Ark Group/Managing Partner’s

Law Firm Pricing & Profitability Optimizing your firm’s pricing capability while gaining a better understanding of the link between firm strategy—and the rate it charges

Pricing is not just a function of setting rates. It is in fact one of the most strategic endeavors that law firms must grapple with today.

The economic balance of power has shifted to the client-side and the development or optimization of a “pricing strategy” has emerged as a critically important source of competitive advantage and increased profitability.

Each passing year more firms are touting their willingness and ability to perform client work under fee arrangements other than the traditional billable hour model. But are firms structured internally such that these fee arrangements make sense from a profitability standpoint?

The most important determinant of profitability today is simply being able to meet the client’s needs within a predetermined budget—and that’s a lot more complicated than it sounds. Many firms now recognize the need for internal pricing analysis and for this reason many are creating new pricing functions and positions to help match the risk and reward elements of specific case scenarios.

What will it cost the firm to do the work? And how much latitude does the firm have to change the manner in which they work—including changes to what the firm recognizes, measures and rewards internally? Aligning partner behavior to the firm’s pricing function becomes mission critical.

Pricing is both an art and a science and profitability will ultimately come down to striking a balance between the price/margin needed for the firm—and the perceived value of the work to the client. “Project management” is essentially about managing or balancing these two variables (the interests of both the client and the firm) on a project/matter basis. However, striking the right balance will require an understanding of each client’s definition and/or perceptions around value and efficiency. Unfortunately, many firms lack the infrastructure and expertise needed to manage matters that will consistently fall within the firm’s profitability parameters.

Ark Group’s up-coming Law Firm Pricing & Profitability conference will provide an ideal platform for discussion around what firms are doing in the process of identifying and re-engineering the most important drivers of law firm profitability. Attendees will gain insight as to how firms are implementing and optimizing pricing capabilities in support of a more sound pricing (and service delivery) infrastructure.

Price competition is not going away—and medium to large-sized law firms are going to need to find the answers concerning how their firm establishes its value proposition—through pricing.

September 27, 2012 University of Chicago—Gleacher Center

Chicago, IL

With Key Contributions & Real-World Illustrations from: Steven J. Harper, author, contributing editor to The American Lawyer, and adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Law School and former Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP Toby Brown, Director of Strategic Pricing & Analytics, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Stuart J T Dodds, Director, Global Pricing, Baker & McKenzie Global Services LLC Michael Byrd, Assistant Director of Pricing Strategy & Analysis, Mayer Brown LLP Christine Johnson, Director, Client Matter Management, Quarles & Brady LLP Bob Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer, Greenberg Traurig, LLP Joseph J. Morford Managing Partner, Tucker Ellis LLP Lynn D. Krauss, Assistant General Counsel Business & Finance Section, Law Department, Dow Corning Corporation Dr. Silvia Hodges, Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law Paul Lippe, CEO, Legal OnRamp And others!

Register to attend before July 27th to receive your 15% early-bird discount!

Forum Agenda – Thursday, September 27, 2012

8:30AM Registration & Networking Breakfast

9:00AM Opening Remarks: Conference Chairperson Paul Lippe, CEO, Legal OnRamp

9:15AM KEYNOTE ADDRESS Thinking Beyond Short-Term Metrics A great transformation has changed the big law firm segment of the legal profession into a collection of short-term profit-maximizing businesses. For most firm leaders, the appeal of business school-type metrics proved irresistible as the three-legged stool of leverage, hourly rates and billable hours grew Am Law 50 firms’ average equity partner profits from $300,000 in 1985 to more than $1.5 million in 2011. Was this new approach the beginning of wisdom or the birth of an ugly bubble that will burst, as it already has for some outstanding and venerable law firms? From now on, success and survival will require thinking beyond short-term metrics. In this opening session, attendees will learn about trends that have shaped the current legal environment and what they mean for the future.

