2014

One-day conference

Monday 19 May 2014, Royal College of Surgeons, London

The only event for practice managers in small to medium law firms

Sponsored by:

2014

Delegate fee

One-day conference: £195+VAT

Early bird discount: Book before 18 April and pay just £175+VAT

To register your placeVisit bit.ly/lpmconf2014Call Matthew Armstrong on 0870 112 5058Email matthewa@lsn.co.ukOr scan this code with your smartphone

Feedback from last year’s event:

“Super event, well done and great topics – great value!” Sean Kelly Accounts manager, Edwards and Co

“An enjoyable day and a great networking opportunity” Suzanne Moore Practice manager, GQ Employment Law

“Very good, a great mix of speakers/subjects” Bill Hatton Practice manager, Freemans

“Event was very well run and organised, lots of ideas provoked and interesting points made during the day” Kay Osborne Deputy practice director, CM Murray

“Excellent opportunity to network, share good practice. Good to meet people facing the same issues and challenges” Ruth Vallance Practice manager, Caunters

Visit bit.ly/lpmconf2014Call Matthew Armstrong on 0870 112 5058Email matthewa@lsn.co.ukOr scan this code with your smartphone

Legal Support Network’s Legal Practice Management 2014 conference is the only event of its kind to specifically target practice managers and directors, heads of operations and heads of finance from small to medium UK law firms. Aimed exclusively at professional managers from on average 2-25 partner firms, this one-day event will provide you with a unique opportunity to discuss common challenges, share experiences and hear the latest thinking from your peers.

Agenda

09.00 Registration and coffee

09.30 Welcome and opening address

Rupert Collins-White, editor of LPM magazine and director, Legal Support Network

09.35 Creating transformative change inside law firms

• Resolving the incumbent’s dilemma ... radical ideas for fast-changing times • Vision, leadership and the change process • Overcoming inertia to create an environment in which change is the norm • Enacting change management programmes within your firm

Andrew Hedley, director, Hedley Consulting

Panel discussion10.25 A vision of successful SME legal services providers in 2020

• Adopting a more corporate management structure for your firm • Defining and leveraging your market: business retention and new business • Evolving a business model to exploit market changes • Building business development into your strategy; strategies for growth

David Albans, head of business services, Royds Simon McCrum, managing partner, Darbys Carl Ritson, practice manager, HRS Family Law Moderator: Rupert Collins-White, editor of LPM magazine and director, Legal Support Network

11.15 Coffee

Please choose one of the following two sessions

11.45 STREAM 1

Facilitated workshop Marketing strategy and implementation: Creating and refining your proposition;

managing a marketing strategy; identifying existing and emerging purchasers

• Engaging with younger generations of legal services buyers, both consumer and business – how can firms create effective interactions and profitable relationships?

• Developing engagement through social media channels and developing these as a route to market

• Leveraging digital marketing methods and techniques

David Laud, CEO, Samuel Phillips

STREAM 2

Panel discussion Changing responsibilities of fee-earners in today’s marketplace

• Understanding profitability and cost management at a fee-earner level • Educating lawyers to be more effective, efficient and streamlined in their processes • Influencing and promoting change in entrenched behaviours for long standing partners

Clive Meredith, practice director, Wollen Michelmore William Robins, operations director, Keystone Law John Wade, director, Oakview CCM Moderator: William King, commercial and finance partner, Beetenson and Gibbon

Agenda

Please choose one of the following three sessions

12.25 STREAM 1

Facilitated workshop Developing a better customer experience for tomorrow’s clients

• Obtaining actionable insights from customer feedback processes • Aligning your delivery to meet the changing expectations and needs of customers • Implementing a culture where the delivery of better customer experience pervades the firm • Enhancing customer understanding as part of the culture to make firms more responsive Victor Olowe, director, Winzest Consulting

STREAM 2

Panel discussion Creating new career paths and incentivising staff within a legal world less

focused on partnership

• Engagement and retention: adapting your talent management programme to the changing aspirations of lawyers

• Shaping future remuneration and incentivisation: rewarding staff while avoiding the one-way salary ratchet

• The importance of putting your business support people up there with your lawyers • Identifying and developing future partners within the firm for partner succession

