Managing your law firm library and information service through challenging times

A two-day event designed to help you:

• Understand why this recession has impacted law firms and library and information services (LIS) to such a large extent
• Manage LIS on a minimal budget and with a reduced team
• Measure and demonstrate your value as a LIS professional
• Sell your skills and raise your profile to change the perception of how you’re viewed
• Hear how a partner values LIS and learn how to make it more valuable
• Examine outsourcing LIS pros and cons and the impact on law firms and the LIS team
• Recognise what LIS professionals can lose and gain from outsourcing
• Identify what opportunities are available for LIS staff now and in the future
• Explore the evolution of law firm LIS and secure the future of your role
• Develop your commercial awareness skills to better support the business
• Align LIS with business development, business intelligence and thought leadership
• Manage your information professionals and maximise their performance
• Determine and deliver the best method for lawyer research skills training
• Deliver information to your fee earners "on the cheap"
• Develop your negotiation skills to secure the best possible deal with suppliers
• Assess the future for vendor information provision
• Devise an exit strategy for LIS to pull itself out of the recession

Law firm libraries and information services (LIS) are facing challenging and changing times. The recession has forced most firms to make substantial budget cuts meaning information and staff resources have been drastically reduced. Cost-saving strategies like outsourcing are on the increase and the impact this will have on LIS teams and professionals will be huge. Plus the information environment is changing with the provision of online and virtual resources increasing and the tools by which to deliver them improving by the day.

So what’s the future for law firm libraries and information services? How can you steer your LIS through this period of uncertainty? And how can you ensure your role in LIS is guaranteed?

Managing Partner’s Managing your law firm library and information service through challenging times conference will equip you with the skills, tools and strategies you need to steer your team and advance your service through the changes and challenges that lie ahead. With plenty of opportunity for participation and general interaction through panel discussions and facilitated workshops, you will be able to pose your own vital questions and hear perspectives from a wide range of leading firms.

Highlights include:

• How to beat the recession! Hear how Lawrence Graham manage on a budget, how a Mills & Reeve partner views LIS and how Eversheds plans to pull LIS out of the recession
• Outsourcing LIS case studies including Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy followed by a discussion on the impact, opportunities, and pros and cons it presents
• Facilitated development skills workshops on commercial awareness and negotiation skills delivered by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Hammonds
• Reed Smith, Nabarro and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert on the evolution of LIS and the role and skill-set of the information professional including how to manage and maximise performance, career opportunities and training provision
• An interactive panel discussion on the future of vendor information provision and how the current model of information provision can be improved

Aimed exclusively at law firm library and information professionals, this event will demonstrate useful insight, innovation and best practice from a range of leading firms to enable you to make the right business decisions over the next 12 months.

Expert contributions from:

Allen & Overy LLP

Alta Learning Ltd

Barlow Lyde & Gilbert LLP

Charles Russell LLP

Clifford Chance LLP

Eversheds LLP

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

Hammonds LLP

Irwin Mitchell LLP

Lawrence Graham LLP

Linklaters LLP

Mills & Reeve LLP

Nabarro LLP

Pinsent Masons LLP

Reed Smith LLP