The Law Society Gazette reports today that the Legal Services Board has approved the SQE - due to start in the autumn of next year.

Uncertainty has been removed. Qualifying as a solicitor will be by this method from the autumn on 2021. Here's a link to the article in the LS Gazette announcing this: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/its-official-lsb-approves-solicitor-super-exam/5106169.article?

For information about the SQE see here: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/the-new-sqe-exam-and-qualification-method/

For information on how you can use the Apprenticeship Scheme to pay for the SQE training costs see here: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/apprenticeships-the-sqe-how-this-can-save-you-money/

For information on how we can help aspiring solicitors with monitoring your QWE see here: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

The Law Society published on 24^th August a very helpful guide. This can be accessed here: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/coronavirus/practical-framework-for-law-firms-and-sole-practitioners-on-return-to-the-office

However, for speed and ease of reference (on the basis that every click loses a percentage) we have reproduced it here. We hope this will be of assistance.

The UK government has published detailed guidance for offices in England, which covers law firms and sole practitioners.

The guidance has been updated to state that employers should consult with their employees to determine who can come into the workplace safely from 1 August 2020. This extends to people who are at a higher risk or clinically extremely vulnerable.

We've updated this framework to reflect the most recent guidance from the government on ensuring a COVID-19 secure workplace, changes to the rules on working from home, when to wear face coverings, guidance on mass gatherings, ventilation and work-related travel.

These are the most relevant points for legal services.

Basic principles

• Non-prescriptive. Each law firm will need to translate the guidance into specific actions, depending on its size, management and structure
• Legal obligations. The guidance does not supersede any legal obligations relating to health and safety, employment or equalities. Existing obligations must be complied with, including those related to individuals with protected characteristics
• Discretion and COVID-19 secure workplaces. The updated guidance no longer suggests working from home if you can. Instead, it gives employers discretion on their workplace arrangements. Measures could include continuing to work from home, but the guidance emphasises that this is just one way to work safely. An alternative is to make workplaces safe by following 'COVID-19 secure' guidelines so that staff can return to work

Practical steps firms have to take

Contents 

• Conduct a risk assessment (including how to manage an outbreak)
• Manage risks and compliance
• Look after your staff who are on-site and working from home
• Protect people who are at higher risk
• Support staff who need to self-isolate
• Ensure you comply with measures required for staff members with protected characteristics
• Put in place measures for social distancing at work
• Adapt workplaces and workstations
• Adapt your meetings
• Adapt your common areas
• Managing client visits and contractors
• Be clear on personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings
• Manage your workforce who are on-site, track and trace duties, and managing an outbreak
• Minimise work-related travel
• Keep communicating with your staff
• Review your policies and processes

Conduct a risk assessment

The firm needs to carry out an appropriate COVID-19 risk assessment, just as it would for other health and safety related hazards.

As part of your risk assessment, you should make sure that you have an up-to-date plan in case there's a COVID-19 outbreak. This plan should nominate a single point of contact who should lead on contacting local public health teams.

This risk assessment must be done in meaningful consultation with staff groups.

• If the organisation has fewer than five workers, there's no need to write anything down as part of the risk assessment
• Firms must consult on the risk assessment with their nominated health and safety representative
• The assessment should have particular regard to whether the people doing the work are especially vulnerable to COVID-19
• Firms should share the results of the risk assessment with their workforce. If possible, firms should consider publishing it on their website (and the government expects all businesses with over 50 employees to do so)
• When employers consider that workers should come into their place of work, this will need to be reflected in the risk assessment and actions taken to manage the risks of transmission in line with this guidance
• The risk assessment should consider higher-risk groups including: older males, people with a high body mass index (BMI), people with health conditions such as diabetes, and people from some Black, Asian or minority ethnicity (BAME) backgrounds

If you've already conducted your risk assessment (and have opened your offices), you must review it regularly and cross reference it against this practical framework to check that the measures you have put in place are working and identify any further improvements you should make.

Download the template COVID-19 risk assessment for law firms (Word 116 KB)

A meaningful consultation means engaging in an open conversation about returning to the workplace before any decision to return has been made. This should include a discussion of the timing and phasing of any return and any risk mitigations that have been implemented.

