Law Firm Business Models and Retaining Talent

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 practice management to Chief Executive Officer at a London Law Firm.

I was able to pin Richard down for half an hour to really dig deep into what makes him tick and why he chose a career in law, and of course how he achieved his success! Like many of us, the legal industry wasn’t necessarily the first port of call for Richard.

Our conversation thread emphasised Richard’s passion for understanding change and evolving business management, as well as the challenges of recruiting great people and then keeping them!

School Leavers and Jobs in Law

Like me, Richard attended a grammar school, where he could have worked harder (I am in that camp!). That said, as numbers come relatively easy to Richard a position in finance was always going to be on the cards. At school, without a focus, he left not knowing what he wanted to do, and thereafter not particularly enjoying college either.

What Richard did know however at that young age, was that he wanted to work in London. That was the pull, and he landed a pretty great job, especially as a young man, working for an international travel agent. Although this role wasn’t a forever career, Richard had an amazing time and became more confident with people and enjoyed the client-facing side of the role.

When does the law firm come into play? It was interesting talking to Richard about what career he initially envisaged, and I didn’t expect “architecture” to be one of those. If he didn’t pursue legal finance and management, I suspect Richard would have gone into urban planning!

Knowing that he liked the buzz of London, he ventured into a role in finance within a London property law firm, which was busy but interesting.

“It’s always best to take the positives from a stressful situation and learn”

Richard Hill

Motivation to get ahead in Legal Finance and Management

Richard became a father in his twenties and as a young dad, he knew he had to make a comfortable life for his new family. The law firm he was at had a progressive leadership team, knew they had some talent on their hands and asked Richard straight out, what did he want from them to support his continued commitment to the firm?

"Training" was his simple answer. Like any great law firm that wants to attract and retain its staff, training is a great motivator, and if the budget means that the firm pays for qualifications and invests in training then that individual is more likely to stay and feel supported.

Up until then, Richard had never heard of the ILFM. His firm organised and paid for his courses, which suited him as they are correspondence courses. If you have a reason to want to study and work hard, then you’ll make it happen. Like many of our ILFM students, Richard had a full-time, very busy role in a law firm, and a young family, so studied in his spare time.

In his own words, he had a purpose in life.

Our courses and exams aren’t easy, they really take you to a whole new level in legal finance and management, but this is what Richard did. Having the experience in his full-time job whilst studying gave him that extra knowledge and understanding to pursue his options in his career. 

The course Richard gained his qualifications in were:

Associate Level - AILFM - The Institute of Legal Finance and Management

Richard had already been awarded the ILFM Diploma, which meant he could register for the associate qualification (AILFM), which comprises four certificates:

1. Accounting for legal finance professionals (Certificate AA)
2. Financial management (Certificate AFM)
3. Tax for legal finance professionals (Tax for Legal Finance Professionals)
4. Legal practice management (Certificate ALPM)

If a firm encourages its staff to train and continue with their professional development, it really is a great incentive to stay and feel appreciated.

Richard Hill and the ILFM

The ILFM tutors were brilliant and incredibly supportive, which gave Richard the confidence to continue in his legal finance and management career. Being in practice whilst studying gave Richard an advantage, he felt.

Having worked hard and gained his AILFM status Richard was approached by one of the ILFM to see if he would like to sit on the committee of its Executive Council. That was back in 2008 and he’s been with us ever since!

The ILFM’s Executive Council is teamed up of 10 professional volunteers in the field of legal finance and management, and Richard has held his three-year tenure as Chair previously, and was responsible for employing our current Chief Executive, Tim Kidd, in that time. He’s also the ILFM’s training tutor for our Cyber Security Workshop and COFA Masterclasses (not to be missed!).

A down-to-earth, fun, and exemplary professional with huge experience in compliance and management, we think every COFA could gain more practical experience through Richard’s masterclasses, and definitely if you have been given this new role in your firm!

