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Monday, 5 July 2021
The Law Mutual (WA) Risk Management Seminar Programme 2021/2022 has been developed to focus on the needs of different categories of practitioners and law practices, whilst prioritising topics from the Practice and Matter Management Guidelines and reflecting issues identified in claims and risk profiling.
Risk Management Seminars 2021/2022
Seminar: Introduction to Risk Management
Essential for practitioners who have been admitted for less than 12 months, are new to private practice after a period working in-house or are returning to practice after an extended career break. Faced with a number of other adjustments at the beginning of their legal career or after an extended absence, new and returning practitioners rarely take the time to think about risk management. Effective risk management is a critical practice management skill that requires training and development. Ensuring that risk management strategies are in place and complied with can reduce the occurrence of professional liability claims. To equip practitioners with vital risk management skills, Law Mutual (WA) has developed a targeted seminar providing an overview of the professional liability claims history.
Webinar: Matter Management Guidelines – Three Part Series
A series of webinars discussing the different aspects of Matter Management Guidelines developed in 2017 which sets out the requirements for management of practices and matters with an emphasis on mitigating professional liability risks. This series is split into three individual sessions focusing on: (1) The Screening Phase, 2) The Provision of Legal Services and (3) Issues that may arise during all phases of the Matter Management Guidelines. These webinars will address the requirements in further detail, and take participants through examples to assist with implementation. These seminars are relevant to all principals but should also be of interest to all practitioners.
Session One – The Screening Phase:
This webinar focuses on the screening phase of the Matter Management Guidelines. Whether you are a sole practice or large law firm, this webinar focuses on the general characteristics and requirements for screening clients to effectively deliver legal services and avoid potential liability claims.
Session Two – Providing:
This webinar focuses on the third phase of the Matter Management Guidelines – providing legal services. Whether you are a sole practice or large law firm, this seminar focuses on the general characteristics and requirements for effectively providing legal services and avoiding potential liability claims.
Session Three – All Phases:
This webinar focuses on the issues that may arise during all phases of the Matter Management Guidelines. Whether you are a sole practice or large law firm, this webinar focuses on the general characteristics and requirements for effectively providing legal services and avoiding potential liability claims.
Webinar: Supervision - Three Part Series
Human capital risk includes the human skills, knowledge and conduct to both meet organisational goals and be prepared for the future. For many law firms the focus of risk management and human capital risk management is developing from a focus on activities such as supervision. The sessions are split into three levels as follows:
Session One: Foundations of Supervision
Designed to provide a strong foundation to supervise effectively, this session will overview the three different types of supervision and a range of practical tips for supervising effectively. We will look at the core skills of supervision, common challenges and practical tips.
Session Two: Supervision: Beyond the Basics
Designed for those with extensive supervision experience, this session will focus on common challenges and frustrations in supervision from different generations. We will look at some of the latest research to supervise in ways that supports good mental health
Session Three: Supervising Next Generation leaders
Designed for senior practitioners with responsibility for supervising lateral hires to your firm, this session will look at the unique risks of new joiners and different ways to balance supervision with autonomy. We will look at advanced supervision techniques that work for senior professionals.
Seminar: Working Remotely, Risk Management in Practice
Even before Covid19, it was not uncommon for lawyers and support staff to be working outside of the “office” whether because of agreed flexible work practices or on an ad-hoc basis. Now, working from home is more prevalent than ever and law firms need to make sure they are ticking all the compliance boxes and implementing risk management.
Seminar: Working More Effectively with Email
Email is the main form of communication between lawyers, clients and others both internally and externally of the office. Essential to modern practice, many lawyers are simply never trained how to compose an email to ensure it is read and understood, nor are they given any Risk Management training. This session is designed to do those things plus more.
Webinar: Linking Professional Negligence Risk to Business and Financial Management of the Legal Practice
The Practice Management Guidelines describe the five elements and requirements for structuring and managing the affairs of any practice. A Practice Management System comprises five elements of Leadership, People, Information, Activity Management and Assurance, with various areas sitting under each of the elements.
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 minimizing 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.
Webinar: Focusing on information and communication – getting it right in the delivery stage
Risks can arise throughout the solicitor-client engagement and in a variety of ways. Having a clear n 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 and 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.
Seminar: Out of Practice – The Risks of Straying Outside Your Usual Area of Work
We all know that we are generally safest working in areas that we practise in day to day. However, that does not necessarily protect us from the increased risk of a claim for professional liability that comes when we move into unfamiliar territory.
It is generally easy enough to avoid the obvious trap of taking on instructions in an area in which we have no experience although, for various reasons, such as a request from a long-standing and substantial client, even they can sometimes be difficult to resist.
However, what can be more difficult to spot, and avoid, is the risk that comes from the seemingly straight forward instruction in a familiar area that draws us into unchartered and dangerous territory.
A recent analysis of Law Mutual (WA) claims has identified that even experienced practitioners can find themselves the subject of a claim because, despite starting in a familiar practice area, the instructions led to unfamiliar issues, with unwanted consequences for both them and their client.
This seminar reviews the types of circumstances in which claims can arise, often as a result of instructions leading to issues which were not initially foreseen. It will also provide participants with examples of claims and practical advice on what might be done to mitigate and manage the risk of a claim arising.
Webinar: Cyber Security for Legal Practices - A Risk Management Approach.
Cyber crime related claims are becoming a weekly occurrence across the legal profession in Australia. Legal practices are attractive targets for cyber criminals because they hold sensitive client information and act on high value transactions.
While many practitioners believe that cyber crime is purely a technology risk, this is not just an IT issue. It is a matter for every practitioner to understand and take steps to prevent.
Failure to implement appropriate processes and provide all staff with appropriate training, are critical factors in cyber claims impacting practitioners.
This session will look at the various ways cyber criminals are targeting practitioners, discuss recent claims, outline the steps you can take to prevent cyber-attacks and provide an overview of the resources available to practitioners.
Webinar: Cyber Security – People Risk, What is the Threat?
Failure to implement appropriate processes and provide all staff with appropriate training, are critical factors in cyber claims impacting practitioners. In a recent study undertaken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in the UK, 60% of cyber-attacks on legal practices were as a result of employee behaviour. In 20%of those attacks, the employees had not received cyber risk training. People are your biggest potential vulnerability. In this webinar we will describe real life accounts of practitioners impacted by cyber events, the different ways in which cyber-attacks and email scams work and discuss strategies for minimising the risk of similar incidents..
Seminar: Peer review of senior lawyers and partners – getting the balance right.
Peer review is about balance: On the one hand, each year in Western Australia multiple claims arise due to mistakes made by senior lawyers and partners that would likely have been picked up by peer review. On the other hand, done poorly, peer review can become a drain on a law practice’s most valuable resource - senior lawyers’ time. This seminar looks at ways for your practice to get this balance right, along with some of recent claims.
Visit our website for more detailed information – link to RM seminars webpage.
The Risk Management Programme is delivered by the Law Society of Western Australia for Law Mutual (WA). For enquiries, please email cpd@lawsocietywa.asn.au
Risk Management Discount
There is no requirement to attend a Law Mutual (WA) risk management seminar. However, law practices will be able to obtain a 5% discount on their total Annual Contribution Amount 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, subject to certain requirements of declaration and documentary evidence of attendance being produced upon request.
Please note that some seminars are only available to certain categories of Practitioners.
