, the desire to encourage user generated content on websites and a collaborative approach to sharing information, it strikes me that the art of effective communication is evolving so rapidly that it is all to easy to pass us by. So where should you be looking? Blogs are a great place to start in your search for information. Via a google search you are bound to find someone somewhere posting their thoughts, experiences, ideas and questions online to share with the world. Once you've found a blog or blogs you like reading - simply subscribe to the free rss feed which is normally available and you won't have to lift another finger to receive future posts - easy. To start you off, I thought I'd cover a few of the blogs I read and have come across of late in my travels online and through discussions: Law Gazette InBusiness blog - Main contributors include Rupert White the features & commissioning editor at the gazette and Mike Gorrick a well respected legal practitioner and partner at SSG Legal consultants. The Orange Rag - The Legal Technology Insider blog by Charles Christian. An up-to-date insight in to the legal technology world which regularly generates some interesting comments from the legal industry. More Partner Income - MorePartnerIncome.com is dedicated to ideas and techniques for the financial management of the law firm with the objective of increasing the income of equity partners. I was made aware of this blog by the guys at Redwood Analytics. Real Lawyers Have Blogs - Kevin O'Keefe's blog on the topic of the law, firm marketing, blogs, web 2.0 & baseball. Binary Law - Legal information in the digital age On The Hill - A blog by Brian Coventry the Managing Director of APS Technology/Billback Systems. I met Brian recently and he has some interesting thoughts on the future of the legal market. Legal tech Press blog - PR consultant Sarah Levick's blog in the legal tech sector. InPractice blog - Legal industry consultants Bill Kirby and Allan Carton regularly blog about useful and relevant topics that fall on their radar. So, I hope this will kick start you into the world of legal blogs, whose doing what, when, where and why. If you have any suggestions on other legal blogs I should be reading then feel free to let me and the rest of the world know by posting a comment. 2009-04-08T06:46:30+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lawyer_strikes_out_on_the_apprentice/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lawyer_strikes_out_on_the_apprentice/#When:08:37:00Z It came as no surprise to me last night when from the comfort of my sofa I watched Anita, a 'qualified lawyer and self-confessed perfectionist' bomb out of the opening episode of The Apprentice. If I could remember any, I'd probably right now try and regale lots of derogatory jokes and anecdotes about lawyers - but I can't, so I shall stick to what I do know. Lawyers make good lawyers - but rarely good business managers. Perhaps what captivates me about a show like The Apprentice is the self delusion that accompanies everyone we watch. Take for example one of the quotes on The Apprentice website from Anita. "My CV is strong. I am articulate. I can deal with questions and make impactful statements. Many lawyers can't. People want to chat with me." - to be honest, you could have fooled me! For me, all this episode did was remind me why law firms employ non-lawyers to run their businesses as opposed to do it themselves. It takes me back to an interesting article on The Lawyer website about employee survey reveals support staff dissatisfied, where the survey generated some interesting comments from both sides of the equation. 2009-03-26T08:37:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/nothing_like_a_freebie/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/nothing_like_a_freebie/#When:10:39:40Z Having climbed down from the euphoria of last weeks London networking event and its record attendance - 202 in total - it's now time to digest what went right as well as what went wrong, analyse the figures and follow up on conversations. In terms of what went right I think the level of attendance speaks volumes. These events really seem to have captured the interest of so many professionals in the finance, systems, IT and HR areas of law firms. There was a nice mix of people who have attended an LSN event before as well as those who were new to the LSN networking scene. Add into the equation a blend of vendors and consultants who provide valuable services to the legal industry and all in all the results were very pleasing. Following the event we encouraged people to post no-holds-barred feedback on the event on the LSN online discussion forum - if we're going to preach the merits of sharing experiences, moving information and contributing online, then we thought we'd leave you to it! As for freebies, every guest was treated to free hospitality by way of a new privilege card created especially for the event with the support of key sponsors, in addition to a guest pack full of corporate goodies for the journey home. Just look at what you can clutter your desk with the next day... The guest pack sponsored by Eclipse Legal Systems included a TFB pig - for saving your pennies, a Linetime coaster - for those that asked, it's not a mouse mat!, Saturn27 memory stick, Baydonhill Plc mug & pen, Elite T-shirt & pen.... ...and very popular amongst the golfers - APS Technology/Billback Systems golf balls... 