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Article Index

19 Results: Accounts, Billings

Case Study: Am I Really A Partner Here?

Joffrey and Theon were the partners of Messrs Baratheon & Associates, the Insured Practice (“IP”). When Theon joined the partnership, there was no partnership agreement executed between the two. Instead, they mutually agreed to a ver...

Case Study: But We Are No Longer Together!

Emily and Victoria were the founding partners of Messrs Grayson & Co, the Insured Practice (“IP”). After some time in the partnership, there were some disagreements about the Firm’s business plan, eventually driving a wedge bet...

Case Study: Maybe I Wasn’t Ready…

Alexis began her legal career as a legal assistant at Messrs Morello & Associates where she befriended Piper, a senior legal assistant at the firm. When Piper left Messrs Morello & Associates to set up her own firm, Messrs Chapman & Co, A...

Case Study: Under Observation

After several years of practice, Max, a legal assistant at Messrs Channing & Associate, the Insured Practice (“IP”) was offered to be a partner of the Firm by Caroline, the sole proprietor of the Firm at that time. Max had been handli...

Misconduct Claims

Disclaimer: This extract was taken from the article ‘An Explanation of Some of the Main Terms of the 2013 Certificate of Insurance’ which was published in JURISK! March 2013.  The information herein has been edited to reflect the ...

20 Tips To Avoid Embezzlement

Research has shown that small to mid-size practices are often more vulnerable to fraud than their larger counterparts because they have fewer employees.  Firms with fewer employees tend to have less segregation among duties, with fewer intern...

Malaysian Bar PII Scheme Did You Know?

…innocent partners within the firm will be protected and covered in a claim involving misconduct?   Dishonest and fraudulent conduct by any member of a Firm is detrimental to any law practice; even more so when it involves the misa...

Case Study: Employee Embezzlement

The following are case studies of claims notified under the Malaysian Bar PII Scheme.  All names of people and places have been replaced to maintain anonymity. Case Study 1: Misusing Trust and Authority Total amount embezzled: RM2,5...

How To Spot A Fraudster

Likes working alone Employees that steal from firms more or less have set modus operandi that requires falsifying documentation, forging signatures etc.  In order to successfully do so and keep their actions under wraps, they find working a...

Malaysian Bar PII Scheme Did You Know?

Does your firm's PII Policy provide cover against dishonesty? Public policy dictates that only an innocent partner/s can seek indemnity of any form.  Clause 11 of the 2014 Certificate of Insurance (“COI”) protects and inde...

Billing & Collection

Billing Tracking and billing time to clients is an important and inevitable part of working in a law firm.  Now more than ever, billing and collection are processes that practitioners must master if they are to manage their practices effe...

Top 5 Practical Tips - Billing & Collection

BILLING 1) Avoid Lump-Sums Itemise your bills along with the time spent on each piece of work done.  Viewing this in detailed lists will make the client more appreciative of the work you have put in.  You would also avoid time co...

Partnerships of (In)convenience: You’re Liable Too

Partnership/pahrt-ner-ship/ (noun): The relation which subsists between persons carrying on business in common with a view of profit.[1] In West Malaysia, there are 5,786[2] law firms in operation, 48.75% are partnerships. Of...

Forgery of Cheques

HOW TO REDUCE RISK OF FORGERY OF CHEQUES? Ask yourself these 10 questions about your firm's financial and accounting practices. Do you or your partners: Regularly ask for status reports from your accounts staff? Exercise ...

Risk Manage To Position Your Firm For What's To Come

Beyond Survival As we navigate through what many are calling the worst economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s, law firms would not have been spared the widespread impact of the current economic crisis.   Whilst sur...

Fraud… Are You Next?

“No, it won’t happen to my firm! We’re always careful…”   A common statement when reading articles of this nature.  Nevertheless, news headlines of recent months forecast a challenging year ahead - rece...

Employee Embezzlement Of Legal Firm’s Funds Office & Client Accounts

Employee embezzlement is a growing threat to legal firms. Members should be alerted to the fact that in 2007 and 2008, there was an increase in the number of employee embezzlement cases (as reported by several legal firms to the Insurer of the Pll...

Employee Embezzlement - Is Your Firm at Risk?

The list of questions below are non-exhaustive, they are basic safeguards that all firms should implement, if they have not already.   DO YOU: Request for status reports periodically from your accounts staff? Status...

How am I Doing? Cash Flow Planning/Statements

This article is an excerpt from the booklet: “Managing the Finances of Your Practice”, by Dan Pinnington and Dave Bilinsky, published by the Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO®), 2003 (pp.  28 – 31).&n...