02 July 2018

BTO trainee solicitor is the first to win the Innovation Cup for his risk management idea.

Daryl Jarvis has made history as the winner of a new competition that was launched to tap into the expertise of the Scottish legal community and improve risk management across the profession.

Run jointly by Law Society of Scotland, Master Policy Lead Insurers, RSA and brokers, Lockton, the Innovation Cup invited Scottish solicitors, trainees, cash-room staff, Accredited Paralegals and students to share their bright ideas for risk management processes and strategies. A cash prize of £1,500 for the winning entry was provided by RSA and in addition a commitment to help implement the idea.

David Cullen, the Law Society of Scotland’s Registrar said, “Scottish solicitors see their private clients through some of the most important times of their lives. From buying a home, to defending a criminal accusation or dissolving a marriage, the risks, whether financial, emotional or reputational, are considerable.”

The Innovation Cup acknowledges the risks and responsibilities shouldered by private legal practices on behalf of their clients. It aims to bring risk management to the forefront of all practitioners’ minds, and inspire new solutions from within the profession, with the ultimate goal of improving risk management strategies across the legal profession.

Competition entries were invited with ideas to improve systems, processes or controls within private practice firms, from a simple tweak to an existing process all the way up to something completely new.

Entries were judged by two members of the Law Society Insurance Committee, three representatives from RSA and one representative from Lockton.

Daryl’s winning entry provides a means to register risks and information centrally within an organisation to inform their risk management processes. The tool is flexible enough to be adapted to individual requirements and uses existing software, which makes the risk tracker low cost and easy to implement. Edward Ambrose, RSA’s Scotland Regional Manager, described it as offering “an affordable, adaptable and user friendly solution for organisations to log, evaluate and escalate risks.”

Daryl Jarvis said: “I am delighted to have been chosen as the winner of the inaugural Innovation Cup. The competition offers a valuable opportunity to raise the profile of risk management within the profession, share good practice and generate discussion about how firms manage risk.”

Read more here: Glasgow trainee solicitor wins Innovation Cup