2009-03-23T10:39:40+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/working_for_the_best_legal_firms_in_the_uk/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/working_for_the_best_legal_firms_in_the_uk/#When:19:28:16Z According to The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies 2009 the best UK law firm to work for is Manchester based firm Pannone LLP. For the second year running Pannone LLP stake their claim as the highest listed UK law firm, moving from an overall 5th position in 2008 to 3rd in 2009. A total of 10 law firms made the final Top 100 list. 2009 Rank - 2008 Rank - Firm name 3rd - 5th - Pannone LLP 19th - n/a - Lewis Silkin LLP 20th - 27th - Brabners Chaffe Street LLP 58th - 95th - Olswang 69th - 65th - Mishcon de Reya 72nd - 90th - Freeth Cartwright LLP 74th - n/a - CMS Cameron McKenna 83rd - 68th - Mills & Reeve LLP 92nd - n/a - Charles Russell LLP 94th - 74th - Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP Unlike many of its competitors, Pannone LLP featured well in a number of tables including; Most fun at work (5th) Stimulating workplaces (7th) No presure (1st) Loud and proud (4th) Most Supportive Managers (1st) Most valuable experience (9th) We are family (6th) Making the difference at work (8th) Best for training (4th) Lending a helping hand (5th) Good work life balance (3rd) Follow my leader (7th) Best for fair pay (2nd) - with CMS Cameron McKenna (5th) & Brabners Chaffe Street LLP (10th) in this table. So, what does this tell us? Well, I'm sure you can all draw your own conclusions. One thing I would be interested to know how many non-fee earning staff were included in the feedback and assessment of the results? So, if you happen to work at Pannone LLP or any of the other law firms in the operational, business services or support side of the business and were involved in the process, feel free to contribute your thoughts and tell us what you think. 2009-03-08T19:28:16+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_job_spec_says_cms_experience_essential_is_it_really/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_job_spec_says_cms_experience_essential_is_it_really/#When:12:42:25Z So many job specs these days under the 'essential experience' header, stipulate the need to have knoweldge and experience of industry specific systems. Take a stroll through the legal jobs on LSN, or for that matter on any number of legal job sites, and you will find there is nothing unique about this fact. Until that is, when you stumble across so many job specs asking for CMS experience. For those in the know - CMS is (or should I say was) the product delivered by ADERANT. Now the funny thing here is that sometime ago CMS was re-branded as ADERANT Expert - yet it appears no one has told those who write the job specs! How do we know this? Well, the law firms write the job specs - usually the line managers with assistance from HR - and the recruiters receive the job specs from the law firms - and those job specs find themselves being copied and posted onto job boards. So, users in the law firms think they're using CMS, those who write the job specs think they are looking for new recruits with CMS experience and recruitment consultants are looking for CVs that say CMS experience on them - but in fact what they all mean is ADERANT Expert and not CMS! Now in theory there is no real drama about all of this, unless of course you are ADERANT and trying to educate the world about your products. Turning the tide is a challenge and changing peoples mindset is even more so, but in time law firms will learn, recruiters will follow and we will have all but forgotten that a long time ago there was a bit of software called CMS. Think of it like the old marathon bar (for those that remember?) - it's a Snickers now, right? On another note The interesting thing about introducing a new bit of software to the legal market is that before long it creeps its way onto job specs, and before you know it someone somewhere is reaping the financial rewards of having used it in one of the law firms who have been an early adopter of the software. Take LexisNexis Redwood Analytics for example - it's a Business Intelligence tool that is finding its way into many UK & US law firms and used by anyone from the Finance Director to a Revenue Controller. Sometime back we received a number of jobs specs from a US law firm - and guess what would be a useful skill to possess?! 2009-03-04T12:42:25+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_credit_revene_managers_forum/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_credit_revene_managers_forum/#When:07:41:54Z Next week legalsupportnetwork.co.uk is hosting its inaugural Legal Credit/Revenue Managers Forum and it appears that we are not the only one's to have come up with this bright idea! As they say - who ever 'they' are - great minds think alike and during the rounding up of troops for the LSN Legal Credit/Revenue Managers Forum I discover that the Credit Control Specialist Division of Hayes Recruitment have just started the ball rolling on their very own Legal Credit Managers Forum. Good on them I say. It's great to see recruiters taking the initiative to add value to the market and use their database of contacts in a positive way. Too often recruiters get tarnished with a broad brush of unscrupulous behaviour and general bad press. I understand that the forum was chaired by the Credit Manager of Olswang and subjects for discussion included E-billings, Best practice general credit control procedures, Credit Systems (Credit Force and new systems), Credit checking and risk analysis and Relationship development and improvement between fee earners/partners and support staff. So, is there capacity for two of these forums in the legal market? Well, I really don't know about that, perhaps only time will tell. In my eyes it's not about competition but ensuring events like this add value to the market - if both forums do that - then long may they continue. Interest in the LSN Legal Credit/Revenue Managers Forum has been extremely high and in a short space of time the guest list has grown to 25 attendees of which 12 are from the Top 20 law firms. I'm sure the subjects that come up for discussion will be similar to those mentioned above and that in time these groups will find their feet and hopefully evolve to provide essential platforms for collaboration, information sharing and exchanging ideas amongst a specialist group of professionals. There is clearly a need for more focus groups/forums like this in the legal market - you'll even find a request from the Credit Manager at Addleshaw Goddard LLP in Leeds Calling all Credit Managers in the Leeds area to get together to do the same thing - although I am sorry to say on the forum there were no takers. In the meantime, we have created a Legal Credit Managers Group online within the LSN Discussion Forum for facilitating future conversations among the legal credit/revenue management community. The forum is free to use but to be able to post replies and ask questions you will need to register on the forum. 