IBA Annual Conference Sydney 2017

8 Oct - 13 Oct 2017

Parkside Ballroom 2, Convention Centre, Level 2

Session information

Law firm management profit-increasing café: how to remain valuable, cost-effective and successful

Tuesday 10 October (0930 - 1230)

Parkside Ballroom 2, Convention Centre, Level 2

Committee(s)

Law Firm Management Committee (Lead)

Description

We will look into the question of how to grow the firm profitably and successfully in today’s competitive and difficult markets. We expect that participants in the café will discuss critical issues and current challenges in areas such as: • Is there any chance for the best law firms, to sustain their leadership by offering such high-quality services that will overcome budget restrictions? • Who and what are those premium law firms, that manage to remain valuable and expensive, notwithstanding the growing price pressure and other market challenges? Who are their clients, and what their clients want and expect? • How do law firms overcome pricing challenges from clients and keep legal work cost-effective? • How do law firms focus on valuable work at higher profit margins? • How do law firms increase profit margins despite competitive pressures? • How do law firms make commodity work more profitable if there is less premium work? • How do law firms maintain profits by achieving higher efficiency? • How can cashflow challenges be overcome? • How do law firms invest in technology so that profitability will increase? The café format will also allow the table to discuss these issues and explore real situations faced by participants, as well as insights and solutions.

Session / Workshop Chair(s)

Nick Carter-Pegg BDO, London, England; Member, Law Firm Management Committee Advisory Board

Speakers

Babatunde Ajibade SAN SPA Ajibade & Co, Lagos, Nigeria; Member, Law Firm Management Committee Advisory Board
Robert Bata WarwickPlace Legal, New York, New York, USA; Secretary-Treasurer, Senior Lawyers' Committee
Bryan Bourke William Fry, Dublin, Ireland
Yong-Jae Chang Lee & Ko, Seoul, South Korea; Membership Officer, Water Law Committee
Stuart Clark AM Clayton Utz, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Asia Pacific Regional Forum Liaison Officer, Regulation of Lawyers Committee
Dragan Dameski Debarliev, Dameski & Kelesoska Attorneys at law, Skopje, North Macedonia; Conference Quality Officer, European Regional Forum
John Kettle Gadens, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Hermann Knott Dr. Hermann Knott, Cologne, Germany; Member, Law Firm Management Committee Advisory Board
Michael Lund Mindstretch, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Vice Chair, Law Firm Management - Strategy and Finance Subcommittee
Moray McLaren Lexington Consultants, Madrid, Spain; DO NOT USE ANYMORE Co-outreach and Education Officer, Law Firm Management Committee
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay Hinduja Group, London, England
Irina Paliashvili RULG Ukrainian Legal Group, Kyiv, Ukraine
Abe Schear Arnall Golden Gregory, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Co-Chair, Law Firm Management Committee
Tshepo Shabangu Law Society of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa; IBA Council Member, Member Organisations
Aku Johannes Sorainen Sorainen, Tallinn, Estonia; Member, Law Firm Management Committee Advisory Board
Gerard Tanja Venturis Consulting Group, Wasenaar, Netherlands; Chair, Law Firm Management - Knowledge Management and IT Subcommittee