Essential guide to building and running a law practice
- 8 hrs
- Start Any Time
- Interactive
- From $599.00
- ID143_PMA
Essential guide to building and running a law practice
Whether you are establishing your own practice, stepping into a leadership role or looking to strengthen an existing firm, legal expertise is only part of the picture. You also need to understand the people, financial, risk and strategic responsibilities that sit behind building and running a successful practice.
The Essential guide to building and running a law practice brings together four courses covering the key capabilities required to lead, manage, protect and grow your practice. Explore people management, supervision and ethics; finance, profitability and trust accounting; risk, compliance and cybersecurity; and strategy, client relationships and sustainable growth.
Together, the four Practice Guides provide a practical foundation for making informed decisions, strengthening your practice systems and building a law practice that is well-managed, compliant and positioned for sustainable growth.
The bundle includes:
1. Leading your practice: people, supervision and ethics: Practice guide
- Explore effective leadership, people management, delegation, supervision, ethical judgement and the systems and behaviours that support professional conduct and an accountable workplace.
2. Managing your practice: finance, profitability and trust accounting: Practice guide
- Build your understanding of financial performance, commercial decision-making, pricing, profitability, taxation and the compliant management of trust money and client funds.
3. Protecting your practice: risk, compliance and cybersecurity: Practice guide
- Develop a proactive approach to identifying and managing practice risk, including compliance systems, cybersecurity, data protection, professional risk, insurance and AML/CTF obligations.
4. Building your practice: strategy, clients and sustainable growth: Practice guide
- Explore practice vision, strategic planning, client relationships, marketing and business development, while considering how to grow your practice sustainably without compromising service quality or team capacity.
Designed for:
Lawyers building, running or preparing to lead a law practice, including sole practitioners, partners, principals, practice leaders and senior lawyers.
This bundle is particularly suited to practitioners who want a practical understanding of the people, financial, risk, compliance, client and strategic responsibilities involved in building and running a sustainable law practice.
INCLUDED COURSES
Every legal practice faces risk, but effective risk management starts with understanding where your practice is exposed and putting the right systems and controls in place.
This course explores a structured approach to identifying, assessing, treating and monitoring risk, alongside practice management, compliance and quality-control systems. You will also examine technology and cybersecurity risks, professional negligence, client engagement, professional indemnity insurance and AML/CTF obligations.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Apply a structured process to identify, assess, treat and monitor risks relevant to a legal practice.
- Evaluate practice-management, compliance and quality-control systems against the needs of the practice.
- Identify controls for managing technology, cybersecurity, data-protection and emerging technology risks.
- Explain how client engagement, professional indemnity insurance and AML/CTF compliance measures help manage professional and financial crime risks.
Designed for:
Legal practice principals, partners, sole practitioners and lawyers with responsibility for risk, compliance or practice management. It is also relevant to practitioners seeking to develop a more proactive approach to managing professional, technology, cybersecurity, financial crime and operational risks.
Course Structure
This course is divided into 4 modules:
- Understanding risk in legal practice
- Risk management systems and compliance
- Technology, cybersecurity and emerging risks
- Professional risk, AML/CTF and claims prevention
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
No. Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points.
However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events.
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you. We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities.
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it should life get in the way.
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights.
Access each module on the College’s learning portal. When you buy a single, you’ll have 24/7 unlimited access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
A successful legal practice needs more than a steady flow of legal work. Principals need to understand financial performance, make sound commercial decisions and ensure client funds are managed correctly.
This course explores financial information and performance indicators, budgeting, pricing, taxation and profitability, alongside the regulatory responsibilities associated with trust money. It also examines practical controls for managing trust account risks and protecting client funds.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Interpret key financial information and performance indicators to assess the financial position of a legal practice.
- Evaluate budgeting, pricing, taxation and profitability considerations when making financial decisions.
- Explain the responsibilities and regulatory requirements associated with different categories of trust money.
- Identify trust account risks and apply appropriate financial compliance controls to protect client funds.
Designed for:
Legal practice principals, partners, sole practitioners and lawyers involved in managing the financial operations of a practice. It is also suitable for lawyers preparing to take on greater responsibility for financial management, profitability, trust accounting and compliance.
Course Structure
This course is divided into 4 modules:
- Understanding legal practice finances
- Pricing, taxation and profitability
- Trust money and trust accounts
- Trust account risk and financial compliance
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Practice Management and Business Skills.
No. Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points.
However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events.
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you. We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities.
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it should life get in the way.
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights.
Access each module on the College’s learning portal. When you buy a single, you’ll have 24/7 unlimited access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
Effective legal practice starts with effective leadership. This course explores the relationship between leadership, professional responsibility and ethical practice, giving lawyers practical strategies to lead people, manage competing responsibilities and build a culture of accountability.