2009-02-26T07:41:54+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ok_so_who_has_heard_of_the_new_economy_legal_awards/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/ok_so_who_has_heard_of_the_new_economy_legal_awards/#When:10:48:14Z It's not every day I receive a call to tell me that legalsupportnetwork.co.uk has been nominated for the Information Sharing Service Award, UK, 2009 in The New Economy Legal Awards. Naturally I am glowing with pride, and if I had a spare hand to phone the local off license to order the champagne I would have done so, as I am told that the criteria for the selection included Innovation & Originality, Keeping ahead of the Competition, Market Leadership, Positive Media Coverage, Level of Transparency, Good Governance, Partner Success, Past Years Achievements and Client Appraisals. As awards ceremonies go, I've presented an award at the Legal Technology Awards, even heard of The Lawyer Awards and every now and again will flick onto the BAFTAS or Golden Globes from my armchair at home - but The New Economy Legal Awards - never heard of them. So my questions to you is this.... 'have you heard of The New Economy Legal Awards?' Apparently we received nominations from their audience of 120,000 key decision makers around the world - go on, let us know who you are. By the way, when I tell you that there is a substantial cost involved, and that incidentally is only paid by the winner - it may shed some light as to why my glow of pride soon turned into raucous laughter. Don't get me wrong, its not that I am not grateful for the nominations (whoever they were from), it's just I thought having served 15+ years in the legal market that I would have at least heard of the awards before. 2009-02-18T10:48:14+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/law_firm_profitability_webinars_from_redwood_analytics/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/law_firm_profitability_webinars_from_redwood_analytics/#When:07:03:40Z In an age where profitability is high on the agenda and reasons not to leave the comfort of one's own office are to many and varied to mention - the thought of learning via webinar (online seminar), and even participating for the brave amongst us, is all the more appealing. Now webinars are by no means a new treat - but like most things, they are huge in the US and slowly but surely the benefits of such methods of communication permeate across the pond and into the UK. In fact I go as far as to say that in the course of the next year or so there will be an increasing number of opportunities to take a daily advancement in knowledge via webinar. Naturally in a tough economic climate, many organisations are looking for alternative ways to communicate their message. While budgets are being reigned-in and there is a general apathy about attending conferences and exhibitions unless totally justifiable, webinars deliver many benefits to both the webinar host/provider and the guests/participators. As a host, webinars provide an extremely economical method of reaching a wide audience in the comfort of their own office. The only caveat being that you have the right channels with which to promote such activities and that enough people register to participate. As a participator, you will be able to kick back at your desk and between eating your lunch and thumbing a text to your friend, you can enjoy the benefits of online seminars. You haven't even had to leave the office - it doesn't get much easier. High on the thought leadership list for law firm profitability are Redwood Analytics who are conducting three law firm profitability webinars in March. They are free to register. Webinar 1: Learn the Measurement of Law Firm Profitability Webinar 2: The Secret to Increased Profitability Webinar 3: Inventory Management, Billing and Collections Best Practices The best way to keep track of what's on when in terms of webinars in the legal market, is to keep you eye out on the events & training page of legalsupportnetwork.co.uk for more information. Alternatively register to receive the LSN Email Newsletter which contains weekly updates on what's on. 2009-02-17T07:03:40+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/comedy_star_joins_lsn_on_stage/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/comedy_star_joins_lsn_on_stage/#When:20:37:42Z Well if truth be told, it was actually me joining Hugh Dennis on stage for the presentation on the Most Customer Focused Supplier of the Year Award at the recent Legal Technology Awards. If you want to know the definitive list of winners you'll find them on the blog from last week. Congratulations must go to Phoenix Business Solutions who won the award and joined us under the spotlight. Earlier in the day I was fortunate enough to join the Judging Panel and sit in on the Dragons Den style presentations from all the shortlisted suppliers for the Most Customer Focused Supplier of the Year. Keep an eye out on the Legal Technology Awards website for video footage. 2009-02-03T20:37:42+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lsn_supports_surrogacy_uk/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/lsn_supports_surrogacy_uk/#When:07:40:00Z Back in October 2008 we hosted the LSN Golf Cup as a chartiable fundraiser in conjunction with the Pat Levey Memorial Golf Day which celebrates the life of Pat Levey who was the Chief Cashier at Norton Rose International law firm for many years, and passed away in December 2004., The day was attended by over 65 golfers, many who work in or are associated with the legal industry. Following an extremely enjoyable and successful fundraising day, we were able to send a cheque for £1,065 to Surrogacy UK in support of their activities. Below is the response from Surrogacy UK. Thanks to everyone who participated in the day and we look forward to next year. 2009-02-03T07:40:00+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/snow_clouds_appear_over_legal_it_show/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/snow_clouds_appear_over_legal_it_show/#When:10:16:29Z I am quite sure the organisers of the Legal IT Show 2009 will think