Practice Management
Conveyancing and Notarial Practice
Attorneys have a few days left to register for the Law Society of South Africa's attendance and correspondence courses on Conveyancing and Notarial Practice.
Tariffs
The GhostPractice team has detailed all the latest High Court and Magistrate Court tariffs so that you can get the most out of them.
Expense or investment?
Kuben Naidoo analyses and unpacks the role of a Practice Manager in the law firm in answering the question: Are Practice Managers an expense or an investment?
Take responsibility
Definition of a conveyancer, interest on trust accounts and the legal profession must take responsibility for its role in transformation, access to justice and finalising the Legal Practice Bill.
Sum of its parts
A legal practice is more than the sum of its parts writes Kuben Naidoo, and understanding them can drive change in your legal practice.
Continuous learning
Attorney firms must encourage staff members to learn continuously otherwise they risk being left behind writes Kuben Naidoo.
Building blocks
Business development is a necessary skill which can be learnt like any other, writes Steve Herzberg.
Risk Management in Your Legal Business
Matthew Spagnoletti analyses and suggests solutions to a few of the common risks that all attorneys should be managing in their legal business on a daily basis.
No cover
As from 1 July 2010 the AIIF will not provide professional negligence cover to attorneys in respect of some bridging finance matters.
Protection of info
Mark Heyink will be presenting a seminars on the protection of personal information and the promotion of access to information.
New legal business creation
Kingsbury International College, with LEAD and SASSETA, is offering a New Legal Business Creation Programme, which focuses on essential entrepreneurial skills for attorneys.
Understanding auditing
Vincent Faris CA(SA) will be presenting a number of seminars around the country on understanding the practical auditing of a law firm and its operations.
Show me the money
Kuben Naidoo considers the importance of having a defined debtor management process that works and is properly managed to collect money from your debtors.
Policies and Procedures
Running a business without clear cut policies and procedures could have dire consequences argues Matthew Spagnoletti.
Top ten tips
How much more successful could law firms be if they employed more traditional business principles?
Transactional billing
What it is, the benefits, how it differs from a monthly rental, and how to edit the support fee in GhostConvey.
Paying your clients bills?
Softlog and GhostPractice together will ensure your firm recovers 100% of the recoverable costs incurred on behalf of clients.
On the record
Traci-Ann Cripsey writes that good communication skills, especially one's listening skills are vital in tapping into the needs of one's clients.
L.E.A.D updates
Details of three L.E.A.D seminars on the Administration of Estates, Consumer Law and Environmental law which will be run over the next few months.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Michael Irvine and Michael Carrigan of Ireland will be presenting a seminar in Cape Town on Alternative Dispute Resolution from an international perspective.
L.E.A.D eviction seminar
Christo Smith, author of Eviction and Rental Claims: A practical guide will be presenting seminars around the country on eviction and rental claims.
What story
What story are your financials telling you - where to look, what it is you are looking at and what it means. Kuben Naidoo gives us the answers.
L.E.A.D Certificate
Registration has opened for L.E.A.D's Certificate in Practice Management.
Cash flow
Why cash flow is the lifeblood of practice management - Matthew Spagnoletti explains.
Corporate law practice
Registration has opened for the LSSA's Certificate in Corporate Law Practice.
Real time processing
GhostPractice allows users to run their business processes efficiently and in real time.
Real time Practice Management
Real time systems completely trump historical systems, with an intuitive, intelligent real time system like GhostPractice excelling.
Wows
Korbitec's new product launch has "wowed" customers with its cost effective solutions.
The science of billing
By following basic principles, attorneys can improve the quality of billing while continuing to grow their client relationships writes Matthew Spagnoletti.
Manage your risk
Mr Vincent Faris will be presenting seminars on managing risk and financial management under the auspices of L.E.A.D.
Viable
Small firms are viable writes Roland Darroll in the April edition of De Rebus.
Is e-mail the currency of business, asks Matthew Spagnoletti and if so how well can we and should we use it?
Are you ready
"Are you ready to recover from the kind of disaster that could result in weeks if not months of lost productivity?" Asks Matthew Spagnoletti.
Tariff changes
High Court and Magistrate's Court tariffs will change with effect from 15th June. To help you, the GhostPractice team has detailed these in a very useful comparative document.
Trust audits
Getting the most out of your trust audit need not be a painful, necessary evil, especially when using the expertise of the GhostPractice team and the ability of GhostPractice to generate vital reports.
Claims alert
Ann Bertelsmann draws attention to fact that the bulk of conveyancing claims arise from attorneys' undertakings to bridging finance companies.
Undertakings
Hesma Strydom recommends a number of preventative steps to guard against claims arising when undertakings are given to bridging finance companies.
Pressure of change
Even though your system is not broken, there could still be problems to be fixed and needs to be addressed, writes Matthew Spagnoletti.
Suddenly solo
A round up of a number of useful articles for the solo practitioner from Law Practice Today
Investing in Your Practice Management?
To know how much you invest in Practice Management depends on what you define it as and what it means to you.
