Practice Management

There’s more to running a law firm than being good at law. If you want to succeed in today’s tough legal landscape you have to manage your business effectively. That means strategic planning, business planning, financial management, risk management, talent management, operational management, knowledge management, HR, IT, tax, pensions, business development, health & safety, learning & development and facilities.

Who has time to actually practice law?

LexisPSL Practice Management is the essential online toolkit for law firms. Clear, concise practice notes by leading experts spell out exactly what good management looks like. A huge bank of templates, checklists and examples mean you don’t have to reinvent the wheel and our email alerts keep you updated with what’s happening across the legal market.

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Practice notes

Precedents

Q&As

Featured Practice Management content

Brexit legislation tracker

This Practice Note tracks the progress of UK legislation introduced as part of the legislative project associated with the UK’s withdrawal from the

Cloud computing—key legal issues

This Practice Note considers the following legal and commercial issues relating to cloud services:•Due diligence•Contract documents•Service

Contract variation

This Practice Note summarises the law, guidance and practice relating to the variation of contracts and deeds. It explains how a contract or deed can

Appointment, retirement and resignation of a director

BREXIT IMPACT: The information to be given when appointing a corporate director will be affected by Brexit. For further details, see Impact of Brexit

Practice notes

Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) practice management standards—Precedents content map from 1 May 2019

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is a quality standard for residential conveyancing practices. According to the Law Society,...

22nd Oct

Practice notes

Lone working

What's the issue?The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines lone workers as people who work by themselves without close or direct...

26th Sep

COVID-19

Practice notes

Offer and induction—law firms

This Practice Note provides guidance on:•the basic content of an offer letter•taking up references•keeping in touch before the start date•preparing...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Completion of training contract

Admission requirementsTo be admitted as a solicitor a trainee must:•complete the academic stage, for which the options are:◦a qualifying law...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Supervision of trainees

The requirements when supervising trainees derive from the SRA Codes of Conduct and the SRA’s specific regulatory requirements for authorised training...

26th Sep

Practice notes

Formulating a strategic plan—law firms

What are strategic aimsA strategic aims document is also sometimes known as a strategic plan. It sets out the firms strategic aims for a defined...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Good practice in personal development and appraisals

The essence of any performance management process is the relationship between employee and manager. Both should know what needs to be done to meet...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Price and service transparency—law firms

From 6 December 2018, law firms must publish information on their website on the prices they charge and what these cover. This does not apply to all...

25th Sep

Practice notes

The importance of good time recording

This Practice Note is intended for law firms. It explains why time recording is so important. It also explores best practice around time recording and...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Raising the financial awareness of your staff

This Practice Note considers how you might set about improving your staff's financial awareness so they might be more inclined to, and more skilled...

25th Sep

Practice notes

BD and marketing plan workflow

This BD and marketing plan workflow sets out a staged process which can be followed to for...

25th Sep

Practice notes

How to end employment on grounds of ill health—law firms

This Practice Note explains the procedures to be followed when you need to end employment on grounds of ill health. When to end...

25th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

Fire safety in the workplace—regulatory requirements

This Practice Note covers regulatory requirements relating to fire safety in the workplace. It covers fire safety requirements in an office-based...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Redundancy—law firms

For the purposes of entitlement to a redundancy payment, an employee is dismissed by reason of redundancy if the reason for dismissal...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Repudiation

This Practice Note concerns repudiation and sets out what a repudiatory breach of contract means. It explains how a repudiatory breach goes to the...

25th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

Conditional fee agreements after 1 April 2013—non-personal injury

This Practice Note explains how the conditional fee regime operates after 1 April 2013, including:•what a conditional fee agreement (CFA) is•the...

25th Sep

Most recent Practice Management content

Practice notes

Advising managers: how to conduct a disciplinary investigation

Where a conduct issue arises in the workplace, the first stage in managing that issue is to investigate the problem, in order to establish the facts...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Dismissing fairly for conduct reasons

If an employee brings a claim of unfair dismissal, the burden is on the employer to prove that it had a fair reason for dismissal. One of the...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Brexit—contract risk management

Brexit: As of exit day (11pm on 31 January 2020) the UK is no longer an EU Member State. However, in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK...

25th Sep

Brexit

Practice notes

Illegal working: dealing with a criminal allegation

This Practice Note provides an overview of the main criminal offences relating to illegal working and discusses practical aspects of dealing with a...

25th Sep

Practice notes

EEA nationals—restrictions

Most EEA nationals have no restrictions on their freedom to take employment in the UK (see EEA nationals—rights).From 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2018,...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Personal pensions—an introduction

Statutory development of personal pensionsRetirement annuity contracts were the predecessor to personal pensions. They were introduced by the Finance...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Conditional fee agreements after 1 April 2013—non-personal injury

This Practice Note explains how the conditional fee regime operates after 1 April 2013, including:•what a conditional fee agreement (CFA) is•the...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Accidents caused by manual handling

Post 1 October 2013On 1 October 2013, section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (ERRA 2013) came into force. For workplace accidents...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Stakeholder pension schemes after 1 October 2012—an introduction

FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT: Following the publication of a discussion paper (DP18/1)on the effectiveness of competition in non-workplace pensions...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Advising managers: how to plan and prepare for a disciplinary hearing

In cases of apparent misconduct, the first stage is for a disciplinary investigation to be conducted. Once that is complete, the investigator will...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Tax treatment of pensions—an introduction

Broadly speaking, tax applies to UK registered pension schemes in three different areas:•tax treatment of member and employer contributions (including...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Repudiation

This Practice Note concerns repudiation and sets out what a repudiatory breach of contract means. It explains how a repudiatory breach goes to the...

25th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

The right to return to work after maternity leave

This Practice Note considers a woman’s right to return to work after maternity leave.A woman who takes ordinary maternity leave (OML) is entitled to...

25th Sep

In-house

Practice notes

Adoption leave

An employee intending to adopt a child under 18 may be eligible to take up to three different kinds of statutory leave:•ordinary and additional...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Gender pay gap reporting

Coronavirus (COVID-19): The enforcement of all gender pay gap reporting deadlines was suspended for the reporting year 2019–20 due to the coronavirus...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Garden leave and the right to work

In broad terms, putting an employee on 'garden leave' means the employer sending the employee home on full pay during the employee's notice period. It...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Time off work for antenatal appointments

An employer or, where applicable, a temporary work agency or hirer, cannot unreasonably refuse to allow a pregnant employee, or where applicable, a...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Time off for dependants

In certain defined circumstances, employees have a right to be permitted to take time off during working hours:•to care for, or arrange care for,...

25th Sep

COVID-19

Practice notes

Work during maternity or adoption leave—keeping in touch days

This Practice Note describes the extent to which employees are entitled to work during statutory maternity or adoption leave, without bringing that...

25th Sep

Practice notes

Shared parental leave (birth)

In essence, the right to shared parental leave allows, after birth, the mother of the child and a second person (who must be the father of child, or...

25th Sep