The Canadian Institute's Future of Law

Registration Opens and Coffee is Served

Opening Remarks from the Co-Chairs

Roundtable Debate: Assessing Your Options in this Changing Legal Landscape

• Strategies for success through specialization: drawing parallels to the medical model
• Understand mergers and international law firms: how to be more than a marketing ploy
• How successful law firms are operating today to provide real value
• A collaborative discussion will then follow

Networking Coffee Break

Perspective of the Regulator: Insight into LSUC’s Working Group on ABS

The Law Society is proactive in assessing and evaluating options that might allow more flexibility and opportunity for the legal profession in this time of rapidly developing change in the industry. Hear directly from the CEO on the status of consultations; the considerations that LSUC might consider in thinking about a transition to greater facilitation of legal services being offered in different structures, and by different people; and understand what can be learned from developments in other jurisdictions. Questions will be taken at the conclusion of the presentation.

Examining the Key Components and Benefits of Alternative Business Structures

• What can be learned and borrowed from other professional services firms and their shift in corporate structure?
• Assessing the risks and opportunities of having less LLPs, more corporations
• Develop systems and tools to address pricing pressures and budgetary restrictions

Assessing and Improving Fiscal Management

• Implementing metrics to assess the cost benefit analysis of each new file
• Ten practice management techniques to improve your firm’s efficiencies
• How to maintain and enhance profitability in a price sensitive and shrinking market

Luncheon for Speakers and Delegates

Ignite Session: Corporate Focus

Delegates will break into three groups and participate in a three part rotation on:

• Understanding new legal models
• Law firm innovator success stories
• Managing the competitive landscape

• Discover what you can learn from the new legal models
• Exploring the business implications of low fee service providers
• Learn how to spot the markets you haven’t identified, the clients you could be servicing
• Combat competition through branding or through relationship building

ABS Case Study: Kain C+C Lawyers – Proven Strategies from Australia

• What tangible benefits has this new business model delivered for Australian firm Kain C+C?
• Ten years in: What works? What remains a challenge? Where to go from here?
• Money matters: EPS growth, cash flow, capital flexibility

Coffee Break & Mental Health Questionnaire

Delegates will have the opportunity to complete a short Mental Health Questionnaire focused on their workplace. The overall trends of all participants will be presented at the 10:45 a.m. session on Day 2 to provide real-time input into this critical issue.

Seamless Succession Planning: Preserving Your Corporate Legacy

• Effective techniques for dealing with under performing members of your team
• Evaluating succession planning from a corporation’s perspective
• Retirement Planning Basics: Top five strategies checklist
• Maintain positive client satisfaction through flexible work arrangements
• Changing the motive from profit to sustainability

General Counsel Panel: What does the in-house client really want?

• Understanding your internal stakeholders to facilitate open communication and forge a true partnership
• Increase client satisfaction through efficient work flow models
• Appreciating the internal pressures to stick within budget and reduce bills
• Celebrate the potential work prospects from smaller in-house clients

Closing Remarks from Co-Chairs

Coffee Served

Opening Remarks from Co-Chairs

Creating and Maintaining a Cross-Generational Team

• Learn the cornerstones of an effective workforce planning and talent management strategy
• What new strategies and tactics will we need to adapt to thrive?
• Strategic thinking and real life examples on current workforce issues, such as:
  • Building high performance teams, not just high performing individuals
  • Managing millenials and the multigenerational workforce
  • Increased diversity in our talent pool
    

Ignite Session: Consumer Focus

• Outlining the structural differences between the corporate and consumer facing voices
• Analyzing the business model for the consumer side of the market
• A case study in the fixed rate billing model

Leveraging Business Development to Engage and Motivate your Millennials

• The formula to engage, empower, entrench
• Compensation models to reward: two examples

Morning Break

The Cost Implications of Mental Health Challenges in the Legal Profession

• Hear the overall trends from the Mental Health Assessment completed on Day 1
• The business case for EAP
• The value of programs that help avoid burnout, depression and alcoholism
  

Access to Justice? The Push for More B2C Legal Services

• Understanding the publics’ perception of legal professionals and legal services
• Explore the articling conundrum: rise of in-house articling positions and its implications for law
• CASE STUDY: what we can learn from our global counterparts

Co-Chairs Closing Remarks, Conference Concludes

​*A light lunch will be served for those attending the workshop