the event is cursed! As if the incessant reports of economic doom and gloom aren't enough to contend with. A well known industry blog recently commented - "We're also hearing a number of IT vendors saying that although they will attend next month's event because they are already committed, they are not planning to reserve stand spaces for the 2010 Islington Design Centre Legal IT exhibition. Their view is that in the current economic climate, staying in the office and hanging onto their jobs - not wandering around IT exhibitions - is the main priority of law firm IT managers and directors." On my walk to work this morning (can you spot any cars on this street?), I was reminded of the Legal IT Show in 2007 - on which the second day of the exhibition experienced similar snow covered scenes as London transport ground to a halt and footfall throughout the day was confined to the extremely committed! Saying that, it's only Monday and the Legal IT Show kicks off on Wednesday 4th to Thursday 5th Feb - plenty of time for the snow to melt and everyone to get the most from the exhibition. 2009-02-02T10:16:29+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/and_the_winner_is/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/and_the_winner_is/#When:09:54:17Z Have arrived back in the office today after last nights Legal Technology Awards 2009 which were, in short, a great success. In the run up to the awards there has been much debate following the event last year and the necessity of such events going forward, so having ticked the 'it was a successful event' box, I will be keen to see the feedback and discussion amongst industry folk on its future. If you are not familiar with the awards and taking the words straight from the insider cover of the evenings program guide, "The Legal Technology Awards are dedicated to the strategic implementation of technology within law firms, recognising the success of the firms, clients and vendors who are at the cutting edge of this continuously developing area of business." On the winners podium alongside the events compare Hugh Dennis of Mock the Week, Outnumbered & The Mary Whitehouse Experience fame were.... Fee-Earner Desktop/Portal of the Year - DLA Piper - Online UAE Legislation Library Training Initiative of the Year - Ashurst CSR/Green IT Initiative of the Year - Taylor Wessing Client-Facing (Commoditised) Legal Service of the Year - QcaS (a division of Shulmans) Most Client-Focused Law Firm of the Year - Wragge & Co Regional - IT Team of the Year - Tollers City/National - IT Team of the Year - Halliwells International IT Team of the Year - Ashurst Knowledge Team of the Year - Ashurst Regional - IT Director of the Year - Neil Prevett, Lester Aldridge City/National - IT Director of the Year - Janet Day, Berwin Leighton Paisner International - IT Director of the Year - Doug Caddell, Foley & Lardner Knowledge Officer of the Year - David Fitch, Simmons & Simmons Technology Innovation of the Year - knowledgeTools International Technology Implementation of the Year - Basware and Goldsmith Williams Electronic Disclosure Support/Service Provider of the Year - Merrill Legal Solutions Integrated System of the Year - TFB Plc Best of Breed System of the Year - Callcredit Online Product of the Year - Mimecast Most Customer Focused Supplier ofthe Year - Phoenix Business Solutions 2009-01-30T09:54:17+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_software_suppliers_guides/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/legal_software_suppliers_guides/#When:07:17:11Z A relatively new addition to my in-tray, courtesy of the Institute of Legal Cashiers & Administrators (ILCA), is the ILCA Listed Suppliers Guide 2009. In the words of the ILCA "The guide contains an alphabetical listing of the accounts, financial management and practice management systems from the UK's leading legal software suppliers." Now for those of you working in the legal giants - let's call that Top 100 law firms for the time being, although that statement in itself is bound to offend someone - you won't find the likes of ADERANT or Elite listed in the guide. Why? Well I think its fair to say that a majority of the ILCA membership do not populate the Top 100 law firms, although happy to stand corrected, and so the space in which the ILCA operate is not relevant to the ADERANT's and Elite's of this world. However, the guide does include 18 suppliers of legal technology and comes with its own consultant editor in the form of Charles Christian who is extremely well respected in all matters of legal technology and can often be found blogging on the Orange Rag. The guide is a very useful resource to practitioners and professionals in law firm management of small to medium size practices. Alphabetical Listing of Suppliers includes; Access Legal Systems AlphaLAW Cognito Software Ltd DPS Software Eclipse Legal Systems Edgebyte Computers Ltd FWBS Iris Legal Solutions LexisNexis Linetime Ltd Opsis Practice Management Peapod Perfect Software Professional Technology (UK) Ltd Solicitors Own Software System One Software TFB Plc Timeslice Included in the guide are FWBS who were the winners of the 2008 ILCA Solicitors Software Users Awards. The guide is free to all ILCA members, although if you want to get your hands on a copy then I suggest you contact the ILCA who I am sure will be happy to help. In addition to this, next week at the Legal IT Show in Islington, the Law Society will launch its own Solicitors Software Solutions Guide for 2009. In the meantime, if you are looking for more information on solicitors' software and/or legal technology then I would point you towards both the resources and company intelligence sections of legalsupportnetwork.co.uk 2009-01-28T07:17:11+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/recently_addicted_to_linkedin_join_my_network/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/recently_addicted_to_linkedin_join_my_network/#When:20:55:38Z Embracing the spirit of the internet - albeit a little belatedly - I have recently started the ball rolling on my LinkedIn network. I'm not sure I would ever consider myself a sceptic of these things, more of a 'how do you find the time to do it' attitude. However, having spent a few hours familiarising myself with the navigation, and already being a believer in the concept, I am already well on my way to LinkedIn addiction with a whole 20 contacts as of today. Now, the number of contacts one has is clearly either a benchmark for popularity or testament to having spent too many hours surfing LinkedIn for people you might know who also have profiles - but either way, on a professional level there are clearly many benefits to creating a network. As well as my own profile, I have also created a legalsupportnetwok.co.uk group which people can join. So, if you are already part of the LinkedIn revolution, or by reading this you are inspired to join it - I hope you will link with me and the legalsupportnetwork.co.uk group. 