Thursday 11 June: Business Efficiency & Profitability

There is an on-going need to continually integrate the IT function with the overall business areas, goals and corporate strategy. This day will examine how best you can align information technology with other parts of the business to create efficiency and profitability. The delegation will hear from clients, finance and HR departments and gain an understanding of their views on the strategic value technology brings to the business. How does the IT function create efficiency, add value to the business and more importantly what can IT do to improve the bottom-line?

08:00 Leisure/free time

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Chair’s opening remarks: Simon Thompson, global chief operating officer, Linklaters

13:10 Interview: Business Development and IT - Developing strategic client relationships
Firms that recognise how their clients view the work they do are far more likely to satisfy their clients’ needs and maintain satisfactory long-term relationships. This interview will ask what new challenges clients are putting on law firms around costs, retention and service delivery and how IT can assist to deliver these.
Interviewer: Meirion Jones, executive director, clients & markets, Reed Smith
David Cambria, director of operations, Law Department, Aon Corporation

14:00 Panel discussion: Finance and IT - Profitability for law firms
Financial control and financial spend is an on-going challenge and objective for all heads of department. This panel discussion will debate whether IT can really make money and win business for the firm? Who decides on IT spend and should this change? How do you overcome the battle of innovation and cost? How can IT help influence and change the business?
Chair:
Graham Van Terhayden, IT director, Addleshaw Goddard
Panellists:
Peter Hickman, chief financial officer, Linklaters
Laurence Milsted, finance director, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Yvonne Thomas, finance director, Hugh James
Donald de Witte, regional IT manager, Cisco

15:00 BlackBerry® break

15:30 Panel discussion: HR and IT - Delivering strategic value
This panel discussion will address what HR directors are being asked to achieve in the current climate and how IT can assist to deliver these goals. How can IT help HR with staff retention and move people around the business? What can IT do and are doing to assist in the delivery of client services, mobility, skills and virtual working. How can IT help influence and change the business culture?
Chair:
Sue Brooks, chief of staff, Barclays Legal & Compliance
Panellists:
Maninder Gill, legal & HR director, Harvey Nichols
John Lucy, HR director, Simmons & Simmons

16:30 Interactive focus groups
Delegates are invited to select one of the following:

A. Identifying technologies you should be investing in
Sharpening your decision making process on how, what, where and when resources need to be deployed is critical to meet strategic business objectives. This session will address how to determine you are really getting the best out of your technology investment. What are the recent developments/technologies your firm should be considering and when should you consider investing to achieve maximum advantage?
Damien Behan, IT director, Brodies
Peter Bauer, CEO, Mimecast
Chris White, former IT director, Ashurst

B. Collaborating to maximise efficiency and minimise cost
As clients demand greater efficiency and value-added service, how do you manage collaboration across different offices and maximise technology across the business to deliver this? This session will examine how firms can work with clients to maximise collaboration for efficiency whilst minimising cost.
Christopher Barnard, general counsel, Coca-Cola Europe
Andrew Dey, head of operations, Barclays
Kate Stanfield, head of knowledge management, CMS Cameron McKenna

C. Spending less and getting more from legal process outsourcing
Managing your IT spend and improving ROI is a fundamental challenge for any firm. This session will address if legal process outsourcing really can help achieve results on the bottom line and create efficiency. How do you achieve the right balance in deciding what to outsource and what are the advantages and disadvantages
involved when one size does not fit all?
Chris Bull, COO, Integreon
Nick Deeming, group general counsel and company secretary, Christies
Melanie Farquharson, consultant, 3 Kites

D. Helping the firm win business
As clients batten down the hatches and the global economy slows, firms confront a more profoundly uncertain business environment than most of them have ever faced. This session will discuss how you as a business leader together with technology can overcome the paralysis that dooms and assist with shaping the future of your firm
in winning business.
Peter Birley, director of IT, Browne Jacobson
Meirion Jones, executive director, clients & markets, Reed Smith
Kris Satkunas, director, Redwood Think Tank, Lexis Nexis – Redwood Analytics

17:45 End of conference day two

19:30 Cocktail reception

20:00 Gala dinner