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Flexible working laws are changing from 6 April...are you prepared?

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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From 6th April 2024, the newly approved Employment Rights Bill (Flexible Working ) will go through. What does this mean for us as employees AND employers? Employment Rights Bill (Flexible Working) Employees can make a flexible working request twice...

ChatGPT vs Human

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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RESEARCH: Blog on accuracies when relying on GenAI for technical information. The ILFM is the go-to professional body for business support roles in legal finance, compliance and practice management and so we urge members and those in legal roles to...

HMRC Self-Assessment Helpline Tax News

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Helplines for self-assessment tax advice were going to be drastically cut but then yesterday afternoon the HMRC did a 180 degree turn around on that decision! What’s going on with the HMRC? HMRC was going to close its telephone helpline...

What could the expected changes to GDPR mean for law firms?

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Guest writer Judith Andrews is a data protection and GDPR specialist and founder of Business Tamer.   The ILFM invited Judith to share her insights into how the UK’s data protection framework including GDPR could change when the...

Legal Operations in a Law Firm

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Legal Operations – what the hell is that? Guest writer, ILFM member and Head of Legal Operations at The Burnside Partnership, Lynda Bradbury. Like many of my colleagues in Legal Operational roles, my journey has been transitional....

Residual balances on law firm client accounts

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Regulated law firms in England & Wales hold dual ledgers and residual client account balances need prompt attention. The accounts law firms hold are: business accounts client accounts Client accounts are heavily regulated under the SRA...

SRA Transparency Rules and Clients

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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SRA Transparency Rules and Law Firm Clients When legal regulators use the word “consumers”, the general meaning is actually “clients of law firms”. We are all consumers of law in one way or another, buying a property, divorcing,...

SRA news for consumer protection and finance risk management

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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ILFM feedback to the SRA's news on consumer protection and client account risk management Updated 20 February 2024 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched a review of consumer protection in response to evolving risks in the legal...

What are the Risks Associated with AI in Legal Finance

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Updated 6 February 2024 Artificial intelligence (AI) is literally everywhere in the news and conversations. There is so much noise surrounding this topic and no more so than in law firms, from tech to marketing to support to transparency to legislation...

Legal Finance Recruitment Update January 2024

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Guest writer, Richard Hooper , Founder and Director of Balance Recruitment, gives us his insights into how the UK’s legal finance recruitment market has changed since 2022 and 2023.   Hiring trends within Legal Finance  Balance...

COFA News: First law firm fined by SRA because...

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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COFA News: First law firm fined by SRA for failing to notify regulator of a material changes Recognised* law firms in England & Wales must, at all times, have in place a have a compliance officer for finance and administration ( COFA ) and...

ILFM Honorary Fellowship awarded to Jatinderpal Loyal

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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ILFM News - Jatinderpal Loyal, Honorary Fellow ANNOUNCEMENT:   Tim Kidd, Chief Executive of the ILFM, has today confirmed Jatinderpal Loyal has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Legal Finance & Management for his outstanding...

Legal Ombudsman LeO important notice - change of address

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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The Legal Ombudsman is changing its postal address with effect from Monday 22 January 2024. The Legal Ombudsman’s new postal address will be: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH   Why is change important for your firm's...

Is the 2024 legal market showing signs of slowing?

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Latest LexisNexis research predicts a slower growth for the 2024 legal market Back in October 2023, LexisNexis released its "Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index report, which predicts the legal sector growth will drop to +2% in 2024 (from...

How to embrace AI effectively in your content marketing

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Guest expert writer, Tina Caldwell from Excalibur Press, imparts her knowledge on AI and content marketing for law firms.    ...

Legal Finance and Practice Management PII questions answered

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Questions coming from practice managers and reporting accountants at the our November Conference in regard to professional indemnity insurance (pii). Joel Harding, from Howden Broking, was one of our guest speakers at the ILFM’s November Virtual...

