What's New

 

Forbes to speak at ACC annual conference in Denver, USA

Jeffrey Forbes will join a panel of speakers at the ACC annual conference to discuss how to make a legal department profitable, based on a report he co-authored last year.

From the ACC Denver annual meeting program web site (https://www.multisoftevents.com/accam11/programlisting.aspx):

302 - I’ll Get the Check – Legal Department as Profit Center?

The focus of this program is an October 2010 Research Report, co-authored by Patrick Wilkins of European GC and Jeffrey Forbes of The Forbes Institute, published by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®. The report includes case studies from DuPont, Tyco, and Standard Life, showing how some legal departments are no longer viewed purely as cost centers, because they generate (or recover) revenue. The goal is not to generate litigation or become a profit center, but this could result from a successful recovery program. This session will demonstrate how to establish a recovery program, engage management to ensure "top down" support, develop meaningful metrics, and use technology to manage meaningful recovery opportunities. Strategies on maximizing internal resources and leveraging outside counsel will be shared. Legitimate concerns about disrupting business relationships and maintaining professionalism will also be addressed.

Information Governance For Lawyers

Is digital overload now the greatest risk management challenge facing in-house legal departments? This report, co-authored by Jeffrey Forbes, seeks to answer this question and provides an introduction to that process.

Information Governance For Lawyers is a 48 page report published by EuropeanGC.com in April 2011 for in-house legal departments in Europe. They believe Information Governance For Lawyers will drive the risk agenda in most major companies this decade. Therefore, they argue, a new educational process is urgently needed to help change the in-house legal mind-set on the intertwined disciplines of information governance and risk management.

This report is an introduction to that process by balancing independent editorial with thought-provoking articles from experienced general counsel (BG Group, Novartis, ISS, TomTom) and solution providers (Dolphin Software, H7b1, Legal Solutions Group, Mitratech).

Download this report on the home page of EuropeanGC.com or visit www.EuropeanGC.com

A business development technique that few partners have thought of

Jeffrey Forbes points out that many partners can help their clients to develop a formal claims recovery program that will secure their loyalty and cement them into the process to get new work.

Read his comments in this article which was first published in Managing Partner magazine on 28 February 2011. The attached article is reproduced with the kind permission of the publication (www.mpmagazine.com).

To download a copy of the report that was mentioned in this article - The Profitable Legal Department - visit: www.TheProfitableLegalDepartment.com

 

CEE Regional Business Development Manager (CEE or London-based)

A global 100 law firm headquartered in the UK providing legal and tax services from its network of offices throughout Europe – including Central & Eastern Europe – has an opening in their business development team for the CEE region.

Ideally the person filling this role will be based in a CEE country where they have an office. But it is also possible to be based in London and travel regularly to the region.

In this role you will be responsible for helping to plan and implement the strategy for the Real Estate and Private Equity sectors across the CEE region.

The ideal candidate will take a “hands-on” approach to this role and not only help grow existing client relationships but identify and win new business as well.

Your success in this role will largely depend upon your entrepreneurial skills and the commercial sense you need to “smell” or “spot” an opportunity and then know how to “take action”.

If you understand the business of how an international law firm works, but have little or no chance to demonstrate this in your current role, then read on...

...because this role is very much focused on the strategic aspects of key client development, with less emphasis on tactical activities such as marketing communications and proposals.

But that does not mean you will be locked away in a room somewhere brainstorming strategies. Although this is important, you will then be expected to implement those strategies.

This may require you to demonstrate “how it is done” by getting in the trenches with our lawyers, for example, and picking up the phone to make that cold call to a new client.

It means you need to know how to find the shortest route to a new assignment, not just recommend a list of activities such as events, articles or networking, and “hope” it brings business.

Instead you will understand what drives our clients’ decision making process and know how to leverage this with client feedback, even meeting with them yourself, to gather such intelligence.

If your current role does not allow you to have such client contact then you are missing an important aspect to your career development as this greatly enhances your credibility.

Speaking of personal characteristics, the ideal candidate for this role will know how to sell themselves as well as sell an idea to lawyers, who are naturally skeptical.

Confidence, charisma, gravitas, and presence should be words that you and others use to associate with your personality. Loyal and hard working is appreciated, but leadership is more desired.

Above all you should love what you do and bring a boundless passion and enthusiasm to the role, tempered with a positive sense of flexibility and good organizational skills.

If this sounds like your next career move then contact Jeffrey Forbes who has been exclusively retained to fill this position.

Mobile: +420-732 374 191    jeffrey@clientdoctor.com     www.forbesinstitute.com

Be the first to hear about job offers like this and discuss in confidence topics of interest to marketing and business development professionals in law and accounting firms in Europe by joining Jeffrey Forbes' private email discussion list: Practice Development Managers Europe. More information can be found here.

 

Profitable Legal Department most downloaded report

According to LexisNexis, The Profitable Legal Department has been one of the most downloaded reports they have ever sponsored. From the begining of November - when the press release went out - until the end of December 2010 the full report was downloaded more than 1,000 times.

To download your free copy of the full report click here.