2009-01-22T20:55:38+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_lsn_bigger_picture_for_2009/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_lsn_bigger_picture_for_2009/#When:08:35:08Z We're all about the 5 P's at the moment - for those that don't know that's - Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance! So what are the plans for legalsupportnetwork.co.uk in 2009? Well, the main goal is to continue to build on the success of the previous year - with focus on both online and offline activities. Online LSN currently has nearly 2,000 subscribers to the Weekly Update Email which is circulated every Wednesday, and the site traffic is on the up since the launch of the 'new look' website in November 2008. When it comes to our target audience we have a real 'quality not quantity approach' and this is always reflected in our metrics. Despite being a primarily online business we have a funny attitude towards using the web to reach our community initially. We like to tell those directly who we know will materailise value from our online and offline services, and rely heavily on the viral marketing (word of mouth in old talk) to spread the word. This year our aim is to continue to build a useful information resource for professionals in the operational, business services and support areas of law firms throughout the UK. Offline however, our greatest triumph has been our networking roadshow which will find its way again to Southampton, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London in the first half of 2009. The events have been really well received and attendance is increasing all the time. We even got a mention on Charles Christian's Orange Rag blog during one exchange of comments. Having firmly established legalsupportnetwork.co.uk amongst professionals involved in the Legal Finance/Accounts areas of law firms, the website and networking events have always organically attracted a high level of interest from those in other operational areas such as Legal IT/Systems and Legal HR/Personnel areas. There are clearly many synergies between these operational areas, and many reasons why they should have an opportunity to meet each other and share information as well as share experiences across the operational spectrum. Moving forward in Human Resources/Personnel Last year we launched the LSN HR Forum in December 2008 which was well attended by a broad spectrum of HR Directors and Manager of Top 250 law firms, and proved very successful. Our aim here is to provide more opportunities both networking, social and educational for HR/Personnel professionals in law firms to meet, share information and exchange ideas. Keep an eye out in the events calendar for the next HR Forum event. The natural progression into Legal IT/Systems Last year's networking events were the foundation we needed to establish some excellent profile amongst professionals in the IT/Systems areas of law firms and looking at the year ahead we expect to see this area of the community expand significantly. It's always said that IT professionals in the legal market are subjected to numerous invites to events, conferences, vendor pitches, exhibitions and the like. However, we are confident that the networking roadshow will continue to attract more and more IT/Systems professionals from law firms as they look for alternative ways to extend their own network beyond their immediate area, particularly with finance professionals. Look out for LSN at the Legal Technology Awards 2009 towards the end of January and also at the Legal IT Show 2009 in early February. What other areas are we interested in? Well, Legal Costs i.e. costs drafting/negotiating has always been of interest to me and The LSN Team. Historically we have had good relationships with the Association of Law Costs Draftsmen, and hope to build on this during 2009. Looking ahead, we aim to provide additional resources both online and offline to this audience. jobs As LSN casts its net wide to include more operational areas i.e. Finance, IT/Systems, HR/Personnel, Legal Costs, General Support - we recognise the need to include more and more opportunities for those looking at career moves. Our newly designed jobs section offers a whole host of services to those looking to manage their career including a facility to receive any jobs posted to LSN by email, uploading your CV and managing your applications online. All that said, one of the best things about running a business like LSN is that we have the ability to respond to the economic climate, clients requirements and industry needs in the blink of an eye. We are always trying to think of new and creative ways to bring the community together, if we come up with any amazing ideas - we'll let you know! 2009-01-20T08:35:08+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/life_after_redundancy_in_the_legal_job_market/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/life_after_redundancy_in_the_legal_job_market/#When:07:57:40Z Getting back into the swing of 2009 for me means picking up the phone and doing the rounds of clients, contacts, friends and anyone else who will speak to me. Whilst many are happy to listen to tales of adventures from my recent Chile farm holiday, the conversation inevitably finds its way towards the economy and what the future holds. For some, the future may be a little more daunting than others, as for the first time this week have I received calls from people in the business services and