A
glimpse into Singapore’s first law firm to obtain an ISO 9002 certification.
The
ultra modern and elegant offices of Messrs Edwin Tay & Co, the first law
firm in Singapore’s legal history to obtain an ISO 9002 certification, reminds
one of the sets of Ally McBeal, the popular television series. The
soothing colours of the walls and the décor of the offices does not give the
visitor the impression that he is entering a law office.
Mr
Edwin Tay Eng Kwee, a civil servant turned lawyer and the managing partner of
the firm of ten formed in 1996, said that the firm’s overseas clients, the
desire to provide a high quality of legal service to their clients and the
financial grant provided by PSB were the motivating forces behind the firm’s
decision to obtain an ISO certification.
The road to the prestigious certification was no easy feat for Mr Tay and his colleagues. He attributes the success of the certification exercise to his colleague, Ms Janice Lim Soo Sim, one of the four lawyers in the firm and the management representative of the ISO certification. In addition to her law practice, Ms Lim had the six-month mammooth task of drafting the firm’s goals and objectives and documenting the work methods of the firm. The staff were then trained on the work methods and the necessary office electronic equipment were purchased. The clients were informed of the exercise and their consent was obtained for the purposes of auditing their files.
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The
consultant for the ISO certification, QSM Associates, studied the operation of
the firm and assisted in drafting the ISO Manual (‘the Manual’) for members
of the firm to follow in their day to day work. The Manual sets out the whole
legal process, the administrative tasks involved and the time that has to be
spent on each task. The certifying body, an external auditor, M/s Det Norske
Veritas Industry (‘DNV Technology’) performed the check on the firm’s work
methods and awarded the certificate. Mr Alan Wong was DNV Technology’s
consultant who advised DNV Technology on the legal aspects of the certification
exercise.
The
whole exercise, including the preparation, took about nine months and cost the
firm about S$150,000. Besides the time, costs and the creation of more work, the
process helps the firm to monitor the quality of the work methods and the
performance of the staff. The staff are also tasked to store the files
electronically, key in the disbursements and the movements of the lawyers into
specially designed software programmes.
As
the management representative, Ms Lim’s tasks include collating the feedback
from staff and clients. All clients’ complaints are monitored and any breaches
of the Manual are rectified immediately. In the event of a breach, Ms Lim
ensures that a non-compliance report is prepared and holds a management meeting
to obtain feedback from her fellow lawyers and to monitor their compliance with
the Manual.
Mr
Tay reports that the firm’s clients welcome the ISO certification obtained by
the firm. The certification has assisted the firm to provide a higher quality of
value-added service to the clients. He elaborates that the firm’s practices
have now become stringent and after a first meeting with a new client, each
lawyer has to prepare a Case Plan within seven days of the meeting, wherein the
proposed progress of the case is drawn up in detail, all the relevant documents
collated and reviewed and the client informed of the strengths and weaknesses of
his case, as well as being briefed on the Case Plan. The lawyer then has to run
his file according to the Case Plan. If a change of strategy is required, the
lawyer has to revise the Case Plan and inform the client accordingly. This, Mr
Tay, believes is the ‘lawyerly’ thing to do.
Mr
Tay further adds that the ISO certification makes each and every member of the
firm vigilant and assists them to perform self-checks on their work methods.
Since the issuance of the certificate, the firm has been able to deliver a
higher quality of reliable, timely and cost-effective service to its clients.
Perhaps, in line with our profession’s drive to provide top class service to our clients, ISO certification may be a means of achieving these objectives in the next millennium.
Kamalarajan
Chettiar
Allen & Gledhill