Article and photos by Shamine Perisamy, Legal Risk Junior Counsel, Bar Council Professional Indemnity Insurance and Risk Management Department
On 26 Sept 2019, the Risk Management for Staff Workshop –– organised by the Professional Indemnity Insurance ("PII") and Risk Management Department under the direction of the Bar Council PII Committee –– was held at the Pahang Bar Auditorium at Kuantan. The workshop was designed to help participants explore ways to improve best practices, build communication skills, and reduce risk in their day–to–day work.
Senior lawyers, consultants and experienced professionals were among those who shared their knowledge with the participants. Of the people who attended the one–day workshop, 17 were legal support staff and four were Members of the Bar.
Rosnah Faisal of Messrs Rosnah Faisal & Associates kick–started the first session of the workshop with her talk entitled "Communication: Connecting People". She emphasised the importance of effective communication within a law firm. She highlighted the risks involved when communication goes wrong in firms and how they can be avoided. She also gave effective tips on how communication can be enhanced amongst the staff members, lawyers and clients.
The second session on "Accounting with Integrity" by Heron Khalid Goh, Associate Director of Messrs MustaphaRaj Sdn Bhd was where participants familiarised themselves with basic accounting principles and the importance of proper documentation. He went on to explain instances of how the client account or office account can end up with a negative balance without any ill–intention on the part of the law firm. During this session, many participants raised questions which the speaker answered satisfactorily.
After the lunch break, Haadi Rahman, Office Manager of Messrs EzriLaw Firm took the floor to speak on "Office Administration: Ace It!". He explained the role of front–line employees in building a sustainable process of providing services to clients. He also elaborated on the importance of having a proper filing system, good time management, strong working relationships, and a wise use of technology.
The final presentation of the day was by Shamine Parisamy. Her session on "Risk Management: Productivity at Work" was about identifying, assessing and controlling risks within a law firm.
Three groups were then formed and the participants discussed three different case studies to identify risk management issues, and to suggest suitable risk management measures to be undertaken. All the groups presented the issues picked out and provided risk management measures with a lot of vibrancy.
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The Risk Management for Staff Workshop is a good platform for participants to share experiences, views and fruitful ideas with engaging speakers. The findings from the feedback forms indicated that 100% of respondents would recommend the workshop to others.
If you would like to attend the next Risk Management for Staff Workshop or would like to know more about other risk management workshops, please contact the PII and Risk Management Department by telephone at 03–2032 4511, or by email at pirm@malaysianbar.org.my.