Mental Health Awareness Week 9-15 May 2022 Legal mental health charity LawCare has extended its online chat service for legal professionals from one to four days a week from today, Tuesday 10 th May. The charity, which offers free, confidential,...
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Compliance officers in law firms have certainly got their work cut out for them, which is why the ILFM team really supports COFAs especially with our membership and training . Let’s talk about cybercrime, scams and fraud and how you and your...
Firstly, and as always, we start with a huge thanks to all of you who took time out to contribute to this year’s survey. We’ve had another great response, driven by members of the ILFM community and our connections at Balance Recruitment from...
Totum Consultant Carolyn Beckford Balogun takes a look at the role of Legal Cashier and the vital part it plays in the law firm finance team. Legal cashiers don’t have to wait long for a job to come along. It’s one of those roles for...
Saffery Champness latest benchmarking survey of the legal sector, in conjunction with The Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) , looks at firms’ financial performance, their strategies for success and the key challenges they are...
Managing credit has always been something that causes stress for law firms as it brings plenty of unexpected challenges for solicitors and their accounts department. As we all know in the legal sector, it’s important for law firms to understand their...
Dr Tom Mortimer has joined the National Association of Licensed Paralegals as Academic Director. The role will see Tom leading on various educational initiatives including co-ordinating the review and development of Level 3 to Level 7 curriculum ensuring...
As we enter March, many in the industry will be planning for their professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewals. Changes implemented by the SRA/Law Society in 2015 enabled law firms to purchase PII at any time of the year, which has simply created...
To celebrate International Women's Day, Wendy Lloyd-Goodwin, founder of Life Science Law, talks about leading her legal resource business successfully through the pandemic and gives us insight into how female innovators are changing the face...
The Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme closes for coronavirus related absences after 17 March 2022. Employers have up to and including 24 March 2022 to: submit any final claims amend claims they’ve already submitted ...
"We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with innocent Russian citizens who oppose their government’s illegal invasion of Ukraine." Tim Kidd, Chief Executive - ILFM ...
Legal secretarial jobs are no longer as ubiquitous and in demand as they used to be 20 years ago. With technology helping lawyers transcribe their own notes and secretaries now blending into fee earners, there’s a vast number of legal secretaries that...
Do you hear the word “compliance” and roll your eyes? If you are reading this then you will be someone working in law, either as the compliance officer or as a legal cashier, bookkeeper, practice manager or student. Risk and Compliance...
Finance teams are always committed to providing efficient and accurate accounting services to their legal teams or clients (if outsourced). At the heart of a Legal Cashier’s role is to make sure that the client and office accounts are kept up to date,...
SOLICITORS AND THE ACCOUNTS RULES – A COMPLIANCE HANDBOOK (4TH EDITION) *ILFM Members Discount ! The latest version of the SRA Accounts Rules is two years old. This streamlined version of the regulatory duties which must be...
Christmas is rapidly approaching us, but before the sleigh bells start jingling and the mulled wine gets served, we’ve got to get through October and November and there is a LOT going on! Upcoming Legal and Finance events in October and November ...
If you are starting the process into who you should assign as the COFA in your legal firm , you might not know exactly what it means to be a COFA, and who you can consider for the role. As you will, I’ve no doubt already know, your practice is...
Unsure of your duties after being designated as a COFA? These responsibilities indicate that you are a trustworthy person who can adhere to the SRA's standards. But what does it really mean to be a COFA? What are you expected to do in this new role? ...
By Amanda Hamilton, Chief Executive of the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) The easing of lockdown restrictions has left many people with decisions to make: mask or no mask; isolate when pinged or delete if pinged; embrace...
Hampshire based Insight Legal has today bagged the ILFM’s top award for the best solicitors’ software, a title they have won in previous years. For more than 15 years the ILFM’s members have been asked for their feedback on...
A Legal Practice Manager must be an all rounder - hot on finance, compliance, HR, general management, IT, facilities and change management. Recruiters aren't asking for a lot! A strong practice manager is paramount, especially in smaller firms; there...
Summer has arrived at last and the ILFM have top tips on how to stay cool whether you're working from home or the office. Working from home challenges concentration on the best of days, never mind the surge of hot weather we’ve had...
Compliance in any legal organisation is about managing and avoiding risks whilst complying with applicable laws and regulations. It really is vital that all employees conform to a business culture that understands and respects the compliance culture and...
Please feel free to Download, Print & Share (If you would like a printed hard, copy please request from our office ) Welcome to the Institute’s 2021 guide to listed legal software suppliers. A year on from our last...
The pressures on the accounts department in a law firm is immense. Anyone working in finance and law gets it! The SRA have made the Accounts Rules less stressful, however the knowledge anyone, from legal cashier > bookkeeper > finance manager > COFA...
