Co-Chair
Anne Macdonald
The mission of the Law Firm Management Committee is to be a leading global forum for the exchange of best practices in law practice leadership and management through sharing and discussing concepts, experience, knowledge and trends on law firm and law practice management issues and topics.
The Committee’s diverse membership is drawn from the profession around the world and from firms of all sizes and areas of practice.
The Committee pursues its mission through a number of activities including the annual IBA conference at which the Committee regularly offers a wide range of sessions addressing current top-of-mind issues; regional conferences, generally in coordination with the IBA's regional fora, which address current law firm management issues of regional interest; webinar programs; e-bulletins; and our publications and other material accessible to members on our website.
Paul Marmor, Co-Chair of the Law Firm Management Committee discusses why you should join the committee.
Once you join the Committee, you may actively contribute to its work by:
27 Jul - 30 Jul 2026
London , England
04 Oct - 09 Oct 2026
Copenhagen , Denmark
This interview series features members of the Law Firm Management Committee – primarily from the Small and Medium Firms Subcommittee, along with other IBA officers and members – sharing their perspectives on key management challenges and solutions. Topics range from building international professional relationships for business development, shaping firm culture for the future, adopting effective legal tech, and managing talent, to other issues central to running a successful practice. Watch here.
This report by the Law Firm Management CEO Subcommittee documents the findings of a survey on law firm business services and operations designed to gain a deeper insight into the structure, maturity and challenges of business services functions within law firms of varying sizes across different regions.
Released on Oct 28, 2025
A summary of the IBA webinar ‘Championing sustainability in changing times: how can law firms adapt and thrive?’, held on 3 June 2025. The webinar was presented by the IBA Law Firm Management Committee, supported by the IBA Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL), Banking & Financial Law Committee, European Regional Forum and the IBA Legal Policy & Research Unit.
Released on Jul 25, 2025
Many lawyers feel uncomfortable with the word ‘sales’. The idea of pitching, persuading or promoting can feel unnatural. And it’s no wonder – multiple studies show that salespeople are widely perceived as untrustworthy, and lawyers aren’t rated much higher. The encouraging part, though, is that great lawyers already apply the core principles of good sales. The real shift is in mindset: moving from ‘selling’ to consultative relationship-building – something most great lawyers are already doing when supporting their clients.
Released on May 29, 2025
Building long-lasting client relationships is essential for any successful legal practice. While acquiring new clients is important, the true value lies in nurturing relationships over time, creating stability and scalability crucial for long-term success. This guide will help you effectively build and maintain these vital client connections, even with a busy schedule.
Released on May 29, 2025
The IBA Environment, Health and Safety Law Committee and IBA Law Firm Management Committee, working with Nature Positive and biodiversity law experts, and with input from across the IBA, are designing a Nature-Intelligent Legal Services Toolkit. The purpose of this Toolkit is to help legal service providers understand their clients’ exposure to nature-related risks, with a view to enhancing the legal services that lawyers can provide to their clients, and to raise broader awareness among the legal profession of the importance of nature and its intersections with legal practice.
Download a summary of the Toolkit
The Law Firm Management Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.
The Subcommittee aims to focus on practical aspects related to AI use in law firms, especially knowledge sharing and raising awareness between parties at the LFMC as to how AI may be used in everyday practice. The Subcommittee also seeks to assist members of the LFMC by providing law firm managers with guidelines concerning AI implementation at law firms.
The Subcommittee will seek to highlight the importance of business development and marketing within law firms by providing education, sharing best practices, and raising the profiles of those working in BDM functions and the lawyers who dedicate time to further their firms business development and marketing goals. The Subcommittee will deliver education, strategies and tools for individual lawyers and business development professionals at law firms of all sizes and at all stages of their BD journeys.
The purpose of the CEO Subcommittee is to share knowledge and insights on the role and responsibilities of legal business executives in law firms and business aspects of managing a law firm from that perspective and to improve the nexus between fee earners and legal business executives by providing a platform to discuss best practices, trends and challenges.
The Subcommittee provides a platform for and contributes to the development of ESG strategies and policies within law firms. We meet every third Monday to discuss current and future projects, topical ESG developments and to share insights. The Subcommittee actively approaches other IBA committees and ESG working groups to foster collaboration. We are always interested in enthusiastic professionals who share our passion for ESG and Responsible Business.
The Subcommittee seeks to provide a focus and voice for small and medium firms in the work of the LFMC so as to make its work even more relevant to them.
Mission: to be a forum and resource centre for law firm leaders and key management personnel for the development, dissemination and sharing of knowledge and ideas on law firm strategy and financial practices.
The mission of the Subcommittee is to address and mitigate the growing challenges law firms face regarding retention and leadership. The Subcommittee is dedicated to exploring broader strategies to attract and maintain talent as competitive salaries alone are insufficient and serving as a forum where issues related to leadership and talent retention can be openly discussed and solutions can be explored.
Membership
Podcasts
Develop podcast content that supports the aims of the BDM subcommittee.
Written Content
Surveys
Conduction BDM surveys as requested by the LFMC and use the survey results to drive additional content.
Collaboration
Collaborate internally (with other subcommittees and committees of the IBA) and externally (with other organisations) to share knowledge and strategies and to provide subject matter expertise on BDM topics.
Communication
Promote LFMC webinars, surveys and other initiatives to the subcommittee, to the LFMC membership, and to the wider IBA community through social media and other channels.
Conferences
The Sub-committee aims to focus on practical aspects related to AI use in law firms, especially knowledge sharing and raising awareness between parties at the LFMC as to how AI may be used in everyday practice. The Sub-committee also seeks to assist members of the LFMC by providing law firm managers with guidelines concerning AI implementation at law firms.
The CEO Subcommittee is committed to fostering a diverse and dynamic participant base, ensuring representation across different regions, firm sizes, and professional backgrounds. In 2025, our goal is to engage three - five Chief Operating Officers (COO’s) per region globally, strengthening cross-regional collaboration and enriching discussions with diverse insights.
By engaging an average of three COOs per region, we aim to create a well-balanced and representative network, driving meaningful discussions on key industry challenges and opportunities.
The CEO Subcommittee intends to organise the following activities:
The Law Firm Management Committee welcomes articles from all members. To submit an article for publication, email the relevant committee officer.
If you are a member of the Law Firm Management Committee, for additional networking opportunities, programs, interviews with fellow members and tips all exclusive to LFMC members, join our LinkedIn page.
Projects
Our report from Annual Conference Paris 2023
The following items recap a few of the wonderful programs put together by the Law Firm Management Committee at the 2023 Annual Conference in Paris.