Pamela Austen, practice director, QualitySolicitors Howlett Clarke Jenny Pelling, business director, CILEx Law School Matthew Fretten, partner, Frettens Moderator: John Wade, director, Oakview CCM

STREAM 3

Panel discussion Risk management and compliance: overlaying the new way of working within a firm

• Working in a compliant way but a more commercially efficient way? • Managing the expectations of the COLP and COFA roles along with normal workloads • Exploring lessons learnt from the new regulatory model • Dealing with the challenges faced with the roles around accountability and implications

of decisions

Alexandra Elliott, manager of firm-based supervision, Solicitors Regulation Authority Clare Flynn, supervision team leader, Solicitors Regulation Authority Michelle Garlick, partner and regulatory/compliance consultant, Weightmans Robert Mowbray, partner, Taylor Mowbray Moderator: Amy Bell, head of risk and compliance, QualitySolicitors

13.05 Lunch

Please choose one of the following three sessions

14.05 STREAM 1

Facilitated workshop Re-examining your approach to procuring PII for your firm through better standards

and communications

• The importance for law firms to have an ongoing, transparent relationship with insurers and brokers • Risks associated with opting for an unrated insurer; exploring ways of finding affordable PII

cover with a rated insurer • Demonstrating sound financial and risk management within your firm; does the answer lie

with achieving ISO 9001 and/or Lexcel accreditation? • Update on what information is needed to achieve better coverage than the minimum terms

Lesley Graves, managing director, Citadel Law Richard Palmer, partner, Watson Burton

STREAM 2

Facilitated workshop Pricing and cost predictability: Defining a balance between profitability and efficiency

• Creating pricing models that play to the changing landscape of legal; are multidimensional transparency models the answer?

• Exploring realistic ways of effectively managing a firms cost base and creating awareness at fee-earner level

• Putting clients in control with greater cost predictability • Creating profitable, sustainable work streams

Robert Mowbray, partner, Taylor Mowbray

STREAM 3

Facilitated workshop Innovation and adaptation: Re-engineering the use of technology to retain and develop

competitive advantage

• Investment in existing technology vs investment in new technology • Creating an improved client experience through innovation and adaptation of technology • Increasing fee-earner mobility; competing with new legal businesses that are already in the cloud • Overcoming the challenge of the emerging preference for digital over personal

communication by client and fee earner

Adam Makepeace, practice director, Tuckers Nagib Tharani, director of international expansion, Clio Glyn Morris, finance director, Higgs and Sons Moderator: Rupert Collins-White, editor of LPM magazine and director, Legal Support Network

14.50 Coffee

15.20 Sponsor presentation

15.40 Sponsor presentation

Chris Jeffery, head of small law, Thomson Reuters UKI

CASE STUDY16.00 Re-building a law firm: From dark nights to bright stars

• How did Darbys move from a trading loss in 2007 to record years, and 35% growth year on year in 2012 and 2013

• Aspiring to become the country’s first national legal brand

Simon McCrum, managing partner, Darbys

16.55 Summary and closing address

17.00 Networking drinks reception

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to network and share experiences with your peers

Agenda

Who should attend?

• Practice managers

• Practice directors

• COOs

• Heads of operations

• CEOs

• Business support directors

• Heads of administration

• Office managers

• Heads of finance

• Accounts managers

THE ONLY MONTHLY FOR EVERYONE IN

SME LEGAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

www.lsn.co.uk/lpmmag

Carl Ritson Practice manager, HRS Family LawAfter a career within the armed forces, Carl took on a role as contract director within a firm and developed the company from £30m turnover to £120m in four years, overseeing 600 direct employees, developing overseas contracts in the Middleand Far East and Europe. He then set up his own company which he sold in 2004. After he became a consultant to various clients including Tesco, Harrods Stores and Aviation, Aldi, Virgin, Sky, British Airways, dealing with budgets totalling over £1bn, developing business strategies including sensitive buying trends. He joined HRS Family Law in 2012, and in 2011 it had two offices with a turnover of £500k to date and have employed 14 more staff, opened two more offices in Birmingham and West Bromwich. Our 2014 projected turnover is £1.3m.

