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.

Part I. Structure and management of law firms

Optimal legal forms 7
Richard Turnor
Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP

Governance structures 19
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Jaime Fernández Madero
Fernández Madero Consulting
Markus Hartung
Bucerius Center on the Legal Profession
Richard Turnor
Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP

Professional indemnity insurance: practical considerations in an increasingly international market 33
Janet M Henderson
Brit Syndicate 2987
Ernst Millaard
Aon Global Risk Consultants

Part II. Client work

Conflicts of interest 51
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP
Andrew Scott
Clyde & Co LLP

Confidentiality and disclosure 71
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP
Andrew Scott
Clyde & Co LLP

Engagement letters 85
Heather Hibberd
Legal Practitioners' Liability
Committee
Andrew Scott
Clyde & Co LLP

Client risk 97
Simon Chester
Heenan Blaikie LLP
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP

Precedent databases and knowledge management 117
Martin Schulz
German Graduate School of Management and Law
Luis Felipe Mohando
SORAINEN

Review processes and client satisfaction: handling high-risk cases 129
Tracey Calvert
Oakalls Consultancy Limited
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Richard Harrison
Clyde & Co LLP

Managing the client engagement 143
Tracey Calvert
Oakalls Consultancy Limited
Abhijit Joshi
AZB & Partners
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP
Angeline Poon
Rajah & Tann LLP

Part III. Data protection

Data protection and privacy in the United States 157
Steven M Puiszis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Data protection and privacy in Europe 167
Silvia C Bauer
Silke Gottschalk
Luther

Part IV. Money laundering

Money laundering 175
Sue Mawdsley
Legal Risk LLP
Suzie Ogilvie
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Part V. HR issues

Hiring - identifying the key risks 189
Ruth Bonino
Chris Holme
Clyde & Co LLP

Lateral hiring of partners - the hiring process 197
Ruth Bonino
Chris Holme
Clyde & Co LLP

Integration of lateral hires 205
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Personal development policies 209
Jaime Fernández Madero
Fernández Madero Consulting

Part VI. Financial risk

Financial risk management in law firms 213
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP
Wolfgang Weiss
University of Applied Arts, Coburg

Non-lawyer ownership of law firms and outsourcing of legal services 227
Anthony E Davis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Heather Hibberd
Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee
Frank Maher
Legal Risk LLP

Part VII. Cyber risk

Mitigating law firms' cyber risk 239
Steven M Puiszis
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Part VIII. Globalisation

The globalisation of legal services 255
Friedrich R Blase
Holland & Knight
Julia Graham
DLA Piper
James W Jones
Georgetown University Law Center

Part IX. Brand and reputation

The effects of risk management on brand and reputation management 271
Georg-Christof Bertsch
Bertsch.Brand Consultants
Simon Chester
Heenan Blaikie LLP
Jane Hunter
Aon Risk Solutions

About the authors 295