L.E.A.D Seminars II
Details of two L.E.A.D seminars on the Administration of Estates and Child Law.
Earning Fees and Billing Clients
Matthew Spagnoletti explores how earning fees and billing clients can be more efficient and effective with a few key changes and a large dose of technology.
Automated client reporting
Automated client reporting provides clients with an elegant mechanism for reviewing the work they have instructed you with and you with an opportunity to cement your relationship with them.
Mandatory PM training
Attorneys who are issued with Attorneys Fidelity Fund certificates for the first time after 14 August 2009 must complete a satisfactory practice management course.
Collecting your money
Matthew Spagnoletti outlines the simple techniques and processes that have made collecting money from clients so much easier.
Going paperless
The September edition of Law Practice Today is devoted to the ins and outs of going paperless.
Document automation and management
Matthew Spagnoletti gives an overview of how to manage and automate documents, efficiently and without compromising the quality of the final result.
Funded Articles
Sixty learnerships and thirty bursaries for candidate attorneys are being offered by the LSSA and SASSETA.
Lost in the Crowd?
The October issue of LawPractice today poses the question, "Lost in the Crowd?" and suggests a number of marketing strategies you can use if the answer is "Yes".
Changing the Culture
Legal Practice Management should be seen as the driving force behind maximising a legal practice's potential writes Kuben Naidoo.
GhostPractice competition
GhostPractice and the Law Society of the Northern Provinces are giving away prizes and Dell Notebook computers to the value of R150 000.
We have winners
Congratulations - the winners of R150 000.00 worth of prizes in the GhostPractice / Law Society of the Northern Provinces competition have been announced.
Bills of costs made easy
GhostPractice has the only truly functional "Draft Bills of Costs" generator which offers a way out of the nightmare of drafting a Bill of Costs.
Support staff training
In 2010 L.E.A.D, will offer training to increase staff's skills and productivity in a number of subjects.
Practising law
Peter Refferty looks at the objective of practising law and managing your practice to achieve it.
Three in a row
The developers of GhostConvey and WinDeed would like to introduce GhostPractice - a complete Legal Accounting and Practice Management System - to you.
Destructive secretaries
A secretary can destroy you, says Peter Rafferty in this month's De Rebus.
Keep It On
Eskom's load shedding has affected everyone. Keep It On has a solution for law firms looking for a secure, effective and efficient alternative power solution.
Three in a row - JHB
The developers of GhostConvey and WinDeed would like to introduce GhostPractice - a complete Legal Accounting and Practice Management System - to you in Johannesburg.
Non paying clients
Peter Rafferty investigates why clients so often don't pay their bills. In the April De Rebus.
Fica Amendment Bill
The Fica Amendment Bill puts legal industry on alert - and has the banks concerned.
Pricing mistakes
Per Sjofors outlines ten common mistakes law firms make in pricing their services.
Unfriendly rules
Paul du Plessis writes in De Rebus about the user-unfriendly law society rules under which attorneys operate.
Cash-flow management
Will you survive? Asks Peter Rafferty, in the fifth in a series of practice management articles.
Back-up
In the sixth of his practice management articles, Peter Rafferty writes that back-up is the most important part of using IT in your law firm.
Shoestring marketing
Use the power and profit from "Shoestring Marketing" writes Jack Crook.
Get your staff …
To work on time - Peter Rafferty continues in his series of articles in De Rebus.
Debtors control
Peter Rafferty gives a possible strategy effective debtors' control for the first month after an invoice has been raised.
Cape Attorney
Attorneys should run their practices like businesses or face becoming endangered and alienated under the pressures of market forces.
Arkwright
Be like Arkwright: know your customers well, write Alastair Moyes and David Monk.
Executive series
Korbitec's Executive Series for conveyancers is well under way.
Rules for tough times
Peter Scott has four management rules for tough economic times.
Complete Practice Management
In this comprehensive article, Matthew Spagnoletti analyses the advantages of the "one system" GhostPractice approach to complete Practice Management.
Time management
Peter Rafferty looks at Time management, cutting costs, setting targets and debiting fees.
Retain your clients
A growing challenge faced by conveyancers is retaining (and expanding) their existing client bases in the face of fierce competition.
Getting the most from clients
Research suggests that retaining clients as a strategy could be eight times more profitable than any other type of marketing.
Call for comments
The LSSA has called on attorneys to comment on the second draft of the Legal Services Charter.
Intellectual capital
Sean Bosse considers the competitive advantage of intellectual capital and the dilution of the "conveyancing brand".
Does Your Web Site Bite?
Keep your web site fresh and interesting with client newsletters and news-feeds.
Make a client happy
John Remsen gives us ten golden rules to make your new client happy.
Legal services charter
The third draft of the Legal Services Charter has been posted onto the Law Society of SA web site.
Festive Season Functions
Are you "Working the Room"? - Jack Crook gives some tips on how to.
To BEE or not to BEE
To BEE or not to BEE, that is the question, according to Sean Bosse.