Adam Makepeace Practice director, Tuckers

Adam is practice director at seven partner firm, Tuckers, the country’s largest criminal legal aid firm with 10 offices in and around London, Birmingham and Manchester, having previously spent four years as practice director of Duncan Lewis, the country’s largest civil legal aid firm. He is currently focused on developing a core back office infrastructure that would be scalable for use by any criminal legal aid practitioner, whether as a result of organic or acquisitive growth by Tuckers or as an arms-length service supplied to other criminal defence firms.

Amy Bell Head of risk and compliance, QualitySolicitors

Amy Bell is the head of risk and compliance at QualitySolicitors. Amy is a solicitor who has 8 years’ experience in compliance at Pannone. Prior to that she was a personal injury fee earner at Pannone, specialising in road traffic accidents. She joined Pannone on qualification after a hectic training contract with a five-office high street firm in Greater Manchester. Amy is a member of the Law Society task force on money laundering. She is also the author of the Law Society’s toolkit on the Bribery Act and their e-learning package. Her passion is making compliance accessible. She is an accomplished speaker on legal issues, both in-house and publicly on a wide range of compliance topics.

Andrew Hedley Director, Hedley Consulting

Andrew advises law firm leaders on issues of vision, strategy and change. Alongside project engagements, he is a sought after strategy group guide, partner retreat speaker, workshop facilitator and coach. Andrew has been admitted as a fellow of the Institute of Directors, the Strategic Planning Society, the Chartered Management Institute, Cambridge Marketing College and the Royal Society of Art. He is the author of Developing Strategic Client Relationships (2008) and Client Strategy in a Changing Legal Market (2011). Hedley Consulting is recognised as a leading boutique strategy consultancy within the legal sector.

Expert speaker panel:

Alexandra Elliott Manager of firm-based supervision, Solicitors Regulation Authority

In April 2011, Alexandra took up the role of manager of firm-based supervision and is responsible for the risk-based oversight of over 11,000 solicitors’ practices. Alexandra has been with the SRA for 11 years; previously she was manager of supervision operations which was responsible for conduct and regulatory investigations arising from reports from solicitors, member of the public, clients and other parties. Alexandra’s background at the SRA has been in conduct investigations, and until 2010 she was a senior adviser giving technical input and support to such matters. Alexandra began her career as a solicitor in private practice where she specialised in family and childcare law, as well as civil litigation.

Clare Flynn Supervision team leader, Solicitors Regulation Authority

Clare joined the SRA in 2006 and currently works within the supervision unit. Clare manages a team of supervisors who are responsible for the risk-based oversight of the entire regulated community and central to the delivery of the outcomes-focused approach to regulation. As part of the management group, Clare also provides coaching support, technical leadership and operational delivery to the unit.

Clive Meredith Practice director, Wollen Michelmore

Clive has many years’ experience of management gained initially in the hospitality and charities sector. With 10 years’ experience in his current role, he has overseen two mergers which has resulted in the firm doubling in size having 14 partners and 115 staff, based in four local offices. As practice director he has responsibility for HR, IT, marketing and business development. Clive works closely with the firm’s managing partner to oversee the strategic development of the firm.

Chris Jeffery Head of small law, Thomson Reuters UKI

As head of SME law firms for Thomson Reuters Legal Solutions (UKI), Chris is responsible for the current performance and future strategic direction of the products and services provided to the SME Law Firm customer segment. Chris completed an LLB and followed this with an LLM specialising in international commercial law from the University of Westminster. He joined Thomson Reuters as part of the acquisition of Practical Law in May 2013. Previous roles at Practical Law included various management positions, including heading up the account management function. His most recent role, prior to the acquisition, was to act as the strategy lead supporting the executive committee on the future direction of the business.

David Albans Head of business services, Royds

David has worked in law firm management for over 20 years starting as an operations manager at Nelsons in the east Midlands before moving on to a West Midlands firm as a chief executive. For the past 10 years, he has been based in London working as head of business services for a mid-sized City firm Royds. He completed an MBA at Nottingham University which included time spent in the US on a research project, interviewing a number of US law firms on strategy and business development. David is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

David Laud CEO, Samuel PhillipsDavid Laud is the chief executive of Samuel Phillips. Prior to joining the firm and setting up his businesses, he spent 10 years with Thomas Cook. His time with the travel company included roles as head of marketing in the publishing division and as project director in the global foreign exchange division, he was responsible for developing the money transfer brand MoneyGram. Immediately prior to entering the world of law firm management David was a member of the senior management team of US corporation AT&T. David has two books published covering the topic of social media marketing for law firms and regularly delivers marketing workshops for the Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Services Group. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a chartered marketer.

