Key Strategies for Law Firms during a Downturn — Restructure, Survive and Succeed
This series of events is aimed at helping law firms overcome recession-related issues that they are currently facing.
From cost saving and restructuring to practice management, risk, compliance, outsourcing, IT and raising capital, the events deliver case studies and in-depth information from a panel of expert speakers.
As well as delivering engaging advice, the day offers many opportunities for delegates to network and receive one-to-one advice from the conference sponsors and partners.
The events are organised by Netlaw Media.
Highlights of London Event, 16 June 2009
Delivering the Keynote Prof Stephen Mayson summed up the challenges. Not only is the legal profession facing severe recession, but it faces an increasing erosion of its dominance of the legal services market as "non-reserved" activities are increasingly more efficiently being delivered by alternative providers like AA Legal Services, The Co-operative Legal Services and government itself via the Legal Services Commission and DirectGov.
The outlook is bleak though smaller firms may face such competition through alliances such as the Legal Alliance and Quality Solicitors.
To better serve clients demanding ever better value firms must abandon time-based billing and reduce overcapacity - not just too many people, but people doing the wrong jobs.
| 
Tim Aspinall, Managing Partner, DMH Stallard, spoke on Practice Management Challenges
| 
Alan Hodgart, Director H4 Partners, spoke on Mergers
| 
Stephen with Rupert Kendrick, Director, Web4Law, who spoke on Outsourcing IT
| 
A round table session
| 
Simon White of Wilkinson Read & Partners, delivering financial planning advice
|
Conference agenda, London, 16 June
Chairperson's Opening Remarks
Peter Warner, Solicitor / Director, Warner Consulting
- The current state of the profession
- The challenges for Law Firm management
- The role of the Lawyer
Winning & Retaining Work through a Recession
Mike Gannaway, Director of Marketing & Business Development, Denton Wilde Sapte
- Overview of the recession from a business development perspective
- The organised business of retaining clients' & winning work
- Pricing & Discounts - Practical suggestions
- Protecting hard won client relationships
How Climate Change Collaboration can deliver Cost Savings
Elaine Radford, Head of CSR, DLA Piper and Micael Johnstone, Project manager, Legal Sector Alliance
- The Legal Sector Alliance - Aims & aspirations
- Collaborative action to cut carbon & costs'
- Member actions to cut carbon & costs'
- The Green Business Case - Cutting costs in a recession
- DLA Piper - Business benefits from a leadership approach to climate change
Mergers - AWay of Improving Competitiveness
Alan Hodgart, Director, H4 Partners
- The role of merger in strategic implementation
- The ground rules for a successful merger
- Is a downturn the right time to merge
- Using a merger to increase market share
- Getting agreement to an appropriate merger
Outsourcing IT - The Governance Imperative
Rupert Kendrick, Director,Web4Law
- The key issues when considering outsourcing IT
- Advantages & disadvantages
- Key legal documentation
- The meaning of governance
- IT and project governance
- Standards and methodologies
Risk and the Recession
John Verry, Risk Director, TLT Solicitors
- An outline of risk management
- Using risk management as a survival technique
- Having an effective structure to manage risk
- What not to do, creating risks that did not previously exist
- Planning for the future - Now
- Horizon scanning for risk
Strategic Challenges Facing the Legal Profession - (Keynote)
Prof Stephen Mayson, Author / Director & Professor of Strategy, Legal Services Policy Institute
- The legal services market & the legal profession are not the same
- The key challenges of facing new competition
- The key challenges of delivering value to clients
- The key challenges of dealing with capacity
- The key challenges of managing investment and rewards
Challenges facing Modern Law Firms from a Practice Management Perspective
Tim Aspinall, Managing Partner, DMH Stallard
- The challenges facing a modern firm during a recession
- The importance of strong leadership during a downturn
- The strategic challenges facing practice managers
- Preparation and strategy for a successful future
Panel Discussion / Question and Answer Session
Prof Stephen Mayson, Tim Aspinall, John Verry & Peter Warner
Examining how law firms are restructuring to sustain profit & are the strategies working.
Round Table / Workshop Sessions
Break Out Session - Delegates may choose to attend one of the following:
- Strategic Change Management - (Prof Stephen Mayson & Armando.J.Tirado)
- Risk, Compliance, Rules & Regulations - (Peter Warner & John Verry)
- Reducing Cost without Sacrificing Quality - (Bharat Vagadia)
- The Importance of Good Practice Management - (Tim Aspinall)
- Effective Financial Management & Investments - (Barry Wilkinson & Chris Marston)
Cash Management in Law Firms - 2009 & Beyond
Barry Wilkinson, Director, Wilkinson Read
- Preparation and strategy for a successful future
- Lawyers are different ¡¥Thinly capitalised workers co-operatives?¡¦
- Causes & symptoms
- Communication and understanding
- Funding growth, portfolio selection or sorts options
- Commitment and / process?
- The new standards
How to Reduce Overheads whilst Improving Client Service
Rachel Clacher, Founder / Director, Moneypenny
- Solving the perennial HR headache of reception cover
- Simple solutions to allow law firms to work smarter
- Examining how using Moneypenny delivers cost & service benefits
Getting your Employees Onboard with Cost Reduction
Kevin O'Brien, Sales Director, The Optima Group
- Strategies to empower employees with cost reduction
- How to get your department reviewing spend
- Setting your teams targets on spend without cutting quality
- How & when to review your utilities costs
- Review your DX, yes you can reduce costs here too
Panel Discussion / Question and Answer Session
Barry Wilkinson, Steve Arundale, Chris Marston & Peter Warner
Identifying financial challenges facing law firms and how firms can prepare for a deepening recession.
Cutting Costs, Saving Time and Delivering Better Value to Clients
Bharat Vagadia, Board Director UK - National Outsourcing Association (NOA)
- What will outsourcing by law firms deliver in the short & long term
- What can and can not be outsourced
- Onshore / Offshore ¡V options and challenges
- Lessons learnt from case studies - what works and what doesn't
|
Presented by Netlaw Media
|
