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Solicitors Guide to Good Management (2001) ? Trevor Boutall & Bill Blackburn The Law Society ? ISBN: 1853287326 ? Condition: Used Less ?Objection!? more ?Have you updated the time-recording policy??, from Crappy Old Books Once upon a time, a brave soul in a law firm said the fateful words: ?We should really manage this place, not just survive it.? The Solicitors Guide to Good Management is what happens when that person wins the argument and someone rings the Law Society. This is not about black-letter law. There are: No Latin maxims No photos of judges No thrilling case notes about restrictive covenants Instead, you get something far more terrifying: Staff appraisals Partner meetings Strategic planning And the radical notion that a law firm is a business , not just a filing system with wigs. What?s actually in this thing? Boutall and Blackburn gently (but firmly) lead the legal profession into such alarming territories as: Leadership ? apparently ?being the senior fee-earner? and ?being a leader? are not, in fact, the same thing People management ? motivating staff, delegating work, handling conflict, and stopping Colin from Costs from terrifying the trainees Financial control ? cashflow, budgets, profitability, and the eye-watering realisation that not everything can be billed at six-minute units Client care ? returning calls, writing letters non-sarcastically, and understanding that ?we won the case? means less if the client now hates you Systems and procedures ? case management, risk avoidance, and the idea that ?it?s in Joan?s head? is not an adequate operational model It?s essentially a survival guide for anyone who has ever thought: ?We?re good at law. Why does the firm still feel like a barely controlled explosion?? The tone: part management manual, part intervention This is a Law Society publication, so: It?s sensible It?s structured It?s very keen that you don?t go bust or implode But it?s also full of that familiar undertone: ?We know you became a solicitor to do law , not hold staff meetings, but here we are.? Expect: Checklists (?Have you??? ?Do you??? ?Why not??) Diagrams and frameworks ? boxes and arrows to make things look less chaotic than they feel Real-world examples that sound suspiciously like every firm you?ve ever worked in, but with the names changed to avoid defamation A repeated hint that good management is not optional if you?d like to still exist in five years Why this is unintentionally hilarious Reading it now, you get two parallel experiences: Sincere management advice : How to plan, review, consult, implement and generally behave like an organised enterprise. A sociology of solicitors : The subtext of ?this keeps going wrong in firms, please stop doing it? is? rich. You will meet: Partners who think ?strategy? is deciding which nice restaurant to use for client lunches Fee-earners who believe admin is a myth invented by support staff Well-meaning practice managers trying to drag everyone into the 21st century while being ignored in favour of urgent faxes (it was 2001, be kind) It?s like watching a wildlife documentary, but for professional people who own too many ring binders. Condition: Used (like most partners by year-end, but holding together) When Crappy Old Books says Used , we mean: The cover has done some actual office time ? maybe a few light scuffs, a small crease, that ?I lived on a shelf near the photocopier? energy. The spine probably has reading lines ? evidence that at least one Managing Partner made it to Chapter 3 before a client phoned and they never came back. All pages present and still firmly attached ? no missing section on ?how to run effective meetings,? however badly your previous firm ignored it. Inside, you might find: Mild page toning The odd pencilled tick box or underlined ?action point? A previous owner?s name ? likely someone with ?Managing Partner? or ?Practice Manager? in their title and a slightly haunted look No coffee catastrophes over the ?financial management.
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