Manage risks and compliance

• Employers have a duty to reduce workplace risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level by taking risk mitigation measures, including consulting with other employers that share the same workplace. To protect the health and safety of your workers and visitors, employers are advised to consider the following steps in order:
  • ensuring both workers and visitors who feel unwell stay at home and do not attend the premises
  • in every workplace, increasing the frequency of handwashing and surface cleaning
  • businesses and workplaces should make every reasonable effort to ensure their employees can work safely. This may be working from home or a COVID-secure workplace
  • When in the workplace, everyone should make every reasonable effort to comply with the social distancing guidelines set out by the government
  • From 1 August, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals can go to the workplace as long as it's COVID-secure, but should carry on working from home wherever possible
• Where the social distancing guidelines cannot be followed in full, in relation to a particular activity, firms should consider whether that activity needs to continue for the business to operate, and, if so, take all mitigating actions possible to reduce the risk of transmission between staff
• Mitigating actions include:
  • increasing the frequency of hand washing and surface cleaning
  • keeping the activity time involved as short as possible
  • using screens or barriers to separate people from each other
  • using back-to-back or side-to-side working (rather than face-to-face) whenever possible
  • reducing the number of people each person has contact with by using ‘fixed teams or partnering’ (so each person works with only a few others)
  • redesigning tasks to avoid people needing to unduly raise their voices to each other
• If people must work face-to-face for a sustained period with more than a small group of fixed partners, an assessment is needed on whether the activity can safely go ahead

Display a notification (90 KB) in a prominent place in your business and on your website to show the firm has followed this guidance 

The government has clarified that failure to complete a risk assessment that takes account of COVID-19 or completing a risk assessment but failing to put in place sufficient measures to manage the risk could constitute a breach of health and safety law.

Enforcing authorities can issue enforcement notices to help secure improvements.

Serious breaches and failure to comply with enforcement notices can constitute a criminal offence, with fines and even imprisonment of up to two years.

Inspectors are carrying out compliance checks nationwide to make sure that employers are taking the necessary steps.

Law firms and practitioners must follow instructions from authorities in the event of new local lockdowns and restrictions.

Look after your staff who are on-site and working from home

• The government advice has changed from 'work from home where you can' to employers should ensure that workplaces are safe, whilst also enabling working from home
• You should consult with your staff to decide who can come into the office safely. In doing so, you need to take account of a person's journey, caring responsibilities, protected characteristics and other individual circumstances. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk
• If you consider that your staff should come into the office, then this will need to be reflected in your COVID-19 risk assessment and actions taken to manage the risks of transmission in line with this guidance. It's vital that employers engage with their staff to make sure that they feel safe returning to work, and they should not force anyone into an unsafe workplace
• Steps that will usually be needed:
  • considering the maximum number of people who can be safely accommodated on site
  • planning for a phased return to work for people safely and effectively

 Protect people who are at higher risk

• From 1 August, clinically extremely vulnerable individuals can return to their workplace provided that COVID-secure guidelines are in place. However, they should work from home wherever possible
• If clinically vulnerable individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the option of the safest available on-site roles, enabling them to maintain social distancing. It may be appropriate for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals to take up an alternative role or adjusted working patterns temporarily
• Attention should also be paid to people who live with clinically extremely vulnerable individuals

Support staff who need to self-isolate

• Staff members who are advised to stay at home under existing government guidance to stop infection spreading should not physically come to work. This includes staff who have symptoms of COVID-19, those who live in a household or are in a support bubble with someone who has symptoms, and those who are advised to self-isolate as part of the government's test and trace service
• Your organisation should enable workers to work from home while self-isolating if appropriate

Ensure you comply with measures required for staff members with protected characteristics

• Understand and take into account the particular circumstances of those with protected characteristics
• Involve and communicate appropriately with workers whose protected characteristics might either expose them to a different degree of risk or might make any measures under consideration inappropriate or challenging for them
• Consider whether you need to put in place any particular measures or adjustments to take account of your duties under the equalities legislation
• Make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled workers being put at a disadvantage and assess the health and safety risks for new or expectant mothers
• Make sure that the steps taken do not have an unjustifiable negative impact on some groups compared to others, for example, those with caring responsibilities or those with religious commitments

Put in place measures for social distancing at work

You must make sure that your staff maintain social distancing guidelines (two metres or one metre with risk mitigation where two metres is not viable) wherever possible, including:

•  while arriving at and departing from work
• while in work
• when travelling between sites

The government has emphasised that social distancing applies to all parts of a business, not just the places where people spend most of their time. This includes entrances and exits, break rooms, canteens and similar settings. These are often the most challenging areas to maintain social distancing and workers should be specifically reminded.

