Features and Opinion – Page 4
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Feature
Fund of information
Lending to law firms has changed significantly in recent years, from the old traditional funding market, to a ‘new norm’ with a more sophisticated range of products to suit different parts of the sector. Barry Wilkinson investigates.
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Feature
Emergency exit
With firms feeling increasingly squeezed from all sides, it may seem tempting to divest yourself of underperforming practice areas. But getting it wrong could just make things worse. Grania Langdon-Down looks at the dos and don’ts
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Keep in touch
Dan Lancaster explains why switching away from traditional communication systems is key to becoming more competitive, and how you can do it successfully.
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Flexible friend
The increased pensions flexibility introduced this April presents new opportunities for law firm owners looking to extract profits from their firms through pensions. Duncan Wilson explains
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Feature
Balancing the books
In our round-up of recent publications on law firm performance, Barry Wilkinson outlines the findings of a survey on the cause of law firm failures in the US, and Paul Bennett reviews a new title on financial management
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Feature
Reform of financial management regulation
Crispin Passmore explains how the SRA intends to reform how it regulates financial management in response to changes in consumer and market behaviours
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Feature
An offer they can’t refuse
Jillian Thomas explains how working with financial planners to offer clients a one-stop-shop for financial and legal advice can build customer loyalty, and help you stand out from the competition
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Weights and measures
Key performance indicators are an essential tool to help you understand how your business is performing, and make improvements to everything from profits to client care. Bernard Marr provides a practical guide – and outlines some of the common pitfalls
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Bench press
Our 2016 Financial Benchmarking Survey is now open for contributions. We asked a law firm partner and a legal consultant why and how they use the survey to support their work
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How can a law firm spread the cost of shareholder exit tax efficiently?
Andy Poole and Nigel Holmes provide an overview of a common issue with the limited company structure and how to overcome it
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Paying the price
Clients are more demanding on fees than ever before, and that pressure shows no signs of waning. But how can you set pricing so it’s both acceptable to the client, and sufficiently profitable for the firm? Robert Mowbray outlines a three-step approach
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Feature
Hope springs
The Law Management Section’s 2015 Financial Benchmarking Survey has just been published, and for the first time in many years, the results all suggest positive change in the market. Andy Harris from Hazlewoods introduces the results of the survey
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Opinion
Staking a claim
The legal regulators are predicting major change for the profession in 2015 in response to market and client pressures. Ian Muirhead presents an overview of potential competitive threats from the financial services
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Feature
Is less more?
The buoyant mood in the legal sector masks a new potential risk for firms: overtrading. Barry Wilkinson explains what it is, why it happens, and why it could spell real problems for law firms in 2015
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Taking stock
When Tony Stockdale began working with Linder Myers, the firm was on the brink of collapse. In conversation with Caroline Roddis, he explains how he turned the firm around, and what he thinks the future holds
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Lock and key
Setting and monitoring key performance indicators can help law firms to focus on the factors that most affect their success. Andrew Otterburn provides a beginner’s guide
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Go with the flow
With uncertainty around the timing of the next interest rate rise, law firms need to get prepared and ensure that their cashflow is robust enough to weather any financial storms, says Paul McCluskey
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Feature
Five for fighting
The recent changes to criminal legal aid have placed unprecedented strain on legal aid firms. Prashant Joshi outlines five options for firms, from closure to merging
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Feature
Limited edition
The changes which came into force on 6 April 2014 represented a fundamental change to LLP taxation, for both individual partners and firms. Jon Cartwright looks back at how we got here, and what law firms need to do now