Episódios
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What is the current sentiment across the profession around wills, probate, client experience, speed of administration, attitude toward financial services... that is the topic of the latest Today's Wills and Probate which delves into the recently published "Bereavement Index"; an annual report tracking the key issues facing individuals and firms dealing with the administration of death.
It is a "state of the nation" says Aleks Tomczyk, the report's author and co-Founder and Managing of Exizent, covering three key areas of death administration; the individuals and families going through bereavement; the legal profession; and financial services.
This latest version of the report, which is now in its 4th year, covers the attitudes of legal professionals, identifying a marked increase in the percentage of legal firms who think the probate process is "slow and inefficient"; which has increased from 67% in 2022, to 94% this year.
In the first part of this year's report, released earlier in 2024, reassuringly for the profession, 94% of people who turned to a professional for help, would do so again. So, says Tomczyk, the profession is doing something right! But inefficiency and capacity are major issues for firms.
57% of respondents said government need to be better; with delays at HMRC and HMCTS, not to mention the Probate Registry, a constant frustration. And that frustration is increasing, with over 65% of respondents saying they believe probate cases are delayed more than 50% of the time, compared to 39% in 2023.
And then firms themselves could be looking inwardly at investment in dedicated software and technology which will reduce admin. "Software is good at that stuff", say Tomczyk, "putting in information once and using it multiple times to populate court forms and estate accounts for example."
And technology has a huge role to play in the recruitment and retention of talent who are, says Tomczyk, digital natives, regaling a story from a recent university presentation where the room was filled with laptops and tablets, not pen and paper, for note taking.
The report is a fitting end to the latest series of the Today's Wills and Probate Podcast with some useful thoughts and takeaways for firms to think about into 2025 and beyond. The latest report can be downloaded via this link.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Legal Services Director at Kings Court Trust Charlotte Toogood joins the latest Today's Wills and Probate podcast to impart her experience of working in estate administration over the last 16 years.
With contentious probate on the rise Charlotte shares her thoughts on what we can do as practitioners, and how we can better advise families to either avoid disputes, or deal with them constructively and to the benefit of all.
"There is a lot of information in the national press about estate planning; I don't agree with it all but people believe what they read and as professionals we have a responsibility to educate clients on the complexities, and realities of estate administration."
Take caveats as an example; they are so easy to place electronically and are incredibly impulsive; people simply don't realise the impact and the ensuing delays.
Asked how practitioners can pre-empt disputes Charlotte suggests we need to encourage families to have conversations in their lifetime; rather than wait when it's too late and the decision can't be explained. Clients need to be encouraged to be open about family dynamics; it is the role of the professionals to ask the right questions and encourage open communication from the outset of the relationship, says Charlotte.
She adds where disputes arise, staff can end up bearing the brunt of client frustrations and explains how as a business they have fine tuned their support for staff through line management, regular file review meeting, and the introduction of mental health first aiders at Kings Court Trust.
The podcast finishes with a case study of a complex matter in which Charlotte explains the scenario, and how, through working collaboratively as a business and with their clients and peers, they succeeded in bringing the matter to fruition .
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
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Today's Wills and Probate Host David Opie is joined by Birketts' Head of the Private Wealth Dispute Team Bernadette Baker and Partner in the team Kate Harris to discuss the case of Leonard v Leonard; a convoluted and disputed probate case concerning the estate of Jack Leonard and the validity of two separate Wills.
This case confirmed Banks v Goodfellow is still the correct test for testamentary capacity and has not been displaced by the Mental Capacity Act 2005Importantly the case re-affirms the test for the validity relates to the understanding of the Will being written; not just the concept of writing a Will. Long term illnesses WILL impact testamentary capacity; as opposed to shorter, episodic illness
Bernadette leads with a comprehensive outline of the case, including considerations for Jack's blended families, his extensive business interests and in later life, failing health.
