I’m composing this on the plane on my way to the 12th annual "Law Firm Leaders Forum: Leading the Law Firm of the Future" this Thursday and Friday, March 8 & 9, at the Four Seasons in San Francisco. Ralph Baxter of Orrick founded the "Leaders Forum" twelve years ago and has been its Chair ever since; this year it’s produced in conjunction with The Hildebrandt Institute, and Brad Hildebrandt is the co-chair.
Just to whet your appetite (or mine) for what’s on the agenda, here are the highlights:
- Legal Marketplace 2012: The Profession and Business of Law in Five Years
- Ralph Baxter
- Dan DiPietro (Citigroup Private Bank, Law Firm Group)
- Brad Hildebrandt
- Aric Press (editor in chief, The American Lawyer)
- Multi-Faceted Legal Market: One Size Does Not Fit All
- Brad Hildebrandt
- Guy Beringer, Senior Partner, Allen & Overy
- Robert Dell, Chairman and Managing Partner, Latham & Watkins
- Greg Jordan, Chairman and Managing Partner, Reed Smith
- Facing Reality: How to Fashion a Strategy to Succeed in Today’s Fragmented and Competitive Legal Marketplace
- Ralph Baxter
- Fred Bartlit, Jr., Bartlit Beck
- Michael Boone, Co-Founder, Haynes and Boone
- John Gamble, Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory& Natsis
- Richard Racine, Managing Partner, Finnegan Henderson
- Law Firm Leadership& Talent Management
- Dr. Larry Richard, Hildebrandt
- John Conroy, Jr., Chairman of the Executive Committee, Baker & McKenzie
- William Perlstein,Co-Managing Partner, WilmerHale
- Regina Pisa, Chairman and Managing Partner, Goodwin Procter
- Barton Winokur, Chairman & CEO, Dechert
- The Changing Mindset of Lawyers and How to Deal With It
- Ralph Baxter
- Arthur B. Culvahouse, Jr., Chair, O’Melveny & Myers
- R. Bruce McLean, Chairman, Akin Gump
- Francis Milone, Chairman and CEO, Morgan Lewis & Bockius
- Aric Press
- Mel Immergut, Chairman, Milbank
- Law Practice Outside the United States: The View From Other Countries
- Ralph Baxter
- Jose Maria Alfonso, Managing Partner, Garrigues, Abogados Asesores Tributarios, Madrid
- Akira Kosugi, Managing Partner, Nishimura & Partners, Tokyo
- Robert Sutton, Senior Partner, Macfarlanes, London
- Strategic Alternatives for Lawyers to Support the Global Issues Domestic Clients Confront
- Brad Hildebrandt
- T. Kennedy Helm, III, Managing Partner and Chairman, Stites & Harbison
- Mark Wasserman, Managing Partner, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan
- The New Supply Chain: Contract Lawyers, Outsourcing, and Other Alternatives
- Ralph Baxter
- Guy Beringer, Senior Partner, Allen & Overy
- Mel Immergut
- Annual Report on Law Firm Economics
- Dan DiPietro
- Brad Hildebrandt
- Mel Immergut
- Thomas Yanucci, Chairman, Kirkland & Ellis
As you see, a bluer-chip roster could scarcely be imagined. This should be a deeply stimulating feast of intellectual riches. I am deeply grateful to my friends at Orrick for making this possible for me and, in a future report coming to "Adam Smith, Esq.," for you. Home Saturday.
