Risk Management in Law Firms

Effective risk management is critical to the successful operation of law firms. Market acceptance and professional reputation established over many years can be destroyed overnight by a major incident. Often such events could have been prevented if appropriate risk management systems had been in place. This new book has been prepared by a number of well-known and authoritative authors, the majority of whom are from Anglo-Saxon jurisdictions, but with experience in civil law jurisdictions as well. The working method applied throughout the book is based on risk categories, rather than geographic. This approach allows authors to focus their contributions on workable solutions, rather than country-specific legal analyses. Chapters address financial risks (which have been an important factor in recent collapses of law firms), risks brought by clients as well as risks associated with quality, conflict, hiring and practice integration procedures. This book aims to help law firm leaders and managers to understand the scope and utility of risk management generally, and to guide them in implementing and maintaining adequate risk management policies, procedures and systems. The book also gives in-house counsel and risk officers a better understanding of the needs of their outside attorneys, thereby improving the partnering between lawyers and their clients.