Expert speaker panel:Glyn Morris Finance Director, Higgs and Sons

Glyn Morris is an ‘all round’ finance director at Higgs and Sons - an energised and progressive top 200 law firm based in the West Midlands. His skills range from strategy, implementation of large scale practice management systems, management of sizeable legal finance functions through to presenting at the highest level within the legal industry having presented last year at the Novak Druce Annual PSF Conference at the University of Oxford. He has been shortlisted for a UK FD 2014 award the ‘growing business’ category and is immediate past president of the West Midlands Network of ACCA.

Jenny Pelling Business director, CILEx Law School

Jenny Pelling read English at the University of Oxford, and then converted to law via the CPE and LPC. She practised employment law at a City firm before moving into legal education. Jenny has worked for CILEx Law School since 2004, where she was made a board director in 2012. She is responsible for business development, and working with law firms to create in-house apprenticeship programmes and staff development strategies for school leavers, paralegals and qualified lawyers. Jenny is also part of the CILEx Group working on the development of higher apprenticeships from Levels 5-7 through the government’s Trailblazer scheme for law, as announced in National Apprenticeship Week.

John Wade Director, Oakview CCM

John Wade has worked in the professional and financial service sector for over thirty years. His experience includes helping law and IP firms set and implement strategic and business plans; coaching and mentoring staff and partners into better performance and through conflicts and team-building; managing projects and process improvements; and implementing compliance based regimes.

Lesley Graves Managing director, Citabdel Law

Lesley Graves is a solicitor, MD and founder of Citadel Law, a law firm advising the personal injury sector on operational analysis; driving maximum profit; cash flow forecasting and business strategy. In WIP deals and M&A, Citadel Law provides due diligenceadvice for vendors and purchasers to ensure maximum value. Lesley has litigated, consulted and lectured in PI during a 22 year career from Pannone to Irwin Mitchell (as partner & head of personal injury in Manchester). Lesley has been featured in the Times, Law Society Gazette, the Lawyer, Legal and Litigation Futures, Post magazine, Global Legal Post, Solicitors Journal and APIL’s PI Focus. Lesley has presented at NatWest, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group.

Matthew Fretten Partner, Frettens

Matthew joined the family firm in 2002 and became managing partner in 2012. This role gives him responsibility for the strategic growth of the firm and, working alongside five partners, motivating, managing and developing the firm’s 50-plus staff situated across three offices. As a solicitor, Matthew deals with all aspects of non-contentious company and commercial work and is recognised in the Legal 500 and Chambers and partners directories as a specialist in his field.

Richard Palmer Partner, Watson Burton

Richard is one of the principal owners of Watson Burton and specialises in defending professional indemnity claims on behalf of solicitors. As well as being the firm’s COLP and complaints partner, Richard is responsible for arranging Watson Burton’s PII programme, giving him a unique overview of the professional indemnity spectrum. Richard is heavily involved in setting the strategic direction for Watson Burton, managing its risk and has overall responsibility for two of the firm’s key departments. Clients praise his responsiveness and ability to understand his clients’ needs.

Nagib Tharani Director international expansion, Clio

Nagib is an entrepreneur, engineer and business leader with broad blue chip and start-up experience in technology, media and telecoms. At Clio, Nagib is responsible for driving Clio’s oveaseas growth, alliances and corporate development. Nagib also writes and speaks about entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship and cloud computing. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and technology management from Carleton University, Canada.

Pamela Austen Practice director, QualitySolicitors Howlett ClarkePamela has 25 years’ experience in senior management positions covering a range of responsibilities with a background in business management, human resources, managed services and customer services. She has worked in a number of industries although mainly in the telecommunications industry and more latterly over 10 years in the legal sector. Pamela is currently the practice director at QualitySolicitors Howlett Clarke which of itself covers a range of responsibilities and ensures that she has a lot of work to keep her occupied, it also means that no two days are ever the same. In addition, she also carries the responsibility of being the firm’s COFA and overseeing compliance with its Lexcel, IIP and conveyancing quality scheme accreditations.