Kate picks up the details of the disputes which found the later Will, written in 2015, was not valid due to Jack's lack of testamentary capacity. But the case is important for practitioners for a number of reasonsThe discussion also explores the impact of technology on this case, with Bernadette acknowledging in all likelihood there was evidence on Jack's phone and email accounts that would have been useful in the case; but the inability to access such information meant the evidence was lost. There is a message here for practitioners around advising clients on the ability of their loved ones to access electronics and accounts (like mobile phones) when they are gone.
A fascinating insight into the ramifications of a case that was widely reported on in the national and industry press from the team who successfully brought the case to the courts.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
As one of the disruptors in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007 QualitySolicitors (QS) was launched in 2009 with the ambition to help the high street fight back against the anticipated onslaught of major brands entering the legal market - so-called 'Tesco Law.'
QS grew rapidly, with firms up and down the country adopting the familiar black and pink branding, adding the name "QualitySolicitors" to their firm name to create greater brand recognition. In 2011 an investment of c.£100m saw Palamon Capital Partners take a majority stake in the group.
In the years since QS has remained steadfast in its support for the high street and, after a short stint as part of Metamorph, emerged relatively unscathed following a Management Buyout (MBO) in 2022.
On this latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast, host David Opie welcomes CEO Richard Skelley and Chief Operating Officer Victoria Browning to discuss what's next for QS.
There is still much continuity; Victoria has been with the business since 2016 overseeing much of the work done to support firms with recruitment and business development, employer branding and conveyancing panel services. And equally there are breaks from the past; QS firms no longer need to rebrand their firm for example.
The business is now focused on 4 key principles, explains Richard. The QS Way: A Philosophy for Sustainable Growth covers People, Process & Procedures, Power of Many, and Profile - principles supported by continued to efforts to help firms through the QualitySolicitors consumer-facing website which still generates 1m hits annually.
And membership has been reviewed with a new tiered approach offering free, 'lite' and full options for firms. It is, says Richard, a much more flexible approach than previously.
We've kept the great bits QS had - we have over 100 sites across the country and still have clients that joined right at the start - and augmented it with a range new options based on member feedback, concludes Richard, adding we are always happy to talk to firms interested in learning more about how QS can support them in the growth ambitions.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Free and low cost will schemes are an established part of the wills and probate sector, providing charities with valuable legacy income streams, and practitioners with their largest source of lead generation.
The latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast welcomes Richard Millar of Capacity Marketing on to discuss the value of free and low cost will networks.
Capacity Marketing is probably one of those companies you've never heard of, but have almost certainly come across in some way. The business runs the National Free Wills Network, set up in 2008, to bring charities, firms and the public together.
The podcast explores the various views around whether free and low cost will services devalue will writing; and how they can be used as part of the wider estate and later life planning conversation with clients.
There is no doubt, says Richard, will writing is seen in some quarters as a loss lead service. Our own statistics show around 85-90% of those who engage with National Free Wills Network will use it to complete a "Standard" will. But it is absolutely the basis for on ongoing relationship.
And of course for charities, will writing is a vitally important source of income. As Richard says, good intentions count for nothing.
The conversation also discusses the recently published CMA guidance which is welcome and should give the public more protection. He suggests transparency is a hugely important issue to address; comparing a comprehensive service from a city centre firm, to an online will writing questionnaire service might be obvious to us, but assumes a level of knowledge from the public they might not have.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Dean Morgan is the Managing Director of a franchise of Grey Matters Consultancy; a business founded with the aim of meeting the needs of those in retirement at the point they need additional assistance, and for offering guidance to those who have the responsibility for their care.
Dean is himself a franchisee based in Cardiff with a background in social care and through Grey Matters provides a range of services focused on identifying financial support for the elderly and vulnerable; anything from disabled badges and council tax exemption to pension credits and attendance allowance.
Attendance allowance specifically is a hugely under-appreciated and under utilised benefit, providing financial support to people of retirement age and older to live comfortably and independently in their own home.
It can be over £5000 per annum at the higher rate, and Dean does a lot of work, including podcasts like this, to help people understand their eligibility and correct common misconceptions.
