Agenda

Three leaders will join our chair in a discussion about industry “myths”. Are these myths actually true? Or provocative but false statements that simply challenge conventional thinking in the profession? Or is it more complicated than that?

One by one, our chair will present each myth and take the pulse of the audience by using live audience voting. Panellists will give their “rapid-fire” reactions by responding “true”, “false” or “It’s complicated” before segueing into a discussion of each myth.

Myth 1
Knights is inevitable for SME law firms needing to respond to the requirements for growth and investment
Martin Hopkins, Regional Client Services Director, Knights

Myth 2
Leadership – The biggest risks facing law firms today are external, regulation, AI, and market forces, not leadership capability
Corinne Staves, Partner, CM Murray

The modern world is changing faster than our brains were designed for, but neuroplasticity means we can deliberately become better adapted to it. Or does it?

This session will look at the ten changes that law-firm leaders have experienced over the past decade, the cognitive trap each can create and practical leadership responses.  The focus will be on the demands of the current environment, how people have changed and what this means for leaders today.

Following her keynote, Dr Helena Boschi will be joined by a small group of longstanding members of the community, people who have been part of this event from the very outset and have returned year after year, alongside the chair, for a special conversation marking 10 years of shared experience and change.

Together, they’ll reflect on how leadership, ways of working and expectations have evolved over the last decade, sharing honest insights on what it has really taken to adapt, stay resilient and keep moving forward through constant change. This is a moment to celebrate the community itself, the relationships, learning and continuity that have shaped the event, while looking ahead to what the next chapter demands from leaders and teams.

Our sponsors' lightning-fast sessions will give attendees an overview of the latest legal tech tools and services tailored designed specifically to support firms in driving efficiency, innovation and client value.

• Jylo
• Morae

During the networking lunch, a select group of exhibitors will each provide a 15-minute fast-paced short demonstration of their products and services.

Use event app Whova to book your seat in the Learning Lounge.

13:25-13:40 – Jylo
From AI pilot to productivity: Embedding AI into the flow of work
The challenge is no longer deploying AI – it’s driving meaningful adoption and measurable impact. In this live demonstration, attendees will see how AI can be embedded directly into everyday workflows to reduce friction, accelerate decision-making and boost productivity. Through real-world use cases, the session will showcase how organisations can move beyond pilots and turn AI into a scalable driver of engagement, efficiency and business value.
Presented by: Becca De Taboada, Head of Legal Consulting, Jylo

13:45-14:00 – Morae
Know Your Data. Reduce Risk. Enable AI.
Most law firms are investing in AI. Far fewer know exactly what information their AI is accessing. The biggest carrier to AI success in law firms isn’t technology, it’s unmanaged information. Sensitive client data is no longer confined to core document management systems, it is spread across email, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, file shares and legacy repositories, creating compliance risk, security exposure and operational inefficiency. Morae helps firms regain control through a managed Information Governance approach that discovers, classifies and governs information across the entire digital estate and keeps it goverened over time. By combining legal-sector expertise, governance frameworks and managed services, we help firms reduce risk, minimise the burden on internal IT, strengthen client confidentiality, improve operational efficiency and build the trusted information foundation required for compliant, confident AI adoption.
Presented by: Sam Harper, Manager, Solution Engineering, Morae

14:05-14:20 – Efimis
See Efimis in action with Claire Worrall – Join Claire Worrall for a live demo of Efimis, the legal financial management platform built specifically for law firms and designed for an AI-driven future. See how Efimis brings accounting, reporting, compliance and financial data into one connected platform, giving firms real-time visibility, stronger control and faster access to insight through Eve, it’s embedded AI assistant.
Presented by: Claire Worrall, Commercial Lead (UK), Efimis

This is not a session about whether law firms should take private equity.

Instead, it asks a more useful question for finance leaders:

What does exposure to private equity reveal about how law firms really operate from their governance, behaviours and decision-making to performance discipline?

Drawing on real, lived experience from within a PE backed environment, this session cuts through the noise, myths and market hype to focus on what finance leaders actually see once the headlines fade and the real work begins.