Some measures to implement include:

• staggering arrival and departure times at work to reduce crowding into and out of the workplace, taking account of the impact on those with protected characteristics
• providing additional parking or facilities such as bike racks to help people walk, run, or cycle to work where possible
• reducing congestion, for example, by having more entry points to the workplace
• providing more storage for workers for clothes and bags
• using markings and introducing one-way flow at entry and exit points
• providing handwashing facilities, or hand sanitiser where not possible, at entry and exit points and not using touch-based security devices such as keypads
• defining process alternatives for entry/exit points where appropriate, for example, deactivating turnstiles requiring pass checks in favour of showing a pass to security personnel at a distance
• reducing movement by discouraging non-essential trips within buildings and sites, for example, restricting access to some areas
• introduce more one-way flow through buildings
• reducing maximum occupancy for lifts, providing hand sanitiser for the operation of lifts and encouraging use of stairs wherever possible
• making sure that people with disabilities are able to access lifts
• regulating use of high traffic areas including corridors, lifts turnstiles and walkways to maintain social distancing
• operating the office ventilation system when there are people in the building

Adapt workplaces and workstations

• Avoiding use of hot desk spaces and, where not possible, cleaning workstations between different occupants, including shared equipment. Workstations should be assigned to an individual and not shared
• Review layouts and processes to allow people to work further apart from each other
• Using floor tape or paint to mark areas to help workers keep socially distanced
• Only where it’s not possible to move workstations further apart, arranging people to work side by side or facing away from each other rather than face-to-face
• Only where it’s not possible to move workstations further apart, using screens to separate people from each other
• Manage occupancy levels to enable social distancing
• Ventilation into the building should be optimised to ensure a fresh air supply is provided to all areas of the facility and increased wherever possible. Doors and windows should be kept open if possible

Adapt your meetings and business gatherings

• Using remote working tools to avoid in-person meetings
• Only absolutely necessary participants should attend meetings and should maintain social distancing
• Avoid transmission during meetings, for example, avoiding sharing pens and other objects
• Provide hand sanitiser in meeting rooms
• Hold meetings outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms whenever possible
• For areas where regular meetings take place, use floor signage to help people maintain social distancing
• The guidance confirms that businesses can host events:
  • indoors: businesses following COVID-19 secure guidelines can host groups of more than 30 people indoors, for example for training and seminars
  • outdoors: in public outdoor spaces, businesses can host more than 30 people provided they take reasonable steps to mitigate the risk of transmission, following COVID-19 secure guidance and complete a risk assessment

Adapt your common areas

• Work collaboratively with landlords and other tenants in multi-tenant sites/buildings to ensure consistency across common areas, for example, receptions, staircases
• Stagger break times to reduce pressure on break rooms or canteens
• Create additional space by using other parts of the workplace or building that have been freed up by remote working
• Install screens to protect staff in receptions or similar areas
• Provide packaged meals or similar to avoid fully opening staff canteens
• Encourage workers to bring their own food
• Reconfigure seating and tables to maintain spacing and reduce face-to-face interactions
• Regulate use of locker rooms, changing areas and other facility areas to reduce concurrent usage
• Encourage storage of personal items and clothing in personal storage spaces, for example, lockers and during shifts

Managing client visits and contractors

The UK government guidance states that from 8 August, members of the public will be required to wear a face covering when visiting premises providing professional, legal or financial services.

The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed that this requirement only applies to law firms with a ‘shop front’ on to a high street, for example where members of the people can walk in.

All other law firms, for example those who only see clients by appointment, do not require their clients or visitors to wear face coverings in their premises. Other rules on social distancing, cleaning protocols and information set out in the government guidance and our practical framework. Staff are not required to use face coverings in law firms. The use of face coverings is discretionary.

You may wish to:

• encourage visits via remote connection/working where this is an option
• where site visits are required, site guidance on social distancing and hygiene should be explained to visitors on or before arrival
• limit the number of visitors at any one time
• determine if schedules for essential services and contractor visits can be revised to reduce interaction and overlap between people, for example, carrying out services at night
• maintain a record of all visitors, if this is practical
• revisit visitor arrangements to ensure social distancing and hygiene, for example, where someone physically signs in with the same pen in receptions
• provide clear guidance on social distancing and hygiene to people on arrival, for example, signage or visual aids and before arrival, for example, by phone, on the website or by email
• establish host responsibilities relating to COVID-19 and providing any necessary training

Be clear on personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings

• Wearing a face covering is optional and is not required by law to be worn by staff in the office
• Firms should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect against COVID-19 outside clinical settings or when responding to a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
• Unless firms are in a situation where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is very high, the risk assessment should reflect the fact that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited. However, if the risk assessment does show that PPE is required, then firms must provide this PPE free of charge to workers who need it. Any PPE provided must fit properly
• Face coverings are not a replacement for other ways of managing risk, such as increased hand and surface washing. If staff members choose to wear one, firms should support their workers in using face coverings safely if they choose to wear one. This means telling workers:
  • wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on, and after removing it
  • when wearing a face covering, avoid touching your face or face covering, as you could contaminate them with germs from your hands
  • change your face covering if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it
  • continue to wash your hands regularly
  • change and wash your face covering daily
  • if the material is washable, wash in line with manufacturer’s instructions. If it’s not washable, dispose of it carefully in your usual waste
  • practise social distancing wherever possible
• You should provide extra bins to dispose of face coverings and other PPE safely. The government has produced further guidance on how to dispose of single use face coverings and PPE properly