One of the biggest barriers is the application form. For an indication of the complicated nature of applying for attendance allowance Dean cites research from 2021 which showed 60% of applications fail. In his own franchise he is achieving 99% success rates.
He explains how doing things "in the right order" can often help with applications; attendance allowance can open up eligibility for pension credit; can be used as evidence to support council tax reduction claims; those caring for recipients of attendance allowance could claim carer's allowance.
Dean also explains how the requests for help often come from the families of the vulnerable, not from vulnerable people themselves who often suffer in silence.
Listen in for Dean's interesting insight into the much needed work of organisations who play their part in supporting the social care sector and how they can work with private client practitioners to dovetail their services.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Helen Stewart, Partner and Head of Probate at Thomson, Snell & Passmore joins the latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast to discuss the launch of a new association to support collaboration and best practice amongst independent administrators (IAs) and estates in conflict.
The National Association of Independent Administrators (NAIA) brings together contentious and non-contentious practitioners in disputed estate administration work.
The work of IAs is important, says Helen, citing figures that show there are 10,000 disputed estates annually. In 2021/22 195 disputes ended up in the courts, up from 145 in 2017 - and these numbers don't include estates settled out of court.
We know contentious matters continue to be on the increase so it made sense to introduce an opportunity to share ideas, best practice, collaboration and referrals amongst practitioners. There is also a need for the work of IA's to be better known and understood; a key objective of the NAIA
Helen discusses her introduction to IA work and how the group has fostered a community of professionals with shared expertise, supporting one another through pooled experience.
Formal submissions are required and membership criteria is laid out in the developing constitution. For those interested in finding out more about the NAIA, whether for membership or referrals, you can contact Helen Stewart on [email protected].
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Tim Hewson joins the Today's Wills and Probate podcast to discuss LegalWills - his Canadian-based technology company providing will writing and estate planning services in Canada and North America.
The business started in a bar in Ottawa where Tim and his colleagues were discussing whether any of them, all successful tech high-flyers, had a will or had considered any form of later life and succession planning. Somewhat serendipitously none of them had and it sparked the idea to launch the business in 2001.
In the time since Tim and his small team have built up the business offering Will writing services in North America, Canada, South Africa and England and Wales; each providing a unique challenge to the software and workflows.
The discussion moves on to the differing speed at which the various jurisdictions, sometimes even within the same country in the case of the USA, are adopting innovation and technology. Electronic signing and storage is one example, says Tim, where it's important we keep up with the changing legislation to ensure our product and service is where it needs to be.
The law as changing as well; Tim uses the example of cohabitation and 'Common Law' relationships where some states have greater legal protections that other which have to be accounted for in estate and succession planning.
On the general trends over the past 20+ years in the sector Tim bemoans the speed of innovation and change, identifying it often needs legislative intervention and lobbying to enact. But greater acceptance of digital in our daily lives has made online wills more accessible and acceptable, which, says Tim, can only be a good thing.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently requested law firms complete an anti-money laundering and sanctions data collection exercise. The SRA is required by Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) to take a risk-based approach to supervision and is requesting firms complete the requested information as full as possible.
It will, they say enable them to "see the distribution of risk across the legal profession, which in turn informs our programme of inspections and our guidance."
The latest Today's Wills and Probate podcast welcomes Gavin Ball of HiveRisk to tackle the tricky topic of what firms need to be thinking about when it comes to completing the information, and wider considerations when it comes to firms' anti-money laundering policies, processes and procedures.
In 2024 alone law firms have been fine £200,000 directly relating to failures in their anti-money laundering and sanctions processes.
Gavin goes on to discuss the areas he sees firms failing on as a compliance specialist. He talks technology and how it can help firms with their compliance obligations but warns the key is understanding what the information is telling you... in their audits the SRA will challenge firms and staff to interpret reports provided through technology and how to interpret its content.
Gavin also discusses politically exposed persons (PEPs), sanctions, and how to deal with reporting suspicious activity (SARs) to the National Crime Agency (NCA) in this informative and insightful podcast.
