With the ILTA Conference coming up soon, I thought it would be a good idea to provide a listing of the various AFA and LPM sessions being held. In addition to various groups (KM, etc.) providing AFA-related programming, this year a group of AFA-types worked to provide more advanced AFA topics. So expect some knock-your-socks-off programs.
Below is the list. I include my commentary in italics, along with the Twitter hashtags for those who want to follow them online.
Next-Generation AFAs
Many firms have built a basic infrastructure to cope with client requests for alternative fee arrangements, but we are moving into a new generation of AFAs. Some firms are using AFAs to secure new business and take market share. What considerations apply in this new environment? Where does profitability analysis fit? Where does the experience database come into play? How can you tell when AFAs are or aren’t working? Find out the answers to these questions and more! Hashtag #ACT5
This session is designed as a conversation among AFA experts versus your traditional panel. Each expert will air their biggest AFA Challenges and the group (including the audience) will suggest ideas and ways of addressing each challenge. Expect high audience participation in this session.
AFA Proposals: What Do Clients Expect?
Making AFAs work for both the client and the law firm takes more than an innovative proposal and a solid pitch. The success of any alternative fee arrangement depends on mutual trust and collaboration. Come hear how open dialogue can lead to finding the right outcome for all parties involved. Hashtag #FMPG4
When clients ask for AFAs in RFPs, it is usually a total crap-shoot trying to guess what they are thinking. This session includes a general counsel (GC) who will tell us what he is thinking. An AFA professional who will help shape the challenges and quiz the GC about specific questions and requests he has seen.
The Insider’s Guide to Negotiating Fees
Get the inside scoop on how to negotiate fees through a strategy session designed to help participants understand the key issues and dynamics involved. Learn to develop budgets and fee negotiation strategies that work for your firm and your clients. Hashtag #AFT4
If you wonder what goes on when clients and law firms talk fees, wonder no longer. This session includes a law firm pricing guy (a.k.a. me) along with a client pricing expert. They will conduct mock negotiations for different types of fees. The audience will be broken in to 2 teams and the negotiators will confer with their teams during the session to craft strategies for successfully negotiating each fee. Again, expect high participation from the audience.
Creating Process Maps: An Interactive Workshop
Are you interested in legal project management, legal process improvement or business process improvement? This is the session for you! Before you can manage or improve a process, you must understand it. One of the best ways to understand a process is to map it. No experience is required as participants will work in groups under the guidance of industry experts to create and evaluate process maps. Hashtag #AFT1
Legal Project Management starts with creating process maps of legal practices. This very important exercise will show where the path to total LPM enlightenment begins.
Collaborative Management of Legal Project Management
How are law firms managing their LPM programs? During this roundtable, we’ll hear how three law firms successfully launched and implemented LPM efforts and what they learned along the way. Attendees will leave understanding how these firms balanced the needs of various internal constituents and achieved buy-in from attorneys. Learn how KM, marketing, finance and technology worked together to achieve common goals. We’ll also provide a sneak peek into what’s ahead for LPM. Hashtag #ORG6
We Have a Fee Structure … Is the Price Right?
Firms of all sizes are developing alternative fee structures to determine service prices in today’s legal marketplace. But, that is just the first step to ensure success. How do you know if you have established the correct pricing model in the course of a project, and what project management techniques are you employing to ensure the fee is managed to a successful outcome? Join this round-table to discuss what has and hasn’t worked for your firm and others. Learn how the intersection of pricing and project management will lead you to the path of successful AFA management. Hashtag #ORG8
AFAs + LPM + BPI = Opportunities for KM
Clients are demanding alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) for predictable service pricing. In response, law firms are turning to legal project management (LPM) and business process improvement (BPI) to streamline operations, regulate processes and bring greater discipline and efficiency to their work. This opens up opportunities to incorporate KM principles. Our panel of experts will provide practical, first-hand examples of ways in which KM can contribute to LPM and BPI initiatives and support the development of profitable AFAs. Hashtag #KMPG6
Budgets for Matters in the Law Department: Outside Counsel and AFAs
Join us as we take a closer look at the factors affecting law department budgeting, including whether matters using outside counsel should be budgeted in an intentional way, whether there are requirements/policies for these types of matters, what templates or tools are available, and what data support you when budgeting for a matter. We’ll also examine AFAs – the need for specific requirements, historical data to support the AFA and how to measure the AFA’s value. Hashtag #LDPG4
AFAs are here to stay as firms continue to develop processes to meet their internal profit targets while delivering high levels of client service. Hear how firms have adjusted to this new way of doing business –– what processes they’ve initiated, their advice for other firms, best tools, insights into project management and predictions about the need for firms to adapt to future requirements. This session is interactive, so bring insights, questions, ideas and crystal balls! Hashtag #ADE1
This session is produced by Aderant.