Page 5 - Law Society of Hong Kong MPMC Manual v8 - With checklists (1 March 2018)

Practice Management Course | Introduction

INTRODUCTION

What this course is about

1. This practice management course covers the essentials of managing a modern law
practice and offers perspectives on some of the challenges that face every principal
in a law firm. The course focuses on business and strategic planning, financial
management, client development and talent management. Outside the scope of
this course are the areas such as professional conduct, risk management and trust
accounting.

2. This course is primarily aimed at practitioners who want to establish and build their
own practice or join a practice. It is also suitable for practitioners who have been in
a sole practice or general partnership practice for some time, and would like to
examine and expand their practice management skills, and grow their practice.

3. This course is designed to meet the Mandatory Practice Management Course
requirements of the Law Society of Hong Kong. It has been developed for the Law
Society by the College of Law, Australia and New Zealand and is based on the
content of mandatory practice management courses in those countries.

Objectives
4. At the end of this course you will be able to:

• Evaluate the different business structures to meet your needs in terms of
work-type, clients, staffing and practising goals.
• Use relevant information and tools to effectively manage the financial
health of your practice.
• Implement an effective approach to talent management.
• Develop the necessary skills for expanding business with existing clients
and build a business development strategy.
• Create a business plan for your practice.

Topics
5. The course consists of five topics:

Unit 1: Practice structures
Unit 2: Financial management
Unit 3: Talent management
Unit 4: Client development
Unit 5: Business planning

6. This course manual is provided as supplementary reading material for participants
in the Law Society’s Mandatory Practice Management Course, which is delivered
through a 3.25-hour workshop.

7. This manual is for reference only. It is intended as a general guide to good practice
in legal practice management. It is not intended to give advice on any legal
requirements, regarding the establishment, operation and management of a legal
practice.

© The Law Society of Hong Kong (2018) Page 1