The deadline for firms to complete the SRA form is by 13.00 on 23 September 2024.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Behaviour change campaign Remember a Charity is a consortium of around 200 charities dedicated to growing the legacy market; helping charities develop what is an increasingly vital long term revenue stream.
In the latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast, host David Opie is joined by Lucinda Frostick, Director at Remember a Charity and Chris Millward Head of Legacies at Princess Alice Hospice and part of the consortium of charities.
Remember a Charity Week is coming up from 9th to 15th September 2024 and there is still time to take part. As part of their commitment, campaign supporters drawn fro across both the regulated and unregulated legal communities are asked to raise awareness of leaving a gift to charity in their clients' wills. Remember a Charity provide a range of free resources on their website, which is visited by 300,000 visitors each year, to support with these efforts.
To put the importance of legacies into context Chris explains it costs around £10m every year to fund the vital care Princess Alice Hospice provides across south west London, Surrey and Middlesex. At any one time their specialist team can be supporting around 1000 local patients and families through illness and bereavement either at their Hospice in Esher or at home.
20% of its funding comes from the NHS, but the rest is from voluntary donations. On average, each year one third of their income is derived from gifts in wills.
Remember a Charity research has shown legacy gifting has grown as around 1 in 5 charity supporters aged 40+ now leave a charity gift in their will. However, twice as many people would be happy to leave a gift in their will; it is, says Lucinda, so important we do everything we can to close that gap between intention and action and "normalise" legacy giving.
When considering the blockers to closing that gap between intention and action, Remember a Charity have done research with both the profession, and consumers. Many professionals suggest clients are clear about who they want their inheritance to go to, and are concerned about creating issues which could later lead to dispute.
However this isn't borne out in the consumer research where in many cases clients are clear where they wish to leave their estate, but are not concerned about later disputes In fact, the biggest blocker is in most cases it simply did not occur to the testator to leave a gift in their Will. Research shows even mentioning the opportunity to leave a charity gift in a will doubles the chances of the client including it.
Throughout an insightful, and important discussion, Lucinda and Chris share their experiences and thoughts on how firms can normalise legacy gifting.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector.
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Ashley Rowthorn, CEO and Kath Horsley, Senior Consultant at Legacy Futures join the Today's Wills and Probate podcast to discuss their latest piece of research on the investment charities make in their marketing.
helping charities understand what legacy marketing isenable charities to benchmark their spendhelping charities make a business case for securing investment into legacy marketing
The Legacy Marketing Benchmarks report provides insight intoLegacy Futures is on a mission to help charities grow their legacy gifting. In the last year around £4bn was donated to charity through wills; a figure which has quadrupled since the 1990s. And the number of charities benefitting continues to grow, with c. 10,000 the beneficiary of legacy gifting last year.
how much are you spending on legacy marketinghow many people are involvedwhat channels are you investing in
Ashley and Kath highlight the critical role practitioners play in encouraging people to write charity gifts into their wills. The report itself asks charitiesrecognising legacy gifting marketing is difficult to quantify, often because of the time between writing a final will, and death (c. 7 years). Legacy Benchmarking also looks at the conversion rate between pledges and money being left to charity and helps charities to understand which channels are most effective and offer the highest return on investment.
Ashley is keen to debunk any moral dilemma for charities spending money on marketing; it is a key part of their outreach and done well, yields many more commitments of support.
Legacy marketing spend has grown and now accounts for 6.2% of total fundraising spend, up significant from 5 years ago when it was 3.7%. But with legacies accounting for 42% of total fundraising, charities must continue to invest in it to maintain and grow their fundraising.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Regulation, collaboration and the response to the Competition and Markets Authority review of will writing services all form part of the latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast. Host David Opie is joined by Antony Brinkman; CEO of the Willwriting Partnership and Chair of the Professional Standards Board (PSB).
At the outset Antony explains the role of the PSB, a separate function from the Society of Will Writers, which is to enhance the skills and develop the competence and abilities of SWW members. Although its current role, which given the voluntary nature of membership for unregulated will writers is largely a support function, Antony sees that it may have a wider role to play in the future.