Steven J. Harper, author, contributing editor to The American Lawyer, and adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Law School and former Partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP

10:00AM CASE STUDY From Pricing to Service Delivery: Identifying & Re-Engineering the Most Important Drivers of Law Firm Profitability Pricing legal work needs to be based on the client’s point of view. The challenge for firms now is that the old rules no longer apply. Profitability analysis must shift from the cost-plus model to the margin model that actually exists today—where fees and the cost of delivery are now part of the equation. Pricing is both an art and a science and most often boils down to striking a balance between the margin needed for the firm—and the perceived value of the work to each client. What will it cost the firm to do the work? And how much latitude does the firm have to change the manner in which they work? Setting fees that balance the interests of both the client and the firm requires a culture of collaboration and engagement. Call it what you will, but “project management” is essentially about managing/balancing the interests of both the client and the firm—on a project/matter basis. Efficiency is on everyone’s mind today and law firms have been confronted with having to re-engineer how they deliver legal services, develop and structure fee proposals, staff projects and use technology to achieve necessary (higher) operating efficiencies. In fact, law firm profitability hinges on the ability to deliver products and services at a level of quality that the client demands—yet at a cost that adequately rewards attorneys for their efforts.

Toby Brown, Director of Strategic Pricing & Analytics, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

10:45AM Morning Networking & Coffee Break

11:15AM Navigating the Pricing Maze: Establishing a Pricing Capability/Function within Law Firms Make no mistake, price competition is not temporary. The importance of addressing pricing and AFAs places a much greater internal and external focus on the commercial approaches taken by law firms. This is a permanent change in the legal marketplace, evidenced by an increasing trend to create a dedicated pricing capability within the firm to help senior management and client teams address this challenge. What are the implications of establishing a pricing function and where should pricing (as a function) sit within a law firm? In this session, Stuart Dodds will share his experiences in how to design, develop and implement appropriate pricing capabilities with a law firm, in part driven from his experience doing this both at Linklaters (at the time a role unique amongst major international law firms) and at Baker & McKenzie. Attendees will learn how to determine if a defined pricing capability may be helpful or is needed at your firm—as well as discuss where the pricing capability best fits from an organizational viewpoint.

Stuart J T Dodds, Director, Global Pricing, Baker & McKenzie Global Services

12:15PM Networking Luncheon

1:15PM PANEL DISCUSSION Recognizing the Link Between Firm Strategy and the Rate it Charges Has your firm established its rates rationally—if not strategically—such that they can be supported by both the firm’s clients as well as its partners? Global competition, commoditization, legal outsourcing and pressure from clients to cut costs have created a sense of urgency within law firms to better understand their own business—and more specifically, the business of their clients. From a strategic standpoint, law firms must clearly define their own internal measures for success. This of course requires an in-depth look at the issues and challenges surrounding profitability. This dynamic panel discussion will address how (and where) pricing and “overall firm strategy” intersect—balancing profitability with the client’s perception of value. Can law firms establish or at least reinforce the firm’s broader value proposition through pricing? How can law firms best align partner behavior to avoid pricing mistakes—utilizing the price driver to the firm’s competitive advantage?

PANEL: Michael Byrd, Assistant Director of Pricing Strategy & Analysis, Mayer Brown LLP, Bob Robertson, Chief Marketing Officer, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Christine Johnson, Director, Client Matter Management, Quarles & Brady LLP

2:15PM CASE STUDY How Firm Culture Impacts the Ability to Price Differently (and make non-hourly arrangements work) What is it that law firms should recognize, measure and reward? Firm leaders find themselves wrapped in a straitjacket of structural limitations as their clients continue to reassess cost and risk in justifying its need for external resources. Yet each passing year more firms are touting their willingness and ability to perform client work under fee arrangements other than the traditional billable hour model. But are they internally structured to make such arrangements effective and a meaningful part of their practice—or are they merely doing it because their clients are requiring them to? What happens when you stop billing clients by the hour? This candid discussion will illustrate how firms can best effectuate a large and successful non-billable hour fee program—while delving into challenges around compensation, culture, and the subjectivity of partner performance (and how these factors impact pricing and profitability).

Joseph J. Morford Managing Partner, Tucker Ellis LLP

3:00PM Afternoon Networking & Coffee Break

3:15PM PANEL DISCUSSION The Buy-Side: Are You Selling What I Want to Buy? To understand what “value” means to a client, lawyers must understand what the client is buying. Businesses don’t have legal problems—they have business problems with a legal dimension and are interested in solving them in an acceptable manner—as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Until recently, corporate legal departments were largely excluded from cost-cutting. Obviously, this is no longer the case. In fact, procurement teams are now involved in the purchasing of legal services as well—assisting in-house lawyers with defining the scope of projects, selecting the right suppliers, negotiating cost, and evaluating performance. This lively panel discussion will provide perspectives from the client-side—illustrating tactical measures to better manage cost, negotiate price, assess value, and manage the purchasing process more efficiently (and objectively).

