August  09 Around the States - Queensland

 

Monthly Seminars

The April monthly meeting was an HR focussed panel discussion on the topic “Getting the culture right”. Our three panel members were Katrina Haynes (Trilby Misso), Belinda Parish (Carter Newell) and Patricia Lin (Queensland Law Society).

Belinda defined culture as being “what people fall back on when there are no instructions”. The Carter Newell culture is one of inclusiveness, transparency and respect which promote correct behaviours. She suggested that you survey your staff to find out what their values are and to establish what the culture of the firm is.

Katrina described the process Trilby Misso went through to establish their value statement. 6 of their 7 values were established by canvassing the staff. Employees are encouraged to challenge any member of staff who is not behaving in line with firm values.

Patricia suggested that you start by asking “What is your company attitude?” when embarking on cultural change. She described the enormous cultural change which is currently taking place at QLS and emphasised that leadership is critical in managing that change. The key areas QLS is in the process of changing are structure, roles, process and technology.
Mary Hockaday (DLA Phillips Fox) chaired the session.

Our May seminar speaker was Tony Grant from Innovative Business Solutions on the topic of succession planning.

 

Attendance was good despite torrential rain. Tony described the challenges of succession planning as the population >60 increases and those coming into the profession decrease. Who do you hand over to when there has been an “experience level shift”? Queensland dynamics mean the smaller firms will need to either merge or sell to larger firms. If you are a very small firm you should look to your existing staff to see if they can be groomed to succeed. The overriding consideration is to plan and to start planning for succession now. It may mean you have to hire a practice manager to run the business, so you can concentrate on grooming a successor.

Our June seminar speaker was John Chisholm on the topic of "Cutting up the Pie - and other Partnership Recipes".

 

Attendance was very good. John gave a great presentation which started with a video from Sony demonstrating just how much and how quickly the world is changing and making the point that we, in the business world, all need to change as well.

 

He gave us an overview on common Partnership models and went through some very interesting pros and cons for each, including the corporate model.

The Queensland ALPMA meets every third Wednesday of the month at Queensland Law Society House, Ann Street, Brisbane. Program commences at 12.30 with a light lunch and networking. Speaker presentation starts at 1pm. DVD recordings of the presentations are available for purchase and could earn you 1 CPD point.

Regional Seminars

Our Gold Coast Seminar on Practice Management Essentials took place on May 14 at the Kurrawa Surf Club.
 

Session 1 - Marketing on a Shoe String - Presenter: Ashley Tully, Ignite

Ashley gave an overview of how simple it is to design, ratify, implement and monitor a referral system that works. His session also covered a four point plan on “Alliance Marketing” with other professionals who share a similar client base.

Session 2 - Managing the Clients & Fees Cash Flow - Presenter: Dr Peter Lynch, dci lyncon

Peter talked about having “whole conversations” with clients, and the importance of continuously signalling the link between matter progress and payment. This can involve a fundamental change in how producers see their roles, and means moving on from the days of producers = good guys and accounts/ credit = bad guys.

Session 3 - Succession Planning for your Firm - Presenter: Tony Grant, Innovative Business

Succession planning for your practice is becoming an important issue given the economic climate and the retiring generation. Tony considered:- Facing the succession crisis; Changing leaders; The Sole Practitioner; The Family business; The key to successful succession.

Our next regional seminar will be in the Sunshine Coast in September.

Amalgamation

Queensland members met on Tuesday 9th June at the Downtown Rugby Club to vote on Amalgamation and winding up the state association. We had 22 members in attendance and some former members as guests. The resolution to amalgamate with ALPMA Ltd was passed. Peter Lynch proposed a toast to LPMA Qld Inc. On display was a range of memorabilia including minute books containing minutes of the first meeting in November 1987. Powerpoint presentations showed members of the executive committees over the years as well as photographs from past conferences. Three former Presidents attended – Albert Hili, Sandra Morson and Tony Grant. Thanks to Jenny Watson for organising a fine night and an appropriate tribute to LPMA Qld Inc.

Queensland Branch Committee

Our first Queensland Branch Committee meeting took place on Tuesday 7th July at the offices of Cooper Grace Ward.

Now that our national organisation is in place, the former LPMA Qld Inc executive committee have been invited to nominate for the Queensland Branch Committee. I am delighted to report that the following people have offered to continue on the Queensland Branch Committee: Gill Duffy, Tony Grant, Janet Wilson, Mary Hockaday, Maryruth Webster, Giles Watson, Robert Cavaye and Robert Callander. Members will have an opportunity to approve these nominations at our annual Branch meeting.

Graeme McFadyen is a past president of LPMA Qld and has brought a wealth of experience and dignity to our committee. He will not be nominating for the Queensland Branch Committee but will remain a welcome attendee and prickly question poser at our monthly seminars.

Dr Peter Lynch has been a Queensland executive committee member for many years, and has always been a valuable ‘sanity check’ on our executive decisions. Peter has advised me that he will not be nominating for the Queensland Branch Committee. He will continue as a member and I look forward to his feedback on our monthly seminars.

Our learning and development committee has worked hard to finalise our monthly seminar program for the year. I encourage you to attend as many sessions as you can and invite others in law practice management to come along as your guest. I look forward to meeting you at our next seminar.

Kind regards
Gill Duffy, Chairperson, ALPMA QLD Branch
5 August 2009