Welcome to the ILFM Blog where you will find industry news, tops tips, guest editorials and more!
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...
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...
By guest writer, ILFM Member and Financial Management Award Winner, Brogan Halcrow We asked Brogan about her thoughts and best advice when it comes to studying via a correspondence course with the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM), and...
Guest writer, Richard Hooper from Balance Recruitment, tells us his take on how best to attract and retain the right person for your law firm. I’ll soon be approaching 20 years of recruiting within the legal finance community and I’m looking...
Guest writer, Joanna Gaudoin, is a best selling author and Managing Director of Insight Out Image . She helps professionals with their technical skills whilst improving their non-technical ones to aid career progression and boost their...
How great is it that we can openly discuss being healthy in both body and mind nowadays. There was a time when burnout, depression and anxiety at work were seen as inconsequential. Stiff upper lip, just get on with it mentality. Any good manager will know...
The ILFM announces that Karen Edwards joins as the Head of Professional Development The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) announced on Wednesday 22 February 2023 the appointment of Karen Edwards as the new Head of...
Guest writer, Mark Adderley, ILFM Council Member and Manager at Crowe has kindly written this article for us in this LGBT history month. LGBT history month is a time of reflection for many people in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a time to...
Tim Kidd, Chief Executive of the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) , shares his thoughts on how modern law firms can attract and retain talent - a conversation with Osprey Approach in their series of webinars. I was delighted to take part...
Receiving credit card payments in a law firm can ease cashflow as a simple, effective and affordable way of getting clients to pay their invoices quickly. That said, as a Finance Director or Legal Cashier in a Law Firm, you must ask yourself a...
Guest writer, Davina Patel from Access to Justice Foundation ATJF and supporter of the ILFM Access to Justice Foundation and working with the ILFM – a personal perspective Having met with Elaine Pasini, Head of Communications at the...
In the life of Legal Finance - 25 years and Counting Guest writer, Marc Pegg, ILFM Member and Finance Director at Actons Solicitors. My first position at a law firm would begin in the summer of 1997 at the tender age of 17. Careers Advice! ...
The government will be able to prosecute businesses, including law firms and accountants, if a new “ failure to prevent fraud ” clause is added to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill, which is currently at the Second Reading Stage...
How I Became a Finance Manager in a Law Firm in England Charlotte May is a guest writer for the ILFM, a Finance Manager at Nalders Solicitors and an ILFM Award Winner with her Fellowship studies. My name is Charlotte May and I live and...
Legal aid firms offered free, government-backed cyber security support Guest post from Richard Hughes, Head of Technical Cyber Security at A&O IT Group The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) is known for protecting its members ...
Updated January 2024 Your out-of-office at Christmas time was on, and you were signing off to enjoy the festive period! You’re now back, the number of emails gathering in your inbox is upsetting, and the January weather has hit you like...
Presentation and Representation are key to a successful PII renewal Guest Writer, Joel Harding from Howden Group, Insurance Brokers Professional Indemnity insurance (PII) is critical to the very existence of a law firm and a significant expense....
How the ILFM studies helped me become the first non-solicitor board member of a 200+ year-old law firm Guest post from Peter Adams, Finance Director at GA Solicitors. I am in my mid-fifties. I started my ILFM studies five years ago. I have...
Meet Simon Smith – ILFM Legal Practice Management Course Tutor What a pleasure it was for me to chat with Simon Smith, the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM)’s new Legal Practice Management Tutor. I was able to...
Guest editorial from Dan Warburton, Law Firm Consultant, Speaker & Author The Law Firm Owners' 3 Secrets to Major Take-Home Profits While Freeing up Their Time Having now worked with over 1000 entrepreneurs and business owners in the last...
Attracting and Retaining in Law Firms - An Interview with Richard Hill Richard Hill has sat on the Executive Council at the Institute of Legal Finance & Management since 2008, and his career in law all the while has taken him from accounting and...
Guest Writer, Lillian Oliveri, founder of Kale Accountancy and ILFM Member. Lillian is AAT qualified with over 25 years of experience in Accountancy and, more specifically, Legal Accounting. Sole Practitioner and Freelance Legal Account Life Based...
Conveyancing Fraud – Practical Steps for Prevention On 12 November 2022, the House of Lords Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee published its report “Fighting Fraud: Breaking the Chain”. This included a number of key...
Every Sole Practitioner has many plates to spin: practising technical law; adhering to regulations, keeping on top of compliance; their own marketing; navigating the best PII deal; and of course, the accounting. Further to the sorry tale of the...
Further to the SRA’s Compliance Conference this year, it became apparent that misuse of suspense accounts irritated them! Whether you are in legal finance as a Legal Cashier, or a COFA, hopefully this short guide will offer you confidence,...
Guest Post by Lesley Mcdowell, co-founder of Fortuna FX. Lesley specialises in all products and services within the International Payments sector. With her client-led approach she ensures all clients achieve the most competitive rates across the market from...
ILFM partners with DELL UK – NEW MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT Dell UK has partnered with the Institute of Legal Finance & Management to enhance the ILFM’s membership benefits. We always look to add value to our hard-working ILFM...
Guest blog from ILFM Member, Karen Edwards. A day in the life of an Operations Director in a regional law firm. A Day in the Life of an Operations Director and Compliance Officer Being Operations Director at Hedges Law, I have a varied and...
My name is Subha Sabeshan, and I am a Legal Cashier Professional at Bolt Burdon Kemp LLP. I started at BBK back in 2005. How time flies! I have been invited by the ILFM to write a guest post and although numbers and solutions are my passion, I hope...
Microsoft Teams - a Quick Guide Guest blog from Suzanne Driver from 365 Training Consultants What is Teams? Teams is online or desktop application with the majority of users using “Chat” and...
Without fail World Mental Health Day #WMHD falls on the same day of the same month each year. If you’re not already aware, it’s 10 th October! The ILFM and LawCare – Legal Finance Professionals’ Mental Health Matters Legal...
Here we go again! Stamp duty changes in the government’s mini-budget. A number of changes are made to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) regime but in the main, the changes increase the amount that a purchaser can pay for a residential property before...
ILFM Member and Guest Writer, Grant Sanders, gives us an overview of the Day in the Life of being a Legal Practice Manager. Read on!
When conveyancing is heavily in demand and research shows us that an average UK legal practice is seeing a 60% rise in transactions, we ask, is your legal cashier compliant, trained, and qualified to cope with the pressures surrounding risk assessment and...
The ILFM is adding to its leadership team with the appointment of Elaine Pasini as Head of Communications. In this new role, Elaine will be responsible for leading the ILFM’s external and internal communications effective immediately. With over...
Hampshire based Insight Legal has today been confirmed as the ILFM’s Gold Award 2022 for the best law firm software from our members and software users. For more than...
We are now looking to appoint a Head of Professional Development, who will have a unique opportunity to build the profile and transform the knowledge of members of an organisation dedicated to driving innovation, advancing education and promoting excellence...
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, emotional...
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...
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...
