Article
and photos by Shamine Parisamy, Legal Risk Junior Counsel, Bar
Council Professional Indemnity Insurance and Risk Management Department
On 19 July 2018, the Professional Indemnity Insurance (“PII”) and Risk
Management Department (under the direction of the PII Committee)
organised the Risk Management for Staff Workshop at Sri Gangsa Room,
Bayview Hotel, Penang. 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
workshop participants, 20 were legal support staff and 10 were Members
of the Bar.
Redzuan Idrus of Messrs Fariz Halim & Co kickstarted the first session, entitled “Communication: Connecting People”. He emphasised the importance of effective communication within the law firm. He gave examples of communication risks in law firms and how they can be avoided, and also discussed internal and external e–communication. He gave a brief introduction to “Neuro–Linguistic Programming” — a learning process about how to read another person’s body language — and explained how this knowledge can be used in professional context.
In the session on “Accounting with Integrity” by Ralph Ravin of
MustaphaRaj Sdn Bhd, participants familiarised themselves with basic
accounting principles and the importance of proper documentation.
The speaker explained the ongoing scams aimed at exploiting Members of
the Bar and law firms. He also highlighted the 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.
After the lunch break, Ezri Abdul Wahab of Ezri Law 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.
Next was a briefing on the Anti–Money Laundering, Anti–Terrorism
Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, delivered by
Harfizah Abdul Ghaffar of Messrs Harfizah, Faziah & Co, who
highlighted the regulatory issues and the need for law firms to abide
by this legislation.
My session on “Risk Management: Productivity at Work” — about
identifying, assessing and controlling risks within a law firm — was
the last of the day.
Five groups were then formed and participants discussed separate case
studies to identify risk management issues in them, and to suggest
suitable risk management measures. The participants then
discussed the issues and measures, which helped them to have a better
grasp of the workshop’s key lessons.
To cap the workshop, an Office Management video with tips on how to
overcome risk and manage work effectively was screened.
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 96% of respondents would recommend the workshop to others.
If you 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.