Conflicts and Confidentiality for Law Firms

Date: 09 February 2010

Location/ Region: London

Time: tbc

City: London

Venue: tbc

CPD: n/a

Cost/ Price: £495.00+VAT

Concessions: n/a

Brief description:
The most fundamental risk to a law firm is the loss of client confidence and trust.

A failure to deal with conflicts of interest and related confidentiality issues in a proper manner can result in adverse regulatory consequences and injure the reputation of the firm. Critically, it can also damage individual client relationships beyond repair. Never has the need to retain clients been of such importance to the well being of a law firm.

Minimising risk in this area requires firms to address both matters of strategy and process. At a strategic level what choices can be made to reduce the occurrence of relationship threatening conflicts? From a process point of view, what can be done to ensure that conflict and confidentiality problems are dealt with in a transparent, timely and effective way? What can you do to preserve the strength of a client relationship at a time of stress?

This is a time of change in terms of the regulatory framework within which firms must operate. This masterclass provides the opportunity to explore these questions under the guidance of tutors who have long experience of dealing with the practicalities of conflicts and have been directly involved in the formulation of policy and creation of procedures to manage the risks associated with conflicts of interest.

Content:
The most fundamental risk to a law firm is the loss of client confidence and trust.

A failure to deal with conflicts of interest and related confidentiality issues in a proper manner can result in adverse regulatory consequences and injure the reputation of the firm. Critically, it can also damage individual client relationships beyond repair. Never has the need to retain clients been of such importance to the well being of a law firm.

Minimising risk in this area requires firms to address both matters of strategy and process. At a strategic level what choices can be made to reduce the occurrence of relationship threatening conflicts? From a process point of view, what can be done to ensure that conflict and confidentiality problems are dealt with in a transparent, timely and effective way? What can you do to preserve the strength of a client relationship at a time of stress?

This is a time of change in terms of the regulatory framework within which firms must operate. This masterclass provides the opportunity to explore these questions under the guidance of tutors who have long experience of dealing with the practicalities of conflicts and have been directly involved in the formulation of policy and creation of procedures to manage the risks associated with conflicts of interest.

Who will benefit:
Directors, Managers, Officers and Partners with responsibilities for:

Compliance
Risk
Conflict and Engagement Risk
Client Screening
Regulatory Risk
Risk
Client Care
Professional Practice
Professional Standards
Practice Management
Quality

Tutors/ Lecturers/ Speakers:
Chris Hugill is now a consultant and served as risk management partner at law firm Ward Hadaway between 2007 and 2009. He was a visiting professor at the University of Northumbria between 2004 and 2007 and continues to work closely with the University in relation to its teaching of professional ethics and regulation and legal practice management. As a regional managing partner between 2000 and 2004 he helped put in place and implement the policies and approach of the international law firm of Eversheds. He continues to practice as a commercial property lawyer at Ward Hadaway and has substantial ongoing experience of dealing with practical conflicts and confidentiality issues. Geoff Harrison was a partner with Eversheds practising in the field of competition law. He was part of the firm's Executive Team from 2000 and 2003 and then became Head of Client Relationship Management.Geoff was the architect of the Eversheds' award winning CRM strategy and programme and a member of the firm's risk committee. He has been involved in legal and business education and training for many years and is now an independent consultant .

Provided by: Ark Group
Posted by: The LSN Team
Date: 09 February 2010
Listed in: Finance, General, Training and educational courses, Workshops and seminars, Risk management, London