What we know, you know.

It was a formidable exercise of power. Several weeks ago the Bar Council and Law Society extracted big concessions from the Coalition as it moved, after years of delay, to proceed with a long-awaited overhaul of the legal professions. At issue now is whether the new regime delivers appreciable savings for clients of barristers and […]

Long before cranes jut into the skyline, property markets blossom and business deals bloom, lawyers are working behind the scenes drawing up contracts, negotiating on their clients’ behalf and laying the groundwork for economic activity. The Smith & Williamson Survey of Irish Law Firms 2015/2016 should therefore, overall, make for positive reading. However, it also […]

Organisations such as these are changing the landscape in Europe, particularly in work on commercial contracts, often seen as the bedrock of legal work in any big business. Mark Harris, Axiom’s chief executive and the FT’s Special Achievement Award winner in 2013, said in his acceptance speech: “The business of law is the most exciting […]

We’re coming out of a very deep recession that’s had a huge impact on small law firms,” says Flor McCarthy, author of a new book on the difficult task of making a financial success of a legal practice. “Ninety-two per cent of the legal profession in Ireland is made up of firms with five solicitors […]

Implementing legal project management will not only help your law firm to work more efficiently and increase client satisfaction, it will give you a competitive edge too. Here are five project management lessons that are worth incorporating into the legal industry:   1. Think like a project manager Project managers have to be leaders, managers, […]

Last week, Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald unveiled 100 new amendments to the Legal Services Regulation Bill. The bill, like many before it, will be guillotined like the proverbial Christmas turkey. The legal services bill was first introduced four years ago by former justice minister and family law solicitor Alan Shatter, whose relationship with the legal […]

There are countless things to be done when you start your own law office—but the need to get clients coming through the door is paramount among the to-dos. I have first-hand experience in this because, after practicing at a small firm for several years, I went out on my own in October 2009. I set […]

In the 2015 legal market, the prevailing “buzzword” just might be disruption – every event and symposium seems to have a theme focused on it, from LegalTech to the Stanford Future Law Conference. But what are the most significant forms of disruption? And how can lawyers embrace it to improve their businesses? While new technologies will continue […]

Last October the Law Society conducted a career satisfaction survey of 344 of its member’s entitled Rethinking legal career development: How to enhance returns on talent. Some of the results were quite amazing and the following are quotes from the report: “A lack of engagement with the strategic direction of the firm is a key […]

1. Make time tracking a priority for EVERYONE You must make everyone in your practice aware of the importance of time tracking and explain why – it helps the firm make money, allocate tasks properly, plan ahead thoroughly and make everyone’s job easier by assigning the right resources to each case.   2. Put the […]