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GAZETTE
^ O PM AY 1993
Only an estimated 10% of negligence
claims against solicitors arise from
lack of knowledge of the law, writes
Justin McKenna,
introducing a new
series of articles on good practice
management.
A colleague recently said to me that
the worst day of his week was
Sunday. This was the day in the
week he did not visit his office, it
being the day before Monday. It
would be the night he would not
sleep; the night before the start of
another week. There are many
solicitors like my colleague who
dread going to bed on Sunday night.
Typically, (I will call the solicitor a
"he") he is a solicitor running his
own business with a small staff. He
spends long hours involved in
dealing with the never ending
problems of anxious clients. In a
single day he will deal with such
diverse matters as:-
• the purchase or sale of a house;
• an attendance in the District
Court to deal with a road traffic
offence or enforcement of a
judgement to collect a client's
debt;
• a family problem involving long
tales of alcohol abuse and
physical brutality;
• the tragic case of a father
permanently injured because of
an accident at work;
• a local businessman trying to deal
wth a reluctant tenant;
• the interesting case of a small
company squeezed by a
conglomerate and now seeking
protection of the competition
legislation;
• a bedside Will in the middle of
the night.
The observer will see that business is
good. How could a solicitor so able,
so popular, so highly respected,
loose sleep?
Apart from the problems of his
clients already outlined, the same
solicitor sees another picture when
he enters his office:-
• the post has to be opened; but
last week's is mostly unanswered,
• the staff are late; well it is
Monday morning after all,
• there are telephone calls to be
returned; but the phone has
already started ringing,
There are cheques to be lodged; but
before that they have to be entered
into the ledger (the ledger can wait).
There are clients to see; one chap in
particular is a new client and might
be a useful contact (must quote him
rock bottom for the sale of his
house, that way there is a better
chance of getting the purchase of the
new one).
Justin McKenna
You can see it is a busy office
because the carpet is heavily
disguised by copious piles of elastic
band bound skyscrapers of paper.
From surveys carried out it is
estimated that only ten per cent of
negligence claims against solicitors
arise from lack of knowledge of the
law.
Almost all cases coming to the
attention of the Law Society involve
breaches of the regulations,
discipline, ethics or simple common
client courtesy and the practices
involved suffer from lack of proper
management.
The Monday morning scene I have
described is not the way it was
intended. A young solicitor setting
up a practice for the first time does
not envisage such a scene, such a
Sunday evening nightmare.
The problem with the new age
solicitor setting up in practice on his
own is that he or she is doing so,
not because he wants to, but because
he has to. Lack of employment
prospects as an assistant solicitor,
coupled with an eager heart and a
willing bank provide the ingredients
of the first flush of self-employment.
Knowledge of the law on its own
will not see the overdraft come
down. A fancy computer system will
not on its own pay those university
bills. Neither will all the years of
experience be of any use in the
twilight of the solicitor's career if he
has not succeeded in basing his
business on proper system of
practice management. Practice
Management is as relevant to the
newly qualified solicitor
contemplating business alone as it is
to the sole practitioner seeking
retirement.
In a competitive business
environment with increasing numbers
in the profession and a seemingly
dwindling market place the answer
to success lies in setting and
maintaining standards based on
quality of service, systems of work
and planning for the future.
During the months ahead we shall
publish in the
Gazette
a series of
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