A very early start and a slow drive to Manchester precluded a post yesterday. I am shortly off in the opposite direction this morning.
The former proved an interesting day and confirmed that the Manchester RO are playing hard ball with regard to Duty Solicitor Compliance. Quite why they would want to do this given its will be largely irrelevant under BVT and that they plan a "supervisory" compliance route in next years contract remains to be seen. Have the MoJ proposals rung the death knell for these ludicrous proposals?
Here is October's Webinar program. All courses commence at 1pm, carry a CPD point for all those listening. The course on October 16th also counts towards you SCC mandatory Management training requirements.
October 2nd
Family Standard and Graduated Fees
By demand we are re-running this popular guide to the the Family funding scheme. With fixed fee contract compliance auditing and claims verification exercises under way it is designed to assist firms avoid this becoming an area of friction with the Commission. It covers all levels of service, Legal and Family Help through to Representation in Public Law matters and provides guidance on the key areas of risk and is essential for all staff engaged in the reporting of Family claims.
October 9th
SQM - the 2009 Changes
The SQM standard has just been amended to facilitate a change in Audit regime by making it equivalent to Lexcel. These changes will require firms to undertake a review of their existing documentation (which might be out of date in any event) and undertake at least some minimum updates. It will also require some alteration in practice. This short course will provide a guide to the new requirements and a refresher on the other key elements of the standard.
October 16th
Financial Management: The Basics
Civil Procurement, and possibly CDS re-contracting, will require financial disclosure for the first time for some time. This session will take you though the SQM basic requirements and provide an insight in to practical financial management systems, budgeting and monitoring procedures. We will also outline the basic JRS resources freely available to firms.
October 30th
Funding Proceeds of Crime Act Cases
At JRS we routinely field phone enquiries regarding the funding of POCA cases. Simply this course aims to take delegates through the current guidance on the Civil and Criminal funding available to firms acting for client or third parties in such matters.
Richard Hawley's latest album Trueloves Gutter is great, and a bit of a departure from previous. I am off to see him next month too. There are no videos from the album around as yet, that I can find, so here is something from the last one:
For most of the Summer we have been fielding enquiries about our civil cost drafting service with a polite "we are not taking on any new clients at the moment".
With Eve going on maternity leave we needed to get through the bulge in the pipe that created. We have finally managed that and so, as promised to those who asked, feel free to give us a ring about what's on offer.
I am off out for more "procurement plan" discussions this morning. Having done a number of these now I am developing a concern that there is not the consistency one might expect between different areas. There are for instance Integrated A areas which one might anticipate being Bs, and vice versa, and factors such as minimum NMS volumes which seem a little strange. I have no doubt, actually on reflection I probably do have some doubts, that there is a solid statistical basis for all of this but anecdotally the methodology seems a bit wonky.
Perhaps some of our secret LSC readers can clarify.
We have been fielding an increasing number of enquiries concerning Proceeds of Crime Act matters - especially those outside of criminal proceedings, pre charge or for third parties, where CDS funding is not available. Without exception my immediate response, when in the office, is to reach for Volume 3 of the LSC Manual. (I am old fashioned and insist we still buy a paper version in addition to our on-line subscription).
Section 23 is the reference you need, page 340 or para. 3C-232, and there is particularly useful summary grid 4 pages in.
It is also worthwhile being aware of the Civil Forms page of their website - yes you will have to learn how to complete civil applications to proceed.
This Friday, 25th September, the Webinar will cover the vexed issue of the 2010 Contract Procurement Round.
The path towards next years new contracts has neither been straight nor smooth. The Commission has recently conceded that the pace of change proposed was too swift for Civil suppliers and we are currently enjoying a 6-month postponement of the "procurement" round with new contracts now not due to start until October 2010.
In the meantime area by area procurement plans have now been published and we have a clearer overview of the possible size and shape of next years scheme. This course aims to update delegates on these development and provide some thoughts on how best to utilise the additional preparation time now available.
The LSC have announced the anticipated changes to the SQM standard (although the link on this page doesn't seem to take you to the new standard - maybe this will work later in the day).