Making Business Sense of BEE
Obed de Swardt considers BEE, what it is, its benefits, and how it works.
Business development and you
"Do you need a business development director or a development department at your law firm?" asks Sean Bosse.
Marketing made easy
Jack Crook explains the benefits to law firms of using the e-mail newsletter as a marketing tool.
Opening the door
Legal case management is starting to improve internal processes and reshape the client relationship.
Business process management
Business process management offers a unified system that promises to end the bouts of tug of war that dogged users of previous IT developments within law firms.
Practical bookkeeping
Lesirela Letsebe considers the need for practical bookkeeping experience as highlighted in a recent case.
Saving with document management
SJ Berwin is saving £700,000 a year on storage costs and has increased productivity after installing a unified document management system.
Partner retreats
Success is in the details when planning partner retreats, writes Sean Bosse.
Communication strategies
Successful business development means closing the communications gap with your clients.
Plain language
Peter Butt considers its need in an enjoyable article entitled "Plain Language: Drafting and Property Law".
Clients slam billable hour
Australia - clients are almost entirely united in seeing an end to the billable hour.
Market your conveyancing department
Sean Bosse gives advice on how to successfully promote your conveyancing service to clients.
Law firm marketing is not a department
Sean Bosse emphasises the need for law firms and lawyers to use marketing and public relations as a strategic business tool to retain and acquire clients.
Amendments to law society rules
Two amendments to the rules of the Northern Provinces and Kwazulu-Natal Law Societies were recently published on the SAICA website.
Outcome-focused leadership
David Feeman believes that lawyers need to know what to do rather than how to become leaders.
CGT Guide beefed up
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released its revised 459 page draft guide on Capital Gains Tax for comment.
AIIF Risk Alert – 01 of 2005
The last Risk Alert Bulletin issued by the AIIF was published in February.
Put the management back
… into your practice management systems, writes Charles Christian.
Difficult clients
Carole Curtis passes on some very practical tips and advice on how to deal with difficult clients.
Survey
The long awaited survey from GhostDigest for you about you to help you the conveyancing professional.
Financial planning
Sean Bosse writes for us on Financial planning, accountability and analysis by lawyers: You are the most important bean counter.
Weigh up the options
Most firms are still confused as to whether to fully integrate their back-office systems. Adam Westbrooke takes a look at the pros and cons.
The value proposition
The first of four articles by Shaun Gillanders on producing and implementing a strategy plan, looks at methods of measuring financial performance.
Automatically for the client
Case management software is not a new concept for law firms, but, says Andrea Foot, the technology is being seen by many as a valuable tool to help them remain competitive.
Develop a workable strategy
In the second article by Shaun Gillanders, he examines the tools available for building a coherent business strategy (while continuing to do the day job).
From strategy to operations
In the third article by Shaun Gillanders, he looks at the difficult step of converting a business strategy into a business operation.
Budgeting and beyond
In his final article Sean Gillanders discusses the management of the financial risk of embarking on a strategy which adds no value to one's firm.
The matter-centred practice
New technology delivers on the promise of joined-up legal management for the e-mail age.
Sorting at a higher level
The wide acceptance of document management systems is giving rise to a demand for more sophisticated models according to Kellie Harpley in the Australian Lawyers Weekly.
Position, position
Sean Bosse explores the strategic and marketing concept of law firm positioning using a few well known South African firms.
Work improvement
When used properly, technology has the potential to make the lives of busy lawyers much easier. But, as Kellie Harpley reports, there is still plenty of room for progress.
Sweat the little things
Client relationships took their place in the limelight at the World Masters of Law Firm Management conference last month in Australia.
Interception of communications
RICA is now in force and it affects all businesses in regulating how communications can be intercepted.
Personal touch
Learning about emotional intelligence and employing it in today's competitive and pressured business environment will help to give law firms the edge over their competitors.
Doors swinging
The Precise Oxford Dictionary defines a paralegal as someone "trained in subsidiary legal matters".
Is PM a fad?
USA - "Is Practice Management Just The Latest Fad?" asks Susan Lambreth in a comprehensive article on Law Practice Today.
Strategic marketing
In his last contribution for the year Sean Bosse looks at practice development through strategic marketing.
Reducing Costs with e-Mail
E-mail, without question, increases productivity and reduces costs significantly. In spite of this, many firms don't use e-mail effectively. Some don't use e-mail at all.
Can you see the wood for the trees?
One of the distinctions between firms that are doing well out of conveyancing and those that aren't is that the latter are so embroiled in the day-to-day issues of conveyancing that they can't see the wood for the trees.
The SMS and e-mail business revolution
Reflect on the costs of letters and faxes, and then consider how the proper application of SMS and e-mail technology could bring them down.
More ways for conveyancers to increase profits
Law firms increase their profits by either increasing fees or by reducing costs. Increased fees flow from price increases and generating additional business. While firms cannot simply increase their fees arbitrarily, a look at what other firms in the industry are doing can pay dividends.
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