As CEO of The Willwriting Partnership he is responsible for the growth and stability of the company, improving the quality of the work and what challenges he sees for the sector.
Inevitably the topic of discussion moves on to regulation; we are moving in the right direction in terms of quality says Antony, and in his view it almost certainly will happen, citing the regulation of financial service, mortgages, and more recently funeral planning as examples of the direction of travel.
Regulation wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing; but in Antony's view there is a risk heavy regulation would limit choice, which would most certainly be a bad thing. Indeed the PSB and SWW largely welcomed the recent CMA investigation, with its focus on providing greater clarity for firms around their obligations under consumer law.
Could it have gone further? Almost certainly, says Antony. Mandatory membership would have been a much stronger message; we still face the conundrum of trying to bring into line organisations who operate outside of the consumer protections provided of the membership bodies which was a significant part of the investigation.
The discussion is an interesting discourse on the present and future of the will writing sector and the roles the various industry may play on shaping it.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
The five most expensive words in the English language - "it's a matter of principle." Because principles cost money. And this increasingly plays out across contentious private client matters, in inheritance and probate disputes.
joining host David Opie on the latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast is Hayley Gaffney, an associate at Coodes Solicitors and member of the firm's contentious probate team.
She discusses the increasing number of claims she is seeing, reflective of the wider sector; and the drivers behind these, including societal issues, blended and complicated families, and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic which is starting to see the predicted rise in claims.
Hayley explores her own caseload and advice to clients around trying to remove emotion from matters, avoiding diving straight into litigation, advising clients of the merits of cases and managing expectations, and considering the commercial implications. She highlights the use of mediation as a great way of creating flexibility in decision making and find solutions that think outside the box.
Hayley is also a big advocate for knowledge sharing with non-contentious practitioners, both internally in the firm, and externally through forums like this podcast, and using cases as pointers for how to pre-empt issues that come up in her caseload. She points to a number of recent cases in which the individual who had drafted the disputed will has ended up in the witness box in court; and provides some thoughts on what will writers and solicitors could be doing to protect themselves and their clients.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
People who were born between 1946 and 1964, the so called Baby Boomer Generation, is a cohort of 16.8 million people; and due to favourable financial conditions in that time are the wealthiest generation in human history, holding somewhere in the region on 80% of the UK's wealth.
With the older baby boomer now 78 years old, and against a backdrop of an average age of death of 80.7 in the UK, we are about to see the largest transition of wealth from one generation to another ever; in what has become known as The Great Wealth Transfer.
Joining host David Opie on this latest Today's Wills and Probate podcast is Arken Group CEO Dave Newick, to discuss how the wills and probate profession prepares for this responsibility, and opportunity. Dave explores recently produced research undertaken by Arken.legal which surveyed the profession's attitudes and preparedness to take advantage.
The findings show that most firm's clients are aged 51 or over. Indeed millennials and those younger are a very small minority of the client base. And given that around two thirds of professionals believe the value of inherited estate will exceed £200,000 should firms be more engaged with the beneficiaries of the estates they hope to be acting for.
Just 23% of respondents said they had a relationship with the beneficiaries; and with current clients concerned about how their wealth will be passed on, there is an increasing expectation that this inherited wealth should be forming part of beneficiaries' future financial planing.
Inevitably technology has a part to play and Dave moves on to discuss the survey findings which identify a desire on the part of firms and advisors to provide simpler solutions for their clients; indeed post-pandemic there is greater familiarity with technology in the older generations which wasn't there previously.
There will, says Dave, be winners and losers and firms must decide now how they need to tackle the challenge and opportunity that lies ahead.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
In this specially recorded podcast, the Today's Wills and Probate podcast joins forces with its sister podcasts from the Today's Conveyancer and Today's Family Lawyer online news publications to discuss the topic of mental health and wellbeing ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, from 13th May 2024.
