LPLC Articles
When to Terminate a Client Retainer: Ethical Duties and Practical Steps
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
22 Aug 24
There are many reasons why a lawyer should decide to end a retainer. Knowing when to part ways with a client and how to do it, is an important part of your risk management toolkit.
LIJ Articles
Is suing for costs really worth it?
Engagement/retainer management
04 Apr 24
Suing a client for unpaid fees can be met with an allegation of negligence. This article provides some risk management tips to avoid being in this difficult situation.
LIJ Articles
Rules of engagement — scoping the client retainer
Engagement/retainer management
02 Aug 23
Does the client know what work you will (and won’t) be doing and do you know what they expect?
LPLC Articles
Meticulous file notes — a habit worth perfecting
Engagement/retainer management, Resources and information, Professional Responsibility
02 Jul 21
The preparation of thorough file notes is a core part of prudent legal practice and something practitioners should aim to fine-tune. The importance of a detailed file note cannot be overstated, both as evidence should a negligence claim ever arise, as much as for matter management, continuity and reference.
LPLC Articles
Are they really the right client for you?
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
08 May 20
There are several considerations that go into deciding what makes a ‘right client’. Thinking about this at the beginning and making sure it is communicated openly, can save you a headache later.
LPLC Articles
Your client’s email system may have been compromised
Cyber security, Engagement/retainer management
10 Feb 20
This cyber claim case study looks at a deceased estate matter that fell prey to cyberfraud due to a compromised client email. This case illustrates that law firms are susceptible to the risk of receiving bogus email instructions from apparently legitimate email accounts which have been infiltrated and monitored by cybercriminals.
LPLC Articles
Right client. Right matter. But is it the right time?
Engagement/retainer management
06 Sep 19
In our final blog about the key pillars of a comprehensive engagement process we turn our attention to timing. We ask, is it the right time for you or your firm to take this on?
LIJ Articles
Do they have the authority?
Engagement/retainer management
11 Jul 19
Verifying authority to act for a client is an essential part of good practice. Practitioners who fail to verify authority expose themselves to having a claim made against them.
LIJ Articles
A good precedent
Engagement/retainer management
03 Dec 18
Using precedent documents effectively is essential risk management.
Most practitioners understand the value of having good precedents and it is an important investment for any firm irrespective of its areas of practice. However, precedents are not just a set and forget tool. If not used and maintained properly, precedents can increase your risk.
LIJ Articles
What can go wrong?
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
10 Oct 18
This article discusses how targeted risk management strategies not only help prevent claims, they also help firms deliver high quality legal services more efficiently and profitably.
LPLC Articles
What did they expect?
Engagement/retainer management
17 Aug 18
When sued by a client, the reaction from some practitioners is ‘What did they expect for what I charged?’
LIJ Articles
Take a step back
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
01 Jun 18
Experienced practitioners are still at risk of claims. This article walks through the basics of good matter management with a relevant case study.
LPLC Articles
Communicate better with colleagues to close the cracks
Engagement/retainer management
20 Apr 18
Tasks fall between the cracks when practitioners fail to communicate proactively and effectively with colleagues.
LIJ Articles
Why apologise?
Personal Injury, Commercial, Engagement/retainer management
01 Dec 17
This article looks at the difference between an admission of liability and an apology, and how an apology can be prepared in a form that does not amount to an admission of liability.
LPLC Articles
Know the boundary between expertise and dabbling
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
02 Oct 16
You should always be aware of the risks when a matter moves into unfamiliar territory beyond your expertise. This often happens where the matter starts within a practitioner’s normal area of practice but subsequently takes a turn into another area. Sometimes the practitioner thinks ‘it can’t be that different’ from the area familiar to them.
LPLC Articles
Responding to a subpoena for a client file
Engagement/retainer management
17 Oct 14
LPLC often receives queries from practitioners who have been served with a subpoena issued by a third party to produce a client file. The issues for practitioners are the file is ostensibly owned by the client, an ongoing duty of confidentiality is owed to the client and the client will usually have a claim for privilege over at least some communications on the file.
LPLC Articles
When it really is a promise
Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility
04 Apr 14
The following article contains a case-study discussion of what constitutes an undertaking.
LPLC Articles
The value of good file notes
Engagement/retainer management
02 Oct 09
This article from 2009 considers how a supreme court decision of that year highlights the importance of taking good file notes.