Manage your workforce who are on-site, track and trace duties, and managing an outbreak

• As far as possible, where staff are split into teams or shift groups, fix these teams or shift groups so that where contact is unavoidable, this happens between the same people
• Make sure that all employment records are up to date, including contact details
• Assist the test and trace service by keeping a temporary record of your staff shift patterns for 21 days and assist NHS Test and Trace with requests for that data if needed. See further guidance
• If there's more than one case of COVID-19 reported in your organisation, you should contact your local PHE health protection team to report the suspected outbreak
• If your local health protection team declares an outbreak, you'll be asked to record details of symptomatic staff and assist with identifying contacts. You'll be provided with information about the outbreak management process, which will help you to implement control measures, assist with communications to staff, and reinforce prevention messages
• If possible, encourage your staff to walk, cycle or drive to work. However, if using public transport is necessary, wearing a face covering is mandatory. Some firms are offering face coverings for staff – this is discretionary

Minimise work-related travel

• Minimise non-essential travel. Encourage people to walk or cycle where possible
• Minimise the number of people who are not in the same household or support bubble travelling together in any one vehicle by using fixed travel partners, increasing ventilation when possible and avoiding sitting face-to-face
• Clean shared vehicles between shifts or on handover
• Where workers are required to stay away from their home, centrally logging the stay and making sure any overnight accommodation meets social distancing guidelines

Keep communicating with your staff

• Provide clear, consistent and regular communication to improve understanding and consistency of ways of working
• Engage with workers through existing communication routes and worker representatives to explain and agree any changes in working arrangements
• Develop communication and training materials for workers prior to returning to site, especially around new procedures for arrival at work
• Engage with workers (including through employee representative groups) to monitor and understand any unforeseen impacts of changes to working environments
• Use simple, clear messaging to explain guidelines using images and clear language, with consideration of groups for which English may not be their first language
• Use visual communications, for example whiteboards or signage, to explain changes to schedules, breakdowns or materials shortages to reduce the need for face-to-face communications

Review policies and processes

• Review your policies, including health and safety and incidents management
• On health and safety, the government guidance states that in an emergency – for example, an accident, provision of first aid, fire or break-in – people do not have to comply with social distancing guidelines if it would be unsafe
• People involved in the provision of assistance to others should pay particular attention to sanitation measures immediately afterwards, including washing hands
• Consider the security implications of any changes you need to make to your operations and practices in response to COVID-19, as any revisions may present new or altered security risks, which may need mitigations

We recommend that you also update policies on whistleblowing, data protection and flexible working, and creating new ones on video conference protocols and how to notify if someone is displaying COVID-19 symptoms.

Read our toolkit on safe return to the office

See our employment law guidance on return to the office

Find out more about our Return, Restart and Recovery campaign

This sector-specific guidance applies to England only.  In Wales, similar guidance is being developed and not yet available.

Our Wales office is having ongoing discussions with the Welsh government and we'll update members when we have further insight.

Law firms in Wales should continue to operate remotely, and staff should work from home as default

The new SQE regime came into effect September 2021. There are transitional arrangements for those who have started to train beforehand so they do not have to go back to the beginning.

The idea is to have 1 standard across the whole jurisdiction of England & Wales. Currently each organisation providing the LPC creates its own LPC course, so some employers are reverting to A levels as the last measure that is moderated to a national standard. The SQE will give a uniform measure. It will also cover areas of legal practice mixed in with the law itself. Ethical & conduct issues will be scattered throughout and candidates are expected to spot them and deal with them, rather than them being flagged up for separate attention. Finally, the training element is now much more flexible, adapting to the more varied ways that people gather relevant experience.

The cost of both sets of the exams is currently (2024-25) £4,790. This figure does not include preparatory courses which will vary between the various providers.

[Please note: SQE exam fees will increase for people sitting exams from October 2025 to:

SQE1: £1,934
SQE2: £2,974]

The Solicitors Qualifying Exams (SQE) is in 2 parts:

SQE 1

This is 2 exams, each of 180 multiple choice questions. 10 hours of exam time in total. The idea is to test candidates’ ability to identify legal principles and apply them to client problems and transactions. It will test core legal knowledge in the following subjects. SQE1 will take place at Pearson VUE test centres in the UK and internationally. The pass mark for SQE1 will be determined by a board of experts, drawing on the level competency expected of a solicitor on their first day at work.

SQE 2

There are 16 written and oral tests totalling 14 hours of exam time. They will be simulating tasks carried out by a solicitor in practice.