Why AML training is beneficial for law firm support staff

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Let’s begin with the fact that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has upped its powers for their anti-money laundering supervision and investigation measures. The SRA now has dedicated resources to ensure law firms comply with anti-money...

Qualified Accountant's Report (QAR) and Legal Finance Requirements

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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The ILFM work with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to receive updates and priorities that we can impart to our members. Going forward, the SRA’s focus is to: Deliver high professional standards. Strengthen its risk based and proactive...

Are Conveyancing Solicitors at Risk of Money Laundering

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Conveyancing solicitors and CILEx lawyers play a critical role in preventing money laundering. They are the gatekeepers of property transactions and must remain vigilant whilst upholding professional standards. What are the best practices, firmwide, to...

Law Firm Suspense Ledger Advice - Legal Accounting and Compliance

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Could you be breaching the Accounts Rules with your suspense ledgers (often known as "suspense account")?  For those that aren’t aware, the main regulator, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), has a specific rule to adhere to...

Is the legal market slowing down?

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The latest Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index Report from LexisNexis is an interesting read, with the data showing that the post-pandemic legal bubble is under pressure and the research predicts the legal market's slowing down for...

ILFM and Crowe Law Firm Benchmarking Report Results 2023

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CROWE's Press Release as follows:             Law firm revenues increase but surging costs drag profits 25 September 2023, LONDON: Audit, tax, advisory and risk firm, Crowe, provides a timely...

How to become a freelance legal cashier

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Law firms in the UK, together with hard working sole practitioners are crying out for legal cashiers. Have you ever thought about running your own business and becoming self-employed? Often, we fall into working in law firm's accounts department, but...

All hands on deck for law firm marketing

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Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Why Law Firm Marketing Requires All Hands Guest writer and ILFM Member Rewards Partner, Lara Squires from Consortium, gives us her take on why it takes a whole team to market a law firm Marketing is all about...

ILFM and Law Society of Northern Ireland in partnership

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 12 September 2023 The Law Society of Northern Ireland partners with the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) The Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) announced today that...

Elephants in the room - law firm credit control and cashflow

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Guest writer, Simon McCrum, gives us his opinion on data that shows law firms can take up to 6 months before they get paid for work they have done. Looking at the recent piece in the Law Society Gazette , law firms can still take 3-6 months to...

GSCE Results - now what?

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Good luck to everyone who sat their GCSEs and are reading their results today. It’s a big day for students as well as parents, teachers and carers who support these young people with their future studies and career choices. The General Certificate...

Legal Updates with Legislation and Companies House News 2023

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Whether your law firm offers B2B services, or your practice itself requires this information to function seamlessly, this update is for you to read and share. In 2023, Companies House introduced new legislation to improve the transparency of UK companies...

Social Mobility in the Legal and Finance Profession

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM), by default, boosts socio-economic diversity through our qualifications and training into UK Law Firms. The majority of our students who come through the ILFM to study legal finance have not had...

ILFM and ILSPA Partnership

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Press Release ILFM & ILSPA Partnership - Raising Standards in the Legal Industry The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) today (1 August 2023) announces a partnership with the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs (ILSPA) ...

Legal Software - Stick or Twist

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Legal Software and how to avoid a software change being too much of a gamble Guest writer and ILFM member, Alex Simons, from the Law Factory LLP giv es us his take on legal cashiering and legal software. I’ve been working in legal...

How does your law firm stay compliant in a heavily regulated profession

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) membership is the first port of call for UK law firm COFAs (Compliance Officer for Finance & Administration).  In England & Wales, law firms are required to appoint a Compliance...

Online Safety Bill and what it means to law firms

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Online Safety Bill – are you ready and what does it mean for your law firm? At the time of writing, the online safety bill is at the Report Stage of the bill at the House of Lords, i.e. it’s very nearly coming to fruition. MPs and law...

Crowe Law Firm Benchmarking Survey 2023

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Crowe’s annual Law Firm Benchmarking survey is live! We are delighted to announce that Crowe have launched their 2023 Law Firm Benchmarking survey , working in conjunction with the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) for the...