From delegation and supervision to professional independence and ethical decision-making, the course examines how leadership behaviours influence workplace culture, team performance and the standards of legal practice.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Explain the professional and ethical obligations of legal practitioners and the importance of professional independence in legal practice.
- Apply ethical decision-making principles to leadership and professional responsibility issues that arise in legal practice.
- Evaluate how leadership behaviours, workplace culture and professional conduct influence ethical practice and team performance.
- Identify practical strategies for promoting accountability, trust and ethical conduct within a legal workplace.
Designed for:
Lawyers who lead, manage or supervise others, including partners, principals, practice leaders, senior lawyers and emerging leaders. It is also relevant to practitioners seeking to strengthen their leadership capability, professional responsibility and contribution to an ethical workplace culture.
Course Structure
This course is divided into 4 modules:
- Leadership and management in legal practice
- Delegation and supervision
- Ethical leadership and professional responsibility
- Building an ethical workplace
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD categories of Practice Management and Business Skills and Professional Skills.
No. Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points.
However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events.
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you. We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities.
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it should life get in the way.
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights.
Access each module on the College’s learning portal. When you buy a single, you’ll have 24/7 unlimited access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
Building a successful legal practice starts with deciding what you want the practice to become, who you want to serve and how you will create sustainable growth.
This course explores practice vision, strategic and business planning, client relationships and the client experience, alongside ethical marketing, reputation building and business development. You will also consider how workflow, delegation, workload management and psychologically healthy work practices can support growth without compromising quality or wellbeing.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Develop a clear practice vision and translate strategic goals into practical business priorities.
- Apply client communication and service strategies that support trust, referrals and repeat business.
- Evaluate marketing and business-development activities against professional obligations and practice objectives.
- Identify strategies for scaling a practice while maintaining service quality, team capacity and sustainable performance.
Designed for:
Legal practice principals, partners, sole practitioners and lawyers responsible for developing and growing a practice. It is also suitable for practitioners looking to strengthen their strategic planning, client relationships, marketing, business development and approach to sustainable practice growth.
Course Structure
This course is divided into 4 modules:
- Strategic planning and building your practice
- Client relationships and client experience
- Marketing and business development
- Business growth and practice sustainability
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
No. Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points.
However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events.
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you. We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities.
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it should life get in the way.
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights.
Access each module on the College’s learning portal. When you buy a single, you’ll have 24/7 unlimited access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
I found this course quite challenging, but have learnt much more about the practical part than I ever did during university.
On-demand CPD Learner
Straightforward. Easy to understand.
On-demand CPD Learner
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you.
We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it if life ever gets in the way
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights
All bundles and most single courses are not included in the CPD Digital Subscription, but are a great addition to a subscription and let you go in-depth in a particular area.
Yes, you can learn on the go by accessing our learning content anytime, anywhere through your mobile device.
Simply download the Canvas Student app (that hosts College of Law learning portal).
In the app, search College of Law in ‘Find my school’ and sign in with your given COLPass details. You will then be able to access all your College of Law courses via the mobile app.
Our suite of over 100+ exclusive single courses enable you to target a core skill or knowledge area.
Each course is an in-depth learning resource, available in the following formats:
Single courses are an affordable way for you to target a core skill or knowledge area.
Course formats include:
- Step-by-step guides: Explore the procedure or processes involved in a certain area of law
- Skills series modules: Sharpen an essential skill that you need to succeed in your practice
- Practice guides: Gain tips and an overview of a particular area of law
You can browse the full course list at any time.
Each bundle includes four in-depth resources, providing you with eight hours of self-paced and interactive learning, which you can access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
Strengthen your essential knowledge in a specific practice area. You can expand your expertise in areas such as:
- Wills and estates
- Family law
- Property transactions
- Advocacy
- Legal business management
- Criminal Law
- Business transactions
- Commercial contracts
- PLUS you can build your own bundle with any 4 single courses. Use code: BUNDLE40 at the check-out.
You can browse our bundle packages at any time. Still short of CPD points? You can add a Digital Subscription and save.
If the Digital Subscription is about variety, the bundle courses are about focus. Each on-demand bundle contains four in-depth learning resources, so you can boost your essential knowledge and skills across a particular practice area more affordably.
With a bundle, you’ll earn eight CPD points, while saving 40% on the single courses.
Go in-depth as you comprehensively explore a specific practice area. Learn interactively across engaging formats like step-by-step guides, practice guides and skill series. And gain helpful learning resources you can reference when you encounter similar situations in practice.
You can now build your own bundle with any four single courses. Simply add the four courses to your shopping cart using the BUNDLE40 discount code for the bundle price to be applied.
