Quality assurance for law firms in Australia has undergone a few name changes over the years, beginning with the QL Best Practice concept in the 1980s and culminating in Law 9000 Legal Best Practice accreditation in 2010. The Law 9000 standard was revised in 2010 and encompasses all of the ISO 9001 clauses, with additional requirements relating to:

• Insurance, statutory requirements and risk management;
• Human resources and induction training;
• Engagement and undertakings policies, including conflict of interest;
• Control of matters, including a Work Plan;
• Precedents;
• Mission statement and Business Plan, including accounting, budgets and billing processes; and
• Client and internal communication processes.

Most of these requirements are met in some form by the majority of law firms. Every firm has rules relating to dress standards, professional conduct and office hours, although sometimes these are only detailed in employee engagement letters. Most account staff have instructions passed on by former employees that dictate how various reports are generated or the end of month process completed. Secretarial staff will know how the precedent system works and general office procedures relating to mail, faxes and printing file copies of documents. Professional staff know they have to keep their CLE up to date and understand what is required to complete a conveyancing or litigation matter.

Locating the existing documentation and compiling a Procedures Manual is the first step involved in implementing a Law 9000 quality management system. This will also help to identify processes that have not been defined, so that they too can be documented. Setting out the rules of the office in a Policy Manual then makes it very clear to all employees what is acceptable or not. Job Descriptions that define the required or preferred skills, qualifications, duties, responsibilities and authorities of each position or role in the firm and can improve job satisfaction and morale levels.

A structured approach to implementing a system of policies and procedures to attain Law 9000 accreditation ensures effective results. These include:

• improved efficiency and productivity;
• increased client satisfaction and referrals;
• better employee satisfaction and retention; and
• discounted professional indemnity premiums.

When employees engage in the implementation process, they take ownership of the system. Having a way of recording non-conformances (where the documented procedure hasn't been followed) can overcome unspoken issues, assist staff to improve and reduce the risk involved in legal practice.

Rajan Enterprises Pty Ltd has assisted law firms in Sydney and Melbourne to achieve Law 9000 accreditation since its introduction in 2004. Our Consultants are familiar with the process of running a law firm and work with a number of firms in and around Sydney on a regular basis. Although we prefer to work with a team of people encompassing management, professionals, secretarial and administration staff, our Consultants are also able to implement a comprehensive quality management system where the firm has no time or resources by meeting with individual employees to document the policies and procedures and then providing training on the final processes.

Our Business Manual contains many policies and procedures that apply to almost all firms and can readily be adapted to suit individual preferences. The manual includes detailed procedures for some practice management, precedent and document management systems. Styles are used throughout our templates so that they can be matched to your regular font and pitch for consistency. Our Business Manual may be implemented from the beginning of a consulting project and then reviewed and edited throughout as procedures are modified or improved.

A form to record suggestions for improvement is introduced early in a consulting project to enable employees to participate in and contribute to the quality management system implementation. Sample Job Descriptions are provided and reviewed to document the responsibility and authority of each position. Matter control can be a sensitive area, where some partners may prefer working differently to others, and in some cases it may take considerable discussion to reach a consistent approach. Sometimes applying consistency can cause those who don't want to change to leave and the management team will need to consider this and other issues before implementing a quality management system.

All meetings chaired by our Consultants will have an agenda and time limit, with minutes prepared afterward. Where a team is established, we pass on the tools to maintain and improve the system without our continued involvement. In smaller firms, it may be appropriate to engage a Consultant to conduct an internal review or assist in specific aspects of the system, particularly where the structure of the firm changes due to mergers or partnship splits. Our Consultants can often make recommendations in relation to processes, infrastructure and financial reporting.

Our 10 stage Rajan Business System (RBS) is an ideal way for regional firms to implement a quality management system as most of the consulting process is accomplished by your team following our implementation guides for each stage. For a more detailed explanation of this product, please refer to the linked page for the RBS.