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The legal profession is heavily regulated and has often been quite traditional and conservative in the past. This may help t5o explain why - With some notabel exceptions - risk management has been slower to develop here than in industry, commerce and the public sector. Aspects of risk management have always been present, but the approach has been limited and operational only, often bein seen merely as a way of reducing or containing expenditure on insurance cover.

It is now clear that 'enterprise risk management' - both operational and strategic; both hazard and opportunity - is a requirement of any worthwhile business and that most certainly includes the legal profession. From central government to Parish Council, from Fortune 500 to corner shop, risk management is both advisable and necessary.

Now, under the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007, risk managmenet is a requirement. Under the governance section of the new Code, Rule 5 (Business management) specifically requires us to provide for the management of risk.

Are you compliant?
Could your risk management be
- improved?
- used more effectively?
- better embedded throughout the organisation?

What do we mean by risk?

• the combination of the probability of an event and its consequences

• The chance that an event will occur, causing an impact on objectives.

Note that both embrace all the activities of the organisation and also encompass opportunities as well as hazards.