Podcast host David Opie welcomes Managing Director of Culver Law Michael Culver, Marc Etherington (Rayden Solicitors) and Laura Burkinshaw (Convey Law) to discuss the mental health and wellbeing of those working across private client, family law, and residential conveyancing. The three guests identify some shared, and unique, challenges they face in their own roles, and discuss their own experiences of dealing with their mental health and wellbeing.
What is clear from the discussion is that legal services is taking mental health and wellbeing much more seriously than it ever has; with firms taking a more proactive approach to support for staff.
The podcast moves on to explore a range of skills and tools we can employ in our own mental health and wellbeing journeys to cope with the stresses and strains of modern legal life; with some fantastic ideas shared to help people exercise their bodies and minds, cope and deal with their roles, and get into what is described as their "flow state"; the experience of being so absorbed by an engaging, enjoyable task that your attention is completely held by it.
The podcast is being published as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2024. The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Dylan O'Brien, the founder of BePrepared, joins the latest Today's Wills and Probate podcast to discuss his take on the increasingly challenging issue of managing digital assets in estate planning, and what role technology has to play in supporting practitioners.
BePrepared was launched in Australia and has expanded into the USA and UK in the time since. Dylan explores the differences they have encountered in the various jurisdictions and the issues with platforms like Google and Apple when it comes to managing, and sharing, digital assets accrued through those platforms.
Dylan also discusses the challenges he sees in law firms adopting technology; from the impact of a global pandemic, to the constraints placed on practitioners around the need to billing time, not exploring innovation. But, he says, firms will be forced to adapt to new consumer expectations by their clients and those who don't, will be left behind.
In terms of the future, Dylan is unequivocal that the future of wills and probate is digital; digital wills and digital estates. Can you collate and collect digital records in order to administer them effectively. E-signing and e-witnessing will take time so for the time being, the role of technology is to digitise what we can now, anticipating a fuller digital journey in the near future.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Joining the latest Today's Wills and Probate Podcast is Dan Temple, an expert in acknowledging and understanding the human impact of working, and managing employees and businesses. The discussion centres on creating effective and high performing teams, and what steps law firms can, and should, be taking to enable this in their business.
There should be a clear objective and vision which can be communicated to the teamRoles and responsibilities are clearly defined and people understand their own contribution to successProcesses and procedures are in place that ensure the training is effectivePeople have to have the ability to get on with others; they don't necessarily need to like one another, but there must be mutual respect
Dan leads Cobalt Human Solutions, a training consultancy which focuses on creating effective teams, drawn from his own experiences in the Royal Air Force as part of the Chinook helicopter crew.
The podcast discusses how creating high performing teams requires a number of key elements. Dan describes how trust and accountability are paramount.Ultimately, says Dan, the environment and culture of the workplace is where the success and failure of organisations is derived. He suggests that one of the key failings he identifies in many businesses is a blame culture; the inability of staff to be open, honest and appropriately challenge - what Dan describes as a "just culture." Staff are fearful of doing something wrong, rather than challenging management.
As well as root cause analysis, Dan encourages organisations to conduct "pre-mortems" - the idea being that you spend time identifying potential pitfalls in a plan and anticipate how you might deal with them should they arise.
And if you ever wanted to understand how the difference between egg mayonnaise and aircraft is relevant to leadership and management, listen in to this insightful and entertaining discussion.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
The Today's Wills and Probate Podcast welcomes Andrew Buchan, Managing Director of James McKenzie Wills, to discuss the ups and downs of running an estate planning business.
Andrew has been with the business for 14 years and has seen the development of the sector first hand. He explains his role and responsibility both to his staff but also to his clients; it's been said many times but customer service really is king and ensuring that staff have the tools to do their jobs effectively is hugely important to Andrew.
Andrew talks about the difference between a service driven proposition, and a sales driven proposition when it comes to dealing with clients; that one will almost certainly not lead to a positive client outcome. Andrew shares insight into his own quality controls and level of training he and the staff undertake to ensure they meet the high standards expected of those in the business.