operational areas of law firms facing redundancy. The last time I received similar calls was in the early 2000's and I was working in London for Adept Recruitment placing all levels of finance & systems professionals in law firms. The 'economic slowdown' as I believe it was then labelled, caused for a sharp intake of breath from many organisations but in truth the whole episode was short lived from my perspective. Fear not - redundancy is not the end of the road. Having had a few calls from professionals who I have known for many years and respect greatly - I thought it might help to blog about finding a job in the legal market. Where to start is the first question? Writing a good CV is everything. Where possible you should take as much advice and guidance on this matter as possible. For me legal recruiters are always the best place to start. They see an untold amount of CVs on a daily basis and will be able to assist you understanding what works and what doesn't when it comes to making an impact. Don't be afraid of asking for constructive input from any professionals in Human Resources - again they are well placed to offer excellent advice. legal recruitment agencies Selecting legal recruitment agencies to assist with your search for employment is essential. Speak to colleagues to find out who they recommend, ask your current /previous employer which legal recruiters they use and search online. I often hear of people being selective about the number of agencies they register with. Naturally, there is an argument to say that it smacks of desperation to be registered with too many agencies - but then again if you need a job - redundancy is no time for being proud. It is not unreasonable in the legal market to be registered with 5 agencies - whilst many work on the same jobs from employers - there are always those recruiters who have stronger relationships and more experience in specific areas than others. legal job boards The internet revolution has dramatically shaped the recruitment landscape in recent years and now using online jobboards is as common as going to a recruiter. In addition to recruiters, many employers are adopting more a pro-active approach to recruiting online and attracting applications direct. This approach naturally has the potential to save them a lot of money, which in the current climate is a strong proposition. Think about registering your CV online for recruiters and employers to find you and also look out for subscriptions to jobs by email which are an excellent way to stay ahead of the game, as well as being a good source of information on market salaries. Places to do this include: http://jobs.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk http://www.totallylegal.com http://www.legalprospects.com http://www.simplylawjobs.com using your network Don't forget your most valuable asset is your own network. In today’s world with things like Facebook, Linkedin and other social media - keeping in touch with ex-colleagues is easy. You might even consider attending an LSN networking event in 2009 to extend your own network. 2009-01-14T07:57:40+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_future_is_online/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/the_future_is_online/#When:08:51:53Z As we are already 7 days into 2009 I won't confess to setting any unrealistic expectations about the regularity of my blogging - but one thing's for sure - I now know the value of blogging, albeit from a readers perspective. To escape the endless stream of global doom and gloom, as well as enjoy a well earned seasonal break - I have just returned from a 3 week trip in Chile & Argentina. As an intrepid traveler I was at the mercy of guide books, flyers guaranteeing me an amazing experience, travel agents and hawkers touting hostels & guided tours. In fact my solace came in the form of random internet cafes on street corners where I was faced with the challenge of keyboards so well used that there were no characters left on the keys - lucky for me I know my way round a qwerty - saying that, finding the @ sign was a whole different ball game! Anyway, I digress. As my point was - in a very Hugh Grant 4 weddings manner - that during my trip, almost all my decisions were motivated by research online - and as it happens, more often than not via personal travel blogs written by complete strangers. I was amazed at the level of detail, accuracy and total candidacy of travel blogs and as an advocate of online communication, information & experience sharing, I am going to adopt as proactive an approach to blogging as feasibly possible. The funny thing about blogs is that you believe what you read, yet in reality it's just another opinion of someone you don't know and who may have a totally different perspective of the situation than you! However, there is a funny kind of comfort in reading about other peoples experiences and deciding whether or not to make a decision on their experience. I often speak to people in the legal industry who don't want to be 'sold to' by salesmen (and salespersons!) - yet in a funny way they know that these people add value to the decision making process. Add feedback from peers and other research to the equation and hopefully you are in a position to make an educated decision. So, why am I blogging about this.....? Well, it goes without saying that all those in the operational areas of law firms i.e. Finance/Accounts, IT/Technology, Human Resources, Legal Costs etc, experience the same day to day challenges. By the end of 2009, my goal is to have the legalsupportnetwork.co.uk discussion forum full of views, experiences, ideas and thoughts from a broad spectrum of people within the legal community. You will have to register to use the discussion forum and if you have never used a forum before then I imagine you'll be apprehensive about posting - I certainly was when I started....and still am if truth be told. But, dive in with two feet, get posting and contributing to discussions, throw out a thread and see if anyone else out there knows the answer. We have already had threads about: useful contacts in Dubai Law Society issue VAT rate change practice note Credit control software packages Calling all Credit Managers 