This bundle will benefit:
- Lawyers wanting to build practical foundational knowledge and skills
- Established lawyers looking to move into this area of law or who do occasional work in this area
- Senior lawyers looking to confirm their knowledge and stay up to date
- Paralegals, clerks and administrative staff wanting to upskill
Access our diverse library of short-form content, across all four mandatory areas, with a year-long subscription. And learn how you like with our collection of interactive courses, podcasts and vodcasts.
We’re constantly expanding our catalogue of subscription modules. Currently, you can access over 140 hours of content across areas like:
- Litigation
- Family law
- Drafting
- Client management
- Criminal law
- Professional conduct
- Employment law
- Project management
- Legal automation
You can browse our full subscription inclusion list at any time.
Please note that bundle courses and most single courses are not available within the subscription. You will need to add bundles or single courses to your subscription for in-depth learning in a particular area.
In today’s dynamic legal landscape, you need to stay informed about what’s happening now – and be prepared for what’s next.
With a CPD Digital Subscription, you’ll unlock our diverse and dynamic library of short-form content for only $499/year.
Designed around an engaging range of learning formats (including courses, vodcasts and podcasts), you can cover all your CPD compliance needs for one low yearly fee.
Subscribe today to:
- Enhance your everyday learning for you and your legal team
- Meet your mandatory CPD requirements
- Enjoy unlimited 24/7 access for 12 months
- Unlock 140+ hours of interactive courses, how-to skill series, vodcasts and podcasts
Each module has been expertly developed or curated by the College of Law – and our industry partners. These include the Centre for Legal Innovation (CLI), Hearsay, CPD Interactive and On the Run.
With a CPD Digital Subscription, you can learn when you want, what you want, and as often as you want.
If you’re looking for a wide variety of content, this is the CPD solution for you.
For live and short courses We offer a 10% discount for groups of two or more from the same organisation for our live courses and short courses. Add discount code GROUP10 at the checkout.
When it comes to subscription pricing options firms can access our subscription pricing options designed to accommodate varying team sizes:
- For teams of 2 to 5 users: Total cost: $1,399 per year. Enjoy savings of $1,096 using code FLEX5 when purchasing at the checkout.
- For teams of 6 to 10 users: Total cost: $1,799 per year Unlock savings of $3,191 using code FLEX10 when purchasing at the checkout.
- For teams of 10 or more users: Please contact us directly for personalised pricing tailored to your organisation's needs.
You can also learn more here.
You can access live courses and short courses delivered via a video conferencing link. This will be provided to you prior to the start of the course.
You can access each on-demand course through the College’s online learning portal. Whether you purchase a single course, a bundle, or a subscription, you’ll enjoy 24/7 unlimited access for 12 months from the time of purchase.
View the full course catalogue.
Does this educational activity extend your knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your practice needs or professional development?
If so, and you’re not a WA practitioner, you should claim 1 unit for each hour of participation, not including breaks.
Please check your local CPD rules for any caps on activity types, such as the private study of non-interactive audio/visual materials. You are responsible for keeping your own CPD records and complying with your local CPD rules.
Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points. However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events or by completing select CPD interactive modules.
Important Information: As of 1 April 2021, accredited providers of CPD to the legal profession in Western Australia are required to provide compliance information to the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia about individual legal practitioners. By enrolling in a College of Law course, you consent to us providing this information (including but not limited to personal information such as your name, WA Practitioner ID, contact details and course attendance/completion data) to the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.
Please be advised of the following if you are a WA practitioner and wish to claim CPD points for attending/completing a College of Law course:
- You must check on the course registration page whether Western Australian practitioners are eligible to earn CPD points for that course.
- You must provide your Practitioner ID number to the College of Law. If you have not already done so, please provide your practitioner ID by email to cpd@collaw.edu.au
- Your attendance/completion of the course will be electronically monitored and you will be strictly required to remain present for the full duration in order to earn the CPD points attributed to the event. In the case of virtual offerings, you are responsible for maintaining a stable internet connection and taking account of time zones. No refunds will be issued for technical or other failures outside our control that result in you being unable to earn CPD points.
- If you have any questions about earning CPD points, please contact us by email cpd@collaw.edu.au or phone (02) 9965 7111.
- If you have any questions about the CPD compliance and reporting regime in Western Australia, please contact the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.
Yes, you can keep track of your completion of our online courses and modules via the grades tab within the relevant courses in our learning management system.
While certificates are not issued for these courses, your learning journey is still captured within the platform.
At the end of each course, your grades and completion results are displayed on screen, giving you the opportunity to take a quick screenshot for your records. This provides clear evidentiary support for your self-assessment obligations under the CPD scheme.
CPD requirements generally begin from the first full CPD year after your admission as a practising lawyer. This means that if you’ve recently completed your Practical Legal Training (PLT) and been admitted, you typically won’t need to start earning CPD points until the next CPD cycle.
However, requirements can vary by jurisdiction, so it’s best to check with your local law society.
