Course Overview
Managing a criminal department has many aspects to it, which go far beyond the day to day matters of going to court, the police station and seeing clients. Yet most criminal solicitors have had no training at all in management and have little time to give to the wide considerations that come with managing their department or business profitably.
This course will give you an overview of the managerial considerations necessary to ensure that the department or business is complying with its obligations, assist the busy practitioner in putting procedures in place to ensure compliance and acheiving profitability in a difficult economic climate
1. Sources of Regulation - an overview of who and what regulates criminal work
2. Overview of Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) Rules and the Solicitors Act 1974
3. The Retainer
- What is it?
- When does it arise?
- How is it terminated?
- Special Considerations, Late Withdrawal, Late Instruction and Acting for the Court
4. Day to day matters
- Allocation of Work
- File supervision including SQM considerations
- Crown court attendance
- Complaints
- Undertakings
5. Costs and accounts
- Overview of the Solicitors Accounts Rules
- Standard Monthly Payments
- Costs Information at the start and throughout the case
- Private billing and bills
- Defendants costs orders
- Avoiding wasted costs
- Money laundering considerations
6. Information and data
- Confidentially in criminal matters
- Data protection
- Role of the Information Commissioner
7. Health and Safety
- Employers duties
- Employees responsibilities
- Safety in the office
- Safety of staff
- Working time regulations
8. Staff recruitment
- Staffing structures
- Staffing levels
- Supervision
- Equality and diversity
- Wages
- Training requirements
9. Employment law aspects
- Contracts of employment
- Restraint of trade
- Equality Act 2010
- Dismissal, redundancy and retirement
As well as a course manual it is proposed that the above would be delivered using case studies and group discussion drawing on the experiences of the group as a whole.