As lawyers we are in the business of providing professional services to our clients, with variances in hourly and daily rates (daily rates; if a barrister).  There are some schools of thought that law is a profession and as a result  it may be considered 'tacky' to chase accounts or speak about money with clients (if you are a solicitor this will mean actual clients or if a barrister  solicitors as clients)? Others think law is a business and like any other business, lawyers have to be mindful and understand  the basics of 'how to run and manage' a business. I would like to know how many employed lawyers, equity partners or owners of law firms, think law is a profession when they don't make monthly/yearly budgets? :-) However, business management doesn't form part of an undergraduate legal degree, which often means lawyers have technical legal knowledge but may not possess the necessary business acumen to manage and run their files, accounts and businesses, to ensure 'bad debt' is … [Read more...]