Business Strategies for a Winning Practice
This one-day Boot Camp, specifically for small and medium law firms will give you the practical advice and tools you need to create and maintain a sustainable practice. Find out more about the future of Small Law in South Africa and gain insight into best practice to keep you on the road to success. Don't miss this must attend event to be held at CSIR Pretoria on the 20th of July.
Key Topics
The Small Law Firm in RSA - What is the future and how to prosper? Presented by David Lancaster
The key to success as a lawyer is to find your niche area of law and then build your reputation. Increasing fees does not have to mean increased billable hours. In his presentation, David will focus on ways to increase profits, including alternative fee arrangements. He will also discuss the importance of building customer relationships in order to prosper. One of David’s key messages when coaching lawyers is to help them produce consistent and sustainable results which can’t be achieved without attaining a work/life balance. David will provide key insights on how this illusive ‘balance’ can be achieved. With over 30 years’ experience at one of the top law firms in the country – David will help you think strategically as you take your practice to the next level.
Medical Malpractice Today Presented by John Mullins SC and Paul du Plessis
Following the trend in other countries, there has been a veritable explosion of medical negligence litigation in the past 10 years in South Africa.
John Mullins SC is one of the country’s leading advocates specialising in medical negligence cases. Adv Mullins will discuss the expert-driven nature of the field and how medical malpractice differs from MVA work. This is a complex area of litigation and the mere fact that something went medically wrong doesn’t prove negligence. In his presentation, he will explain that lawyers must not only concentrate on proving negligence, but also proving that the negligence was causal of the outcome.
Paul du Plessis has over 20 years’ experience in personal injury law. Paul prides himself in being able to obtain exceptional results for his clients who have suffered loss through medical negligence. Paul has been running his law firm since 2007 and has built up a very impressive medical negligence practice. He will cover the challenges that face a small law firm and how to prosper in this competitive environment.
Legal Research - Advancing What is Possible Presented by Louis Podbielksi
With a busy legal practice, you cannot afford to waste precious hours doing research the long and the hard way. Time is money, so knowing how to conduct efficient, fast, accurate and thorough online research is a huge advantage. Learn how to use the best techniques to bolster your argument.
Louis Podbielski is the Case Law Product Manager at LexisNexis where he works with both technical and law-reporting teams, harnessing the power of data analytics and artificial intelligence to create tools for improving legal writing and research.
Until 2017 he was the managing editor of Juta’s law reports, overseeing various local and African law reports and spending many years deeply immersed in court judgments. In this professional capacity he read thousands of judgments, both civil and criminal, identifying and scrutinizing the important dicta for the purpose of case selection and headnote writing. Louis has a passion for the rule of law and for building systems and collaborations that improve efficiencies in the machinery of the legal system.
The Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, 2017: Compliance Obligations for Attorneys Presented by Johan Van Staden
The FIC Amendment Act, 2017 came into operation by two separate dates being 13 June and 2 October 2017. Attorneys would have noticed the increase in media reports of suspected money laundering activities committed by high profile and prominent individuals and their companies which brings the role attorneys possibly played in such transactions or agreements to the fore. Attorneys may be subjected to a renewed focus as to whether they have complied with the anti-money laundering legislation.
In essence the amendment act replaced rule-based compliance approach with a risk-based approach. The exemptions as also applicable to attorneys as well as certain regulations were withdrawn. All attorneys are now required irrespective the nature of their practice or the nature of their clients’ mandate to adopt customer due diligence procedures. These procedures are to be provided for in a Risk Management and Compliance Programme which replaced the Internal Rules previously required. Failure to comply can result in severe penalties which can be up to R100 million.
The Legal Practice Act - All you Need to Know Presented by Krish Govender
The Legal Practice Act is seen by many legal practitioners as a disruptor in the legal profession. It changes the structures and the way in which the legal profession has conducted business for many years. In his talk, Krish will provide a general overview of the impact it will have on the running of your legal firm and provide answer to questions like, Why section 35 and what does it aim to achieve? Will we eventually end up with a fixed cost structure? And many more.
Outsourcing - Smaller Investment Bigger Results Presented by Ned Daze
Outsourcing provides the small and solo firm the ability to acquire top shelf talent and punch above their weight by providing big firm services without the overhead. Learn how to increase efficiency while focusing on more profitable work and look at the principles behind managed contract outsourcing – remotely and without the pitfalls. Delve into some real life examples involving processes, document labelling/uploading, bookkeeping and app development as well as some other portions of your business you didn’t think were possible to outsource.
Practical Business Advice to Lawyers Presented by Chris Pearson
A collection of advice learned from successful firms which will help any law firm to improve their bottom line. Today, business principles apply to law firms even though Law is a profession. Put simply, this advice will help you to overcome the challenges facing the legal profession in the coming years.
Registration Fee: Practicing/Candidate Attorneys - R750.00; Non-members: R980.00
Note: Registration closes on Monday 16th July.
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