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Lawyers are often not trained in the ways of business and end up getting into all kinds of money trouble. Who should be responsible for ensuring practitioners have some accounting literacy? Back L basics to By Ava Chisling awyers who work in big firms receive a lot of administrative support. There are entire departments devoted to handling the very basics of conducting business: hiring and firing, billing, collections, paying rent, ordering supplies, not to mention cou- rier and catering services. With all of the basics covered, each lawyer is free to do what is expected of him or her: bring in clients and earn money. The problem with this big-firm model is that when lawyers want to practise on their own or within a small firm or company, they quickly discover their knowledge of how to run a busi- ness is as limited as their experience in ordering paperclips — that is, very little. There are some things everybody should know about getting a business off the ground and keeping it there. There are balance sheets to read, services to bundle, domain names to purchase, money to collect, leases to negotiate, and retirement to consider. In addition, lawyers have to familiarize themselves with the many law society requirements, especially how to deal with and account for trust funds. So who is responsible for teaching future lawyers basic business and accounting skills? Is it law school, bar school, law firms, no one, or everyone? Without knowing the fundamentals of running a business, particularly lawyers on their own or in small practices can run into all kinds of serious trouble. They borrow too much money or don't properly account for their clients' money. They don't budget for the inevitable surprises, such as a big client going elsewhere or a leaky roof. Then the tax bill arrives and law society fees have to be paid, along with rent, parking, and car bills. And soon enough, the professional is overwhelmed and may be tempted to accept cases outside of his or her expertise or "borrow" trust money to pay his or her own bills. Kristin Dangerfield is senior general counsel for the Law Society of Manitoba and has worked as a prosecutor there since 1998. "Law is a stressful business and there are a lot of demands. There are the demands of the law society to meet its requirements, the demands of clients or opposing counsel or the court. Sometimes something has to go and lawyers are not staying on top of things." 32 M A RCH 2011 www. CANADIAN Lawyermag.com kiM rosen