Business Skills for Lawyers
It’s no secret that being a successful lawyer takes more than just knowing the law. Whether you operate a small to medium sized law firm or have a sole practice, having the right set of skills can be the difference between getting ahead and being forgotten. From improving legal operations to cyber resilience, and business development to financial management strategies, this seminar is crucial to setting your practice up for success now and for the years to come. WEB2111NZA20
Description
Attend and earn 3 CPD hours
Chair: Aasha Foley, Managing Partner, iClaw Culliney Partners
9.15am to 9.20am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.20am to 10.05am Improve Your Legal Operations and Increase Efficiency
- How to maximise efficiency through well-defined operations and processes
- The benefits of project management
- Leveraging technology and determining what’s right for your organisational requirements
Presented by Tila Hoffman, Special Counsel and Business Transformation Manager, MinterEllisonRuddWatts
10.10am to 11.00am Protect Your Firm from Cyber Attacks
- Cyber-attack myths debunked: Proposed approaches to addressing the real threats
- Examples of email fraud and cyber incidents impacting NZ legal practices
- Practical steps you can take to enhance your practice’s cyber resilience
Presented by Steve Byrne, CEO, Cyber Research
11.05am to 11.55am Grow Your Practice through Business Development and Personal Branding
- What BD and Personal Branding are and why lawyers need to utilise them
- Top LinkedIn tips for lawyers to help grow your contacts and practice
- The top business development activities to grow your revenue
- Client relationships – the basics of nurturing new clients and keeping them
Presented by Ben Paul, Director and Founder, The BD Ladder
12.00pm to 12.45pm Improve Financial Performance and Make Your Practice Profitable
- How to value your law firm
- Profit improvement strategies
- Practical tips and key takeaways
Presented by Sam Bassett, Director, Moore Markhams
Learning Objectives:
- Understand ways to maximise operational efficiency
- Consider the benefits of project management
- Gain tips on enhancing your firm’s cyber resilience
- Discuss the importance of business development and personal branding activities
- Receive practical guidance on financial management strategies to improving profitability
Presenters
Tila Hoffman
Tila brings her 30+ years' experience as a practicing lawyer to the digital team. Tila champions the use of technology and data analytics to support change that benefits people, acting as a bridge between end users and tech specialists. Tila has legal experience in numerous areas, including banking and financial services (complex commercial and corporate transactions, property finance and project finance, supporting retail branch network and lending services), IP as well as litigation. Tila has been in private practice and in house and is admitted to practice in New Zealand and the United States of America (New Mexico and Colorado). Specialties: Workflow Automation, Contract Automation, Project Management, Legal Operations, Process Design, Transformation, Banking, IP, Regulatory Compliance, Litigation.
Ben Paul
Ben Paul is the founder of The BD Ladder, a BD and marketing consultancy specialising in providing practical advice to lawyers and professional services firms. He has over 20 years’ experience in providing sales and marketing advice. He has worked in BD roles in several professional services and law firms. Prior to establishing The BD Ladder, he was the BD & Marketing Director at one of NZ’s leading law firms and oversaw their successful rebranding to Dentons Kensington Swan. Ben provides regular BD coaching and skills sessions to his clients which help them to grow their practices. One of his key strengths is that he brings active change to the way things are done, so that his clients can achieve the results that they aspire to.
Aasha Foley
Starting a law firm at 28 and watching it grow to 18 staff over four years, Aasha knows a thing or two about running a business. One of New Zealand’s youngest partners and owners of a law firm, Aasha was named as a Rising Star by NZ Lawyer in 2021. Seeing the law as a way for people and businesses to achieve their goals, Aasha’s diverse expertise includes commercial advice and structuring, mergers and acquisitions, limited partnerships, intellectual property, corporate financing and property development. Aasha is an expert in managing complex large scale mix-used developments. Her experience in the property market, and in particular property development financing, has seen her develop a reputation for executing projects of scale effectively and efficiently. While practising law on a day to day basis, Aasha juggles the logistics of leadership, management and operations at iCLAW.
Sam Bassett
Sam has built up significant expertise in business advice and taxation, with a particular interest in working with small to medium sized law firms and barristers. Sam is involved with the firm’s bi -annual legal firm financial benchmarking survey and the 2021 survey is expected to be available by late November 2021. He also provides litigation support to barristers as an expert witness providing valuation evidence for interests in businesses and economic disparity calculations per Section 15 of the Relationship Property Act. Sam is based in Auckland.