2009-01-07T08:51:53+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/alphalaw_sucumb_to_iris_temptation/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/alphalaw_sucumb_to_iris_temptation/#When:10:13:53Z It's quite amazing what happens in the space of a few years. When I started legalsupportnetwork.co.uk I heard rumours that CS Group (now IRIS) were going around buying out independant legal software suppliers. The acquisition strategy has certainly proved a quick way of building a large user base in the UK legal market. Sure enough a few years later their portfolio includes Laserform, Mountain, Aim, Videss, Opsis and now AlphaLAW. It never ceases to amaze me the heated discussions this very topic generates when raised. There is so much to be said about the IRIS strategy - is it right? who does it effect? what are their plans? what does the future hold in store? Which 'independant' software supplier is next on their list? questions questions questions..... On my travels during the LSN Networking Roadshow I often meet Practice Directors, Accountants, Finance Directors and a whole host of other professionals on the operational side of the law firm management who have plenty to say on this subject, and I am sure that by the time we travel the UK on our next roadshow, there will be more news to fuel discussion. 2008-12-09T10:13:53+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/stepping_in_to_the_world_of_hr/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/stepping_in_to_the_world_of_hr/#When:12:48:25Z I am just sneeking this entry into the blog before my weekly deadline arrives for blogging and someone picks me up on my initial promise that I would blog every week without fail! This Monday saw LSN leap in to the HR world with its LSN HR Forum, designed to bring together HR Directors & Senior Managers in law firms who are directly involved in the operational area of the business. Hosted in the positively palatial surrounds of Linklaters London office, the forum proved to be a great success, with guests spending the day involved in facilitated round table sessions on Employer Branding, Career Development, Outsourcing & Generation Y, as well as attending a unique presentation from Addleshaw Goddard on-site at their new Milton Gate premises. We are already planning the evolution of the LSN HR Forum and looking at ways to extend our network. 2009 will see a host of new events, both networking & educational, be introduced to the calendar and we are looking at ways to bring together 'operational heads/directors & senior managers' in an environment that will facilitate cross operational discussion. Keep an eye out in the events & training area of LSN for updates. 2008-12-03T12:48:25+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/elite_user_day/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/elite_user_day/#When:08:37:45Z Walking into the Elite User Day 'after party' last night in London attracted the occassional fleeting glance that said 'what are you doing here?!' - but after providing assurances that it was not a cunning stunt and that in fact I had gratefully accepted an invite from the powers that be, I settled into a very enjoyable evening in the company of many who I had seen less than a week before at the LSN London networking event - small world! Opportunities to meet with those at the coal face are far too limited and under-rated in my experience, so naturally I always take the chance to mingle and ask a few attendees what they really thought about the day - and interesting feedback it was. There is a well know software supplier (not a PMS) that often uses the expression '100% referenceable' - a tall order in anyones books if you have a list of all their clients, but the reason I say this is because last night everyone I spoke to was extremely positive about the new format of the Elite User Day and what it delivered to the delegates. I have no doubt that the success of the day and its content can be accreddited to many individuals who contribute to the organisatuon but am sure congratulations must go to Zoe Martin of CMS Cameron McKenna for her first Elite User Day as User Group Chairperson. 2008-11-27T08:37:45+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/arlene_adams_leaving_iris/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/arlene_adams_leaving_iris/#When:16:39:41Z now, while this may not be significant news to some of you, there will be plenty of others who will be thinking "what?!" Someone dropped into a call this afternoon that Arlene Adams, the Managing Director of IRIS has left! What does that mean? Well, I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions but it will certainly add fuel to the fire about IRIS's plans for the legal market. It was only about 12 months ago that Arlene/IRIS launched their legal roadmap - so we will await with interest the first signs of feedback from this latest change in management. My own interpretation of the IRIS saga is influenced primarily by those practice and IT managers that I have met during the LSN networking roadshow as it tours the country. During this last roadshow the majority of IRIS users I met have come from the Mountain camp, although there have been a smattering of Aim users in there as well. 2008-11-24T16:39:41+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/i_hate_mondays/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/i_hate_mondays/#When:06:58:13Z I owe my thanks to Stu at Redwood for making my Monday morning. Unlike my childhood hero 'Garfield', whose mantra of 'I hate Mondays' - I always enjoy them, and today has been made all the more enjoyable already, having rolled in, logged on and 'ping' - 'someone has posted a comment on your blog' pops up - in my world, that is very exciting! Talking of exciting, last Thursday's 6th LSN London networking event was a great success. Here's some stats on the evening: 189 Guests attended of which 79% were from law firms Over 85 different UK & US law firms were represented 15% of Guests were from a US law firms 92% of Guests subscribe to the LSN Weekly Update Email If you're one of the lucky ones who attended feel free to contribute your feedback on our new discussion forum. You'll have to register, but it's extremely quick and easy and once you are registered you can post in the discussion forum and on this blog if you so desire. If you haven't been to an LSN networking event - then perhaps you might consider attending the next one, and if you don't know what happens then here's a short story on what happens at our London event. 