Practical LawConferences

The Law Firm Structure

• Death of the partnership
• Successes and failures of ABS organisations
• What is the future for ABS organisations 
• Should we all be incorporating?
• The effects of restructuring under new HMRC tax changes for LLPs

Running the Business

• Business disaggregation- what is it and what’s happening?
• Business processes- what do we do and where do we start?
• Will law firms ever be willing to professionalise?
• Is the hourly rate dead? Why the secrecy?

The Changing Nature of the Lawyer

• Changing expectations and ways of working
• What are the skill sets and attributes of the modern lawyer?
• What about flexible time? Are we on a four day week? Are we working smarter or less?
• Can or should lawyers switch off?

Your in-house legal department and spend

• What are the priorities in your legal department?
• In-house criteria when determining external legal spend
• With the recovering economy, is there still pressure on fees? Does the “more for less” model still apply, or should the legal industry revert back to old ways of working?

External Advisors

• What do in-house clients look for when choosing their external counsel?
• Which service to use: Private Practice vs Specialist Boutique Firm vs ABS
• Are law firms changing quickly enough for you?
• What other change needs to happen?
• Real life examples of how traditional firms have changed (good and bad)

The in-house function in itself

• Internal innovation
• Does the in-house function also need to change?

Resource Management

• New ways of resourcing and workload management
• Working with remote lawyers: choosing your extended legal team and how you should be working with them

Your Clients

• Working collaboratively with clients to foster innovation

Technology

• Using technology to change the process of how to conduct law and increase efficiency
• How can IT foster collaboration between different business groups?
• Managing and reducing IT overheads

Delegates are invited to attend one of the following interactive breakout sessions on the topic that best suits their needs.

• Where should you be hiring from? Looking at entry into the legal profession
• Transforming the everyday lawyer into a businessperson
• Partner remuneration
• Performance management of partners: a necessary process?
• Next steps for Managing Partners: career progression you should be looking out for

• Best practice to ensure stability and financial robustness whilst staying adaptable
• Non-key firms: tactics and techniques that businesses use to get ahead
• Keeping up with the market and business intelligence
• Nurturing a growing international network
• How one develops offices abroad
• Potential areas for firm differentiation