Frank Maher advises on how to mitigate the fall-out from the credit crunch
You should certainly expect the unexpected, however unexpected that is,” said Adam Applegarth, on his resignation as chief executive of Northern Rock. This applies equally to law firms.
Each day the profession faces new challenges which may not have been encountered before—a recent example being landlord solvency which threatened three law firms with closure of their offices when the electricity bill went unpaid.
Although the seeds have already been sown for some, and the damage done, many issues are capable of being mitigated if people think about them in advance.
People risk
● Employment issues are a significant issue. Firms making redundancies run the risk of stress-related mistakes, and not having smooth handovers of ongoing matters, perhaps leaving loose ends such as registration of mortgages. There may also be problems obtaining co-operation from staff after they leave, either for ongoing matters or in defending claims.
● Low morale in a firm often appears to filter through
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