Through an honest, finance led conversation, we’ll explore:

• What PE exposure uncovers about leadership, accountability and decision-making in law firms
• Where PE discipline genuinely improves clarity, pace and commercial focus and where it clashes with traditional firm behaviours
• How the role, authority and pressure on finance leaders changes in practice
• Which lessons are transferable to all firms, including those with no intention of taking external investment
• Why PE is influencing the market far beyond the firms that actually take it

This is a myth-busting, no hype discussion grounded in reality, not theory designed to give finance leaders practical insight they can apply regardless of ownership model.

Peer-to-peer Roundtables are 40-minute discussion groups, each led by a finance leader from a legal firm.

The hallmark of an Alternative Event, the peer-to-peer roundtable discussions are like group therapy for firm leaders. These small groups, following the Chatham House rule, allow everyone to share problems and solutions. These facilitated discussions will deliver insights and takeaways from peers that are simply not otherwise available.

1. Building financial resilience for the next 10 years
Capital tension, investment sequencing, and planning for a world with little/no client account interest
Alison Powell, Finance Director, Bates Wells

2. Strategic finance for growth: Creating value, not just revenue
Which growth strategies genuinely increase the long-term value of the firm?

• What makes growth valuable rather than simply bigger?
• How do you fund growth without weakening cash flow or partner returns?
• What should firms put in place now to become more attractive to future investors, buyers or merger partners?
• How do you balance realising value today with building a stronger firm for the future?

Zachary Brech, CFO, Ignition Law

3. Partner performance: The conversation nobody wants but everyone needs

How do you surface underperformance without becoming the villain?

• Do you rank partners, formally or informally?
• What metrics actually change behaviour?
• Where does finance have legitimacy and where does it get shut down?

Neil Aitken, Finance Director, Woodfines

4. Working capital management: Why it’s not a finance problem
Working capital is often treated as a finance issue: lockup, WIP and billing cycles. In reality, it’s shaped by leadership behaviour, pricing confidence and how firms operate day to day.
This roundtable explores where working capital really breaks down, the behaviours firms tolerate that undermine cash flow and why finance often carries responsibility without control.
A practical peer discussion focused on ownership, culture and what actually improves outcomes.
Jason Bigg, Head of Finance & Operations, Girlings

Format: Interactive Reflection (40 mins)
Step 1 – Flashback (10 mins)
Chair reads out 3–4 themes from:
• 2021
• 2023
• 2025

Step 2 – Table Poll (15 mins)
Each table answers:
• What’s genuinely new?
• What have we failed to fix?
• What are we still avoiding?
• What conversations should we be having and who with?

Step 3 – Room Share (15 mins)
Short, honest reflections, no solutions required.

While our delegates join the sessions in the conference room, we have created something special for our vendor community.

16:15 – 16:25
Who’s in the room? Understanding today’s event audience
An overview of the Alternative Events registration data, tech budgets, sizes of firm and a general overview to the audience that we have created for you.
Discover why this data is crucial in aligning your product with the right firms.
Steve Parrott, Co-Founder & Director, Alternative Events  

16:25 – 16:45
How you earn attention, before you ask for it
This session is built to help you sell to law firms.
Today’s Alternative event gives vendors access to the right people; the real value comes from what you then do with the access. It is not enough to have a presence, stand and follow up afterwards. The opportunity is to become useful, trusted and remembered by the law firm buyers as they want to build relationships with you, the question is: are you ready?
This session will support you and ask the question: Where do you start if you want people to trust you before you sell to them?
Mark Masters, Founder, You Are The Media

Throughout the day, delegates have been contributing bold predictions about the future of legal, careers and firm structures to our live Time Capsule. In this closing session, we crack it open.

We begin with a question that has surfaced repeatedly in advisory board discussions: the traditional law firm pyramid is under strain, what replaces it? The work that once trained juniors, justified leverage and funded progression is disappearing faster than firms are redesigning around it, as technology and AI absorb more of that work.

From there, the discussion broadens to debate the wider set of predictions captured throughout the day. A small group of contributors will surface the strongest themes, tensions and disagreements from the Time Capsule before opening the floor to the room.

Expect a forward looking conversation about redesigning the law firm for the next decade not the last one.