denotes premium content | Aug 21 2008 
Feature
posted 10 Jul 2003 in Volume 6 Issue 3
People and culture
Fraud seems oddly out of tune with the partnership ethos of the traditional law firm where working relationships are seen in more of a family context than in many other businesses. Sadly, however, Frank Maher of Weightman Vizards has dealt with numerous cases of fraud perpetrated by solicitors and in his article on risk management and the rogue partner, he explains some of the common characteristics and warning signs displayed by potential double-dealing. The difficulties, as Maher makes clear, is that the rogue partner often demonstrates many of the attributes of successful lawyers: charisma, confidence, powers of persuasion and credibility, so the task of spotting potential problems can be very difficult. His descriptions of the cases he has come across, however, are enough to make any manager think twice before ignoring the risks of a possible fraudster amidst the ranks. In this
People and Culture section, we also include a profile of Michael Shaw of Cobbetts, a firm that is currently enjoying rapid expansion in the north. Caroline Poynton asks him whether he can retain the firm’s reputation for its working culture while the firm expands its practice areas and geographical locations.