How to become a qualified legal cashier and all the support you need with the ILFM, the leading trainers for legal cashiers
We are consumers, all of us, so you’ll understand when we explain why we are a savvy lot when choosing a law firm to work with our business, or indeed, our personal affairs. How many people in your Accounts Department do you know? The Director? The...
Firstly, a huge thank you to all of you who contributed to our latest Salary Survey. We’re very conscious that this year’s survey has been carried out during an extended period of uncertainty, where many people’s focus and priority has been...
A legal cashier navigating a law firm’s complex technical and regulatory landscape can be stressful.
Law firms need to keep a clear focus on supporting their account’s department to ensure they comply with relevant legislative requirements to ensure the whole firm is operating responsibly, sustainably and ethically.
KNOWLEDGE SUPPORT INFORMATION Spring 2021 Virtual Conference - Thursday 27th May 10am We are very grateful to our generous sponsors, as a result this event will be FREE for ILFM Members. Click here...
With the April PII renewal window now open, the leaders of small and medium sized legal practices once again face the challenge of obtaining acceptable insurance terms. Using the recent October renewal as a reference point, a small number of...
Law firms or legal providers that offer legal services are regulated by regulators such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to maintain the public trust and the ethical delivery of legal services. Solicitors often receive and hold their...
ILFM KNOWLEDGE - SUPPORT - INFORMATION Today the Law Society has published the new guidance. This is jointly compiled by the Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG), which is made up of all the...
As we look to welcome in a new year, the UK economy waits with anticipation over the prospect of an effective COVID-19 vaccination and the delivery of a BREXIT deal that will support UK businesses. The challenge for many law...
The prospect of an imminent CoVid-19 vaccine means that 2020 may finish in a much better way than it started! Hopefully 2021 will signal a return to normal ways of working, and with a new US President who has promised to rejoin the Paris Climate...
At the time of writing, bank interest rates are sitting at an all-time low of 0.1%. Only a couple of years ago, a rate as low as this, let alone a sustained hold at this level, seemed inconceivable and yet we now face a possibility, if not likelihood, of...
Legal mental health charity LawCare has announced a new ground-breaking research study ‘Life in the Law’ ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 th October . The charity has teamed up with leading academics in the field Dr Emma Jones...
Introduction Earlier this year we published two surveys in conjunction with Saffery Champness, which considered how UK law firms were adapting their strategies around staffing, their views on future profitability and the initial impact on...
Welcome to the Institute’s 2020 guide to listed legal software suppliers . Lockdown has forced many firms to put all major decisions on hold for the past few months. Covid-19 has thrown us into adopting new working practices, principally...
You’ll be pleased to know, for once, the debate isn’t my favourite subject of all - ‘Disbursement -v- Recharge’ but the debate of ‘Face-to-Face -v- Online’ learning. Online training has been around for many, many years...
The impact of the Coronavirus will clearly have long lasting results on all of us, with new ways of working having to be quickly established in real time to cope with the challenges of going about our business under a lockdown with strict social distancing...
The ILFM has now run a second follow up survey in conjunction with Saffery Champness to understand the impact on UK law firms and their strategies around furloughing their staff members. Furloughing – where are we now? At the beginning of April,...
The SRA have stated that “We expect solicitors and firms to continue to meet the high standards the public expect”….. and…”We expect firms to have appropriate contingency plans in place for disruption, but we recognise that...
Furloughed but not forgotten Have you arranged training yet for your staff on furlough? The government is actively encouraging employers to do so * and the Institute is ready and keen to help you provide it. The furlough scheme will...
The ILFM has run a survey in conjunction with Saffery Champness to understand the impact on UK law firms and their strategies around furloughing their staff members Introduction We are living through deeply challenging and, for many, distressing times....
Rita Leat, Chief Executive of the IoP and Tim Kidd, Chief Executive of ILFM ‘got together’ (by distance!) recently to discuss how their professional bodies could help their members to ensure...
Donald Forsyth, partner at Saffery Champness, provides practical guidance on the topic. Forecast your cash requirements – If you are going to manage your firm’s cash flow, you must measure it. If you don't already forecast your cash...
02 Apr 2020 It has only been a couple of days since we made firms aware of new guidance relating to the SRA’s Accounts Rules and, in particular, the considerations for firms where there may be a delay in obtaining an Accountant’s Report, but...
30 Mar 2020 The last month has been enormously challenging for businesses across the globe and with the professional landscape changing on a daily basis, law firms may be struggling to keep abreast of the issues affecting them. Last week, in the midst...
The ILFM and Saffery Champness are inviting you to participate in a short survey (just 10 multiple choice questions), to understand the impact on law firms in the UK of the Coronavirus pandemic. All at the ILFM are here to support our members...
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