This is designed to assesses Practical Legal Skills for working with the law in practice. Candidates can only take the SQE 2 after they taken the SQE 1. It can be taken before the completion of the Qualifying Work Experience (QWE), but the SRA expect most candidates will take it after completed their 2 years QWE. It will assess both skills & law (50:50 weighting). Again, ethical issues will be embedded and it will be up to candidates to spot and deal with them. Areas covered are set out below. 

QWE

Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) is designed to be more flexible than the old method and to test a wider experience and suite of legal skills. There are opportunities in this for both trainees and businesses. It should make it easier for people to qualify through a wider variety of routes, for example in-house legal departments and advice centres as well as traditional law firms.

The trainee must be able to show at least 2 years relevant experience of legal services. This will have to be signed off by a solicitor, but this does not have to be a training partner in a law firm. So, it gives the opportunity for this to be outsourced should you wish.

The experience may be obtained in up to 4 different organisations – so summer placements can count, as can work in an advice centre. Time spent before the SQE comes in can count, so long as it has been monitored and a solicitor can vouch for it. There is no longer the requirement for work in 3 practice areas (although that would give a more rounded experience in our view).

The solicitor is signing of:

1. The length of time of QWE
2. That the person has had the opportunity to develop some or all of the competencies in the Statement of Solicitor Competence and
3. There are no ethical issues that arose during the QWE period which might be relevant to an Assessment of Character & Suitability.
4. Will need to obtain feedback from the supervisor for the work

Benefits

For the Trainee Solicitor

• it gives you greater control and flexibility and
• can speed things up, as you can use holiday experience towards this.

For the Business

• greater flexibility,
• wider pool of talent from which to recruit,
• the new solicitor will be trained in more of the practicalities of working as a solicitor,
• the new solicitor will be trained to a national standard and
• you can benefit from the government support for Apprenticeships; can draw down funding from the Apprenticeship levy if your turnover is less than £3m (if above you can draw down on your contribution).

Firms may want to think what they want to do, who they want to attract and how they want to use the SQE to help them resource and grow their firm. They may want to revise what they say about this on their website.

External QWE Certification Service

We can be your External QWE Confirming Solicitor –

• should you as a Business decide that you might want to outsource the monitoring of the trainee for the QWE or
• if you are an Aspiring Solicitor and want to start having your QWE monitored now when you are doing holiday experience or other roles either outside or in your selected firm. See here for more info & fill in the form below to contact us (we have assisted several aspiring solicitors have their QWE accepted by the SRA) or to book a free zoom to discuss  https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

Some useful links

A link to a useful webinar about the SQE & QWE from the SRA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbbIIcC1f5k

A link to resource for Apprenticeships: https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/

A link to the SRA Transitional Arrangements: https://www.sra.org.uk/students/sqe/transitional-arrangements/

If you are interested in seeing how the Government Apprenticeship Scheme may assist with the costs of training then visit our article on this subject: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/apprenticeships-the-sqe-how-this-can-save-you-money/

Link to the SRA suggested form for recording QWE: https://www.sra.org.uk/trainees/qualifying-work-experience/qualifying-work-experience-candidates/qwe-training-template/

One for Litigators: Dispute Resolution, Family, PI, Immigration (JR), Civil Lit - anyone who creates Trial Bundles and Trial Bundle Indexes. We are always looking out for ideas and software that might help our clients.

From experience, I know what a pain they are to create. You spend hours on this. Then at trial 1 page is wrong or missing and the judge shreds your costs for the trial bundle. To add insult to injury - it's not really legal work. It's got more to do with being a publisher!

We've come across some great software that allows you to create them very easily, a lot of it by drag and drop. You decide the section structure and pagination style. There's a one-off charge of £45, but you can then go back to the bundle and change it at no extra expense. The time saving for you is massive. The charge could even be made a disbursement should you want.  When it's finished you click a button and it creates your Index! All soft copy - so someone else can print it out at their expense. With over 50 courts now stating that they will accept soft copy Trial Bundles, we expect that this method will become the norm. It will certainly save masses of time and cost. As our clients will know, we're always looking out for things that will help them: improve profit and manage risk.

If interested give us a shout and we can introduce you so you may make your own assessment. 07887 524507 or [email protected]

These are challenging times. As business leaders we have a duty to the safety of our families and the community - and also to maintain our business so there is work and income for them. Do not panic. We are all going through the change curve at the moment:

If you want to survive and indeed grow you will need to adapt. That starts with thinking positively. How can you adapt? Where are the opportunities. There is a massive change going on - that will create opportunities. Perhaps things you've thought about but not done... I've been talking to clients on how they can adapt - working through strategies for managing staff and indeed harnessing their potential to help. The same goes for your clients. Contact me if you would like to book in a session. LEAP users - I know there are several things you can use your system for to help. Others - lets explore.