The conversation avoids the topic of regulation as long as possible but inevitably talk turns to improving standards in the industry and how that can be achieved. Andrew points to the increasing costs that come with regulation and qualification; risking a reduction in access to legal services.
In the absence of regulation, what does credibility and quality control look like? Andrew suggests that greater collaboration and agreement from the various membership bodies around a set of agreed standards, qualifications and evidence of CPD would go some way to creating a better framework for the will writing community and protect clients.
The conversation moves on the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the lingering impact on the business; and how Andrew has navigated the past few years.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast welcome Dan Warburton on to discuss the topic of leadership. Dan works with law firms leaders and partners to elevate their leadership skills to enable them empower staff to be more efficient and effective.
You must be clear on exactly what you want done; which must be measurable, not an abstract principle such as "keeping the client happy."It must have a timeframeYou must have joint agreement and offer the respondent the opportunity accept, decline or counteroffer in order to reach a jointly agreed action plan.
Dan describes his work as "the skill of profitable delegation;" to create leaders who can deliver high levels of performance across their team.
He cites the structure of many law firms in which lawyers are targeted on clients and the number of hours they bill... the system is set up in such a way that the more hours you work, in theory the more profit and remuneration can achieve. But when it comes to promotion what happens is you are expected to continue to build a client bank, and bill your hours, and manage a team of people. It is, says Dan, unachievable without simply more time into the equation, which has an impact on wellbeing and staff retention.
Few partners achieve what Dan describes as a "transition out of being a technician in the business to being a business owner. The structure and success of the organisation relies on them.
There is a way to resolve this, but we can only create successful teams when they willingly take responsibility for the success of the business. Dan shares his insight into how law firms can empower management teams and leaders to build trust and confidence in staff through regular one-to-one calls and coaching sessions.
There is a cycle that needs breaking in law firms, says Dan. If a partners we keep our head down and just keep trying to crank out work we build firms that rely on us. When our team want things from us and we tell them what they need, they just keep relying on us. We must delegate work away and create highly effective team members underneath us
Throughout the discussion Dan shares leadership insight and tools that leaders and manager can take away and implement today. One such example is the process of making requests, in which there are 3 key elementsUltimately, says Dan, when leadership is in, it's in.. when leadership is out, it's out. Listen in to this interesting discussion for law firm leaders and managers.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. -
Hamza Hafesji, Group Product Manager at Advanced Legal, joins the latest Today's Wills and Probate podcast to discuss the importance of implementing a culture of performance management in a business.
For years the only time most employees receive any sort of constructive feedback has been in an annual appraisal. For Hamza, something has to fundamentally change and feedback must be much more of an ongoing process
He cites research from PWC, LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters and their own client surveys which point to the challenges that face law firms from an HR point of view. Indeed 3 in 5 law firms are concerned about talent and shortage and churn, and are consider it a barrier to their success.
He discusses organisations described as "Stay Firms" and "Go Firms" - firms who retain, and lose, talent. While acknowledging that remuneration plays a part in the success "Stay Firms," the focus on their broader value proposition sees them not only retain staff, but makes them more efficient with higher billable hours and better staff mental health and wellbeing.
And lawyers themselves are more vocal about what they want from work. A staggering 44% of lawyers measure their stress levels at between 8-10 out of 10 in an Advanced Legal survey. That, and a lack of progression and professional development is often the cause of staff leaving.
"When we drill into this, we're looking at a lack of mentorship and career guidance, a lack of promotion opportunities and the desire for greater on the job assistance. All of which can be described as performance management," says Hamza.This discussion covers a lot of ground around the value and importance of creating a culture of performance, normalising goal setting and providing a constant feedback loop between employees and managers. For Hamza, part of the success of implementing such a cultural change is in the adoption of technology to drive through the change and support managers to ask the right questions and enable those types of conversations.
The Today's Wills and Probate podcast is available on your preferred podcast provider, and at www.todayswillsandprobate.co.uk. Subscribe today to hear all the latest news and views across the wills and probate sector. - Mostrar mais
