LPM

IN PRACTICE
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APRIL 2016
IN PRACTICE
SNAPSHOT
FUTURE
VISIONS
When is a law firm not quite
a law firm? Answer: When
one of its LLP members is
a limited company that
has employees as shareholders.
In March, West Country firm
Stephens Scown's ABS licence became
effective after gaining approval in
February, and what a licence it is. The
firm will remain an LLP, but one of its
members will be Stephen Scown
Limited, a company owned by the
firm’s staff through an employee
benefit trust. From May, half of the
firm’s profits above a certain threshold
(it's not known what that is) would be
paid into a bonus pot to be shared by
the staff. Stephens Scown isn't the first
to do this, but it's the first to do it like
this. More firms in the future will look
to extend ownership to employees in
this way, because why should partners
have all the 'fun'?
Another future – more depressing
but lucrative – lies ahead for firms able
to exploit the grey pound, according to
a report carried out for Bristol firm
Barcan & Kirby. An ageing population
will drive up demand for many grey
pound products, says the report, such
as employment contracts, equity
release, powers of attorney and
agreements to supply Soylent Green.
Happier news, for those on the
business services side of legal at least,
came in March in the shape of another
report (Developing legal talent) from
Deloitte. In the 'future' (it says) legal
will need fewer 'traditional' lawyers and
more sales people, project managers
and those with technology skills – an
outcome LPM readers will be well up
on, of course. Deloitte 'predicts' a raft
of changes that are more obvious to
those of us who've had our eyes open:
greater flexibility and mobility among
staff; a greater willingness to source
people from other industries with nontraditional
skills and training; significant
automation; and so on.
Staffing is, doubtless, one of the legal
industry's perennial challenges, and it
will only get harder, as yet another
report (Mind the gap, by LexisNexis)
warns. This research into mid-size SME
firms shows that there's a disturbing
gap between how partners think things
are going in their firms and how fee
earners feel. Sadly, no one at LexisNexis
thought to ask practice managers.
Fee earners were far more likely than
partners to say their firms are
'traditional', far less likely to say their
firm has a clear strategy for the future,
and wildly less likely to say their
practices prided themselves on the
quality of staff training.
While these moans are standard
bêtes noires of millennials, 'attracting
the right staff' was at the top of the list
of challenges. So whether you like it or
not, those pain points have to be
addressed if your firm stands a chance
of hiring the best people in the future.
PS Just kidding about the Soylent
Green. April fool ... LPM
Have you got a story or report
for us? Write to lpm@lsn.co.uk
"I've thought
about it, private,
and no, we won't
be moving to an
employee
ownership model.
Keep your
money under
your hat, like
everyone else."
IN NUMBERS
Age may wither ...
A report for Barcan & Kirby
analysed predicted UK
demogaphics in 2025, and
looked at what this might mean
for legal services
70
MILLION
Population of the UK
by 2025, of which
6.9 million will be
over 75 years old
82
†
Average life
expectancy of men
in 2025, according to
the Office for
National Statistics
1
MILLION
People in the UK likely
to be suffering from
dementia in 2025
Source: Citizen 2025 report,
citing other sources
5
LEGAL PRACTICE MANAGEMENT