6pm - guests arrive at our chosen venue. The reward for attending is a very nice guest badge which includes name, job title & company and a selection of vouchers which enable you to exhange for a drink at the bar. The guest badges are all colour co-ordinated - whilst we don't like to pigeon hole people, having something to talk about is an ice breaker. This time round Orange badges were Elite users, Green were ADERANT users, Clear were other PMS users (there were users from IRIS, Keystone, LexisNexis Axxia, Linetime, Miles 33, Norwel, Pilgrim, Quill, SAP & TFB), Red were from US Law Firms & Blue were what we call networkpartners. At our most recent event we were delighted to receive support from Adept Recruitment, ADERANT, BPP Professional Training, LexisNexis and Redwood Analytics, all who were hospitality sponsors for the evening. Prior to the event we initiate a Networking Assistance Scheme, where requests and questions are circulated on email among those who are attending - this way, if you want to meet anyone or find out who is experiencing similar issues prior to the event, you can do that and meet them on the evening. The whole format is very informal and guests are encouraged to circulate and mix with anyone and everyone, whilst The LSN Team are busily introducing people throughout the night. Simple, enjoyable and effective in my eyes. Keep an eye out in the events & training area for 2009 LSN networking events. 2008-11-24T06:58:13+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/big_night_out/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/big_night_out/#When:17:25:47Z Tomorrow heralds our 6th LSN London networking event where we expect to see anywhere between 180-220 profesionals in our community in attendance. The funny thing about this event is that when I set out on the journey to launch LSN I had no idea just how successful these networking events would be, and in honesty - they were never a part of the original busines plan! The first networking event was back in November 2006 wasn't even a newtorking event! Having just launched the LSN website I called up a few people I knew in the market and invited them out to celebrate - the next things I know is that I've got 42 people to socialise with, and they all work in the legal community. It got me thinking..... The thing is, there are so many reasons why it is important for people in the operational areas of law firms to meet and share experiences, ideas and thoughts - and unbelievably, back then I didn't know of any platform for them to achieve this - our networking events were born! Since the 1st London networking event the numbers have snowballed: 1st networking event - Nov '06 - 42 attend 2nd networking event - Mar '07 - 86 attend 3rd networking event - Sep '07 - 112 attend 4th networking event - Jan '08 - 146 attend 5th networking event - Jun '08 - 182 attend 6th networking event - Nov '08 - remains to be seen This and our other networking events in the regions (i.e. Southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester & Leeds) and Scotland have been an integral part of building our community and demonstrating our committment to providing a platform for people to meet with peers in other firms. Very shortly we will have launched our new website as well which will include a Discussion Fourm for the community to exchange ideas and experiences online and build thier own communities online - this is a really exciting time for us and the use of the Discussion Forums will be a benchmark for us in terms of the value we can add to the industry. For those attending the London networking event - see you there. 2008-11-19T17:25:47+00:00 http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/virgin/ http://www.legalsupportnetwork.co.uk/index.php/blog/virgin/#When:12:41:10Z ...blogger, so hello world! It's an uncanny feeling sitting here hunched over my keyboard wondering where to start - but to coin that well known phrase from the film The Full Monty "this is it lads" - I'm guessing there's no going back now. When I was researching about blogging I came across a top tip which said - A blog should be fun, if it becomes a chore, give it up! Good advice - but rest assured I think this is a great way to communicate and will be blogging weekly (you can hold me to that!) on anything that passes my desk, populates my day, catches my interest or falls into passing conversation - that's not to say that you should be mindful on conversation with me from here on in - I won't let on who you are! Anyway, the idea behind david's blog was to provide me with a way to express myself online outside of legalsupportnetwork.co.uk (LSN) - and although they are both inextricably linked - all the views, thoughts, ideas and experiences here are my own. So let's kick off - the story so far.... legalsupportnetwork.co.uk had is 2 year anniversary in September 2008 and since it's launch we haven't looked back. I have just returned from the second LSN Networking Roadshow which last week reached Edinburgh, having already visited Southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester & Leeds. Roll on the London Networking Event on 20th November 2008. The networking roadshow has been a great success and just proves to us that there is a great need for us to provide more opportunities for our community to meet and share experiences with peers and collaborate on a variety of business issues. Venturing into relatively new territory, on 1st December 2008 we are hosting the 1st LSN HR Forum at Linklaters. This event has already attracted a great guest list and if interested you can find out more about it at www.lsnhrforum.co.uk Well, that's about all I have to report today - and I'll get used to writing shorter - less time consuming blog posts with experience! Now all I want someone to do is post a reply and you'll have made my day! 2008-11-18T12:41:10+00:00