The SRA has issued an update regarding interest rates and client account, specifically focusing on the importance of paying interest fairly. According to the Law Society’s recent financial benchmarking survey , many law firms have and still are...
Legal Finance Professionals
Law Firms who are thinking of accepting payments for credit cards into their client accounts should be aware of the risks and use the ILFM's pointers to navigate potential pitfalls. When it comes to deciding if the law firm accounts department will...
From 6th April 2024, the newly approved Employment Rights Bill (Flexible Working ) will go through. What does this mean for us as employees AND employers? Employment Rights Bill (Flexible Working) Employees can make a flexible working request twice...
RESEARCH: Blog on accuracies when relying on GenAI for technical information. The ILFM is the go-to professional body for business support roles in legal finance, compliance and practice management and so we urge members and those in legal roles to...
Helplines for self-assessment tax advice were going to be drastically cut but then yesterday afternoon the HMRC did a 180 degree turn around on that decision! What’s going on with the HMRC? HMRC was going to close its telephone helpline...
Regulated law firms in England & Wales hold dual ledgers and residual client account balances need prompt attention. The accounts law firms hold are: business accounts client accounts Client accounts are heavily regulated under the SRA...
ILFM feedback to the SRA's news on consumer protection and client account risk management Updated 20 February 2024 The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched a review of consumer protection in response to evolving risks in the legal...
Updated 6 February 2024 Artificial intelligence (AI) is literally everywhere in the news and conversations. There is so much noise surrounding this topic and no more so than in law firms, from tech to marketing to support to transparency to legislation...
ILFM News - Jatinderpal Loyal, Honorary Fellow ANNOUNCEMENT: Tim Kidd, Chief Executive of the ILFM, has today confirmed Jatinderpal Loyal has been made an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Legal Finance & Management for his outstanding...
The Legal Ombudsman is changing its postal address with effect from Monday 22 January 2024. The Legal Ombudsman’s new postal address will be: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH Why is change important for your firm's...
Latest LexisNexis research predicts a slower growth for the 2024 legal market Back in October 2023, LexisNexis released its "Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index report, which predicts the legal sector growth will drop to +2% in 2024 (from...
Questions coming from practice managers and reporting accountants at the our November Conference in regard to professional indemnity insurance (pii). Joel Harding, from Howden Broking, was one of our guest speakers at the ILFM’s November Virtual...
Updated 14 May 2024 Let’s begin with the fact that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has upped its powers for their anti-money laundering supervision and investigation measures. The SRA now has dedicated resources to ensure law firms...
The ILFM work with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to receive updates and priorities that we can impart to our members. Going forward, the SRA’s focus is to: Deliver high professional standards. Strengthen its risk based and proactive...
Conveyancing solicitors and CILEx lawyers play a critical role in preventing money laundering. They are the gatekeepers of property transactions and must remain vigilant whilst upholding professional standards. What are the best practices, firmwide, to...
The latest Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index Report from LexisNexis is an interesting read, with the data showing that the post-pandemic legal bubble is under pressure and the research predicts the legal market's slowing down for...
Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Why Law Firm Marketing Requires All Hands Guest writer and ILFM Member Rewards Partner, Lara Squires from Consortium, gives us her take on why it takes a whole team to market a law firm Marketing is all about...
12 September 2023 The Law Society of Northern Ireland partners with the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) The Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) announced today that...
Guest writer, Simon McCrum, gives us his opinion on data that shows law firms can take up to 6 months before they get paid for work they have done. Looking at the recent piece in the Law Society Gazette , law firms can still take 3-6 months to...
Good luck to everyone who sat their GCSEs and are reading their results today. It’s a big day for students as well as parents, teachers and carers who support these young people with their future studies and career choices. The General Certificate...
Whether your law firm offers B2B services, or your practice itself requires this information to function seamlessly, this update is for you to read and share. In 2023, Companies House introduced new legislation to improve the transparency of UK companies...
The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM), by default, boosts socio-economic diversity through our qualifications and training into UK Law Firms. The majority of our students who come through the ILFM to study legal finance have not had...
Legal Software and how to avoid a software change being too much of a gamble Guest writer and ILFM member, Alex Simons, from the Law Factory LLP giv es us his take on legal cashiering and legal software. I’ve been working in legal...
The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) membership is the first port of call for UK law firm COFAs (Compliance Officer for Finance & Administration). In England & Wales, law firms are required to appoint a Compliance...
Online Safety Bill – are you ready and what does it mean for your law firm? At the time of writing, the online safety bill is at the Report Stage of the bill at the House of Lords, i.e. it’s very nearly coming to fruition. MPs and law...
Crowe’s annual Law Firm Benchmarking survey is live! We are delighted to announce that Crowe have launched their 2023 Law Firm Benchmarking survey , working in conjunction with the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) for the...
If your law firm is authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) then there is a requirement that a COFA and a COLP is appointed. A COFA is a compliance officer for finance and administration, and a COLP is a compliance officer for legal...
Interest rates are currently 4.5% and set to increase again- are you getting the most from your client account deposits? Some law firm owners and partners may wonder if this is a legitimate source of income and whether looking around for...
