Monday, 8 November 2021

Risk Management Monthly Snapshot: November

With the year coming to an end, now is the time to book your Risk Management Seminars. The month of November has a lot to offer, with presenters Rob Knowsley, Anna Hinder and Deborah Templeman offering a variety of topics and content for you to enhance your Risk Management knowledge.

Presenter: Rob Knowsley, Managing Director-Principal Knowsley Management Services
Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2021 | 9.00 AM to 10.00 AM
Location: At your desk

A Practice Management System comprises five elements of Leadership, People, Information, Activity Management and Assurance, with various areas sitting under each of the elements.

The Practice Management Guidelines describe the five elements and requirements for structuring and managing the affairs of any practice.

Rob will discuss his observations (from over 30 years of experience) of the fundamentals that well managed, financially healthy practices get right, and how they align with the requirements of the Practice Management Guidelines. He will demonstrate how minimising professional liability risk and implementing the fundamentals for business success are linked, revealing that with many claims prone practices have common substantial financial characteristics.

Rob will also discuss key areas where, in his experience, practices must also “get it right”, for financial health and business success in ways not explicitly covered by the Practice Management Guidelines.

Focusing on information and communication – getting it right in the delivery stage
Presenter: Deborah Templeman, Gilchrist Connell
Dates: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 | 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM
Tuesday, 30 November 2021 | 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM

Risks can arise in a variety of ways throughout the solicitor-client engagement. Having a clear strategy in place throughout the matter and good communication can ensure that the client and the practitioner are well informed of decisions, actions and changing circumstances relating to the matter.

This seminar will focus on the risks associated with not having a clear communication strategy in place, failing to undertake further investigation to gather relevant facts and failing to conduct appropriate legal research of the most relevant and current references.

The session will build on the concepts discussed in the Client Engagement Agreement – Planning for Success seminar. It will examine some recent examples of where inadequate fact gathering, legal research or communication of strategy has led to claims, whilst providing some practical risk management controls to avoid them.

Session Three - Supervising Next Generation Leaders
Presenter: Anna Hinder, Searl Street Consulting
Date: Tuesday, 9 November 2021 | 2.00 PM to 3.00 PM
Location: At your desk

Designed for senior practitioners with responsibility for supervising lateral hires to your practice, this session will look at the unique risks of new joiners and different ways to balance supervision with autonomy.

We will discuss the importance of:

• supervision techniques that work for senior professionals; 
• being aware of risk areas in the transition to Partner/Principal;
• establishing and maintaining effective peer supervision relationships; and
• supervising entrepreneurship activities for reward while managing risk.

Don’t forget - law practices will be able to obtain a 5% Risk Management Discount on their total Annual Contribution for the 2022/2023 insurance year, if all of the partners or practitioner directors and at least 80% of the employed practitioners of the law practice have attended at least two (2) hours of Law Mutual (WA) approved risk management training in the period 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022.