Practice Management and Compliance Officer

From an accounts’ clerk to finance and operations manager at Stepien Lake LLP, Richard really was at the coalface of a busy practice whilst overseeing technical software implementations and digitisation of its client service delivery, which were extremely rewarding, but he knew his next step involved people and leadership.

Not long after Richard joined the ILFM, he was offered promotion and subsequently stepped into the role of Practice Director, where he became involved in running the business as well as getting involved with clients.

Being heavily regulated by the SRA (as a niche real estate firm), Richard was able to use his own experience and studies to become the ILFM’s go-to COFA trainer, which he has been running since 2013. His own CPD and SRA training means he offers up-to-date information and advice.

CIMA Training for a Legal Professional

Anyone who has the drive to progress in the legal world often requires the support of their law firm partners and peers. When it comes to retaining talent by offering more training and further qualifications, there is always going to be the worry that individuals might leave. However, Richard’s philosophy is if you don’t support your staff or help with their studies and CPD and they stay, then what happens? Mistakes are made and staff morale shifts downwards.

CIMA qualifications were the obvious next step in Richard’s career path. CIMA is the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, and its qualifications mean that his skillset plus membership offer transferable skills to other fields of professional practice.

For Richard, dovetailing those qualifications with ILFM, CIMA and his subsequent master’s degree in strategic business management means they have enabled him a greater scope in honing his technical accounting skills with his leadership and business management proficiencies.

Law and finance are person-centred industries, with humans at the heart of everything we do.

Attracting Talent and Retaining Valued Employees

If possible, gaining further qualifications whilst working will set you ahead of your peers. It can be tough, but correspondence courses (such as ours!) are perfect in this scenario. It’s hugely rewarding.

Richard is an advocate, from his own experience, to lead by example. It’s a candidate’s market out there and the best way to protect your client’s money and your law firm as a whole is to really understand what motivates your new recruits.

Richard and I both attended the Legal Futures Conference this year and the theme was law firm business models. There is a plethora of models out there, from the Alternative Business Structure (ABS) to employee-owned (think John Lewis partnership!), but each and every one will attract professionals that research and find out if the senior management will have their back and offer continued career support through training.

Future Challenges in Law Firms

Technology and digitalisation are moving faster than we can keep up with it sometimes. This means management in Legal Practice and Legal Accountancy need to have a clear understanding of what works best for each department.

It is often the accountancy side of a law firm that receives the bolt-on to the new legal software. Sourcing and implementing new software are time-consuming and can throw up many frustrations and challenges, so Richard’s advice would be to really do your homework, not just the technical side and the functions, but also from the customer care and support handling.

Other changes that we are seeing are the number of new roles in the legal profession, with more functions for a diverse set of professionalisms. Larger law firms have more innovation strategies and psychology behind them, bringing in managers to oversee a variety of purposes.

When the Legal Services Act 2007* came into play, it opened a new genre of law firms, offering the ability to move away from the “practice” model to the “business” model, whilst protecting the consumer of legal services at all costs.

 *Legal Services Act 2007

In our lifetime, we have never seen such constant uncertainty, whether it’s Brexit, Covid19 Pandemic, or European Wars, each one of these has an impact on our daily home and working lives.

Richard says it’s better to be prepared for change at all times: be proactive and not reactive.

When summarising our conversation, Richard said heading up a profitable and successful law firm comes down to people management and motivating your staff. It’s a balancing act and being open to possible flexible working, or how to work with a demand for talent that therein often means higher salaries, whilst not cutting corners with under-qualified professionals (e.g., getting in a bookkeeper who has no legal cashiering training or qualifications).

If you bring in apprenticeships or less qualified personnel, this is when you can support them and train them; you will know what they are studying, they will learn from you through experience and appreciate great leadership. A great way to retain your talent.

Having a team culture that cascades throughout the firm, with a positive mindset from the top, and always ensure your team can ask questions and gain support. Mistakes are made and the SRA can swoop in when communication breaks down.

Richard Hill is the Chief Executive Officer of Stepien Lake LLP, a member of ILFM Executive Council and an ILFM trainer.