It certainly will have an effect but what it will be no-one knows. Here are my thoughts for what they’re worth. I’d welcome other people’s opinions. This is obviously a fluid situation.

By Practice Area

Conveyancing – likely to take a hit – is moving house unnecessary travel? I wouldn’t be surprised if this will be a bit like the financial crisis in 2007, although, hopefully shorter.

Civil Litigation – courts likely to shut, already hearing on in-person hearings being adjourned. If they do, then cases will gum up in the system, as will cashflow from concluded cases – unless they settle out of court.

Mediation & other forms of ADR – face to face will stop – on-line will increase, especially as the courts will not be operating or be slower.

Criminal – crims are likely to keep ‘working’ – but courts likely to slow down - Jury trails are to stop from April onwards, don’t know if will affect cashflow. Not sure how much social distancing can be done in a police cell. Let’s hope the LAA will continue to process your payment claims with their normal speed and accuracy!

Family – likely to slow for now and then be very busy once we are allowed to move about again.

Immigration – likely to move on-line. Those firms that rely on face-to-face work are likely to suffer more

Commercial Property – pretty much the same as for domestic conveyancing.

Employment – likely to be very busy for employment lawyers – with people being made redundant or changed working arrangements.

Commercial – likely to be a spike as companies seek assistance with their documents, but then falling away as commercial activity is subdued.

Insolvency – likely to increase but be impacted by the inability to shift the main asset if that is a building.

Corporate – likely to be a lot to start off with as businesses seek assistance, and then some ongoing as those which are in better shape see opportunities

Private Client – likely to see a significant increase at all levels, although completion of probate might be held back by the slow down of the property market.

Suggested Immediate Action

1. Try as best as you can to identify the impact on the likely model of what you think might happen. Identify the cases likely to be stuck and the areas that are likely to slow down or get busy. Put in place plans A, B & C. Analyse the likely impact on cashflow (It’s lack of cash that kills most businesses). We can help to provide additional resource – is needed. Please contact us.
2. Look to how you will get new work in these changed times. Those relying on digital means are best equipped – although competition is likely to intensify. If you are relying on footfall etc then look at other methods. Again, we may be able to help. Please contact us.
3. Move as much as you can on-line. By now most firms will have put in place home working. This may be a sysmic shift in our working patters. I suspect that after this is over a lot of businesses will continue with a lot more homeworking than was the case before. Look to move onto the cloud – there are case management systems out there that are on true cloud. Video conferencing and conference calling are now available as options. Electronic signing of documents by parties has recently been approved by the Lord Chancellor as good signature – even for deeds. If you would like assistance with any of this we can help, either suggesting technological solutions or specialist support.

I was working with a law firm a little while ago, helping it through some changes in it’s practice. The managing partner said to me “You know, were really just a collection of sole practitioners”. That summed up beautifully one of the business models have I come across many times when working with firms. I explore 2 business models below.

Collection of Sole Practitioners

So, what did my client mean by this phrase? I think it was as much attitude as size. The attitude would be one where the clients belong to the solicitor (partner). The connection is personal. They either do the work or they direct and delegate to their team – which might be a secretary, team of secretaries, paralegals or suchlike. Each partner operates independently of the others and brings to the partnership the fruits of their labour. In this model the business is the sum of the parts that each brings.

Pros:

• Easy to bolt on a new service line, new partner
• Simplicity of the model
• Direct accountability to the ‘owner’ of that area
• Well suited to a start-up
• More flexible – can scale back more easily

Cons:

• Easy for the ‘partner’ to leave with his/her service line
• Can lead to everything being measured by the fees generated by each partner
• The business can be less stable
• Can lead to factions and infighting
• Can prevent cross-selling
• The business seldom adds up to more than the sum of the parts

 The Integrated Business

In this model the interests of the business are placed above those of the individual owners. All effort should be aimed at driving value into the organisation. This takes more effort and is not natural to many people working in the professional services sector. The risk is that everything can become less personal – which is not good when the business is focused on providing a personalised service to clients. However, that can be avoided with good management. If the business has invested in its processes, it can better withstand the departure of one of the owners or staff. The business can be more than the sum of the parts. This model is seen more commonly in other areas of our economy but can also work in the professional services sector.