Robert Mowbray Partner, Taylor Mowbray

Robert has worked exclusively with law firms for the last 20 years and has worked with close to 1,000 firms in 40 countries. He is a trainer and consultant who helps firms to increase profitability and improve cash flow. He was the co-author in 2013 of COFA - the law firm finance and administration handbook. He is also the author of Maximising the Profitability of Law Firms and he writes the large financial benchmarking survey for NatWest each year.

Michelle Garlick Partner and regulatory/compliance consultant, Weightmans

Michelle, a professional indemnity lawyer, is a partner at Weightmans and leads its Compl-i service, a business consultancy service to law firms advising on regulatory and compliance issues, risk management and claims and complaints handling. Michelle is a well-known speaker on the legal circuit and has had a number of articles published in relevant legal media. She is a consultant for the Law Society’s risk and compliance service, a committee member of and contributor to the Legal Compliance Bulletin and is the author of The COLP’s Toolkit, published by the Law Society. She is also a council member of Manchester Law Society and chair of its regulatory affairs committee and COLP and COFA forum.

Rupert Collins-White Editor of LPM magazine and director, Legal Support Network

Rupert is editor of LPM magazine, the only magazine for law firm management in the UK. He’s also editor of LPM’s sister title, Briefing, and head of content and community for Legal Support Network. Rupert has worked in legal publishing for nine years, and previously spent six years writing about technology. He’s passionate about bringing ideas from the general business world into legal, and about helping legal services businesses become successful in tomorrow’s more competitive market. In his spare time he likes family stuff, motorcycling and cheese (not always in that order).

William King Commercial and finance partner, Beetenson and Gibbon

William is a graduate of Southampton Law School and undertook articles with a major Yorkshire firm based in Bradford and Leeds, before moving to an expanding firm in South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. After a merger, he moved to his present practice in 1991 becoming a partner shortly thereafter in the widely titled commercial department. Taking on the development and marketing brief for the practice, I was principally involved in its expansion both by work areas and geographically location within a framework based on knowing the firm’s strengths and weaknesses.

William Robins Operations director, Keystone Law

Keystone Law is a fast growing top 200 law firm with a reputation for personal client service, smart use of technology and value. However, it is as a legal employer where Keystone is really making waves; Keystone’s lawyers use technology to work in an agile manner supported by the firm’s central office. As operations director, William is responsible for Keystone’s systems, processes, and compliance; ensuring they constantly evolve to meet the needs of the firm as it grows. William joined Keystone from Berwin Leighton Pasiner where he practised as a corporate lawyer.

Expert speaker panel:

Simon McCrum Partner, Darbys

Simon moved from case work to become head of various teams, marketing partner, director of business development, and part of the management team at Pannone. He launched the Connect2Law scheme. His dream is to create a national legal brand. He became managing partner at Darbys in Oxford and discovered the business was in very poor shape. The credit crunch had brought the firm to its knees. The firm was rebuilt, and in 2010 had its best year ever. In both 2012 and 2013, Darbys saw 35% growth. The firm now has another office in Manchester, and in 2012 Darbys purchased Legal Assistance Direct, a helpline providing legal advice to some five million members of affinity groups.

Victor Olowe Director, Winzest ConsultingVictor Olowe is a leadership consultant at Winzest Consulting, specialising in treating customers fairly and profitably. Prior to this role, he was chief executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers for five years. He is currently non-executive director for the Consumer Codes Approved Board established by the Trading Standards Institute. He is also a lay non-executive member of the Law Society’s conveyancing quality scheme assessment panel, the professional conduct committee of the Bar Standards Board and The Property Ombudsman (TPO). Previous roles include being head of practice standards at the Law Society/Solicitors Regulation Authority, quality manager with Pictons and liaison manager at the former Legal Aid Board, now Legal Aid Agency. Victor also serves as a member of the TPO disciplinary and standards committee.

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