269 / 462
GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1993
P R E S I D E N T ' S
M E S S A G E
Quality - Our Competitive Edge
A frequent theme of conversation with
lawyers from various countries over my
term as President has been the
increased difficulty being experienced
by law firms in maintaining levels of
profitability. In addition, lawyers
generally find that they must strive
harder to provide the service demanded
of them by their clients. Competition
for areas of work has increased from
both within and without the profession
and, as the recession persists world-
wide, areas of work continue to shrink,
while clients are becoming more
sophisticated, demanding and discern-
ing. This increased competition means
that we now need to concentrate more
than ever on the quality of the service
that we, as lawyers, provide. In Ireland,
the solicitors' profession is giving
serious attention to the whole question
of quality and quality standards,
following the example of our
commercial clients who already well
appreciate the importance of achieving
the highest standards of quality and
client care as part of their public
relations and marketing strategy.
"Quality - the Competitive Edge" - was
the theme of this year's Annual
Conference of the Society which took
place in Connemara last May. The guest
speakers had already become involved
in applying quality standards and were
unanimous in their view that the exercise
had improved the service they provided
to clients. I believe that it is now time
! for all firms in Ireland to seriously
• consider the quality of the service they
offer, to realistically evaluate this
service and to take steps to improve it.
Quality, insofar as the service being
offered by any firm of solicitors is
concerned, would seem to me to
involve the following components:
1. Quality of service
- each contact
with our clients must involve the
highest standard of efficiency and
|
courtesy possible, coupled with a
thorough understanding of the
client's needs.
The Irish quality standard - the Q Mark.
2.
Quality of management
- In our
practices we must develop systems
and procedures to facilitate time
management, finance management
and case management so that
efficiency and communication with
clients on an ongoing basis can be
achieved and maintained.
3. Qualify of premises and facilities
- our offices, technology systems,
filing systems, accounting systems
and libraries must be the very best
that we can afford.
Unfortunately, a quality service cannot
be achieved effortlessly. Detailed
procedures and systems must be put in
place. This involves individual
solicitors devoting a specific period of
time to concentrate on the
establishment or improvement of such
procedures and systems. In many cases
this may mean the practitioner
adopting a completely new frame of
mind in relation to the running of his
practice. However, the adoption of
quality standards can bring a good
return on the time invested and lead to
more profitable practices.
In addition to examining the concept
of quality at the Annual Conference,
the Law Society has also been
involved throughout this year in
considering how best to promote the
quality concept and whether or not the
Society itself should promulgate
Practice Management Standards
(PMS). Already some practices are
looking at the possibility Of acquiring
the Irish standard - the Q mark; the
English standard - BS5750, or the
European standard 1S09000. These
formal standards cannot be achieved
without a comprehensive effort on
behalf of all members of any particular
firm over a considerable period of time
but, as we were reliably informed at
the Annual Conference, the effort is
well worthwhile. PMS on the other
hand, could provide firms with the
opportunity to set their own standards
of client care and quality in the first
instance, after which they could then
go on to consider applying for the
formal standards if they wished. PMS
would not consist of procedures and
systems being prescribed but rather
would identify the key disciplines in
which firms should establish standards
to suit their needs and those of their
clients. The Society would assist firms
interested in this approach by pro-
viding documentation, seminars etc.
The concept of quality is one that will
be promoted by the Society at every
opportunity from here on. The Practice
Management Committee hopes to
stage a series of lectures and
workshops around the country over the
coming months.
1 urge every practitioner to think about
the quality of service he or she is
offering to clients and how it might be
improved. Improving individual
standards will, in turn, improve the
general standard of the profession and
result in an improvement in our
reputation and standing. Ensuring that
clients receive a good service is the
best kind of public relations that we
can engage in as a profession.
•
Raymond Monahan
President
247