Pros:

• Is more resilient
• Can give a better return on investment as it better facilitates scaling of the business
• Harvests better cross-selling and cross-area operational benefits
• Better supports a shared goal and so can better harness staff potential
• Succession may be easier
• The business can build up genuine goodwill
• Facilitates hiring experts in running particular aspects of the business

Cons:

• Involves more investment (thought as well as money)
• Difficult if the business is very small
• The needs of the business overrule the preferences of the partners
• May be difficult to change behaviours of those used to a more traditional approach
• Difficult to scale back if you lose critical mass

These are just a few thoughts. What will be appropriate will depend on the circumstances in each case. A typical consultant’s comment! There are other business models and ways of doing things. I’ve only looked at 2. Seeing the variety is part of what I enjoy.

We’d be very interested to learn people’s views and hear of other pros and cons and people’s experience.

Delighted to share that we have been informed that HCL has been awarded: "Best Law Firm Business Consultancy – Midlands" in the SME News Legal Awards 2020.

Please note – we are not tax accountants – BUT this is something that businesses, including larger law firms, need to be aware of. Get appropriate tax advice.

IR35 – a bear trap for companies hiring external help. Basically, the Inland Revenue wants to ensure that the state is not being done out of taxes through the use of a service company instead of the staff being regular employees, paying PAYE etc. So for some years now, if external help has been hired by an arm of the state (including local government, the NHS etc), the hiring party (or end client as HMRC calls them, eg, NHS) has to make a determination as to whether the hired help is an employee. If so, the end client needs to pay employers NI etc. If they say that they are not an employee and HMRC decide they got it wrong the end client will need to pay the missing tax to HMRC.

On 6^th April 2020 this regime is extended to larger private companies hiring external help. By larger they mean companies meeting 2 of the following criteria:

a) you have an annual turnover of more than £10.2 million
b) you have a balance sheet total of more than £5.1 million
c) you have more than 50 employees

Several factors influence whether HMRC will regard the external help as an employee; such things as

• how many organisations the external help has worked for in say the last year (if it’s just that end client you are likely to have a problem), or indeed do they work for more than 1 at a time;
• the level of control the end client has over how the external help works;
• how open-ended the contract is;
• do you get any employee benefits;
• other things that depict independence, such as carrying your own business insurance, use your own equipment etc

HMRC has created an easy to use tool to check if an arrangement is likely to fall foul of IR35. Crucially, it is anonymised, so one may check out a scenario before entering into a contract. Here is a link to it: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/disclaimer

A lot of organisations will need to consider how they work very carefully. This will even affect mid-sized Accountancy & Law firms, given the criteria above. Many law firms hire ‘Consultant’ Lawyers. It’s a way of getting experienced talent in to cover a need within the business. Typically, the consultant solicitor will have their own company through which he/she trades. If they are there long term, as they are most likely to just be working for that firm, there is a strong likelihood that they will be caught by IR35 after 6^th April 2020. This is a shame, as the arrangement allows flexibility within the workplace that suits both sides. Feel free to contact us to talk this through, as we might have a solution.

Here are some useful links to the rules:

Understanding off-payroll working (IR35)

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-off-payroll-working-ir35

Who the changes apply to:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2020-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-clients

What the April 2020 changes are:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2020-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-intermediaries#off-payroll-working-rules

I expect most of you have experienced poor management in your career. It can leave you feeling bewildered, undervalued & demotivated. I have and I’ve seen others close to me undergoing it as well. I’ve had the privilege of coaching some people through it until they come out to the other side. So why does it happen, why does it matter and how can you as an organisation try to minimise the likelihood of poor staff management occurring? I have found that size of the organisation does not necessarily make any difference to how well they manage their staff. Huge blue-chip companies can do it very poorly, whereas micro-businesses do it very well (& vice versa). Here are a few thoughts and suggestions.

Why does it matter – how can it affect your bottom line?

Setting the character of the team: this issue goes to leadership, which I have written about before. It is difficult to overstate the importance of leadership in setting the character of an organisation. That is replicated in management at all levels. We are social animals and how we behave in an environment will be influenced by the leader. If the behaviours of the leadership reflect and support the achievement of the goals and strategies decided for the organisation, then it is likely that it will work more smoothly to achieve them. If the management, at any level, is operating at odds with them, then their staff are also likely not to be fully aligned to achieve them and the organisation will underperform.

Staff retention/talent acquisition: if you have poor management it is likely to affect morale. Whilst a certain amount of churn in staff is inevitable, if it is too high then it will drag back the organisation. In my department we worked out at one time that there was a £60,000 dip in fee production over a year each time a member of staff left and a new one started. Conversely, if morale is good staff will often go the extra mile, stay even though the pay might not be the best in the local market and word will spread into the market place that yours is a good organisation or team to work for. That will help with bringing in new people.

Productivity: You will want your most expensive resource (people) to be as productive as possible to maximise the return on your investment and as quickly as possible. Low morale, as mentioned above, will affect productivity. So will lack of clear instruction, support and guidance for junior staff to enable and facilitate them to meet the needs of the organisation. Poor management may indeed mean that it is unaware of the effect of decisions, as no targets or the wrong targets are set and/or data measured.