Lynn D. Krauss, Assistant General Counsel Business & Finance Section, Law Department, Dow Corning Corporation, Dr. Silvia Hodges, Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law, Others TBD

4:15PM Wrap-Up Discussion/Closing Remarks Paul Lippe, CEO, Legal OnRamp

Ark Group/Managing Partner’s

Law Firm Pricing & Profitability Optimizing your firm’s pricing capability while gaining a better understanding of the link

between firm strategy—and the rate it charges

Registration Form

Law Firm Pricing & Profitability (Sept 27-CHI)

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Venue and Accommodations

This conference will be held at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center - located at 450 North Cityfront Plaza Drive Chicago, IL 60611— conveniently located in the heart of Chicago's business community just blocks away from the Loop and steps away from Magnificent Mile shopping, restaurants and hotels. For more information including rates at nearby hotels please contact Peter Franken at Pfranken@ark-group.com or at 312 212 1301.

Who Will Attend This Conference

Law Firm Pricing & Profitability is designed for thought leaders involved in the pricing of legal services rendered as well as those involved in the development and execution of client service strategy—ideal for

though not limited to: Executive Directors, Practice Group Leaders, Managing Partners, Pricing Directors, Business Analysts, CFO’s, COO’s, CMO’s and CKO’s — and anyone else involved in project/matter management or strategic planning and analysis.

PLEASE NOTE: Ark Group cannot be responsible for assisting potential attendees in obtaining visas to the country in which this event is being held. Attendees are responsible for their own travel and visa

Registration/Admission (law firms) $995 Admission for Vendors/Solution Providers $1495

I am registering for this event before July 27th and would like to claim my

15% early bird discount!

For team discounts, please call Peter Franken at 312 212 1301

Please note: payment must be received in full prior to the event to guarantee your place

Registration conditions 1. Registrations can be submitted at any stage prior to the event, subject to availability. A limited allocation is being held and registering early is therefore recommended, in the event of the registration not being accepted by Ark Group the total amount will be refunded. 2. Payment must be received in full prior to the course. 3. All speakers are correct at the time of printing, but are subject to variation without notice. 4. If the delegate cancels after the registration has been accepted, the delegate will be liable to the following cancellation charges: - Cancellations notified over 45 days prior to the event will not incur a cancellation fee. - In the event of a cancellation being between 45 and 30 days prior to the event, a 20% cancellation fee will be charged. - For cancellations received less than 30 days prior to the event, the full delegate rate must be paid and no refunds will be available. 5. All registrations submitted by e-mail, fax, or over the telephone are subject to these booking conditions. 6. All cancellations must be received in writing. 7. Ark Group will not be held liable for circumstances beyond their control which lead to the cancellation or variation of the program. 8. Please make checks payable to Ark Group USA. Ark Group USA will not use your email address or information for any purpose other than distributing our conference and event notices.

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Sponsorship Opportunities

If you are interested in learning about sponsorship opportunities for this event, please contact Kevin Klein for more details at kklein@ark-group.com or by phone at 312 212 1302.

A R K G R O U P U S A Organization

Law Firm Pricing & Profitability

The University of Chicago - Gleacher Center

450 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive Chicago, IL 60611

312.464.8787 http://www.gleachercenter.com/

THIS CONFERENCE WILL BE HELD AT: SEPTEMBER 27, 2012 — CHICAGO, IL

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers 301 E. North Water Street Chicago, Illinois 60611 1.877.242.2558 > Reservations http://www.sheratonchicago.com Embassy Suites Chicago ~ Downtown/Lakefront 511 N. Columbus Drive Chicago, Illinois 60611 312.836.5900 > Reservations http://embassysuites1.hilton.com/en_US/es/hotel/CHIREES-Embassy-Suites-Chicago-Downtown-Lakefront-Illinois/index.do InterContinental Chicago 505 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611 1.312.944.4100 > Reservations http://www.icchicagohotel.com/index.cfm Chicago Marriott Downtown 540 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611 312.836.0100 > Reservations http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/chidt-chicago-marriott-downtown-magnificent-mile/

For a complete list of Chicago hotels please visit the following link http://reservations.choosechicago.com/3736_deal-list_m452_r288611.html

The following hotels are located 1-2 blocks walking distance from the Gleacher Center:

The Gleacher Center is conveniently located in the heart of Chicago’s business community just blocks away from the Loop and steps away from Magnificent Mile shopping, restaurants and hotels. It is easily accessible from public transportation and adjacent parking lots.