Training for the Role of a COFA in a law firm

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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If your law firm is authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) then there is a requirement that a COFA and a COLP is appointed. A COFA is a compliance officer for finance and administration, and a COLP is a compliance officer for legal...

Interest Rate Increase and Law Firm Cashflow

Karen Edwards FCILEx ILFM(Dip)
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Interest rates are currently 4.5% and set to increase again- are you getting the most from your client account deposits?   Some law firm owners and partners may wonder if this is a legitimate source of income and whether looking around for...

Double Entry Bookkeeping Guide for Law Firms

Karen Edwards FCILEx ILFM(Dip)
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The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) is the educational body for qualifying bookkeepers to become confident legal cashiers. Working in a legal practice and looking after their books is detailed and intricate, and couple that with adhering...

Completion funds - client intends to buy another property?

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Can we retain completion funds in our client account if our client intends to use the money to buy another property? 

Life of a Legal Finance Compliance Officer

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Guest writer, ILFM Member and Finance Compliance Officer, Christine Hirons from Pinsent Masons LLP I recently reached the milestone of working for 35 years at Pinsent Masons LLP which, when I think about it, seems a very long time ago… ...

How can a marketing agency support a whole law firm?

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Outsourcing your marketing can support the whole law firm and not just the marketing team Guest writer, Dan Hodges , is the Head of Account Management at Conscious Solutions.  What are the benefits of using a marketing agency? ...

Legal Cashiers - bookkeeping for law firms

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Legal Cashiers - bookkeeping for law firms In a solicitor's practice the accounting and finance functions are paramount in keeping the law firm compliant and regulated, whilst keeping cashflow and double entry bookkeeping managed efficiently and up...

Advice for Working and Studying at the same time

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Guest writer and ILFM Member and Award Winner, Jess Davis ILFMDip Walking across the stage for my university graduation, and receiving my Bachelors with Honours degree in psychology in October 2021, I would never have expected that only a few...

Coaching and Mentoring for Law Firm Employee Retention

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Guest writer is Dr Benita Maynard, Chartered FCIPD and Director at North-52 My colleague, Tessa Dodwell , is thrilled to have been asked by the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) to speak at their Spring Conference this...

ILFM Correspondence Course Study Advice for ADHD

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Living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) whilst working, studying and often parenting can feel completely overwhelming. We have hundreds of students (adult) here at the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) and although...

The route to becoming a Legal Accounts Manager in a Law Firm

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By guest writer, Nichola Macciocchi FILFM, a Fellowship ILFM member and Legal Accounts Manager at a leading law firm in Northumberland . Always a driven child, I was really into my sport and loved art at school and quite competitive! Like many of my...

Spring Budget - ILFM Snapshot

Elaine Pasini MCIM
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered a ‘ Budget for Growth ’ after the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast a stronger than expected performance from the UK economy this year with inflation continuing to fall. Let’s look into the...

Marital Agreements and Financial Planning from ILFM Member Firm

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ILFM member firm, RIAA Barker Gillette (UK) LLP write for us with their specialism in family law on the subject of marital agreements and financial planning. Head of the family law department, Vandana Chitroda , explores the use of marital...

Law Firm Benchmarking Survey 2022 - Analysis

Tim Kidd
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Crowe , in partnership with the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM), carried out a comprehensive benchmarking survey from 50 UK law firms and the results are now in. The results are based predominantly on UK law firms’ data sent in...

Third Party Payers

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A third party, who is paying my clients costs, has requested I re-address our invoice to them instead of our client. Who should my invoice be addressed to? The fact that someone other than your client may have agreed or been required to pay for your...

Life as the Head of Residential Property at a firm of Solicitors

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Guest writer Heather Gaffney, Partner and Head of Residential Property at Lewis Denley, an ILFM Member Firm Heather Gaffney, who is a Partner and Head of Residential Property gives us some insight into a day in her life. As legal finance and...