Goodwill: the goodwill of your staff will not alone save a business but it will certainly help it. You are unlikely to have much goodwill with poor management. The goodwill is likely to lead to a nicer working environment, stronger bonds within the team, more cooperation and mutual support.

Additional Benefits: Your workforce is a potent source for innovation and unexpected benefits. They may have connections of which you are unaware that might open up opportunities for new work or partnering. They are often the people with the greatest knowledge of how to do their job and then, if encouraged to share, how to do it better.

Why Does it Happen?

Ego: There is no doubt that in some businesses the manager is on an ego trip. The manager feels that everything reflects on them and their image. Why is a whole exploration in itself, which a business coach might investigate or I might explore when I am mentoring someone. However, it might arise from inherent insecurities, from a management style learned beforehand or handed down through the culture of the organisation. It can result in every interaction being personalised, every analysis, turning it into an assessment of how it affects and reflects on them. It can end up as a corrosive

Pressure from managers above: people have said that being in middle management can be the most pressurised position – pressure from above and from below, but often without the power to make decisions that relieve the pressure. Decisions of top management will need to be implemented by middle management. As will fear for their own career development or how their actions and the performance of their team are perceived by their superiors.

Inexperienced managers: if your manager is new to managing, they may be out of their comfort zone. They were trained to do a particular job but now have to take on managing people, perhaps because that is what is perceived as what comes with the territory as they become more senior. Just because they were good at one particular job doesn’t mean that they will be good at running a team.

Lack of discipline: sometimes it comes down to poor self-discipline – they are just poor at managing their time, keeping to commitments, making time and head space to manage. So, appointments with their junior staff are missed, they forget to do things they promised, they seem to lurch from one crisis to another.

Lack of time: this could be a feature of lack of disciple, as set out above, but it could also be that their superiors have not given them time to manage, just expecting them to fit it in around and on top of the rest of their work. It could be that there is just too much work coming in – which is great but should only be a temporary issue as this will be processed if short term, or if long term then other resource should be added. It could be a failure to delegate, which could have a number of reasons, for example: it could be part of their nature, lack of trust in their junior staff, lack of infrastructure to facilitate this.

How to improve staff management

Training for Managers: I have always believed that it unfair to someone to put them in a position but not give them the training to do it. It’s a poor investment and can look as though you are setting them up to fail. At the very least give them clear instruction on what you want them to do and how you want them to manage their staff. This should not just be a one off. The best organisations will have a structure of mentoring or coaching (either informally or formally) right down the management structure, which would then be replicated through the team members as well. Remember that the manager will influence the whole team they are managing. They have the potential to do a lot of harm or a lot of good.

Good measurements/Data: be scientific – measure the appropriate data and then make informed decisions on it. Then keep measuring the data and adjust when necessary. That can help to keep things less personal and steer away from prejudice, favouritism and nepotism. The best people delivering the best results is likely to maximise performance.

Communication & Regular Reviews: you almost can’t communicate enough! I’ve found in management that you think you’ve told everyone time and time over and yet there are people who say they didn’t know. Sometimes it is their fault. Sometimes it is the method of communication. You may be saying something in one way but that doesn’t get through. They prefer another method. For example, sending out email which everyone ignores. There’s a whole article, maybe a book to write on this! I’ve also put in here regular reviews. These I have found to be so, so important to managing staff. It is a subliminal message to them that they matter. It gives them a space to ask longer term questions about their progress, your expectations of them and their career. It should build trust and allow for a light touch on the tiller to guide them rather than a drastic shove.

Honesty, Humility & Curiosity: I’ve recently finished reading Eddie Jones autobiography. These are aspects that he wants to see in his players. This resonated with me, as they are traits I admire and believe help people succeed. Honesty – because you look at the data and your own performance as it is without excuses or rose-tinted spectacles. Humility – because if you don’t have that you are not open to analysing, reflecting on and learning from your own mistakes. Curiosity – because open to outside influences and ideas, learning from others, always facing outwards to innovation. Then you have managers who are interested in improving themselves, their performance, that of their staff and of the whole organisation.

These are just a few thoughts from my experience from working in a law firm for 24 years at all levels from Office Junior to Equity Partner, Board Member and Head of Department and subsequently through my consultancy with over 300 SME’s. I have found that size of the organisation does not necessarily make any difference to how well they manage their staff. Huge blue-chip companies can do it very poorly, whereas micro-businesses do it very well (& vice versa). I would welcome other people’s input as comments to this article. No-one has all the answers but some do it a lot better than others and reap the rewards. If you like to talk more about implementing some of these thoughts into your organisation then please contact me.