Managing partners face the future at Lex Connect

Ark Group held its first Lex Connect event on 10 and 11 March. In a move away from the IT exhibitions of recent years, Lex offered to delegates a combination of workshops combined with one-on-one meetings with a variety of legal solution providers. Caroline Poynton reports on the days’ proceedings.

Legal technology is no longer the remit of IT directors, it is a vital component in the strategic direction of law firms. This is the resounding conclusion taken from the attendance of over 50 managing partners at Ark Group’s Lex Connect event held at the Hilton Amsterdam last week.

The event was designed to create a balance between law firm management including business strategy, risk management and marketing issues, with the options and implementation of legal technology. Delegates could choose from a variety of workshops presented by speakers including Alan Hodgart (Hildebrandt International), Chris Andrews (Clifford Chance), Ian Reaves (Hammonds) and Arent van Wassenaer (Norton Rose). They spoke on a variety of management and technology issues including CRM, leveraging internal knowledge, improving billing and collecting mechanisms, digital dictation and marketing strategies.

Lex Connect succeeded in aligning technology and strategy in a programme that attracted an audience of managing partners from across Europe. This has rarely happened in past events as law firm management has treated IT as a separate entity to management decision making. Times are changing however and as Lex Connect revealed, managing partners are realising that technology decisions will place an important part in their future strategic planning.

Highlights of the workshops included Chris Andrews, international director of risk management at Clifford Chance. Risk is an area of real concern to law firms. Apart from the impact of Enron and Worldcom on the perception of risk in professional service firms, the growing use of technology has also opened a new arena in the concept of security, makingmany firms realise their potential vulnerability. Andrews presented a workshop that as one delegate said, “reduced a complex area to simplicity, excellent.”

Another presentation that hit cords with the audience was Ian Reaves’s workshop on: “Managing client relationships for increased profitability.” Reaves, who is new business development manager at Hammonds, talked about sales planning, an area that is even more alien to most lawyers than technology. In proposing that all lawyers should be working harder at cross-selling opportunities to improve client relationships and firm profitability, he succeeded in provoking some interesting questions. Clearly, lawyers will be facing a future where their abilities to sell their services will become an important characteristic of their role. Many, perhaps not surprisingly, are taking some time to absorb the whole concept of sales planning.

Another important aspect of the two days were meetings set up for managing partners to discuss technology options with solution providers. One-on-one appointments, arranged to fit in around the workshops, enabled delegates to spend some time with companies such as Timesoft, WinScribe UK, Workshare, Sony and ITNET. The meetings provided a refreshing change from the usual IT exhibitions and were appreciated by all participants who took part in the sessions. One delegate particularly appreciated the “networking opportunities and scheduled meetings” and another returned to the UK determined to purchase two products that he had discovered during the event.

Overall, attendees appeared to really appreciate and enjoy the format and running of the two days. Among the many favourable comments, one said it was, “friendly and well organised”, another that it was, “the best event I’ve been to in a long time”. Some have already rebooked their places for the next year.

Lex Connect provided a new and interesting format for managing partners looking to improve the strategic direction and profitability of their firms. Following the success of this first event, we will look forward to seeing the plans for next year’s event scheduled for 1 and 2 March 2004 in Amsterdam.