The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) is the educational body for qualifying bookkeepers to become confident legal cashiers. Working in a legal practice and looking after their books is detailed and intricate, and couple that with adhering...
Legal Cashiers - bookkeeping for law firms In a solicitor's practice the accounting and finance functions are paramount in keeping the law firm compliant and regulated, whilst keeping cashflow and double entry bookkeeping managed efficiently and up...
Guest writer and ILFM Member and Award Winner, Jess Davis ILFM(Dip) Walking across the stage for my university graduation, and receiving my Bachelors with Honours degree in psychology in October 2021, I would never have expected that only a few...
Guest writer is Dr Benita Maynard, Chartered FCIPD and Director at North-52 My colleague, Tessa Dodwell , is thrilled to have been asked by the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) to speak at their Spring Conference this...
Living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) whilst working, studying and often parenting can feel completely overwhelming. We have hundreds of students (adult) here at the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) and although...
By guest writer, Nichola Macciocchi FILFM, a Fellowship ILFM member and Legal Accounts Manager at a leading law firm in Northumberland . Always a driven child, I was really into my sport and loved art at school and quite competitive! Like many of my...
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered a ‘ Budget for Growth ’ after the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast a stronger than expected performance from the UK economy this year with inflation continuing to fall. Let’s look into the...
Crowe , in partnership with the Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM), carried out a comprehensive benchmarking survey from 50 UK law firms and the results are now in. The results are based predominantly on UK law firms’ data sent in...
Guest writer, Richard Hooper from Balance Recruitment, tells us his take on how best to attract and retain the right person for your law firm. I’ll soon be approaching 20 years of recruiting within the legal finance community and I’m looking...
Guest writer, Joanna Gaudoin, is a best selling author and Managing Director of Insight Out Image . She helps professionals with their technical skills whilst improving their non-technical ones to aid career progression and boost their...
How great is it that we can openly discuss being healthy in both body and mind nowadays. There was a time when burnout, depression and anxiety at work were seen as inconsequential. Stiff upper lip, just get on with it mentality. Any good manager will know...
The ILFM announces that Karen Edwards joins as the Head of Professional Development The Institute of Legal Finance & Management (ILFM) announced on Wednesday 22 February 2023 the appointment of Karen Edwards as the new Head of...
Guest writer, Mark Adderley, ILFM Council Member and Manager at Crowe has kindly written this article for us in this LGBT history month. LGBT history month is a time of reflection for many people in the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a time to...
Tim Kidd, Chief Executive of the Institute of Legal Finance and Management (ILFM) , shares his thoughts on how modern law firms can attract and retain talent - a conversation with Osprey Approach in their series of webinars. I was delighted to take part...
Receiving credit card payments in a law firm can ease cashflow as a simple, effective and affordable way of getting clients to pay their invoices quickly. That said, as a Finance Director or Legal Cashier in a Law Firm, you must ask yourself a...
Guest writer, Davina Patel from Access to Justice Foundation ATJF and supporter of the ILFM Access to Justice Foundation and working with the ILFM – a personal perspective Having met with Elaine Pasini, Head of Communications at the...
In the life of Legal Finance - 25 years and Counting Guest writer, Marc Pegg, ILFM Member and Finance Director at Actons Solicitors. My first position at a law firm would begin in the summer of 1997 at the tender age of 17. Careers Advice! ...
Updated January 2024 Your out-of-office at Christmas time was on, and you were signing off to enjoy the festive period! You’re now back, the number of emails gathering in your inbox is upsetting, and the January weather has hit you like...
Without fail World Mental Health Day #WMHD falls on the same day of the same month each year. If you’re not already aware, it’s 10 th October! The ILFM and LawCare – Legal Finance Professionals’ Mental Health Matters Legal...
Here we go again! Stamp duty changes in the government’s mini-budget. A number of changes are made to the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) regime but in the main, the changes increase the amount that a purchaser can pay for a residential property before...
Managing credit has always been something that causes stress for law firms as it brings plenty of unexpected challenges for solicitors and their accounts department. As we all know in the legal sector, it’s important for law firms to understand...
The pressures on the accounts department in a law firm is immense. Anyone working in finance and law gets it! The SRA have made the Accounts Rules less stressful, however the knowledge anyone, from legal cashier > bookkeeper > finance manager > COFA...
How to become a qualified legal cashier and all the support you need with the ILFM, the leading trainers for legal cashiers
We are consumers, all of us, so you’ll understand when we explain why we are a savvy lot when choosing a law firm to work with our business, or indeed, our personal affairs. How many people in your Accounts Department do you know? The Director? The...
COFAs are not necessarily responsible for the money-laundering requirements relating to a law firm’s clients. However, a recent disciplinary tribunal fined a principal, who was also the firm’s COFA, for failing to adhere to the relevant...
Your journey in an Accounts Department of a Law Firm can be daunting. It’s an exciting time, knowing you are in a specialist area of finance. From bank reconciliations, to data entry, to understanding how lawyers and clients...