An increasing number of law firms are now using captives for their insurance arrangements as firms take proactive steps to regain control of their own destiny and secure direct benefits from their good risk management and efficient operation.

Solicitors have been given another wake-up call with regards to criminal clones this month by their regulator. In its second annual risk outlook, delivered last week, bogus law firms were elevated to being one of the key risks facing the profession. How does your firm protect itself from this risk?

To say that the paralegal enquiry launched by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) is timely is a massive understatement. It is a highly significant piece of work – its aims ambitious, its scope comprehensive, its outcomes potentially far-reaching.

Having recently been involved in property transactions in different parts of England and Wales, I can speak as a consumer of legal services. After attending last week’s Legal Futures‘ conference, I also feel up to speed on the direction technology in general is moving. What strikes me is that some solicitors continue to work in a kind of parallel universe, in which ‘older’ technologies like e-mail and digital scanning have been incorporated into the conveyancing process, but the piecemeal fashion in which it has been brought in makes its acceptance seem grudging.

Managing lawyers is never dull. And managing change within a law firm is as far from dull as it gets. Balancing the conflicting drivers and aspirations of professionals, as change is being brought about, can take the Wisdom of Solomon and the deftness of a music-hall plate-twirler.