The key changes are reportedly a general update, a new equality and diversity standard and moving certain specifics, supervisor standards, into the new 2010 Contract. It also marks the move towards "outsourcing" of the LSC's audit function to Lexcel accreditation bodies - and passing the costs of this to you.
If you have not reviewed your Office Manual in a while and think this is the time to do so give us a ring. We have a highly cost effective service, equivalent to a few hours of Partner time, to provide you with fully up-to-date SQM documentation.
More civil procurement chats today though this time in West Yorkshire. Had hoped for a nice Autumn drive on well travelled roads but it is looking decidedly grey out there.
I am doing a session on the same subject for Bolton Law Society on Thursday - now there is a town to which I have not been in a while. I am cramming in 2 CDS BVT consultations before my slot - which in G. Manchester is never a light and breezy topic.
This Friday, 18th September, we touch on the thorny subject of Staff Appraisal.
This remains a mandatory SQM requirement which must be undertaken annually. It is also amongst the most tricky; getting it right requires some focus and getting it wrong can have a dramatic and negative impact upon staff morale and motivation.
This session will take you through a tried and trusted scheme and help delegates avoid all the main pitfalls. We might just encourage participants to believe that this can be an valuable mechanism to improve performance and profitability.
The course attracts a CPD point and also counts towards the Solicitor Code of Conduct mandatory management training points target.
For various reasons we have missed out on the last couple of Friday songs. We have also been a bit stuck back in time so here is something good and current:
I have been holding back on posting today as I have been expecting some (good?) news about LSC timetables relating to the "transformation" process. Flipping between the MoJ and the LSC sites has yet to turn anything up as yet though. Shame I wanted to include it in tomorrows webinar.
That aside I have had a significant and testing day of phone queries ranging from technicalities, contractual interpretation and even, uncommonly, strategic advice.
Anyhow we will let you know when something turns up. Which leads me to a question - I am advised we should add twitter to this site to alert people to news items. Would anyone be interested in this?
I have had my second conversation in a fortnight with a firm facing a Duty Solicitor compliance check. It is the usual "have you done the majority of your slots and 12 attendances at the Police Station in the last 12 months?" questioning.
Now I understand that this has been a bone of contention between the LSC and TLS for some time and, of course, has never (quite rightly) become a Key Performance Indicator. There is also an argument that the LSC have no contractual right for this disclosure - however many do not want to antagonise the Commission by making such a refusal.
If you have one of these "Self Declaration" forms in front of you and want a chat just pick up the phone.
Ah September- the beginning of Autumn, the passage of migrant birds reaches it height, schools reopen their doors and the annual contract reconciliation process begins. We now have our first Autorecbot sighting with, one suspects, many more to follow.
I am dusting off our calculation spreadsheet for the rush of enquiries.
We are having our first week off since we began the Friday Webinar Service in May (Grovestock preparation required). Here however is our program for the remainder of September.
Sessions all commence at 1pm, carry a CPD point for each participant in your firm, and cost £60 per session. If you want to purchase all 3 courses the reduced rate is £120.
September Courses are as follows:
11th September Where Now for the CDS
With BVT plans in limbo, except for in the "pilot" areas, the Ministry of Justice has now entered the fray with proposals for new "administratively" set rates for Police Station work and further changes to the CC Litigators Fee. This course will outline these proposals, refresh delegates understanding of the BVT timetable and process and consider recent changes to the CCLF.
18th September Doing Staff Appraisals
With old fashioned auditing back on the agenda the prospect of having to provide central records for inspection is once again a real possibility. Arguably annual staff appraisals represents the most important element of the "Managing People" section of SQM. This is also probably the most difficult and, if mishandled, potentially damaging mandatory requirement in the standard. The course will take you through the simple and effective system JRS have encouraged client firms to use for a number of years.
25th September Civil Procurement 2010 an Update
The 6-month delay to the proposed 2010 Civil Bid Round has added a degree of uncertainty to the process. Whilst area specific "Procurement Plans" are filtering through precise guidance on other elements of the process. We have scheduled this session to be able to bring civil firms an update on progress and to outline the new information now available to us.
I begin a series of visits to clients to discuss Civil Procurement and to initiate preparatory activity this morning. I am in the North East first off and guess what the area specific Procurement Plans have not yet been published in this area.
